Chapter 128: Her Comfort, Fatal
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
In the dimly lit room, Duke Xiao’s tears flowed freely as he voiced his grief and confusion.
“How have I failed her? What did I do wrong?” he sobbed. “I even dismissed all my concubines for her when she first arrived out of devotion. I distanced myself from my eldest son as soon as he grew up, sending him far away so he couldn’t return to the capital for years. I loved her two children as if they were my own. I chose Ming Yao as my successor. Yet, my relationship with my eldest son is broken; he harbors deep resentment towards me.”
Gripping a wine bottle, Duke Xiao wept without restraint. “My family no longer feels like mine. That woman in the palace…” His voice trailed off, hinting at unspeakable thoughts. Fate has been cruel; entangling royal affairs with my personal torments could be disastrous.
With his gray hair messy and his state drunken, Duke Xiao raised his bowl shakily. “Let’s drink away our sorrows…”
Across from him, a little girl cautiously stood, her tiny hands clumsily clinking her bowl against his.
“I dwink quickwy. You take time,” Lu Chao Chao said, gently sipping her milk.
“Today, my home is in ruins, and my heart is heavy with grievances,” Duke Xiao’s voice was thick with despair as he reflected on the downfall of the once-mighty Xiao family, now just a shadow around an old man. “Thank you for coming to settle the debts, though it tore my family apart,” he chuckled sadly, tears streaming down.
Lu Chao Chao, puzzled by his gratitude, scratched her head. “You don’t need to thank me. I’m just doing my duty.”
“Everything is lost… my children, my love, her betrayal…” Duke Xiao sighed deeply. “What’s left for me now? Everyone’s a liar! My whole life has been a facade. There’s no truth in anyone around me,” he exclaimed, his laughter edged with insanity.
Lu Chao Chao’s expression grew worried. “The king twuly cares ’bout you. He wishes for your well-being,” she earnestly assured him.
Surprised, tears welled up in Duke Xiao’s eyes, and he felt a flicker of warmth in his heart. “Is that so? I doubted the king’s care. I’ve wronged him as his uncle,” Duke Xiao admitted, feeling a rare sting of guilt.
“The king often checks with the woyal physician ’bout your health,” the little girl added, nodding earnestly.
Duke Xiao, overwhelmed, began to cry. He had thought the king resented him for his opposition in court. If someone else had told him this, he would have been skeptical. But could a child like Lu Chao Chao possibly lie?
“Why would the king care ’bout me? I’m not worthy,” he whispered.
“He wowwies that if you die, the debts would wemain,” she said simply.
Duke Xiao looked at her, his heart aching, a mix of disbelief and sadness in his eyes as he pointed at her, his hand shaking.
Lu Chao Chao sensed his overwhelming emotions. “Would you wike to hear somfing better? Your life is a tough nut. She poisons you evwy day. Yet only your illegitimate sons died, and you didn’t…” Her look was a blend of sympathy and admiration.
Unable to hold his bowl steady, Duke Xiao suddenly sat upright, his face flushed with anger and shock. The Duke had indeed lost two sons from concubines to sickness years ago. He stumbled outside, tripping over the threshold. He cried out, “Royal Physician… Royal Physician, where are you?!”
Lu Chao Chao continued to sip her milk, unaffected. Isn’t it better to face these harsh realities?
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
Before long, Duke Xiao’s cries filled the air again. “She always made ginseng soup for me, no matter how late I returned. She also gave it to my illegitimate sons…”
Duke Xiao rarely drank it because of his travels, but his sons born from concubines did so regularly. Duke Xiao looked at Lu Chao Chao with sadness, “Leave, I can’t bear to see you. Your arrival has only brought disaster.”
No wonder the Iron Rooster and the Grand Duke had eagerly settled their debts and cried when she left!
“Money?” Lu Chao Chao asked, her voice uncertain.
“Yes, money! I borrowed a hundred fifteen thousand; I’ll pay two hundred thousand! Is that enough? Now please, leave!” Duke Xiao’s heart raced with anxiety at her presence.
The Xiao family, wealthy as they were, could easily afford twenty thousand. “I wish I had settled this sooner,” he muttered to himself. “I’ll send it to the palace tonight, right away!” Swallowing his pride, he picked her up and headed for the door.
“What ’bout dinna?” Lu Chao Chao asked, her voice tinged with regret.
Duke Xiao’s forehead veins bulged, his eyes filling with tears. “The family is destroyed! What’s the point of feasting now?” he snapped bitterly.
Lu Chao Chao fell silent, biting her lip. She murmured, “Even in wuins, there’s still room for a feast…”
Duke Xiao remained silent, weighed down by his emotions. If Madam Zheng’s plots don’t finish me, this child’s blunt words will.
He carried her to the door, but she clung on stubbornly. “Why linger? The debt is paid! My family, my life—everything is lost! What more do you want?”
She tapped her left pocket, the gold nuggets inside jingling. “From Gwampa Zhou…” Then her right pocket, “From the Gwamp Duke…” She looked up at Duke Xiao, her eyes filled with a pleading sadness.
Duke Xiao, confused and exasperated, thought, What now? My world is falling apart, and she wants more?
“I have a secwet to share… uh!” Before she could continue, Duke Xiao covered her mouth in panic. “Please, no more! I’m too old for surprises,” he pleaded, fear evident in his eyes. That little mouth has brought nothing but trouble. Sometimes, ignorance is better.
“Bring the gold nuggets!” he commanded. A maid quickly returned with a heavy bag of gold, which weighed down Lu Chao Chao’s neck.
“Thank you. I nowmally don’t accept gifts.” “But if you insist, I’ll take it,” she said, maintaining her composure.
As she stepped down the stairs, the Crown Prince’s carriage appeared at the Xiao family gate.
I’m so confused. New to how Patreon works. I thought if you pay then you can read as many chapters as you want in the month time. If that’s not the case then it’s like all the other novel sites where you end up playing over$1000 to finish a novel. That’s a complete rip off!
Well, at least you buy access to +nth chapter, instead buy once each locked chapter.
Mm you know how one chapter in legal site could be expensive right? Usually I need 5 dollars for 2 chap in legal site, and it’s actually cheap one if it’s only for outside access country webnovel. So just accept it as it is.
And for what I know from chinese one, it’s actually more expensive to buy for one chap.