Chapter 216: Last Breath
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
Lu Yuan Ze had no time to react before Lu Yan Shu’s sudden punch sent his vision spinning. Blood dripped from his nose, staining the ground beneath him.
“What are you kneeling here for? You hypocritical fraud! You are unworthy!” Lu Yan Shu roared, his fists raining down on his father’s face.
Madam Xu gasped in horror.
“Stop the young master!” Deng Zhi cried out in alarm.
Even though he had been expelled from the family records, Lu Yuan Ze was still his birth father. If news of this spread, it would bring disgrace upon them all.
The servants hurriedly restrained Lu Yan Shu.
Lu Yuan Ze clutched his nose in agony, his face battered and bruised. “I am your father!” he spat, glaring at his son.
Lu Yan Shu’s expression remained cold. “Father? You dare call yourself that? You drained my mother of her blood, used her dowry to support your mistress. You are my shame!”
“You have disgraced the Lu family. If Grandfather were alive, he would be humiliated beyond words.”
“You even dared to steal the title our grandfather earned with his own flesh and blood. You are a disgrace.”
His words cut into Lu Yuan Ze like a blade, his face flushing red with anger and shame.
Lu Yan Shu had once respected his father, but Lu Yuan Ze had shattered his happiness.
Even after being cast out, Lu Yan Shu had held back his resentment, never speaking ill of him.
But now, he could hold back no longer.
“If I were you, I would have taken poison and ended it, at least to preserve a shred of dignity for the Lu family.”
“And yet you dare show your face at the Xu manor?” A glint of fury shone in Lu Yan Shu’s eyes.
Lu Yuan Ze knelt before the Xu family gate, the servants glaring at him with contempt.
“Shi Yun, I didn’t mean to anger the Old Madam into fainting.”
“The mistakes I made in my youth, I only wish to explain them to her.”
“Shi Yun, please believe me.”
Upon hearing rumors that Shi Yun intended to remarry, Lu Yuan Ze could no longer sit still.
He had driven Xu Shi Yun out of their home, hoping she would suffer, hoping she would be miserable without him.
Yet he never imagined she would thrive, that she and their children would grow stronger, more accomplished than ever.
Lu Yuan Ze could not accept this.
After drinking a bit too much, his mind clouded, he had come to the Xu residence to plead his case. But instead, he had driven the Old Madam into unconsciousness with his presence.
“Yan Shu, I taught you to read. I let you ride on my shoulders. We were a happy family once—have you forgotten?”
“If your mother remarries, there will be a stepfather, and with a stepfather comes a stepmother. It will never be better than having your real parents together.”
“I only want the Old Madam’s forgiveness.”
Lu Yan Shu remained indifferent, lifting his younger sister into his arms as he strode toward the door. “Your so-called happiness was built on deception. Why should you be forgiven?”
“Besides, we have been erased from the Lu family records. You are no longer my father.”
“The son you care about is Lu Jing Huai. Aren’t you expecting him to become the top scholar?”
“Let us wait and see.”
Lu Yuan Ze’s face twisted in fury. He reached for Lu Yuan Xiao, but the boy wrenched free, dashing after his elder brother.
“Shi Yun, we were married for eighteen years. You still have feelings for me, don’t you?” Lu Yuan Ze gazed at Madam Xu with feigned sincerity, stepping forward.
Suddenly—
Rong Che appeared out of nowhere, slamming his shoulder into Lu Yuan Ze and sending him stumbling backward.
“Shi Yun, are stray cats and dogs trying to get close to you now?” Rong Che muttered pettily.
“General Rong, what do you mean by this? She is my wife!” Lu Yuan Ze’s eyes burned with rage.
Rong Che calmly corrected him, “Mind your words.”
“Ex-wife. Ex-wife!”
Lu Yuan Ze gritted his teeth, pointing at him in anger. “General Rong, you are the only son of the Stabilizing Duke. Are you truly planning to marry a woman who has borne three sons and a daughter?”
“She was my wife for eighteen years! She cooked for me, took care of my household—”
Before he could finish, Rong Che, unwilling to hear any more slander against Shi Yun, delivered a powerful punch to his jaw.
Unlike Lu Yan Shu, who was a scholar, Rong Che was a warrior.
His punch sent Lu Yuan Ze reeling, blood spurting from his mouth, a tooth flying out.
“Lord Lu, watch your mouth.”
“Shi Yun is flawless in my eyes, perfect beyond compare. I like her, I am willing. If you do not cherish her, someone else will!”
“I have yet to personally thank Lord Lu for casting aside such a fine wife.”
“Shi Yun deserves better.”
“As for your children, I will love them as my own and never let them suffer.”
“Once Shi Yun and I are wed, I shall make sure to invite my dear ex-husband to our wedding feast.” Rong Che was never one to let things go.
These words sent Lu Yuan Ze into a daze of fury. Unfortunately, he could not even step foot into the Xu Manor anymore.
Xu Yi Ting had long declared that if Lu Yuan Ze dared approach even half a step near the Xu residence, he would be beaten to death with wooden staffs.
Madam Xu rushed into the room, eyes red from sorrow.
The Old Madam lay on the couch, her face pale as paper, breathing shallowly.
“Mother… Mother…” Madam Xu knelt by the bed, grasping the Old Madam’s hand as tears streamed down her face.
Just days ago, the Old Madam had been in good spirits, her complexion rosy, able to eat and drink well. But now, she looked deathly frail.
The eldest sister-in-law sobbed, “The Old Madam suffered a grave shock, unable to recover her breath.”
“That heartless beast…”
“He heard of the trouble at Shi Yun’s manor and spent a night at General Rong’s residence. He reeked of wine when he arrived and immediately knelt before the Old Madam to plead for forgiveness.”
“He outright refused to let Shi Yun remarry. He wishes to rekindle their past…”
“The Old Madam rejected him, scolding him as a heartless wretch who had deceived Shi Yun for eighteen years.”
“But he only raved like a madman,” the eldest sister-in-law pursed her lips tightly.
“He claimed that bandits had stormed the manor, that Shi Yun, a mere divorced woman, must have suffered who knows what disgrace. He dared to fling filth upon Shi Yun’s name!”
He even called her a ruined woman, saying General Rong had picked up his discarded shoes.
Upon hearing this, the Old Madam flew into a rage on the spot.
“I will kill that wretched dog!” Third Master Xu’s veins bulged with fury, unable to contain his wrath.
“Do not make things worse. First, we must tend to the Old Madam,” the Third Madam clung to him, her face filled with worry. The Old Madam looked unwell, and they dared not leave her side.
The Imperial Physician shook his head. “The Old Madam’s health has been frail for years. Now, with such a grave shock, I fear…”
He even suspected she would not last through the day.
For now, he could only sustain her life with an ancient ginseng root.
“Mother, it is all my fault. It is I who have harmed you,” Madam Xu slapped herself over and over.
In mere moments, her cheeks turned bruised and swollen.
The children of the Lu family bit their lips so hard that blood seeped from their mouths.
Lu Chao Chao pursed her lips. Seizing the moment when everyone was distracted, she slipped out alone, not even bringing a maidservant.
Lu Yuan Ze stood anxiously outside the gates, eyes full of longing.
“Chao Chao, you still stand by your father, don’t you?” Lu Yuan Ze asked with hopeful anticipation.
Lu Chao Chao cast him a glance and then peered up at the sky.
She pulled him beneath a parasol tree. “Why you make grandma angry?” The little one puffed her cheeks indignantly.
“I did not mean to anger her. She is simply too sensitive and hot-tempered.”
“I don’t believe you…” Lu Chao Chao blinked her big, round eyes.
Lu Yuan Ze wanted to coax her and immediately said, “I am willing to trade twenty years of my lifespan for your grandmother’s safety and health.”
The moment he spoke, Lu Chao Chao lifted her tiny hand toward the sky.
Her small fist clenched tightly around something invisible, her bright eyes shimmering.