Visiting Li Tao

Lu Xingchen asked, "Then, should we...?"

The two spoke in unison. "Go to Li Tao's house."

Their destination was settled. Li Tao's house was not far from the Li Family Ancestral Hall, in the northeastern corner of the map.

When they reached Li Tao's front gate, they found two people already there: award-winning television actress Zhao Zhiyan and her husband, Wei Wenxu.

The couple seemed to have just arrived as well. Lu Xingchen and Huo Chuyun nodded in greeting, then began looking over Li Tao's house.

Li Tao's household could hardly be called merely comfortable; it was quite wealthy. Compared with the surrounding blue-brick, tile-roofed houses, Li Tao's newly built villa looked rather imposing from outside.

The more Lu Xingchen looked, the more something seemed wrong. Li Tao's family clearly did not lack money, so why had Wang Xiuli been abused and run away?

Lu Xingchen was the first to knock on the villa's front door. Soon, it opened.

A rather portly man opened the door. He looked dejected, as though immersed in endless grief.

The man looked up in puzzlement. "Can I help you?"

Lu Xingchen explained, "We saw the missing person notice and came to find Li Tao. We'd like to ask about Auntie Wang Xiuli."

"I'm Li Tao." Li Tao stepped aside and gestured for them to enter. "Come in first."

Once the four of them had sat down, a young woman dressed as a servant poured them water.

Lu Xingchen discreetly studied the woman.

The woman was timid and did not dare look anyone in the eye. She also seemed to have trouble moving, swinging her legs like an octopus as she walked.

Lu Xingchen asked Li Tao outright, "Mr. Li, may I ask if this young woman injured her legs? She doesn't look very steady on her feet."

Li Tao took a sip of tea and explained casually, "She slipped while bathing a few days ago. I had her see a doctor and gave her a few days off, but she still seems to be like this."

Zhao Zhiyan, who had just returned to work after giving birth, said with certainty, "But she doesn't look like she fell. She looks more like she's just given birth."

Seeing Li Tao's expression instantly darken as though he had taken offense, Wei Wenxu immediately tugged at Zhao Zhiyan and tried to smooth things over.

"Please don't misunderstand, Mr. Li. My wife just gave birth. As they say, pregnancy makes you stupid for three years. Sometimes she isn't thinking clearly. She's just talking nonsense, so don't take it seriously."

Lu Xingchen frowned at Wei Wenxu, then saw Zhao Zhiyan shake off Wei Wenxu's hand and speak aggrievedly.

"Why do you keep saying pregnancy makes me stupid for three years? Is that supposed to be a compliment? I don't like you saying that about me. I just gave birth myself. How could I not know? That girl clearly just gave birth, and her pelvis hasn't fully closed yet, so that's the only way she can walk!"

Seeing Zhao Zhiyan embarrass him in public, Wei Wenxu put on a stern expression, but his voice remained gentle.

"An injury can make someone walk like that too. Didn't Mr. Li already say she hurt herself slipping in the bath? It's perfectly normal to walk like that after injuring your pelvis."

"We're discussing established facts. Making groundless guesses like this is just being unreasonable."

Sounding a little uncertain, Zhao Zhiyan said, "I just thought she walked a little like I did right after my postpartum confinement..."

Wei Wenxu coaxed her patiently. "Stop being unreasonable. Men exercise more, so it's easy for us to tell what causes injuries like this."

"Is it really right to spread rumors that an innocent young woman has been pregnant?"

Hearing Wei Wenxu say that her words would harm the young woman, Zhao Zhiyan shut her mouth in dejection, looking a little lost as though she had done something wrong.

Seeing this, Wei Wenxu gave Zhao Zhiyan a comforting hug and said considerately.

"Next time, you can ask me before you speak. Don't always blurt things out without thinking. You'll easily offend people."

Sitting on the sofa, Huo Chuyun raised his eyebrows in surprise at Wei Wenxu's manipulative remarks. He had not expected someone who looked so honest to be like this in private...

"Are you done putting on an act?"

Lu Xingchen was not about to indulge Wei Wenxu. Seeing Zhao Zhiyan left too bewildered to think straight by his string of patronizing remarks, he rolled his eyes and scoffed.

Wei Wenxu had never heard anything so rude, and for a moment, he could barely maintain his expression.

"What do you mean? Was there anything wrong with what I said? Besides, Zhiyan and I are married. It's hardly your place to interrupt our conversation, Mr. Lu."

"I'm just curious why Sister Zhao, a grown adult, needs to ask your opinion before she speaks and wait for your approval."

"If I remember correctly, the Qing dynasty fell a long fucking time ago. Do you really think you're the emperor? Does everyone need your decree before they can do anything?"

Wei Wenxu snapped in fury, "When did I ever act like an emperor? Have you ever seen an emperor speak so gently to his wife? I only said that because Zhiyan has offended people by being too blunt!"

Zhao Zhiyan wanted to say something to calm them down. Though Wei Wenxu's words were very gentle, they always made her uncomfortable.

Whenever she heard Wei Wenxu say things like this, she always felt she had done something wrong if she did not comply. If she did, she felt prickly all over, as though sitting on pins and needles.

Seeing both Wei Wenxu's and Li Tao's faces visibly darken, Lu Xingchen understood and continued sarcastically.

"You said Sister Zhao was making groundless guesses, but wasn't she basing her guess on her own experience? What's wrong with that? I certainly don't see how she's being unreasonable."

"You're the one whose words make no sense, Wei Wenxu. What's this about men exercising more and being better at identifying injuries? How come I never knew I had a superpower like that?"

Lu Xingchen turned to Huo Chuyun and asked with a smile, "Chuyun, do you have that superpower?"

"You..." Wei Wenxu wanted to say more, but Huo Chuyun cut him off. "Neither do I."

"Sister Zhao, I think you should take another look at your marriage."

Huo Chuyun had worked with Zhao Zhiyan before. All he could do was offer a word or two of warning.

How things turned out would depend on each person's own fortunes.

Wei Wenxu was also the sort who bullied the weak and feared the strong. He only dared argue with Lu Xingchen because he knew Lu Xingchen was a nobody in the entertainment industry with few fans.

Now that he had to confront Huo Chuyun, an award-winning actor at the very top of the entertainment industry, Wei Wenxu did not dare let out so much as a fart.

There was not much time left, so Lu Xingchen did not continue this pointless argument with Wei Wenxu. He stood and asked Li Tao.

"Mr. Li, could you take us to see Auntie Wang Xiuli's room?"

Li Tao's expression visibly stiffened, then returned to normal the next instant. "Of course. My mother used to be very hardworking at home, and she kept her room very clean."

Huo Chuyun followed Li Tao upstairs, asking as they walked, "Why was Auntie Wang wearing a shabby padded coat when she went missing? As I recall, it's still summer."

Li Tao explained, "My mother once had a high fever in the middle of the night that damaged her brain. After that, she became a little slow-witted. She likes wearing padded coats in summer and T-shirts in winter."

"She likes sitting in her room staring into space most of all, and she doesn't like eating either. Someone has to chase after her to feed her every time, so she's a little malnourished, so thin a gust of wind could blow her away."

Li Tao put on a deeply sorrowful expression at just the right moment.