Chapter 84: The Switch

Lady He, devastated, but for the sake of her daughter, mustered the strength to carry on. With He Huang executed and having offended the newly crowned Empress, whose family wielded power, the career prospects of the Lu brothers dimmed suddenly. Not only were promotions out of reach, but their superiors were also looking for ways to remove them from their positions.

At that time, Mrs. Lu contemplated divorcing lady He, but Lu Fangrong adamantly refused. She observed lady He using money to establish connections for the brothers, which she begrudgingly tolerated. However, after Lu Fangrong was sent to Wucheng in Liao Province, and with the old lady’s anger reaching its peak, lady He was divorced after Lu Fangrong’s departure.

Feeling responsible for the misfortunes of the Lu brothers, lady He believed that their future prospects were dim within the Lu family. Thus, she accepted the divorce without complaints.

With a weak family background and no male heirs for generations, He’s family line was precarious. In He’s generation, only lady He remained, the sole daughter. With no brothers or relatives, after being divorced, lady He didn’t dare stay in the capital and sought refuge with her uncle in the distant Shu region.

Having shouldered almost all household expenses, funding her brother-in-law’s official pursuits and even assisting the old lady’s maternal family, lady He spent money generously. Over the years, most of her dowry was used up, leaving only a few hundred taels of silver, a house, and five hundred acres of land, added later with the Renhe Hall. She sold the house for six hundred taels of silver, leaving her with a total of over a thousand taels.

Taking seven hundred taels of silver, five hundred acres of land, and the remaining five hundred-plus taels of silver, lady He gifted them to the Lu family, while the Renhe Hall was left to Lu Man.

She made it clear to Mrs. Lu that half of the earnings from Renhe Hall before Lu Man’s marriage should be saved as dowry for her, while the other half could be used by the Lu family. Upon Lu Man’s marriage, the saved money and Renhe Hall had to serve as her dowry. Knowing Mrs. Lu’s attachment to wealth, lady He felt that leaving enough silver and land for the Lu family, especially considering Lu Man’s status as a granddaughter, would ensure her well-being.

In her view, as long as Renhe Hall remained on her dowry list, as long as Lu Man lived, no one could touch it.

Leaving Renhe Hall with the Lu family was a last resort, she feared the unknown on her journey and believed the Lu family, being of official status, could protect the property.

However, lady He had a trick up her sleeve. She entrusted the property deed of Renhe Hall to Mama Wang and Bao Qin, instructing them to safeguard it until Lu Man grew up. It was crucial to keep the existence of the property deed a secret, known only to them.

Bao Qin and Fu Qin were originally lady He’s maids. After lady He’s divorce, she took Fu Qin with her and left Bao Qin to serve young Lu Man.

Mama Wang wiped away a tear, “This was a mistake by the Second Madam. She was too kind and naive, unable to understand human nature. She should have entrusted the property deed to Li, the manager…”

After divorcing lady He, Mrs. Lu worried that her second son might seek out lady He, so she hastily arranged for her maternal cousin, Xiao Chen, to marry him.

According to the laws of Dachun, Lu Fangrong, as a border guard, required his consent for his wife to be divorced. When he returned to the capital and learned of his wife’s divorce, he was furious but refrained from escalating the issue to avoid implicating his mother in a scandal.

He had a heated argument with Mrs. Lu and went ahead to marry Xiao Chen. However, he made it clear to Mrs. Lu that he would not touch her after the first night and would leave three days after the wedding.

Before leaving, he warned Xiao Chen that Lu Man must be cared for by Mama Wang and Bao Qin. He threatened severe consequences if they were mistreated or removed, holding Xiao Chen responsible for any harm that befell Lu Man.

Enraged, Xiao Chen dared not interfere with Mama Wang and Bao Qin or harm Lu Man. Shortly after Lu Fangrong’s departure, Xiao Chen falsely accused Wang Dabo of theft, resulting in a beating and his family being sent to the countryside to farm.

Mama Wang fumed, “Madam Lu was disloyal. She promised to treat the girl well in front of the Second Madam, but once the Second Madam left, she ignored her. The Second Madam and I were both blind to the fact that Bao Qin had long harbored such despicable intentions, willing to betray her mistress for personal gain…”

A few days after Lu Fangrong’s departure, Mrs. Lu began searching for a well-groomed maid to care for him, stating that he needed a woman’s care being so far from home. Lu Fangrong disliked Xiao Chen and refused to bring her to his post, so Mrs. Lu had no choice but to find a woman to accompany him.

One day, Mama Wang was shocked to hear that Bao Qin was being sent by Mrs. Lu as Lu Fangrong’s personal maid to Wucheng, recommended by Xiao Chen. She despised the maid’s shameless behavior but considered that Lu Fangrong would have a woman by his side, which might benefit Lu Man.

Suppressing her anger, she instructed Bao Qin not to let the master forget about the Second Miss and to persuade him to write letters to Lu Man frequently. She hoped that Lu Fangrong would take the Second Miss to Wucheng, breaking free from Xiao Chen’s influence, which would improve the Second Miss’s life.

Mama Wang added, “I also had a precaution in mind, fearing that the maid might use the deed to seek wealth and status. Before leaving, she specifically checked the deed hidden under the Miss’s bed and found it intact, which eased her worries.” She cried, “Who would have thought that Bao Qin was deceitful? She promised everything was in order. Once in Wucheng, she seduced the Master, claiming pregnancy in her letters, ignoring the Second Miss… A year later, Li Yuan from Renhe Hall suddenly visited me, saying Xiao Chen had leased out the entire Renhe Hall, including the front shop and back yard. She even showed the deed, claiming that the Second Madam Chen had sold the shop to her for five thousand taels. I panicked and retrieved the hidden deed, which Li Yuan confirmed was tampered with by Bao Qin… I was useless, not educated enough to see through the deception, assuming the deed was safely stored there…”

Terrified, Mama Wang rushed to inform Mrs. Lu. Despite being authoritative, greedy, foul-mouthed, and harboring a deep dislike for lady He and Lu Man, she couldn’t bring herself to engage in such deceitful acts for the sake of the family’s reputation and her sons’ future.

Upon learning of Xiao Chen and Bao Qin’s actions, Mrs. Lu was furious. She wasn’t concerned for Lu Man but feared tarnishing the family’s reputation and jeopardizing her sons’ careers.