Chapter 119

Chapter 119: The Unlucky Fool Chasing Debts

This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.

Jiang Yun Mo’s face turned deathly pale, devoid of all color.

“Young Master Jiang, don’t forget to eat dung while standing on your head,” the servant teased with a sly smile as he glanced at him.

Meanwhile, Lu Yan Shu walked out of the Marquis Zhongyong’s Manor under everyone’s astonished gazes.

The cripple had stood up.

Lu Yan Shu, who had been paralyzed for ten years, stood up again.

This news stirred up a storm in the capital city.

Although Lu Yuan Ze hadn’t been present at the scene, he heard the loud and heartfelt congratulations from the crowd, barely able to maintain his composed smile.

“Congratulations to the Marquis for such joyous occasions! Your eldest son, paralyzed for ten years, can now stand again.”

“The Marquis is truly blessed!”

Lu Yuan Ze’s face darkened. Blessed? Truly blessed?

But Lu Yan Shu had already divorced and left the household!

Jiang Yun Jin noticed Lu Jing Huai trembling uncontrollably and gently tugged on his sleeve. “Jing Huai, what’s wrong?” she asked worriedly, her eyes filled with concern.

Lu Jing Huai’s hands were icy cold, his complexion ashen.

“Yun Jin, do you regret breaking off your engagement with him?” Lu Jing Huai suddenly asked.

Jiang Yun Jin pursed her lips, her cheeks flushing shyly.

“He hasn’t read a single book in ten years. So what if he can stand again? Could he ever compare to you, Jing Huai?”

“Besides…” Jiang Yun Jin’s eyes glimmered with a hint of affection.

On Lu Chao Chao’s first birthday, she… she had already become Lu Jing Huai’s woman.

In just two more months, they would be wed.

Lu Jing Huai, however, seemed distracted and didn’t catch what Jiang Yun Jin was saying. He left the guests behind and hurried out, his brows furrowed with an almost panicked expression. He rushed toward the outskirts of the city, stopping only when he reached a dilapidated temple.

Inside the ruined temple, a few filthy beggars huddled in groups of twos and threes. Seeing him enter, they eyed him warily.

Lu Jing Huai walked to the back of a worn Buddha statue, where an old blind beggar leaned against the wall with closed eyes.

Taking out a few steamed buns from his chest, Lu Jing Huai handed them to the old man.

“Granduncle, have some food.”

The sound of his voice startled the beggar awake. The old man opened his mouth and began to make guttural snarls, baring his teeth at him in fury. But his toothless gums revealed the dark, empty cavern of his mouth—his tongue had been cut out.

The old beggar’s eyes were sunken, his eyeballs gouged out long ago.

“Granduncle, keep your voice down. Be careful, or someone will snatch your food,” Lu Jing Huai said, staring deeply at him.

“Granduncle, you did such a thing for my sake. Jing Huai is kindhearted, so I spared your life.”

“Granduncle, you always favored me. You’ll forgive me, won’t you?”

“Back then, when Lu Yan Shu fell into the water and managed to climb ashore, it was you who struck his head with a rock and threw him back into the river. If Father knew you destroyed his son, how could he ever forgive you?”

The old beggar roared like a madman at him. Blind and mute, there was nothing he could do. Pointing in Lu Jing Huai’s direction, he howled wildly in frustration.

“Granduncle, I was just a child back then. How could I have ordered you to do such a thing?” Lu Jing Huai laughed maliciously.

He hated Lu Yan Shu.

Why? Why could Lu Yan Shu openly call Father his?

Why could he easily become a genius?

And what about himself?

His mother had pushed him relentlessly, from dawn to dusk, to no avail. He could never match even a fraction of Lu Yan Shu’s brilliance.

Every day, his mother scolded him, berated him for his lack of progress, for failing to hold onto his father, for being a fool, for not being as good as Lu Yan Shu.

He hated it.

At last, he had pulled the celestial child down from his pedestal.

The panic within Lu Jing Huai gradually subsided, his mind calming down.

“So what if you can stand again? I have Yun Jin, a ten-year head start. Why should I fear you?” Lu Jing Huai chuckled softly, his eyes filled with madness.

“Now that you’ve been kicked out of the Marquis’s Manor in disgrace, it’s time for you to taste what I endured back then.”

“Everything you had will be mine.”

“Father, reputation, your fiancée, your talent—all mine!”

Lu Jing Huai strode coldly out of the ruined temple, paying no heed to the blind old beggar’s enraged wails.

All of this had nothing to do with Lu Chao Chao.

She was happily gnawing on a leg of lamb, her hands holding it firmly as she savored each bite.

The Xu family had all gathered at the Lu family’s residence.

“Walk a few steps, quick, let your uncle see!” The Third Uncle beamed with excitement, with Third Aunt trailing behind, her brows softened in a rare smile.

For reasons she couldn’t fathom, her usually indifferent husband was suddenly showering her with affection.

Lu Yan Shu no longer clung to the wall for support. The jade-like young man stood tall and proud in the courtyard.

“He can walk again! Truly walk again!”

“Sister, you’ve finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel,” a few of her sisters-in-law exclaimed, their joyful tears flowing freely.

“Yan Shu intends to participate in this year’s autumn provincial exam, doesn’t he?”

Lu Yan Shu nodded in affirmation and then followed his uncles to the study.

Meanwhile, the twin children of the second household, both slow-witted, were happily feeding Lu Chao Chao.

[Want water.]

Xu Yu Qing immediately gave her a sip.

[Wipe my mouth.]

Xu Yu Heng dutifully wiped her face.

“These two children often play with Chao Chao, and now they can even communicate in simple phrases,” the Second Madam exclaimed tearfully. They had even learned to say simple words like “Mother” and “Father.”

Madam Xu mused that their progress might be due to their ability to hear Lu Chao Chao’s inner voice.

“Has Second Brother returned from managing the floodwaters yet?” Madam Xu asked.

Second Sister-in-law sighed. “The flooding has subsided, but resettling the refugees is proving to be a monumental task.”

“The state treasury is empty, and His Majesty can’t produce the funds.”

“I heard from Eldest Brother that His Majesty is considering ways to call in debts,” someone added.

“And no one knows who will get saddled with that unlucky task. Everyone’s avoiding it like the plague…”

At court, many officials had borrowed from the national treasury. Recovering these debts could provide immediate relief to the crisis.

[Debt collection, debt collection! The big officials in Northern Zhao have lots of money!] Lu Chao Chao’s inner voice rang out.

The little one had no inkling that the task of collecting debts would soon fall upon her.

By evening, an imperial messenger arrived.

“His Majesty has been troubled with headaches recently and longs for Miss Chao Chao. He’s sent me to escort her to the palace for a brief stay,” Eunuch Wang said with an exceedingly kind demeanor. He was well aware of Lu Chao Chao’s importance to the Emperor.

“Liang-qin, Chao Chao will be back tomorrow,” the little girl said as she rode off atop a dog, following Eunuch Wang.

Xu Yi Ting frowned deeply. “Is His Majesty being overly fond of Chao Chao?”

Madam Xu’s expression turned awkward. “Elder Brother, he’s… also overly fond of Shi Yun.”

Madam Xu hesitated to explain further.

The Emperor seemed to harbor improper intentions toward her but had been gently rebuffed.

Xu Yi Ting: ?????

Upon arriving at the Imperial Study, Lu Chao Chao heard angry shouts from within.

“Useless! A bunch of good-for-nothings!”

“You can’t even recover the funds that were loaned out!”

“What’s the point of me keeping you all around?” The Emperor was furious, fully aware that these old ministers were wealthier than he was.

The money borrowed during the Late Emperor’s reign had yet to be repaid.

“Your Majesty, this humble servant managed to recover only three thousand taels. They all claim to have no money,” said Vice Minister Wu of the Ministry of Revenue, his face twisted in distress. Debt collection was a thankless job that risked offending all the officials in court.

“What about the Minister of Personnel? He borrowed thirty thousand taels from the treasury two decades ago!” The Emperor’s beard quivered in anger.

Vice Minister Wu wiped the cold sweat from his brow. He didn’t dare approach the Minister of Personnel.

“Lord Zhou said, ‘There’s no money, and if need be, His Majesty can dock my salary.’” Vice Minister Wu hunched his shoulders.

“Dock his salary? That’d take until his next life!”

“I even sent people to search his residence. It’s completely barren!” Vice Minister Wu’s nervous sweat dripped continuously. Heaven forbid if the Emperor asked him to collect the debts himself.

The Emperor’s rage was enough to make his vision blur. That old fox Zhou Lang had always presented himself as impoverished, leaving no trace of his wealth for others to seize.

The Crown Prince, noticing the small figure standing outside, immediately went over and scooped her up. “Are you feeling hot?” he asked before ordering a eunuch to bring cooling melons and fruits.

[Hehe, the Minister of Personnel is such a convincing actor…] Lu Chao Chao chuckled inwardly.

[His money is all hidden in the walls of his house. A wall made of gold!]

The Crown Prince: !!!!

He had a bold idea.

He had a very bold idea!