Chapter 148 Brother, in this life, your little sister will never let you have any regrets again.
She caught a glimpse of the red marks on her father's cheek and felt a sharp pain in her heart, as if she were being pricked by needles.
But Madam Tu, like a mad tiger, tried to bypass her and pounce on Mr. Lu: "You damned devil! Speak up! Let your good daughter hear why I hit you! Am I wrong to hit you?"
Lu Zhaoruo stood firmly in the middle, refusing to budge an inch.
Seeing Lu Zhaoruo protect her like this, Tu Shi's anger flared even more, and she roared hoarsely: "You're rich now! All you care about is your useless father! Have you ever thought about your mother? You keep your brothel where you make a fortune every day, supporting those irrelevant servants, while your own family is left to eat chaff and wild vegetables here!"
Lu Zhaoruo laughed angrily: "Just the other day I sent someone to deliver ten bolts of fine silk, and you used them all to make your own clothes. I also paid for the renovation of Father's private school, and you took a full twenty taels of silver from it. How can you say that you are eating chaff and wild vegetables?"
Madam Tu was taken aback, then her voice became even sharper: "What good are ten bolts of silk! No matter how grand that shabby private school is, can it feed us? You think you can feed a beggar by letting some scraps slip through your fingers?"
Lu Zhaoruo said coldly and angrily, "If you had even a shred of compassion, would I have treated you like this?"
Madam Tu pounded her chest and wailed, “Heavens above! I’ve managed this household for over twenty years, and even if I haven’t done anything great, I’ve certainly put in a lot of hard work! And now I’m being treated like this by a junior! You say I’m not kind? I raised you with great difficulty, and this is how you repay my kindness? Have you no conscience?!”
Lu Zhaoruo stopped looking at her and said to her father in a deep voice, "Father, from now on you will live in the private school. You will eat and drink there. I will send people to deliver rice, flour and oil regularly. I have also hired a cook for the private school. He is very skilled and will take care of all the meals and cleaning. I will handle the daily expenses directly with him."
She swept her cold gaze over Madam Tu: "Regarding the money... not a single penny will pass through anyone else's hands again."
These words were like cutting off the fuel supply, completely severing the Tu family's economic lifeline.
She was so shocked she forgot to cry out, her hand trembling as she pointed at Lu Zhaoruo: "You...you dare to..."
The next second, she rushed forward like a madwoman, wanting to attack Lu Zhaoruo: "I'll stop hitting your father? I'll hit you too, you unfilial daughter!"
"Tu Shi! Don't hit A Ning!"
Only then did Lu's father seem to be awakened, and he suddenly stood up, staggering to block Lu Zhaoruo's way.
But Tu had already lost control, and the slap came again.
Lu Zhaoruo, however, reacted swiftly, grabbing her wrist tightly. His eyes were devoid of warmth, filled only with icy coldness: "You should know who I am now. How dare you lay a hand on me?"
Madam Tu struggled fiercely but couldn't break free. Enraged, she laughed: "So what if you have an official title? You're still my children! I'm your legal mother, how can I not hit you?"
“If you are not kind, you are not fit to be a mother. For this reason alone, you cannot be hit!”
Lu Zhaoruo's voice was resolute.
Tu Shi was extremely strong and struggled free, then lunged at Lu Zhaoruo again without regard for anything else.
She now hates her so much she grinds her teeth.
Lu Zhaoruo twisted Tu's arm hard and slammed her to the ground.
Tu cried out and fell to the ground, her hair disheveled and looking utterly pathetic.
at this time.
The courtyard gate creaked open, and Lu Bohong strode in, looking travel-worn.
When Madam Tu looked up and saw this, she immediately pounded the ground and wailed, "Bohong, my son! You've finally come back! Look... look at your good sister, she actually dares to lay a hand on her mother! At my age, to be treated like this by her, I'd rather be dead!"
She sobbed, tears streaming down her face, "I only said a few words to her, saying that she's become rich and forgotten her roots, and doesn't know how to help the family... and she actually went berserk and did this! My old bones are about to fall apart..."
Lu Bohong's gaze swept across the courtyard.
The father stood there, his cheeks red and swollen.
My sister's face was icy cold; her anger had not yet subsided.
The mother collapsed to the ground, wailing and crying.
His brows furrowed deeper and deeper, and before Madam Tu could finish crying, he interrupted in a deep voice: "When are you going to stop making a scene, Mother?"
Madam Tu was stunned, and her crying stopped abruptly.
Lu Bohong's voice was filled with suppressed anger: "Now that my sister has finally earned some success, Mother doesn't appreciate it and instead causes trouble at home every day?"
He stepped forward, his gaze sharp as a knife: "Father, could you have inflicted the handprint on your face yourself? As your child, I must say that Mother's actions today were truly disgraceful and have chilled the hearts of the family!"
Tu had always known that Lu Bohong had always favored Lu Zhaoruo.
But she never expected that even now, with herself pushed to the ground in such a disheveled state, he would still wholeheartedly protect that stranger with whom she had no blood relation!
Her own flesh and blood, born after ten months of pregnancy! Her son, whom she raised with great care and hardship! And now, for the sake of an outsider, he treats his own mother so cruelly!
She stared intently at Lu Zhaoruo, her teeth grinding together, filled with boundless resentment!
Dusk was falling.
The brother and sister walked slowly along the quiet alley. There was no one around, except for the distant barking of dogs.
Lu Zhaoruo lowered her voice slightly: "Brother, I will be setting off for the capital with General Xiao in three days. You should make preparations as soon as possible."
Lu Bohong suddenly stopped in his tracks.
His handsome face was filled with ecstatic joy, his eyes gleaming brightly, almost bursting into cheers, but he forced himself to suppress it, his voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement: "Really? We'll set off in three days?"
He paused, then hesitated again, "But... what about Father..."
Lu Zhaoruo's gaze was calm: "Brother, you started learning martial arts at the age of five, training in the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer, all for the sake of one day being able to wield a sword to defend the country and die on the battlefield?"
Lu Bohong's eyes suddenly reddened.
Over the years, only his younger sister truly understood the pent-up emotions in his heart.
“Although Father forbids it,” she continued, her voice soft yet firm, “a son should not ruin his future out of blind filial piety. If he stays in Jizhou because of concerns, he will regret it for the rest of his life. What can he do about it?”
Lu Bohong nodded heavily, the last trace of hesitation in his eyes disappearing: "Yes, I want to go! I must go to the capital!"
He looked up at the darkening sky, let out a long sigh, as if to release all the pent-up frustration of the past years: "Heaven has not forsaken me after all! Ah Ning, this time... I really have to thank you!"
"We're like siblings, there's no need for thanks."
Lu Zhaoruo said gently.
After speaking, Lu Bohong suddenly took a step back and started punching. His punches were fierce and his footwork was steady. Every move was filled with the burning desire that had never been extinguished in the past twenty years.
Lu Zhaoruo watched quietly, her eyes moist, and gently clapped her hands for him.
In a daze, her past life appeared before her eyes...
On his sickbed, the elder brother was emaciated, yet he still clung to life, staring straight at the northeastern horizon, and hoarsely said, "I, Lu Bohong, began practicing martial arts at the age of five... I trained through the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer... all for the sake of one day..."
He jerked to his feet, a mouthful of blood splattering onto the old bedding. His fingers gripped the edge of the bed tightly, his knuckles turning white. "I could wield a sword to defend my country, even to die on the battlefield! But now, these bones... are... are rotting in this tiny place!"
He slumped back onto the pillow, the last embers of his eyes dying out, leaving only a barely audible sigh: "...Regret...ah..."
Lu Zhaoruo quietly clenched her fist and silently prayed in her heart: Brother, in this life, your little sister will never let you have any regrets again.
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