Lu Ziqian nodded, "It's good that you're alright."
I'm really afraid I'll scare his dad into something bad.
But then again, that old hag is really ruthless, otherwise she wouldn't have achieved such an effect.
Now his father probably won't think about being filial to Old Madam Zhu anymore, right?
Lu Ziqian rubbed his chest; it really hurt. Although the dagger had been tampered with and he was wearing protective clothing, being stabbed hard with a blunt object still hurt a lot.
"Master, what should we do with the people from the second branch of the family?"
"Lock her up first, and send someone back to the village to find my grandmother's remains."
"yes."
As for how to deal with the second wife, let's wait until his father wakes up before we discuss that.
We also need to hear what the Empress Auntie has to say!
In short, he cannot make this decision on his own!
"Have someone tidy up the courtyard. If anyone asks, just say that the mansion was attacked by the Jurchens last night, and don't say anything else."
"Oh, right, go to the backyard and set a fire, make some noise."
The butler nodded hurriedly; he had been terrified just now, thinking it was all real.
He was also thankful that he hadn't betrayed his master at the crucial moment, otherwise he would have suffered the same fate as those others.
Butler Wang led people to clean up the courtyard. Looking at the 'dead' people, they realized they were just unconscious, and the injuries on their necks and arms were fake.
These people are really lucky; they don't have to undergo a test of loyalty, and when they wake up, the 'battlefield' has been cleaned up.
"Qian'er!!"
"don't want!"
Lu Jingming woke up from a nightmare, the scene of Old Zhu's torture and killing of her son replaying in his mind over and over again.
"Father, I'm here!"
Lu Ziqian hurriedly went to the bedside and held his father's hand, hoping to put his mind at ease.
"Qian'er, are you...are you alright?"
Lu Jingming's gaze was somewhat unfocused. Was he just dreaming?
Or is he still asleep and this is a hallucination?
"Dad, I'm fine. I was just acting."
"I overheard a conversation between Old Madam Zhu and Madam Wang, and learned that you and Aunt are not her biological children. They are also plotting how to seize the property, drive out the eldest son's family, and even want to join forces with Consort Jing to get rid of Aunt and the Crown Prince..."
“I’m afraid you won’t believe me if I tell you these things, and even if you know the truth, you’ll still consider our mother-son relationship.”
"So we teamed up with Jiaojiao to put on a show for you, so you would know the true colors of Old Zhu."
Snap!
When Lu Jingming heard that it was just an act, he was so angry that he raised his hand and slapped him.
Lu Ziqian wasn't angry; he knew his father was genuinely terrified.
Immediately afterward, Lu Jingming hugged him tightly again, his voice choked with emotion, and said, "Thank goodness it was just acting, thank goodness it was just acting..."
Hearing his father's choked voice, Lu Ziqian felt a pang of sadness. Although being held in his father's arms was awkward, he tried his best to soothe his emotions.
Lu Jingming, having weathered many storms, quickly calmed down.
"Where are the people from the second wife's family?"
"He's locked up, waiting for you and your aunt to deal with him."
"This jade pendant was found in Old Zhu's room."
"The Cheng family from beyond the borders?"
"Hmm, this jade pendant is definitely not an ordinary item. The Cheng family has quite a background. I suspect it is that mysterious family from the previous dynasty whose wealth was comparable to that of a country."
"Should we send someone to inquire about it?"
"Perhaps Grandfather is still alive, or perhaps they have been looking for you and Aunt all along."
"In addition, I have already sent people back to my hometown to find my grandmother's remains."
As the father and son were talking, Steward Wang came to report: "Master, General, the Empress and the Crown Prince have arrived."
"Please come in quickly."
"yes."
As soon as Lu Jingming finished speaking, the Crown Prince helped the Empress into the bedroom in a hurry.
"Big brother, are you alright?"
"How could this be?"
Lu Jingming sighed: "You've heard about it?"
"Yes, I was worried, so I left the palace as soon as the gates opened."
"Qian'er, are you alright?"
"I heard that old vile woman stabbed you more than a dozen times. Were you wearing armor?" The Empress gritted her teeth in anger, and as she spoke, she reached out and touched you.
"It's alright. I tampered with the dagger beforehand; it was retractable. I also had a blood pack on me filled with chicken blood."
The Empress still looked shaken and even somewhat incredulous.
Is this story true or false?
Lu Jingming showed her the jade pendant. Old Madam Zhu would never have something of such quality; even the royal family didn't have a jade pendant of this caliber.
It seems to be true, and not something Old Zhu made up to protect the second branch of the family.
In fact, if both the first and second wives were biological children, Old Madam Zhu would never have favored that good-for-nothing second wife.
Even though older people tend to favor the one who has had a worse life, when it comes to crucial moments, they know perfectly well who to protect and who to sacrifice!
If you preserve the skills of your family, not only can your family line continue, but you will also have a secure retirement.
Protecting a useless person will only lead to being disliked or abandoned, and the outcome will only be tragic.
People are selfish, and when faced with a truly dire choice between two options, parents will choose the better option.
Lu Jingming suddenly spoke up: "I will personally go back to my hometown tomorrow to find my mother's remains."
"Um."
"If that poisonous old Zhu really killed my mother, then she deserves to die too." A ruthless glint flashed in the Empress's eyes.
"What should be done with the second wife?"
"Brother, leave them to me, I'll handle it."
"We'll tell the outside world that the second branch of the family was all killed by the Jurchens, and we'll set up a mourning hall soon."
Hearing his younger sister's words, Lu Jingming knew that she didn't intend to leave any survivors.
If what happened last night hadn't happened, even if he knew that Old Zhu wasn't his biological daughter, he wouldn't have been so heartless.
But last night, when Old Madam Zhu held a dagger and sneered at him, cruelly killing Qian'er piece by piece, he wished he could personally grind her bones to dust.
"Okay, let's do it your way."
As for how the Empress intended to deal with them, he didn't intend to ask any further questions.
Anyway, after tonight, the second wife will disappear from this world.
After the Empress and the Crown Prince left, white cloth was hung in front of the Lu family's gate, and everyone in the neighborhood knew that the General's Mansion was going to hold a funeral.
Many people heard the commotion last night, but no one dared to come out because they were too scared.
As soon as it was light, people from every household came out to inquire about the news.
It turns out that the Jurchens attacked the general's mansion last night, supposedly to avenge the Jurchen crown prince.
The eldest son's family was lucky; apart from the Lu family father and son, none of the other women were home last night.
So the second wife was unlucky; they were all killed, and I heard that even their remains were burned to ashes, leaving no one alive.
"That's strange, why aren't any of the women from the main wife's family home?"
"It's quite a coincidence that Zhou didn't show up on the day of the Lu family patriarch's birthday banquet. I heard she was ill."
"That night, I don't know what happened, but Zhou was carried away with her head bleeding from kowtowing. I heard that she was taken to the courtyard of the Anshun County Princess."
"You all know that the magistrate of Anshun County is a highly skilled physician and also Zhou's former daughter-in-law, right?"
"When Zhou got into trouble, her daughters and daughters-in-law naturally all stayed by her bedside. They weren't in the house last night, which is why they escaped this disaster."
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