Chapter 223: Rise and Fall
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
“You passed the county-level exam by stealing Lu Yan Shu’s writings!” Lu Yuan Ze gasped heavily, his breath uneven.
“Lu Yan Shu predicted the exam topics—he got them exactly right!”
“You took all of his manuscripts. How dare you!”
Lu Yuan Ze could barely stand. His eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging at his forehead, and his trembling finger pointed at Lu Jing Huai.
“You’re no genius. You were never a genius! From the start, it was all Lu Yan Shu!”
“You claimed to admire his talent and asked me to take his books away. Then you had Lu Wan Yi steal his manuscripts for you. You relied on his brilliance to pass the exams! The name of ‘genius’ you bear—it was stolen! You stole Lu Yan Shu’s talent!” Lu Yuan Ze’s voice turned hysterical.
He had been deceived!
Back then, he had invested everything in Lu Yan Shu, hoping the child would bring glory to Marquis Zhongyong’s Manor.
The foundation of the Marquis’s household was weak. They desperately needed fresh talent to secure their status.
He needed a perfect heir.
Lu Yan Shu met every demanding requirement.
But when Lu Yan Shu’s misfortune struck, Lu Yuan Ze had fallen into despair. And at that moment, Lu Jing Huai stepped forward, basking in stolen radiance.
“Father, you still have me,” he had said. “I will make you proud. I will win back the title of ‘Aspiring Scholar,’ then ‘Distinguished Scholar,’ then ‘Top Scholar.’ I will bring honor to Marquis Zhongyong’s Manor.”
And yet…
For that fleeting light, he had abandoned his wife and child.
Now, he realized that light belonged to Lu Yan Shu!
The sky crumbled.
For Lu Yuan Ze, the world was collapsing.
Madam Pei’s heart pounded violently. Her face turned an ugly shade of purple as she snapped her gaze toward her son. But in her eyes, there was no surprise.
“You knew all along, didn’t you? Pei Jiao Jiao, you knew everything, didn’t you?!” Lu Yuan Ze suddenly understood.
He had been played.
Madam Pei’s face was pale, her gaze evasive.
“Why blame Mother?” Lu Jing Huai’s voice carried a chilling edge as he shivered slightly.
His eyes were wild, his voice hoarse and terrifying. He had barely suppressed the drug’s effects by lying in the snow.
That drug had originally been prepared for Lu Yan Shu! Why… why was Lu Yan Shu always so fortunate?
“You were the one who wanted to keep a mistress! You coaxed my mother into becoming your secret woman. You swore you loved only her, that Xu Shi Yun was just an act.”
“Mother believed your lies and willingly became your hidden woman.”
“She waited day after day for you to cast aside your legal wife.”
“And you?” Lu Jing Huai’s stare burned with pure hatred.
“When Lu Yan Shu was born, your eyes saw only him! As he grew and his brilliance emerged, you had no room for anyone else!”
“At one year old, he could recite the Three Character Classic before he even learned to call you ‘Father.’ At three, his talent was undeniable. He could memorize complex texts after a single listen. You used to find Xu Shi Yun dull, but after having him…”
“You began to praise her. You called her a good wife, worthy of admiration. Every time you returned home, your thoughts and words were full of Lu Yan Shu. You tied the honor of the Marquis’s household to him.”
“And when you were in a good mood, you forced me to study.”
“I was just an ordinary person! I didn’t have Lu Yan Shu’s talent! He could memorize a text after three readings, while I couldn’t match him even if I studied through the night. You grew more impatient with me, openly saying I was nothing compared to Lu Yan Shu.”
“You only had eyes for him! He was all you could see!”
“I hated him! I hated Lu Yan Shu! Every day and every night, I prayed for his death, for him to fall from his pedestal.”
“But instead, he passed the county-level exam at eight years old! The youngest scholar in history!” Lu Jing Huai’s hatred burned to its peak.
“Hahaha… Everyone flocks to him, praises him, lifting the Marquis Zhongyong’s Manor to the heavens.”
“You take pride in him. He can openly declare himself as the heir of the marquis household. But I? I can only hide in the shadows, watching him with venom in my heart.”
“Why? Why is his life so blessed?”
“He holds an honorable status, possesses unparalleled talent. Why has Heaven granted him everything? I refuse to accept it! I refuse!” Lu Jing Huai howled in madness, his voice echoing with deep-seated hatred. He wished for nothing more than for Lu Yan Shu to die.
“So, you had Pei Yao Zu target Yan Shu?” Lu Yuan Ze’s eyes widened in horror as the realization struck him, his body trembling.
“You truly laid hands on Yan Shu!!” Overcome with fury, Lu Yuan Ze grabbed the inkstone on the desk and smashed it against Lu Jing Huai’s head.
Blood gushed from the wound, pain forcing a sharp intake of breath from Lu Jing Huai.
Yet, as he stared at his father’s enraged face, he let out a hollow laugh.
“It was you who harmed Yan Shu! You who doomed the marquis household! You wretched spawn, how could I have fathered such a disgrace? You deserve death, you deserve it!” Lu Yuan Ze never imagined that an eight-year-old child could harbor the intent to kill.
Lu Jing Huai sneered coldly. “Why wouldn’t I dare? He stood in my way. He deserved to die!”
“To let a prodigy fall at the peak of his fame, only then would you know true agony.”
“If only that fool Pei Yao Zu had succeeded! That useless coward couldn’t even kill a child! Had he not failed me, I would have long since replaced Lu Yan Shu, taken his manuscripts, and claimed everything that was his!” Lu Jing Huai gritted his teeth in hatred, cursing his own past weakness.
Pei Yao Zu, a scoundrel indulging in debauchery, stealing money from Madam Xu, had hesitated at the crucial moment. Living under the Marquis Zhongyong’s roof, he had feared killing the household’s shining hope. In the end, he had only beaten Lu Yan Shu into unconsciousness.
“It would have been best if he had remained paralyzed forever, bound to his wheelchair for life. Why does Heaven continue to favor him? Why?!” Lu Jing Huai seethed with resentment, cursing the heavens for their unjust favoritism.
“As long as he lives, as long as he can stand, you will never see me. I will always remain beneath his shadow, never able to rise! My mother and I will never receive your favor!” Lu Jing Huai raved, his lips stained with blood, his eyes locking onto Lu Yuan Ze.
“When he was crippled, you grieved in despair. Only then did you notice me…”
“He is the legitimate son, noble and upright, unwilling to resort to underhanded means.”
“I am the son of a mistress, hidden in the dark, living only by draining his life away. Why shouldn’t I strike him down?”
“One must fall for the other to rise. Father, you should understand this principle!”
Lu Yuan Ze staggered back a step, never having realized how twisted his son’s heart had become.
At eight years old, he had already used Pei Yao Zu to eliminate Lu Yan Shu.
“Wretched child! Wretched child!” Lu Yuan Ze trembled violently.
“Father, what are you afraid of? Didn’t I learn from you?” Lu Jing Huai let out a derisive chuckle. “You married a noble heiress, brainwashed her to serve your needs. You drained her dowry to support your entire family, even your mistress. Worse still…”
“You borrowed the Xu family’s power to build your network. You feasted upon them like a parasite, far more despicable than I am.”
“You even planned to raise Jing Yao under Madam Xu’s care, intending to use her to frame and destroy the Xu family.” Lu Jing Huai’s smile was eerie, his bloodstained teeth gleaming. “Father, you are far more ruthless than I could ever be.”
“You sucked the blood of your legal wife to nourish your mistress, and now, you plot the Xu family’s downfall. Compared to you, your son is but a mere novice!”