Chapter 14: Mother, Save Me!

Clinging to the pillar, unable to advance or retreat, Lu Zhi squeezed his eyes shut, not daring to meet the General's gaze.

He could not see, but he could still hear.

The rooster's crow rose in pitch, carrying a sense of resentment and fury; it was a heart-wrenching, piercing sound that made one's scalp tingle with dread.

Lu Zhi even hunched his neck, shouting, "Why haven't you dragged her away yet!"

The two stewards looked even more distressed than Lu Zhi himself.

It wasn't that they were incompetent, but rather, how were two male servants supposed to drag away the Young Mistress?

No matter how shrewish or unruly she acted, she was still a lady; pulling or tugging at her was a task meant for the nannies and maidservants.

One of them was Steward Liu, who had led the mother and daughter into the manor on the day of the family sacrifice. Holding his lantern, his trembling voice carried a hint of a sob: "Young Mistress, please put the chicken down first. We can talk this through slowly. That chicken looks far too fierce..."

His persuasion was sincere, but it was utterly ineffective against the situation.

Fortunately, he was somewhat quick-witted. Seeing Lu Zhi's servant, A-Dang, running over to save his master, Steward Liu did not let the reckless youth clash head-on with the Young Mistress. Instead, he pointed the way and commanded, "Go get help! Call the Consort!"

A-Dang turned and bolted. Within a few strides, he reached the courtyard gate, nearly colliding with someone striding toward him.

Looking up, he saw it was Nanny Wen. Not daring to bet everything on her, A-Dang kept his head down and sprinted toward the inner courtyard.

Steward Liu's heart skipped a beat when he saw Nanny Wen.

A nanny who was already trying to drag the Young Mistress away? One might as well hope the chicken would save itself!

Still, the formalities had to be maintained. Steward Liu hurriedly called out for aid, "Nanny, please, persuade your lady! She can't keep making this scene!"

Nanny Wen did not respond. She walked to the center of the courtyard and set down the wooden box she had been carrying on her back.

If Lu Jun were here, he would have recognized it immediately: this was the very box A-Wei used to carry her knives, equipped with handles for carrying and now fitted with a leather strap for back-carrying.

Not long ago, the carriage had arrived at the North Gate of the Marquis's manor first. Nanny Wen had disembarked and headed straight for Chunhui Garden to retrieve the box.

Meanwhile, A-Wei had entered through the South Main Gate, carrying the black-feathered rooster to Lu Zhi's study.

Their meeting now was perfectly timed.

Nanny Wen opened the box and pulled out a cloth bundle.

As the silver blades within caught the light, Steward Liu cried out in terror, "Oh heavens! No knives! You can't use knives!"

The other steward was also terrified. He didn't dare grab the Young Mistress, but he felt he could block the nanny. Braving his fear, he tried to stand in her way, "You mustn't! You absolutely mustn't!"

Nanny Wen ignored them all, placing the slender knife into A-Wei's hand.

Hearing the word "knife," Lu Zhi instinctively opened his eyes.

Before him stood his cousin: her left hand gripped a knife, its silver light chilling to the bone; her right hand held a rooster, its shrieks sounding like a death knell. Her face was expressionless, and her cold gaze looked upon him as if he were already dead.

"A ghost!" Lu Zhi cried out in terror. "You've been possessed! You've brought death to so many in the Yu family, and now you've come back to harm us! Get out! All of you, get back to Shu!"

But no matter how much he screamed, the rooster's head and the blade remained pressed against his face, not retreating an inch.

A-Wei spoke, her voice steadier than her hands: "Is this black-feathered rooster mighty on the fighting ring?"

Lu Zhi could not answer. He closed his eyes again, his hands still clutching the pillar, his head bowed low. "Just you wait! When my mother arrives, you're finished!"

Lady Sang had practically rushed in.

Tonight, Lu Jun had indulged in several extra cups of wine. He couldn't stop talking about the various past unpleasantness between his siblings. Lady Sang had been listening perfunctorily while waiting for him to sober up.

To her surprise, before Lu Jun had even sobered, word came from the second gate that Lu Zhi's servant was pleading for help, claiming the Young Mistress was throwing a tantrum in the study.

Lady Sang naturally left her drunken husband. When she reached the front courtyard and saw the panicked A-Dang, a sense of unease took hold.

She did not know that A-Dang felt guilty about the "Young Master's cockfighting"; she simply assumed A-Wei and Lu Zhi were having a major falling out. Lifting her skirts, she ran toward the study.

She had expected things to be unsettled after the elder sister and her daughter returned to the manor, but Lady Sang believed the unrest would not reach her. For the past ten days or so, Chunhui Garden had been quiet; if there were issues, they were always handled through reasonable communication. Thus, she had not been on guard.

She never imagined that the sudden uproar would erupt right here, at Lu Zhi's doorstep!

Lu Zhi had a simple and honest temperament; who could he possibly win an argument against?

Lady Sang ran the distance panting heavily. When she saw her son cornered against a pillar while A-Wei held a knife, she nearly lost her breath. "You..."

Nanny Yao chased after her, gasping for air. She didn't even stop to catch her breath before trying to pull A-Wei away. "The... the knife is dangerous. Young Mistress, let's... let's talk this through properly."

Ultimately, wary of the blade, Nanny Yao did not dare to use force.

A-Wei gave her right hand a sharp squeeze.

*Cluck!*

A sharp, piercing rooster crow rang out, startling not only Nanny Yao but also Lady Sang.

Why was there a chicken here?

Were they making a scene over a chicken?

Only then did A-Wei speak, asking the same question as before: "Tell your mother, is cockfighting fun? Is this chicken formidable?"

Nanny Yao snapped her head toward Lady Sang. *The Young Master was cockfighting?*

Lady Sang was equally astonished, her head reeling. "A-Zhi?"

"Mother, she's a madwoman! Save me, Mother, save me!" Seeing someone to back him up, Lu Zhi found his spirit and began wailing loudly.

Lady Sang was heartbroken.

While the matter of the cockfighting was not yet confirmed, no mother could remain indifferent when her son was crying out for help.

"A-Wei," Lady Sang urged, her voice urgent yet controlled, "please put the knife down first. We can talk about this slowly. If... if A-Zhi really was cockfighting, I certainly won't let him off easy. Let's talk slowly."

A-Wei continued to stare intently at Lu Zhi, not looking at Lady Sang. But hearing her aunt's words made her heart ache for a moment.

Even in such a one-sided confrontation, Lady Sang was trying her best to "reason" with her.

As a person and as a mother, her aunt held herself with dignity.

"You have a good mother," A-Wei said, looking directly at Lu Zhi. "Ask her to save you. Tell her clearly: Did you go to watch the cockfighting? Did you gamble at the General's Quarter?!"

Lu Zhi could not answer.

The black rooster's wing was being squeezed, and he felt as though his very throat were being throttled.

He saw the redness in A-Wei's eyes, which reminded him of the spectators at the General's Quarter—their eyes were also red with the desperate urge to see blood.

The more he thought, the more terrified he became. Clutching the pillar, Lu Zhi's body began to slide down. "Mother, drive her away! Drive her away quickly!"

"I beg of you, dear," Lady Sang pleaded with tears in her eyes. She did not dare reach for A-Wei's arm, fearing the knife might slip or the chicken might flap wildly. "Let's talk to him slowly, alright?"

"Talk slowly?"

A sharp voice rang out from the courtyard gate.

Lady Sang turned to look.

The newcomer carried no lantern and wore a long, cyan robe that nearly brushed the ground. As she stepped from the shadows into the light, her features appeared strikingly vivid and commanding.

It was Lu Nian.

Lu Nian glanced at Lu Zhi, who was cowering by the pillar, and muttered a low curse, "Useless brat!"

She then ignored the standoff between A-Wei and Lu Zhi, addressing Lady Sang instead: "He only begs for help but dares not deny it. He has been screaming for ages without admitting a single fault."

The tears Lady Sang had been holding back fell instantly. "I know... I know he is in the wrong, it is not A-Wei slandering him. But can we please speak calmly? Don't use the knife..."

"Sister-in-law," Lu Nian said, crossing her arms and emphasizing every word, "if you plead for him just one more time, I will take A-Wei and leave. From now on, Lu Zhi's cockfighting and gambling will be your concern alone. Whether you can manage it or not is something you'll know in your own heart."