flamboyant

Chapitre 55

As soon as Xiaoyan left, Lu Ling rushed in.

Dressed in the academy's uniform white and gray gauze robe, with a small square scarf on his head, the young master, dressed like a handsome scholar, didn't look like a scholar at all. In fact, his robe was dirty, his scarf was crooked, his face and hands were covered in black ash, he was sweating profusely, and his fierce and murderous aura made him look more like the successor of some mountain bandit king.

"Oh, Ling'er, what's wrong with you?" Song Xiaohua quickly pulled him into her arms, but her eyes turned to the servant who was following behind looking bewildered: "Is this how you serve the young master?"

The servant boy, who accompanied Lu Ling to the academy every day, immediately knelt down when he saw her face darken. Before he could speak, the 'Little Mountain King' spoke up first: "Mother, it has nothing to do with him. I stopped him from helping."

"If you want me not to punish him, tell me the truth, what exactly happened?"

Lu Ling held back for a while before saying resentfully, "They're always causing me trouble!"

"Who?"

"Lu Fei, Lu Yun, Lu Qiang, Lu Liu, Lu Xi..."

The string of names made Song Xiaohua dizzy, but luckily the clever servant explained, "They are all young masters from various households."

"Oh... so that's your classmate. What's wrong, did you have a fight?"

“They bullied me because I was new here, saying I was from the countryside, from the mountains, saying I… said I was a motherless wild child, a… a little brat that even my own father didn’t want…”

Lu Ling gasped for breath, speaking haltingly yet clearly, desperately trying to hold back the tears welling in her eyes, her small fists clenched until they turned white.

Song Xiaohua grew increasingly furious. What could a bunch of kids possibly know? These were clearly the words of adults. They didn't dare to act openly, but they gossiped behind the scenes, inciting the children to fight. They really deserved to be taught a lesson!

"Ling'er, you actually believed these nonsense words?"

"No! Ling'er has a mother, and Father has not abandoned Ling'er."

“Ling’er, remember this: you are luckier than them. You have a mother who gave birth to you, stayed with you for ten months, and then went to heaven to continue to bless you. You also have a mother who raised you and will accompany you as you grow up until you no longer need her. And your father is the person in the whole world who loves you the most and will never abandon you. So, they are all talking nonsense, don’t pay attention to them.”

Lu Ling nodded emphatically: "Ling'er knows, Ling'er will remember Mother's words. But, Ling'er doesn't want to pay attention to them either, they are the ones who keep provoking Ling'er."

When did they start causing you trouble?

"From the first day of school..."

Song Xiaohua was taken aback: "The first day?! How come you've never mentioned it before?"

Lu Ling was exceptionally intelligent, learning quickly and mastering his lessons with ease. The teachers at the academy were initially quite satisfied with him. He went to and from school happily every day, always talking about the new lessons he had learned and the interesting things he had seen on his way. Song Xiaohua and Lu Ziqi thought he was adapting well to the academy and were very pleased. They never expected that he would suffer so much hardship for so many days.

“Because…” Lu Ling sniffed, his eyes glistening with tears: “Ling’er doesn’t want to make Father and Mother unhappy. Besides, Mother has also said that we should solve our own problems. Telling teachers and parents is not something a man should do.”

Song Xiaohua was taken aback: "That's true, but..."

As if she had made up her mind, Lu Ling hurriedly interrupted her: "Mother, Ling'er wants to learn martial arts and become as powerful as Uncle Huo!"

"...Ling'er, you got into a fight with them today, didn't you?"

"Um."

"You lost?"

"Um."

"One-on-one?"

"No, it was four of them against me. They couldn't beat me if they fought one by one."

Lu Ling had received some basic training from Huo Nan, which was rudimentary and easily defeated by adults, but it gave him an advantage against children his own age. However, when he was fighting a group of kids alone, he was completely outmatched.

"...You've fought a lot of times?"

"Yeah. At first they pushed and shoved me, then it was one person hitting me, and later it was several people hitting me together."

Song Xiaohua turned her head away and took a few deep breaths. These brats at least know how to proceed gradually; seeing that Lu Ling doesn't complain to the teacher or tell the family, they've become increasingly audacious. Damn it, how dare they bully my precious son!

"You only fought them when you couldn't hold back anymore?"

"No. Mother said that a gentleman does not leave a grudge unavenged. Don't be a vengeful person; be a person who takes revenge on the spot."

"...Such classic lines are my own words..." Song Xiaohua chuckled dryly twice: "So you want to learn martial arts to take revenge on them?"

"Um!!"

“Ling’er, learning martial arts takes a very long time. Maybe by the time you’ve mastered it, you’ll be as old as your Uncle Huo.”

Lu Ling's eyes dimmed, and after thinking carefully, he said, "It's alright, I can take them down one by one tomorrow!"

Song Xiaohua was taken aback again: "You actually know how to defeat enemies one by one? Did your teacher teach you that?"

"No, it was Grandpa who taught me. Grandpa said that when you encounter an enemy that outnumbers you, you have to find a way to divide and conquer them one by one. That's how you win the battle!"

Ever since Lu Tuo discovered that Lu Ling was very good with numbers and had a vague understanding of terrain due to his extensive travels, he was overjoyed. He vowed to pass on all the military strategies passed down in his family and the tactics he had accumulated over more than ten years of fighting. He was ambitious to cultivate a generation of generals who could dominate the battlefield, to make up for the regret that the third generation of the Lu family consisted of weak scholars.

In retrospect, it has been quite effective. As the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and a major battle cannot be won without fighting a few small skirmishes…

“Ling’er, your tactical choice is excellent! However, we can try other methods first. For example, find a helper…” Song Xiaohua said, while intentionally or unintentionally glancing at Song Wuque, who was sitting primly to the side.

Lu Ling's eyes lit up immediately: "Mother, can I take Wuque with me to the academy?"

"Okay, but he can only stay outside and not make a sound. Also, he's just there to cheer you on; you absolutely cannot let him actually attack... In short, no clawing or talking! Got it?"

"Ling'er understands, Wuque is here to support Ling'er!"

"...Your grandfather was simply a great military educator..."

After instructing someone to take Lu Ling to wash his face and change his clothes, Song Xiaohua looked at the servant who was still kneeling there, not daring to move, with a half-smile: "You know about the fights the young master has been getting into these past few days, right?"

The servant boy was about eleven or twelve years old. Although he was terrified, his voice was still relatively calm: "Yes, Second Madam. But Young Master won't let me help, nor will he... say a single word to Second Master or you."

"You listen to the young master very well!"

"Since I have followed the young master, I must be loyal to him."

"What if I let you secretly report to me everything the young master doesn't want you to reveal? I promise I won't let the young master know it was you who said it."

The servant hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Second Madam, please forgive me, I cannot do this!"

Song Xiaohua remained silent for a moment, watching him tremble uncontrollably on the ground, yet showing no sign of relenting. She nodded to herself, walked over, helped him up, and said gently, "Alright, remember this: from now on, you will only be loyal to Young Master Ling. Ignore everything else. But before that, you must tell me which branch of the family those children who are always causing trouble for Ling'er belong to."

Author's Note: I used to be a huge fan of Hung Hing's Chan Ho-nam, so compared to the white-robed young general galloping across the battlefield, I actually really wanted to make Ling'er a triad boss~ Silently indulging in self-indulgent fantasy...

Chapter Fifty-Eight: A Disgrace to Civilization

Lu Tuo's four sons, two of whom were serving as officials elsewhere, had their families remaining in the mansion. In addition, there were many other relatives from collateral branches, as well as various paternal and maternal relatives staying there. In short, the household was large and complex. The children who fought with Lu Ling belonged to these families. They didn't have much of a background or ability, but they always wanted to stir up trouble and engage in some low-class, harmless, but extremely annoying tricks.

The next day, Song Xiaohua sent people to deliver two gifts to each of these families in a grand manner: a pig's head with its mouth sewn shut and a rough little wooden house that was built crookedly and would fall apart at the slightest touch.

The meaning is simple: Don't be so stupid as to end up shutting up like this. If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too. Don't end up like this house, where the whole family will be ruined.

This matter was handled in a very unassuming way, and in no time the whole household knew about it. As a result, everyone knew that this seemingly quiet and modest second mistress could be so ruthless and merciless when she got angry.

With Song Wuque's 'support,' Lu Ling easily dealt with the few unfortunate kids who were too scared to even speak. After avenging himself, he arrogantly left with the words, "What's the point of fighting like this? If you're not satisfied, let's see who's the real fighter on the battlefield!" If Old Master Lu heard this, he would surely be very pleased...

However, the matter had only been calmed down for a few days before another controversy arose.

Song Xiaohua has always firmly believed that the statement "all children are angels fallen to earth" is utter nonsense. Some children are devils, the kind of devils who just have a face that begs to be punched. Take Lu Zhi, for example.

Lu Ziheng has two sons and three daughters so far, born to his wife Yuan and two concubines.

Lu Zhi was the eldest son. His birth mother, Zhao, was a maid who came with Yuan as part of her dowry. Because Yuan gave birth to two girls in a row, Lu Ziheng took Zhao as a concubine. A year later, he gave birth to a son. As a result, Zhao became increasingly arrogant and spoiled because of her son.

Lu Zhi is eight years old this year. He is a mischievous, unruly, and bullying child—a perfect example of a bad kid. He has a round, chubby face that is fairly decent, but his thick, short, black eyebrows, like those of Shin-chan, ruin his overall appearance. Just looking at him makes you want to slap him on the head. At least, that's how Song Xiaohua feels right now…

Looking at the Zhao mother and son standing before her, Song Xiaohua couldn't help but sigh. Both parents were quite handsome, but she really didn't know who the child's eyebrows resembled. Could it be a genetic mutation? Or perhaps it was related to Old Wang next door? ...

"Second Madam, you must stand up for my poor Zhi'er today and give us justice!"

Zhao's voice was shrill, hurting Song Xiaohua's eardrums and interrupting her malicious speculation. She beckoned Lu Zhi, whose arm was in a sling, over: "Was that injury inflicted by my Wuque?"

Lu Zhi was covered in sweat. He glanced at Zhao Shi and then nodded.

"So how did it do that?"

"It chased me, so I ran. While running, I tripped and fell, and got hurt."

"Then why is it chasing you?"

Zhao answered first, "That dead dog went mad, what other reason could it have?"

Song Xiaohua gave her a forced smile and glanced at her: "If my Wuque really went crazy, what chance do you think your son would have of coming to me alive to complain to you?!"

Seeing her unfriendly tone, Zhao decided to go all out: "Second Madam, our Zhi'er was injured by your dead dog. So many people with eyes can see it. You can't cover it up!"

"What 'dead dog' nonsense! I don't like hearing that!" Seeing that she was about to throw a tantrum, Song Xiaohua slammed her teacup down on the table. "There's no such thing as covering up or not covering up. Just like you said, anyone with eyes can see what happened. If Zhi'er hadn't knocked Ling'er down for no reason and then hit Wuque with a stone, would any of this have happened? Besides, my Wuque only barked at him once; he didn't move an inch from beginning to end. He was terrified and ran away desperately, and he also tripped and fell into the bushes in his panic, scraping his arm. Zhi'er, what I'm saying is the truth, isn't it?"

Seeing Lu Zhi hesitate and dare not answer, Zhao stepped forward and raised her voice: "You said everything, who can testify? If you're not guilty, why don't you let Lu Ling and that dead...that dog come out to confront us?"

Song Xiaohua calmly took a sip of water before her face darkened: "You seem to have forgotten your place. Is this a place where you can run wild? After all these years in this manor, you still don't understand the difference between master and servant, or superior and inferior?!"

Zhao Shi hadn't expected Song Xiaohua, who was always gentle to everyone, to be so disrespectful. Furthermore, given that Song Xiaohua's behavior as a concubine had indeed crossed the line, Zhao Shi's arrogance subsided somewhat. Lu Zhi, seeing Song Xiaohua's sudden outburst, was so frightened that his lips trembled and he almost cried.