Chapter 154 The Lone Star of Calamity
The Lu couple waited anxiously for half a month, and only when they saw that there was still no movement from the Imperial Preceptor's residence did their hearts slowly settle down.
On the eighth day of the fifth lunar month, Lu Shu, the youngest daughter of the Lu family, went to Ciyun Temple in the suburbs to offer incense.
It was already late on the return journey. When the carriage reached the mountainside, it was suddenly stopped by several masked men. She was terrified, her face turned pale, and she huddled in a corner of the carriage, not daring to breathe, only hearing the sound of swords clashing outside.
Just when she thought she was about to die, a gentle breeze blew by. The bandits' cries of agony echoed through the valley, followed by the sounds of them tumbling down the hillside one after another.
Lu Shu reached out with trembling hands and slowly lifted the carriage curtain. Moonlight, like water, shone on a woman in plain clothes. The woman stood with her back to her, her robes fluttering in the wind, like an immortal who had stepped out of a painting.
"It was the Imperial Preceptor who saved us!" The coachman's excited voice startled Lu Shu from her daze.
Only then did she notice the small red birthmark at the corner of the man's eye as he turned away, which looked startlingly red in the moonlight.
After returning home, Lu Shu kept talking about the thrilling experience of that night.
"Mother, you didn't see it! The Imperial Preceptor just waved his sleeve, and all those villains rolled down the mountain!" She was holding some snacks, her eyes sparkling, and she said to her mother with admiration, "She didn't even tilt her hairpin!"
As Mrs. Lu listened to her daughter's words, she accidentally pricked her fingertip with the embroidery needle. Looking at her fingertip where blood was seeping out, Mrs. Lu's eyes became somewhat dazed.
Late at night, in the Lu family study, the oil lamp cast a dim yellow light.
The Lu couple huddled together, whispering to each other in hushed tones.
A glimmer of hope appeared in Madam Lu's eyes as she said, "Shu'er said that the Imperial Preceptor treats her very gently. Do you think... that child might still cherish the bond between blood relatives?"
Master Lu, Lu Xuanzheng, was picking up his teacup to drink when he heard this and paused in his action.
He recalled the scene yesterday when his colleagues surrounded the Imperial Preceptor, flattering him.
The Imperial Preceptor was radiant in the sunlight, and his face, which bore a striking resemblance to that of the couple, made him appear even more noble and refined.
"She is now the Imperial Preceptor. If we can recognize her again... our Lu family will be in unparalleled glory."
The two looked at each other and saw greed in each other's eyes.
The next day, as soon as the morning light shone into the gates of the Imperial Preceptor's residence, the Lu couple's carriage lingered in front of the gate three times.
Madam Lu sat in the carriage and touched up her rouge three times in front of the bronze mirror.
One moment I felt the tear stains weren't obvious enough, and the next I was afraid of crying too dramatically.
Only after confirming that the tear stains at the corners of her eyes were just right did she and Lu Jianhong help each other down from the carriage.
Lu Xuan, with a smile on his face, stuffed the silver into the gatekeeper's hand: "Please inform them that Mr. and Mrs. Lu request an audience with the Imperial Preceptor!"
Inside the mansion, the Imperial Preceptor Lu Yao was slowly grinding ink, the fragrance of ink mingling with the aroma of sandalwood rising gently.
Hearing that it was someone from the Lu family, she paused for a moment, then continued drawing talismans on the yellow paper, letting the cries from outside flood in like a tide.
"My son!" Madam Lu slumped onto the white marble steps, her hair disheveled. "Back then, your parents were blinded by greed and listened to the nonsense of the Taoist priest..."
She coughed violently, as if she were coughing up her heart, liver, and lungs, "All these years, every single day we haven't longed for you to come home!"
Her voice was shrill and mournful; to those unaware of the situation, it would sound like she was heartbroken.
Lu Xuan's forehead slammed heavily against the cold stone slab, making a dull thud: "Yao'er! Your mother cried every night while holding your swaddling clothes as a baby, and I still keep the draft of your name in my study..."
He choked up and couldn't continue speaking, secretly glancing up at the tightly closed door.
The door finally opened slowly, and Lu Yao, dressed in a plain Taoist robe, stood at the threshold, the sunlight behind her casting a long shadow.
Upon seeing this, Madam Lu immediately rushed over, but was bounced back by an invisible wall of energy when she touched the hem of her clothes, and stumbled and fell to the ground.
Lu Yao chuckled as she watched the two of them, who were really into acting.
"You don't think that my refrain from attacking you means I still have feelings for the Lu family, do you?"
Her tone was devoid of any warmth.
“I, a cursed lone star, have long severed ties with my family. I have no father or mother, and I am nothing more than a complete stranger to you.”
Madam Lu grabbed her hem, tears streaming down her face: "Yao'er, you disregarded past grievances and saved Shu'er, so I know you still have feelings for the Lu family. Are you still angry that we believed the slander of the cursed star back then? We have realized our mistake, come back, we will make it up to you, and give you the best parental love in the world!"
Lu Xuan chimed in, "As long as you're willing to return to the manor, all of the Lu family's assets will be yours! Shu'er is also willing to relinquish her status as the eldest legitimate daughter..."
Lu Yao impatiently pulled her hem away from Madam Lu's hand, frowning in disgust.
"You overestimate yourselves. I don't care about your kinship. Lu Shu is in danger, and as the Celestial Master who protects the nation, I naturally wouldn't stand by and watch innocent people die. Get out of here!"
With that, she flicked her sleeve.
The door slammed shut with a loud bang, shutting out the Lu couple.
The two were also knocked to the ground by the airflow, looking extremely disheveled.
The Lu couple returned home looking disheveled.
Lu Xuan kicked over the armchair in the study, sending it crashing to the ground and startling dust falling from the beams. "What an ungrateful wretch!" he yelled, his face flushed with anger. "And all that hope we had for her!"
Mrs. Lu slumped on a low stool to the side, her carefully applied makeup now a mess.
"Since the soft approach isn't working, let's try the hard one! She now holds the title of Imperial Advisor, and what she values most is her reputation. We're going to make trouble for that!"
A sinister glint flashed in her eyes.
Lu Xuan frowned: "But she wields immense power now, what if..."
"What's there to be afraid of!" Madam Lu picked up the teacup on the table and smashed it on the ground, shards of porcelain flying everywhere. "No matter how powerful she is, she can't silence public opinion! As long as we create a public outcry and make the people think that she is heartless, unfilial, and unjust, even if she is the Imperial Advisor, she will have to obediently bow down to us!"
The hesitation in Lu Xuan's eyes was gradually replaced by ruthlessness: "Alright! Let's do it this way! First, find some people to spread the word in teahouses and taverns, saying that we had no choice but to abandon her back then, and that we have been searching for her all these years. Now we want to see her, but she has ruthlessly rejected us..."
The next morning, the teahouses throughout the city were bustling with activity.
"Have you heard?" a man deliberately raised his voice, drawing the attention of those around him. "The Imperial Preceptor has actually disowned his own parents!"
"Really?" An elderly man with a cane standing nearby opened his mouth in astonishment. "The Imperial Preceptor has always been compassionate, how could he do such a thing?"
The man sneered, "Not only did they not acknowledge it, but it's said that the Imperial Preceptor beat his own parents until they were covered in bruises and threw them out of the Imperial Preceptor's residence!"
"Nonsense!" The little girl with her hair tied in a topknot stood up abruptly. "Last month, my Mimi fell into the moat, and it was the Imperial Advisor who happened to be passing by and rescued her!"
The man scoffed, "Can a cat be compared to a person? Those are her own parents who gave her life and raised her!"
He suddenly slammed his hand on the table. "Does this heartless person deserve to be the imperial advisor?"
Amid the commotion, the young woman slammed down her celadon teacup.
Her voice was soft but clear: "If the Imperial Preceptor does not acknowledge them, she must have her reasons."
These words caused the entire room to fall silent.
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a refined, gentle, and elegant woman.
Someone whispered in their companion's ear, "See that? That's Dean Jiang from Zhaoling Academy. Back then, her parents almost blinded her to protect her brother's reputation... It was the Imperial Preceptor who intervened..."
Jiang Jinshu's gaze remained calm: "Whether a person is good or bad, you have to see it with your own eyes to know. When I was being bullied, it was the Imperial Advisor who stood up for me. I offer this bowl of tea to her."
As he spoke, he picked up his teacup and gently lifted it toward the void.
The teahouse was initially silent, then a chorus of voices rose and fell.
Some people lowered their heads in thought, some whispered in agreement, but the man, his face flushed, continued to mutter incessantly.
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