"Father, you must be lying, right? Tang Ning couldn't possibly treat me like this..."
"She wouldn't treat you this way? Then what is this scene outside? Do you think your grandfather and the others would make a joke out of the Lu family's reputation, or those precious items?" Lu Zhao spoke, seeing Lu Zhinian's reddened eyes, his whole demeanor showing he was deeply affected. He couldn't help but speak sternly, "Don't tell me you still harbor feelings for that girl from the Song family?"
Lu Zhinian rasped, "Father, it's all a misunderstanding between Tang Ning and me. She just misunderstood me. I was the one who hurt her heart at Mount Qishan, and that's why she's acting this way toward us. As long as I apologize properly, as long as I bow my head and admit my mistakes, she will forgive me..."
Slap!!
Lu Zhao couldn't help but slap him again. "Lu Zhinian, have you lost your mind?! After everything that girl from the Song family has done, you still think you can make up with her?!"
"In the past, when you were engaged to her, you didn't know how to cherish her, how to pamper her a little more, and now things have gotten to this point, you still think you can make amends?" If he had had this mindset earlier, would the incident at Mount Qishan have happened? Would the Lu family have ended up in this state?
Lu Zhao only found Lu Zhinian's words laughable. Forget about the incident at Mount Qishan; it could be said it was a moment of carelessness. But what about that half a trunk of things brought back from Jiyun Alley to the Lu residence?
Years of engagement, a handful of belongings, paraded around the capital with gongs and drums.
Now, who in the capital doesn't know that the Lu family mistreated Song Tang Ning? That half trunk of things has practically brought shame to the entire Lu family.
In the past, you didn’t know how to maintain the relationship and treat that Song girl well, and now you think you can swallow your pride and beg her to come back. Lu Zhao was just angry at his son for failing to live up to expectations. "Let me tell you, the Lu family will never allow that Song girl to enter this house again!"
"Father..." Lu Zhinian opened his mouth to argue, but Lu Zhao cut him off decisively:
"You better get rid of any lingering thoughts about that Song girl. She loathes the Lu family to the core, and she has not a shred of affection for you. Do you know what else she asked for besides half of the collection? She wants you to kneel at the entrance of the Tang mansion on Jiyun Alley for three days, and she wants you to publicly admit that it was you who wronged her, and that our Lu family owes her!"
Lu Zhinian looked up, incredulous. "That's impossible... Tang Ning could never do that to me."
Sitting nearby, Lu Rong, who had been watching his disbelief, couldn't help but whisper, "The master is telling the truth, Third Young Master. That young lady from the Song family is now the County Princess of Yiyang. She has no affection for you whatsoever, and these were her own words. Not only is she humiliating you, but she's also dragging the entire Lu family down with her."
"Today, when the master and I left the mansion, she and Xiao Yan led half the officials into our house, asking Cao Dejiang and the others to choose the books for her. The entire capital knows about your broken engagement with her, and everyone is aware of the promises the Lu family made. If she had even the slightest bit of consideration for you, she wouldn't have forced you into this situation..."
Lu Zhinian's vision went dark, his hands gripping the carriage wall as he staggered.
He had anticipated that Song Tang Ning might want to break off the engagement. Given how things had deteriorated between her and the Lu family, he could understand why the household wouldn't welcome her back. He had even thought of how he would persuade his grandfather and how to convince Tang Ning to let bygones be bygones.
As long as Tang Ning was willing to relent, he would treat her well, cherish her sincerely as she once did him. If she could forgive him, he would never treat her the way he did in the "dream," and they could grow old together, hand in hand...
But Song Tang Ning, she... she actually wants him to kneel before the Tang mansion and publicly confess that he wronged her.
How could this be?!
"Father, grandfather didn't agree to her demands, did he?" Lu Zhinian's voice trembled, "You didn't agree, did you?!"
He was the legitimate heir of the Lu family, the future head of the family, and his grandfather's most favored grandson. How could he be made to kneel before a woman? How could he, in front of all the people, kneel in Jiyun Alley and admit to being heartless and unfaithful?
Lu Zhao, seeing the ashen, desperate look on his face, clenched his jaw and averted his eyes. "Third Young Master, your grandfather and I had no choice. That Song Tang Ning is now under Xiao Yan's protection, and with that eunuch backing her, they pressed us aggressively. If we don’t agree to their demands, the Lu family will be targeted by everyone."
Lu Zhinian's whole body trembled as he stared intently at Lu Zhao, who avoided his gaze. "So, you've just abandoned me?"
"It's not about abandoning you, it's a temporary solution. The family’s interests come first..."
"Enough!" Lu Zhinian suddenly shouted, his eyes bloodshot and his expression twisted.
The family's interests come first, so they agreed to have him kneel before Song Tang Ning? For the sake of the Lu family's future, they abandoned their disgraced son, letting him endure the ridicule of the world, watching as his reputation was ruined and his career was destroyed, just to save face for the Lu family. They discarded him without hesitation?!
Lu Zhinian's eyes turned even redder, and his palms, already covered in scars, bled profusely from his grip.
He suddenly recalled Song Jin Xiu's mocking laughter, the derisive look he gave when he remained silent, and he felt a chill run through his body.
It wasn't that Song Jin Xiu had fallen into despair, but that he himself had failed to see the truth. From the moment he was imprisoned, he was no longer the Third Young Master of the Lu family he once was. Yet he still thought he was different from Song Jin Xiu.
Lu Zhao felt a chill down his spine as Lu Zhinian’s gaze fell on him. He lowered his voice to persuade, "Third Young Master, don’t be like this. It’s just a temporary compromise."
"Don't worry, it's just kneeling. Once it’s over and the matter with the Song family is settled, you can temporarily leave the capital. Your grandfather will arrange for you to be assigned to an official post elsewhere. After accumulating a few years of achievements, when you return, this matter will have long been forgotten, and no one will remember this youthful indiscretion of yours."
"And what about the Lu family?" Lu Zhinian asked coldly.
Lu Zhao's expression froze.
Lu Zhinian's face twisted into a sneer. "If I leave the capital, I will have no claim to the position of family head. Does grandfather favor Eldest Brother, or is it Fourth Brother or Fifth Brother?"
"Third Young Master..." Lu Zhao’s face paled with panic at the question.
Lu Zhinian stared directly at him. "Eldest Brother is the son of our granduncle. Due to the lack of heirs on that side and granduncle’s early passing, he has been raised by our branch. Grandfather values him but would never let the family headship pass to him. Second Brother is illegitimate, so he’s not an option either."
"Fourth Brother is Second Uncle's son, rash, impulsive, and protective to a fault. I doubt father would want him to lead the Lu family and hand over the main family's interests, so it’s Fifth Brother. You and grandfather discarded me in favor of Fifth Brother?"
That was his full-blooded younger brother, a descendant of the main family line, and though still young, he had always been favored by their father.
If it was him, then father would probably be willing.
Lu Zhao’s face twitched, his secret exposed, and he grew angry out of embarrassment. "Lu Zhinian, I am your father."
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T/N: Alright calm down Darth Vader
You can read ahead to chapterr 245 here
Hahahaha I love the translator notes almost as much as the book 😂
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