Expose the other party? That’s very difficult.
In front of the family, during a confrontation, Lu Dongliang would hardly give Lu Chunying a chance to speak. Therefore, Lu Chunying couldn’t return to Greenwater City. She could only stay in Qi Qiu City.
Would "Lu Dongliang" possibly chase her to Qi Qiu City and try to harm Lu Chunying? You’d have to ask Qiu Luoye, and the three thousand Three-Headed People. Qi Qiu City was Li Qi’s stronghold. In this territory, Li Qi didn’t fear any master from Above the Clouds.
Until Duan Shaoxia permitted "Lu Dongliang" to enter the household, his identity wouldn’t be truly confirmed. Lu Chunying merely had to remain in Qi Qiu City, manage her business, and maintain an attitude of not stooping to the level of a conman. That way, "Lu Dongliang" would be powerless against her.
What was Duan Shaoxia’s attitude? She was under immense pressure.
"Xiuling, go and check for me again—is that Dongliang truly genuine?"
Zhang Xiuling was speechless. In the past few days, she had attended three banquets of various sizes and had confirmed it three times. "Sister," she said, "from what I can tell, he truly is Lu Dongliang. I really can’t find any flaws. If you don’t trust me, go meet him in person. If meeting outside is inconvenient, then invite him to our home. He’ll have to return to this family eventually anyway."
"No, that won’t do! We can’t just let him come!" Duan Shaoxia shook her head repeatedly.
「But how long could Duan Shaoxia hold out?」
He Yuxiu went to Loess Bridge and found Li Banfeng. "Brother Seven," she said, "I’m a bit scared. The whole Lu Dongliang affair involved me. Lu Dongjun is dead, Zhuo Yuling is also dead, and now Lu Dongliang has returned from Inner State. If he wants revenge, I’ll probably be the first person he comes after."
Li Banfeng smiled. "Xiuer, he really isn’t Lu Dongliang."
"But so many people say he is! Everyone who has seen him says he’s the real deal!"
This matter also intrigued Li Banfeng. All the major newspapers had thoroughly reported that someone was impersonating Lu Dongliang to commit fraud. Everyone knew, yet so many people were still deceived. What was the reason for this?
"Xiuer, this person really isn’t Lu Dongliang. If I say he isn’t, then he isn’t."
"Brother Seven..."
"Xiuer, if you continue to argue, I’m going to have to enforce family discipline."
He Yuxiu didn’t dare to utter a word. Li Banfeng estimated that the time was about right and asked He Yuxiu to wait inside the room.
This was a new inn that Li Banfeng had built at Loess Bridge. He Yuxiu looked around and sighed, "What’s the point in building this? Is there any hope left for Loess Bridge?"
He Yuxiu, biting a cigarette, was gazing out the window when she saw Li Banfeng lead someone into the room from outside.
The man was over forty, tall and straight, with thin cheeks, bushy eyebrows, and big eyes. He was wearing a yellow tweed overcoat.
Upon seeing the man, He Yuxiu spat out the cigarette from her mouth, grabbed the chair nearby, and rushed straight at him.
"Xiuer, stay calm!" Li Banfeng grabbed "Lu Dongliang" and dodged left and right.
"Brother Seven, let’s fight him!" He Yuxiu shouted. "This one’s real! His yellow tweed overcoat is custom-made from Ingrid Country. I’m sure I can’t be mistaken!"
Two minutes later, Li Banfeng sat in the room, panting as he scolded He Yuxiu. "Xiuer, you’ve grown bold, haven’t you? You don’t listen to my words anymore? I told you this one is fake, so why did you attack? Such a good ’Lu Dongliang,’ and you almost broke him!"
He Yuxiu looked ashamed. "Brother Seven, you made this one too realistic. If his voice hadn’t sounded off, I really wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference."
"The voice isn’t right, but we can adjust it. Take another look and see if there are any other flaws."
He Yuxiu examined him carefully again. "Brother Seven, there are no flaws in his appearance. This *is* Lu Dongliang."
Li Banfeng was still fuming. "Do you think renovating an inn is easy? I just finished two rooms, and you’ve already wrecked one!"
He Yuxiu hung her head. "I’ll accept the punishment."
Li Banfeng snorted. "It’s not like I’m short on money!"
He Yuxiu blushed and said, "Then I’ll accept a beating!"
Li Banfeng sighed. "We’ll put that beating on hold for now. Let’s get down to business first."
He Yuxiu glanced at the bed. "I’ll tidy up then."
"Not here. We’re going back to Greenwater City to make this ’Lu Dongliang’ the real one."
He Yuxiu pointed at "Lu Dongliang." "This is a Sweet Melon Person. Trying to pass this off as Lu Dongliang... that might not be convincing, right? Besides, you don’t have Lu Dongliang’s blood, so how did you manage to create this Sweet Melon Person?"
Yes, this was indeed a Sweet Melon Person. It wasn’t made with Lu Dongliang’s blood; it merely had a similar stature to Lu Dongliang.
His wife had applied a layer of clay to this Sweet Melon Person. After repeated sculpting and polishing, it became Lu Dongliang—a Lu Dongliang so flawless externally that no defects could be spotted.