Chapter 56, Home is Where Mother Is
“I wasn’t selected!” Lu Zirou lowered her head, her eyes filled with resentment. How could this be? In her past life, she was the one who became a disciple of Linglong Pavilion today, and her life was rewritten from that moment on.
"What, little sister? You must be joking. Father has invited guests today. Everyone is waiting at home for you to come home as the last disciple of the Grand Elder of Linglong Pavilion for the banquet. Even if you are joking, you should have some sense of propriety."
Lu Ziyuan's face was a little sallow. He had been copying books for the past few days, and he was on the verge of a breakdown. He was waiting for his sister's incident to allow him to redeem himself and regain his pride.
"That's right, Zirou, stop joking. The Grand Elder said that if the time for accepting disciples hadn't already been announced, he wouldn't have made you come all this way. He would have just accepted you as his last disciple. Isn't that a sure thing?"
Lord Jiang tried his best to maintain a smile, but in his heart he was cursing Lu Zirou for being so insensible. How could she joke about this at a time like this?
Several of his friends, who had come to watch the spectacle, were waiting behind him.
Just then, a notice was posted at the entrance of Linglong Pavilion.
Lu Ziyuan eagerly ran forward, and then took a look.
She screamed, "What's going on? Is there some mistake?!"
"How could it be Jiang Ruanruan?" Lu Ziyuan's eyes widened, and when he turned to look at Lu Zirou, his eyes were red.
His words were full of disbelief.
"It says Jiang Ruanruan's name on it. What's going on, little sister?"
Lu Ziyuan grabbed his sister's hand and shook it.
"That's right, that little bitch Jiang Ruanruan went too. She deliberately tried to take it from me. Father, I'm sorry, I couldn't win!"
"And the reason Mother dances in the middle of the night is all Jiang Ruanruan's doing, it's all her fault!"
Just then, they saw Jiang Ruanruan walk out of Linglong Pavilion.
"You mean, Ruan Ruan has become the last disciple of the Grand Elder of Linglong Pavilion?" Lord Jiang's expression showed a moment of confusion.
"That's right, it's all her doing, Father. She did this on purpose so that you wouldn't get the divine medicine!"
Lu Zirou found a good excuse, and a smile appeared on her lips.
We're just waiting for Lord Jiang to fly into a rage and smash Jiang Ruanruan's head open.
Perhaps if Jiang Ruanruan is seriously injured, the Grand Elder will choose a new disciple!
"Ruan Ruan, it's your father! I heard you've become the eldest disciple of the Grand Elder!"
Lord Jiang's face showed surprise. He still hoped that Jiang Ruanruan was his biological daughter. Wouldn't she be easier to control than Lu Zirou?
"Oh, yes, Father, is there anything I can help you with? You brought Lu Zirou here, right? She's waiting for you over there. I'm going back with Second Father now!"
With that, Jiang Ruanruan took the young prince's hand with her left hand and the regent's hand with her right, and walked away without looking back.
They just left like that.
[Ding dong, congratulations host, you have obtained 1000 points for Lord Jiang's regretful debt collection, with a remaining balance of 41000 points!]
"Father, why did you let her go? She did that on purpose to embarrass you!" Lu Zirou continued to instigate.
A slap landed on Lu Zirou's face.
"What a mess you've made! You're not as skilled as others, yet you blame them. I've become so estranged from you and my own daughter because of you, and you still dare to sow discord here!"
Lord Jiang slapped him without hesitation; Lu Zirou was no longer of any use to him.
"Master, why did you hit Zirou..." Madam Zhang hugged Lu Zirou tightly.
Lord Jiang completely ignored them.
Instead, he turned around and smiled at his friends.
"Come on, come on! My Ruan Ruan has actually become the last disciple of the Grand Elder of Linglong Pavilion! This is such a wonderful thing! Come on, let's all come to my house for a drink!"
"She's General Xia's daughter! Like mother, like daughter! Congratulations!"
Several people boarded the carriage.
They simply left the Lu family mother and her two children on the spot.
[Ding dong, congratulations host, you have obtained 3000 debt collection points from the Lu family mother and two children, with a remaining balance of 44000 points!]
Jiang Ruanruan almost burst out laughing when she heard the number; the psychological blow was indeed the most powerful.
The Jianghou Mansion was holding a grand banquet.
Many guests came to give gifts, all because of Linglong Pavilion.
But they discovered that Jiang Ruanruan was not at home at all.
"What? You mean the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion is hosting a banquet for Jiang Ruanruan? Isn't this at the Jiang family's residence? Then how did Jiang Ruanruan end up at the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion?!"
The seated guests immediately began to discuss the matter.
Some even said that the Grand Elder of Linglong Pavilion attended the banquet, and everyone's expressions were varied.
Finally, someone couldn't hold back any longer.
"Lord Jiang, my concubine is giving birth, so I must take my leave!" Without waiting for Lord Jiang's reply, the man turned and left.
"Lord Jiang, my mother is calling me home for dinner, I must go now!"
"A relative from my family!"
"Something came up at home..."
Guests who fled the country came in droves.
Jiang Ruanruan's mind was filled with the incessant ringing of bells. Jiang Hou was greatly shocked. In just a short while, his debt collection points increased by 100 each time, suddenly reaching 47,600.
"Brother, your idea is brilliant! Our scumbag dad must be furious!"
They were just a family celebrating, but then they heard that Jiang Hou had used her situation to host a banquet and received many gifts from people.
Jiang Huai'an then thought that they could also host a banquet, and the guests would naturally come.
The Grand Elder stayed at the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion, knowing that Jiang Ruanruan had to attend classes during the day, so she could only study Linglong Pavilion's things at night.
This made things more convenient, and then Jiang Ruanruan flattered and begged him to come over with a lot of delicious food.
I never expected that her cheap master was such a glutton.
He usually wears a Taoist robe, but he is very fond of indulging in food and drink.
She had a young apprentice by her side, who was specifically responsible for grilling meat, brewing wine, and making tea for her.
He lived a very leisurely life at the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion.
They managed to trick people into staying after just one barbecue lunch.
Sure enough, within half an hour of the news of the banquet hosted by the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion being spread, a number of visitors began to arrive.
Lord Jiang looked at the untouched food with a grim expression.
Only then did Zhang return home with her two children.
They had no carriage, so they walked back.
The three of them looked rather grim.
"Stop right there! Did I say you could leave? All this food was wasted because of you. You need to give me an explanation for what happened to Zhang!"
Zhang stood there, stunned, looking completely bewildered: "What explanation... Wasn't this the banquet you were going to host? I even said I'd let you know once everything settled down..."
A resounding slap echoed across the face.
Many of the servants around held their breath and lowered their heads, not daring to look up.
Lord Jiang's temper is getting more and more volatile. He used to only beat Jiang Ruanruan, but now he even beats Madam Zhang.
"How dare you talk back! It's bad enough that you're not understanding as a wife, but you also constantly disobey your husband..."
"And you two, have you finished copying? You dare to embarrass yourselves in public!" He said, raising his cane to strike.
He was pushed away by Zhang.
"Alright, alright, I see now. You're just using this as an excuse to cause trouble. If you want that precious medicine so badly, what's the point of getting angry at us? You might as well go find your precious daughter!"
"Don't I want to? It's all your fault, it's all your fault..."
Lord Jiang was nearly pushed over, and his face turned even uglier. If he couldn't do anything to Xia Yurou, could he not do anything to Zhang Shi?
Lu Ziyuan and Lu Zirou were both terrified and cried. In the past, they had only suffered from poor food and clothing in the Lu family, but they had never been beaten and scolded like this.
After the three left, Lord Jiang's eyes flashed with murderous intent.
He must win back the hearts of the mother and daughter before Xia Yurou and the Prince of Zhenbei get married.
Then, all of this will be his.
With that thought, he straightened his clothes, put on a smile, and went outside.
How could he, as the biological father, not attend his daughter's banquet? Then outsiders would know that Jiang Ruanruan and her biological father were different.
The three returned to the house, and Lu Zirou continued to cry.
"Mother, what should we do... Father has changed. He will never love me and my brother again. Will we be even worse off than Jiang Ruanruan!"
“Yes, even his biological daughters are treated like this, we are just his stepsons!” Lu Ziyuan was also worried about his future.
"What nonsense about a biological daughter! That useless Jiang Hou has never had any other biological children besides Jiang Huai'an!" At this point, Zhang Shi stopped pretending.
Her eyes were filled with resentment and malice. Although she knew that the two of them were only after their own interests, she felt that Lord Jiang was heartless and ruthless.
"Mother, what do you mean by that? Are you saying that General Xia cheated on the Marquis, and that Jiang Ruanruan is not the Marquis's daughter at all? If that's the case, Jiang Ruanruan will definitely be disgraced if this gets out!"
Lu Zirou's eyes lit up.
"If this gets out, Linglong Pavilion might kick Jiang Ruanruan out!" Lu Zirou desperately hoped that this was true.
"Yes, Mother, what exactly happened? Tell me quickly!" Lu Ziyuan urged.
"Haven't you noticed that Jiang Ruanruan and the Prince of Zhenbei look very alike?"
"There's something you don't know: the Prince of Zhenbei isn't actually the Emperor's child; he has foreign blood. He has a leaf-shaped mark on his arm, and Jiang Ruanruan has one too!"
"I heard that the mother of the Prince of Zhenbei was a goddess of a certain tribe. The current emperor was infatuated with her, but unfortunately she fell in love with someone else and eloped with him. However, she was hunted down by the tribe and her lover died. In the end, she managed to reach the emperor's side with her last breath. At that time, she was already very pregnant."
"The emperor still said he would make her a concubine, thinking that he would finally get his wish. Unexpectedly, after giving birth to the child, the concubine was severely depleted of her vital energy and died in just three years. The emperor, however, treated the child as his own."
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