Chapter 279: Chao Chao’s Little Schemes
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation
Lu Yan Shu had just come back to the mansion. He quickly changed into clean clothes and hurried to see his mother, Madam Xu. His younger brother, Lu Yuan Xiao, was right behind him.
“You’ve only been away for half a month, and you’ve already lost weight. Are you eating well?” Madam Xu asked, concern clear on her face as she noticed her eldest son looking thinner.
“I ate before I came home, Mother. I’m not losing weight, really. I gained some when I was bedridden and needed help all the time. Now that I’m moving around again, my body’s just getting back to normal,” Lu Yan Shu reassured her with a smile.
“Yeah, yeah, chubby meat is tastier!” mumbled Chao Chao, still half-asleep as she lifted her tiny head from her mother’s arms.
Everyone paused for a moment before bursting into laughter.
“You little foodie, always thinking about eating,” Lu Yan Shu teased.
Chao Chao pouted. “Eating lots makes Chao Chao happy! Chao Chao very happy!”
“Yes, yes, our Chao Chao is very blessed,” Lu Yan Shu chuckled. He glanced at his mother, thinking about the envoy from the Southern Kingdom who had just arrived in the capital with a fierce beast. He was worried about their real intentions, especially since his mother still had ties to the royal family there. He hoped it wouldn’t cause her any trouble.
As they got closer to the entrance, Lu Yuan Ze was already there waiting.
“Chao Chao, come to Daddy!” Lu Yuan Ze called out, his voice rough and his beard scruffy.
Chao Chao clung tighter to her mother. “Mommy, who’s this scary, smelly man?” she whispered.
Lu Yuan Ze’s body stiffened. He realized he must look a mess and even smelled a bit bad.
Feeling embarrassed, he stepped back. Lu Yan Shu got out of the carriage to help his mother and younger brother down, while Lu Yuan Ze followed, looking both eager and awkward. Madam Xu, who had been well taken care of in the past two years, looked radiant and much younger than her age, especially after her divorce. In contrast, Lu Yuan Ze looked like he had aged decades.
“You look like an old grandpa!” Chao Chao blurted out, her tiny voice ringing clear in the quiet.
Lu Yuan Ze felt a sharp pain in his heart. Before him stood his former wife, whom he had once looked down upon, now living a life full of happiness he could only dream of.
“Madam! This servant greets Madam! Young Master, Young Master, please come in. This servant will brew your favorite tea…” Without Madam Pei around, the young maids didn’t bother to hide their joy and hurried forward to greet them.
Everyone walked together toward Deshan Hall.
Before reaching the hall though, Chao Chao pinched her nose and made a face. “Ew, what’s that stinky smell? Did Grandma poop herself?” she asked innocently.
Lu Yuan Ze quickly explained, “Chao Chao, it’s bedsores on Grandma’s body. She’s in a lot of pain.” He then looked at Madam Xu with a pleading expression. “If only you were the one taking care of her, she wouldn’t have ended up like this. You’ve always been so attentive.”
Madam Xu gave him a cold stare. “Maybe she deserved it. After all, it was Madam Pei she chose as her daughter-in-law.”
Lu Yuan Ze pressed his lips together, saying nothing more.
“Go check on your mother,” Madam Xu instructed.
“Yan Shu, Yuan Xiao, Chao Chao, go see your grandmother,” Lu Yuan Ze added, his eyes red.
Chao Chao held her nose and moved closer, staring at the old lady with wide eyes.
“Yun… Yun, Yun Shi…” the old lady, who used to curse Madam Pei daily, could now only mumble a few words with great difficulty.
“You… you are my best… daughter-in-law,” she croaked, gripping Yun Shi’s hand. Her cloudy eyes filled with tears. She wanted to see Lu Yan Shu and Lu Yuan Xiao. They were her true grandsons, her real flesh and blood!
“Y- Yan Shu… Yuan… Yuan Xiao…” The old lady drooled as she looked at them.
The grandsons she once despised had now become her last hope. The last bloodline of the Lu family. Yuan Ze could not end up without descendants, otherwise, she could not die in peace. She could not face the old Marquis or the ancestors of the Lu family.
Most importantly, she couldn’t let that lowly maid, Lady Qiao, win!
“G-good, t-top scholar… Little… scholar…” She gazed at her two grandsons. The eldest had become the top scholar, and the second one was accomplishing great things on the battlefield. How could Madam Xu’s children be so impressive?
“Yun Shi, come… come home. Daughter-in-law, I apologize…” she slurred, struggling to get the words out.
“Daughter-in-law, I beg you,” she pleaded, gripping Madam Xu’s hand tightly.
“Recognize the ancestors, return to the clan. Lu family, descendants! Come…” she gasped for air, fighting to stay alive.
Lu Yuan Ze couldn’t let go of his pride, but she, on her deathbed, could still manipulate Madam Xu.
“The Lu family cannot be without heirs. Yun Shi…” The old lady wept, pleading.
Chao Chao squatted in front of the old lady, her eyes wide as she stared.
“Chao… Chao, do miss Grandma? Blood ties… never, never break…” The old lady’s heart swelled with joy seeing Chao Chao’s eager eyes.
“Chao Chao, do you have something to say to Grandma?” Lu Yuan Ze encouraged her, hoping she might say something to sway Yun Shi.
Chao Chao hesitated, then said, “Grandma, when you go bye-bye, can Chao Chao not go to school for the funeral? I no like academy.”
“My friend’s grandma went bye-bye, and he didn’t go to school for three days.”
The old lady’s eyes bulged, bloodshot, almost popping as she struggled to make grunting sounds.
“Ah! Ah!!” She stared intensely, clutching Yun Shi’s wrist tightly, causing her pain.
“Come back, come back!”
“Die, die… not, at peace!”
“Come back!” The old lady cried, her voice soaked with blood, as if she wouldn’t rest in peace unless Madam Xu brought the children back.
With a thud, Lu Yuan Ze knelt before Yun Shi.
“Yun Shi, I have wronged you in this life. I can never repay what I owe you. Yun Shi, can you give me a chance to make it up to you and our daughter?”
“A wife is best when she’s the first. How can outsiders compare to our own family?”
“Let’s go back to how things were, like before. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
“I’ve drowned Pei Jiao Jiao in the water, and I swear never to keep any other woman again. The household cannot do without you… I was foolish and left you both. It was all my fault…” Lu Yuan Ze knelt, bowing deeply repeatedly.
“It was my mistake to cast you out of the house and remove you from the family records. But the old Marquis never wronged you; I beg you to leave a descendant for the household, leave a bloodline for the Lu family.”
“The Lu family cannot be left without heirs! From now on, whatever you say, I won’t dare to oppose. Everything will be as you wish! Yun Shi, please come home!” Lu Yuan Ze couldn’t bear the thought of the Lu family’s foundation being destroyed by his actions. The mere thought fired his blood with fury.
To be without heirs, to have the family line end—he shivered at the thought.
Madam Xu’s expression softened slightly, causing Deng Zhi to feel a chill. (Could Madam be softening her heart?)
Madam Xu spoke gently. “How can the old Marquis be without heirs? Doesn’t he still have Lu Yuan Xi, his illegitimate son? He’s still his blood. The old Marquis wouldn’t mind.”
“Lu Jing Huai is someone you personally raised; a nephew is like half a son—double the kinship. How could there be no heirs…”
“Besides, to be without heirs, to have the bloodline cut off—those are your problems! What does that have to do with me? I’m here today to deliver you an invitation. Don’t forget to come and have a cup of wedding wine, to share in the happiness.” Madam Xu pulled a gold-embossed invitation from her sleeve.
Madam Xu looked at the old lady on the bed, barely clinging to life, panting heavily.
“Old Madam, go in peace. I’ll pour a cup of wedding wine at your grave. Drink some wine from your former daughter-in-law and witness my happiness.”
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation
“So be it if the bloodline ends; it was never a good one anyway.”
“Yan Shu and the others can always find a new father.”
With that, Madam Xu waved her hand, leading her children away.
Chao Chao’s small face was sweaty with urgency. “Remember to tell the school about Grandma so I can take time off. Make sure to come!”
“It’s best if you die the day after tomorrow. There’s an exam, and I won’t have to take it.”
“Make sure to come!”