Chapter 181: Life and Death Uncertain
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
By the time Lu Chao Chao returned to the manor, the sky had already turned dark.
Yu Shu touched her stomach with a look of concern. “Overate again. Madam will definitely scold me for this. Little Miss is so obedient most of the time, except when it comes to chicken legs.”
“One person eats; one person takes the blame. I’ll face the scolding myself,” Lu Chao Chao replied, patting her rounded stomach.
The patting made a hollow drum-like sound.
“You’re quite loyal,” Yu Shu said, hiding a chuckle behind her hand.
Lu Chao Chao tied the leash of her dog, Windchaser, at the courtyard gate. Then she turned and noticed something odd.
“Oh my, Windchaser, how did your collar come off?” she asked, surprised. Windchaser had somehow carried his collar in his mouth and was trailing behind her.
“You didn’t get lost… huh?” the little one’s baby voice was soft and sugary.
Windchaser dropped the leash from his mouth. Having gnawed on it all day, his jaws were sore, and saliva dripped steadily.
After securing Windchaser at the gate, Lu Chao Chao didn’t enter the house but squatted next to the dog, curling into a small ball. Her obedient posture was almost unnatural.
“What are you doing squatting there?” Yu Shu asked curiously.
Windchaser sat on the ground, and Lu Chao Chao sat beside him just as well-behaved. The harmony between the two was undeniable.
“Windchaser, it’s time for a midnight snack,” Lu Chao Chao said softly, glancing at the night sky.
As soon as she finished speaking, a young servant emerged carrying a large basin.
Yu Shu blinked in disbelief. Windchaser’s food was a luxurious assortment of dried meat, fish, vegetables, and fruits—all prepared at great expense by Madam Xu.
Lu Chao Chao’s chubby face lit up with a radiant smile. Stretching out her hands, she awaited her turn.
The feeding servant scratched his head awkwardly. “Little Miss, your stomach is already so full today. You can’t eat more. Come back tomorrow for extra, okay?”
Disappointed, Lu Chao Chao touched her belly, letting out a reluctant, drawn-out “oh.” She still lingered with longing.
The servant sighed deeply. “But don’t steal Windchaser’s food again. Ever since he arrived, he’s barely had a proper meal. Poor Windchaser, starving while he’s been here.”
His pity for the dog was evident.
With wide, innocent eyes, Lu Chao Chao began addressing the servant sweetly, calling him “Good Uncle” with every sentence until he was all smiles and flustered.
Yu Shu, bewildered by the scene, picked her up and asked in a trembling voice, “Do you sneak out every night to share Windchaser’s midnight snack?”
Judging by the familiar exchange between Lu Chao Chao and the servant, it seemed this was not her first time.
The little one grinned guiltily.
Yu Shu’s vision darkened. Madam Xu carefully controlled Lu Chao Chao’s diet every day, only for her to supplement it with dog food at night. No wonder even a vegetarian diet was making her gain weight.
Fortunately, Windchaser’s food consisted of freshly cooked chicken legs and dried meats, at least ensuring the food was clean and healthy.
When Lu Chao Chao finally entered the house, her second brother, Lu Zheng Yue, was kneeling before Madam Xu with his head lowered. Madam Xu’s face was dark, her eyes red, clearly from a recent argument.
Lu Chao Chao paused, sensing the tension in the air. Her usual smile faded.
[Second Brother got punished?]
[If he’s being punished, maybe I’ll be spared.]
[I only ate a little more food…] Thoughts swirled anxiously in her tiny mind.
When Madam Xu cast her a glance, Lu Chao Chao wobbled over and stood on tiptoe to offer a piece of dried meat to her mother.
“Mother, what’s wrong?” she asked softly.
Madam Xu glared sharply at Lu Zheng Yue. “Ask your brother! It’s all his doing!”
“He secretly joined the military! On the battlefield, swords and spears don’t have eyes. What if something happens to him?” Madam Xu’s voice broke as she spoke.
Tensions between the neighboring countries were high, and war could break out at any moment.
“Mother, even if I can’t win great honors, I still want to prove my worth!” Lu Zheng Yue replied, his voice filled with determination. “Our father cast us out of the family, struck us from the clan’s records. He trampled on our dignity!”
“Since he disrespects us, I must make something of myself!”
“Elder Brother chose the path of civil service through the imperial exams. I am less talented in that regard, but I wish to serve in the military. Please, Mother, give me this chance.”
Madam Xu sat in her chair, silently weeping. Her children’s humiliation from being ostracized and disowned was a heavy burden. To any person with pride, it was an unbearable disgrace.
All of them—even her youngest—harbored a deep desire to prove themselves.
“Mother, please allow me one year,” Lu Zheng Yue pleaded. “If I achieve nothing within a year, I will come home.”
After a long silence, Madam Xu sighed and helped her son to his feet. “Fine. Go, but promise me to value your life above all else.”
A glimmer of joy shone in Lu Zheng Yue’s eyes. “Thank you, Mother. I will not let you down.”
He felt warmth rise in his chest, a flame of hope and resolve reigniting his spirit. Although his recent training in the camp had been grueling, he didn’t complain.
Noticing her brother discreetly rubbing his stomach, Lu Chao Chao climbed onto a chair, poured a cup of tea, and crumbled a medicinal pill into it. Holding the cup carefully, she offered it to him with a sweet, “Second Brother, have some water.”
Startled but delighted, Lu Zheng Yue took the tea and drank it in one gulp. “Water poured by my sister is so sweet.”
Whether it was psychological or not, he truly felt a faint sweetness lingering on his tongue and even a comforting warmth spreading through his body. The pain seemed to lessen.
[Hehe, I added a little something extra. Now Second Brother will feel rejuvenated and energized… maybe just a little, though.] Lu Chao Chao chuckled inwardly.
“Mother, I’ll go practice my forms,” Lu Zheng Yue said, unable to suppress his excitement, and quickly left the room.
Madam Xu turned to Lu Chao Chao with exasperation. “Did you overeat again?”
With a helpless sigh, she continued, “Chao Chao, your constant overeating keeps me awake with worry…” A mother’s heart aches even for a child so young.
The little girl blinked innocently. “You’re awake all night?”
With no choice, Madam Xu instructed Yu Shu to massage Lu Chao Chao’s stomach and carry her off to bed.
…
Late at night, after bathing, Madam Xu lay in bed, wearing light pink inner garments and covered by a quilt. Half-asleep, she suddenly saw a figure standing by her bed…
The dim moonlight revealed a disheveled woman with glowing eyes—a ghostly presence.
Letting out a piercing scream, Madam Xu bolted upright, trembling.
“What is it, Madam?!” Ying Xue, standing guard outside, rushed in with a bang.
The entire Lu Manor lit up as lanterns were lit everywhere.
Standing in the doorway, her hair loose and face innocent, was Lu Chao Chao.
“Little Miss, what are you doing in here?” Deng Zhi, adjusting her clothes, asked.
Fixing her mother with an eerie look, Lu Chao Chao said softly, “Mother, didn’t you say you couldn’t sleep?”
[Just checking if you really couldn’t sleep…]
Madam Xu sighed deeply, caught between exasperation and laughter.
Having a daughter like this… truly life and death are hard to predict!