Chapter 140: The Culprit Who Harmed Big Brother
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
By the moat, a bustling scene unfolded. Numerous carriages lined up near the city gate, where several women, accompanied by their maidservants wielding basins of water, knelt by the river’s edge, engaged in fervent prayers.
[What could they possibly be doing?] Chao Chao wondered, her curious eyes wide open.
Lu Zheng Yue gestured towards the busy scene, explaining, “With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching alongside the autumn royal examinations, these women are conducting a ritual of life release, praying for blessings.”
In a nearby corner, a gathering of beggars, usually shooed away, now received alms from the affluent ladies. Vendors capitalized on the occasion, setting up stalls selling lanterns and small aquatic animals for release.
“The poor sell these creatures to the rich, who then release them to demonstrate their sincerity,” he continued. “For merchants, the autumn exams offer a chance to ascend social ranks. For these women, their family’s success safeguards their affluence.”
“Studying can transform one’s fate, Chao Chao,” he added, looking at her fondly.
“Should we also release something for our big brother?” Lu Yuan Xiao suggested, eyes gleaming with excitement.
[Big brother has the strongest support already. Does he really need this?] Chao Chao thought with stubborn pride. [I am his support!]
Lu Zheng Yue smiled as he gently patted her head. Despite her tender age, Chao Chao often surprised him with her profound thoughts, once believing that the celestial gods were her disciples—a whimsical idea, indeed.
A child not yet two, claiming such divine connections? Could you believe it?
“Thwee Bwother wants to pway, Chao Chao will pway wif you,” the little one declared, pulling out two gold nuggets from her pocket. Though she had a penchant for money, she only tricked it out of corrupt court officials, never from those genuinely in need.
Lu Yuan Xiao purchased an old turtle and a bucket of loaches for release. While he joined the others in prayer, Chao Chao busied herself with the lanterns, her interest in the ritual minimal.
“Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns are the most delightful. Soon, big brother will finish his exams, just in time to join us for the festival,” Lu Zheng Yue remarked cheerfully.
“Bless big brother to excel in the royal examinations, to achieve the highest honors,” Lu Yuan Xiao whispered, his voice full of hope.
As he released the small fish and nudged the turtle towards the water, it stubbornly crawled back each time.
“Old turtles recognize kindness—they don’t want to leave their benefactor. It’s trying to remember your face,” a servant suggested flatteringly.
Chao Chao’s eyes widened in surprise as she overheard, turning to Lu Yuan Xiao.
“Th-thwird Bwother, do you know wha’ it’s saying?” she asked curiously.
“Is it thanking me for my kindness? Not wanting to leave?” Lu Yuan Xiao pondered, slightly embarrassed.
The toddler looked at him earnestly. “No, it’s saying: I am a land turtle, I am a land turtle! It’s not thanking you. It’s escaping.”
Stunned, Lu Yuan Xiao turned to the vendor, who grimaced in admission, “Young master, this is indeed a land turtle I mistakenly caught in the mountains.”
Lu Zheng Yue couldn’t help but cover his mouth to stifle his laughter. Oh, what a situation—releasing a land turtle into the river!
Meanwhile, at the city gate, beggars knelt, too afraid to enter, their pleas for food echoing through the air. Today, the city was distributing porridge, attracting many from the surrounding areas.
Seeing the hungry children among them, Chao Chao secretly retrieved gold nuggets, instructing her servant Yu Shu to buy substantial food.
Soon, one of the maids returned with steaming baskets of buns and dumplings, along with bags of rice and flour.
“This is from Miss Chao Chao, please enjoy your meal,” he announced, directing the crowd.
As the beggars queued, a scuffle broke out, which Lu Zheng Yue and his guards quickly moved to control.
In the commotion, a particularly disheveled old beggar was thrust forward, his eye sockets empty and his mouth gaping, the marks of brutal mutilation.
“Old man, hurry up. Let me get you some buns,” Lu Zheng Yue offered, moved by compassion.
“A good child indeed, but how cruel of the Marquis to cast him out!” another beggar remarked bitterly.
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
The blind beggar suddenly seized Lu Zheng Yue’s hand, his cries turning into desperate wails.
“Let go of my young master!” the servants shouted, intervening hastily.
But the old man’s grip persisted, his anguished laughs and sobs chilling the air.
Lu Yuan Xiao swiftly picked up his sister, moving her away from the commotion.
“Chao Chao, don’t go near. A blind beggar is going crazy. Be careful not to get hurt,” he cautioned, his voice laced with concern for her safety.
“He looks so pitiful, with his eyes gouged out and no tongue,” he added, observing the beggar’s plight.
Chao Chao’s eyes widened in shock as she turned to her brother. “Gouged eyes? Cut tongue?!” she exclaimed, her speech imbued with an infantile lisp.
[Ah!! Quickly, grab him!] Her inner voice screamed with urgency, a silent call to action that only her blood could hear.
Lu Yuan Xiao flinched, the intensity of her silent scream almost palpable, causing him to nearly drop his little sister.
“Catch him, catch him!!” Chao Chao cried out, her voice breaking into a wail.
“Uncle, uncle! Big Brother, Big Brother…” she sobbed, her tiny form trembling with each cry.
“Catch him, catch him! Big Brother… like him, just like him!” she screamed through her tears. “He is Uncle! The one who harmed Big Brother!”
Chao Chao’s face turned a deep shade of red from crying, and she struggled fiercely, trying to break free from her brother’s grasp to run towards the beggar.
In the backstory that haunted their family, her big brother had nearly drowned after being forcibly held underwater. He survived, but the traumatic head injury erased the memory of the assault.
The assailant was none other than the younger brother of the old lady from the Marquis House—a reckless man who, swayed by promises of gain from Lu Jing Huai, had attempted to murder his own nephew.
After the deed, Lu Jing Huai mercilessly gouged out the man’s eyes and cut out his tongue to ensure his silence. He was supposed to have perished early during the flood in Lianluo, but this time, because Chao Chao had prevented the flood, he had survived.
“He is Uncle,” Chao Chao reiterated with a fierce determination, her voice piercing the chaos. “He harmed Big Brother!”
[Lu Jing Huai ordered him to kill Big Brother, catch him!]
With her teeth gritted in anger, Chao Chao shouted with all the force a toddler could muster.
At her words, the expressions of Lu Zheng Yue and Lu Yuan Xiao hardened into grim masks of resolve.
“Men! Catch him!” Lu Zheng Yue commanded.
All the mistress’ kids are evil. Screw it the whole family is fuqd up.