sbdcsierra Chapter 774 I Don't Even Know His Name
Chapter 774 I Don't Even Know His Name
Seeing that she was in a good mood and did not seem to be affected by the unexpected turn of events, Lu Yangyang was relieved.
After finishing her mooncake, Lu Yangyang asked, "Auntie, were you frightened by the accident that happened in the yard just now?"
Lu's mother was slightly taken aback, then her expression slowly darkened.
After a moment, she spoke up: "Is it because of A-Miao's father? His identity is unusual; he's not from this poor, remote place."
Lu Yangyang looked at her in surprise. To be honest, over the years, she had come to know Lu's mother quite well. Lu's mother was a very strong-willed person. After Lu's father abandoned his wife and children, she had a hard time raising Lu Wei alone in the village, and her temper had become increasingly irritable. Lu Wei's personality wasn't exactly obedient; when he was young, he sometimes couldn't resist the urge to be lazy. Without saying a word, Lu's mother would pick up a rattan cane and beat him until he dared not be lazy again.
If she had known there would be danger, why would she have forced Lu Wei to study?
Seeing her confusion, Lu's mother gritted her teeth and said, "If it were before, I would have kept this to myself and never said a word about it, not even to my death. A-Miao has tested me countless times, but I have never said a word to him."
"Lu Wei doesn't know either?" Lu Yangyang was surprised, but also seemed not so surprised. If Lu Wei knew that his father was actually a big problem, he probably wouldn't be thinking about how to become the top scholar to avenge his mother, but would instead try to find out the truth.
"He doesn't know, but he's so smart, he must have guessed something. Otherwise, he wouldn't have arranged for someone to guard my courtyard so early after I passed the imperial examination. What good is there for a half-blind old woman like me to take care of?" Mother Lu sneered.
Lu Yangyang fell silent for a moment.
"You came here today for this, didn't you?" Lu's mother looked at Lu Yangyang and sighed, "You are a capable child. Over the years, if it weren't for your help, A-Miao wouldn't have been able to pass the imperial examinations so smoothly. You are a great benefactor to both of us, and I have nothing to hide from you."
Mother Lu knew perfectly well that this little girl had a hard life, but she was incredibly stubborn. When she was first rescued by Hunter Zhou, the villagers cursed the He family for being heartless, abandoning such a young girl. Even though none of the families were wealthy, they couldn't bear to watch her starve to death. So, even if they grumbled a few words, they would still take her into their homes for a meal and give her a couple of sets of tattered clothes. But this little girl, even at such a young age, knew she couldn't be a burden. She would never stay in one family for more than three days and would help with chores as much as she could. If she encountered families who were truly starving, she would endure hunger and thirst rather than take advantage of them. Later, when she was able to take care of herself, she would even help the villagers.
At first, she was very unhappy that Lu Wei always secretly hung out with this wild girl, but as time went on, she realized that she had no right to be unhappy. This girl was clearly helping them. She chopped wood, fetched water, brought them wild vegetables from time to time, and even secretly treated Lu Wei's injuries, fought for Lu Wei, and gave him money. She did more than she, as his mother, did.
She felt ashamed that she couldn't support her family, yet a young maid was helping her hold it up. However, she couldn't refuse, because she was indeed not as insightful as this young maid.
She was suppressing her anger and resentment.
Now I can finally vent my anger, but unexpectedly, it has implicated Lu Wei as well.
With mixed feelings, Lu's mother spoke up after a long while, her voice tinged with resentment: "He looks down on me. He looks down on me, a peasant girl from the countryside who can't even read a single word. I knew that from the very first day we got married."
“Then…” Lu Yangyang did not expect that her mother would say such a thing.
"He doesn't even like me, so why should I marry him? Why should he marry me?" Before Lu Yangyang could even ask, her mother knew what she was going to ask. "What else could it be? Am I stupid? Am I delusional?"
Mother Lu closed her eyes, her body trembling slightly. "He ended up here, so handsome, and a literate scholar. You know Qinghe Village, let alone here, there aren't many scholars in the surrounding villages. Even the daughter of a landlord would be tempted! So how could I not be excited and happy that this happened to me? Even on our wedding night, when his eyes were so indifferent and cold, I was still thinking, people's hearts aren't made of stone. With time, they'll warm up. Marriage is just like that, it's all about living life. I should be content to have found someone like him."
"Although our married life was neither warm nor cold, he had a good temper and a good disposition. Even though he wasn't very talkative and wouldn't say much to me, he never raised his voice. He would give me some of the money he earned from copying books. What more could I ask for? Even though I knew he didn't like me, I accepted it. Especially after A-Miao was born, he was overjoyed. He loved A-Miao and would hold him on his lap every day whenever he had free time, reading to him. A-Miao was only a little over a year old and had just learned to speak when he started teaching him to recite the Three Character Classic. A-Miao was like him, naturally intelligent. By the time he was a little over two years old and could speak fluently, he could recite what he had taught him very well. He was overjoyed. Once, I overheard him saying that if he were still in the capital, his son should have been rich and noble all his life."
“I didn’t think much of it. I just assumed he must have come from a wealthy family to say that, but that’s all in the past. What’s the point of thinking about it now? I don’t have much hope for the future. As long as my family is doing well, I’ll be content. But I never expected that I would send him to take the imperial examinations with such high hopes, thinking that this was his unresolved issue, that he was unwilling to stay in this poor mountain village. He’s a scholar, and it’s unfair to him to be stuck in this poor mountain village. But what did I get in return? All I got was a letter of divorce.”
"I was filled with hatred then. I hated his heartlessness and ingratitude. I hated the injustice of God. He just left like that, leaving us, a widow and her children, how were we supposed to live?"
Recalling those past events, Lu's mother gritted her teeth in hatred, her voice choked with sobs.
“I’m not reconciled. I want to find him and ask him in person if he’s going to divorce me and doesn’t even want A-Miao anymore? Was his love for this son just a lie? I went to the county to look for him, but I couldn’t find him there, so I went to the prefectural city. I asked all his classmates and teachers one by one, but none of them had seen him. Only one person couldn’t bear it and told me that he might have gone home. I was stunned. Home? Where is his home? The man shook his head and said that Brother Lu said he should go home.”
“It was then that I suddenly realized that from the very beginning, he probably never intended to spend his life with me. He made me call him Liulang, saying that he was the sixth child in his family. Even the village chief registered him as Lu Liulang. Lu Liulang, it’s ridiculous that I didn’t even know his name until he left.”