sbdcsierra Chapter 455 The Mansion
Chapter 455 The Mansion
I stayed inside for quite a while before coming out.
He looked up and saw Xu Yiyi standing at the door. Old Lu met her worried gaze.
I smiled unconsciously.
"This is my older sister's bedroom. She hasn't been back for so many years that it's completely unrecognizable."
Old Lu's tone was tinged with sorrow.
Even his memory began to fade.
Like that embroidered stool, it took me a long time to barely remember what it originally looked like.
Xu Yiyi stood there wanting to say a few words of comfort, but when she opened her mouth, she didn't know what to say.
Having known Lao Lu for so long, I've almost never heard him mention his family or anything related to them.
Old Lu didn't need anyone's comfort. As soon as he opened his mouth, he was completely immersed in those faded old stories and needed to pour them out all at once.
He leaned against the door frame, his gaze unfocused on the dusty dressing table, as if he could see that slender figure from years ago through the thick layer of dust.
"My older sister... actually had a bad life..."
He started rambling on, his eyes somewhat unfocused, as if lost in memories.
"My brother-in-law, who had only been married for less than two months, suddenly fell ill and died."
Old Lu snorted coldly at this point.
“Those people in her husband’s family are all bad, especially her mother-in-law. Under the guise of letting my sister leave an heir for her husband, she actually came up with the terrible idea of letting her brother-in-law inherit both branches of the family. My brother-in-law was just buried! And they couldn’t hide their intentions.”
My elder sister seems gentle, but she's strong-willed and has a tough spirit. She really managed to embarrass her husband's family, and in the end, despite the insults from outsiders, she returned to her parents' home with her dowry and servants.
As he spoke, he suddenly felt a bitter taste in his throat.
"I thought that going back to my parents' home would bring me peace and stability... Ha..."
Just then, Lao Lu let out a short but cold laugh.
“My older sister was determined to remain a widow at her parents’ home, but who could have imagined that my good father… in order to pave his own path to promotion, actually… he actually planned to give my older sister to an old official who was over fifty years old as a concubine! That man was even older than him.”
Old Lu's fist clenched unconsciously, his knuckles turning white.
"The night I heard the news, I sent her away. When she left, I took plenty of valuables and servants with me, intending to take a boat to my aunt's house in Jiangnan to avoid the storm. She cried then, and I cried too... But there was nothing I could do. Staying would only lead to a hell on earth, and I couldn't protect her..."
That's why he later studied martial arts so diligently.
His voice grew softer and softer, filled with endless melancholy: "But after that night, I never heard from her again. A month later, I found a chance to sneak out of the house and traveled by boat all the way south to my aunt's house, but I couldn't find her anywhere. I don't know if she's dead or alive."
When he returned home a year later, he found that his mother had been beaten so badly by his father that she couldn't get out of bed.
In a fit of anger, he resorted to violence.
Even after wandering around, he never forgot to search for his elder sister.
But they could never find it.
It wasn't until her mother passed away and she returned that she stayed for a few days before being discovered by the government officials.
This is the first time I've returned here in over ten years.
Unfortunately, all that was left for him was desolation.
Old Lu walked somewhat sadly to another bedroom, which belonged to his mother.
The same dilapidated state.
Xu Yiyi suddenly asked, "Such a big house, didn't you hire anyone to guard it?"
"How could that be? Of course they're guarding it. It's just that the person is unreliable."
Otherwise, the jewelry in the bedroom wouldn't have disappeared into thin air.
"Let's go! I'll take you to the inn."
After reminiscing, Lao Lu seemed unable to bear the heavy silence. He immediately picked up the two bundles that had been hung on the tree and turned to leave, leaving Xu Yiyi momentarily dumbfounded.
"You brought me here just to take a stroll?"
Old Lu nodded affirmatively.
"This house looks a bit dilapidated, but it can still be lived in after renovation. I'll give it to you."
A casual remark, as if it were a small gift being given away.
"Give it to me? Are you out of your mind?"
He was the one who was just lost in his memories, so how could he just give away this house like that?
Old Lu said nonchalantly, "Are you out of your mind? I'm not joking. This house is really yours. Anyway, I can't live in it. I've already found the land deed and house deed. Once it's officially registered with the government, it'll be yours."
Xu Yiyi followed Lao Lu through the corridor back to the front yard, and after leaving the gate, he led her towards the Yuelai Inn.
"The most important thing about this trip back to the capital is to take Wu Yuan to see a doctor, and the second is to give you this house."
After this is done, he probably won't come back.
"I don't want it, it's not like I don't have a house."
Xu Yiyi gave a soft snort and did not agree.
Old Lu was a little surprised. He turned his head and frowned as he looked her over: "Why don't you want it? This house is very valuable, you know."
The two of them turned into another alley, one after the other.
The sun cast their long shadows onto the mottled wall.
"Don't let its current dilapidated state fool you. It's overgrown with weeds in the cracks between the tiles and the location may be a bit poor, but its layout is top-notch in the entire prefecture! It's worth a lot of money! You can take it and repair it, live in it yourself, or sell it. It'll be enough to keep you and your siblings comfortable for many years to come."
I thought that Xu Yiyi would agree after I said that, since this girl is the most money-grubbing one in the family.
It's just that they pretend well on ordinary days, so others don't notice.
Unexpectedly, Xu Yiyi shook her head after hearing this and hugged Wu Yuan tightly in her arms.
His tone was very casual, as if he were talking about the nice weather: "No matter how well you say it, I don't want it. I have hands and feet, it's not like I can't earn my own living."
Old Lu was immediately annoyed and anxious by her unyielding attitude.
He stepped closer and earnestly advised, "Why are you so stubborn? Is having a house the same as having a good house? If it were anyone else, they would have agreed long ago and would be dragging me to the government office to get it officially verified right now. Only you are so foolish."
Old Lu was so angry he was itching to bite.
“You have hands and feet and can earn money, but in the prefectural city, no matter how much you earn, you can’t afford a house like this in a short time. But as Er’er and the others grow up, having a property in the prefectural city will broaden their future prospects, won’t it? I’m all alone, what use is this dilapidated house to me? Leaving it empty will only attract rats and thieves. If I give it to you, will you remember my kindness?”
Old Lu kept rambling on and on, not even noticing anyone passing by.
Looking at Xu Yiyi's calm face, he suddenly felt powerless, and his voice abruptly lowered, carrying a pleading tone that he himself didn't even realize:
"Take it, I'm begging you. This thing... has been weighing on my mind for too many years, it's a burden, and I'm even more reluctant to sell it. If I give it to you, I... I can finally feel lighter."
The old woman behind them, also dressed in plain clothes, stared blankly at the figures of the two people gradually disappearing from sight.
I was momentarily dazed.