Chapter 168: Life Is Like A Play
Lu Bai was usually concise and to the point, rarely speaking at such length like this. After listening, Lu Yun gratefully smiled and said, “Hearing Older Brother say that makes me feel much better.”
“Of course, that’s why I’m the Older Brother.” Lu Bai smiled smugly.
“I don’t know if you’re a big Older Brother, but I see you’re getting more and more arrogant.” Lu Song teased with a wink.
“I see your skin is itching!” Lu Bai ‘fumed’ in anger, and the two playfully wrestled, the atmosphere extremely cheerful.
Lu Yun gratefully watched his two older brothers. He was extremely intelligent and certainly knew they were deliberately putting on playful antics to help him quickly shake off his negative mood, lest it affect his future cultivation.
“Alright, let’s hurry back,” Lu Lin said, rubbing his belly. “It’s rumbling non-stop here.” Then he complained to Lu Yun, “Fourth Brother, you really picked the worst time for that competition. Are you not letting anyone eat lunch?”
“I didn’t ask you to come.” Lu Yun chuckled, then leaped onto the carriage.
“Hey, you brat, where’s your conscience?” Lu Lin laughingly cursed, then jumped up after him, about to give Lu Yun a playful beating.
“Come eat at my house, that should be fine.” Lu Yun hurriedly surrendered. “Elder Sister made a table full of good dishes, waiting for us.”
“That’s more like it.” Lu Lin finally let Lu Yun off. Lu Song and Lu Bai also got on the carriage and curiously said, “Does your Elder Sister can divine the future? How did she know we’d come?”
“Yes, she can divine the future.” Lu Yun nodded, but his face showed an expression of ‘I knew you’d say that.’ Naturally, it drew another round of attacks from the three.
The carriage slowly headed toward the Capital City, scattering endless laughter along the way.
.
By the time they returned to Congshan Ward, it was just after the hour of Shen. The sun was setting in the west, and the autumn wind was biting.
The four got off the carriage on the street. As soon as they entered the courtyard gate, they smelled waves of meal aromas, and the rumbling in their stomachs rose one after another.
“Good grandson, you’re finally back. You had Grandfather worried sick!” Lu Xiang waited in the front yard, leaning on his cane. The moment he saw Lu Yun, he excitedly shouted. Then he noticed the other three, Lu Bai and the others. The old master’s face immediately fell a bit, and he hurriedly coughed twice to change the subject. “You three are here too. Have you eaten?”
Lu Bai and the other two hurriedly and respectfully saluted Lu Xiang. They’d been coming to Lu Yun’s house frequently lately and no longer saw themselves as outsiders. After saluting, the three supported Lu Xiang as they walked inside the room, teasing the old man along the way. “Eighth Grandfather, guess if we’ve eaten.”
“Ah, let me guess,” Lu Xiang deliberately made it hard for them, laughing. “It’s this late, you must have eaten.”
“Hehe, Eighth Grandfather, you guessed wrong.” Lu Song just chuckled, not stumped at all.
“Oh, hahaha!” Lu Xiang was stunned for a moment, then slapped Lu Song’s back and burst out laughing. “You brat, you’re way more fun than your dad!” Then, to the three, he said, “Since you haven’t eaten, come in and make do with a bite.”
“Lu Ying’s cooking skills are anything but ‘making do.'” Lu Lin said gruffly. “Much better than the clan chefs.”
Lu Song and Lu Bai nodded vigorously upon hearing this, faces full of agreement.
At that moment, Lu Ying came out from the back carrying a large bowl of mutton soup. Hearing this, she happily laughed. “Not at all, I just cook haphazardly.” Lu Ying loved good food and was skilled at cooking it. After coming to the Capital City, she stayed home all day, and her culinary skills had improved by leaps and bounds. Lu Song and the other two had tried it once before and were blown away, thinking about her dishes every day since.
The four washed their hands and sat with Lu Xiang in the hall. Lu Ying also brought out the last few dishes.
“Then we’re not holding back!” The guys were starving. After a word of thanks, they grabbed their chopsticks and devoured everything like a whirlwind. While eating, they praised nonstop. “Delicious, delicious. In our Lu Clan—oh no, the entire Capital City—Elder Sister Ying makes the best food.”
“If it’s good, eat more. If there’s not enough, I’ll make more.” Getting praise from her older cousins made Lu Ying extremely happy. She seemed in a wonderful mood, as if the gloom that had hung over her heart for days had completely dissipated.
After wolfing down a bunch, Lu Yun felt less hungry and softly asked Lu Xiang, “Grandfather, how’s Father doing?”
“Oh, your father sent word that everything is going smoothly. The Clan Leader is gathering the elders for a meeting to discuss handling that person.” Lu Xiang stroked his beard, beaming. “Yun’er, how was Grandfather’s acting today?”
“Very good, very natural.” Lu Yun praised.
“See!” Lu Xiang was immediately smug and glanced at Lu Ying. “Your Elder Sister was complaining about me, saying I didn’t act well and nearly gave it away.”
“Grandfather,” Lu Ying bitterly smiled upon hearing this. “I don’t know who it was that almost tripped on the threshold coming in.”
“Uh…” Lu Xiang’s old face reddened. He blew out his beard and glared. “That was me adding to the scene…” He absolutely wouldn’t admit he’d just been careless and nearly tripped.
“Well added, brilliantly added!” Lu Song drank a mouthful of the delicious mutton soup and smiled, helping Lu Xiang out. “Eighth Grandfather’s stumble perfectly captured a grandfather’s worry for his grandson. That made it impossible for the White Ape Society people to suspect the person in the carriage was anyone else.”
“Exactly,” Lu Xiang was overjoyed and personally filled Lu Song’s bowl with mutton soup. “Little Song has real insight.” Then the old man counterattacked his granddaughter. “Whereas you, Little Ying, overacted. Just putting a cape on Little Yun and calling it momentum? Making the other side not dare underestimate him? We were lucky they didn’t spot the flaw.”
“But we had to put that cape on Little Yun,” Lu Ying smiled embarrassedly. “I already tried my best to make it look natural.”
“No slip-up means it was acted well!” Lu Song immediately spoke up for Lu Ying.
“Hey, you brat, which side are you on?” Lu Xiang glared at Lu Song and took back the soup bowl he’d offered.
“I…” Lu Song looked at Lu Ying, then at Lu Xiang, held it in for a long time, then bitterly smiled and lowered his head. “I’ll just eat.”
Everyone burst into laughter.
.
It turned out that the family had been acting since morning that day.
Ever since last month in the East Market, when they spotted Steward Zhang entering the White family general store, Lu Yun had predicted that Lu Jian would hire killers against his family. He wasn’t surprised at all, because he’d orchestrated it all himself.
Back in July, after Lu Yun had Uncle Bao intercept and kill Lu Feng on his escape route, he’d been waiting for Lu Jian’s revenge against him and his father. Lu Feng was extremely vicious: first sending men to kidnap Lu Ying, then hiring the White Ape Society to assassinate Lu Yun and his mother and sister. Lu Yun settled grudges decisively, so naturally he couldn’t let Lu Feng live.
Lu Feng was Lu Jian’s only son. With Lu Feng dead, Lu Jian would naturally launch a frenzied revenge—this was something Lu Yun had long anticipated. On one hand, being targeted by this powerful Earth Rank Grandmaster meant Lu Xin and Lu Yun had to remain extremely vigilant, so they’d kept the family from going out easily. On the other hand, Lu Yun was eagerly anticipating Lu Jian’s revenge, because he’d long had his eye on Lu Jian—or rather, the Lu Clan’s finance steward position.
In June, Lu Yun had Lu Xin expose the congee kitchen matter, aiming to bring Lu Jian down so his father could take over. Who knew the Lu Clan situation was so complex? The Clan Leader and Elder Council’s conflict had reached an irreconcilable point. In the end, the more Lu Shang wanted to take down Lu Jian, the more the Elder Council protected him.
After months of deadlock, Lu Shang finally yielded. Lu Jian surprisingly returned to power as finance steward. After all of Lu Yun’s hard work, how could he accept such a wasted effort? This time, he was determined to make Lu Jian ruined and disgraced—even the king of heaven and his father couldn’t save him!
For a clan steward, no crime was more fitting than plotting to murder kin.
