Chapter 110: Born with a Cheap Nature

Chapter 110: Born with a Cheap Nature

So, is she also the stumbling block keeping Lu Lei from being with his beloved?

"Second brother, how do you know so much?"

Lu Yao clasped his hands behind his back. "When Master Cheng was teaching at the private school, he used the incident where you sued the second young master of the Sun family as an example, and concluded with the phrase, 'Only women and petty men are hard to deal with.'"

"Second brother, don't you and Master Cheng read the same sage books?" Lu Mingchao's feelings were complicated.

Lu Yao nodded and promptly cleared his throat.

"There's something else we've been hiding from the family. Xie Yan and I jumped and beat up Master Cheng's eldest son."

Lu Mingchao was wide-eyed in disbelief.

Lu Yao's eyes flickered, a hint of guilt in his expression. "The son bears the debts of the father."

"He's a teacher at the town's private school. The more virtuous and respected a person is, the more careful they should be with their words and actions."

"You and Xie Yan really kept this under wraps," Lu Mingchao sighed.

Lu Yao: "Oh, and Xie Sui was keeping watch!"

For a moment, Lu Mingchao didn't know how to react.

"Xie Sui is not getting any younger. Didn't he try to talk you out of it?"

Lu Yao widened his eyes in surprise. "He was the one who suggested it."

"Do you have some misconception about Xie Sui's personality?"

"I think there's a quiet madness about him."

"He first suggested setting the private school on fire to stop Master Cheng from spreading nonsense, which would have led the students down the wrong path."

"It was only after Xie Yan and I earnestly persuaded him to drop the idea, recognizing that Master Cheng had the merit of educating people, that the school wasn't reduced to rubble by now."

"Before that, I never knew that Xie Sui, who seemed so simple and honest, like a humble farmer, had such a side to him."

"So, if anyone's to blame, it's Xie Sui."

"In conclusion, big brother and Cheng Zhi are most likely not going to work out," Lu Yao emphasized.

Lu Mingchao: "Second brother, Shu Yuan is not just some wild kid."

"It's Shu Yuan!"

"The famous Chief Eunuch."

She then helplessly facepalmed. "You're preparing for the imperial examinations. If this gets discovered, do you still want your reputation?"

"As for big brother's thoughts, neither you nor I can guess."

Lu Yao: "It won't be discovered."

Lu Mingchao: ...

After a short while, Yunniang informed Lu Mingchao of the inquiry results.

As Lu Yao had anticipated, Lu Lei refused.

For some reason, my heart feels weighed down.

"Do you still want the Nine-Nine Cold Elimination Chart?"

"Yes!"

Lu Mingchao returned home in a fiery mood, holding the Nine-Nine Cold Elimination Chart that Lu Yao had drawn.

Shu Yuan wore a battered hat and stood lazily by the stable, holding a bunch of hay. He occasionally stuffed some into the horse's mouth, and when the horse stretched its head over, he would pull his hand back again.

Other people amused themselves with cats and dogs, but Shu Yuan amused himself with a horse!

"You're back, sister-in-law."

Lu Mingchao smirked. "Between relaxing and relieving, you chose to stand guard."

"Between being honest and mature, you chose to be sly."

"And who told you to draw your eyebrows thicker than your thumb?"

No one normal has eyebrows that take up half their forehead!

Shu Yuan awkwardly shoved the hay into the horse's mouth, gave a sheepish grin, and said, "You already know, sister-in-law?"

"These were all the ideas of the damned Lu Santu and Xie Xiaosi. I'm old and weak, and I can't overpower others, so I had no choice but to help the bad guys."

Lu Mingchao: So you're betraying your own side?

Lu Mingchao gave Shu Yuan a hard look.

Her eyes strained from staring, but she still couldn't see any hint of his once handsome face and red lips.

He had really blended in a bit too well with the locals.

That battered hat was the final touch.

If Shu Yuan had been half as carefree back then as he is now, he wouldn't have had to undergo castration to become a palace eunuch.

Shu Yuan nodded emphatically without missing a beat.

"I'm sincere, kind, and have a beautiful soul. Why would I go around bullying the elderly or oppressing the weak?"

Lu Mingchao couldn't help laughing.

"Did you smear your face this black to hide your guilt?"

Shu Yuan looked everywhere but at Lu Mingchao.

"He's gone into the city."

"I heard that Gu Huai requested a special favor to enter the court early. He turned down a position in one of the Six Ministries and instead asked to be sent out of the capital for some hands-on experience. The emperor was delighted and praised him, saying a tiger father has no dog son, and granted his request."

"It seems Magistrate Xu's position is about to change."

Lu Mingchao frowned. "When did you hear about this?"

"An hour ago."

"How could the Duke allow Gu Huai to be so reckless?" Lu Mingchao was rather puzzled.

Shu Yuan replied, "Gu Huai acted unexpectedly, doing things first and reporting later."

"The imperial edict has been issued. Even if the Duke is upset, he wouldn't dare to defy the Son of Heaven."

"By the beginning of next spring, Gu Huai will leave the capital to assume the role of county magistrate in Changhe County."

Lu Mingchao pursed her lips. "Things shouldn't have gone so smoothly."

"Gu Huai is leaving the capital for his new post, and the return date is still uncertain with many variables at play. The Yongning Marquis family will spare no effort to ensure that Lu Minghui is married off to Gu Huai before he leaves the capital."

"Gu Huai and Lu Minghui's wedding needs to be arranged soon."

"Otherwise, no one will feel at ease."

"It's uncertain whether Lu Minghui will choose to stay in the capital at the Duke's family mansion as a noble lady or accompany Gu Huai to Changhe after the wedding."

"What a sicko!" Lu Mingchao cursed under her breath.

Gu Huai was truly despicable.

No matter how noble the reason he gave for requesting to come to Changhe was, it would still drag her into it.

The Yongning Marquis Madam and Lu Minghui were probably badmouthing her behind her back, maybe even resorting to voodoo.

How despicable!

Those were Lu Mingchao's true thoughts.

She had completely inherited the original host's memories, fully aware of how lowly the original owner had acted in front of Gu Huai.

Gu Huai was particular about his tea. In the cold winter, amid falling snow, the original owner would collect plum blossom snow and store it in jars just to smooth Gu Huai's brow when he drank his tea.

Gu Huai was aloof and distant, and the original owner shamelessly put up with the mockery of the noble ladies of the capital, following Gu Huai for years without complaint, sharing in Gu Huai's joys and worrying over his concerns.

In Gu Huai's eyes, the original owner was no better than dirt beneath his feet.

In the original story, the original owner insisted on staying in the marquis's mansion, continuing to care deeply for Gu Huai, yet Gu Huai never showed any compassion. Instead, he grew to despise her more, leaving her to die miserably on the streets, her remains vanishing without a trace.

Meanwhile, Gu Huai and Lu Minghui lived a long, happy life together.

So, at the root of it all, Gu Huai was a despicable man.

What one cannot have always causes restlessness, and what one doesn't want, they won't allow others to have.

Shu Yuan asked, "Who is sick?"

"Gu Huai?"

"Or the Yongning Marquis family for forcing Gu Huai into marriage?"

Shu Yuan noticed the undisguised disgust and irritation in Lu Mingchao's brow, but he was somewhat unable to discern the root of this irritation. The root cause was different, and the situation would be vastly different.

It wasn't just his overthinking; he had personally witnessed the ten-year-old Lu Mingchao's tireless pursuit of Gu Huai.

For more than half of her life, Lu Mingchao had chased after Gu Huai.

"Teaching and nurturing people."