Chapter 277: A Curse on the Bloodline
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation.
Since that day, Madam Pei discovered that the bride her cousin had intended to marry was Madam Xu. From that moment, she harbored a deep hatred, hoping with all her heart that Madam Xu would lose everything she had.
[Why does she get everything?]
Madam Xu, born to a noble family, was loved by her parents and brothers. She seemed to have all the luck in the world. For that, Madam Pei’s envy burned inside her like a fire. She wanted to take everything from Madam Xu and crush her underfoot for not lending her a few spare coins that cold wintery day.
Yet fate had other plans in mind, and Madam Pei was the one drowning underfoot, the river water creeping up her nose and mouth.
“No, please, I—”
“I won’t… I can’t… glub, glub…” Madam Pei tried to speak, but the cold water filled her mouth and nose, choking her with fear. She wanted to scream, but no sound came out.
Her regrets and schemes disappeared into the river.
Lu Yuan Ze, his eyes blazing with anger, pushed Madam Pei’s head deeper into the water.
“You vile woman, you’ve shamed me! You should die! You deserve to die!” he shouted, his eyes red and his voice shaking with rage.
Nearby, Lu Yuan Xi watched, his face calm and cold as he turned to the clan members. “Clan Chief, it’s time to go back.”
If Lu Yuan Xi wasn’t the Old Marquis’s bastard son and listed in the family records, he might have met the same fate as Madam Pei. But as Lu Yuan Ze’s brother, this cruel act was just seen as a family issue.
“My elder brother has no heirs, so Jing Huai will be counted as his son. He should be adopted under my elder brother’s name,” Lu Yuan Xi suggested with a slight smile. “This way, my brother will have a descendant, and our family bloodline will continue.”
Lu Yuan Ze’s face twisted in fury. “Who wants your dirty bloodline?! I have my own children! I have three sons and a daughter! My eldest son is a top scholar! My daughter is a princess! I have children! I have a bloodline!” he yelled, nearly losing his mind.
He looked desperately toward Chao Chao, who was surrounded by servants, too far away for him to reach.
With no other choice, he ran like a madman back toward the city.
“Shi Yun, Shi Yun, I’ve drowned that awful woman. Shi Yun, let’s make up…”
“Shi Yun, let’s start over, okay?”
His desperate cries filled the air as he ran toward the Lu family mansion.
“Shi Yun, I know I was wrong. I won’t keep any more mistresses. Shi Yun, come home. Let’s be a family again. Shi Yun, I know I was wrong…” he begged outside the mansion gates, that eventually creaked open.
Lu Yuan Ze’s eyes lit up with hope as he looked up. Yet, instead of his ex-wife coming out, it was General Rong Che, his face full of joy, flanked by two elders from the Protectorate Duke’s residence, all of them laughing and chatting happily.
A young servant stood by the gate, throwing candies to the crowd.
“Our General is getting married today! Come, everyone, enjoy the good fortune!”
The crowd surged forward to grab the candies. Rong Che’s wide grin matched his parents’ behind him.
“Good boy, look how clever Shi Yun’s child is. Our Rong family is truly blessed.”
“I heard Yuan Xiao has passed the scholar exams…” one of the elders from the Protectorate Duke’s Mansion announced, patting Rong Che on the back.
“You’d better behave. Don’t turn out like Lu Yuan Ze. Let me make it clear: if you mess around, you’ll be kicked out of the family, and we’ll stick with Shi Yun,” the old lady warned sternly.
“If you lose Shi Yun, you lose us too.”
Rong Che looked helpless. “Father, I’m already in my thirties and finally marrying Shi Yun. Why would I ever do such a thing?”
“Well, that’s true,” the old man agreed, laughing heartily.
“Oh, we really underestimated our ancestors. We thought they wouldn’t bless you. Turns out they were just saving it up for something big!”
“Last time, we even used the ancestor’s tablet for firewood.”
“Hurry home and set up a new one,” the old man muttered as he hurried back toward the Protectorate Duke’s Mansion.
Lu Yuan Ze stood there, stunned, his mind blank.
Shi Yun was getting married.
She and Rong Che had set a wedding date.
The woman he had ignored was now cherished by someone else. As the crowd pushed him aside, he watched, feeling completely cut off from the happiness around him. The wonderful children and the virtuous wife he could have had were now someone else’s.
“Son, go on ahead. I forgot to tell Shi Yun something; I’ll catch up soon,” the old lady told Rong Che before quickly shooing away the maids and hurrying back.
Shi Yun had only walked a short distance when she heard the old lady calling her urgently. “Shi Yun, Shi Yun, I have something important to tell you.”
Catching her breath, the old lady took Shi Yun’s hand. “Listen, I have a little secret that I might forget later. On your wedding night, if you step on your husband’s shoe, you can transfer the morning sickness to him. Make sure you step on his shoe, okay? Morning sickness can be terrible, lasting until the baby is born.”
Madam Xu, overhearing this, suddenly remembered how the old lady had snatched Lu Yuan Ze’s shoes at their wedding. “Step hard, don’t hold back,” the old lady added with a laugh, before turning to leave.
After she left, Deng Zhi couldn’t help but chuckle. “The old lady is really something. Most people would worry their son might suffer, but she’s afraid he won’t suffer enough…”
“Yes, both elders are truly kind-hearted,” Shi Yun replied with a gentle smile.
Deng Zhi glanced around carefully before speaking to Madam Xu. “Madam, Madam Pei has drowned. Lu Yuan Ze just confessed outside the gate.” She worried that Madam Xu might still have feelings for him.
Madam Xu waved her hand dismissively. “Dirtying our doorstep—what bad luck. Have them clean the front gate three times and give the servants a good reward.”
“Yes, Madam. I’ll make sure to thank them,” Deng Zhi replied, her smile brightening the somber mood.
But Madam Xu looked toward the palace, a sense of dread creeping over her.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan Ze wandered back to his manor, his mind lost in a fog.
The maids had cleaned the old lady, tended to her wounds, and dressed her in fresh clothes, but even strong perfume couldn’t hide the lingering stench.
They had moved her to the yard to get some sun. She drooled slightly as she saw Lu Yuan Ze approach, her eyes full of hope.
“Pei Jiao Jiao has been drowned. That bastard is Father’s illegitimate son. Did you know?” Lu Yuan Ze’s voice shook with anger.
The old lady’s face twitched, more drool dripping from her mouth.
“He’s even registered as Father’s illegitimate son! He dared to mock me!! The children I raised with all my efforts, pinned all my hopes on—they are his!!” Lu Yuan Ze’s eyes were wild as he stared at his mother.
“Mother, I can’t have any more children.”
The old lady’s body jerked at his words, her eyes sharpening.
“I’ll never be able to father another child. That wicked wench poisoned me!”
“The Lu family is doomed, our bloodline cut off!! The clan chief won’t let me drown that bastard. They want him to take over the household, to inherit the family line and estate.”
Lu Yuan Ze’s laugh was empty and crazy. “I kicked my own children out of the family, erased them from the family register, only to let a bastard inherit everything and become the only heir of the Lu family. Mother, is this what you wanted?”
“Is Lady Qiao’s bloodline inheriting the family estate what you desired?”
“I’ve lost everything. Hahaha, all is lost… This is my punishment! It’s all my punishment!”
The old lady’s heart sank deeper than ever before, her shock worse than any stroke.
Her once calm face turned pale, and she began to shake uncontrollably.
“No!! No, no, no!!!” With a desperate scream, the old lady collapsed to the ground.
She had lost her sanity, overwhelmed by the disastrous outcome of her schemes.
All her careful planning over the years—for Lady Qiao’s illegitimate son?
Her own son’s bloodline cut off, the family line ended.
Heavens!!!
What had she done?!