PFC Chapter 078 Wanting to Kill His Father
Chapter 078 Wanting to Kill His Father
Xie Chaoyun followed her two older brothers out of the Imperial Study. Seeing her eldest brother turn around, she knelt down on the ground with a thud: "It is Chaoyun who has implicated my eldest and second brothers, and the Xie family. If it weren't for His Majesty's wisdom, the Xie family would have been killed by Chaoyun."
"You—" Xie Yu'an pointed at Xie Chaoyun, unsure of what to say.
His sister, the precious darling he raised with all his heart, suffered such great injustice in her husband's family, yet she didn't even tell him, her brother. Did she ever truly consider him her brother? Did she ever truly consider herself a member of the Xie family?
When did the Xie family's daughters ever have to endure such humiliation to make a living?
Xie Chaoyun bit her lip tightly, not daring to look at her two elder brothers, much less cry in front of them. She tried her best to hold it in, her nose stinging with tears.
Seeing her slightly trembling shoulders, Xie Yu'an sighed, feeling even more heartbroken.
"Are you still my sister? Ten years of living the life of a wealthy lady, has it worn away all your temper? They bullied you like that, and you just put up with it. Where are your hands? Where is your marksmanship? Can't you turn the Lu family upside down?"
"Big brother!" Xie Yubai gave his elder brother a wink, walked over to Xie Chaoyun, helped her up, and asked softly, "Are you really going to divorce Lu Huai?"
Xie Chaoyun's eyes were red. "Chaoyun has caused trouble for the Xie family."
"It's not a problem, it's that you don't care about your eldest and second brothers." Xie Yubai sighed. "You've suffered such a great injustice without saying a word. Is it that you can't trust your eldest brother, or that you can't count on your second brother? Xie Chaoyun, do you not consider yourself a member of the Xie family?"
Xie Chaoyun shook her head with tears in her eyes, feeling increasingly guilty.
They found a secluded spot and recounted everything that had happened in the past few days, including how she and Lu Zhiyuan had tampered with the letters. Xie Yu'an was furious, while Xie Yubai was terrified.
Tampering with the letter was too risky. What if someone else discovered it? What if the Emperor didn't notice anything amiss? Given his personality, he would most likely take action against the Xie family.
They weren't afraid; at worst, they could rebel against the Xiao family's rule and have someone else sit in the imperial study. However, Xie Chaoyun, as the younger sister, had to discuss such a risky matter with them so they could be fully prepared.
"Second Brother, don't worry, Yuan'er has a backup plan." Xie Chaoyun explained, "Second Brother is in the Ministry of Revenue, so your information network isn't that efficient. Eldest Brother should have heard about it. With Southern Chu invading the border, the Emperor will not touch the Xie family at this critical juncture. Besides needing to rely on Father at the border, I also asked Imperial Physician Jiang to deliver a message to the Empress. Also, Princess Ping Le's spilling of the teacup wasn't an accident; it was Yuan'er's doing."
"Yuan'er? My niece is really something." Xie Yu'an rubbed his hands together. "Come to think of it, it's been several years since I've seen her. Has she returned to Chaoyun Villa?"
Xie Chaoyun shook her head: "It's Chaoyun's fault. Chaoyun should have taken Yuan'er home."
“It’s time to take Yuan’er home.” Xie Yu rolled his eyes at her and scolded, “Even if Father isn’t in the capital, we two brothers are still here. Are you not planning to take your family home? There’s no time like the present, so let’s do it today. I’ll send someone to pick up Yuan’er. I have some things to ask her.”
“In that case, I also have some questions to ask her.” Xie Yu’an rubbed his chin.
His niece was a business prodigy; she had transformed the Lu family's rouge shop into something quite interesting. Xie Chaoyun was completely bewildered until her elder brother explained that Lu Zhiyuan had bought the four shops left by the old Marquis, using a false name.
At the Pingnan Marquis's residence, Lu Zhiyuan and Lu Huai were staring at each other.
Lu Huai failed to get any useful information from the eunuchs, so he tried his luck at Fangfei Courtyard, but ended up being disappointed.
His daughter wasn't close to him at all.
Faced with Lu Huai's accusations, Lu Zhiyuan simply smiled. Father and daughter—the daughter comes first, then the father. If a father isn't close to his daughter, how can he expect her to care for him?
"Yuan'er has no memory of the time before her first birthday, but she heard from the people in the manor that her father left the manor on the night of her birth and went to Weinan. When he returned, Yuan'er was already a month old. Yuan'er wants to ask her father, did you leave on official business?"
"Of course it's for official business!" Lu Huai said without blushing or skipping a beat. "If it weren't for official business, why would your father abandon you and your mother?"
“Father left the Marquis’s residence because he received a letter from Madam Ji.” Lu Zhiyuan fiddled with the things in her hands. “The letter said that Lu Jinyao was sick, with a persistent high fever, and was crying and calling for her father. Father was heartbroken and left Mother, who had just given birth, and our newborn daughter, Yuan’er, and rode at full speed to Weinan. Yuan’er wants to ask Father, is Lu Jinyao really sick? Even if she is sick, what use is it for her to find Father? The capital is more than a thousand miles away from Weinan. By the time Father arrives, Lu Jinyao will probably be cured.”
"Where did you hear these things from?" Lu Huai frowned. "Even if I really went to Weinan, it was for official business. Visiting Jin Yao was just a side trip. Don't listen to the nonsense from those people in the manor."
Nonsense?
Lu Zhiyuan reached out her hand, and Liu Ying handed her a letter. Coincidentally, it was the very letter she had just mentioned.
Over time, Father had probably forgotten that Mother had kept his letters in the red box that Lu Jingyuan had knocked over. Mother trusted and respected Father, and never opened any of the letters written to him without permission, so she didn't know their contents. If she had known, she would have surely gone to Weinan with a gun.
"Wanwan is my cousin, your aunt. Her husband died early, and she has no one to rely on. What's wrong with her writing a letter to me for help?" Lu Huai felt guilty and turned the tables: "I really don't know what you've been learning in that other courtyard all these years!"
"Does Father want to know?" Lu Zhiyuan stood up abruptly, stepped onto the stone bench, and held a dagger to Lu Huai's neck: "While Father was busy taking care of Madam Ji and coaxing Lu Jinyao, while Mother was running around and working hard for the livelihood of the Marquis's mansion, while Grandmother was trying to stop Mother from going to the other courtyard to see Yuan'er, Yuan'er was learning how to survive a near-death experience."
The moment their eyes met, Lu Huai saw murderous intent in Lu Zhiyuan's eyes.
His voice trembled involuntarily: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
"So Father knew? I thought Father was kept in the dark about what happened at the villa, just like Mother."
"Lu Zhiyuan, do you want to commit patricide?" Lu Huai panicked, his face becoming increasingly pale: "In Beiliang, patricide is a serious crime, and your mother will also be held accountable."
"Parricide?" Lu Zhiyuan removed the dagger, lifted her eyelids and asked, "Are you Yuan'er's father? Do you deserve to be Yuan'er's father? If I remember correctly, on the Lu family genealogy, your daughter's name is Lu Jinyao!"
“I can explain that!” Lu Huai said urgently, “I put Jin Yao on the family tree because you were in poor health. The doctor said you wouldn’t live past eight years old. I had no choice but to do that for the future of the Marquis’s family. You are my daughter, how could I not love you? I wanted you to have a relaxed and carefree childhood.”
"Slap!" A slap landed on Lu Huai's face, not with his hand, but with a dagger.