Chapter 71 The following words, Lu Hun...

The next words seemed to go unheard by Lu Hun, as if he had tinnitus. His already pale face turned even more ashen, which surprised Ji Jiayu. She stopped talking and asked him what was wrong, but Lu Hun could no longer hear Ji Jiayu's voice. She could only see his mouth moving. Ji Jiayu reached out to pull him, but Lu Hun felt a wave of numbness wash over him. Then, in a very disheveled state, he pushed Ji Jiayu away and hurried away.

He came to the ginkgo tree again.

The tea table and chairs set up under the tree were not removed and remained as before. In just half a day, some golden ginkgo leaves had fallen and piled up on them.

Lu Hun stood for a moment, swept away the ginkgo leaves one by one, and then sat down on the chair.

He has no five senses and is never afraid of these mundane coldnesses.

But at this moment, the autumn wind and night wind were blowing rustling from the eaves, and he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

Lu Hun remembered.

A long, long time ago.

In the dark night at the Lu family's house, where a large locust tree grew, Old Madam Lu and Lu Mingli waited anxiously outside the door, while inside, a woman was painfully giving birth.

When Madam Lu was pregnant with her first child, Madam He happened to send Lu Hun to the Lu family. In the end, this child, which suddenly appeared in the couple's lives, made Madam Lu so angry that she miscarried, which damaged her health. It took her a long time to recover before she was able to conceive her second child.

Lu Hun is now three or four years old. He is precocious and has long been able to read people's expressions. When Madam Lu was giving birth, he did not dare to go forward. Instead, he stayed far away in his grandmother Madam Lu's room, peering out the window at the delivery room.

Madam Lu was a kind-hearted woman. Although she couldn't feel any affection for Lu Hun, the illegitimate son her husband had with another woman, she never made things difficult for him. Most of the time, she was indifferent to him. Occasionally, she would stroke his hair and feed him a couple of bites of something delicious. At these times, little Lu Hun would boldly call her "Mother" with hopeful eyes.

Madam Lu would frown every time she heard this, but she never scolded him.

Upon hearing this, Lu Mingli's expression changed drastically, and he pushed him out of the house.

Therefore, even though young Lu Hun already knew that Madam Lu was not his biological mother, he still couldn't help but treat her as his mother.

The little boy clung to the window, praying that Madam Lu would give birth to her child safely and smoothly.

He thought that after Madam Lu gave birth, she might smile at him more often.

But suddenly the clear night sky changed color, and layer upon layer of heavy dark clouds pressed down. Lightning, like a whip being used to execute someone, lashed the sky again and again. Then, the sky began to scream in agony as it was whipped. After the screams subsided, the sky sadly shed tears.

As Lu Hun listened to the terrifying thunder and looked at the torrential rain outside, a bad premonition arose in his heart.

Suddenly, the voices of the midwife and doctor rang out from the delivery room.

"It's terrible! The lady is having a difficult labor and is bleeding heavily. Both the baby and the mother are in danger."

Lu Hun stared wide-eyed in disbelief and ran out.

But as soon as he reached the door of the delivery room, he saw the doctor shaking his head at Lu Mingli: "It's no use, it's no use."

Lu Mingli and his mother were stunned for a moment, unable to believe such a thing could happen. But soon Lu Mingli seemed to wake up from a dream and rushed into the delivery room like a madman. His mother did not stop her son, but stood there with tears in her eyes and shook her head.

Lu Hun was only a few years old after all, and he looked at Old Madam Lu: "...Grandmother, what did the doctor mean? What happened to Mother?"

Madam Lu sighed, "Your mother is going to die."

Lu Hun stood there motionless for a while, then immediately let go of Old Madam Lu's hand and ran into the delivery room.

Inside, the doctor tried everything to save him for a long time, but to no avail. He stopped and went outside. Lu Mingli buried his head in his wife's chest, heartbroken.

Madam Lu's face was drained of color, her lips were cracked, and she lay weakly on the bed, the bedding beneath her soaked with her blood.

She saw Lu Hun, smiled at him, and reached out her hand to him.

Lu Hun carefully stepped forward and placed his small hand in hers.

Madam Lu smiled with relief. She looked at Lu Hun with mixed feelings, raised her hand to stroke his little head. Although she didn't say a word, Lu Hun could feel the woman's tenderness.

Then, Madam Lu's hand fell limply from the top of his head.

He closed his eyes forever.

Although Lu Hun was young, he instantly felt the sorrow. He couldn't help but boldly shout out the two words he longed to say, "Mother!"

However, his cry of "Mother" startled Lu Mingli awake. His eyes were bloodshot and wet, and he stared at Lu Hun with venomous hatred. He got up and grabbed Lu Hun with his big hand.

“Who allowed you to come in? Who allowed you to call her mother? You don’t deserve it, you don’t deserve it. If it weren’t for you…” Lu Mingli choked up, “If it weren’t for you and your birth mother, how could Yun’er be like this? Get out of here, get out of here! I don’t want to see you again, get out of my Lu family.”

The argument between father and son alerted Old Madam Lu, who came in and saw Lu Mingli like this. She stood protectively in front of Lu Hun with heartache, saying, "Mingli, calm down, don't take your anger out on Hun'er."

Lu Mingli was emotional, but fearing he might hurt Old Madam Lu, he stopped. Tears streaming down his face, he broke down and said, "Mother, please make him leave the Lu family. I don't want to see him anymore, I don't want to..."

“Mingli.” Old Madam Lu was also in tears. “Yun’er just left. I know you can’t bear it. You hate Hun’er’s birth mother, but the child is still so young. If you let him go, where can he go?”

"Mother, in this family, it's either him or me, it's either him or me."

"You child!"

The more Madam Lu cried, the more heartbroken she became, pounding her chest. "Are you trying to force me to my death?! You might as well just let me die, just let me die!"

Upon seeing this, Lu Mingli immediately knelt down, hugged Old Madam Lu's legs, and cried out in anguish, "Mother, Yun'er and I were so happy together. Although we weren't rich, we were loving and filial. But Lu Hun's mother deliberately ruined all of that. She ruined me, ruined Yun'er, ruined our whole family. How can I look at him? How can I?"

Old Madam Lu sighed and helped her son up.

After comforting Lu Mingli, Old Madam Lu led Lu Hun out of the delivery room. Leaning on her cane, she bent down to stroke her grandson's head, hesitating to speak, but finally, she spoke.

"My dear soul, your mother has just passed away, and your father can't bear it. So please don't appear in front of him for now. Go outside for a walk, and come back later, okay?"

Lu Hun was silent for a moment, then obediently nodded, "Okay."

With a mixture of affection and sorrow, Old Madam Lu lingered on her grandson's head for a moment before removing her hand. With a hunched back and leaning on her cane, she went to the room to fetch an umbrella and a thick coat for him. Then she went to the kitchen, took a handkerchief, wrapped two meat pies, and handed them to Lu Hun.

Meanwhile, Old Madam Lu hesitated before giving her instructions.

“Soul…you, try to come back late. Your father has to deal with your mother’s funeral arrangements tonight, and it may be very late.”

Lu Hun held all the things. This child, who was only three or four years old, did not cry or make a fuss. He obediently listened to his grandmother's instructions and even comforted the old lady, "Grandmother, don't be sad. Your grandson will be fine."

"Okay." Old Madam Lu wiped away her tears. "Be careful on your own. Don't go too far. If you really have nowhere to go, go stay at Grandma Lu's house next door."

Lu Hun, so small, held up an umbrella bigger than himself, took his clothes and food, and left.

Standing behind her, Madam Lu glanced at the direction Lu Hun had left, then at the delivery room.

What terrible things did you do to deserve this?

The rain that started when Madam Lu was giving birth hadn't stopped and was accompanied by occasional thunder. After leaving the Lu family home, Lu Hun was afraid of running into Lu Mingli who was going out, so he walked out of the dead-end alley.

The rain was too heavy, and his umbrella soon became ineffective. His clothes were soaked, and the thick coat he was wearing made him feel even more sticky and cold, causing him to shiver.

He had nowhere to go and nowhere to live.

At that moment, he thought of the Wei family school where he studied during the day.

He then headed towards the Wei family's house.

Fortunately, he was lucky enough that the Wei family hadn't closed the door and gone to sleep. The gatekeepers of the Wei family all knew him. At this age, Lu Hun had delicate features, red lips and white teeth, and he wasn't as gloomy and unlikable as he used to be. Although he still didn't talk much, the gatekeepers all liked him.

Seeing him come so late at night, she asked him with a smile, "Young Master Lu, why are you here so late? Did you forget your homework at school?"

Lu Hun was at a loss, so he could only nod in agreement with what the other person had said, "I... I forgot..."

"Then hurry up and get it." The doorman patted his hair. "It wouldn't be good if the master hits your palms tomorrow."

The gatekeeper, worried that he wouldn't be able to see in the dark, gave him a lantern. Lu Hun carried the small lantern, held an umbrella, and walked towards the school.

Lu Hun originally thought he might as well stay in the school for the night, but the school was too dark and secluded, and he was scared. So he had no choice but to leave the school and see if he could find a place that wasn't so dark to stay in.

He arrived at a place near the back of the house, where servants often came and went, and lanterns were hung to illuminate the area. He chose a corner under the eaves, hidden by flowers and plants, where he could sit down, which would shelter him from the rain and keep him from being afraid.

But as soon as he sat down, he noticed a noise behind him.

It was a young woman a few years older than him who came out wearing a nightgown and a white fox fur cloak. Lu Hun quickly recognized her as an older sister from the academy, Wei Yin, the only daughter of Lord Wei.

Lu Hun originally thought she wouldn't see him, but he was wrong.

Wei Yin immediately noticed Lu Hun, who was sneaking around in the corner. After recognizing him, she asked in surprise, "Little Lu Hun? What are you doing hiding here?"

Lu Hun was so frightened that he quickly hid behind him.

"Stop hiding." Wei Yin beckoned to him. "Come here, little Lu Hun, come to your sister."

Lu Hun could only blush, lower his head, and walk out.

“…Sister Wei.”

Wei Yin sized him up for a while before asking, "Didn't you go home last night? Why are you hiding here?"

Lu Hun pursed his lips and remained silent.

"Why aren't you answering your sister?" Wei Yin asked, then seemed to notice his half-wet clothes and frowned, "Why are you wet? Aren't you cold?"

Lu Hun was shivering from the cold, but still shook his head, "I'm not cold, sister."

"Silly boy." Wei Yin pinched his cheek and took his hand. "I thought you were smart and well-behaved, but I think you're a silly boy. You're freezing like this, and you still say you're not cold. Stop squatting here like an idiot. I'll take you to change your clothes."