Chapter 197: Suffering of One’s Own Making
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
After Consort Xiao was injured, the Beast Garden was left drenched in blood.
The sight of fresh blood everywhere was horrifying to all present.
Even more chilling was Xie Yi Ning.
Consort Xiao adored her to the bone, yet she had personally pushed her own mother into the bloodthirsty maw of a beast. Such ruthlessness left everyone shuddering.
No one had the heart to continue the beast fight, and they all excused themselves in haste.
Imperial Uncle Xiao appeared dazed, his entire being aged in mere moments, as though he had lost all purpose.
“Shut down the Beast Garden and release all the wild beasts back into the mountains,” he ordered with a wave of his hand.
The crowd was stunned. Wasn’t Imperial Uncle Xiao the one who loved beast fights the most?
What had shaken him so terribly?
Then again, Consort Xiao was his most beloved daughter. And yet today, he had shown no reaction to her fate. This…
Lu Chao Chao blinked her eyes, hiding her merits and fame.
[One must never harbor malicious intent, but if someone harms me, I shall settle the score.]
[Sigh, Imperial Uncle Xiao is truly pitiful.]
[His only son… I wonder if he can even be saved.]
She pondered for a moment before kicking off and slipping out of Madam Xu’s arms.
The moment she approached Imperial Uncle Xiao, he abruptly stepped back.
Imperial Uncle Xiao, who had spent his whole life in reckless abandon, instinctively raised his hands to cover his ears.
“I don’t want to hear anything from you.”
“I am already at an age where I cannot bear any more shocks,” he muttered fearfully, terrified that her warm, innocent voice would once again utter chilling words.
He no longer had the courage to live.
“Not even news about your son?” Lu Chao Chao grinned, watching as Imperial Uncle Xiao trembled.
He had fallen to the point where merely seeing her filled him with fear.
Hurriedly, he led Lu Chao Chao to a quiet corner, his voice anxious: “What happened to him? He is the only heir of my Xiao family!”
Back when Madam Zheng entered his home, he had sent his eldest son away. It had been years since he last returned to the capital.
“On the eighth day of the first month, a sudden blizzard will trigger an avalanche. His entire family of four will be buried alive,” Lu Chao Chao recounted his original fate truthfully.
Imperial Uncle Xiao’s face turned ghastly white, his body losing all strength as he collapsed to the ground.
Mouth agape, his eyes filled with terror, yet not a word could escape his lips.
It was a long time before he shakily climbed back to his feet. “Thank you, Princess Sunshine. Thank you, Princess Sunshine. I shall forever remember this immense kindness.”
Imperial Uncle Xiao had initially hesitated about how to reunite with his eldest son.
But now, he could not wait even a moment longer.
He didn’t even want to send word ahead—he had to go himself.
His only son, the only bloodline of the Xiao family!
“Quick, quick! Prepare the carriage!” Imperial Uncle Xiao hastily rushed into the palace to report to the Empress Dowager, arranging for his departure.
[From rotten bamboo, a good shoot emerges. His son is actually a righteous man.]
Lu Chao Chao guiltily glanced at Madam Xu.
Madam Xu gritted her teeth. “Did you already know that Xie Yi Ning was going to harm you?”
“Could you have originally dodged it?”
Lu Chao Chao guiltily shook her head. “I didn’t know. I couldn’t dodge it.”
[I knew. I could have dodged it. But… she could never truly hurt me.]
Madam Xu tapped her finger against Lu Chao Chao’s forehead. “You still dare to lie to me!”
[My mother truly has piercing eyes. I can’t hide anything from her.]
Lu Chao Chao felt utterly defeated.
Even though her mother was just a mortal, how could nothing be hidden from her?
Madam Xu was livid.
She had long realized that Chao Chao harbored a natural disdain for mortals.
No, it wasn’t disdain.
It was as if she had never considered mortals as equals.
Even when she was kidnapped to Fufeng Mountain at the mere age of one, she showed no fear.
Lu Chao Chao lowered her head. She did not feel she had done anything wrong, but she was quick to admit fault with her lips: “Mother, I was wrong.”
Madam Xu, of course, knew she was only trying to placate her.
With a cold expression, Lu Yan Shu led her back to the manor without another word.
Upon returning, still seething with frustration, he ordered her favorite snacks to be confiscated as punishment.
Lu Yan Shu had learned that his younger sister had been in danger that day, prompting him to return home early.
Lu Yuan Xiao shot his elder brother a knowing look. “She made Mother cry. You should go and console her.”
As soon as he entered, Madam Xu was dabbing at her tears.
“I know Chao Chao is capable, but she always puts herself in harm’s way. As her mother, how can I ever be at ease?” she lamented.
“When she was pushed down, my entire body went numb. It felt as if the sky had collapsed. If anything were to happen to her, I would not be able to live on,” Madam Xu shuddered, fear still lingering in her heart.
“Mother, do you remember that Chao Chao is without a heart?”
“She has no heart, and so everything she does follows only the instincts of her past self. She once stood above all, admired by the world. Mortals naturally do not enter her sight.”
After all, would a towering colossus care about the ants beneath its feet?
If the ants provoked her, she found it amusing. When she tired of them, she simply crushed them underfoot.
“Mother, Chao Chao’s identity is beyond the mundane. She cannot be restrained by worldly conventions.”
“She has her own thoughts and the strength to protect herself.”
“The only thing we can do is keep letting go,” Lu Yan Shu said, a premonition settling in his heart. Chao Chao’s destiny did not lie here.
Madam Xu remained silent, for she understood all too well.
She often awoke from nightmares, terrified that her daughter’s unfathomable abilities would one day take her away.
“I will guide her, Mother. I will make sure she does not place herself in needless danger. Please, rest easy.”
Madam Xu felt a weight lift off her heart.
After leaving, Lu Yan Shu went straight to find Lu Chao Chao.
The little girl sat atop a large rock by the lake, watching the countless fish darting beneath the icy surface.
“Big Brother, did you calm Mother down?” Lu Chao Chao asked in a small voice.
“I did. Don’t worry, she was just scared. She almost fainted when she saw the big black bear charging at you.”
“Don’t sit on the ground. It’s too cold,” Lu Yan Shu chided as he picked her up.
Even though he knew she was capable, witnessing that scene had still shaken him to his core.
“Thank you, Big Brother. Big Brother is the best!” Lu Chao Chao chirped before planting a loud kiss on his cheek.
“Chao Chao, do you know how much we love you?”
Lu Chao Chao nodded solemnly.
“We cannot bear the thought of losing you. Without you, nothing would have meaning.”
“You are more important than anything.”
“Mother fears losing you.” [And so do I.]
Lu Chao Chao wrapped her small arms around her brother’s neck, her voice muffled against his shoulder. “Big Brother, Chao Chao will protect Chao Chao. Chao Chao pwomise!”
“Promise on a chicken leg!”
“Thwee chicken wegs!” she declared, eyes shining with sincerity.
Three chicken legs—her highest form of commitment.
Lu Yan Shu burst into laughter, pinching her chubby cheeks. “Big Brother believes you.”
That evening, Lu Chao Chao grinned as she massaged Madam Xu’s shoulders and pounded her legs, doing her best to cheer her mother up.
The next day was New Year’s Eve.
As per tradition, they were to attend the palace banquet, feasting and drinking in merriment.
As Lu Chao Chao had hoped, the Emperor had moved the palace feast to noon.
That night, the entire family would stay up to welcome the new year together.
Madam Xu was an open-minded woman. She had the servants bring fruits and delicacies to the pavilion, where she set up a table for grilling meat over an open flame.
Lu Chao Chao’s appetite was immediately piqued.
This past year had been full of countless changes.
The Lu family had undergone a complete transformation. No longer part of a marquis’ household, they had established themselves independently, standing strong as a family.
Meanwhile, Rong Che lay sprawled over the courtyard wall.
“General Rong, aren’t you going home?” Lu Yuan Xiao asked, raising an eyebrow.
Rong Che scratched his head sheepishly. “My father said that anyone without a wife has no right to return home. Can I…spend the new year with your family?”
His pitiful act had worked.
Rong Che was now officially invited to welcome the new year alongside Madam Xu.