Chapter 185

Chapter 185: Father and Son The Duke of Dingguo had no strong objections to Lu Weijie. If she wanted to bring him along, so be it—after all, he wasn't his son. The Lu clan elders, however, disagreed. "Jie-ge'er has already been adopted into the Duke's household. He's meant to carry on the Duke's legacy in the future. If you take him back to the old residence, will he have good tutors there? Good martial arts instructors?" In the eyes of the Lu clan elders, it was still too early to tell whether Cui Zeyu or Lu Weijie would prove more outstanding. Since both were children of the Duke's household, they should be raised there—perhaps both would grow into pillars of talent. Madam Qin insisted stubbornly, "Jie-ge'er is the son I chose. If you won't let me take him with me, I absolutely refuse to return to the old residence. At worst, we'll both go down in flames. I've already fallen this far—I'm not afraid of embarrassment!" Seeing her throw a tantrum, the clan elders found her unreasonable. The Duke of Dingguo knew that Madam Qin was truly capable of such behavior, so he agreed immediately. "I'll send the martial arts instructor and the tutor along with you. However, Jie must still return for New Year's Eve every year." After all, the boy was his son in name. If he left him completely unattended, he feared Madam Qin would lead him astray. And so the matter was settled. The clan elders left first. Madam Qin then turned to curse the Duke of Dingguo. "Fine, you, Lu Zhong! You used such despicable means against me. Fine, you're clever—I lost this round. But don't think you'll get off easy. I will never forgive you or that bastard of yours!" Qin Shaoyuan's head was spinning. He pulled his sister outside. "Why must you keep clinging to this so tightly?" "What do you men know? You can have three wives and four concubines, but we women aren't allowed to complain. I should have just let Lu Zhong divorce me today. I'd love to see how he and Cui Zeyu handle it once rumors spread all over Bianjing!" As Madam Qin spoke, she happened to pass by Xiao Wu in the courtyard. Xiao Wu's breath was weak. "Save... save me..." Hearing Xiao Wu's voice, Madam Qin looked down at him. "Save you?" Madam Qin thought of how Xiao Wu had deceived her from start to finish, and her hatred for him was no less than what she felt for the Duke of Dingguo. "All that talk about having many younger siblings, a family too poor to eat—so it was all lies. You're nothing but a complete liar!" With that, Madam Qin picked up a wooden stick nearby and struck Xiao Wu hard. Blow after blow. Xiao Wu, who had only a breath left in him, vomited blood after several hits. Qin Shaoyuan said she couldn't keep hitting him. "Hit him any more and you'll kill him!" But Madam Qin didn't care. "His life is exactly what I want. He deceived so many women—he deserves this!" She vented all her rage on Xiao Wu. Although Madam Qin wasn't strong, Xiao Wu was already gravely wounded, and with no one in the courtyard coming to stop her, Xiao Wu soon stopped struggling. Blood splattered onto Madam Qin's clothes. Still unsatisfied, she kicked him viciously several times. It was only when Qin Shaoyuan grabbed her and said the man was dead that she finally stopped. Inside the house, when Cui Zeyu and his father heard that Xiao Wu was dead, the Duke of Dingguo indifferently ordered someone to dispose of the body. For someone like Xiao Wu, had he not been entangled with Madam Qin, the Duke of Dingguo wouldn't have given him a second glance. "Madam Qin is being sent back to the old residence. You and I can finally breathe easier. Rest assured, I won't give her any chance to return to Bianjing," said the Duke of Dingguo. Cui Zeyu disagreed with that statement. "As long as she's alive, she will never stop struggling." "What do you intend to do?" The Duke of Dingguo warned him. "The Qin family may not be what it once was, but they still have foundations. And the Qins know about your background. If anything happens to Madam Qin, they'll surely suspect you. Then Qin Shaoyuan will be a cornered beast—your official career could easily be destroyed. Do you understand?" The Duke of Dingguo had only Cui Zeyu left as his son, so he placed particular importance on Cui Zeyu's future. He hoped Cui Zeyu would carry on his legacy. "Official career?" Cui Zeyu hated Madam Qin, but he hated the Duke of Dingguo just as much. In fact, there was one thing Madam Qin said that he agreed with. Why was it that because they hadn't caught her in the act of adultery, these men could make such a big fuss? And yet these same men could carry on with other women without facing any condemnation? If Lu Zhong hadn't deceived his mother, how could she have become his concubine in a hidden residence? Without that hidden residence arrangement, where would Madam Qin's jealousy have come from? Now hearing Lu Zhong talk about an official career, Cui Zeyu couldn't help but want to laugh. Was an official career important? Very important. He had returned to the Duke of Dingguo's household precisely to gain power and influence, so he could protect his sister. "Duke of Dingguo, after my mother died, did you ever feel even a trace of regret? If you hadn't deceived her back then, if she hadn't become your concubine in that hidden residence, she wouldn't have been tormented to death." Cui Zeyu looked into the other man's eyes. He could have simply never been born. Every time he thought of the night his mother died so horribly, he couldn't sleep through the night. The Duke of Dingguo frowned deeply. "Zeyu, your mother was such a good person. If I hadn't given her a place to stay, she had nowhere else to go. What was she supposed to do?" "You're the Duke of Guo, a man of great power and ability. If you truly wanted to, how could you not have managed it?" Cui Zeyu didn't believe such nonsense. "It was your selfishness at work—you coveted my mother's beauty and gentleness." Cui Zeyu took a deep breath. "Yes, Madam Qin's fate today is well-deserved. Likewise, I hold many grievances against you as well. But ironically, I still need your support." He never imagined that one day he would do something that went against his own conscience. Looking at the man before him, Cui Zeyu turned and walked toward the door. "I'll handle Madam Qin's matter myself. If you find my actions displeasing, you're free to disown me as your son—after all, you've already adopted more sons than just me." Watching Cui Zeyu leave like that, the Duke of Dingguo furrowed his brow, then let out a chuckle. "Good. At least the boy has some backbone—better than a spineless coward." The steward beside him, seeing his master laugh, was puzzled. "Are you not worried that the second young master will stop listening to you in the future?" "I'm already a man with one foot in the grave—why would I need him to obey me so completely?" The Duke of Dingguo had a deeper vision. "A puppet who only does my bidding is easy to come by. What I want is someone with ability and boldness, someone who can uphold the prestige of the Duke of Dingguo's household! Even if one day he were to kill me to avenge his mother, as long as he holds power in his hands, I would have no regrets." Men—who isn't fond of beauty? He admitted that he had selfish motives toward Cui Zeyu's mother, but he did not regret it.