The man in black sneered, "You old woman are really biased. You sold your eldest son for the sake of your younger son?"
Old Mrs. Zhu was extremely anxious: "What I said is true, he really is not my son."
"Of course I'll take care of my own children."
"Back then, I couldn't conceive after three years of marriage, so I went to a temple to burn incense... and met a fortune teller..."
"I pretended to be pregnant and went up the mountain to chop firewood. Sure enough, I met a woman who had just given birth to twins, a boy and a girl."
"The woman said that her family had been robbed by bandits, and she had gotten separated from her family and lost her way in the mountains."
“After I helped her give birth, I took her child and… I also killed her.”
“I was afraid she would come back and take the child… I didn’t want to kill her.”
"But she threatened me, saying her family was very rich and that her family would definitely find me..."
"I was afraid she would retaliate against me, so I strangled her with the rope used for bundling firewood and stole her belongings..."
“I buried her remains next to a local earth god temple on the back mountain.”
“That land temple collapsed with a big hole because of rain back then, so I didn’t have to dig a pit, I just buried the person in it.”
"If you don't believe me, you can send someone to look for it. That earth god temple should still be there..."
"Oh, right, there's also a very beautiful jade pendant. It looks very valuable, but I don't dare to sell it. There are words engraved on it, and I'm afraid her family will recognize it."
“I’m telling the truth. I still have that jade. It’s in the bottom drawer of my dressing table, wrapped in a red cloth.”
"If you want it, I'll show it to you right now," Old Zhu said pleadingly.
The old man and Lu Jingming both stared at her in shock. Could it be that what she said was true?
Her expression didn't seem fake, and there were no loopholes in her words.
Lu Jingming stood there, stunned, unable to recover for a long time.
The leader sneered, "What would I need a piece of jade for?"
Old Zhu was still not giving up. She even pointed out the location of the storeroom and told them to take everything away, just to save the life of the second branch of the family.
"Are you really not related to their teacher, old lady?"
Old Zhu nodded frantically, even pleading obsequiously: "If you, sir, spare our branch of the family, I can personally lead the way to capture the rest of the eldest branch!"
“Mother! You…” Lu Jingming roared.
Old Zhu's voice was even louder: "I'm not your mother, don't call me mother."
"Your whole family deserves to die. Who told you to drag us down with you?"
Lu Jingming's eyes were bloodshot, and he trembled with anger, tears even welling up in his eyes: "Mother, even if I'm not your biological son, you raised me with your own hands, and we've been mother and son for decades. How can you be so heartless?"
His voice was trembling; he was truly heartbroken.
"Pah, who's your mother? What a load of rubbish about mother-son affection! If it weren't for the fortune teller saying you could bring me wealth and honor, I wouldn't even give you and Da Ya a second glance if you and Da Ya died on the roadside."
"You said it yourself, I raised you single-handedly, it's time for you to repay my kindness."
"You'd be doing me a favor by trading your whole family's lives for mine."
Old Zhu stared at Lu Ziqian, who was lying on the ground barely alive, and suddenly said viciously, "It's all because of this beast that we've been dragged down."
The man in black sneered, "Not bad acting, at least you can keep one house."
"It's not acting!"
The man in black suddenly threw a dagger in front of Old Zhu: "If you kill them, father and son, with your own hands, then I will believe you."
Old Zhu's eyes flashed with wild joy: "If I kill them with my own hands, will you spare our family, hero?"
"Of course, I said I wouldn't kill innocent people indiscriminately, I would only kill members of the Lu family."
"Okay, I'll kill them."
When Lu Jingming saw her pick up the dagger and walk towards Lu Ziqian, he struggled frantically, shouting, "Mother, stop! Don't touch him!"
"Kill me if you want!"
"Kill this menace first, then kill you."
"Mother, please, don't touch Qian'er, please..."
Old Zhu ignored him completely, took the dagger and walked up to Lu Ziqian. She even went to great lengths to turn him over and stabbed him hard in the heart.
With a splatter, blood splattered out, covering Old Zhu's face.
"don't want!"
"Qian'er!"
Lu Jingming, with a strength he didn't know he possessed, broke free and kicked Old Zhu away, yelling, "You vicious woman!!"
"Ahhh..." Lu Jingming screamed in despair.
Before he could even touch Lu Ziqian, he was captured again.
Old Zhu coughed up blood, struggled to her feet, glared fiercely at Lu Jingming, then gave a sinister smile, like a demon from hell, and began stabbing Lu Ziqian in the stomach again and again, taking malicious revenge.
"You wicked woman...you old wicked woman, I'll kill you...stop...stop..."
Lu Jingming beat his chest and stamped his feet in regret. Why hadn't he insisted that Qian'er wear this invulnerable garment?
Suddenly, the person behind him forcefully knocked Lu Jingming unconscious, fearing that he would be overstimulated and that it would be counterproductive.
Lu Ziqian suddenly got up from the ground and kicked Old Zhu away.
"Old hag, you've finally told the truth!"
"You...you..." Old Zhu was so frightened that her face turned pale.
"Arrest all the people from the second wife's family."
"And these unfaithful slaves, cut out their tongues and send them to the mines to work as laborers."
"yes."
Suddenly, the bandit leader knelt respectfully before Lu Ziqian and became his subordinate.
The second wife's family was so scared they wet themselves. It's all over, everything's over!
Old Zhu went too far, not only revealing the truth but also personally torturing and killing Lu Ziqian.
She completely offended the first wife's family.
Before, Lu Jingming protected her, but now Lu Jingming wished he could kill this old poisonous woman with his own hands.
"Commander Chen, please tell the Empress and the Crown Prince everything that just happened."
"yes."
Lu Shunxin collapsed to the ground, realizing he was doomed; he had even offended the Empress.
Her mother killed the Empress's own mother with her own hands!
They even specified the location of the burial, and once the body was found, even the Empress would not let them off the hook.
Mo Hua quickly came out of Old Zhu's room, carrying something wrapped in red cloth.
"Master, the jade pendant has been found."
Lu Ziqian opened the red cloth and took a look. The jade pendant was clear and flawless, with a lustrous sheen and superior quality. It was also engraved with the four characters "Cheng Family from Beyond the Territory".
Lu Ziqian looked at the inscription on the jade pendant, which reminded him of the mysterious Cheng family from the previous dynasty. It was said that the Cheng family was so wealthy that they could rival a country, but they mysteriously disappeared during the war and have remained secluded ever since.
After all, only a family with such a rich heritage could possess such an unparalleled treasure.
Lu Ziqian put away the jade pendant and instructed Moshu and Mohua to lock the person up first.
"Is my dad alright?"
The doctor, who was already prepared, promptly took Lu Jingming's pulse: "General Lu has suffered quite a shock, but fortunately, he is in good health and there is nothing seriously wrong with him. He will recover after a few days of rest."
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