Chapter 29
By coincidence, Lu Chenzhi had been on his way back from Xishi Street when he saw the fire break out.
That day marked his second brother’s success in the imperial examination, and he had spent the entire day at home entertaining guests, neglecting the family business. So, he had gone out in the evening to make up for it.
As he was returning, he spotted the fire from a distance and rushed home.
The moment he arrived, he discovered that it was his younger brother’s courtyard that had caught fire. Entering through the back gate, he happened to brush past someone who was fleeing in panic.
At the time, his only thought had been to save lives, so he hadn’t paid attention to who that person was.
Now that he knew his younger brother was safe, he suddenly calmed down and realized that the presence of that person in the area had been highly suspicious.
Without waiting for the servants to summon their parents, the two brothers stormed into Aunt Du’s courtyard.
Aunt Du had never done anything so reckless in her life. When she finally processed what was happening, she was utterly terrified, unsure of what to do.
The sight of the two brothers made her collapse onto the ground in fear. There was no need for them to interrogate her—just looking at her reaction, they could already guess what had happened.
Meanwhile, Lu Hanzhi had slept soundly, unaware of the chaos that had unfolded overnight. Safe in his second brother’s courtyard, under the watchful care of his sister-in-law, he had even had a pleasant dream.
Yet, within a single night, everything had changed. Aunt Du, once a favored concubine and the birth mother of the Crown Prince’s close attendant, had become a prisoner.
When Lu Hanzhi woke up, he learned that his courtyard had been reduced to ashes, and the arsonist was none other than Aunt Du.
Their father, who had been sleeping soundly, was shaken awake in the middle of the night by Lu Chenzhi and Lu Xuzhi, who then threw Aunt Du in front of their parents.
When Madam Lu heard the news, she was so furious that she nearly fainted. There was no way she would pass up the chance to give Aunt Du a vicious beating.
So now, as Lu Hanzhi stood in the woodshed, he saw Aunt Du locked up, her face swollen like a pig’s head.
He turned to a nearby servant and asked, “What exactly happened last night? I slept so soundly that I didn’t hear a thing.”
The servant respectfully replied, “Third Young Master, last night, Aunt Du set fire to your courtyard, and the Eldest Young Master caught her in the act. The Eldest Young Master and Second Young Master then took her to confront the Master and Madam. Madam ordered her to be beaten and locked her up in the woodshed.”
A concubine setting fire to the legitimate young master’s courtyard was no small crime in the Great Zhao.
Concubines already held little status in the Great Zhao. Wives were the masters, while concubines were nothing more than servants.
Most concubines came from lowly backgrounds, and even those who held higher status had to obey the main wife’s authority.
Aunt Du had been somewhat of an exception, thanks to her beauty and the favor she received from the family head. But in the end, her status remained humble.
And today, this wasn’t just about Madam Lu seizing the opportunity to take her down—Aunt Du had nearly burned the Lu family’s son and grandson to death.
If Lu Hanzhi had truly been as tainted as rumors once suggested, and if his child were nothing more than an illegitimate bastard, the Lu family might have been forced to suffer this loss in silence.
But now, that son was the future wife of Prince An, and their grandson was the imperial eldest grandson. How could the Lu family possibly let Aunt Du off lightly?
Madam Lu had secretly visited Lu Hanzhi several times throughout the night, checking on him in Lu Xuzhi’s courtyard. Word had it that she had cried herself to exhaustion and was now resting.
Lu Hanzhi chose not to disturb her and instead asked the servant, “Has the family head decided how to deal with Aunt Du?”
The servant answered, “Madam wants to have her sold, but Master says that since Aunt Du is the mother of the Crown Prince’s attendant, they can’t handle it too rashly. He insists on waiting for Old Madam’s judgment. Master also said that since Third Young Master was unharmed, the punishment must be severe but not overly excessive, as selling Aunt Du off outright would be an insult to His Highness the Crown Prince.”
That reasoning wasn’t wrong, but it only reinforced the reality that his father’s feelings for him were nothing compared to those of his mother.
Lu Hanzhi then asked, “My se—cough, cough, has Prince Chu returned to his residence?”
The servant replied, “His Highness left early this morning.”
After all, the Lu family had their own internal matters to settle, and it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to interfere.
Lu Hanzhi understood and said, “Let me know when Madam wakes up.” He needed to find a way to keep Aunt Du alive.
Aunt Du had survived in this household for so long—she wasn’t stupid. Why would she suddenly act so recklessly and set fire to his courtyard?
No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t make sense. Even if someone had instigated her, Aunt Du wasn’t foolish enough to take such a dangerous risk.
And to do it herself? That was completely illogical.
Lu Hanzhi could already guess: if someone had the ability to manipulate a person who would normally never commit such an act, then there was only one explanation—mental manipulation.
He had been deliberately avoiding direct confrontation with Su Wan’ning. He thought that as long as he stayed out of the main storyline—avoiding the fate of marrying into the Crown Prince’s household and competing with the female lead for a man—he would be able to live a peaceful life.
But now, an unexpected incident had pulled him right back in.
He had nearly forgotten—Yuwen Min was Su Wan’ning’s first love.
Before she married the Crown Prince, the person she had loved was Prince Ling’an.
However, Prince Ling’an had always treated her coldly, which was why she eventually fell for the Crown Prince’s tenderness.
If she couldn’t even tolerate the fact that Lu Hanzhi had given birth to Prince Ling’an’s child, how could she possibly allow him to marry into Prince An’s household?
The moment she sensed a potential threat, she had already begun making her move.
Lu Hanzhi broke out in a cold sweat. He had to keep Aunt Du alive—not for her sake, but to uncover the truth behind Su Wan’ning’s mental attacks.
The Lu family quickly suppressed the incident. Family scandals couldn’t be allowed to spread, and Aunt Du’s fate would be dealt with in secret.
Madam Lu finally woke up at noon. The moment she saw Lu Hanzhi, she pulled him into an embrace and wept once more.
Lu Hanzhi held onto Madam Lu, comforting her in a soft voice as he said, “Mother, see? I’m perfectly fine. I was just too bored being alone last night, so I went to see my second brother. Otherwise, even if there had been a fire, I would have carried Ah Chan out with me!”
Madam Lu had just finished crying when she suddenly remembered Aunt Du. Gritting her teeth, she spat angrily, “That old bastard Lu Siwei doesn’t even care about his own son’s life! He’s still thinking about the Crown Prince’s reputation—does that matter more than his own flesh and blood?”
Madam Lu, fiercely protective as always, was now completely determined to drive Aunt Du out of the Lu residence.
Lu Hanzhi knew there was no way to change his mother’s mind, so he could only wait and see how things played out.
Lu Xuzhi had recently achieved the top rank in the imperial exam, and the Emperor held him in high regard, appointing him as a Bianxiu in the Hanlin academy to temporarily revise the Great Zhao legal code.
Note; Bianxiu: doing editing and compiling works for the acadmey.
Of course, this was not Lu Xuzhi’s ultimate goal—he wanted to enter the Ministry of War. But some things couldn’t be rushed.
The Lu family had been attracting too much attention lately, and Lu Xuzhi was fully aware of this. Every step he took had to be measured beyond just his personal abilities.
At noon, after finishing his meal, Lu Hanzhi had originally planned to return to the estate.
Because of his second brother’s situation, he had fallen behind on time and had yet to start the second phase of his system mission.
But after such a major incident last night, there was absolutely no way he could leave now.
Rumors about him were already spreading like wildfire across the capital, saying that the reason he refused to marry into the Crown Prince’s household was because he had his own considerations.
Though the Crown Prince was favored by the Emperor, he was backed mostly by civil officials—men without any military power. In the future, he might not necessarily be of great use.
The Fourth Prince, however, was different. He was closer to Imperial Concubine Rong than even her own son would be, and Imperial Concubine Rong had the formidable General Rong Di behind her. Since the Eldest Prince had no interest in politics, the Imperial Concubine naturally had to rely on one of her sons—and that son was, of course, the Fourth Prince.
Yet despite everything that had happened, Su Wan’ning remained as unbothered as ever.
She seemed born to be a tranquil beauty untouched by the world’s chaos. Just like always, she went around the outskirts of the capital administering acupuncture and distributing medicine, continuing to uphold her saintly persona.
On her way back, she even prepared a bowl of calming soup, intending to bring it to Madam Lu.
However, she was stopped by a maidservant, who kindly warned her, “Aunt Du is currently locked in the woodshed, and Madam is still furious. The Third Young Master was badly frightened, and the Young Master was taken to the Second Young Master’s room for protection. It might not be appropriate for you to go right now.”
Su Wan’ning’s brows furrowed sharply as she hesitantly asked, “Frightened…? He was frightened?”
The maid was startled by her sudden change in demeanor and took a step back before nodding, “Y-Yes!”
Realizing that her expression had slipped, Su Wan’ning immediately softened into a delicate, gentle smile. “I… I was just too worried about my cousin Hanzhi. Didn’t they say his courtyard caught fire? Was he truly only frightened?”
The maid, feeling that she had overreacted, chuckled and said, “It’s quite a coincidence, actually. The Third Young Master had a nightmare and was too afraid to stay alone in his courtyard, so he carried the Young Master to the Second Young Master’s room. Perhaps the heavens were watching over him—he managed to escape disaster. But the Third Young Master has always been pampered, so the experience must have scared him quite a bit.”
Su Wan’ning’s gaze deepened as she fell into thought, murmuring absentmindedly, “Oh… oh, then it truly was… heaven’s blessing.”
She quietly set the bowl of calming soup back onto the table. Seeing that she had listened to her advice, the maid excused herself and went back to her tasks.
Yet Su Wan’ning remained uneasy. Her face grew darker and darker—she had already failed the previous mission, and if this plan failed as well, her chances of ultimate success would only become slimmer.
What should she do?
She had to act faster. It seemed she would have to abandon the first plan and switch to the backup route.
By evening, Lu Siwei had returned. After discussing matters with the Old Madam, they decided to send Aunt Du back to the old residence in Yiyang to “watch over” the estate—never to return for the rest of her life.
But in truth, “watching over” was just a pretense—she was the one being watched. It was easy to imagine what kind of life she would lead after returning to the old residence.
At this moment, Aunt Du had lost all of her former charm and liveliness. She looked like a withered eggplant, her eyes dull and lifeless.
The next day, after Aunt Du was sent away, Madam Lu was still fuming. She grabbed Lu Hanzhi’s hand and stomped her foot in frustration.
“Pah! That wretched woman got off too easy! She tried to take my son’s life, and all we did was send her back to the old estate? I can’t swallow this!”
Lu Hanzhi comforted her with a smile. “Mother, you have the heart of a Bodhisattva. Otherwise, even heaven itself wouldn’t have warned your son that someone was planning to do harm. If it weren’t for your virtue, I might not have survived.”
Nearby, Ah Chan, who had been lying down while shaking a rattle drum, echoed in agreement, “Mm-hmm…”
Finally, Madam Lu laughed. She tapped Lu Hanzhi’s forehead with her finger and said, “You always know just what to say! You’re just trying to sweet-talk me, aren’t you? Do you have any idea how scared I was?”
Lu Hanzhi leaned against her shoulder, acting spoiled as he said, “That’s because my mother loves me so much! See? Since both your son and grandson are safe and sound, you should put your mind at ease, alright? If you stay angry, I’ll feel heartbroken.”
Just as Madam Lu was about to respond, a little maid suddenly burst in, beaming with joy as she shouted, “Madam! Madam! Wonderful news! Prince An has personally arrived with an imperial decree for an engagement and has brought betrothal gifts!”
Lu Hanzhi froze and peeked outside. Sure enough, Yuwen Min had led a group of servants carrying over a dozen large chests into the Lu residence.
Now, there was no need for Lu Hanzhi to continue comforting her—Madam Lu was absolutely delighted!
Your favorite BL chaos wouldn’t be possible without coffee… lots of coffee….
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