Chapter 271: Chao Chao the Little Trumpet
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation
“Shi Yun, that Pei woman is an unfaithful wretch! She actually…”
“She put a green hat on me for years! Those children of hers are nothing but bastards! It’s all because of her that our marriage fell apart! Shi Yun, how about I drown her in the pond to vent your anger?” Lu Yuan Ze clutched his chest in fury. The Shi Yun before him now was radiant and elegant, completely unlike the weary woman she had been when they divorced.
Madam Xu gently shook her head, her expression calm as she looked at him.
“She has nothing to do with it. It was you who ruined our marriage.”
“If it hadn’t been Pei, it would have been a Wang, a Li, or a Chen. Your regret now is meaningless—it’s only because you’ve been betrayed by Pei and are finally facing your retribution.”
“Those children not being yours? That is just your karma.”
“And don’t pretend to be pitiful before me. The children? I won’t return them to you. You erased their names from the family registry and severed ties with them—there is no going back!” Madam Xu wasn’t surprised at all to see him.
After hearing the gossip from Chao Chao that Lu Jing Yao wasn’t his biological daughter, she had known Lu Yuan Ze would come running.
“Shi Yun! I’ve already lost my marquis title—I cannot let the Lu family end like this!”
“Shi Yun, let Yan Shu return! If not, then Zheng Yue!”
“I know I cannot take back Chao Chao, but at least give me Yuan Xiao. Let him inherit everything! The Lu family bloodline cannot be cut off! The family registry cannot end with me!” Lu Yuan Ze was on the verge of kneeling before her.
Lu Yuan Xiao was just stepping out the door when he overheard this, and he immediately jumped up.
“Did I do something unforgivable?! No way am I going back!” The young boy glared viciously at Lu Yuan Ze.
Madam Xu chuckled. “Did you hear that?”
“Mother, I’d rather beg on the streets than go back.”
“Let the line end, let the bloodline be severed. What’s there to inherit? A few broken walls? Who would want that?” Lu Yuan Xiao scoffed.
Lu Yuan Ze was so enraged that he nearly fainted.
“Don’t be angry just because a child speaks the truth.” Deng Zhi stepped in to protect the young master, personally escorting him onto the carriage.
Lu Yuan Ze had already suffered a major shock, and now, having not slept all night, he was seeing stars before his eyes.
“Don’t you dare die at our doorstep—it’s bad luck.” Deng Zhi spat and hurriedly helped Madam Xu inside.
Lu Yuan Ze forced himself to stay upright. He had been taking tonics for two years straight. If worst came to worst, he would just have another child!
“Xu! Don’t think you’re the only one who can bear children! I’m still young! I can just have another one!”
Due to his condition, he had secretly consulted doctors for two years.
Madam Xu paused mid-step, raising a brow. “Perhaps you should find a physician skilled in detoxification instead. You might just receive quite the surprise.”
Lu Yuan Ze had never actually had an issue with his condition.
“What do you mean?!” A sense of dread crept into his heart.
“Ask Pei. You’ll find your answer.”
As the gates shut behind her, Lu Yuan Ze’s heart pounded with unease.
His impotence—he had never dared to tell an imperial physician. No man would willingly expose such a flaw.
He had sought countless doctors in secret, but nothing had worked.
Panicked, he rushed back to his estate. Inside, Madam Pei and Lu Yuan Xi were already bound. The Old Madam was slathered in ointments, drooling in her wheelchair and wailing incoherently.
“Kill! Kill!”
“Mother, I won’t forgive them!” Lu Yuan Ze’s eyes flashed with murderous intent.
“Gag them! Transport them outside the city to the river—make sure no one finds out!” At his command, the two were stuffed into a carriage.
Back then, he had thrown Madam Xu and his children out for so-called love.
Now, he had been rewarded with a pair of bastards. How could he endure such humiliation?
Just as he was heading out of the city—
Lu Chao Chao rode her dog through the streets, shouting at the top of her lungs.
“Hurry, hurry! Someone’s about to be drowned in the river!”
“Quick, come watch! A drowning at the moat!”
“Someone’s getting dunked!” Sitting atop Windchaser, Chao Chao galloped through the city, her voice carrying far.
In an instant, the news spread like wildfire.
A drowning? Who wouldn’t want to witness such a spectacle?
“Who’s being drowned?” someone asked as they stopped her.
Chao Chao chirped, “That would be the former Marquis Zhongyong, Lu Yuan Ze. Turns out, his so-called children aren’t even his.”
“What?!”
The crowd erupted in a furor.
“Wait, you mean that self-proclaimed true love devotee who kicked out his wife and children? Didn’t he claim to be madly in love?”
Chao Chao nodded seriously. “His true love put a green hat on him.”
“Let’s go!”
“Hey, vendor, aren’t you going to keep selling?” someone asked, seeing a street seller hastily packing up.
The vendor didn’t even look up. “Forget it! I’ll set up by the moat. The crowd’s bound to be huge—good for both business and gossip!”
Hearing this, the city went mad, with people pouring out toward the river.
Chao Chao panicked. “Hurry, hurry! Get on the carriage, or we won’t get a good spot!”
Her carriage sped along. Seeing her eagerness for gossip, Xuan Ji Chuan picked her up and carried her into the throng.
Lu Yuan Ze stood frozen, staring at the overwhelming crowd.
He clutched his chest. “W-what is happening?!”
“Master, we don’t know! They just appeared out of nowhere!” his servant stammered.
From the riverbank, someone called out, “Lord Lu, how could you bear to drown your true love?”
Lu Yuan Ze gritted his teeth. “No! I cannot spare these two adulterers!”
“Drown them!” he roared.
Madam Pei, tightly bound, thrashed desperately. “Mmm! Mmm!” Her mouth was gagged, her face streaked with tears.
Lu Yuan Xi, despite his bruises, remained calm, staring at Lu Yuan Ze with defiance.
The servants dragged them, step by step, into the water.
“Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!” Madam Pei trembled violently as the icy water rose up her skin.
She shuddered as the water covered her chin, her lips, her nose, her eyes—
“Stop!!”
“Unfilial son, stop at once!”
A furious roar rang out. Lu Yuan Ze turned to see the Clear Creek clan elder storming forward.
“You cannot drown them! Pull them out!” Seeing no one listening, the clan leader ordered his men to retrieve the two.
“Cough, cough!”
“Cough! Cough!” Peeling the rag from her mouth, Madam Pei choked and trembled in terror.
“Clan Leader, what is the meaning of this?!” Lu Yuan Ze’s bloodshot eyes glared.
“Lu Jing Huai and Lu Jing Yao may not be yours, but they are still of the Lu bloodline. They are merely returning to their roots.”
Lu Yuan Ze staggered, face pale as death.
At that moment, the betrayal he had once dealt Madam Xu came crashing back upon him—doubled in force.
“Lu family… bloodline?” His voice quivered as he murmured in despair.