Chapter 109
Why was this Yuwen Min so vindictive?
Fine! It was my own fault. I shouldn’t have hidden things from you for so long—your anger was understandable.
Since you still had the mood to chuckle at me, at least it meant that you were safe for now.
Lu Hanzhi: So angry.
Yuwen Jue also hurried over, took the letter from Lu Hanzhi, and opened it to read.
As he read, a blissful smile spread across his face. One glance was enough to tell that the entire letter was nothing but blatant lovey-dovey nonsense.
Lu Hanzhi didn’t want to be tortured by such a sight, so he told He Ming to hitch up the carriage and return to the Lu residence.
Last night, he had already made plans with Lu Haozhi. Today, he was going to take him to meet someone.
That person was naturally Aunt Du. Although she was now half-mad and muddleheaded, she was still his biological mother.
He hoped that mother and son could have a good ending in the future.
Counting it up, he hadn’t returned to the Lu residence for nearly half a month. As soon as he arrived, everyone in the household came out to welcome him.
His mother, Madam Lu, even brought out all the best food in the residence and kept asking him, “Are you thirsty? Hungry? What do you want to eat—tell Mother! Oh my, my child has grown thinner again. Haven’t you been taking good care of yourself?”
Lu Hanzhi felt that every time he came home, he was told he had lost weight. By that logic, there probably wasn’t even two taels of flesh left on him now.
But strangely enough, he inexplicably felt that his waist had thickened by two inches.
Lu Hanzhi had proper business to attend to today, so he didn’t dote on his old mother as usual. He asked, “Mother, has Haozhi returned?”
Madam Lu replied, “He’s back. I sent him to Aunt Du’s courtyard. He really has grown thin—living in the Crown Prince’s residence is indeed no good place. It was truly right that you didn’t marry into it back then.”
Lu Hanzhi said, “Then I’ll go take a look.”
Madam Lu wanted to talk with him more and held onto his hand, saying, “Hey, why are you running off the moment you get back? Stay and chat with Mother for a bit! Your eldest brother refuses to get married—I was just about to ask you what I should do about it!”
Lu Hanzhi answered while running outside, “If he doesn’t want to marry, then don’t force him. You already have grandsons and granddaughters—why rush eldest brother?”
Madam Lu had originally hoped that her youngest son would persuade the eldest. In the past, the eldest doted on the youngest the most, and perhaps he would listen to his words.
But instead, the youngest had this attitude, which left Madam Lu somewhat annoyed.
Yes, she already had grandsons and granddaughters, but the eldest son’s marriage couldn’t just be delayed forever.
He was the oldest, yet he had fallen behind his younger brothers. Madam Lu felt thoroughly vexed.
Lu Hanzhi took He Ming with him and ran to the back courtyard. Sure enough, he saw Lu Haozhi in Aunt Du’s courtyard.
There were hardly any people left in the courtyard now—only a mute old woman was cleaning the grounds.
When Lu Haozhi saw Lu Hanzhi arrive, he turned around and lowered his head, saying, “Third Brother…”
As he spoke, he knelt before Lu Hanzhi and continued, “I went to see Third Brother’s former courtyard. If Third Brother hadn’t left in time, you probably wouldn’t have survived. On behalf of my concubine mother, I beg Third Brother’s forgiveness. But Third Brother… although my mother has always been petty and fond of jealousy, she was never someone who would take another’s life. Third Brother is discerning and perceptive—please show mercy… and allow my mother… to enter the ancestral hall.”
As soon as he finished speaking, tears streamed down Lu Haozhi’s face, and he knocked his head heavily against the ground.
Lu Hanzhi felt extremely uncomfortable inside. In the end, the two of them had both been manipulated by Su Wan’ning.
Used as tools by others, they had no real control over their own fates.
Lu Hanzhi stepped forward and helped Lu Haozhi up, saying, “I’ve already investigated this matter thoroughly. It truly wasn’t Aunt Du’s doing. I called you here today precisely to tell you this. Back then, when Aunt Du set the fire, it was indeed real—but she was misled by someone else. And moreover… she can’t possibly enter the ancestral hall.”
Lu Haozhi’s eyes widened in shock, and then he heard Lu Hanzhi continue, “Aunt Du is still alive. How could she enter the ancestral hall?”
This time, Lu Haozhi was completely stunned. He frowned and said, “Th-this… how is that possible? Wasn’t it said that my mother was killed by mountain bandits halfway along the road? How could she still be alive?”
Lu Hanzhi didn’t mention the scheme he had devised and only said, “In order to investigate certain matters, I rescued her. It’s just that her mental state isn’t very good. When you see her later, don’t be too distressed.”
Yet there was a trace of joy in Lu Haozhi’s eyes as he said, “My mother is still alive—I’m happy beyond measure. How could I be distressed? Third Brother, please take me to see my mother quickly.”
Without waiting for Lu Haozhi to say more, Lu Hanzhi had already pulled him out the door. He had originally planned to take him to see Aunt Du today anyway.
When Madam Lu heard that Lu Hanzhi had only stayed a short while after returning before leaving again with Lu Haozhi, she couldn’t help but sigh softly and mutter, “This child is just too kind-hearted. Has he already forgotten how Aunt Du harmed him back then?”
Still, she didn’t try to stop them. With so many skilled experts around Lu Hanzhi now, a Xiao Langjun like Lu Haozhi certainly wouldn’t be able to hurt him.
Madam Lu was also soft-hearted. Seeing Lu Haozhi’s skin-and-bones appearance, how could he compare to the former glory of the Fourth Young Master of the Lu family?
Back then, Aunt Du’s influence had even overshadowed hers, and Lu Haozhi’s food, clothing, and daily expenses were no worse than Lu Hanzhi’s.
Hopefully, after this experience, he would come to understand the warmth and coldness of human relations and stop being so willful.
Strangely enough, although Aunt Du was half-mad and muddleheaded, the moment she saw Lu Haozhi, she recognized him.
She clutched Lu Haozhi and cried so violently that it felt as though the mountains themselves were shaking, making even Lu Hanzhi unable to bear watching.
He stood to the side without saying a word, letting the mother and son hold each other without regard for the passage of time.
Finally, Lu Haozhi finished crying. When he came out, both of his eyes were swollen.
Seeing Lu Hanzhi waiting for him at the doorway, he asked in a hoarse voice, “I’ll only ask one thing, Third Brother. The person who framed my mother—was it Su Wan’ning?”
Lu Hanzhi did not hide it from him and said, “Yes… but don’t act rashly. Acting on impulse would ruin the bigger plan. I hadn’t intended to tell you this so early, but… you know me, I’m soft-hearted. Seeing you like this now, I really couldn’t bear it.”
Lu Haozhi slowly nodded and said, “What does Third Brother plan to have me do? I’ll cooperate with Princess Zhaoyun and help Third Brother get what you want.”
Lu Hanzhi said, “Actually, there’s nothing more you need to do. Being able to uncover Su Wan’ning’s affair with Yuwen Mingji was already a great achievement. Leave the rest to them.”
Lu Haozhi nodded and said, “If Third Brother needs anything, just say the word. I can’t stay in the Crown Prince’s residence anymore.”
Lu Hanzhi replied, “Why not stay? For the sake of your child, you must stay. The Crown Prince may be cold and unfeeling, but he’s also a pitiful person. You’ll understand in time. Stay put, protect yourself well—better days are ahead.”
When he heard the words “better days are ahead,” Lu Haozhi nearly burst into tears again.
He stepped forward and grabbed Lu Hanzhi’s hand, choking up as he said, “If there weren’t still hope in my heart, what meaning would there be in living?”
Lu Hanzhi patted his shoulder and said, “Living is for the sake of bringing down those who made us suffer.”
After saying this, Lu Hanzhi instructed He Ming to lead the horse and send Lu Haozhi back to the Lu residence.
The matter of him bringing Lu Haozhi to the estate could not be known to outsiders.
Lu Haozhi could return to the Lu residence—that was, after all, his maternal home.
But if people found out that Lu Haozhi and Lu Hanzhi had reconciled, it would be anything but good news for the Crown Prince’s residence.
After seeing Lu Haozhi off, Lu Hanzhi did not immediately return to Prince An’s residence.
He still had missions to do—those damned missions!
Yet these tasks were unavoidable. If he didn’t do them, there would be no formation to break the curse; without breaking the curse, Ah Shu’s illness would never get better.
A vicious cycle with no solution—he could only keep doing the missions.
In fact, the recent missions had all gone quite smoothly. His porcelain and paper had sold very well, and the fourth stage mission had been completed almost immediately after going on the market.
Lu Hanzhi first entered the mental space to collect all the treasure chest rewards, then proceeded to unlock the new stage of missions.
He hoped this time it wouldn’t be too difficult, but then again—as long as his intelligence didn’t decline, there were always more solutions than problems.
He even vaguely felt that the reason his GDP targets had been completed so quickly lately had something to do with the fact that he never cracked down on piracy.
From the very beginning, he had suspected whether this GDP was meant literally, or if it was merely a series of game settings.
Now he could be certain—this GDP was literal GDP.
That was to say, the gross domestic product that was raised through his own efforts.
Moreover, the system was intentionally or unintentionally guiding him toward a direction that would not lead to warfare.
Instinctively, he felt that Great Zhao could not fall into chaos, because war was one of the most significant factors causing severe GDP decline.
If that was the case, then the rebellions in the original story could not be allowed to happen, nor could the invading enemy states succeed.
At this thought, his palms became slick with sweat, and his throat tightened.
He swallowed and said to the system, “Be honest with me—wasn’t the system’s direction from the very beginning never meant to be the ‘farm peacefully, get rich, and stay far away from court politics’ route?”
Developing GDP while assisting a new emperor to ascend the throne—this was clearly a textbook ‘backing the dragon’ storyline!
The system seemed to refuse to answer this question and merely prompted Lu Hanzhi: “Please bind a new region as soon as possible. The reward for this mission is one exchange point.”
Lu Hanzhi clicked his tongue, acknowledging that he did not have the ability to contend with the system.
So he obediently accepted the mission and bound a new region.
It was still early, and he planned to first go take a look at where the new region had been bound before considering what to do next.
As soon as he stepped outside, he nearly collided head-on with his second sister-in-law.
Several personal guards followed beside her. When she saw him, she immediately said, “Han’er, I’ve been looking for you all day. Sure enough, you’re here. The courier has rested enough and is about to head back to the frontier. I came to ask whether you want to write a letter to Ah Min.”
To be honest, Lu Hanzhi felt a little angry.
You’d been gone so many days without even a single letter home. When you finally sent a message through a courier, all you sent were two ‘heh heh’s.
Lu Hanzhi said petulantly, “Who wants to write to him! I’m not writing, not writing!”
Yuwen Jue looked at him with some amusement and asked, “Oh? Really not writing?”
Lu Hanzhi said, “Not writing!”
Yuwen Jue replied, “Alright then, I’ll have the courier head back.”
Lu Hanzhi immediately grabbed Yuwen Jue and said, “Hey… wait, Second Sister-in-law…”
Yuwen Jue sighed helplessly, took paper and brush from a guard behind her, and said, “Everything’s prepared for you already. Hurry up and write. I’ll wait outside.”
Lu Hanzhi took the paper and brush, feeling rather embarrassed.
He unfolded the bamboo paper he had made himself and wrote the first line: “My dear husband…”
After writing it, he cupped his cheeks and rubbed them for a long while before finally writing the second line: “I missed you…”
Then came: “There were very few stars tonight. I didn’t know where they had gone. The naked sky felt so lonely without them. I thought sorrow could be little, I thought I could live well on my own. Who would have known that the moment I thought of you, longing would turn bitter with no cure, with nowhere to escape…”
Your favorite BL chaos wouldn’t be possible without coffee… lots of coffee….
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