The whole family is insanely eavesdropping on my thoughts Chapter 572
Chapter 572: Two Top Scholars from One Family
When Shan Shan woke up, he felt surprisingly refreshed.
“Last night, the young master didn’t cry or fuss. That truly shocked me.” The wet nurse had eavesdropped at the door multiple times through the night, yet she had not heard a single wail.
She had even pushed the door open slightly to take a peek.
The siblings were fast asleep, deep in slumber, without a trace of disturbance.
“Indeed, since birth, Young Master Shan Shan has always woken up crying each night.” And his cries were always sharp and miserable. Even the imperial physician had been helpless in resolving it.
Lu Chao Chao, her hair curled into two tufts on her forehead, sat up groggily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
Shan Shan obediently reached out towards the wet nurse.
“Oh my, our little young master wants milk. Such a good boy. If only he could be this well-behaved every day.”
“Princess, breakfast is already prepared in the manor. May I assist you in getting up?”
Still drowsy, Lu Chao Chao murmured indistinctly, “Where is Mother?”
The maid covered her mouth and giggled. “Madam has been waiting outside the door for quite some time now. Today, the results of the Palace Examination will be announced.”
At that, Lu Chao Chao immediately sobered up.
“Dress me in a red gown, something festive!” Today was a special day for her third brother.
Just as she spoke, magpies outside the window chirped in a lively manner.
“Oh, magpies singing! That’s a sign of good fortune today!” No sooner had the young maid finished speaking than the sound of drums and gongs resounded from outside.
“Aiya! That must be the celebratory drumbeats!”
Lu Chao Chao had not even touched her breakfast before she rushed straight towards the main entrance.
Sure enough, her mother, Shi Yun, was standing there, wiping away tears of joy, while General Rong was instructing the servants to hand out celebratory money to the Eunuch Wang who had brought the news.
This was the Emperor’s personally appointed Top Scholar—an honor so grand that the eunuch had come in person to deliver the news.
Seeing the little princess running towards them in small steps, Eunuch Wang dared not accept the money. However, General Rong simply said, “Take it and bask in the fortune of the Top Scholar.”
Only then did Eunuch Wang respectfully accept it. Though this money—he would not dare to spend. Instead, he would preserve it for generations.
Having adopted several orphans as his children, he now had descendants to pass it down to.
With reddened eyes, Shi Yun instructed, “Prepare incense, wax, and paper money. We must visit the ancestral hall of Marquis Zhongyong’s Manor and inform our ancestors.”
Deng Zhi curled her lips. “Madam, why bother informing the Lu Family?”
She harbored no goodwill towards the Marquis Zhongyong’s Manor.
Rong Che grinned secretly. “You don’t understand Madam’s intentions.”
“Having two Top Scholars from the same lineage—what an extraordinary honor! That’s the kind of blessing that comes once in a lifetime. The Marquis Zhongyong’s Manor cast away this golden opportunity, so of course, we must inform them properly.”
Rong Che had already prepared the offerings. He and Shi Yun headed out without hesitation.
Deng Zhi chuckled. “This is hardly an announcement of joy—it’s pure revenge. Even their ancestors might be rolling in their graves.”
She delighted in such affairs, but someone had to stay behind to manage the household. So, she could only watch begrudgingly as they left to burn offerings.
The Lu Family’s remaining descendants followed closely behind Shi Yun.
Somewhere along the way, they had grown up—now strong enough to protect their mother, no longer the same children who were cast out of their home in disgrace.
Lu Chao Chao tilted her head in thought, then quietly stepped into a corner. She formed a hand seal and murmured, “Great Emperor Feng Du, allow my ancestors of the Lu Family to return to the mortal realm for a brief moment.”
She remembered that the Old Madam and Lu Yuan Ze were still suffering in the Eighteenth Level of the Underworld.
Pardon her, but she was about to open a backdoor.
The Marquis Zhongyong’s Manor had long been reduced to ashes by Lu Yuan Ze’s fire. Fortunately, the ancestral hall was far enough to escape the flames.
Now, the place was covered in dense cobwebs. Servants cleared a path, but the ground was already overgrown with moss, and the walls were coated in soot from the fire. The lingering stench of rot mixed with the scent of dampened decay.
The courtyard grass had grown waist-high. The group struggled through the overgrown path to reach the ancestral hall.
Though untouched by flames, the once majestic hall had deteriorated under years of abandonment. Once a place of solemn grandeur, it now stood in utter ruin.
The doors creaked and swayed precariously, covered in spider silk.
Lu Chao Chao blinked and turned her gaze towards a shadowy corner of the hall, thick with an eerie chill.
Sure enough, the spectral forms of the Old Madam and Lu Yuan Ze stood there—translucent, barely holding form, as if a gust of wind could scatter them.
The Old Madam gazed wildly at the familiar surroundings, weeping and laughing as she reached out to touch them.
However, when she accidentally stepped into a beam of light shining through a broken rooftop, she let out a shrill wail and scrambled back into the shadows.
[Have I returned? Have I truly returned to the Marquis’s Manor?]
[This is my home. This is our home, Yuan Ze…]
She had spent an eternity suffering in the depths of the Eighteenth Level of the Underworld, longing to return to her days of luxury—to be the Old Madam with a devoted grandson and a submissive daughter-in-law who served her without question.
[Has the manor truly fallen into such ruin?] Lu Yuan Ze murmured, staring at the ancestral plaques before him, tears falling in large drops.
Suddenly, there was movement outside the door.
With a creak, the cobweb-covered entrance was pushed open, and the servants and maids filed in.
The Old Madam let out a startled cry. [It’s Shi Yun! I knew it—Shi Yun has always been filial.]
[In winter, when my feet ached, she would warm them with her body.]
[When I was in pain, she would massage me through the night.]
[When I craved buns in the dead of night, she would rise and prepare them for me.]
Lu Yuan Ze sighed. [Then why did you torment her?]
The Old Madam’s voice cut off abruptly.
After a long silence, she whispered, [You never loved her either.]
Both fell silent.
They could only watch as the imposing General Rong carefully helped Shi Yun into the hall. Years had passed, yet Shi Yun showed no signs of aging. Instead, she looked even younger, her face glowing with happiness.
“This place is filthy. Don’t dirty your skirt,” Rong Che murmured with concern, noticing a speck of dust on her hem.
“Don’t be so fussy,” Shi Yun laughed softly.
Deng Zhi sighed. “Who would have thought—this once-prestigious Marquis Manor is now a dead lineage, utterly cut off.”
In the corner, the Old Madam was filled with regret.
The Lu Family had perished, its bloodline severed.
Lu Yuan Ze stared dazedly at Shi Yun, at the children standing by her side.
“Though we were cast out of the family registry, we still share the same blood. Let’s light incense for them—let them see that even without the Marquis’s Manor, we have thrived.”
Shi Yun’s voice was calm, yet carried a hint of triumph.
“The crippled eldest son is now the ruler of Southern Kingdom.”
“The former wastrel, Zheng Yue, now commands the border as a mighty general.”
“The once foolish Yuan Xiao has secured the title of Top Scholar, the second in our family to do so.”
“Oh, and he achieved Three Top Ranks.”
“As for Chao Chao, there’s no need to mention. With her here, not even the Three Realms dare make a move. Our family is revered now—but, alas, the Marquis’s Manor had no fortune to partake in it.”
“Today, Yuan Xiao has achieved glory, and we have come to share the good news.”
From behind, Rong Che poked his head out. “I’m the lucky one—I got to claim such outstanding children for my household. We should go offer incense at the Rong Family’s Ancestral Hall next.”
Lu Yuan Ze’s eyes bled crimson tears.
Like clowns hiding in the darkness, they could only watch from the shadows—
Peering at the happiness that had once been theirs.
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation