Song Jinyao suddenly tightened her grip on the bodhi seed bracelet in her hand.
A flicker of dark light flashed in her eyes: “Are you saying… Wanyue Tao was discovered to be pregnant the day before she was supposed to officially receive clients? Was that before she met the Second Master?”
“Can this be confirmed?”
Ying Qi: “Yes, Madam. I found the maid who served Wanyue Tao back then, as well as the physician who diagnosed her. Their accounts match perfectly—there’s no mistake.”
“Afterward, somehow Wanyue Tao managed to persuade the madam to abandon the idea of having her receive clients. Half a month later, the Second Master became involved with Wanyue Tao—”
Hearing this.
Song Jinyao couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
That laughter could only be described as gleeful schadenfreude.
She didn’t need Ying Qi to continue—she already knew what happened next. Not long after, that beastly Second Master used the startup capital she had given him to redeem Wanyue Tao from the brothel.
Initially, he rented a courtyard to settle her in.
Soon after, Wanyue Tao had a premature birth, delivering Lu Mingzhou at seven months.
Doing the math, Wanyue Tao wasn’t premature at all. Lu Mingzhou absolutely could not be Lu Xiao’s child.
That beastly Second Master had been played for a fool!
What poetic justice!
Song Jinyao: “When did those three bandits appear around Wanyue Tao?”
Ying Qi: “After the Second Young Master redeemed her, but before she gave birth.”
“Alright, understood. You may go.” Song Jinyao waved her hand dismissively with a smile. “Bring the midwife to me immediately when there’s news.”
“Yes.” With those words, Ying Qi vanished without a trace.
A moment later, Song Jinyao summoned Baishuang and whispered a few words in her ear. Baishuang’s eyes lit up repeatedly before she nodded and left—
The next day, while serving Lu Xiao his meal, Dezhu was completely distracted.
While serving soup, he accidentally spilled it on Lu Xiao.
Furious, Lu Xiao coldly snapped: “Useless fool! Can’t even handle such a simple task! What good are you?!”
“S-second Master, please forgive me!” Dezhu trembled in fear, hurriedly kneeling to apologize, kowtowing with loud thuds.
Seeing Dezhu’s sincere apology, Lu Xiao tempered his anger. This servant still had his uses—he couldn’t dispose of him just yet.
He took a deep breath and asked irritably: “What’s wrong with you? Since early morning you’ve been like a soul possessed.”
Dezhu’s face turned pale. He stammered: “It’s… it’s about those three guards at Madam Wan’s courtyard. Something happened to them.”
“Didn’t Song Jinyao take those three away?” Lu Xiao didn’t understand what Dezhu meant. They were just three servants—what could possibly happen to them?
At most, they’d probably just get beaten by Song Jinyao.
Earlier, when Xiao Tao asked him to retrieve them, he had planned to demand them back from Song Jinyao.
But he was currently thinking of giving that bitch Song Jinyao the cold shoulder first. He figured he’d casually ask for them back when Song Jinyao came begging for his forgiveness—no need for a young master of his status to lower himself to Song Jinyao over three lowly servants.
Now that Song Jinyao was sending physicians to examine his injuries every day, it was clear she still cared about him as her son.
Lu Xiao believed the day when Song Jinyao would yield wasn’t far off.
When the time came, he could leverage the situation to probe how much wealth and dowry Song Jinyao still had, force her to bleed some more assets, then take the severance document and leave the estate to enjoy life with Xiao Tao.
So what could have happened now?
“What could possibly go wrong with them locked up?”
Thinking this, he voiced his thoughts aloud: “At most, they’ll suffer some physical punishment, what else could happen?”
After speaking, he cursed Song Jinyao, his mother, again in his heart.
That old woman was truly despicable.
She had been so resolute about cutting ties back then, yet now she couldn’t resist meddling in his household affairs?
Did she think that by standing up for Shen Qingmo, he would spare that woman another glance?
What wishful thinking! Any woman Song Jinyao forced upon him, even if she were as beautiful as a celestial being, would never catch his fancy.
Dezhu was nearly in tears from anxiety: “No, Second Master, this servant heard those three were originally bandits, with blood on their hands. Old Madam and the Second Mistress are planning to drag them to the authorities right now.”
“What?”
“What did you say?”
“Ouch—ouch—it hurts, it hurts—”
Lu Xiao jumped up in shock, but the sudden movement tore open the freshly scabbed wounds on his back, making him cry out in pain.
Dezhu was also frightened and hurriedly helped him lie back on the bed: “Second Master? Are… are you alright?”
Lu Xiao’s mind was still reeling from the words “bandits” he had just heard, his heart pounding with terror.
“Are you sure you heard correctly? Those three were really bandits?”
Weren’t they guards that Xiaotao bought from the matchmakers?
How could they be bandits?
“It’s true, this morning I overheard Baishuang saying exactly that. She also said that by harboring bandits within the estate, Second Master has committed a capital offense alone.”
“She even said Second Master must be in league with the bandits, and that last year’s massacre of the Li family in the west of the city, along with all the bandit-related cases over the past few years, might have been orchestrated by Second Master—”
Dezhu wiped his tears, not daring to mention he had also overheard Baishuang calling Second Master the bandit leader, and that Old Madam intended to uphold justice by turning her own kin over to the authorities.
But—
Having served Second Master for so long, how could he not know Second Master was a bandit leader?
“Second Master? Do you think… back then, was Madam Wan deceived by the matchmakers?” How could it be such a coincidence? Buying servants and ending up with bandits!
Was the bandit hideout collapsing?
Why would they sell themselves into servitude?
“Second Master, this servant also found out that Lord Pei, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, came to our Taihe Xian specifically to suppress bandits.”
Dezhu’s heart raced wildly. If Second Master were imprisoned, would his own life be spared?
He had already betrayed Shen Qingmo. He felt that unless he clung tightly to Lu Xiao, he was doomed either way.
Lu Xiao’s face also drained of color.
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review handled legal cases—why was he involved in bandit suppression now?
His mind was struggling to keep up.
However, one thing was clear to him: given the authorities’ deep-seated hatred for bandits in recent years, anyone connected to them was bound to face severe consequences.
Perhaps those three really were notorious bandits who had committed major crimes and gone into hiding by disguising themselves as his servants.
How could he defend himself against this unjust calamity?
“Quick, help me change clothes. I need to see Mother,” Lu Xiao frantically ordered. His only hope now was to beg Song Jinyao to suppress the matter and retrieve the three men. Afterwards, he would find a way to sever ties with them.
After breakfast, Shen Qingmo prepared a portion of sweet glutinous rice balls and brought them to Song Jinyao.
The two were eating in the room with their maids when Baishuang entered, smiling cheerfully.
“Madam, your foresight is truly remarkable. The Second Young Master has indeed come in person.”
Song Jinyao unhurriedly scooped a spoonful of sweet dumplings into her mouth, raising an eyebrow slightly. “Just tell him I’m having breakfast and the sight of that wretched creature ruins my appetite. Have him wait in the courtyard until I finish my meal before receiving him.”
“Yes, I’ll go right away.” Baishuang left the room with a smile.
“Mother?” Shen Shi, unaware of the bandit incident, looked at Song Jinyao in confusion.
Song Jinyao curled her lips. “In a moment, Mother will make that wretched creature agree to grant you a divorce. All you need to do is maintain a firm stance.”
Shen Qingmo nodded somewhat uncertainly. Could Mother have found a solution in just one night?
Lu Xiao waited in the courtyard for half an hour, nearly fainting from the scorching sun, before Song Jinyao finally called him in.
The room contained a basin of ice blocks, making it considerably cooler than outside.
Yet the wounds on his back, soaked with sweat, still throbbed with piercing pain.
He first reluctantly addressed Song Jinyao as “Mother,” then glanced darkly at the large basin holding the ice.
Such a large basin of ice must have cost a considerable amount of silver.
Indeed, Third Brother was right.
Song Jinyao still had silver at her disposal.
For a moment, greed flickered in Lu Xiao’s eyes.
“Well? You’ve come but remain silent. If you have nothing to say, you may leave. I have no need for a disowned unfilial son paying respects.” Song Jinyao took in Lu Xiao’s expression coldly.
After a pause, she added, “Oh, I almost forgot. Could it be you’ve come to bid farewell, planning to move out of the mansion today?”
“That’s fine. Although the clan elders gave you a month to relocate, several days have already passed. Seeing you can move about now, your injuries must not be serious. Moving out early would spare us both the awkwardness of meeting.”
Before Lu Xiao could speak, he was met with Song Jinyao’s sarcastic remarks, his face flushing red with frustration.
“Originally, your fourth brother volunteered to supervise your move. Are you moving now or this afternoon? I’ll have your fourth brother come oversee it.”
Song Jinyao added another cutting remark: “Fourth Brother said he would ensure you don’t take a single needle or thread extra. Since you brothers previously shared a conspiratorial bond, you should have some self-awareness when the time comes. Don’t take what isn’t yours, and don’t make things difficult for him.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Xiao nearly spat blood in anger.
His old wounds hadn’t yet healed, and now he trembled uncontrollably from rage.
This wasn’t right!
This wasn’t what he had imagined. Didn’t Song Jinyao still care for him as her son?
Now that he had taken the initiative to come, why wasn’t Song Jinyao seizing the opportunity to make peace and show some softness?
Lost in thought, Lu Xiao stumbled again.
Dezhu quickly steadied him, preventing Lu Xiao from collapsing.
Shen Qingmo lowered her head, suppressing a laugh.
Mother-in-law’s words were truly venomous!
Each sentence struck right at Lu Xiao’s weakest points!
Especially that last remark—Lu Xiao had already been fuming over his younger brother Lu Chuan’s betrayal recently, and now to bring it up again was simply—
Mother-in-law, absolutely brilliant!
“Mother, if you continue speaking with such barbs, I will never forgive you in this lifetime,” Lu Xiao said, suppressing his anger.
He had just realized that Song Jinyao must be putting on airs because he had come to her voluntarily.
Fine.
He had come to ask for a favor anyway.
I’ll give Song Jinyao some face for now.
Song Jinyao knew exactly what this beast was thinking and nearly snorted with derision.
The second young master was as self-righteous as ever: “This is how I speak. If you don’t like it, you’re welcome to move out as soon as possible. Besides, you’re just a stranger clinging to my residence. Who cares whether you forgive me or not?”
Song Jinyao spoke coldly, and Du Momo, who was serving nearby, chimed in with a sneer: “Exactly! Every single incident shows how you’ve wronged the madam, Second Young Master. And you won’t forgive her? Pah! The question is who should be forgiving whom!”
As she spoke, Du Momo shot Lu Xiao a sharp glare.
On the day she returned to the residence, the madam had told her the whole truth.
Collaborating with his father to fake his death and deceive the madam, then digging up the grave to steal the burial silver!
Just ask—how many sons in this world could commit such despicable acts?
Cutting ties was absolutely right!
Giving birth to such an ungrateful son is worse than passing gas.
At least passing gas brings some relief to the belly, but a son like this only makes one furious to death!