The whole family is insanely eavesdropping on my thoughts Chapter 568
Chapter 568: You Are the Faith
When Lu Chao Chao returned to the manor, the sky had just begun to brighten.
The servants moved with utmost care as they prepared the morning meal, fearful of disturbing the masters of the household.
She instructed Zhu Mo to clean Shan Shan thoroughly before sending him back to his room.
“What a tiring night! If it wasn’t the crowing of roosters, it was the quacking of ducks!” Lu Chao Chao yawned and sighed deeply.
Shan Shan stared at her with teary, wide eyes, on the verge of crying.
[Wasn’t I the one who was truly exhausted?!]
Shortly after, the wet nurse entered to feed the child. Seeing Lu Chao Chao in the room, she was momentarily surprised.
“Princess…” she greeted hastily with a bow.
“Rise. I’m here to check on my little brother.”
With a bright smile, Lu Chao Chao followed the wet nurse inside. However, when the nurse laid eyes on Shan Shan, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss.
“Why does the young master look so weary… as if he stayed up all night?” she murmured.
“Could he be unwell? We should inform Madam and call for an imperial physician.” She noticed his barely opened eyes, as if he couldn’t keep them up at all.
Even more concerning, he refused to open his mouth.
Panicked, the wet nurse immediately carried Shan Shan to find Madam Xu Shi Yun, while Lu Chao Chao innocently clasped her hands behind her back, concealing all evidence of her deeds.
When the imperial physician arrived, he declared, “Did the young master not sleep all night? He looks utterly exhausted…” The child had fallen into such a deep sleep that it was clear he had been thoroughly drained.
With a thud, the wet nurse fell to her knees. “Impossible! I checked in on him during the first half of the night. He was soundly asleep in bed!”
[Hehe, how could he not be tired?]
[Working as a child laborer all night, slaughtering over two hundred chickens and ducks… Even his baby teeth are nearly ground down to nothing.]
[He delights in killing, enjoys tormenting—so I let him slaughter chickens. Any hobby turned into labor soon becomes loathsome.]
Lu Chao Chao clasped her small hands behind her back, her smile curving mischievously.
Xu Shi Yun listened, then glanced at her deeply slumbering son on the bed. Two hundred chickens and ducks?
He hadn’t slept all night?
With just those two baby teeth?
She pressed her lips tightly together, nearly laughing aloud. Thanking the physician and seeing him off, she finally spoke with amusement, “Rise. You have all cared for Shan Shan diligently; I know this well.”
“He is simply tired. Let him sleep—there is no harm in it.”
The wet nurse, seeing that Madam did not place blame, exhaled in relief.
The Lu family treated their servants generously. She had worked hard for this position and was loath to lose it.
Xu Shi Yun waved at Lu Chao Chao, who quickly stepped closer.
Gently, Xu Shi Yun lifted her daughter into her embrace, a rare moment of warmth between mother and child.
“Your second brother’s marriage has been set for May,” she sighed. “We originally planned it for six months later, but since he will soon march to war, we cannot afford to wait.”
The wedding was only a month away.
Fortunately, the household was well prepared, so it did not feel too rushed.
Lu Chao Chao had yet to inform her mother about her impending journey to the Brahma Kingdom, as the decision had not been finalized.
That afternoon, the Crown Prince, Xie Cheng Xi, arrived at the manor.
Lu Chao Chao, cross-legged and molding clay figurines, immediately wiped her hands and leapt up, skipping joyfully toward the entrance.
From afar, she saw the noticeably taller young prince standing with a gentle smile.
“Big Brother Crown Prince!” Lu Chao Chao spread her arms wide and hurled herself at him.
A strange warmth surged in the young prince’s eyes as he lifted her up and spun her in a circle.
“I have yet to thank you for saving my life,” he said, his youthful demeanor now tempered with maturity.
He was Chong Yue, yet he was also Xie Cheng Xi.
“Has your godhood stabilized?” Lu Chao Chao poked a finger at his forehead, frowning slightly.
Xie Cheng Xi’s expression was calm. “The Celestial Realm no longer acknowledges me. What kind of god am I now? Merely fortunate to survive and accompany you as you grow up—that is my greatest blessing.”
His godhood had only barely managed to keep him alive.
Lu Chao Chao clung to his shoulder, stubbornly holding back her tears.
“We have no regrets, Master. We do not regret.”
He met her gaze, solemn and unwavering. “Master, you must not feel guilt. Your revival was our greatest hope. Without you, an endless lifespan holds no meaning—it would all be for nothing.”
“Back then, my entire family was slaughtered by evil cultivators. It was you who dug me out from a pile of corpses. You taught me the way of the sword, taught me to perform rites for my unjustly slain kin…” He had been utterly traumatized, retreating into silence, unwilling to speak or engage with the world.
It was his master who had slowly, patiently thawed his frozen heart, bringing him back to life.
At that time, Wu Wang Mountain had been impoverished. His master had gone door-to-door “borrowing” from others just to keep them all fed.
The days had been harsh, but they were the ones he cherished most.
Lu Chao Chao reminisced about those times, her lips curling into a small smile.
“Father Emperor and Mother Empress have been thinking of you. Would you like to visit the palace?”
“Since you returned to Northern Zhao, the court officials have been losing sleep,” Xie Cheng Xi chuckled, recalling their terror-stricken expressions.
“I don’t eat people—what are they so afraid of? Hmph! Well, I might as well go see my Emperor Daddy and Empress Mommy,” Lu Chao Chao grumbled.
“If you did eat people, you’d be less frightening…” Xie Cheng Xi carried her toward the palace gates.
He left word at the Lu manor not to wait for her return.
That night, the palace was brightly illuminated.
Inside the hall, Emperor Xuan Ping scooped Lu Chao Chao into his arms and weighed her playfully. “You’ve gotten thinner, thinner…”
“Those old geezers from the Southern Kingdom! You are the princess of Northern Zhao, yet they wanted to make you their Empress!” Emperor Xuan Ping fumed at the thought.
He had worked so hard to establish his claim on her!
But because of her Southern Kingdom bloodline, she had been immediately elevated to Empress status.
“They can’t compare to you, Emperor Daddy! Though I may be their Empress, I will always be a daughter of Northern Zhao.” Lu Chao Chao had little sense of belonging to the Southern Kingdom. In her heart, Northern Zhao was home.
Emperor Xuan Ping’s eyes welled with tears.
Lu Chao Chao seized the moment. “In that case, shouldn’t Emperor Daddy reward me?”
“Like… exempting me from homework for a year?!” She beamed, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.
The Emperor’s smile froze. “Chao Chao, the Southern Kingdom specifically instructed that you must study diligently and learn statecraft daily. When you come of age, you must return to inherit the throne.”
Lu Chao Chao’s face fell. Being revived was wonderful, but the mere thought of homework drained her spirit.
That evening, she dined with the Emperor and Empress.
Empress gently grasped her hands. “Chao Chao, we must thank you. Because of Concubine Hui’s treachery, His Majesty suffered greatly. He has since dismissed his concubines, leaving only royal heirs in the palace.”
She had never dared to hope for an Emperor’s devotion.
Yet one day, he had indeed dismissed his harem, choosing to spend his life with her alone.
She could not express how grateful she was to Chao Chao.
That night, Lu Chao Chao returned home laden with rewards.
“Strange, I didn’t see any court officials in the study today…” she murmured.
Xie Cheng Xi, helping her down from the carriage, took her hand. “Word of your visit spread, and they all called in sick.”
Lu Chao Chao’s name sent shivers down the spines of officials.
Offending her was a straight path to ruin.
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation