Chapter 323: The Annihilation of a Family
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
Draped in a crimson wedding robe, Lu Yuan Ze welcomed the delicate and charming Shi Yun.
Shi Yun, carrying a dowry worth a fortune, married into his household.
On the joyous day of their union, he abandoned Shi Yun to secretly rendezvous with Madam Pei.
Later…
Lu Yan Shu fell into the water, becoming a cripple, and was forced to wed Jiang Yun Jin.
Jiang Yun Jin tormented Lu Yan Shu in private, forcing him to crawl between her legs, bark like a dog, and drink urine, subjecting him to the utmost humiliation.
The second son fell in love with Su Zhi Qing and quarreled with Madam Xu for her sake.
The third son was led astray, indulging in vice and gambling, ultimately reduced to a human swine.
He saw his plan succeed, framing the Xu family, leading to their execution.
He successfully married Madam Pei, Lu Jing Huai triumphed in all three imperial exams, and Lu Jing Yao won the Crown Prince’s favor. His son and daughter gained renown throughout the capital.
He rose to power, becoming an esteemed noble of the court.
All of Northern Zhao lay within his grasp.
In the dream, there was no Lu Chao Chao, no favored Princess Zhao Yang.
There was no Xu Shi Yun divorcing him, nor Rong Che marrying into their family.
As the first rooster crowed and dawn broke, Lu Yuan Ze jolted awake from his dream.
In the dream, he was flattered and revered, holding immense power, with a beautiful wife and accomplished children, the ultimate victor in life.
Yet now…
He lay in the courtyard, unkempt and trembling in the cold, unnoticed by all.
The courtyard was eerily quiet, as if this winter was harsher than usual.
Was it truly a dream?
“Was it all just a dream?” The disparity between dream and reality was vast, two extremes apart.
Lu Yuan Ze could no longer distinguish between them.
And yet, everything in that dream had felt so real.
“No… everything is different. Shi Yun divorced me, Yan Shu triumphed in the imperial exams, Zheng Yue became a general, the third son took the righteous path, and Chao Chao…” His voice trembled.
“Chao Chao… she is alive.”
In the dream, Chao Chao had been drowned. It was Lu Jing Yao who took her place, raised under Shi Yun’s name.
There was an extra Chao Chao in this world.
Everything had changed.
Lu Yuan Ze neither wept nor laughed. “I remember now! I remember! It was all wrong, everything was wrong…”
With a dull thud, he collapsed onto the ground.
“Why? Why now, Heaven? Why let me recall when it’s already too late? There’s nothing I can do now!”
“I was supposed to be the victor! I was meant to be!”
Recalling his current predicament, he spiraled into madness.
His body withered, and there were no sons to carry on his legacy.
“Master! Master, where are you?” A servant searched frantically, finding him collapsed on the ground, hastily trying to help, yet failing to lift him up.
“What is that noise outside?” Lu Yuan Ze’s voice was hoarse.
The servant hesitated. “Today, General Rong is getting married. No, rather, he is marrying into the family. From now on, he will reside there…”
Lu Yuan Ze clenched his fists.
“Master, please rest…” the servant whispered.
Lu Yuan Ze waved him away, staggering back to the main courtyard.
But it had long been occupied by Lu Yuan Xi. Today, Lu Yuan Xi was out, leaving only Lu Jing Huai basking in the sun.
“Why not go have a drink at the wedding? It’s your ex-wife’s wedding, after all. You should have an extra cup. Without your divorce, General Rong wouldn’t have his place today,” Lu Jing Huai remarked, his eyes brimming with disdain.
Lu Yuan Ze remained silent, his expression dark as he glared at Lu Jing Huai.
“You should also see how your three sons and one daughter now call Rong Che their father.”
“How does it feel, having driven your own children away?”
“This is all of your own making! You deserve it! You wanted Xu Shi Yun’s noble lineage and virtue to elevate you, yet you also craved Mother’s gentle affection. You wanted everything, but you only ended up destroying yourself!”
“Your ruin is your own karma!”
Lu Yuan Ze’s voice turned cold. “When did you learn the truth of your own birth?”
Lu Jing Huai, now a madman himself, no longer cared. “Didn’t you already guess?!”
“Lu Yan Shu became a scholar at eight, the entire city spoke of his talent. Mother, trapped in pain, sought comfort in Lu Yuan Xi, and I saw it all.”
He had known the truth from a young age.
“So, you knew all along! Yet despite knowing, you still harmed Yan Shu! You are just as vicious as your mother!”
Even in his dream, he had been deceived.
In both lifetimes, he had been played like a fool!
“If I didn’t act, I would forever be nothing more than a shameful bastard! If the truth came to light, I’d be no better than a castaway!”
“My first act upon learning the truth was to eliminate Lu Yan Shu!”
“I was meant to take everything from him!”
“And now, you have no choice but to rely on me. You have no children, no descendants. When you die, even your funeral rites will depend on me!” Lu Jing Huai let out a low chuckle.
But as he laughed—
A sickening squelch.
He slowly looked down. A dagger had pierced deep into his chest. Blood trickled down Lu Yuan Ze’s trembling hands.
Lu Jing Huai’s mouth gaped open in shock, his mind blank.
Lu Yuan Ze’s laughter grew manic. “Two lifetimes… you deceived me in both!”
Another stab.
As Lu Yuan Ze pulled the dagger free, blood spurted from Lu Jing Huai’s chest. He collapsed to the ground, his life slipping away as he watched Lu Yuan Ze enter the bedroom.
Inside, Jiang Yun Jin was bound like a dog beside the bed.
Lu Yuan Ze’s eyes were vacant as he plunged his dagger into her, her shrieks filling the air.
“Wretched woman! You insatiable wretch! Why did you betray Yan Shu? Why did you torment him? How dare you force him to crawl and drink urine?! You deserved death! All of you deserved death!” He stabbed again and again.
Jiang Yun Jin’s screams reached a fevered pitch, yet the rope around her throat left her no escape.
Blood soaked her entire body.
“I… I didn’t…”
“Father, I didn’t…” Jiang Yun Jin wailed, but Lu Yuan Ze mercilessly slit her throat.
A gaping wound opened in her neck, blood gushing forth.
She tried to cover it, but it spilled through her fingers, dripping onto the floor.
Her lifeless eyes stared toward the door.
Lu Yuan Ze slumped onto the ground, his face and hands drenched in blood.
“Hahahaha… hahaha…”
“All of them deserved to die.”
“Shi Yun, I regret it.”
He threw the dagger aside, donned his old wedding robe, and ran through the streets like a madman.
“Shi Yun, I was wrong. I regret it. Shi Yun, forgive me.”
Lu Yuan Ze, laughing and crying, shoved past the guards and burst into the wedding hall. Inside, Rong Che and Shi Yun were in the midst of their vows.
“Shi Yun, I had a dream.” Lu Yuan Ze, still in his wedding attire, failed to realize the blood staining his robes.
His eyes were unfocused as he gazed at Shi Yun.
“Shi Yun, in my dream, you never divorced me. You never remarried with our three sons and daughter.”
“You were mine in life, and even in death, you would belong to the Lu family.” Shi Yun trembled violently.
He… had regained memories of his past life?
Rong Che stepped forward, shielding her.
“How could you marry Rong Che?!”
“Shi Yun, I was wrong. Let’s go back. Let’s return to how things were before, shall we?”
“Lu Jing Huai is dead. Jiang Yun Jin is dead. Madam Pei is dead. Lu Jing Yao is dead. Even Mother is dead. Hahaha, they’re all dead. No one can hurt you anymore. Let’s go back to before, shall we?”
“I killed them all!” He lifted his head, and only then did the crowd notice the blood on his face and hands.
“AHH!!” The guests recoiled in horror.