Chapter 258: The Effects of Alcohol
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation
“Chao Chao, Chao Chao…” Lu Yuan Ze repeated his daughter’s name softly, as if invoking a sacred mantra.
[It’s all wrong. Everything was wrong.]
No wonder…
Ever since Chao Chao left, the Marquis Zhongyong’s household began to deteriorate. It was ironic how much he had once valued Lu Jing Yao over her!
“Chao Chao, it was Daddy who made a mistake. It was all Daddy’s fault. Will you come home with Daddy?” Lu Yuan Ze knelt down, his eyes filled with an unusual tenderness as he looked at his daughter.
“Don’t flatter yourself! You wanted to drown Chao Chao to make room for Lu Jing Yao. Do you even deserve to call yourself her father?” Madam Xu’s voice was thick with contempt.
“Chao Chao isn’t even listed in the family registry. What claim do you have over her?”
“Master Lu, please refrain from asserting false relationships,” Madam Xu added, her tone laced with disdain.
Lu Yuan Ze was indeed a mix of greed and foolishness.
Over the years, he had shown no fatherly affection towards Chao Chao. Now, he couldn’t even pretend to care genuinely.
“Master Lu, the abbot wishes to speak with Princess Sunshine. Please…” A young monk gestured politely, inviting him to step away.
Humiliated, Lu Yuan Ze clenched his teeth, took Lu Jing Yao by the hand, and stepped down from the raised platform.
Princess Consort Jingxi couldn’t help but tease, “Master Lu, why are you stepping down? Didn’t you claim to be destined with her?”
“Hey, why are you leaving?” Princess Consort Jingxi giggled behind her hand.
Lu Yuan Ze, simmering with frustration and anger, had to swallow his pride, bow, and exit the scene.
Once he was gone, the abbot turned to Lu Chao Chao with a solemn apology, “Princess, I regret causing you distress. I am truly sorry.”
If not for his earlier prophecy, perhaps Lu Yuan Ze and Madam Xu would not have found themselves in such turmoil.
Madam Xu bowed respectfully, “It is Shi Yun who should be thanking you, Master Shikong.”
“He was the one who first sought a mistress, with malicious intent.”
“Prophecy or not, he would have chosen the same path. He just needed an excuse.”
“This is not your fault.”
Lu Chao Chao, looking curiously at the abbot, chimed in with her baby voice, “Not your fault.”
“Chao Chao tummy big. Chao Chao tummy can hold boat.”
“Can your eyes see?” she asked, waving her small hands in front of the abbot’s face.
The young monk, tears brimming in his eyes, shared, “We’ve consulted the best doctors, but none can explain why the abbot has gone blind. He can’t see a thing…”
“Oh,” Lu Chao Chao murmured.
“Hehe, you’re a nice monk.”
“Last time, I thought you were siding with bad Daddy, so I called you blind monk,” she admitted candidly.
“Maybe, if you sleep, you’ll wake up and can see.”
Her words were mostly ignored.
“Chao Chao is mischievous, please excuse her,” Madam Xu sighed, as the little girl’s blunt comments were quite exasperating.
The abbot’s eyelid twitched slightly.
“The Little Princess is simply being herself; there’s no need for concern,” the abbot reassured, inviting Madam Xu to join him for a sutra reading. She smiled and accepted.
Lu Chao Chao nestled into her mother’s lap, listening to the chanting until she drifted off to sleep.
As the ceremony concluded, the abbot rubbed his eyes thoughtfully.
“Master, you seem troubled by your eyes; you’ve been rubbing them frequently,” the young monk noted with concern.
Hesitating, the abbot replied, “I thought I saw a flicker of light.”
“Master, can you see now?” the young monk asked, hopeful.
“Not yet. It’s still unclear…” The abbot was puzzled by his condition and the odd fluctuations in his vision.
He couldn’t shake off Lu Chao Chao’s earlier words.
[Called him a blind monk… Maybe, sleep, wake up, can see…]
Reflecting on this, the abbot fingered his prayer beads, a strange thought dawning on him.
[Could her scolding have an effect?]
Recalling her radiant aura of virtue, his face stiffened…
[Perhaps her words indeed have power.]
“Amitabha,” the abbot resolved to abandon fortune-telling.
When Lu Chao Chao awoke, it was already evening.
“Where’s big brother?” she asked, rubbing her eyes, still groggy from her long nap.
“The eldest young master and Scholar Li have been invited by classmates.”
“Madam is hosting General Rong,” another servant informed her.
“General Rong has been a great support to the Lu family. Madam has prepared a banquet to express our gratitude.”
“He also invited the eldest uncle, and they are currently drinking in the main hall.”
General Rong was well-known for his unspoken affection for Madam Xu. However, due to her lack of reciprocation, he hesitated to make any formal proposal, fearing it might frighten her.
“Shall I help you change?” Yuhua offered with a smile.
As Lu Chao Chao was about to get up, she paused, her eyes widening with shock and a hint of indignation.
Yuhua and another servant, Yuqin, exchanged glances, puzzled by her reaction.
Lu Chao Chao pointed to the dog lying under the bed, her expression sour, “Chasing Wind climbed on my bed today!!”
“No, it didn’t. I’ve been right outside all this time,” Yuqin responded, looking baffled.
“No, no, Chasing Wind really did climb on my bed,” Lu Chao Chao insisted, eyeing the dog suspiciously.
“Did you climb on my bed, Chasing Wind? And did you pee on it?” she asked the dog sternly.
Chasing Wind only looked back at her, confused.
Yuqin started to speak, but Yuhua subtly shook her head.
“Perhaps… it did climb on your bed,” Yuqin conceded, stealing a glance at the disheveled sheets.
Lu Chao Chao coughed gently.
“Chasing Wind, next time, don’t climb on my bed and pee. This time, I forgive you.”
“Yuqin sister, please help me change clothes.”
“My clothes are all wet,” she added in her characteristic baby voice, causing Yuqin to stifle a laugh as she fetched fresh clothes.
Once dressed, Lu Chao Chao took hold of Chasing Wind’s leash and prepared to head out.
“Why isn’t Chasing Wind moving?” she asked, noticing the dog’s reluctance.
“Maybe it’s too heavy…” Yuhua murmured.
Seeing the dog’s unwillingness, Lu Chao Chao relented.
The little girl, barely two and a half years old, tottered toward the door, her pigtails bobbing with each step.
As she approached, she inadvertently overheard General Rong’s drunken confessions.
“Shi Yun, I don’t dare hope you’ll marry me… hic, I just want to ask, will you take me in?” General Rong slurred, his face flushed, his gaze unfocused.
“Brother Yi Ting, I promise, I promise to love Shi Yun alone forever, never betraying her…”
“Shi Yun, I can’t live without you… hic…”
“If not for you, I’d rather live alone forever.”
“Shi Yun, ever since I met you, there’s been no one else in my heart…”
“I’m not here to break up this family, I’m here to join it. Shi Yun…” General Rong clung to Xu Yi Ting’s hand, repeatedly calling her Shi Yun, tears brimming in his eyes—a stark contrast to the fierce warrior he was known to be on the battlefield.
Xu Yi Ting’s eyelid twitched.
[So cheesy, so cheesy!]
Madam Xu’s face betrayed a touch of embarrassment, but her eyes twinkled with amusement.
Lu Chao Chao sneaked under the table, unnoticed by Madam Xu and Xu Yi Ting who pretended not to see her.
While General Rong was distracted, Chao Chao snagged a chicken leg from the table and crouched underneath, biting into it eagerly.
[Huff… The chicken leg is so spicy, why did they add chili?]
[Water, water, water…]
Before anyone could react, she quickly grabbed a small wine cup from the table and downed it in one gulp.
Madam Xu was shocked!
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation
That was General Rong’s cup, filled with strong liquor!
Lu Chao Chao finished it all at once.
[Huh, the cup had water?]
[Why is Uncle Rong so drunk then?]
Madam Xu: ???
Xu Yi Ting: ???