Chapter 104: Capturing the Father in an Urn
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
Lu Chao Chao, at her first birthday celebration, reached out and grabbed the Emperor’s jade thumb ring.
The Old Madam’s face turned green.
Lu Jing Yao clutched the Old Madam’s hand, her eyes brimming with tears. She gazed greedily at everything in the estate—the pavilions, the bridges, the flowing streams, even the towering pine tree in the courtyard, each more precious than gold.
“Poor Yao Yao,” the Old Madam said with a sigh. “Next year on your birthday, we’ll hold a grand celebration for you.” Compared to Chao Chao’s lavish affair, Lu Jing Yao’s previous birthday had been dismal.
Pei Jiao Jiao wasn’t as wealthy as Madam Xu. In recent years, Marquis Zhongyong’s estate had been sustained by Madam Xu’s dowry, and now that she kept a tight hold on it, they found themselves struggling. Even if they wanted to help Pei Jiao Jiao, they simply couldn’t.
“Yao Yao doesn’t envy anyone,” Lu Jing Yao declared, burying the envy deep in her heart. “Yao Yao only wishes she could call you Grandmother,” she added, her tone soft and endearing. Her dependence on the Old Madam was apparent, tugging at the elder’s heartstrings.
And what about Lu Chao Chao?
On this special day, her grandmother hadn’t even held her once. The guests couldn’t help but notice.
“How odd, isn’t it? The Old Madam ignores her legitimate granddaughter but dotes on an outsider.”
“Look at poor Chao Chao, staring up so pitifully.”
“Chao Chao’s appearance even surpasses Lu Jing Yao’s.”
The Old Madam only sneered. [What do you all know?]
Back when Pei Jiao Jiao was pregnant, she accompanied the Old Madam to the National Temple, where the venerable abbot, the National Advisor himself, prophesied that this child would be unparalleled in fortune. At the time, Pei Jiao Jiao had been right by her side.
The banquet had just begun when a servant entered to announce, “General Song has arrived, requesting a cup of wine.”
Lu Yuan Ze froze. General Song? The same Song Yu whom even the Emperor had failed to recruit after numerous attempts?
Recently, by a strange twist of fate, one of Song Yu’s men had abducted Chao Chao.
“Quick, invite him in!”
Dressed in a simple blue robe, Song Yu entered, his sharp gaze immediately landing on Lu Chao Chao. The little one grinned at him innocently.
“What brings you here, Chief Song? I hear the Emperor plans to send you on a campaign soon…” Marquis Zhongyong greeted him warmly. Song Yu’s growing renown at court made him a figure of great respect.
Yet Song Yu paid Lu Yuan Ze no mind, nor did he reply. Instead, he approached Lu Chao Chao.
“Chao Chao, happy birthday. Have you seen my…” His tone was casual but familiar.
Lu Chao Chao immediately hid her hands behind her back, guilt written all over her tiny face.
“Wo didn’t take it!”
“Wo didn’t see it!”
“Didn’t go to your treasury!” she exclaimed, her denials coming in rapid succession.
Song Yu’s brow arched. “Oh? I never mentioned the treasury was robbed.”
Lu Chao Chao’s little hands flew to her mouth, regretting her slip of the tongue. Her guilty conscience had betrayed her.
“Why aren’t you calling me ‘Papa’ anymore?” Song Yu teased.
Chao Chao avoided his gaze, her small form radiating shame. With a smile, Song Yu removed a jade pendant from his waist and fastened it to Chao Chao’s dress hem.
Lu Yuan Ze’s face turned ashen at the sight.
“I owe you a promise,” Song Yu said.
Years ago, the Song family had been hunted to near extinction, and it was thanks to the intervention of Fufeng Village that they survived. Although he was aware of the village’s questionable activities over the years, Song Yu had never taken action against them. Chao Chao had made the choice for him.
After Song Yu left, Lu Yuan Ze approached his daughter. “Chao Chao, let Father keep the pendant safe for you.”
Chao Chao huffed and turned her back to him. Producing a small box from who-knows-where, she placed the pendant inside. As the box opened, a glint of jade was revealed—six or seven other pendants nestled within, each one vaguely familiar to Lu Yuan Ze, though he couldn’t quite place them.
Distracted, his gaze drifted to Madam Xu. The banquet was in full swing, and Madam Xu sat with the other ladies, her daughter Lu Wan Yi newly returned and seated at her side, pouring wine for her.
Lu Yuan Ze smirked faintly. “My lord,” someone remarked, “that must be your eldest son standing beside Young Master Lu Jing Huai. They look more like brothers than uncle and nephew. What a pity their fates differ so greatly.”
Hearing this, Lu Yuan Ze’s heart trembled.
Meanwhile, the ladies’ table was a battleground of veiled barbs.
“Madam Pei, it was my mistake back then to accuse you unjustly. Please don’t hold it against me,” Madam Qin said with a saccharine smile.
Currently relying on Chao Chao, Madam Qin seized the opportunity to humiliate Pei Jiao Jiao. “Your eldest son is so accomplished. When will he officially join the family register?”
Pei Jiao Jiao’s nails dug into her palm.
“Such an outstanding child, left to wander without recognition—what a shame. Even being a concubine would be better than having no status,” Madam Qin added slowly.
“My Jing Huai will not be a bastard!” Pei Jiao Jiao burst out. “He is a legitimate son, proper and upright!”
“The unloved one is the mistress,” she declared, echoing words her daughter had once said.
The other wives looked on with disdain. Pei Jiao Jiao was only allowed to sit at their table due to her son’s achievements and the Old Madam’s intervention. Otherwise, how could an outsider dare presume?
Chao Chao played with her mother’s wine cup unnoticed. With a deft sleight of hand, she swapped her mother’s cup with another. Overwhelmed, Pei Jiao Jiao drained her cup in one gulp, the harsh bitterness searing her throat.
“Old Madam, please excuse me. I need to change,” Pei Jiao Jiao said, choking back her discomfort. Recent coldness from Lu Yuan Ze weighed heavily on her mind.
As she left, Deng Zhi approached Madam Xu. “Madam, Su Zhi Qing declined the invitation.”
Madam Xu’s expression softened. “She didn’t come? That’s good.”
She knew Su Zhi Qing’s absence was due to her avoiding Lu Jing Huai. But some things could not be avoided forever.
Pei Jiao Jiao wandered into the plum grove, bitterness consuming her. Compared to Madam Xu’s splendor, she felt like a shadow, a figure shrouded in shame. Eighteen years of hiding beneath Madam Xu’s dominance left her resentful. Fueled by alcohol, her resolve hardened.
If Madam Xu was so lofty, so confident, then Pei Jiao Jiao would shatter her illusion.
She slipped into Lu Yuan Ze’s study, where he was changing clothes after a servant had spilled wine on him. Just as he stepped toward the door, soft hands slid over his shoulders, warm breath brushing against his skin. Pei Jiao Jiao wore the daring new undergarments her daughter had gifted her, her face burning with embarrassment as she put them on.
“My lord…” she whispered.
Lu Yuan Ze stiffened, his remaining clarity snapping into place as he grabbed her wrist. “Jiao Jiao, not today.”
Her body trembled, her face flushed, her eyes carrying an enticing glimmer.
“Outside this door stands the legitimate wife. Inside, it’s just us,” she murmured, her voice soft but firm. “Doesn’t that make it all the more exciting?”
She wanted to humiliate Madam Xu. No matter how noble or regal, her husband—the man she prided herself on—would belong to someone else just a wall away.
Aiyaa, it’s gonna spicy
So spicy
Why are all his mistresses so slutty?
that’s the kind of women he attracts, so of course all of them would have at least one similar trait