"You worthless piece of trash! Do you know what the Lu family has sacrificed because of your foolishness?!"
Lu Zhao originally thought that Lu Zhi Nian went to the Duke of Song's residence for a serious matter, perhaps to find something to leverage against the Song family daughter or to deal with Xiao Yan. But he actually claimed that he was just momentarily confused.
He was just momentarily confused!
Thinking back to the disputes and animosities that arose with the Empress after Lu Zhi Nian was imprisoned, and remembering how they had to retreat and be manipulated by Song Tang Ning and Xiao Yan, forced to go to Jiyun Alley and suffer humiliation, Lu Zhao felt an overwhelming anger, wishing he could strike Lu Zhi Nian dead on the spot.
"Unfilial son!" Lu Zhao shouted, unable to contain his fury, and he slapped Lu Zhi Nian again. "If I had known this would happen, why would your grandfather and I have gone through so much trouble to rescue you?!" Lu Zhi Nian was already injured, and with the two slaps, he staggered and crashed against the side of the carriage. Seeing his face turn red and swollen, Lu Rong quickly stepped in front of Lu Zhao. "My lord, please calm down. Young Master Zhi Nian didn't mean it..."
"If he didn't mean it, does that mean he can cause the Lu family such a disaster? If he did mean it, would the Lu family have to bury him along with it?!" Lu Zhao yelled, looking at Lu Zhi Nian, who lay on the cushion with no trace of tenderness left in his eyes.
"Return to the manor!" The carriage sped towards the Lu family home, with Lu Zhi Nian feeling extremely awkward, staring at his furious father, unsure and anxious. He knew that being captured by the Black Armored Guards and thrown into prison would bring trouble, and that his grandfather would inevitably be threatened by Xiao Yan to rescue him. However, Lu Zhao's attitude seemed to indicate that he was angry not just because Lu Zhi Nian had been imprisoned.
Unable to hold back, Lu Zhi Nian looked at Lu Rong beside him. "Uncle Rong... What exactly happened?"
But Lu Rong merely shook his head and whispered, "Young Master, you’ve truly caused a great disaster this time."
"What on earth happened?" Lu Zhi Nian’s face turned pale.
Lu Rong opened his mouth to say something, but for a moment, he didn't know how to express it. He sighed softly instead. "You'll find out when you return to the manor." Lu Zhi Nian gripped the soft cushion beneath him, looking at Lu Zhao, who was speechless, and then at Lu Rong, who was sighing with his head down, feeling increasingly uneasy in his heart.
Suddenly, he remembered the three-day deadline, thinking that Song Tang Ning must have really reported the Lu family to the Jingzhao Prefecture. But after a little less than half an hour, the carriage stopped outside the Lu family's alley.
Looking at the endless stream of carriages forming a long line, the piled-up boxes on the carriages, and the crowd of people gathered outside the Lu family’s door, Lu Zhi Nian sensed that something was off. "Uncle Rong, what are those...?"
"Those are the flesh and blood of the Lu family!" Before Lu Rong could speak, Lu Zhao pointed coldly at the carriages outside. "Those are the foundations accumulated by the Lu family over generations, the very roots of the gentry. But now, they have all been buried because of a clueless little girl."
"After you were imprisoned, Song Tang Ning reported the Lu family to the throne. To protect the Lu family and you, your grandfather agreed to trade half of the Lu family's books for those things from Song Tang Ning. Those are the very bones that Song Tang Ning has carved from the Lu family!"
"Lu Zhi Nian, you better open your eyes and see what your moment of confusion has done to the Lu family!" Lu Zhi Nian widened his eyes in shock, gripping the carriage curtain tightly as if he were about to tear it apart. "Impossible... How could this be...?" How could his grandfather agree to such an absurd demand?!
The Lu family owed Song Tang Ning, and they indeed were in the wrong, but even if she reported them to the throne and they faced her in court, his grandfather would never abandon half of the Lu family's books to settle this matter.
Lu Zhi Nian's voice trembled. "Father, don't joke with me. Even if Tang Ning reports the Lu family to the throne and demands those things from us, that would only be a private matter between the Lu family and her. The emperor can't possibly favor her."
"Moreover, there’s the Fourth Prince and those officials. If they took Song Tang Ning’s belongings, how could they possibly stand by and let her escalate the matter? Aren’t they afraid of being implicated and ruining their official reputations..." Lu Zhao’s voice turned cold. "Song Tang Ning never intended to pursue the whereabouts of those items."
Lu Zhi Nian's eyes widened in disbelief as he heard Lu Zhao’s voice, which was as chilling as ice.
"Although Song Tang Ning has accused the Lu family of embezzling Rong Qian An's relics, she never intended for the Lu family to return all their possessions, nor was her demand motivated by personal greed."
"She is establishing an academy in Rong Qian An's name, taking all of Rong’s family relics except for the gold and silver to offer them for the benefit of students across the world. Everything she demands from the Lu family will also go to the academy. The Lu family did not take her things; they took those of poor scholars. The old grievances between the Lu family and her are no longer just personal matters, but concerns of all scholars in the world."
"If your grandfather does not agree to donate the books, do you know what the Lu family's fate will be?" Seizing someone’s possessions, with the status of a gentry, they are not afraid to go to court against them.
Even if Song Tang Ning caused a major uproar, the Lu family would only lose some face and would not be afraid of that little girl.
But to seize what belongs to all, and to obstruct the progress of scholars, even the Lu family cannot withstand the public outrage, nor can they endure the censure of all scholars.
The wrath of the masses is not to be provoked; Song Tang Ning has gathered all the people's hearts to herself.
What else could the Lu family do except endure, retreat, and sacrifice half of their books?
Lu Zhao looked down at Lu Zhi Nian, whose face was deathly pale. "Your grandfather has suffered immense humiliation, and the Lu family has been trampled on, losing all face. Song Tang Ning, stepping on the Lu family, has been conferred the title of Yiyang County Princess, receiving the admiration of the world for her righteousness. But even if the Lu family has gouged out flesh and blood, they still remain the most despicable and shameless existence in everyone's eyes."
"Listen to the words of those outside, hear how they belittle the Lu family, how they praise that Song girl for her righteousness. Has the Lu family, a hundred-year gentry, ever suffered such humiliation?" Lu Zhi Nian turned pale at Lu Zhao's words. He had never imagined that after just three days in prison, the outside world would have changed so drastically.
He thought that the imperial prison was the most unbearable place for him, but he didn’t expect that once he got out, the real hell would begin.
Lu Zhi Nian looked at the lively crowd outside the carriage, vaguely hearing them praise the Yiyang County Princess.
He watched as boxes and boxes of books were loaded onto the carriages, saw the Black Armored Guards and the Imperial Patrol standing by, and felt darkness closing in before his eyes, tugging at the curtain, almost losing his grip.
"Tang Ning, why...?" Why did she force the Lu family to this extent?
He had wronged her; if she wanted revenge, she could have targeted him alone. But the Lu family had never harmed her. How could she be so cruel, determined to ruin the Lu family’s century-long reputation and destroy the foundation of their family?
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Read ahead to chapter 245 (100+ extra chapters) here
Dude, you just experienced EXACTLY why she would take it this far in that "dream" you had, are you really that stupid to still wonder?? 😒
ReplyDeleteXie yan(tangnings cousin) was such a nothing burger. I think he hasn't been mentioned for the past 50 chapters 😂. Where is he lol...
ReplyDelete