How to Deal with Having the Villainous Tyrant’s Child Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Su Wan’ning, who had been maintaining the image of a delicate and gentle lady, almost lost her composure. Her large eyes widened as she stepped forward and blurted out, “You—”

But Lu Hanzhi remained completely unbothered and continued in the same exaggeratedly delicate tone, “Tsk tsk, Cousin Wan’er, did all your lessons on etiquette go straight to the dogs? We children of noble families were meticulously raised by governesses from a young age. Addressing a Wang Fei directly is completely inappropriate—you should say ‘Your Highness.’ Oh… but I almost forgot. Your family has only ever been physicians for generations. I suppose you never had the luxury of a proper governess. Ah, but please don’t misunderstand, Cousin. I don’t look down on physicians at all! I greatly admire those who heal and save lives!” But those who fabricate a false persona? I have nothing but disdain for them.

A wave of grievance surged in Su Wan’ning’s heart, but instead of lashing out, she turned her dewy, affectionate eyes toward Yuwen Min and said, “I know my birth is humble, but… that’s no reason for my cousin to humiliate me! I have always shown him the utmost respect—why does he treat me with such hostility?”

As she spoke, Su Wan’ning had fully activated her “peerless beauty” filter.

However, Yuwen Min only found the situation baffling. Despite her pitiful demeanor, he felt not the slightest bit of sympathy.

By now, a growing crowd of servants had gathered around them. It was only when Su Wan’ning turned and ran away that Yuwen Min finally asked Lu Hanzhi in confusion, “She was clearly complaining about you—so why was she looking at me?”

Lu Hanzhi answered without the slightest hesitation, “Because… you’re handsome?” Because you’re one of her targets for manipulation, of course!

Noticing the hushed whispers among the onlookers, Yuwen Min asked, “Won’t they report this?”

Lu Hanzhi replied nonchalantly, “Probably? But don’t worry about it. I need to take this punishment for things to progress as planned.”

He had to make sure his parents saw Su Wan’ning’s true nature and expelled her from the Lu family.

Sure enough, in no time at all, a servant arrived, supporting the frail and trembling Old Madam as she made her way to the front courtyard.

Leaning on her dragon-headed cane, the nearly seventy-year-old noble matron usually exuded kindness. But when angered, her presence carried undeniable authority.

Not only had she been alarmed, but even Madam Lu, Lu Siwei, and Lu Chenyi had been summoned. If Lu Xuzhi weren’t at Prince Chu’s residence, he would have come too.

Old Madam’s face was deathly pale with fury as she pointed an accusing finger at Lu Siwei and berated him, “This is the fine son you’ve raised! Now that he’s married into a high-ranking household, he looks down on even me, his old grandmother! Every one of you is either an official or making money, leaving me, an old woman, all alone! Finally, I have a granddaughter willing to keep me company, and now you want to take even her away from me?”

Lu Siwei, known throughout the capital as the epitome of filial piety, immediately stepped forward and reassured her, “Mother, what are you saying? If Wan’er wants to stay with you, then she shall! Who would dare object?”

“Who would dare object?!” Old Madam slammed her cane forcefully onto the ground and demanded, “Tell me—what exactly happened?”

Several servants immediately knelt, including those from Lu Siwei’s household, Madam Lu’s, and Aunt Zhou’s.

Each of them exaggeratedly recounted how Lu Hanzhi had humiliated Su Wan’ning at the door. They even claimed they had personally seen her run back to her room in tears, grab a pair of scissors, and declare her intent to cut off her hair and become a nun, so as not to be a nuisance in the Lu family any longer.

Lu Siwei’s head throbbed instantly. Of all the troublemakers in the world, why did this little brat have to provoke her—his mother’s favorite?

And yet, as he thought about it, wasn’t Hanzhi also Old Madam’s favorite before Su Wan’ning arrived?

Subconsciously, Lu Siwei began massaging his temples, his tone slightly impatient as he said, “Mother, Hanzhi is just young and reckless. It was nothing more than a minor quarrel between children—no need to make such a fuss.”

Hearing this, Old Madam became even angrier.

She struck Lu Siwei’s leg with her cane, causing him to yelp in pain and immediately kneel before her.

Seeing this, Madam Lu also knelt, forcing a smile as she tried to placate the situation. “Mother, you see… Hanzhi and Wan’er are about the same age. Children have their little disagreements—it’s really not worth making such a big deal out of it.”

Old Madam snapped, “Not a big deal? Wan’er has fainted! The physician said she suffered from an excess of anger disturbing her qi and blood! She already feels like an outsider in this household—like she’s beneath everyone else! And instead of protecting her, you let her suffer such injustice? My poor daughter, taken from this world too soon… My dear, I shall follow you!”

With that, Old Madam flung her cane aside and made a move to slam herself against the wall.

A flurry of panicked hands rushed to stop her, pulling her back into her chair.

Lu Hanzhi, who was standing closest to Madam Lu, leaned in and whispered, “Mother, was Grandmother always like this? She… doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would resort to such extreme actions.”

Madam Lu, who had been in distress, paused and realized something. In a hushed voice, she replied, “Now that you mention it—no, she wasn’t. Your grandmother was raised in a marquis’s household. Marrying into the Lu family was technically a step down. But she and Grandfather shared a deep bond, and he never even took a concubine. Aside from her noble background, her grace, wisdom, and dignity were the reasons for that. Honestly, if anyone in this family were capable of making a scene like that, it would be me—but certainly not your grandmother.”

Lu Hanzhi: …

At least his mother had a clear grasp of her own character.

Madam Lu continued, “Now that I think about it, your grandmother has been acting strangely ever since Su Wan’ning arrived. Her health has declined, and now she makes decisions purely based on emotion.”

Lu Hanzhi thought, Not just emotion—Su Wan’ning’s emotions, to be precise.

Meanwhile, Lu Siwei had managed to calm Old Madam down and had sternly reprimanded Lu Hanzhi, ordering him to kneel in the ancestral hall until she cooled off.

After that, Lu Hanzhi sent Yuwen Min away.

With him here, handling the Lu family’s internal matters would be difficult.

This entire ordeal was a calculated move—he needed to take this punishment so that certain people would start realizing both Su Wan’ning’s manipulative nature and Old Madam’s unusual behavior.

As the results unfolded, even the servants who had testified found the situation puzzling.

After all, Lu Hanzhi had only made a few snide remarks to the young lady. Given his status as a soon-to-be Wang Fei, at worst, he should have received a scolding. Why had Old Madam’s reaction been so extreme, insisting he be punished in the ancestral hall?

It was late autumn now. Spending a night in that drafty place would surely freeze him half to death.

And besides, Third Young Master had always been frail—he was just a delicate Xiao Langjun after all.

Under the watchful eyes of the servants attending Madam Lu, one of them quietly slipped away to confess their fault to her. They recounted everything they had witnessed without embellishment, reporting only the unvarnished truth.

Madam Lu, however, had already guessed as much. She had never truly believed the story as it had been initially told to her.

But in a household as large as this, such things were simply unavoidable.

And seeing how her son had handled the situation, it seemed he had already anticipated this outcome.

Ever since he had suffered the ordeal of childbirth and subsequent expulsion from the family, the child seemed to have matured overnight, growing far more composed and wise.

Since he had foreseen this, Madam Lu chose not to dwell on it further. She merely kowtowed before the Old Madam, apologizing and promising to strictly discipline her youngest son.

However, in secret, she instructed the servants to prepare a charcoal-warmed cushion for Lu Hanzhi, lest he suffer too much through the long night.

As Lu Hanzhi was locked inside the ancestral hall, he took a moment to sort through the sequence of events.

Ever since he had transmigrated into this book, the original plot had been completely thrown into disarray by his actions.

At this moment, he had no idea whether Su Wan’ning had fainted or not, but he was certain she was furious beyond belief.

Originally, when he married into the Crown Prince’s residence, he had been on equal footing with Su Wan’ning, who also served as an imperial consort. In that household, Su Wan’ning had been treated almost as if she were the Crown Princess herself.

Later, due to her many contributions, she had defied all opposition and was officially crowned empress when the Crown Prince ascended the throne.

It was said that on the day of her coronation, a flock of seven-colored fortune birds arrived to offer their blessings, and from that day forward, the “Blessed Empress” became a legend throughout the empire.

Lu Hanzhi stroked his chin. Now that he had escaped from the Crown Prince’s residence and Lu Haozhi had fallen out of favor, if County Princess Zhaoyun were to marry into the household, she would inevitably have to face Su Wan’ning head-on.

He let out a sigh. While it was true that self-preservation was human nature, he still couldn’t bear to stand by and watch each of them take on Su Wan’ning one after another, only to meet a miserable defeat.

The last time, he had genuinely intended to help Lu Haozhi. If Lu Haozhi had accepted his goodwill, perhaps his child wouldn’t have died.

As he was lost in thought, pondering the situation from every angle, a voice suddenly whispered in his ear:

“What is my beloved consort thinking about?”

Startled, Lu Hanzhi nearly leaped off the soft prayer mat. He turned his head abruptly and clutched his chest, exclaiming, “…Mother, the ancestors have manifested!”

But as he looked up, he saw Yuwen Min’s expressionless face approaching him. As he walked, Yuwen Min glanced around at the furnishings of the ancestral hall before concluding indifferently, “Well, at least it’s better than the conditions at your country estate.”

Lu Hanzhi, now seated cross-legged on the mat, raised a brow and asked, “Why have you returned, husband?”

It seemed that Yuwen Min had picked up some of Lu Hanzhi’s bad habits, as he replied, “How could I leave my beloved consort to suffer punishment alone? Naturally, I must stay and accompany you.”

Lu Hanzhi: …So now he was enjoying this?

Yuwen Min gave him a long, searching look before asking, “You suspect… your cousin, don’t you?”

Lu Hanzhi couldn’t help but give him a thumbs-up. After everything that had happened, no one else had noticed the discrepancies—only Yuwen Min had picked up on them.

But this was something he could never explain. How was he supposed to say it?

That Su Wan’ning was the novel’s ultimate female lead, blessed with an overpowered golden finger, designed to conquer all the powerful men in the story?

And how was he supposed to explain that he knew all this in the first place?

So, in the end, he simply replied, “It’s just a suspicion. There’s no need for you to overreact, but it would be wise to stay vigilant.”

Yuwen Min was a naturally cautious person, so he nodded and said, “I understand.”

Lu Hanzhi let out a low whistle and teased, “Oh? No longer calling yourself ‘husband’?”

Yuwen Min, unwilling to engage in such petty banter, simply remarked, “The night is long. You should get some sleep, my beloved consort.”

But Lu Hanzhi suddenly dropped his playful tone and extended a hand. “Give me something personal of yours.”

Yuwen Min thought for a moment, then reached into his robes and retrieved a handkerchief.

Lu Hanzhi took it and noticed that it was embroidered with a remarkably lifelike autumn landscape.

Yuwen Min explained, “My childhood name was Ah Man. My mother gave it to me because I was born in the late autumn. Later, when I joined the imperial lineage, my name was changed to match the royal family’s jade generation name.”

No wonder. Lu Hanzhi tucked the handkerchief away and said, “I’ll need to trouble Your Highness with a small favor.”

Yuwen Min asked, “What is it?”

Lu Hanzhi answered, “Tomorrow, take this handkerchief and visit the Grand Princess. Then, ‘accidentally’ leave it behind near County Princess Zhaoyun’s side.”

Even if their marriage was just a contract, as his husband, Yuwen Min still felt that Lu Hanzhi truly didn’t regard him highly enough.

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