Chapter 62: Your Big Brother Is Stupid

Early the next day, Lu Songli sent someone to the Xu family in Baoding Fang, informing her sister and her sister-in-law to be careful of strangers around them and to take good care of the children.

Although Lu Songli felt that the Zhao family, under the constraints of the Xie family, would not be so unscrupulous, precautions still needed to be taken. In fact, the Da Li  Dynasty had a strong Wei and Jin Dynasty style, which was a convention. The two families could fight against each other, but they tried not to involve the elderly and the young, after all, which family did not have elders and young ones? If the struggle failed and the elderly and young ones were implicated, then no one could say anything. But if you start the struggle and target the elderly and young ones, it’s not right. Moreover, if you can take action, why can’t others?

Because Lu Songli had saved the Xu family’s grandson, the old lady of the Xu family trusted her and promised to be cautious as instructed.

In the capital city, there were hidden currents surging.

Families with well-informed members all knew about Zhao Bin’s situation, after all, he was brought back to the Zhao family by a peasant with a cart, which was not discreet enough. After returning to the Zhao family, the process of being taken to the residence and consulting doctors could not be kept strictly confidential.

Everyone was not born yesterday, they all had parents, siblings, and relatives. If one person knew, their family and relatives would basically know. And then it spread from one to ten, from ten to a hundred, becoming a well-known secret among the high-ranking families in Chang’an City.

For a while, the elders who knew about this matter all looked serious, instructing the younger generation to behave carefully, especially to avoid offending the Lu family, especially Lu Songli.

The miserable situation of Zhao Bin made many usually arrogant and trouble-making young men and women in Chang’an City feel uneasy and quiet. Those who had conflicts with Lu Songli, such as Guo Yan, were particularly cautioned by their elders.

With everyone waiting for the Zhao family to take action, Chang’an City was calm for a while.

However, these young men and women, when gathered together, couldn’t help but secretly discuss this matter. Many of them had contact with Lu Songli, and in their impression, Lu Songli was a quiet and gentle person who had little presence compared to the rest of the Lu family, and had a soft temperament.

It was after the blow of divorce and forced marriage that she became like this.

So, the young men and women who were restrained by their elders were dissatisfied. It was all because of the Xie family, releasing a female demon, making them unable to be as carefree as before. No, it was all because of the Zhao family. If it weren’t for Zhao Yutan forcibly trying to snatch someone else’s fiancé, Lu Songli would not have become so ruthless.

Suddenly, they were all pounding their chests and stamping their feet, filled with hatred.

And that annoying Zhao Bin deserved it! There was no need to think about it, it must have been Zhao Bin who went to cause trouble for Lu Songli, and she gave him a good beating.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? First, Zhao Yutan and Lu Songli, two good friends, had a falling out. Then, Zhao Yutan tried to kill herself. In Zhao Bin’s eyes, it’s clear his sister was bullied. With Zhao Bin’s protective nature, he’d blame everything on others. He definitely would go after Lu Songli.

He looks miserable now, but as the saying goes, ‘Those who are pitied must have their faults!’ Zhao Bin always likes to defend his older sister without understanding the situation, claiming it’s just being protective. Usually, when Zhao Yutan feels bad, he picks fights with others. Afterward, Zhao Yutan would apologize to the person or offer some compensation. The siblings often did this, leaving others feeling stuck, unable to express their anger or defend themselves.

Now, seeing his current situation, many who have been wronged by him are secretly pleased. You were so arrogant and domineering, now look, you’ve met your match!

One day, early in the morning, someone knocked on the door of the Lu family residence.

“Who is it?” Zhang, the gatekeeper, sleepily emerged from his small room and asked from beside the door.

“It’s me, your second young master!” The person outside replied.

Second young master?! Zhang, the gatekeeper, hurriedly opened the door. Sure enough, he saw a man with a bundle on his back standing in the cold winter wind.

“Second young master?” Zhang narrowed his eyes at the man, unsure if he recognized him. This… this…

“It’s me.”

“It’s really you? You’re back?” Zhang rubbed his eyes, unable to believe that the scruffy man in front of him was their second young master, who loved to keep himself clean. But the voice was definitely his. “

“Uncle Zhang, close your mouth, I’m going in first,” said Lu Mingzhi as he walked in like a whirlwind.

The gatekeeper Zhang slapped his head, oh no, he got too excited and forgot to report to the inner courtyard! Hopefully the Second Young Master will be reliable and not scare the Master’s wife and Second Miss.

Since Lu Songli disabled Zhao Bin a few days ago, Lu Desheng has resumed his habit of leaving early and returning late.

On this day, Lu Desheng, who had left early, met Lu Mingzhi halfway to the front gate of the main courtyard, and they met at a corner, startling each other!

Oh! Lu Desheng took two steps back in shock, squinted his eyes, and wondered why a wild man had entered the house?

It was still dark, and Lu Desheng’s age was catching up with him, coupled with his habit of reading a lot, his eyesight was not as clear as it used to be when he was young. In such dim light, he could only see a vague figure, with Lu Mingzhi’s hair disheveled by the wind today, plus his unkempt beard covering half of his face, and he was even holding a cane, looking almost like a wild man.

But Lu Mingzhi recognized his father and quickly used both hands to push aside his messy hair, revealing half of his face, “Father, it’s me!”

Lu Desheng recognized his son’s voice, “Second? Mingzhi?”

“It’s me.”

Lu Desheng approached and looked him up and down, then said disdainfully, “Why do you look like a ghost?”

Lu Mingzhi rolled his eyes, asking him if he hadn’t shaved or changed clothes for a month?

Then he muttered, “The Teacher and I were in Jingzhou. After receiving the news from home and bidding farewell to the Teacher, we rushed back desperately, traveling for almost half a month.” Before that, they had an accident while passing through a remote mountain village, losing a lot of luggage, and they hadn’t had much chance to change clothes for half a month.

Lu Desheng knew that his son and other classmates were following the Teacher on a study tour. He estimated their whereabouts and sent a letter through the post stations, informing him of the family’s situation, not expecting him to receive it. He didn’t expect him to receive it and rush back.

The youngest son had a hard time, so Lu Desheng patted his shoulder first, and didn’t go out, but took his son back to the courtyard for breakfast.

“Father, why are you going out at this time?” Lu Mingzhi looked at the sky. Today is not a big court session, and his father is usually still asleep at this time. In recent years, his father has not been working so hard like this. Something recent must have made him very worried.

The concern in his youngest son’s eyes made Lu Desheng swallow back the words he wanted to say. Well, his youngest son is caring about him, just saying, “There are some things that need to be taken care of for a while.”

When Lu Desheng returned to the main courtyard, he had the servants bring hot water for his youngest son to wash up, and he went into the bedroom. Shortly after, Madam Jiang came out with him. Seeing his youngest son dusty and tired, Madam Jiang was very excited. After a brief conversation between mother and son, Lu Mingzhi’s stomach growled, and Madam Jiang asked his youngest son to accompany his father in the living room, while she personally went to the kitchen to see what delicious food there was. The youngest son must have had a hard time during this period, so she needed to replenish him properly.

After the steaming hot food was served, Lu Mingzhi asked his parents and then began to eat without hesitation. To be honest, he hadn’t been eating well for the past month.

While having breakfast, Lu Mingzhi listened attentively to his father’s account of what had happened at home during this time and how the family had dealt with it.

The more he listened, the more surprised he was. His second sister was really a silent achiever, making a remarkable move. He always thought he was the one most like his father among the four siblings. But now, it seemed that his second sister’s way of doing things was more like his father’s.

“Your second sister has come into her own.”

In his father’s words, his second sister was a smart person who had been delayed by her former fiancé! But no matter what, this was a good thing. He had been very worried about her on the road.

“You still have a conscience, but your eldest brother is just silly. If your second sister lets him stay at the in-laws’, he will just stay there.” Lu Desheng didn’t scold him for anything else, just called him silly.