Chapter 71: Indeed A Menace
“Madam, it seems to be the Third Young Master and the Third Young Madam outside.” The little maid’s light and cheerful voice rang out inside the carriage.
Madam Lu lightly twirled her Buddhist scriptures beads with her right hand. Hearing this, she opened her eyes, and a fierce glint flashed through the bottom of her eyes.
“There are only two young masters in the mansion.” Her voice was cold and deep as she glared warningly at the little maid. “If you remember wrong again in the future, you can leave the mansion on your own.”
The little maid’s body trembled, and she lowered her head, not daring to speak again.
“The little girl is clumsy with words. Madam, don’t hold it against her.” Granny Sun handed a cup of tea to Madam Lu. “Madam, you drew a good lot today. You should be happy.”
Master Liao Kong personally interpreted the lot, saying that the Lu Family has a son who will change the family’s fortunes in the future.
Madam Lu’s expression softened. She took the tea and sipped it lightly, smiling. “My Yuan’er is indeed promising. It wasn’t in vain that the Master and I spent so much effort on him.”
“The Young Master is also filial.” Granny Sun chimed in smoothly. “Yesterday, he sent someone to deliver bird’s nest to nourish Madam’s body. I heard the main branch didn’t keep any, and the Young Madam even quarreled with the Young Master over it.”
Madam Lu snorted coldly. “I am Yuan’er’s birth mother. How can that Li Shi compare to me? When we return to the mansion, personally deliver two rolls of Buddhist scriptures to the main branch for Li Shi to copy.”
“Yes.” Granny Sun respectfully acknowledged.
The carriage stopped in front of the Lu Residence. Granny Sun helped Madam Lu out of the carriage, but they saw an unfamiliar servant boy hurriedly running out from inside the mansion.
Madam Lu frowned. “Stop!”
The servant boy halted and turned to bow to Madam Lu.
“Lift your head.” Madam Lu stared at the servant boy. “You see the matriarch but don’t bow. Who taught you the rules?”
She hated undisciplined servants the most.
The servant boy said, “The Young Master sent me to the yamen. I was in a hurry and accidentally offended Madam. Please forgive me, Madam.”
Madam Lu furrowed her brows. “What did Yuan’er send you to the yamen for?”
The servant boy said, “Forgive me, Madam. The Young Master told me not to tell others.”
How was she an outsider?
Madam Lu was about to flare up in anger when Granny Sun reached out to support her and softly advised, “Madam, punishing him is fine, but don’t delay the Young Master’s matters.”
Thinking of her eldest son, Madam Lu’s anger eased slightly. She waved her hand to let the servant boy leave.
The servant boy gratefully bowed to Granny Sun and ran off.
Madam Lu turned her head to look at her wet nurse. “You certainly know how to use me to do favors.”
“This old servant wouldn’t dare.” Granny Sun smiled apologetically as she helped Madam Lu up the steps. “It’s Madam’s kindness. If he remembers, he’ll remember Madam’s goodness. What does it have to do with this old servant?”
Madam Lu chuckled and let the matter drop, instructing the little maid, “Go to the Cloud Lanyard Courtyard and see what the Young Master is doing.”
“Yes.” The little maid accepted the order and left.
Madam Lu returned to the main courtyard, washed up, changed into a set of casual clothes, picked up the account book, and examined it closely.
A maid brought in a bowl of stewed bird’s nest. Granny Sun took it and handed it to Madam Lu.
Madam Lu set down the account book, stirred it gently with a spoon, and had just drunk two spoonfuls when the little maid returned.
“Reporting to Madam, the Young Master is studying in the study room.”
Madam Lu hummed in acknowledgment. Seeing the little maid’s hesitant expression, she said displeased, “If there’s something, say it all at once. Why beat around the bush?”
“When this servant returned, I heard about something concerning the third… Lu Young Master.”
Madam Lu was stunned. Realizing who this Lu Young Master was, her expression suddenly turned cold, and a deep disgust flashed in her eyes.
Afraid of being punished, the little maid quickly spilled everything she had heard.
“This servant heard that Shopkeeper Ge of the rice shop caught Lu Young Master committing adultery with a woman. The two confronted each other in the court hall. After the Prefect interrogated them, it turned out Shopkeeper Ge and the rice shop’s people had deliberately framed him. Shopkeeper Ge and a shop assistant named Wang Fei were sentenced to strangulation.”
“Excellent!” Madam Lu slapped the table, angrily saying, “Expelled from the family, yet he doesn’t repent and even targets family members. Truly a scourge!”
The maids in the room were so frightened they knelt on the ground. Granny Sun waved at everyone, telling the maids to leave first.
She stepped forward to soothe Madam Lu’s breathing. “Madam, don’t be angry. Take care not to harm your health.”
“Granny, how did I give birth to such a cold-blooded monster?” Madam Lu was so angry she panted heavily, her eyes brimming with tears. “When I was pregnant with him, it was difficult. I nearly miscarried several times. I barely made it to eight months, but then suddenly went into premature labor, nearly dying with the child.”
“I pitied his weak body and cared for him personally. Even though I hired a wet nurse, I personally nursed him during the day. Which of his two older brothers ever drank my milk? He fell ill every few days, running high fevers at night. Which time did I not stay up all night myself, never delegating to others?”
“Finally raised to four years old, he could finally be somewhat separated from people. But in the time it took me to go out, he nearly bit off Yuan’er’s ear.”
“He was only four years old, yet he wanted to swallow his brother’s flesh and blood. How could I have given birth to such a monster?”
Madam Lu could never forget that bloody scene.
The four-year-old child had blood all over his mouth, bits of flesh stuck to his teeth, like a demon crawling out of hell, stretching out his blood-stained little hands, innocently calling her mother.
Even now, in her nightmares, she dreamed of that child suddenly pouncing on her and tearing at her flesh.
After that, she no longer dared to care for the child personally. Even when he fell seriously ill several times and nearly died, she only stood outside the courtyard and glanced from afar.
Yuan’er, on the other hand, not only didn’t hold a grudge against his younger brother’s harm to him but often went to visit.
Once, she saw the wound on Yuan’er’s arm and forced the servants to tell her that the child had never broken his habit of biting people, especially toward his older brother Yuan’er. He would often pretend to be good, and as soon as Yuan’er got close, he would bite.
Yuan’er was both filial and obedient, loving his brother without holding grudges, wholeheartedly wanting to be a good older brother, yet receiving repeated harm from his younger brother.
Clearly both children came from her womb, so why were they so different?
Madam Lu’s thoughts drifted far, recalling the evil deeds Lu Chengjing had done when he was young, and she couldn’t help feeling a chill in her heart.
A child not yet ten years old actually beat servants to death, and that wasn’t enough—he ordered them dismembered and fed to the dogs.
Where was this an innocent and cute child? Clearly a devil!
She didn’t dare let that child stay in the family anymore and sent him away under the pretext of recovering from illness. Unexpectedly, less than two peaceful years later, the Master learned the child was intelligent and brought him back to raise in the mansion.
Fortunately, now he had been expelled from the clan. That cold-blooded monster could no longer harm her Yuan’er!
On the other side, Shi Tou drove the ox cart to pick up Shang Wan and the three people, heading to the bricklayer’s residence he had inquired about.
Midway, passing the pawn shop, Shang Wan got off the cart and pawned the jade pendant.
The jade was rare high-quality jade, but because the jade pendant was engraved with characters, the pawn shop shopkeeper deliberately lowballed it, ultimately only giving fifteen taels of silver.
Originally, the shopkeeper only offered ten taels. Under Shang Wan’s friendly negotiation, plus it being a dead pawn, he added five taels.
Although far less than expected, Shang Wan thought it was free silver anyway, so fifteen taels it was.
She placed the bundle containing the silver on Lu Chengjing’s lap, intentionally teasing him to speak.
But Lu Chengjing was even more silent than usual, his state very off.
