Chapter 168
Ah Shu, who stood opposite him, showed no reaction at all. She merely smiled foolishly, her eyes filled with confusion and helplessness.
The old man, however, was covered in tears. He knelt there, sobbing uncontrollably, unable even to form complete sentences.
Lu Hanzhi’s heart was filled with bitterness. Speaking of it, even he himself found his feelings toward Ah Shu unbelievable.
She was clearly just a younger cousin whom he had only recently rescued, yet whenever he saw scenes like this, his heart clenched painfully.
Perhaps he and Ah Shu were bound by all kinds of emotional ties in the unseen workings of fate?
Otherwise, why was it that every time he saw Ah Shu, he felt nothing but heartache and pity?
Lu Hanzhi stepped forward and helped the old man up, saying, “Elder, please get up first. Something happened to Ah Shu. She no longer remembers anyone now.”
The old man’s feelings toward Ah Shu did not seem fake. It appeared that Ah Shu must have been very important to him.
The old man asked blankly, “But… why did Young Lady become like this? I watched her grow up from childhood. It wasn’t until she was thirteen that I brought my children and grandchildren back to our hometown. My son did a bit of small business, and once we had some savings, we thought to repay the kindness the family head had shown us back then. But when I returned to Xinglin Slope…”
What he saw was nothing but ruins, along with news that the entire family of the household head had perished in a fire.
They only said that the head of the household’s young lady had survived, yet no one knew why she had become like this.
Lu Hanzhi nodded and asked, “Elder, what relation are you to the Su family?”
The old man sighed and said, “I worked as a long-term servant in the Su family for thirty years. Speaking of it, it was my old wife who delivered the young miss. My wife has a straightforward temperament, and once she was framed and accused of stealing the head of the household’s belongings. It was Young Lady who was clever enough to uncover the real truth—that it was actually Madam’s dowry servant who had stolen the items and framed my old wife.”
“Young Lady was the same age as my grandson. From childhood, she was lively and clever—sigh, not at all like a proper young lady. She ran around climbing up and down with Young Master Suwen, and even learned martial arts from the household guards. It was precisely because she had learned martial arts that when my grandson fell into a dry well, she and Young Master Suwen managed to rescue him together. Young Lady was the benefactor of our entire family.”
Lu Hanzhi frowned and asked, “Young Master Suwen? How was there another young master? Didn’t the Su family only have one only daughter?”
The old man nodded and said, “Yes, there was only one only daughter. This Young Master Suwen was someone Young Lady picked up from a burial ground. At the time, there was a hole rotted clear through his back, and everyone thought he wouldn’t survive. Yet the Young Lady nursed him back to life, one dose of medicine at a time. That child was two years younger than the young miss. Seeing that he had no home to return to, the household head kept him.”
“Although he was not entered into the family registry, he was still raised as a young master. The household head gave him the name Suwen, taken from the medical text Plain Questions. In Xinglin Slope, this was the custom—there were three girls named Banxia alone, and two boys named Danggui. The head of the household was well learned, and by naming the young master Suwen, the residence became all the livelier. As for this Young Master Suwen… sigh, in all my years of living, I’ve never seen someone so capable of stirring up trouble.”
Perhaps recalling Suwen’s various antics, the old man shook his head helplessly and even let out a bitter smile, subconsciously reaching up to stroke his beard.
The corners of Lu Hanzhi’s lips twitched as well. It seemed that every household had at least one troublesome child.
The old man continued, “The head of the household saw that I was getting on in years, so he allowed me to take my wife and children back to our hometown. He even gave us a sum of silver so we could start a small business. It just so happened that my hometown was by the sea. Over these years, we made some money fishing and selling fish. Thinking that I was already over seventy and might not live three days or five nights more, I decided to return to Xinglin Slope to see the household head and the young miss. Before coming, I was even thinking, I wondered whether Young Master Suwen still tugged on people’s beards. Who would have thought…” At this point, the old man choked up again.
In every household, there were loyal servants, just as in every household there were ungrateful, heartless wretches.
Lu Hanzhi bit the tip of his tongue, forcing himself to sort through his thoughts. He asked, “You’re saying that this Young Master Suwen was two years younger than the head of the household’s daughter?”
The old man nodded. Lu Hanzhi took out a portrait, unrolled the scroll, and asked, “Did he look like this?”
The person in the painting was Yin Pingwu. This Thinking of Beauty portrait was extremely famous in the capital, with many people copying it to praise the Emperor’s deep affection.
As soon as the old man saw the portrait, he said, “Yes, yes, yes—his brows and eyes do resemble him. But… back then, that child was only eleven years old, still just a boy. In the blink of an eye, he’s grown this big? I wonder where Young Master Suwen has gone now?”
Lu Hanzhi finally understood. So Zong Yuan’s true identity turned out to be the Su family’s adopted son.
He could also roughly guess now why Zong Yuan hated him so much—he had been used by Su Wan’ning.
That unfortunate child had a heart full of passion, yet it had been turned into a blade for evildoers.
Treating him as a tool to offer to the Emperor was one thing, but they had even made him bear children for the Emperor.
If Ah Shu knew what kind of situation her beloved younger brother was in now, she would surely be devastated.
He even suspected that Ah Shu’s sudden seizure that day might have been because she subconsciously sensed that her younger brother had come to the capital and was in danger.
Still, he was also very fortunate—fortunate that when offering up the Eastern Sea beauty, he had cut the problem off at its source and directly crippled the Emperor’s “little bird.”
Otherwise, something even more heartbreaking for Ah Shu would certainly have happened, and that would have been a true tragedy.
Lu Hanzhi took a deep breath and continued to ask, “Then… Elder, do you know someone named Chou Nu?”
The old man immediately responded, “Ah, Chou Nu! Yes, yes, I know her. She was the young miss’s personal maid. Chou Nu was ugly—probably took after her pockmarked biological father. Pockmarks was actually a good man. Speaking of it, that’s another muddled old account.”
As soon as Lu Hanzhi heard this, he thought that there really was a story here, so he asked, “Please explain it in detail, Elder.”
The old man nodded, his expression sinking into memories. “Chou Nu’s mother was the young miss’s dowry maid. When that girl Qiuhuan first came to the Su household, she truly made all the maids from top to bottom of the household envious. Madam treated her well, she had seen the wider world in the capital, she was clever-minded, and she spoke pleasantly. Everyone liked her.”
“But over time, people realized that this Miss Qiuhuan… was a bit strange. On the surface, she was close to the young miss, but behind the scenes she dressed herself up flamboyantly and fawned over the head of the household in the study. The head of the household was wholeheartedly devoted to Madam, so he didn’t expose her. But later, it became more and more improper. She even directly… sigh, it’s damaging to moral decency to speak of.”
“Madam didn’t do anything harsh to her. She only admonished her a few times. Although Qiuhuan was Madam’s dowry maid—and among dowry maids, nine out of ten would eventually be taken in as concubines—the head of the household was different. His heart was extremely devoted to Madam, and it was impossible for him to take this maid as a secondary wife. Madam was also sentimental. She felt that Qiuhuan had grown up with her and was her personal maid, and she didn’t want to wrong her. So she proposed arranging a marriage for her, removing her from the slave registry, and marrying her off openly and properly. Qiuhuan agreed, but later another matter arose.”
Lu Hanzhi gestured for the old man to continue, and the old man went on. “Qiuhuan was ambitious beyond her station. Somehow, she got involved with the young master of Zhou Caizhu’s family in the town. The two of them did enjoy a period of good days, and everyone said Qiuhuan was beautiful and lucky. The entire household envied her. Unfortunately, that Young Master Zhou turned out to be a fickle, lustful man. After being with Qiuhuan for some time, he abandoned her. He then turned around and married a young lady of matching status, with the wedding date already set.”
“Qiuhuan couldn’t swallow this injustice and went to block the wedding sedan. But what use was it for a dowry maid to block a wedding sedan? She was only humiliated, accused of harboring delusions of climbing high and becoming a phoenix. Yet Qiuhuan was unwilling to accept this. In front of a street full of people, she claimed that she was carrying Young Master Zhou’s child. She thought that for the sake of the child, Young Master Zhou might at least take her in as a concubine, which she was willing to accept. Unfortunately, Young Master Zhou pointed at her nose and cursed her soundly, calling her promiscuous and shameless, saying who knew where she had gotten that child from.”
Lu Hanzhi let out a sigh. Although this Qiuhuan had somewhat brought it upon herself, in that era, such things really were also the fault of scumbag men.
The old man continued, “After Qiuhuan returned, she became muddle-headed. Not long after, she obtained abortion medicine on her own and aborted the child. From then on, she did become much more well-behaved. Madam still pitied her and tried to find her several suitable families. But after her affair had caused such a stir, how could any decent family be willing to marry her?”
“Only Pockmarks, the steward in the residence, didn’t mind. He treated her well and took care of her attentively. In the end, Qiuhuan relented and married Pockmarks. If she didn’t marry then, she would soon be twenty. If she still didn’t marry, she would probably never marry in this lifetime. After marriage, they got along harmoniously. She and Madam became pregnant one after the other. Pockmarks was delighted, and Madam was happy for her as well. Madam advised her many times to live her life properly and stop entertaining wandering thoughts.”
“Qiuhuan agreed verbally, but she didn’t truly take it to heart. Sigh, she and Madam each gave birth to a daughter one after the other. Madam’s daughter was beautiful and clever, looking very much like both Madam and the head of the household. Qiuhuan gave birth to an ugly girl who took after Pockmarks. She didn’t care about this child at all and directly named her Chou Nu. All of Chou Nu’s care was handled by Pockmarks. This mother, however, rekindled her old ways and once again got involved with that Young Master Zhou.”
“Pockmarks wasn’t unaware of it, but for the sake of his daughter, he endured it again and again. Until one day, Qiuhuan brazenly went with that Young Master Zhou to a dilapidated temple… sigh. Pockmarks had also had a bit to drink. In a moment of loss of control, he beat Qiuhuan to death. Just like that, Pockmarks was entangled in a murder case. Knowing he couldn’t survive, he threw himself into a well. Only Chou Nu was left behind. Madam and Young Lady were kind-hearted and didn’t drive her away. She continued to follow Young Lady as a maid.”
“Chou Nu was actually obedient and honest, and she was hardworking too. We were all grateful that her temperament took after Pockmarks and not her unreliable mother. As for what happened afterward, this old man no longer knew. That year, the head of the household happened to be kind-hearted and allowed me to take my entire family back to our old home by the East Sea. Once we left, it was five years in separation. Who would have thought that by then… alas…”
By the time the story reached this point, Lu Hanzhi completely understood everything.
Chou Nu’s background—and the root cause of her frenzied jealousy—was indeed a complete mess.
One could only imagine that her mother, whose values were already twisted, must have instilled plenty of distorted beliefs into her.
He did not deny that climbing upward was part of human nature—but choosing to commit evil was entirely one’s own fault.
Lu Hanzhi sighed softly, thinking that things had finally reached a stage where real progress could be seen.
At the very least, he now fully understood Su Wan’ning’s background.
However, how was he supposed to force her to reveal her true face?
And how was he supposed to remove the system she held?
First, he had to give her an opportunity—one that would make her expose her own flaws willingly.
But how should that exposure be arranged?
The corners of Lu Hanzhi’s lips curved slightly as an idea formed in his mind.
Your favorite BL chaos wouldn’t be possible without coffee… lots of coffee….
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