A charming widow in her 70s married a factory manager and raised his children.

Chapter 124 Protecting Instigators

Upon hearing that Lin Wei had been released, Lu Congyue immediately made a phone call to her.

The other party was helpless, saying that someone in the capital had directly told them to release the person, saying that Lin Wei could not be convicted based on just one side's testimony.

"Someone delivered a message from the capital? Who was the messenger? Was their surname Kong or Lu?" Lu Congyue asked directly.

"Well... I don't know either. They wouldn't pass it on to a nobody like me."

Lu Congyue pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "I understand. I will investigate this matter. You still need to keep a close eye on Lin Wei. For an instigator like this, with someone leaking information... abusing power for personal gain, using influence to oppress others... do people in Beijing really think they're superior?"

The other party responded, and Lu Congyue hung up the phone, rubbing his forehead.

He didn't believe those two thugs could find Zhuang Qingxiang by accurately scaling the wall in the middle of the night; he said it was just a coincidence. He investigated for a long time before finally finding Lin Wei. He stayed in the provincial capital for a few days and sent Lin Wei to the police station.

He hadn't even mentioned this to Zhuang Qingxiang yet, but unexpectedly Lu Li went to find him, and Kong Yazhen even got involved.

It seems the person who came to deliver the message was a member of the Kong family.

In the evening, Lu Congyue went directly to the Kong family.

When Kong Jun and Li Zhenhong saw him coming, they were first surprised, and then warmly welcomed him.

After all, he's the future son-in-law; it's best not to make things too awkward.

To everyone's surprise, the first thing Lu Congyue said after sitting down was to question him about why he had stepped in to protect an instigator.

Kong Jun was stunned. He slammed his hand on the sofa armrest and shouted angrily, "What do you mean by that? When have I, Kong Jun, ever made such a mistake?!"

"I don't know if you did it or not, but you've made a mistake," Lu Congyue scoffed. "I won't let this go so easily!"

He showed no interest in drinking tea, and after finishing his sentence, he got up to take his leave.

Kong Jun and Li Zhenhong, the elderly couple, looked at each other in bewilderment. After a long while, Li Zhenhong finally asked, "What exactly does he mean by that?"

"How would I know? Protect an instigator? You must be joking. Would I, Kong Jun, do such a thing?" Kong Jun slammed his fist on the sofa armrest a few more times in anger.

Li Zhenhong quickly comforted him, afraid that he would get too angry and end up in the hospital like Lu Sheng.

"Or should we call our son back and ask him?" Li Zhenhong asked uncertainly.

Kong Jun frowned and pondered for a moment before saying directly, "It probably has nothing to do with the two sons. Ask Guan Jing if she can get in touch with Ya Zhen and tell her to come back as soon as possible."

"Yazhen is protecting an instigator? That's impossible!" Li Zhenhong shook his head. "Yazhen isn't that kind of person."

"Let's send someone back first and ask them what's going on." Kong Jun stood up and paced back and forth a few times. "I'm getting on in years, and I don't want to ruin my reputation in my old age."

They are both over sixty years old and about to retire. All they want is for their three children to be successful, and for them to live a peaceful life. They don't want to cause any trouble that would make them a laughingstock.

After leaving the Kong family, Lu Congyue checked out of the guesthouse, took his luggage, and went to the train station. He bought a ticket to the provincial capital to see what was going on.

At that moment, Kong Yazhen and Lin Wei were boarding a train at the provincial capital's train station, their destination being Beijing.

This was Lu Guoqiang's request. He got Lin Wei out of trouble on the condition that she come to Beijing to see how she could bite Lu Congyue in the bud.

Kong Yazhen was actually a little worried. She repeatedly warned Lin Wei that if anything happened, she could push it onto Zhuang Qingxiang, but not Lu Congyue.

"He is my fiancé after all, and I don't want anything to happen to him."

"Sister Yazhen, I know, don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Lin Wei had lost weight and didn't look as flamboyant as before, instead appearing somewhat timid and pitiful.

But no one knew that she harbored boundless hatred for Lu Congyue and Zhuang Qingxiang.

Since Lu Congyue looks down on him, what does it matter to her whether he gets into trouble or lives?

She just wants to see Lu Congyue and Zhuang Qingxiang die!

The situation is tense on Lu Congyue's side.

Zhuang Qingxiang, on the other hand, seemed relaxed.

With Kong Yazhen and Lu Li gone, Zhuang Qingxiang felt relieved and no longer worried about being blocked when she went out.

She resumed her daily routine of helping out at the cafeteria.

Coincidentally, autumn is a time of many auspicious days, and Master Jiang and Jiang Weihai took on three wedding banquet jobs. Jiang Weihai took the opportunity to help Zhuang Qingxiang sell a batch of pastries and candies.

Zhuang Qingxiang received twenty yuan from the three wedding banquets.

Zhuang Qingxiang kept expressing her gratitude to Master Jiang and Jiang Weihai. Thinking that the Jiang family had also helped her with the embroidery fabric, she simply took some of her homemade pastries, baked bread, and biscuits and took her two children to the Jiang family to express her thanks.

When Jiang's mother saw that she had brought two children alone, she was overjoyed. She quickly invited her in, helped put the children on the kang (a heated brick bed) in the room, and then held her hand, asking her how she was doing and whether she had used the fabric she had brought earlier.

"It worked! The expert was very happy," Zhuang Qingxiang said with a smile. "Didn't Master Jiang tell you when he got back?"

"He did tell me, but as a grown man, he didn't really understand this and couldn't explain it clearly. He only said that the factory reimbursed him for the cost of the fabric."

Jiang's mother smiled and said, "If you ask me, we absolutely cannot accept this money."

Zhuang Qingxiang laughed and said, "Since the factory gave it to you, just take it. The government can't take even a needle or thread from the people, have you forgotten?"

After exchanging a few jokes, Zhuang Qingxiang handed all the things she had made to Jiang's mother, who obliged and immediately opened one and took a bite.

"This is bread? I heard the old man and Wei Hai say that you baked bread for that foreign expert, and I was curious about what it was. So this is what it tastes like." Jiang's mother exclaimed in surprise as she ate.

"If you like, I'll bake some more for you later." Zhuang Qingxiang's eyes crinkled into a smile.

She felt happy to see that others enjoyed her cooking so much.

The more Jiang's mother looked at Zhuang Qingxiang, the more pleasing she became; she thought she was perfect no matter how she looked at her.

She's beautiful, skilled, and can even cook Western food—how can there be such a wonderful woman?

Thinking of her son's awkwardness with words, and how he hadn't dared to express his feelings after all this time, Jiang's mother couldn't help but ask, "Qingxiang, you've been helping out in the cafeteria kitchen lately, so you must be quite familiar with Weihai now, right? What do you think of him?"

"Master Jiang is very good," Zhuang Qingxiang said honestly. "He has excellent skills and a good temper."

"Right? I know my son, he has a good temper." Mother Jiang said with a smile, "You don't know, the neighbors used to say that whoever marries my Weihai will be set for life."

Zhuang Qingxiang understood the meaning behind Jiang's mother's words, and her smile faded slightly.

"Auntie, I have to hurry back; I have a lot of chores to do at home." She got up to say goodbye.

Jiang's mother quickly grabbed her: "No, no, how can you leave so soon after arriving? Look at all the things you brought with you, you have to stay and have a meal before you go."

"No need," Zhuang Qingxiang politely declined. "Auntie, I really have things to do, so I won't stay. I'll come see you again next time."

Seeing how determined she was, even carrying the child on her back, Jiang's mother was a little anxious: "Stay a little longer, chat with your aunt, Wei Hai will be back soon."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Jiang Weihai's voice rang out from outside.

"Mother, I'm back."