Chapter 373: The Causal Loop
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
General Lou stood in complete bewilderment.
When he arrived at the ancestral hall of the Sang Family, he found Lu Chao Chao drowsily leaning against a pillar, cradling Windchaser in her arms.
Old Madam Sang, her expression firm, glanced at the gathered crowd of unworthy descendants and spoke decisively, “Take stock of the family records. It’s time for a mutual divorce.”
Her silver hair was immaculately combed, her demeanor strict yet elegant. She sat with dignity in the center of the ancestral hall, before her a faded wedding robe that no longer fit her.
Decades had passed, and while the robe had lost its color, the knot in her heart remained.
“Why?” Old Master Sang could not fathom why, at their advanced age, they had reached the point of separation.
“We have sons and daughters, grandchildren aplenty. They are filial and accomplished, and our days have been harmonious and peaceful. I manage the major affairs, and you take care of the minor ones. What more could you want?”
“Whenever you sulked, was I not always the one to placate you? For decades, I never uttered a word of complaint.” He truly did not understand. Their life had been smooth, their household at peace—why would she seek divorce now?
“Yes, in your eyes, these are all small matters.” Old Madam Sang ran her rough fingers over the aged wedding robe.
Her hands had grown calloused, her figure had changed, her hair had turned white. She could no longer fit into that wedding attire.
“Back then, I was slender, she was plump. I wore this oversized robe that did not fit me, and I cried out of grievance. You called it a small matter.”
“She returned, pregnant, to plead with you. You set up a courtyard for her. You said it was trivial.”
“Her son couldn’t secure a good position, so you secretly arranged for him to live comfortably on a countryside estate. You said it was just a few coins, nothing worth mentioning.”
“What you saw as trifles were knots I could never untie.”
“How many great events does a lifetime hold? It is the accumulation of these so-called small matters that make up one’s life.”
“You ask why I want a divorce? Perhaps… because I am nearing my grave and have never once worn a wedding dress that was truly mine. I have never lived a life that was truly mine…”
“You provided for her and her family, but did you ever consider my feelings? Enough. Chao Chao was right—I must live for myself, at least once.”
“Draft the divorce document.”
Her kneeling children, who had been pleading for her to reconsider, froze.
“A lifetime of compromise for my maiden family, for my children, enduring a forced marriage and an ill-fitting wedding robe…” The children’s attempts to persuade her came to an abrupt halt.
“A lifetime of generosity, in exchange for peace within the household.” She chuckled bitterly.
General Lou’s lips were pressed into a firm line. Old Master Sang nudged him. “Say something to persuade her!”
General Lou stared at his aunt. So she had not been happy all these years.
Taking a deep breath, he declared, “Aunt, the Lou Family is strong now. You no longer need to suffer grievances for the family’s sake. If you insist on divorcing, the Lou Family will always welcome you back.”
Old Master Sang, enraged, shoved him.
But the words warmed Old Madam Sang’s heart.
“Your maiden room has always been kept ready, cleaned daily. Why not return home for a while? The little rascals in the house miss their great-aunt dearly.” General Lou spoke sincerely.
Old Madam Sang penned the divorce document, not even waiting for Old Master Sang to sign it.
Immediately, she instructed the maids to take stock of her belongings. The mansion was in chaos; even the Sang children no longer opposed her decision.
Lu Chao Chao nudged Xie Yu Zhou. “Let’s go, let’s go! It’s time to make a fortune!”
“Make a fortune?” Xie Yu Zhou looked utterly lost.
“You asked me where I got so many treasures, right? Today, I’ll show you!”
Lu Chao Chao, experienced as ever, followed behind Old Madam Sang. “Old Madam, do you still want this double-sided embroidered screen of ‘A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains’?”
Old Madam Sang waved a hand dismissively. “He gave it to me. I don’t want it.”
Lu Chao Chao gestured quickly. “Take it away!”
“Old Madam, this potted Thousand Threads Silver Willow, did he gift it? Do you still want it?” she asked eagerly.
“It irritates me just looking at it. Get rid of it.”
“Move it, move it!” Lu Chao Chao’s little hands waved rapidly. Xie Yu Zhou, watching from behind, was left speechless.
“Old Madam, what else in this room was given by Old Master? Chao Chao won’t let you be upset!” The little one asked obediently.
Old Madam Sang pointed out several more items, and Lu Chao Chao even confiscated the decorative ornaments on the tables.
With her luggage packed, Old Madam Sang departed for the Lou Family home.
During their quarrel, neither wished to see the other’s face. Regardless of value, everything was left to Lu Chao Chao at a bargain.
Xie Yu Zhou, trailing behind, marveled, “A genius! An absolute genius!!”
Meanwhile, Old Master Sang sat on the steps, grief-stricken, his old tears flowing freely. He murmured repeatedly, “How did it come to this? How did it come to this?”
“Did I really do wrong?”
Lu Chao Chao sat beside him. “Go fetch the one waiting outside.”
Old Master Sang, overwhelmed with sorrow, exclaimed, “She scorned me back then! She would rather elope with a performer than be with me—that was my greatest humiliation! I never wanted to marry her!!”
“Then why, knowing it would push away your wife, did you still support her family? Are you sick?” Xie Yu Zhou spat.
Old Master Sang hung his head in silence.
“You never let go of your grudge, and in turn, you trapped the woman who loved you in it. She spent her entire life wondering if she was merely a replacement…”
“The Lou Family’s concubine-born daughter owed you, but your wife never did.” Lu Chao Chao, hands in her pockets, spoke coldly.
“No! She was never a replacement! In all our years of marriage, I never once regretted it!” Old Master Sang refuted immediately.
But he had never let go of the humiliation of his youth.
Rising to his feet, he declared, “I will send them away—drive them out!”
Lu Chao Chao yawned, cupping her cheeks. “Just sending them away isn’t enough.”
“What she was owed, what she longed for—have you ever thought about it?”
The memory of the faded wedding robe weighed heavily on Old Master Sang’s heart.
“I know what I must do.”
After he left, Sang He Li stepped out from the shadows, his brows furrowed as he regarded Lu Chao Chao.
The young patriarch of the Sang Family, Old Master Sang and Old Madam Sang’s eldest grandson, stood tall in his ceremonial white robes, carrying an air of solemnity akin to that of a priest.
“Princess Sunshine, did you foresee something?” His voice was cool, his gaze filled with curiosity.
“Old Madam Sang has thirty-six days left to live. You saw it too, didn’t you?” Lu Chao Chao cradled her cheeks as she asked.
The young priest nodded.
“My grandmother and grandfather have fought their entire lives. I don’t want her to pass away with regret. I have tried countless ways to reconcile them, but nothing worked.”
He cupped his hands respectfully. “Thank you, Princess Sunshine, for intervening.”
If an elder were to leave this world burdened with unresolved regrets, what a sorrow that would be.
“This was my debt to Old Madam Sang.” Lu Chao Chao smiled mysteriously. The young priest studied her, puzzled.
Lu Chao Chao turned her gaze to a dark corner of the ancestral hall.
There, an unmarked spirit tablet stood.
Sang He Li followed her line of sight, his expression softening. “My grandmother, kind-hearted as she was, once found a small fragment of bone—no larger than a thumb. It seemed to have been struck by heavenly lightning, charred black.”
“She heard that those whose bodies are shattered cannot reincarnate. So she placed the fragment in the family shrine, ensuring it received daily offerings, hoping that one day, it would be reborn.”
Lu Chao Chao hummed softly. “I know.”
No one knew better than she did.
The young priest gave her a puzzled glance. This was a secret never shared—how did she know?
Lu Chao Chao…
Because that fragment was from her own sacrifice.