Chapter 185: Do You Intend to Exterminate My Entire Clan?
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
Xie Yu Nan trembled with rage, his face twisted in fury. Through gritted teeth, he spat, “I only broke one of your bowls!” Yet you had the nerve to hide under my bed!
Lu Chao Chao sluggishly crawled out. “I just wanted food…”
“But you broke my bowl!” She puffed her cheeks indignantly. “You’ve made me lose so much face!”
“What face does a two-year-old child need?” Xie Yu Nan stared at her, incredulous, but when he caught sight of his wife glaring at him with flushed cheeks, he hurriedly grabbed Lu Chao Chao by the back of her clothes and pulled her out.
“A child’s face isn’t a face?” Lu Chao Chao protested, unwilling to concede.
Xie Yu Nan’s head throbbed with frustration. “I won’t give you anything. What can you do? My greatest secret has already been exposed to Wan Wan, so there’s nothing left for you to hold over me!” Raised in privilege and arrogance, Xie Yu Nan had defied even the Emperor at court—how could he bear being threatened time and again by Lu Chao Chao?
To his knowledge, he had no other shameful secrets.
Lu Chao Chao glanced at him. Then she glanced again.
Somehow, under her gaze, Xie Yu Nan felt utterly exposed, as if his very soul was being laid bare. “Why are you staring at me? I have no secrets from Wan Wan!” He puffed out his chest.
Lu Chao Chao crouched by the flowerbed, her head nodding slightly as she observed him with a curious gleam in her eyes. “You’re hiding private money,” she declared with certainty.
Xie Yu Nan rolled his eyes. “What man doesn’t hide private money?”
“Under the beam,” she began.
“Beneath the floorboards,” she continued.
“Under the third tree in the garden,” she added.
“And even in the latrine!” Lu Chao Chao ruthlessly listed every one of his hiding spots.
Gritting his teeth, Xie Yu Nan growled darkly, “Fine, give it all to Wan Wan! I won’t hide anything anymore. Let’s see what you’ll do now!”
Lu Chao Chao scratched her head, and Xie Yu Nan raised an eyebrow. “Anything else to say?”
“Little beggar,” Xie Yu Nan sneered coldly, “get out of my manor! I am not like the court ministers who’ll show you face!”
From birth, Xie Yu Nan had never suffered humiliation. As the youngest brother of the late Emperor, he had been raised as his own son.
Lu Chao Chao hesitated for a moment before responding, “I only wanted food… I didn’t want to bring ruin to your house.”
Xie Yu Nan burst out laughing in anger. “You think I’m afraid of anything? How could begging for food ruin my house?”
Lu Chao Chao looked at him cautiously. “You…”
Xie Yu Nan was utterly relaxed, not the least bit concerned.
“When you were campaigning outside, the late Emperor passed away, and he wanted to pass the throne to mmm-mmm-mmm!” Before she could finish, Xie Yu Nan leapt up and clamped a hand over her mouth.
“Mmm-mmm!” Lu Chao Chao struggled, her muffled protests rising.
Xie Yu Nan’s whole body trembled. A trace of fear flickered in his eyes as his teeth chattered. “Ancestor! You are my ancestor!” His hand, still covering her mouth, trembled uncontrollably.
In that instant, a bone-deep chill surged through his body, leaving his hair standing on end and sweat streaming down his back.
Desperately, he masked his expression to conceal it from the secret guards stationed nearby.
Having spent years on the battlefield, Xie Yu Nan was well aware that the Emperor had planted secret guards around Princess Cen Wan Wan. He took a deep breath to steady himself and gathered Lu Chao Chao into his arms.
“Alright, alright, you just want food, don’t you? Fine, I’ll give you food.” Still clutching her tightly, Xie Yu Nan carried her to his study.
The moment they entered, his legs buckled, and he had to lean against the wall for support. Lu Chao Chao slid out of his arms limply.
“You told me to speak,” she said innocently, her wide eyes blinking at him.
Xie Yu Nan dropped to his knees with a thud. “You’re begging for food, and yet you want to take the lives of my entire clan?” His voice was a strained whisper, filled with despair. [How does she know everything?!]
“I beg you, Ancestor, I won’t bicker with you anymore. Please, never bring this up again!” Cold sweat dripped down his face as he pleaded. “No one else must know. The children are still young, so spare them, Princess Cen Wan Wan. And if possible, refrain from sleep-talking at night.” [If she weren’t Princess Cen Wan Wan, I would have wrung her neck already.]
In mere moments, his clothes were drenched with sweat. He regretted everything. Why had he broken her bowl? Why had he tested the power of annihilation by challenging someone who held his secret?
Though the Emperor and he shared a clan, he had his own bloodline and descendants to worry about.
“I can control my words,” Lu Chao Chao replied, her tone exasperated. “But how do I control my sleep-talking?” Seeing Xie Yu Nan’s pallor, she paused thoughtfully. Her elder brother had taught her that negotiating required timely silences to apply pressure.
Xie Yu Nan cursed internally. [Who taught her this?!]
Though he knew she was acting, fear still gripped him. After all, this secret could indeed destroy his entire clan.
“Unless…” Lu Chao Chao trailed off, her expression turning sly. “Be kind and give me some money. If I eat my fill, I won’t talk in my sleep. Oh, and give me back my bowl.”
[All I wanted was food! You’re the one who broke my bowl first!]
Xie Yu Nan choked on his own breath, unable to swallow or spit it out. Everything had spiraled out of control—all because he had kicked her bowl! A simple bowl had nearly caused a bloodbath that would have wiped out his clan.
“Take it, take it all,” Xie Yu Nan groaned weakly, waving a hand in surrender.
Yes, he had a secret. A grave secret that could obliterate his entire bloodline. When the late Emperor had fallen ill, Xie Yu Nan had been away at war. The Emperor’s urgent summons had come three times, with the last letter delivered by a eunuch who had bitten off his own tongue after delivering the message. The letter contained nothing but a jade pendant—one that once belonged to the previous dynasty’s Emperor.
Xie Yu Nan had understood its meaning immediately. His brother had wanted him to inherit the throne.
By the time he returned, the late Emperor had passed, and the new Emperor, Xuan Ping, had ascended.
To keep the secret, Xie Yu Nan had ground the pendant into powder and scattered it into the moat, burying it forever.
Now, faced with Lu Chao Chao, Xie Yu Nan, a hardened warrior and iron-willed prince, broke down in sobs. “Lu Chao Chao, you’re my nemesis.”
Back at the Lu family estate…
“Did Chao Chao admit her fault the next day?” Madam Xu asked.
Deng Zhi looked dazed. “Prince Yu Nan invited her Beggars’ Sect followers into his manor for a feast.”
“Oh. She’s unified the Beggars’ Sect now.”