Chapter 269: Worthy of a Thousand-Year Historian’s Pen

Chapter 269: Worthy of an Eternal Historian’s Brush

Lu Mingchao: ...

Her silence spoke volumes.

Catching Lu Mingchao’s look as if he were a fool, Lu Minghua awkwardly rubbed his nose before suddenly freezing. "Did Mother take action against Mammy Wang?"

Disbelief saturated Lu Minghua’s voice.

"Mammy Wang was Mother’s dowry attendant, serving her for decades. She watched us grow up."

"Mother once said that though they were mistress and servant, they were closer than sisters. She even taught us to treat Mammy Wang as family."

"Impossible!"

Lu Minghua’s voice rose sharply.

It sounded as if he were trying to convince Lu Mingchao—or perhaps himself.

Lu Mingchao remained silent, quietly observing Lu Minghua.

Lu Minghua gave a bitter smile. Lowering his gaze, the light from the hexagonal lantern reflected in Lu Mingchao’s eyes—blazing, unwavering, and disquieting—making his self-delusion seem all the more pathetic.

"How has it come to this?" Lu Minghua murmured under his breath before retreating in distress.

The scene remained, but the people had changed.

Everything was the same—yet nothing was.

Watching Lu Minghua’s receding figure, Lu Mingchao let out a quiet sigh.

A true gentleman is watchful even alone, never dishonest, even in secret.

Disciplined in humility, never deceiving his own heart.

If noble character sprouts in filth, they may emerge unstained—but how does one leave the mire behind?

"Madam, Qiu Shi has awakened."

Chun Hua’s voice, trembling with tearful joy, rang out.

Lu Mingchao turned, reaching up to lightly flick the red tassel swaying soundlessly beneath the hexagonal lantern in the wind.

Surely, the turmoil in Lu Minghua’s heart was even more tangled than those threads.

"My lady..."

The moment Qiu Shi saw Lu Mingchao, her eyes welled with tears as she tried weakly to rise and bow.

Lu Mingchao gently stopped her. "Just rest now."

Qiu Shi sobbed violently, ignoring the stinging pain as tears trailed over her cracked lips, as though determined to vomit up half a year’s worth of grievances and regret.

Lu Mingchao clutched a handkerchief between her fingers but couldn’t bring herself to wipe Qiu Shi’s tears.

Every inch marred by horrifying wounds.

Lu Minghui should not have been the daughter of the Yongning Marquis' household; she would have been better off reincarnated as a merciless enforcer.

Chun Hua turned her face away, holding back tears, and pleaded, "Qiu Shi, if you keep crying, you’ll make the young lady cry too."

Qiu Shi said dazedly, "I can’t help it."

It was the young lady who saved her.

It was also the young lady who sought justice for her.

She remembered the voice in the fire—it was Liu Yue, the young lady’s maid.

Tears streamed down Qiu Shi’s face, yet her eyes were smiling.

She took the handkerchief from Lu Mingchao’s hand like it was the most precious gift, wiping her tears haphazardly.

"Doesn’t it hurt?"

Lu Mingchao flinched at the sight.

Qiu Shi shook her head. "It doesn’t."

She had grown accustomed to it.

"Young lady, everything I said after the homecoming feast was a lie."

Lu Mingchao nodded. "I know."

"Young lady, when I didn’t leave the marquis’s household with you back then, it wasn’t because I was after riches or couldn’t leave behind its luxury."

Qiu Shi hurriedly explained.

The Enfeoffed Female Physician said she had three months to live at most.

Because silver needles had pierced her internal organs, she might die without realizing in her sleep one night, never waking up again.

There was no telling when.

It could be three to five days.

Or perhaps ten days to half a month.

She had to get everything off her chest as soon as possible.

Lu Mingchao’s expression softened. "I know that too."

In the original tale, even when stripped to her underclothes and flogged to death in public, Qiu Shi had not uttered a single word of resentment.

If she had truly coveted glory, she would have long switched sides to Lu Minghui like Xia Chan.

"You couldn’t bear to leave your sister, Xiu Juan, who depended on you and was newly married and pregnant."

"By my reckoning, your sister’s child should have been born by now."

"Young lady, she… cast me aside." Qiu Shi’s voice was barely audible.

Lu Mingchao’s eyebrow twitched.

In the original owner’s memories, nearly all of Qiu Shi’s monthly wages and gifts had been given to Xiu Juan.

The original host even teased Qiu Shi for being too naive, not knowing to save some silver for herself. *Her money belonged to her sister’s money,* Qiu Shi replied foolishly.

“Miss, my life is worth ten taels of silver and a golden hairpin.”

“Quite valuable.”

More than when she was first sold into bondage.

Her sister promised the young lady that no matter how miserably she died, she would never cause trouble—as if they were never sisters.

Lu Mingchao blinked. “Want me to get it back for you?”

“I've got a pretty good idea how much silver you've given her over the years.”

Qiu Shi looked at the person she'd missed so much, her eyes curving even more.

“The monthly wages? We’ll skip those.”

“But we’re getting back the golden hairpin and the ten taels of silver.”

Lu Mingchao said, “Alright.”

“We'll get them back.”

*This world, only Miss treats me best,* Qiu Shi thought.

If possible, she truly wished to serve her miss long, long into the future. Just like how Nanny Wang served the marchioness, she could also take care of the young miss.

Unfortunately.

She didn’t have such fortune.

“Miss, I overheard something,” Qiu Shi wiped her tears and spoke solemnly.

“She showed a portrait of your elder brother, Lu Yao, to Princess Qingyu.”

“Princess Qingyu was quite taken with it and intends to take him as a kept man.”

“It seems the matter was temporarily set aside due to the emperor's marriage decree.”

Lu Mingchao frowned, her expression turning cold.

She had always known that between Lu Minghui and the Lu family, there was only one outcome—a life-and-death struggle.

Back then, Lu Minghui chopped off Lu Yao's fingers.

Now, she sought to crush his spirit and trample upon his dignity.

Evil really knows no bounds.

She wondered whether Lu Yao had succeeded in becoming Headmaster Yu's disciple at Baopu Academy. If he had Headmaster Yu's backing, any move by Princess Qingyu or Lu Minghui against Lu Yao would be like shooting themselves in the foot.

...

Below Baopu Academy, at the Gathering Heroes Inn.

Lu Yao held a letter from home, his heart aching to return home.

But Headmaster Yu still hadn't given a clear answer, merely selecting increasingly tricky and bizarre questions day after day, having his page deliver them down the mountain.

It felt like a test—or maybe more of a probe.

Lu Yao had a hunch that Headmaster Yu might have found his attempts to cater to his preferences somewhat familiar.

After all, Shu Yuan had once been one of Headmaster Yu's prized students.

"Lu Santu, keep your cool!"

"Xie Yan has people/plans in the capital, and your sister-in-law is not some hothead."

"If she dared to return to the capital with Gu Huai, she must’ve had a way to keep him in check, ensuring he wouldn’t act rashly."

"You’re just letting worry cloud your judgment—rushing home now would be useless."

"Headmaster Yu is a big fish you need to land."

Shu Yuan advised while pasting on a fake beard.

Worst-case scenario, Lu Mingchao was pregnant, and Empress Dowager Xie, for the sake of her Xie lineage, wouldn’t stand by and watch her come to harm.

Empress Dowager Xie was a tough old bird who had stood side-by-side through thick and thin with Emperor Wencheng for decades.

The current emperor’s rebellion had caught her off guard, but three years was more than enough for her to bounce back.

The Changning Palace wasn’t built to contain Empress Dowager Xie.

Lu Yao knew Shu Yuan made good points, yet he couldn’t suppress his unease.

Mingchao alone, facing the Duke's residence and the Yongning Marquis' estate, was like a gnat challenging an oak—wasn’t it?

Shu Yuan sighed. "Lu Santu, you underestimate her too much."

"Don’t take this the wrong way, but she’s more resilient than you, even more than Xie Yan."

"If she were a man, she’d deserve a place in the history books forever."

Lu Yao replied earnestly, "I like hearing that very much."

"Even as a woman, she can make her mark on history."

"I don’t doubt her intellect or strategy against Gu Huai and Lu Minghui—I only worry she might underestimate how low people will sink."

"Always following His Highness..."