Chapter 160: Unveiling a Massive Scandal!
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
Lu Chao Chao departed from the small courtyard, heading straight toward the main residence.
“Since we’re already here, why not take a peek at Madam Pei? Let’s see if she’s so furious she’s lost her composure,” Yu Shu whispered.
Today, the Marquis Zhongyong’s Manor seemed to have taken a devastating blow. Everyone was slacking off on their duties.
Lu Chao Chao nodded her small head in agreement.
“How strange. Madam Pei loves maintaining her airs. I thought her courtyard would be bustling with servants,” Yu Shu remarked, puzzled. “Earlier, in the other courtyards, we had to avoid several maids. How is it that the main residence is so silent? Not even a single maid in sight?”
“There’s noise over there,” Lu Chao Chao pointed toward the left wing, her ears picking up faint movements.
“I know some basic martial arts. Let me go ahead and scout. Please wait here,” Yu Shu said cautiously.
Lu Chao Chao looked down at her short legs and obediently sat among the flowers to wait for Yu Shu.
Moving with utmost care, Yu Shu approached the wall and listened in.
From inside came the unmistakable sounds of intimacy between a man and a woman.
Yu Shu frowned, her face betraying her disdain. [Good thing I didn’t let Chao Chao come along. Otherwise, it would’ve sullied her ears.]
“You’ve got guts bringing me into the Marquis’ Manor. Aren’t you afraid the Marquis will find out?” a man teased, pinching Madam Pei, making her let out a coquettish sound.
Yu Shu froze. [That doesn’t sound like the loyal and brave Marquis!]
“He won’t return today,” Madam Pei retorted. “It’s been a year since he stepped into my chambers. Does it matter whether he comes back or not?”
The man chuckled gleefully. “Really? So, have you been staying faithful to me all this time?”
Madam Pei glared at him. “Who said anything about staying faithful to you!”
“Why not? Isn’t our child mine?” the man declared smugly. Madam Pei’s eyes widened in panic as she hastily covered his mouth.
Yu Shu’s eyes widened in disbelief. [What did I just hear?!]
The loyal and brave Marquis’ cherished mistress of eighteen years was cheating on him? That’s not even the worst part—the son he cherished to the bone wasn’t his own?!
“Why shouldn’t I say it? Lu Jing Huai is my flesh and blood, yet you’ve made Lu Yuan Ze his father. All because I’m too useless, letting my wife and child belong to someone else,” the man grumbled bitterly.
“Who’s better, Lu Yuan Ze or me?”
“Enough! Stop talking. Leave once night falls,” Madam Pei rubbed her temples in frustration. Her recklessness in bringing this man to the Marquis’ Manor had turned into a catastrophe.
She had been furious since the morning’s fiasco with the mistaken celebration. Then Madam Xu’s public humiliation of her had pushed her to the brink. Finally, Lu Yuan Ze’s refusal to return home tipped her over the edge, clouding her judgment.
“Fine, but let me see my son,” the man insisted.
“Absolutely not! You mustn’t approach him! If you dare show up in front of him, I won’t be merciful!” Madam Pei erupted in anger.
“What’s wrong with me seeing my own son?” the man snapped. “That brat even had his servants beat me last time! When I told him I was his father, he dared to hit me!” The man huffed indignantly, terrifying Madam Pei.
“You approached my son? When was this? Didn’t we agree you would never appear before the children?!” Madam Pei’s scalp tingled with fear as she pounded on his chest.
Grabbing her wrists, the man sneered. “You and the children enjoy a life of luxury while I’m left out in the cold. Why shouldn’t I see my own son? That ungrateful brat! Does he refuse to acknowledge me? I’ll deal with him if he dares.”
“Find a way to get me into the manor. We’re a family, and we should live together. The loyal and brave Marquis doesn’t even come back. The manor is practically under your control, except for that old matron. If you don’t figure it out, I will,” the man declared shamelessly, twirling her hair.
Madam Pei’s attempt to enjoy herself had turned into a disaster. “Fine, but you mustn’t act recklessly. I’ll figure something out!”
“You have three days. I want to live in the Marquis’ Manor with my wife and child,” he demanded, an air of roguishness about him.
Yu Shu’s eyes widened. [Who would’ve thought today would unveil such a massive scandal?]
Looking down, she spotted Lu Chao Chao, her eyes wide with shock, glued to the wall, listening intently.
!!!
Quickly covering Lu Chao Chao’s ears, Yu Shu whisked her away to a corner. “Little Miss, when did you get here?”
“Big scandal!” Lu Chao Chao exclaimed, her excitement unabated.
“Lu Jing Huai isn’t even his son!”
“Scumbag dad, did you know?!” Lu Chao Chao’s face was lit up as if she had struck gold.
Yu Shu muttered under her breath, “And to think he kicked his own children out, severed ties, and wrote a document of disownment all for Lu Jing Huai… my goodness, this is wild.”
“Pei Jiao Jiao really knows how to hide things. Eighteen years without a single clue… incredible,” Yu Shu marveled.
If not for today’s series of events—the mistaken celebration, Madam Xu’s provocation—Madam Pei would never have been driven to such desperation.
“The plot thickens! This drama keeps building, one twist after another,” Yu Shu shook her head. [Good thing Madam Xu escaped this pit early. Now we wait for the loyal and brave Marquis’ Manor to implode.]
[Just imagining Lu Yuan Ze’s rage when he discovers the truth… Ha! The son he adored like a jewel isn’t even his!]
“Let’s go. This trip wasn’t wasted,” Lu Chao Chao declared, patting her small bottom.
Lu Chao Chao expertly navigated the manor’s layout, effortlessly avoiding guards and arriving at…
The kitchen!
Yu Shu’s eyelid twitched as she watched Lu Chao Chao crawl into the kitchen, grabbing leftover fried spring rolls. She ate while grumbling, “So poor… not even a drumstick.”
Though she knew Madam Pei was strapped for cash, she didn’t expect it to be this bad.
After finishing the spring rolls, Lu Chao Chao leisurely arrived outside Lu Jing Yao’s room. Before entering, she heard a chilling, sinister voice from within.
Though childish and immature, the tone carried a venomous intensity that sent shivers down one’s spine.
“Lu Chao Chao, why haven’t you died yet?!”
“Why won’t you die already?!”
“If you were dead, everything would be mine! You, a mere native, dare to oppose me!”
“Why? Why does Heaven favor you? How could the Emperor be blind enough to take you as his goddaughter?”
“I can travel through worlds. I am the chosen one! I am Heaven’s favored daughter!”
“This isn’t right. None of this is right. It’s all wrong!”
In her dream, Lu Jing Yao relived a vision where Lu Chao Chao was drowned at birth, and she took Lu Chao Chao’s place as the Marquis’ legitimate daughter.
Madam Xu cherished her deeply, treating her as her own. One by one, she framed Madam Xu and the three brothers, leaving them dead with no burial place.
Even the Crown Prince fell madly in love, offering his empire as a dowry.
But now?
The Crown Prince was Lu Chao Chao’s loyal shadow. Lu Yan Shu had topped the provincial exam, while her elder brother barely scraped by to qualify for the imperial exam.
[No, no! It’s all wrong!]
Lu Chao Chao smiled faintly, standing outside with a bucket of manure in hand…