Lu Gu lightly smacked their hindquarters as a small punishment, though the weak taps didn’t hurt at all. The pups had tempers - once angry, they ignored each other. After being separated, one gnawed on the leg of Lu Gu’s chair while the other pawed at the bare flower tree in the yard.
These little things gradually pulled Lu Gu out of his earlier frustration. Guaizi was so endearing that he couldn’t help but smile.
Meanwhile, Lu Daxiang and Du Hehua, supporting each other as they limped away, were in no mood for joy. They groaned in pain, tears streaming from the agony, yet still found time to blame each other.
This time, Du Hehua’s right leg had been broken. Lu Daxiang hadn’t been injured in the legs, when Shen Xuanqing struck, he instinctively raised his arms to block, resulting in a broken right arm.
Du Hehua, for all her loudmouthed bluster and past scuffles with Wei Lanxiang and Ji Qiuyue, had never been beaten by a young man before. Shen Xuanqing and Shen Yaoqing, reluctant to strike a woman too harshly, had only broken one of her legs. After Shen Xuanqing went to block Lu Gu, Shen Yaoqing had threatened her other leg, warning her not to spread rumors tarnishing Lu Gu’s reputation.
Qingxi Village and Anjia Village were only three villages apart, not far at all. If he heard even a whisper of slander, even if it meant risking his life, he’d have to confront Du Hehua ‘reason with her properly’. Besides, with Lu Wen’s scandal hanging over them, if she could ruin others’ reputations, others could just as easily humiliate Lu Wen in town—or worse.
Lu Daxiang had fared even worse, beaten until he curled up on the ground, covered in dirt, two teeth knocked out, his face swollen, blood still smeared at the corners of his mouth. His expression was pained and resentful, squinting in the bright sunlight, which only deepened the wrinkles on his face.
Fuming inside, he now had to use his uninjured left arm to support Du Hehua, whose leg was broken.
"This is all your fault. If not for you, I wouldn’t have gotten beaten today. We didn’t get a single coin or grain, and now we’ll have to spend money on medicine," Lu Daxiang grumbled.
Du Hehua, who never held back with him, snapped back, "You useless coward! You just stood there while they hit me? Are you even a man?"
"You—!" Lu Daxiang’s lips trembled with rage, veins bulging at his temples, his face twisted in fury.
Du Hehua, seething from the beating, thought that if Lu Gu were still under her control, she’d thrash him soundly to vent her anger. But with no one else around except Lu Daxiang, who kept berating her, she wasn’t about to take it. In her fury, she spat out the first insult that came to mind:
"Pah! Spineless cuckold!"
Lu Daxiang lost his temper and slapped her, then pushed his wife, who already had a broken leg, to the ground, causing her to fall hard on her back.
Du Hehua clutched her face, wailing and cursing, rolling on the ground in a fit. With her right leg broken, she couldn’t thrash properly, so she pointed at the sky and screamed every vile insult she could think of - words no decent person would tolerate.
Lu Daxiang turned to leave in a huff, but she pushed herself up, her hair disheveled and face streaked with dirt, and sneered, "You blame me? I should blame you for raising an ungrateful white eyed wolf! Who did I tell you to demand grain for? For you to have a decent meal! I cook and wash for you every day, and in the end, I don’t even get a kind word. Wen ger has been so filial since he married - sending money, sending grain, making sure you eat well and dress well. And now you resent me? If not for me raising such a good son, you wouldn’t even have rice to eat!"
"And you! Letting those two bastards call Wen ger a bastard! That unfilial Lu Gu is the real bastard!"
Lu Daxiang, who had already walked a dozen steps away, stopped at her words. The more he thought about it, the more he agreed, Lu Wen was indeed filial. Though he was Du Hehua’s son from a previous marriage, not his own, Lu Wen had given them so much this past year. Compared to Lu Gu today, the difference was clear.
But Lu Wen was closer to Du Hehua than to him. If he abandoned Du Hehua now, it’d be harder to ask for money later.
Lu Daxiang had always been spineless. In his youth, he’d had some fire, but now, in middle age, he cared only for petty gains - greedy, lazy, and always looking to take advantage of others.
He wouldn’t dare return to the Shen family. Last time, his leg was broken; this time, his arm. His back and stomach had taken plenty of blows too. If he came back again, he might not leave alive.
After some mental calculation, he realized Lu Wen was his only hope now.
The Li family was wealthy, and Lu Wen was a proper concubine. According to Du Hehua, their "good son-in-law" treated Lu Wen well, giving him fine clothes, good food, all the best. Even if the young master only let a few crumbs fall from his fingers, it’d be enough for them.
Du Hehua was still cursing, but Lu Daxiang turned back. He wanted to force a conciliatory smile but felt it beneath his dignity as head of the household. His face twitched before settling back into a scowl. Still, he went back and helped Du Hehua up.
Du Hehua snorted. She knew Lu Daxiang’s thoughts as well as she knew her own. But with her leg broken, she’d have to crawl home without him. Once upright, she stopped her tirade. Lu Daxiang had nothing to say either.
And so, battered and humiliated, they limped away.
Thanks to Lu Daxiang’s interference, Shen Xuanqing wasn’t too angry. In fact, he’d even vented some old grievances.
He didn’t know much about the Xu family, but given Lu Gu’s connection, he had to ask Luo Biao for information. While he was at it, he’d inquire about Lu Wen’s situation in the Li family. After all, Du Hehua and Lu Daxiang couldn’t even set foot in the Li estate anymore.
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