Chapter 317: Filial Piety Ends a Lineage
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
Xie Jing Xi let out a soft sigh.
“Having you as my son is truly my fortune.” Prince Jing Xi lifted his bowl and took a deep gulp of the soup.
“Not bad…” He smacked his lips together, feeling that something was a little off with the taste.
“Father, how do you feel?” Xie Yu Zhou’s eyes gleamed as he watched him intently.
The moment Xie Jing Xi swallowed, an unbearable discomfort surged in his chest, and a wave of nausea struck him. He almost couldn’t suppress the urge to vomit.
His brows furrowed tightly. “There’s… something nauseating about it.”
“No rush, Father. Don’t be afraid, you’ll be fine,” Prince Jing Xi inhaled deeply.
“Summon the imperial physician. My stomach aches a bit…”
“I do not blame you. It is your first time cooking, you are still inexperienced. Perhaps it wasn’t cooked properly.”
Xie Yu Zhou’s little face turned pale with fear. “No… It’s inedible?”
Prince Jing Xi saw his terrified expression and was about to comfort him when the boy suddenly let out a loud cry.
“Heavens!!”
He turned and flung the door open, revealing Sixth Prince and Lu Chao Chao tumbling into the room with a thud.
“Don’t eat it! Don’t eat it! The mushrooms are poisonous! We nearly died!” Xie Yu Zhou clutched his chest, trying to steady his breath.
“Luckily, I was smart enough to let Father eat first. Otherwise, I would have been poisoned to death!”
“Father, do you think your son is brilliant? You almost lost me!” Xie Yu Zhou looked at Prince Jing Xi with a face full of pride.
Prince Jing Xi was filled with warmth… only for it to lodge itself in his throat.
He gritted his teeth. “So, you were using me to test for poison?!”
Xie Yu Zhou nodded, utterly unaware of his impending doom. “Yes! I’m the sole heir of Prince Jing Xi’s Mansion. I can’t afford to be poisoned…”
Prince Jing Xi pointed a trembling finger at him.
“Unfilial son! Unfilial son! You are a calamity upon this house!”
“Someone, fetch my whip!” Prince Jing Xi roared in fury.
Xie Yu Zhou instantly burst into wails. “Father, you promised never to hit me again! You said I’d always be your most beloved child! Father, does love fade away?”
“Love does not fade, but love grows heavier! Today, I shall show you the weight of a father’s love!” Prince Jing Xi snatched up the whip and chased him around the courtyard.
Xie Yu Zhou wailed, running circles around the garden. “Wuwuwu, you said fatherly love was as steady as a mountain!”
“I meant, fatherly love is like a mountain collapsing!”
“Taste the mountain’s collapse!”
Lu Chao Chao and the Sixth Prince sat on the steps, hands cupping their cheeks as they quietly observed Xie Yu Zhou’s beating.
“Will he die from this?” Lu Chao Chao poked at her sixth brother.
The Sixth Prince waved dismissively. “Don’t worry. He gets beaten every other day. He’s experienced. The imperial physician is already waiting outside.”
“Oh,” Lu Chao Chao responded.
“Will you dare do it again? Answer me, will you dare?! You unfilial wretch!!” Just the sight of him made Prince Jing Xi’s head throb.
Xie Yu Zhou sobbed, barely able to breathe. “Wuwuwu, never again. I swear…”
“What did you do wrong?!” Prince Jing Xi lashed him a few more times before pausing to let him reflect.
Xie Yu Zhou, red-eyed and sniffling, saw the terrifying glint in his father’s eyes and his mind whirred desperately.
What was wrong?
He had to think.
“I… I shouldn’t have used family to test for poison.” He peeked at his father’s expression.
Seeing no immediate outburst, he continued. “Next time, I’ll let Imperial Uncle try first.”
“Imperial Uncle can—mmpf!” Prince Jing Xi clamped a hand over his son’s mouth in horror.
“Just kill me instead!!”
Heaven above, what sin had he committed in his past life to be burdened with this calamity in this one?
Prince Jing Xi was breaking into a cold sweat.
As he wiped his forehead, he noticed his stomach had stopped aching. Just then, the imperial physician rushed in with a medicine box, prompting him to toss aside the whip.
“Physician, were the mushrooms poisonous?”
After taking his pulse, the physician shook his head. “The mushrooms were not poisonous, My Lord. You simply had a reaction to consuming something unclean.”
“A few days of medicine will restore your digestion.”
Prince Jing Xi let out a long, secret sigh of relief.
Once the physician finished giving his instructions, he moved on to tending to Xie Yu Zhou’s wounds with practiced ease. Xie Yu Zhou wiped his tears and grinned wide.
“Should we add more fire and reboil the mushroom soup?”
“Maybe it was just too salty, so I added some raw water before serving.”
Lu Chao Chao waved her hands vehemently, her face filled with revulsion.
A boy who picked his nose without washing his hands—she absolutely refused to drink anything he made.
The Sixth Prince also shook his head in disdain. Seeing Xie Yu Zhou focus on healing, they bid him farewell and left.
On their way back, Lu Chao Chao and the Sixth Prince passed by the Rong family’s bustling preparations for the upcoming wedding.
Only half a month remained, and the entire household was working tirelessly.
Even the Empress had checked in multiple times, showing great interest in her eldest brother’s marriage.
“Chao Chao, let’s attend the palace banquet together. Hmm? What’s that?” The Sixth Prince’s eyes twitched at the sight before them.
Beneath the barren banyan tree, a nine-headed snake was deftly snapping off willow branches with its tail, taking every last twig.
As it slithered away, it casually brushed its fangs with the willow branches.
And before leaving…
It left a pile of excrement right at the roots of the tree.
Lu Chao Chao and the Sixth Prince exchanged a look. Their eyes widened in horror.
“Isn’t that… where we picked the mushrooms?!” Lu Chao Chao’s jaw dropped in shock.
The two children clung to the side of the carriage, gagging.
“If Prince Jing Xi finds out, he’ll beat Yu Zhou to death,” the Sixth Prince muttered, feeling his entire worldview shatter.
“For once, this beating was well deserved,” Lu Chao Chao sighed.
They continued their journey to the palace.
“Congratulations, Princess Zhao Yang! Your second brother has been promoted. Little General Lu is likely to inherit General Rong’s legacy! With them both, the people of North Zhao are truly blessed.”
“Congratulations, Princess Zhao Yang!”
“A great fortune for North Zhao indeed.”
From afar, voices of congratulations rang out towards Lu Chao Chao.
Madam Xu was surrounded by well-wishers. Who would have thought, after her divorce and expulsion from her previous home two years ago, that she would rise to such heights?
Among the noblewomen of the court, all sighed in admiration—Madam Xu was truly fortunate.
The first half of her life, she suffered under a scoundrel, cast out with her children.
The second half, she rose to prominence thanks to those very children, becoming the ultimate winner of fate.
“Many once thought marrying her daughter to the sole heir of the Stabilizing Duke was her overreaching.”
“But now, it seems it was the Rong family who married up.”
“Rong Che, that boy, is truly fortunate. He knows how to choose a wife!”
Rong Che lifted his chin with pride.
Even the Duke and his wife wore expressions of satisfaction.
“The luck Lu Yuan Ze squandered ended up benefiting General Rong instead…”
Rong Che’s eyes gleamed mischievously, clearly plotting something.
As the palace banquet began, the Southern Kingdom’s envoys arrived late.
Ming Lang’s expression was bright, his eyes filled with joy.
“Lord Ming, is there good news?” A court official familiar with him inquired.
Ming Lang’s face was alight with delight. “The deity of the Ming family has appeared, bestowing upon us the greatest power in history.”
The nobles of North Zhao narrowed their eyes but merely offered smiles and congratulations.
“Is the Crown Prince of the South so pleased that he has summoned his deity as well?”
Nan Mu Bai’s smile stiffened.
Of all topics, why bring that up?!