CHAPTER 473: CHAPTER 332 LIFEBLOOD

Lu Chunying walked out of the room, step by step down the stairs, and calmly approached Duan Shaoxia.

She didn’t look into Duan Shaoxia’s eyes but bowed her head and said respectfully, "Thank you, Lady Duan, for the rescue."

The room was filled with people from the Hundred Flowers Gate, and Lu Chunying stood alone in the hall, like a leaf in the wind, her life hanging by a thread.

Zuo Wugang stood on Lu Dongtang, secretly clenching his fists.

Lu Yuanxin remained composed, quietly scattering the insect bait.

Xiao Yeci bit down on her silver teeth, ready to fight to the death.

Zhang Xiuling glanced at Duan Shaoxia.

Duan Shaoxia looked at the exploded corpse beside her.

After a long silence, Duan Shaoxia spoke, "Chunying, well done. You have the spirit of Dongliang from back in the day. You are not safe here. Be good and come back with me to the mansion; we are family."

Lu Chunying said nothing.

Duan Shaoxia looked up at the second floor. "Yeci, come back with me. From now on, we sisters will live a good life together."

Her voice, filled with a mix of sorrow and sincerity, nearly swayed Xiao Yeci.

Before Xiao Yeci could speak, Lu Chunying said, "Lady Duan, I think I’ll stay here."

Duan Shaoxia said with tears in her eyes, "Chunying, don’t you trust me?"

Lu Chunying shook her head. "Lady Duan, I trust you; you are like a mother to me. But I cannot go to the mansion. As you have seen, my granduncle cannot tolerate me. I don’t want to be a burden to you."

Duan Shaoxia’s voice trembled as she said, "I’m not afraid of being implicated; I just want us to live together as a family."

Tears also streamed down Lu Chunying’s face. "Lady Duan, I wish I could, but I can’t right now. I don’t qualify to enter the doors of the mansion."

Lady Duan cried out, "Chunying, you do! I say you do!"

Lu Chunying shook her head. "I can’t go, and I shouldn’t. Brother Huaiyi is there to look after you. If I go, it will stir up gossip from everyone in the house."

This statement was profound.

Zhang Huaiyi and Lu Chunying were of the same generation. But nominally, the two were not blood relatives.

Would it be problematic for them to live in the same estate?

It depended on one’s perspective.

In the eyes of commoners, it might not be an issue, considering the Lu Family Mansion’s vast size.

But from the perspective of the elite, it was somewhat problematic. Zhang Huaiyi already coveted the Lu Family’s wealth; if he also managed to get Lu Chunying, that would create a huge problem!

After these words, Lady Duan’s tears disappeared, and a rare gloom settled on her face.

What to do?

Could she possibly drive Zhang Huaiyi out?

That was her own son!

After a gloomy moment, Duan Shaoxia’s sincere tears flowed again. "Chunying, I really want you to come home."

Lu Chunying’s tears were no less abundant than Duan Shaoxia’s. "Lady Duan, I also want to come home, but I really can’t right now."

Li Banfeng was in the bedroom, sipping a cup of green tea, listening intently to the sincere supplications of the two women.

Persuasion was futile. Zhang Xiuling continued to watch Duan Shaoxia to see if she would resort to force.

Duan Shaoxia glanced at the upstairs bedroom and noticed the ever-ready Zuo Wugang, the covertly prepared Lu Yuanxin, and the temporarily invisible Li Qi.

As she hesitated, someone whispered to Zhang Xiuling, "Mistress, Ma Wu has arrived."

Ma Wu arrived at the mansion with Huoling and a group of followers.

Things were about to escalate.

Duan Shaoxia turned to Ma Wu. "Junyang, you’ve come too."

Li Banfeng had been at the Baiyang Teahouse, dealing with Lu Maoxian’s subordinates. Upon learning that Lu Chunying was in danger, he had immediately sent Ma Wu with people to assist. It was only because Ma Wu had been a bit slow that they were arriving now.

Seeing the situation in the room, Ma Wu immediately grasped the circumstances and calmly saluted, "Lady Duan, I have arrived late."

With a single sentence, Ma Wu made his stance clear.

He had come to rescue, not to cause trouble.

He not only clarified his own position but indirectly stated Duan Shaoxia’s as well. Lady Duan, you came to rescue as well, didn’t you?

Zhang Xiuling’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as she sized up the numbers on both sides. Cultivation levels were not visible, but based purely on numbers, if they were to clash now, it was hard to say who would win or lose.

Duan Shaoxia nodded slightly to Ma Wu. "Junyang, Chunying is a good child of our Lu Family; take good care of her."

Ma Wu nodded slightly. Their eyes met briefly.

In that moment, a thread of blood appeared in Duan Shaoxia’s eyes.

A thread of blood also appeared in Ma Wu’s eyes.

Duan Shaoxia turned back to Lu Chunying. "Yingying, come home more often. Even if it’s just to talk to me, it will bring me comfort."

Lu Chunying kept nodding without raising her head.

Duan Shaoxia looked at Lu Dongtang. "What do you have to say for yourself, having plotted against the main family?"

Lu Dongtang shouted, "It was my father’s order! You should ask my father about it! What are you going to do? You dare lay a hand on me!"

Duan Shaoxia said to Zhang Xiuling, "Sister, you heard it all?"

Zhang Xiuling nodded. "The Hundred Flowers Gate will witness that Lu Maoxian plotted against the main family; I heard it."

When Zhang Xiuling became the Sect Leader of the Hundred Flowers Gate, she had suffered quite a bit from the Strict Law Society.

She remembered that enmity and meant to bear witness today.

Duan Shaoxia spoke to Lu Dongtang again, "Your whole family plotting against the main family, what else can you say?"

Lu Dongtang shouted, "These were my father’s instructions! The full reason has to wait for my father’s word. What do you want to do? Do you dare to touch me!"

Duan Shaoxia said, "Yingying, the family law does not spare such a beast."

Duan Shaoxia was letting Lu Chunying exact justice on Lu Dongtang.

Lu Chunying glanced at Lu Dongtang.

Lu Dongtang had come to kill her; personally, she had to avenge this.

Most of the Lu Family recognized her as the main lineage of the clan, and family law indeed required her to act.

But considering their lineage, Lu Dongtang was her paternal uncle. Killing him now, would that leave her open to criticism? After all, she wasn’t the Family Head yet.

But if she didn’t act, in this situation, she would lose face and authority, and also leave behind a future threat.