Chapter 270: Drowning Punishment
Translated by BCatranslation
Lu Yuan Ze’s face was twisted with fury, his expression dark and terrifying.
Lu Yuan Xi was being restrained, unable to move.
“You dared to impersonate a revered monk and lived under my roof! Who gave you such audacity?!” Lu Yuan Ze’s rage was maddening, his mind consumed by fury.
He had sacrificed everything just to have his children rightfully recorded in the family registry.
Yet, they turned out to be bastards!
The maid was shoved to the ground by the guards, and Lu Yuan Ze, his eyes bloodshot, glared at her murderously.
“When did they conspire? If you tell the truth, I will spare your life!” Lu Yuan Ze’s voice was rough, his breathing heavy with rage.
He tugged at his robe as if something weighed heavily on his chest, making it hard to breathe.
The maid looked at Madam Pei in terror.
But Pei Jiao Jiao was already beaten to the point of being unrecognizable, unable to even look at her.
Lu Yuan Ze stomped on the maid’s face. “Your indenture contract is here, isn’t it? Your parents live in this house too, don’t they?”
The maid trembled violently.
“Before reaching the capital, they had already met on the journey. At that time, they had no romantic feelings, but…”
“It was only when Madam Pei was mistreated, hidden away like a concubine, that he appeared.”
“He treated her with utmost care, and over time, she fell for him.”
“Please, Master, spare my family. They knew nothing of this!” The maid knelt and continuously knocked her head against the ground in desperation.
Lu Yuan Ze’s chest felt numb with pain. “Jing Huai…”
“He is his son.” The maid wept, pointing at Lu Yuan Xi.
“To match the timeline, they bribed the physician to claim the baby was a month younger. You thought Jing Huai was premature, but in truth, he was born full-term.”
“They even restricted her diet to prevent the baby from growing too large, just to make him appear like a premature infant.”
Lu Yuan Ze staggered as though struck by a devastating blow, shattering his pitiful hopes.
The child was not his.
The maid bit her lip, hesitant to speak further.
“Jing Yao isn’t mine either, is she?” Lu Yuan Ze gritted his teeth, his expression like that of a demon from hell.
The maid nodded painfully.
“Well done, Pei Jiao Jiao, truly well done!” Lu Yuan Ze laughed, but it was the laugh of a devil.
“How dare you?! How could you?!”
“You faithless wench! I will drown you! I will take your life!” Lu Yuan Ze had gone mad. Completely insane.
“Father! Father, please don’t hurt Mother! Father…”
“Father, Jing Yao doesn’t acknowledge him! You are my only father! Please, let Mother go!” Lu Jing Yao wept, clinging to Lu Yuan Ze’s leg.
“It was the villain who deceived her! It’s all the villain’s fault!”
“Get away from me! You wretched spawn! How dare you compare yourself to my Chao Chao?! You are a disgrace, a bastard!” Lu Yuan Ze kicked her away with all his might. Lu Jing Yao slammed into the wall, crying out in pain.
“Jing Yao! Yao Yao! Lu Yuan Ze, have you no conscience? She is barely three years old!” Madam Pei tried to crawl toward her daughter but was crushed beneath Lu Yuan Ze’s foot.
“Even if she isn’t of your blood, she has called you Father for years! How can you be so heartless?!”
Lu Yuan Ze’s face was cold and indifferent. “Heartless? You drove away my wife and son, put these bastards in the family registry—who is the heartless one?!”
“She is not my flesh and blood, so what child is she to me?”
“Even at such a young age, she already helps you fight for favor and assists Lu Jing Huai in cheating! Who knows what wicked thing she’ll become in the future?!” Lu Yuan Ze sneered cruelly.
“Men! Seize the adulterous pair! Drown them tomorrow!”
“No! You cannot drown me! Lu Yuan Ze, you cannot drown me!” Pei Jiao Jiao’s face twisted in terror, but Lu Yuan Ze merely had her mouth gagged and tightly guarded.
Lu Yuan Xi maintained a constant smile throughout. Even when Lu Yuan Ze ordered him beaten, he continued smiling.
The two were locked away in the firewood shed, barely alive.
Lu Jing Yao lay on the ground, but no servants or maids dared help her.
They could only watch as she stumbled her way back to Madam Pei’s chambers.
By the time dawn broke, the night had been utterly chaotic.
Lu Yuan Ze had not slept. He sat in his ruined courtyard, his face frozen between laughter and tears.
Two years ago, his wife was virtuous, his children were complete, and his home was well-kept.
No matter when he returned, the house was always filled with joyful laughter.
Now…
His home was barren. His wife had left. His children no longer belonged to him. His house was in ruins.
His mother lay paralyzed, her body covered in bedsores, barely clinging to life.
The children he had treasured most were Pei Jiao Jiao’s bastards.
This was karma.
Hahaha… This was karma!
Tears streamed down Lu Yuan Ze’s face. At some point, he found himself standing before Shi Yun’s door.
He didn’t know how long he stood there, staring blankly at the wooden entrance.
At dawn, the door opened. Shi Yun stood there holding a hand warmer, sending her son off to the carriage.
Her son had grown taller, his features refined, looking just like her.
He spoke gently, “Mother, please go back inside. The morning air is cold; don’t catch a chill.”
Once the carriage disappeared into the distance, General Rong sneaked up beside Shi Yun.
“Hehe, I’ll come propose tomorrow.”
“Uh… uh…” Rong Che scratched his head, embarrassed.
“My parents wanted me to ask… If I join as a live-in husband, can I bring them along? They won’t live in the house, just next door. Yes, just next door…”
Shi Yun chuckled.
“Of course.”
“Really? Yun, you’re amazing!” Rong Che almost jumped in joy.
Lu Yuan Ze felt an unbearable bitterness in his heart. He couldn’t describe his emotions.
This used to be his life.
He had once scorned Shi Yun for being too dignified, preferring Pei Jiao Jiao’s charm. But what he had discarded was Rong Che’s greatest treasure.
Now, he was nothing more than a rat in the gutter, secretly watching Shi Yun’s life from afar.
Rong Che returned home joyfully to prepare for his proposal.
His mother said sincerity was key.
So, he brought out the entire Stabilizing Duke’s family fortune. The old Duke hesitated for a long time before finally bringing out his lifelong private savings, only to be beaten up by the Old Madam.
At that moment, Lu Yuan Ze, watching Shi Yun, felt as if his feet were weighed down with lead.
His face was unshaven, his body haggard—gone was the man of prestige he once was.
Shi Yun turned her head and saw him.
Her smile disappeared instantly, leaving Lu Yuan Ze with a deep, stinging pain in his chest.
“Yun…”
“Disgusting! What are you doing here?! Haven’t you harmed us enough?!” Deng Zhi glared at him.
At the door, Lu Chao Chao poked her head out, eavesdropping curiously.
“Yun, it was all my fault. Do you know what that wretched Pei Jiao Jiao did?!” Lu Yuan Ze clenched his fists, his chest heaving with anger.
“Pei Jiao Jiao cuckolded me!! Lu Jing Huai and Lu Jing Yao are bastards!!”
“They are not my children!!”
“Yun, none of them are my children!” Lu Yuan Ze roared in anguish.
Deng Zhi’s eyes widened in shock. She had been about to call for the guards, but now…
She hesitated.
Even the approaching guards halted.
This gossip was too good to miss!
The weight of this chapter just flew away after looking at the next chapters title