Chapter 703: Eating the Dependent Offspring [Part Two]
"Oh no, oh no!" Seeing Shen Tang's reaction, Luan Xin thought that Li He, this villain, had already won their trust and that he couldn't care less about personal grudges. "My lord, you must not trust this man so easily. Putting aside his scholarly principles, just his character..."
Doubts and confusion arose in my heart.
Based on his understanding of Li He, his lord's apparent resources and strength would not attract Li He, who was fond of currying favor with the powerful and single-mindedly pursuing personal gain. While his mind was in turmoil, he heard his lord continue, "...You won't be able to take Li Shisong's head."
Luan Xin: "???"
Why would he bother trying to snatch Li He's head?
Shen Tang didn't miss the fleeting look of confusion on Luan Xin's face. She clenched her fist and said, "Revenge! We'll only feel truly satisfied if we cut off our enemy's head ourselves! Don't believe in self-comforting sayings like 'A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years.' We should take revenge as soon as possible. The longer our enemy lives, the less interest they'll accumulate for us. If we don't kill them when we have the chance, are we going to keep them around for Qingming Festival?"
Despite her beautiful face, clear eyes, and carefree demeanor, Shen Tang actually possesses a deep-seated murderous intent, so much so that even Luan Xin, the victim, was momentarily stunned. Though stunned, he knew better than to be fooled; his lord's words were for his own good.
Luan Xin asked, "Who stole Li Shisong's head?"
The lord said he couldn't get it, so someone must have gotten there first.
"Ah, it is naturally Wei Shou."
Shen Tang then recounted the whole story.
Luan Xin then realized that he had only gone to collect provisions, and in the short span of a day, so much had happened. He found it absurd that Li He, that despicable man, was merely a pawn in Chu Yao's scheme to force Wei Shou into rebellion.
Li He has been working so hard for so many years...
I never imagined I would die so casually.
Perhaps feeling that Li He was going to die anyway, even if he didn't die at Luan Xin's hands, it would still be revenge, Shen Tang carefully asked Luan Xin what grudge he had against Li He and when they had become enemies: "...If you don't want to talk about it, then we won't. I'm not trying to reopen old wounds, I just want to know more about you."
Luan Xin didn't want to say it, but he couldn't withstand the power of Shen Tang's last sentence. He was silent for a while, recalling that unpleasant past, and forced himself to speak in a calm tone: "...Xin's family name is not actually Luan, nor is it from a prominent family."
He secretly observed Shen Tang's reaction. She listened attentively, and when he told her that he came from humble beginnings and had even begged for a living, there was no disdain or disgust in her eyes. If Shen Tang knew his thoughts, she would probably find it strange—what could she possibly dislike?
If the world had been different, Luan Xin's parents could have kept their small business afloat, managed it diligently, raised Luan Xin, and perhaps even had one or two more younger siblings. His misfortune, and his family's suffering, stemmed from war and from insatiable greed.
On the Lantern Festival of the year he began begging, Luan Xin's right leg was crushed by a speeding carriage of a powerful official. He lay on the ground like a corpse, looking at the countless pairs of feet in his line of sight, yet no one approached him. Indeed, he was a dirty, ordinary beggar.
Medical treatment and leg reattachment require money, and subsequent rehabilitation costs even more.
He lay prone on the cold, muddy ground, silently awaiting death. When he awoke again, he was in a clinic. It turned out that a passing doctor had saved him and treated his broken leg: "My clinic doesn't employ idlers. You can stay here, but you must work. Leave as soon as your leg heals."
Luan Xin was moved to tears.
One day, the doctor returned from a house call and stayed with him for a long time. That evening, he came to the woodshed where the doctor was staying and asked him: "You have no father or mother?"
Luan Xin stubbornly replied: "Yes, it used to be."
Ignoring his stubbornness, the doctor continued, "So it's gone now? Your leg injury is healing well. As long as you don't walk or run fast, there shouldn't be any problems. I've observed your good physical condition and comprehension these past few days, and you're still young..."
The last sentence seems to be a soliloquy.
At that time, Luan Xin couldn't understand it at all.
The doctor suddenly said, "You beggar, if you leave my clinic, you'll probably have nowhere to go. And you've used so much good medicine lately… I'm not one to take advantage of kindness; I just want to point you to a good place. Will you go?"
Within two days, Luan Xin, dressed in a not-so-new but clean linen robe, dragged his injured leg and followed the doctor to a grand mansion he had never seen before, where he met a woman dressed in simple elegance. The woman appeared to be under the age of fifteen and was very young.
He followed the physician to pay his respects to the queen.
Judging from the Queen's demeanor, she seemed to have been waiting for them for quite some time.
The queen had been observing and scrutinizing Luan Xin for a long while before giving a barely perceptible nod: "He seems quite promising. What about his physical constitution?"
The physician said, "This beggar's natural talent is surprisingly good."
The queen seemed relieved upon hearing this.
She stepped forward and took Luan Xin's hand.
Compared to his rough, chilblained hands, the Queen's hands were delicate and smooth, making young Luan Xin feel inferior and timid. He tried to pull his hand back, but she held it, and then he heard her say: "From this day forward, you are my younger brother."
Luan Xin stared at the female ruler in astonishment.
The ethereal female ruler continued, "I will take your place in my parents' lives, adopting you and registering you under their names as their legitimate son. I am your elder sister, and you will be called Luan Xin from now on."
Luan Xin stammered, "But I won't call you..."
The queen interrupted him firmly: "Luan Xin, the 'Xin' in 'filial piety, brotherly love, loyalty, and trustworthiness,' your father left you a message: 'Justice.'"
Luan Xin was taken in.
Much later, Luan Xin learned why he had been so lucky—the woman he was nominally his elder sister was the only daughter of the Luan couple. Because the man had been injured in his youth, he had extremely difficulty conceiving; none of his wives or concubines had given him a son. Only his principal wife had become pregnant before his injury and given birth to a daughter. Now, the Luan couple had died suddenly, and their other relatives were coming to exploit the family line.
The actual operation involved adopting their son as the son of the Luan couple, thus ensuring his inheritance of the family property. As for the Luan couple's daughter? A mere girl; her adopted brother would provide her with a dowry and arrange her marriage. The husband chosen for her would be a relative from her own family. This family, with no heir, was truly ruthless.
The queen was unwilling to let her family property fall into other hands, but she could not go against the clan elders' wishes.
How can an orphan girl deal with them?
However, she came up with a solution.
Fight magic with magic.
She took the initiative to adopt a son for her parents, and she even wanted to choose a qualified orphan without parents!
He is qualified, and his future success will be enough to intimidate the clan elders.
Without parents, he could only rely on her, making her easy to manipulate.
However, meeting both conditions is incredibly difficult; those with cultivation talent are extremely rare. Before Luan Xin appeared, the Queen had already searched every brokerage firm and even looked through every beggar in the city. Time was running out, and she had fallen ill from worry.
The doctor examined her pulse and discovered it was a heart ailment. After some questioning, he learned the reason and immediately thought of a beggar in his clinic who was a perfect match! The lady was overjoyed to hear this, but the doctor told her that the beggar's leg had been broken by a carriage and he might be left with a disability.
The queen took a handkerchief and dabbed at the tears welling up in her eyes.
They all said with grief and indignation: "So what if he's disabled? He has a lineage, he's a male heir, and he can begin his cultivation in the future. If he can be successfully adopted, in the eyes of the elders and relatives, he'll be like a father and son, far better than me, a female ruler without an heir."
This was the only way she could protect her family's wealth.
Upon hearing this, the doctor felt sympathy and sighed repeatedly.
Thus, this windfall fell into Luan Xin's lap. However, internally, he was merely a tool to help the Queen protect her family's wealth. The Queen had told him this on the very first day. Luan Xin was also aware of this, and he diligently studied and cultivated his skills every day, dutifully helping the Queen fend off the surrounding wolves and tigers. The year Luan Xin concentrated his literary talent, the Queen found a husband for her.
She gave birth to a son in the seventh month after their marriage.
Shen Tang couldn't help but interject, "Seven months?"
Luan Xin said, "The child is not a son-in-law."
Because she was a woman and had experienced the trauma of being forced to relinquish her position and seize her wealth by relatives, the female ruler desperately wanted a talented heir. Although she was in her early twenties and still unmarried, she had many close male friends, all of whom were high-quality suitors she had chosen. However, she knew that these men would not marry into her family, and even if they did, she would likely not be able to protect the family fortune. Therefore, upon discovering she was pregnant, she dumped them all.
They were looking for a pretty but incompetent man to marry into their family.
Simply put, it's about finding a father for the child.
The Queen had done Luan Xin a great favor; he supported everything she did, including, but not limited to, her later adoption of her child. Through these actions, he legitimately ensured that the true descendants of the Luan family would inherit the family business. If the later events hadn't occurred, Luan Xin would have long since returned the Luan family to his nephew and traveled far and wide, seeking a wise ruler and participating in the affairs of the world.
Shen Tang was still reeling from the female ruler's outrageous actions.
"And then what?"
"My sister's lineage has had no one involved in officialdom for two generations, yet they possess enviable assets. It will be many years before my sister's children grow up... My sister also has her own selfish desires. She hopes that I can take the imperial examinations and obtain official rank. Having connections in officialdom will reduce the covetousness of those in power, and she can pass on the complete family business to her children as much as possible."
Luan Xin himself felt confident.
That year, he participated in the talent selection process.
They overcame all obstacles and had a very smooth journey.
However, things went wrong during the [Mountain and Sea Sacred Land]. There weren't many spots available that year, and a powerful figure was left out. Unfortunately, everyone in that cohort had incredibly strong backing, and the powerful figure was unwilling to offend them easily. After searching around, they discovered that Luan Xin was an easy target.
However, how can we remove Luan Xin's spot?
This matter was left to my cronies to handle.
This crony was Li He.
Li He somehow discovered Luan Xin's childhood leg amputation. A cunning plan formed in his mind—to hold office, physical disability was unacceptable. Luan Xin's leg would be the key. The Luan clan, while possessing a good reputation, lacked sufficient power to intimidate. Even if the true mistress of the Luan clan, the Empress, were enraged, would she turn against her for a fake brother?
Luan Xin was merely a tool for her to protect her family's wealth.
With her younger brother now grown up, she was genuinely not worried that Luan Xin might suddenly turn his back on her and try to steal her nephew's family fortune.
Li He, at the behest of powerful figures, destroyed half of his patella.
Then boiling water was poured over it, scalding the flesh and blood until it was hard and raw.
He squatted down and looked at the boy who had fainted and woken up in pain several times.
He laughed and said, "Justice, don't blame me."
Some things are just destined.
[A lowly insect, even if it climbs to the top of a branch, is still an insect; even if it becomes a pupa, after struggling to emerge, it is still a moth. Look, it's like this oil lamp in my hand. In my hand, it's for illumination, but you, you're just a moth drawn to a flame. If I don't burn you, who will I burn? Just accept your fate.]
His hand slapped Luan Xin's face with contempt and humiliation.
The powerful and wealthy sat to one side, quietly sipping their tea.
He couldn't see Luan Xin, who was like a lump of mud.
Luan Xin, enduring the pain, gasped for breath: "Aren't you afraid of retaliation?"
Li He burst out laughing: "[Revenge? Who's going to take revenge? You? Luan Gongyi, aren't you afraid of getting a blow to your left leg too? Or your older sister? You bastard, do you really think you're a member of the Luan family just because you've had a few good years with this surname? Luan Gongyi, do you believe me? I'll send someone to tell your sister you're in trouble, a useless piece of trash. Out of consideration for our past relationship, she'll at most take you back to recover, but she definitely won't do anything else.]"
Luan Xin clenched his fists in anguish but couldn't utter a word of rebuttal.
Li He whispered in his ear.
[She has treated you with the utmost kindness and righteousness. If she hadn't adopted you, would you be wearing these clothes? Would you have the literary talent of Danfu? You, a beggar, dare to compete with a gentleman for things? Bah, do you even deserve it?] A mouthful of spit was directly placed on Luan Xin's face.
It also shattered his nearly ten-year dream.
[Don't think about revenge. Think more about the Luan family who have been kind to you. You don't want to bring death upon your sister and nephew, do you? It's perfectly normal for such a young child to catch a cold and die... Take my advice, young people should be down-to-earth. Even if your leg won't heal, you still have a good leg, and you can still walk. Right, justice?]
The powerful and influential people sitting at the head of the table seemed to have had their fill of tea.
Finally, they're willing to spare some attention.
His opening line was: "Justice?"
Li He chuckled and said, "[Beautiful calligraphy!]"
The powerful and influential nodded: "It is indeed a good character."
Despite Li He's questionable character, he possessed an exceptional understanding of human nature. When Luan Xin was in trouble, the Queen received the news and used her connections to persuade Qiu Cheng, with whom she had some familial ties, to act as an intermediary and go to the powerful mansion to demand his release. However, she arrived too late; Luan Xin was now a cripple, and the Queen turned pale, though furious, she dared not vent her anger openly.
A fight to the death? No way!
Even though Luan Xin was in pain, he advised her not to act impulsively.
"My lady, let's return to the Luan residence."
He dared not call out to his elder sister, nor did he dare say he was going home.
On the way, the carriage jolted so much that his legs ached.
But more than anything, I felt tired.
The impetuous young Qiu Cheng, looking at the shocking leg injury, whispered to the Queen: "Gongyi's leg is probably..."
The queen remained silent.
During Luan Xin's recovery period, the Queen visited him once.
She only said three sentences.
The first sentence is: "Justice, not revenge."
Luan Xin's eyes flashed with intense hatred: "Is that possible? Don't worry, I won't implicate the Luan family. You can rest assured."
The second question is, "How do you plan to take revenge?"
Luan Xin said bitterly, "Of course, I'll pay with my life!"
The third sentence is: "That's your nephew's older brother."
Shen Tang almost dropped the melon: "Half-siblings?"
Luan Xin sighed, "Yes, so part of the reason I was chosen was because of my powerful mother's influence..."
Give the woman who gave birth to her husband's illegitimate child a lesson.
Luan Xin helped her hold up the door frame, so I'll break the door frame's legs!
_(:з」∠)_
Ughhhh, which liar said childbirth doesn't cause menstrual cramps? I'm in so much pain! I used to just lie around doing nothing occasionally, but now I really want to lie down and do nothing!!!
(End of this chapter)
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