Chapter 407: The Mad Elder
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
“Your estate’s dog is truly loud.”
“Fat and noisy,” General Ming covered his ears, eyeing the round canine that had been barking fiercely since he picked up his bowl.
“Oh, look at it! It’s even crying… such theatrics…” General Lou feigned surprise.
Lu Chao Chao cast a sympathetic glance at Windchaser. “Say less.”
“Kind words build good karma, harsh words wound a dog’s heart.”
“Besides… you eat its food, and yet you won’t even let it vent its anger?” Lu Chao Chao walked into the room, setting down a large basin before pouring the rich broth and its bone into it.
The veteran officials blinked in confusion.
Minister Ming clutched his chest as if gravely struck.
“Don’t be upset! I used to fight for food too! I won’t laugh at you!” Lu Chao Chao, assuming their embarrassment, quickly offered comfort.
But Minister Ming only looked at her in agony. “You feed a dog this well? That bone… is from a spirit beast, isn’t it? This broth reeks of dense spiritual energy.”
“I’ve never eaten so well myself…” His eyes flickered longingly toward Windchaser’s bowl.
Windchaser, sensing the threat, pressed a paw against the basin, shoving it to the corner before burying its head into the meal, eating rapidly. Five pairs of hungry eyes eyed its portion, making it feel utterly tragic.
Back then, Lu Chao Chao had fought it for food, nearly turning it into a bald dog. Now, even in the Southern Kingdom, it still couldn’t escape the fate of being robbed!
Minister Ming, understanding the dog’s plight, looked embarrassed. “Look at this mutt, treating me with such disdain. Do I look like someone who’d steal from a dog?”
As he spoke, he let out an unintentional burp.
His younger brother, Ming Lang, stood behind him, covering his face in silent shame.
The other officials, red-faced, were at a loss. Who had spread the rumor that Northern Zhao was impoverished and backward?
To the people of the Southern Kingdom, Northern Zhao had always been synonymous with poverty.
“We’ve come uninvited to visit Princess Sunshine today, and we ask for your forgiveness.” The elder officials bowed politely.
Lu Chao Chao didn’t mind, shaking her small chubby hand.
“Do you have a problem?” She could tell from Minister Shen and Minister Yue’s uneasy expressions that this was about the gods.
Minister Yue stepped forward first. “We are deeply grateful for the meeting gift, Your Highness. The top-grade spirit stone saved the immortal grass of our clan.”
At the mention of this, the group sighed in regret.
A meeting gift! Who would have guessed it contained a top-grade spirit stone?
“It’s nothing, not a particularly valuable thing.” Lu Chao Chao waved dismissively, making them envious.
Does the royal family know how extravagant you are?
“The Shen Clan venerates the God of Time and Space, Chong Yue, but he has not responded to summons for many years. Now, we cannot even sense his presence… I shamelessly beg Your Highness to save the Shen Clan!” The elderly Minister Shen, his eyes clouded with tears, knelt before Lu Chao Chao.
Minister Yue sighed and followed suit.
“The Yue Clan worships Gan Tang, the God of the Four Seasons. Every year, during spring planting and autumn harvest, we lead the people in offerings to Gan Tang.”
“But now, Gan Tang has abandoned his people.”
“We beseech Your Highness to help the Yue Clan, to ask Gan Tang to bless the land, so that the people may reap a full harvest.”
Lu Chao Chao sat on her chair, her short legs swinging slightly, brows furrowed in concern.
Chong Yue?
She remembered her past lives, so surely, it was Chong Yue who had opened the Time-Space Gate to grant her rebirth.
With each reincarnation, Chong Yue had personally accompanied her.
His divine power must have been severely drained with each activation. Now, his soul might be unstable, perhaps even… unconscious.
Something must have happened to Chong Yue in the Celestial Realm.
And Gan Tang?
That deity who loved erotic books but had an unwavering sense of duty…
“Princess Sunshine, last time you returned to the Southern Kingdom, we were too harsh with our words.”
“If you save the Shen and Yue Clans, we will kowtow all the way from the palace gates to the Ning Manor to apologize!”
“The Shen Clan will personally invite the Old Madam of the Ning Family to the Western Palace.”
“The Yue Clan, too.”
“The Sang Clan as well.”
“The Lou Clan is willing.”
“The Ming Clan agrees!”
Lu Chao Chao tapped a tiny finger on the sandalwood table, deep in thought.
“I will go with you to see the Shen and Yue Clans.” She had an idea but couldn’t let her mother know.
In fact, she did not wish to tell anyone.
“Thank you, Princess Sunshine!” The Shen and Yue Clans were overjoyed, bowing humbly as they escorted Lu Chao Chao outside.
Meanwhile, Old Madam Ning had wept heavily the night before. She had not even touched her breakfast and only rose near noon.
Looking up, she saw the leaders of major noble families standing in her courtyard.
Her complexion paled, and her grip on her cane trembled.
After two years in the capital, she had witnessed the ruthlessness of the Divine Attendant Clans. Though not as heartless as the Su Clan, they were still arrogant beyond measure.
She always avoided these people.
Yet…
They approached her with smiles, then supported her and bowed deeply.
She tried to step back. Even the Old Emperor had never given her an official status.
“Lady Ning, you are highly esteemed, kind, and saved His Majesty’s life. You deserve this courtesy.”
“You must take care of yourself. If you are wronged, come to the Lou Clan, and we will seek justice for you.”
“Why the Lou Clan? Come to the Ming Clan!”
“Nonsense! Come to the Sang Clan!” The nobles scrambled to show goodwill, leaving Lady Ning utterly bewildered.
“Grandmother, Chao Chao is going to Grandfather Shen and Grandfather Yue’s houses to play! You stay home and be well…”
“Don’t scare my grandmother!” The little girl’s voice held a sharp warning.
The nobles quickly stepped back, no longer crowding her.
As Lu Chao Chao and the others walked away, Old Madam Ning muttered suspiciously, “Are they possessed? They must be possessed!”
Upon reaching the Shen Clan, a messenger arrived from the palace.
“The Ascension Platform is complete. It must be for the Ascension Ceremony in three days.”
Lu Chao Chao waved them off. “Go on, I will only observe.”
She had Shen’s young master lead her to the ancestral shrine.
She focused, but there was no divine presence.
Chong Yue was in worse shape than the others.
She then visited the Yue Clan.
Gan Tang was also completely absent.
Lu Chao Chao returned home, deeply troubled.
The courtyard, dim despite its many lamps, held Rong Che, who cradled a swaddled infant, gently rocking it while singing a lullaby.
“Rock-a-bye, sway and sleep, baby sleep so deep…”
Lu Chao Chao gasped.
“Mother gave birth?!” She nearly leapt up, her whole body tensed, almost in tears.
Then she paused.
“Mother is only three months pregnant… What birth?!”
“Father Rong! What are you doing?!” Lu Chao Chao bared her teeth, nearly scared out of her wits.
Rong Che pressed a finger to his lips. “Shh, quiet…”
“I’m practicing how to soothe a child… So that I’ll be experienced when the time comes.”
Lu Chao Chao: …
Xie Yu Zhou peeked from behind her.
“He looks like one of those deranged concubines in the Cold Palace…”