Zhu Yu's eyes reddened, and she hid behind Lu Yucheng, seemingly terrified of them. She gently tugged at his sleeve and cautiously choked out a sob.
“Brother, when you returned to Shengjing before, your stepmother only allowed me to stay here for half a month, just to put on a show for you. After you left, I was sent back to Cuizhu Residence. They even threatened me and Lifeng not to tell you, or they would break our legs.”
"You know that Brother Cuizhu Residence. It's cold in winter and hot in summer. The house leaks wind and rain. Even the servants in our Zhenguo Duke's Mansion live in better houses than your sister does."
"There was no ice in the summer and no charcoal in the winter; we ate only cold rice and cold dishes."
At this point, Zhu Yu's tears rolled down her cheeks. "Brother, I thought I would die from the heat or the cold in the Green Bamboo Residence. I was so scared. Waaah..."
Fang: "..."
When did this brat develop such a sharp tongue? Her ability to tattle is truly first-rate!
Ha, so what if it's Cuizhu Residence? It's still better than Prince An leaving you in the godforsaken Feixue Garden!
Upon hearing this, Lu Yucheng trembled with anger. "Fine, that's really fine!" he thought. He and his father were not in Shengjing City, yet he never imagined that his beloved sister had suffered so much.
He suppressed the raging anger in his heart and asked softly, "Doesn't your brother always give you money when he comes back? Last time I went back to Shengjing, I gave you ten thousand taels of silver."
"If the stepmother instructs the servants not to give you ice, charcoal, or food, you can buy it yourself or have Li Feng buy it. Your brother told you that all that money is for you, so don't be reluctant to spend it."
Zhu Yu raised his blurry, red eyes and looked at Lu Yucheng with pleading eyes: "Brother, you don't know, as soon as you and Father left, all the money you gave me was taken by the stepmother. She didn't leave me a single tael of silver."
"Waaah, I'm so glad my little sister is alive to see you and Father. Waaah..."
Fang: "..." This money wasn't plundered by her; it was clearly handed over to me by you, you wretched girl.
I only said a few extra words, and you obediently gave me every penny.
Seeing Fang Shi's discomfiture, Zhu Yu slowly exhaled, thinking to himself that it was fortunate that he and Lu Xiaoyun had told him all the memories the original owner had left her yesterday afternoon.
Including how Fang Shi treated the original owner in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, so that now that the body has come into his own, his body is so weak.
But when I think about it in the end, I realize that I wasn't good to the original owner either.
His eyes dimmed again.
"What!" Lu Yucheng was so angry he almost fell backward.
The money he gave to Xiaoyun each time he returned to Shengjing was money he had saved up for three years.
He saved up all of his monthly salary.
In addition, he also owns one or two shops in the southern border region. Although the profits are not as high as those in Shengjing City, they can still help him make ends meet.
He would return home every three years and exchange the ten thousand taels of silver he had saved into small denominations, stuffing them all into Xiaoyun's hands, hoping that his younger sister could live more comfortably in Shengjing City.
But he was completely deceived by Fang, his stepmother!
My younger sister is eighteen years old this year. Except for the few years when she was too young and he didn't receive much salary, he has left her tens of thousands of taels of silver in recent years.
But to his surprise, his sister didn't get a single copper coin.
Fang's face flushed red, then turned pale, then red again, as if a palette of colors had been overturned.
She awkwardly reached out to grab Zhu Yu's hand, but Zhu Yu recoiled in fright, saying, "Ah, stepmother, are you going to hit me again? I didn't say anything wrong."
Fang's face turned from purple to green, then from green to purple.
Lu Yucheng's fists clenched so tightly they cracked.
Fang said awkwardly, "Xiaoyun, didn't I tell you that you're still young? I'll keep this money for you. You gave me the money yourself, so how can you talk to your brother like that? It makes it seem like I'm after your money."
Zhu Yu slowly extended his withdrawn hand towards Fang Shi: "Now that I'm married and an adult, can't you return the money to me?"
Fang: "..."
How could I possibly return that money to you? It was worth tens of thousands of taels of silver.
Seeing that she remained silent for a long time, her face almost turning green, Zhu Yu sneered and withdrew his hand: "It seems that the stepmother was deceiving me."
Lu Jinmi was furious. She took a step out from behind Fang Shi and pointed at Zhu Yu's nose to curse him.
Zhu Yu seemed frightened and kept shrinking behind Lu Yucheng.
Lu Jinmi was so angry at his appearance that she seemed to have lost her mind and screamed.
"Lu Xiaoyun, what nonsense are you talking about? When did we threaten you! Don't you even know why you ended up living in Cuizhu Residence?"
Zhu Yu shook his head in confusion: "Second sister, what are you saying? I don't understand. Didn't you send me to Cuizhu Residence, saying that someone like me caused the death of my birth mother, that I'm a jinx, and that I don't deserve to live in such a nice courtyard as Tongjia Courtyard?"
Fang hurriedly tugged at Lu Jinmi's sleeve, telling her to stop talking. Those words might fool them, but how could they fool Lu Yucheng, the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion?
However, Lu Jinmi lost her temper after being provoked by Zhu Yu's aggrieved words.
She shook off Fang Shi and screamed, "Your mother kindly went to Ganlu Temple to pray for your well-being and had a master tell your fortune. But the master said that you are destined to die an unlucky death."
"It was your mother who knelt and begged the master for three days and three nights before he broke his vow and revealed the secret of the world, saying that you should not enjoy happiness before you turn eighteen, otherwise you will not live past eighteen. Your mother knelt for so long for you, and her knees have developed a chronic condition. Whenever it is cold, windy, or rainy, she is in so much pain that she cannot sleep all night. How can you be so ungrateful!"
Fang kept tugging at Lu Jinmi's sleeve, telling her to stop talking, to hold on tightly to her dead mother's dowry, that was the most important thing.
The more you talk, the more mistakes you make.
Lu Jinmi had no idea about Fang's "good intentions." Provoked by Zhu Yu's series of aggrieved statements, she had long lost her mind and revealed all the things Fang had said to deceive them in the past.
Lu Jinmi's face flushed red with anger: "Don't you know that you're too unlucky and have already caused the death of your own mother! My mother has already suffered like this because of you, how can you not be grateful at all? Do you want to kill me and my mother, and kill everyone in the entire Zhenguo Duke's Mansion, before you're satisfied!"
Fang's mind was buzzing. Things had come to this point, and she had no choice but to follow her daughter's words and wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeve.
She choked back tears and said, "Mi'er, you can't say that about your elder sister. That master was punished by heaven for revealing the secret, and he passed away not long after."
"But your mother thinks that as long as your eldest sister is safe and sound, it doesn't matter how much you suffer. Your eldest sister doesn't understand your mother now, but your mother doesn't blame her. As long as she is well, that's enough."
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