"Madam Lu is truly a remarkable woman."
Gu Yaoniang sighed softly.
"Yes, my mother is the person who treats me the best."
Lu Zhaoan's eyes were still filled with a hazy light, making it impossible to see his expression.
Gu Yaoniang became even more curious. Hearing this, it seemed that everyone in the Lu family valued Lu Zhao'an, and his mother treated him especially well.
Why is the situation like this again?
She listened as Lu Zhaoan continued speaking.
Lu Zhaoan fell from the tree, but was caught by Madam Lu, who cushioned his fall with her own body, so he only suffered minor injuries.
However, Madam Lu was hit in the waist by Lu Zhao'an, and as she fell, the stone hit her neck, causing her to immediately lose consciousness.
Lu Zhao'an was so frightened that he burst into tears. He no longer cared about the peach blossom in his hand and cried out for a doctor to take Madam Lu back to the Lu family.
The Lu family consulted many renowned doctors, but they all shook their heads. They all said that the lady had injured her chest marrow and would likely never be able to get out of bed again.
Master Lu punished Lu Zhao'an by making him kneel in the ancestral hall for three days. He was already ashamed, so he knelt properly for the full three days before stumbling to Madam Lu's courtyard.
Madam Lu had already woken up and did not blame Lu Zhao'an. She was as loving as ever, urging him to study hard and not to be naughty again.
Before his wife's bedside, Lu Zhao'an vowed that he would achieve academic success, seek out renowned doctors, and ensure that his wife could stand up again one day.
Madam Lu nodded, instructing him never to talk back to his father again, her tone revealing unconcealed worry.
Lu Zhaoan choked up as he agreed to each one.
But since then, Lu Zhaoan's world has changed.
A rumor began circulating in the Lu family at some point. Lu Zhao'an's mother died shortly after his birth, his elder brother died when he was only one year old, and now his mistress is a cripple who can only spend the rest of her life in bed because of him.
It is said that Lu Zhao'an is destined to bring misfortune wherever he goes. If Lu Zhao'an is allowed to grow up peacefully in the Lu family, the Lu family will likely be cursed by him, with the clan's members dying out and their official careers suffering many setbacks.
As if to echo this rumor, Madam Lu's health deteriorated again. Before, she was simply bedridden and unable to move, but now her mind is also becoming confused, and she doesn't recognize people for seven or eight out of ten days.
Master Lu was initially skeptical, but unexpectedly, he was also reprimanded in court at the same time.
From then on, Lu Zhaoan grew up under cold scrutiny until he was fifteen.
Ordinary noblemen's sons would begin to be betrothed at the age of fifteen. But Lu Zhao'an's father disliked him, his mother was mentally unstable, and everyone seemed to have forgotten about him. No one mentioned his marriage, nor did anyone think about his future.
Since Madam Lu lost her mind, a large family like the Lu family would never do something as shameful as divorcing a wife while she is ill.
But Master Lu was not a sentimental man. After waiting for three years and seeing no improvement in Madam Lu's condition, he appealed to the ancestral hall and begged the emperor for his grace, so that he could marry a concubine to serve as the mistress of the house.
Lu Zhaoan and his wife were moved to a side courtyard and were ignored.
Lu Zhaoan was completely exiled. For so many years, he had been studying diligently, hoping to take the imperial examination to change his fate, to seek medical treatment for his mother, and to help her regain her senses so that she could call him Jinchuan again.
But the year of the imperial examination was fast approaching, and all his years of forbearance were about to come. His father, however, summoned him to his study.
This was the first time in so many years that he had seen his father so closely.
My father said that although the Lu family appears to be thriving now, it is actually lacking in talent and its wealth is insufficient to support the continued prosperity of this large family in the capital.
The sage opened up trade routes, rendering the old ways of accumulating wealth by aristocratic families ineffective. Only by going into business could the Lu family maintain its former glory.
However, the rest of the clan members had to participate in the imperial examinations. Only Lu Zhao'an, despite his ominous appearance, had been raised by the Lu family for so many years, and now it was time for him to repay them.
Lu Zhaoan found it laughable.
He questioned his father, asking if he had ever cared for him in the slightest over the years, but his father simply replied, "The Lu family has run out of money. Even if you find a famous doctor for your mother, can you afford the consultation fee?"
Lu Zhaoan then fell silent.
Master Lu then promised him that as long as Lu Zhao'an could build a family business for the Lu family, the Lu family would allow him to move away with his mother ten years later.
From then on, Lu Zhaoan became a businessman. The Lu family looked down on his businessman status, but at the same time enjoyed the enormous wealth that his business brought to the family.
Eight years have passed since then. He had long since given up hope of finding a cure for Madam Lu, and only hoped that after ten years, he could take his mother away from that den of wolves and tigers in the Lu family.
He later realized that when his father decided to send him into business to accumulate wealth for the Lu family, no matter how eloquently he spoke, he had already become a discarded member of the family.
Poor thing, he was overjoyed at the time, thinking that his father still had fatherly feelings for him.
If the sage hadn't soon issued a decree removing restrictions on merchants' children participating in the imperial examinations, his life would likely have been over long ago.
There will be no one left who will respect him or give him any respect.
Gu Yaoniang listened in silence without saying a word.
Lu Zhao'an tonight was different from usual. He seemed eager to find an outlet to vent his anger and bitterness, wanting to tell someone about it.
She happened to meet him and became that person.
She had wondered before why Lu Zhaoan had chosen such a thorny path. She had made various guesses, but she never imagined that it concealed such a heartbreaking past.
When Lu Zhaoan spoke, it was as if he was talking about things that had nothing to do with him, just something to chat about.
However, Gu Yaoniang was really bad at comforting people, especially a man she didn't have a close personal relationship with before. After a long while, she could only squeeze out a dry sentence: "Your mother is truly a very good person."
Lu Zhaoan's lips curled up: "Yes!"
He then turned to Gu Yaoniang and asked, "And you? Why are you here alone? Why aren't you at home chatting with your elders?"
Gu Yaoniang awkwardly touched her nose and remained silent.
She couldn't very well say that she was sent away by her second uncle, which led her to this place where she met Lu Zhaoan.
"Is Boss Gu treating you badly?"
Lu Zhao'an was well aware of the relationship between Gu Xingzhi and Gu Yaoniang. Seeing her hesitation, he asked.
Gu Yaoniang quickly denied it: "My second uncle is very good to me!"
Seeing Lu Zhaoan's ambiguous smile, he quickly said, "My family is all in Qingyun County. I'm a little homesick, so I thought I'd come out for a walk."
She didn't know if Lu Zhaoan believed her or not, but she nodded to herself with certainty.
Lu Zhaoan chuckled softly.
Even after the two parted, Gu Yaoniang seemed somewhat awkward.
Lu Zhaoan, however, was quite at ease. At the end, he even asked Yao Niang to confirm, "Are we friends now?"
Gu Yaoniang could only nod.
After Lu Zhaoan left, Bizhu came over and asked with concern, "Wife, are you alright?"
She was being called along by Afu, and as she looked at Lu Zhaoan and his wife in front of her, it seemed that they hadn't done anything inappropriate.
Since the lady of the house asked her if she was confident she could take down Lu Zhao'an and the other man, she must have her reasons. Being more careful is certainly not a bad thing.
Yao Niang shook her head: "It's nothing."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
