Chapter 218: What Was Encountered Back Then

Lu Cheng knew Wu Zhekun was willing to speak, surely it was tied to the reason he took his photo; it seems genuine intent can still earn genuine intent.

When Wu Zhekun was willing to chat, Lu Cheng's curiosity surged; he wanted to know what Lin Zhenfeng had encountered back then.

After all, Lin Zhenfeng's position wasn't low, and both his own family background and his lover's family background could be described as very powerful.

Leaning on the railing at the carriage doorway, the temperature was already low, and the biting cold wind made the chill pierce straight into his bones.

That feeling made Lu Cheng seem to return to the scene in his previous life when he encountered White-Furred Wind in Beidahuang.

Back then Lin Qingyan used her body heat to revive him; in this life, Lu Cheng only wants to do one final thing—to repay Lin Qingyan for saving his life.

And what Lin Qingyan cared about most was her father.

Wu Zhekun, being from the Grand Courtyard and close to Qin Shou, could always grasp some of the inner details from back then.

Wu Zhekun's voice was soft; the words he just uttered were torn apart by the outside cold wind, and Lu Cheng had to prick up his ears to listen.

"Actually, back then Lin Zhenfeng shouldn't have had any trouble..."

Wu Zhekun was silent for a moment, as if lost in memory: "One of his close confidants got into trouble, apparently because a relative fled abroad; after several letters, he got implicated and was labeled a spy."

Lu Cheng nodded slightly; he didn't want to probe the matter of Lin Zhenfeng's confidant, as many things couldn't be clarified.

"Just because that person was Lin Zhenfeng's confidant, Lin Zhenfeng got implicated like that?"

Wu Zhekun turned his head toward Lu Cheng: "Of course not, that's just the fuse; the ultimate calamity that fell on Lin Zhenfeng, when you trace it, is connected to Lin Qingyan."

Lu Cheng didn't understand at first: "What does it have to do with Lin Qingyan? It can't be that his daughter reported something, can it?"

After saying that, Lu Cheng thought it impossible; if Lin Qingyan had reported something, she would have already cut ties with Lin Zhenfeng by now.

In fact, just as he thought, Wu Zhekun outright denied that statement.

"It's not like that; Lin Qingyan had never agreed to marry Shou Sheng. If they had married then, perhaps the later events wouldn't have occurred..."

Lu Cheng didn't interrupt Wu Zhekun's words, but his mind grew more puzzled—how does this again involve Qin Shou?

"But Lin Qingyan's mother was very pleased with Shou Sheng; actually, her satisfaction was only with Shou Sheng's family background—his whole family were politicians, and their positions weren't low."

Wu Zhekun sighed at this: "You have to understand, despite the current freedom in love and marriage, people like us, children of the Grand Courtyard, are still not free; our parents still arrange marriages, and our ultimate fate is to marry someone we don't love, whose family holds official positions."

"To outsiders, this is called a good match of families, but to me, it's a political marriage."

Seeing Lu Cheng say nothing, Wu Zhekun recovered, cleared his throat and said: "Ahem, I've digressed..."

"I remember that year was autumn; Lin Qingyan was invited by Shou Sheng's parents to their home for a meal. Their families were already on good terms, and even though Lin Qingyan didn't really want to go, out of politeness she still went."

"I also went then; Shou Sheng and I drank a lot of wine. Afterwards I got sleepy and went home first, and later I learned that Shou Sheng, emboldened by the alcohol, tried to bully Lin Qingyan..."

Wu Zhekun paused here, deliberately looked at Lu Cheng's reaction, and found no expression on Lu Cheng's face, as if Lin Qingyan weren't his wife; a normal person would be angry upon hearing this.

What a strange thing!

The reason Lu Cheng didn't react is that he has no such romantic feeling for Lin Qingyan; he only intends to protect her temporarily under the name of marriage to repay her.

But Wu Zhekun, unaware of the details, still said: "Don't worry, Shou Sheng didn't succeed; Lin Qingyan jumped straight out of the window at that time."

Lu Cheng then frowned; he hadn't expected Lin Qingyan to be so tough.

Wu Zhekun didn't notice and continued speaking.

"Fortunately it was the second floor, and below were only leaves; Lin Qingyan only suffered minor injuries. Yet the nature of this incident was extremely vile—if it spread, the Qin family's reputation would be affected, and their political prospects would also suffer."

When Lin Qingyan returned home, Lin Zhenfeng learned of the matter and was furious; even though Shou Sheng's mother came to plead, Lin Zhenfeng still refused, determined to demand an explanation, and later...

Wu Zhekun scratched his head recalling: "That very night, Lin Zhenfeng was taken away on the charge of being Pro-Capitalist Faction, and the whole Lin Family fell into chaos, with no mood to tangle with daytime matters anymore."

Lu Cheng, upon hearing this, tentatively asked: "Lin Zhenfeng being taken away—does it involve the Qin Family?"

Wu Zhekun shrugged: "If you ask like that, I can't answer you 100%; but to say there's no connection—I don't believe that, after all those two events happened together that day, it can't be that coincidental."

Lu Cheng smiled: "At least you didn't lie to me."

At least Wu Zhekun dared to voice his opinion.

Lu Cheng asked again: "Even if the Qin Family has power, they can't arbitrarily assign someone a crime, right?"

Wu Zhekun nodded: "Yes, you're right, so this brings us back to the matter of Lin Zhenfeng's confidant I mentioned earlier."

"I don't know the exact details, but that confidant personally identified Lin Zhenfeng, saying he had made many capitalist speeches at numerous meetings, and many people had written denunciation documents at the time."

Lu Cheng asked again: "Are those denunciation documents necessarily true? Didn't Lin Zhenfeng ever defend himself?"

Wu Zhekun turned his head: "Everything was chaotic then; even if Lin Zhenfeng wanted to defend himself, he couldn't outtalk so many mouths."

Lu Cheng said nothing after hearing that, and Wu Zhekun seemed to know what he was thinking.

"The situation back then was roughly like this; let me advise you, don't think about investigating anything, and certainly don't consider getting involved."

Lu Cheng, as if he hadn't heard, asked: "Where are those denunciation documents now?"

Wu Zhekun sighed helplessly: "I just gave you that futile warning."

"It's okay, tell me, I have a sense of it; even if you ask me to do something like soft‑against‑stone, I wouldn't do it."

Lu Cheng knew it wasn't the right time now, but getting a preview might help Lin Zhenfeng achieve Rehabilitation sooner.

Wu Zhekun tapped the railing: "Alright then, those documents are stored in the Beijing Archive; actually, even if I tell you, you have no right to access them—the Archive's materials are strictly confidential."

Lu Cheng leaned on the railing without speaking further; in the night, the fields on both sides of the Iron Rail kept receding backward.

To get Lin Zhenfeng Rehabilitation as soon as possible, one must first examine the denunciation documents, find loopholes, and ideally locate the people who made the accusations back then.

But this matter, though simple in thought, is extremely hard in practice; as Wu Zhekun said, ordinary people can't even get through the Archive's doorway.

About a day later, Lu Cheng lost interest in the matter; train driver Liu Baoquan received bad news that the Railway ahead had been closed.