Chapter 254: A Dust-Covered Sword Does Not Avoid Its Edge

Chapter 254: A Sword Under Ash Still Cuts

"Will you help me, brother?" Lu Mingchao asked bluntly.

Lu Minghua's gaze flickered as he regarded her with uncertainty.

Lu Mingchao met his scrutiny without flinching.

The Yongning Marquisate was in decline, but its ancestors had once known great prosperity.

Who would have thought that the Yongning Marquis, now so eager to curry favor and shift with the wind, owed his title to his ancestors' real achievements?

The true strength of noble families isn’t easily seen.

Lu Minghua frowned and cautioned in a low voice, "Mingchao, Father is thinking of replacing the heir."

He knew well how fickle people could be.

"Will you just hand over what’s yours, brother?" Lu Mingchao countered.

Lu Minghua fell silent.

After a moment, he spoke slowly, "I don’t want to give up, but I won’t fight dirty."

Lu Mingchao sighed inwardly. The constant setbacks had broken Lu Minghua’s spirit, leaving him instinctively retreating from conflict.

"Brother, you are the rightful eldest son of the Yongning Marquisate, a scholar of Baopu Academy, and a gentleman praised by all."

"A pearl covered in dust still shines; a sword under ash still cuts. A dusty pearl remains a pearl, and an ashen sword is still a sword."

"Dust or ash—they don’t change what a pearl or sword truly is."

"Brother, why let others’ mistakes drag you down?"

"Moreover, innocence is no shield against envy."

"Father wants to raise up his bastard son, and with that favor, the boy's ambitions grow unchecked. Backing down won’t stop his resentment—or his ruthlessness."

"Some things are rightfully yours."

Once, Lu Minghua was the sun; the bastard son, the shadow—fed by endless envy and hate.

Given the chance, the shadow would do anything to drag down the sun and trample it into the mud.

That’s just how dark people can be.

Lu Minghua understood at once. "What do you wish for me to do, Mingchao?"

Lu Mingchao lowered her gaze slightly, watching the steam curl from her tea. Then she changed tack, asking meaningfully, "If conflict arises, will you choose me without hesitation, brother?"

Lu Minghua’s eyes flickered. Under his sleeve, his fingers tensed as he considered her words. His lips parted. "Minghui?"

A question, but his tone left no doubt.

Lu Mingchao nodded. "If you cannot choose me without hesitation, can you at least stand for what’s right—not side with bullies and cheats?"

"Do you and Minghui have bad blood?"

Lu Minghua frowned, holding her gaze.

Lu Mingchao admitted frankly, "It's not just past grievances."

"In the past, present, and future, the enmity will only grow deeper."

"Brother, there is absolutely no possibility of reconciliation with a smile."

After a brief contemplation, Lu Minghua agreed, "Chaochao, I will never help wrongdoing."

Lu Mingchao breathed a small sigh of relief.

By speaking bluntly first, even if Lu Minghua were to go back on his word in the future out of familial affection, she could act without guilt, unbound by the lingering warmth of the original owner.

To those who treated her sincerely, she would reciprocate with honesty.

If they resorted to deceit, she would play the game too.

She refused to drain herself with inner conflict.

Lu Mingchao collected her thoughts and returned to the main topic. "Brother, the world is far more lenient toward men. At most, your affair with Qin Wanrou would be considered a passionate affair. With just this as a reason, Father would never dare risk requesting to change the succession of the marquisate."

"With your intelligence, you surely have a plan."

As long as Lu Minghua did not yield and remained vigilant, his position as heir would remain unshakable.

Sure enough, Lu Minghua said softly, "I have never feared or been wary of the bastard."

"Chaochao, if I refuse to yield, no one can take the heirship from me."

Lu Mingchao smiled. "Then you must no longer languish in misery."

Lu Minghua replied, "In three days, I will return to Baopu Academy."

Lu Mingchao asked, "What about the marriage?"

Due to the scandal at the plum blossom banquet, Lu Minghua and Qin Wanrou's wedding date was set unusually soon, around the Mangzhong season.

For noble families, wedding ceremonies were elaborate and lengthy.

Preparations could take a year or more.

With less than two months until Mangzhong, neither Miss Qin the Fifth nor the Marquis of Yongning, who sucked up to the Qin family, would easily allow Lu Minghua to leave the estate.

A cold glint appeared in Lu Minghua's gentle eyes.

"I will personally visit to discuss postponing the wedding."

"If the Qin family agrees, everyone will be happy."

"If they refuse, I will demand answers from Miss Qin the Fifth—why she shamelessly used incense to trap me."

"My willingness to keep the peace does not mean I am weak or easily bullied."

"Since I’ve decided to fight, I might as well go all out."

Lu Mingchao blinked.

Though Lu Minghua was standing right in front of her, she felt as though he had become a different person.

The once-gentle and refined scholar, after enduring being betrayed by his sister, abandonment by his parents, and losing his beloved, had become broken.

But in that moment, the atmosphere of gloom and decay was swept away.

As if an indomitable strength had blended with his gentle humility.

Some people can only be defeated by themselves.

...

The setting sun blazed like molten fire, its radiant hues spilling across the sky, painting it in brilliant gold and crimson.

Upon returning home from duty, Yongning Marquis learned of Lu Mingchao's return to the estate. The news crushed his heart, instantly entangling his emotions in an inexpressible complexity.

By custom and courtesy, a reunion after long separation called for a homecoming banquet.

Lu Minghua and Lu Mingchao walked side by side, chatting and laughing, their garments fluttering in the evening breeze, the edges faintly intertwining—a picture of closeness and harmony.

Just as in the past dozen years, as if the drama of the switched daughters had never occurred.

Lu Minghua remained the exemplary gentleman who led by example, honoring his elders and befriending the weak.

Lu Mingchao was still the accomplished jewel of the capital—cultured, obedient, filial, and talented.

This scene, observed by those in the main hall, provoked different reactions from each observer.

Yongning Marquis was overcome by a sense of disbelief, and beyond that, an endless gloom and regret.

For many years, he had truly taken pride in this pair of children.

Yet now, one wrong move had locked him into this path, with no chance of turning back.

The jewel of the capital had borne children for a coarse country hunter, and the model gentleman was betrothed to the daughter of a Yangzhou singing-girl—neither could bring him glory anymore.

Yongning Marquis gave one long look before lowering his eyelids, allowing his thoughts to surge like tidal waves.

Yongning Marquis Madam’s gaze was involuntarily drawn to Lu Minghua’s face, lit with a guileless smile.

Like the rising sun in the east, like the revival of all things.

Ever since Mingchao left last winter, she had not seen Minghua show such a radiant smile.

Strange, yet profoundly touching.

She knew Minghua had suffered injustice, and she knew he was unhappy.

There was no alternative.

Under those circumstances, she could only choose to protect Minghui.

While Yongning Marquis and his wife maintained a composed and restrained demeanor, Lu Minghui’s emotions were far more raw and vicious.

Toward Lu Mingchao, Minghui felt naked, shameless jealousy.

Toward Lu Minghua, she felt resentment—for his ingratitude and his failure to know who his real family was.

"This maid lives only to serve the eldest young mistress."