Chapter 273: A Lineage Cut Short
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation.
The royal doctor looked serious as he spoke to the marquis. “Lord, have you been feeling sharp pains in your stomach? Like needles stabbing you, but the pain goes away quickly?” he asked carefully.
He paused for a moment before continuing, “And… have you had trouble feeling attracted to women? No excitement or desire?” Lu Yuan Ze’s face turned red with embarrassment at the mention of this.
Quickly, he defended himself, “I was shocked a while ago, which made me ill. But I’ve gotten better now.”
Since that humiliating incident when he was caught in a compromising situation with Pei Jiao Jiao, these symptoms had bothered him. He had been taking medicine for two years, believing he was cured.
The royal doctor nodded and moved closer. “Forgive me, Your Lordship, but may I look at your eyes?”
He gently lifted Lu Yuan Ze’s eyelid. Underneath, the skin was a troubling blood-red, with dark shadows around his eye sockets.
“Lord Yuan Ze,” the doctor said solemnly, “this isn’t just from shock. You’ve been poisoned.”
“Poisoned? Impossible!” Lu Yuan Ze’s voice shook with disbelief. “I feel a warmth in my stomach, like a fire. The symptoms have been getting better!” If the man in front of him hadn’t been a royal doctor, Lu Yuan Ze might have exploded in anger.
The doctor’s face grew even more serious. “If I’m not mistaken, Lord, the poison entered your system long before that incident with your wife. The shock only made it worse.”
He continued, “You’ve also been taking strong medicines and tonics, which have made the poison’s effects stronger. Have you felt a rush of blood to your head and coughed up blood several times?”
Hearing this, Lu Yuan Ze felt a chill spread from his feet to his scalp.
The doctor saw his reaction and nodded knowingly. “It’s not just the shock; the poisoning runs deep… I’m afraid…” He hesitated, but Lu Yuan Ze grabbed his arm desperately.
“Doctor, please, save me! Save me!” Lu Yuan Ze begged, his face filled with fear.
The doctor slowly shook his head. “Lord Yuan Ze, you’ve been on these medications for too long. I’m afraid there’s no cure. The poison won’t shorten your life, but…” He paused, his expression grave. “You won’t be able to have any more children.”
No more children… ever again.
Lu Yuan Ze’s world fell apart. His legs gave out, and he collapsed.
“Bang!”
Lu Yuan Ze fell hard onto the stone pavement, his head hitting the ground with a terrible thud. Blood began to seep from a cut on his forehead.
“Lord Yuan Ze!!” the royal doctor shouted in alarm.
The crowd that had gathered to watch some drama now saw it turn into a tragedy.
People rushed to help Lu Yuan Ze. Blood flowed from his head, and his eyes were wide with a haunted look.
“No more… children?!” Lu Yuan Ze’s voice trembled.
He gripped the doctor’s hand tightly, each word forced out like a desperate plea, “You mean… this poison needs long-term medication?”
The doctor hesitated, then nodded. “Yes. Based on what I’ve seen, Lord Yuan Ze, you’ve been poisoned for about three years.”
Three years?
Lu Yuan Ze’s gaze snapped to Madam Pei.
She turned pale, shaking her head and stepping back, too scared to meet his eyes.
[Three years… Three years ago, Lu Jing Yao was born…] Lu Yuan Ze’s mind raced as he connected the dots.
Lu Jing Yao is now two and a half years old. Since the abbot predicted this child would be blessed, and after seeing Lu Jing Huai’s rise to fame, he hasn’t returned to the marquis’ estate for a long time.
Back then, Madam Pei often brought him soup, even when she was heavily pregnant.
He had always thought how caring and gentle Jiao Jiao was. Even while pregnant, she never relied on others to care for him.
But now, realizing the truth…
Lu Yuan Ze’s eyes widened in horror. He lunged forward, but the clan leader stepped in his way.
“Wretched woman! Wretched woman!! You not only humiliated me but poisoned me too!!”
“How dare you poison me?!”
“What did I do to deserve this from you? Why would you want to end the Lu family’s lineage?!”
“Don’t hold me back! I’m going to deal with this poisonous woman myself! She disgraced me and poisoned me! She cannot be allowed to live!” Blood dripped from Lu Yuan Ze’s mouth as he shouted, his rage reaching a boiling point.
At that moment, Lu Yuan Ze seemed to lose all reason. The clan leader urgently shouted, “You must not kill her!”
“Absurd, absurd!!” the clan leader muttered, shaking his head. “This is karma.”
He glanced at Lu Yuan Xi with fury. [How could he dare betray his elder brother and trick him into raising another man’s child?]
Yet, as he thought more about it, he could only sigh.
Despite the terrible cards he was dealt, he managed to turn the situation around somewhat favorably.
“Why can’t I kill her? She deserves to die, and so do Lu Yuan Xi, Lu Jing Yao, and Lu Jing Huai! They all deserve to die!!”
The clan leader scolded, “The Lu family’s reputation is already in shambles because of you! If you kill your wife in public, what will be left of our name? The old marquis spent his whole life building this reputation, and now, because of a fool like you, the title is gone, the legitimate grandsons and granddaughter are gone, and even the favored daughter-in-law is gone!!” His voice was filled with bitterness.
“Even if they must die, it won’t be by your hand!” The clan leader resented Lu Yuan Ze’s rashness. Killing his wife in public would only further ruin his status.
The Lu family had climbed their way up from the countryside to prominence, and now, it seemed all for nothing!
Lu Yuan Ze stared back, wild-eyed, “What honor is left to protect? The Lu family is already a joke in the capital!” Ever since his divorce, we had been the butt of all jokes!
The clan leader stared coldly at him.
“You can no longer father children. The legitimate son and daughter have been expelled from the family and removed from the genealogy. You, under your own name, are now childless!”
“Since Yuan Xi is of the old marquis’s blood, we will reinstate him into the family, along with Jing Huai and Jing Yao. This way, the Lu family can preserve a thread of its lineage and avoid complete disgrace!” The clan leader had already decided.
“Don’t you dare!” Lu Yuan Ze’s voice was hoarse, nearly spitting blood.
[An illegitimate son and his offspring taking over while I…]
[Am I expected to just hand over the Lu family? Absolutely not!]
This betrayal was a hundred, a thousand, a million times worse.
“He stole from me, humiliated me, poisoned me, severed my lineage. And now you want to welcome him into the family, acknowledge his bloodline, and make them the primary heirs of the Lu family? I won’t accept it, I won’t accept it!!”
“What does it matter if you accept it or not? Would you rather the Lu family line end here? The old marquis worked tirelessly his entire life to establish this foundation. Should we let that all go to waste?” The clan leader’s cane hit the ground with a forceful thud.
Driven to madness by these revelations, Lu Yuan Ze lost all sense of reason.
[Shamed by a half-brother born of a concubine! And now, I can’t even retaliate against him and his illegitimate offspring. Instead, I am supposed to welcome them into the household and name them as the rightful heirs of the Lu family!]
Lu Yuan Ze shoved the old clan leader aside and lunged forward like a wild animal, grabbing Madam Pei by the neck with a vengeful grip, his face twisted with fury.
He looked like a demon unleashed from the abyss.
“You should die. All of you should die!!”
“I have nothing left! You all deserve to die!”
Madam Pei’s face turned from pink to blue and purple as his grip tightened. She struggled to breathe, her throat squeezed under his strong hold. She couldn’t even scream; only hot tears flowed, dripping onto Lu Yuan Ze’s hands.
“Hurry, separate them, hurry!!” The clan leader was frantic. The Lu family’s fragile reputation was hanging by a thread. If Lu Yuan Ze succeeded in killing his wife here, it would be the final blow to their standing.
“We can’t pull them apart!” a clan member cried out in panic.
Just then, a strange sound like silver bells rang from outside the city.
All heads turned as countless birds swirled in the sky. Leading a procession, a formidable beast commanded awe and fear.
“What is that?” a villager whispered.
“It’s the divine envoy from the Southern Kingdom! The Southern Kingdom’s delegation has arrived!!”
While everyone’s attention shifted towards the city gates, Lu Yuan Ze’s crazed gaze stayed locked on Madam Pei’s throat, which she clutched desperately, fighting for her life.