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World's First Traitor System (376)
🕑 Added 2024-12-29 17:00:08 +0000 UTCChapter 376 - Grandfather and Grandchild
Great Jin Imperial Palace, the Imperial Garden.
The esteemed scholar and sage, Marquis Wenxin Lu Chunqiu, was seated on a red lacquered swing, an item clearly more suited for a young girl.
Lu Chunqiu’s face was drawn tight, clearly displeased. However, he couldn’t get up and leave because a small child was fast asleep on his lap.
Lu Fubao was still in the Golden Luan Palace.
All of the memorials hadn’t been fully reviewed, and more than seventy scholars waited for her to arrange their duties.
The five patriarchs had volunteered to assist her, and everyone was working diligently.
Thus, within the sprawling palace, there were only two people at leisure, Lu Chunqiu and little Diao Chan.
The task of caring for the child had fallen, quite naturally, onto Lu Chunqiu.
The old man had initially refused, but Lu Fubao had forced the child into his arms, and pointed to the Imperial Garden, telling Lu Chunqiu to look for a red swing, one of little Diao Chan’s favorite toys.
“Preposterous!”
“Absolutely preposterous!”
“She wasn't even pregnant, how can she be a mother?!”
“My Lu family rose during the Warring States period, and reached its zenith during Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s reign. Even in my generation, with only a single beloved daughter, how did we end up adopting a child?!”
Lu Chunqiu looked down at the child on his lap in resentment and disbelief.
One look at her face, however, softened his ire.
Little Diao Chan was incredibly beautiful, her features flawless, her nature so pure, she was truly a delight to behold.
“This…”
“Was she truly… adopted?”
“My daughter, with her talents, how did she end up with such a beautiful child, why would she need to adopt someone else?”
Lu Chunqiu continued to brood. He sighed. Perhaps his voice was too loud, as it seemed to have woken the child in his arms.
“Mmmmmmm!”
Little Diao Chan, with her tiny hands formed into delicate fists, lazily opened her eyes, looking directly at Lu Chunqiu.
"Hmph!" Lu Chunqiu scoffed, "I'm not good with children. If you find my company disagreeable, go look for your mother.”
As soon as the words left his lips, he regretted them.
He was, after all, Marquis Wenxin, a renowned scholar. How could he argue with a child?
The old man looked at little Diao Chan, worried that he had scared her into crying.
However, she hadn't.
Little Diao Chan sat up, looking at Lu Chunqiu with a soft voice. “Grandpa, you are a good Grandpa, Grandpa takes care of Chan’er.”
In that instant!
Lu Chunqiu felt his heart melting!
Grandpa?
How wonderful was this term of address?
Little Diao Chan’s voice was gentle and soothing, as beautiful as her appearance.
He almost laughed, barely containing himself, asking, with a forced sternness, “What have I ever done for you?”
Lu Chunqiu had thought that his words would surely stump her.
However, the child answered seriously, “Grandpa took Chan’er to play on the swing. Grandpa is good to Chan’er.”
"Hmph!"
Lu Chunqiu replied with a grunt.
She wasn't his biological granddaughter, and he was unwilling to acknowledge their relationship.
Moreover, having learned that she was the reincarnation of a Pure Land Sage Ruler, Lu Chunqiu felt as if he had swallowed a stone, a source of constant irritation.
Yan Yuan’s death would forever pain his heart.
The person who had killed his most promising disciple, the one worthy of inheriting his mantle, only increased Lu Chunqiu’s hatred for Great Ci.
“Yuan, I will help Fan Li, and I swear, before I die, I will destroy Great Ci and avenge you. You are watching from heaven above, I will fulfill my promise!”
As he thought, he suddenly felt his lap lighten.
Little Diao Chan had jumped off.
"Oh? Is she that perceptive, does she sense the murderous intent in my heart and flee in fear?"
Lu Chunqiu sneered inwardly.
Though he hated Great Ci, and Empress Yao Guang in particular, he wouldn’t hold a grudge against a mere child.
Lu Chunqiu watched her quietly, and saw that she was running farther away, heading towards the lotus pond in the Imperial Garden.
What was going on? Had his murderous intent truly frightened her, making her want to escape into the water?
Thump!
As if reading his mind, little Diao Chan, without hesitation, jumped into the pond, instantly vanishing from sight!
Lu Chunqiu was shocked. He didn’t want her to die.
If the child were to die, he didn’t dare imagine the grief his daughter would feel!
Lu Fubao treated little Diao Chan like her own, it was clear.
“She cannot die!”
In an instant, the Great Vehicle Confucian scholar appeared beside the pond. He stretched out both his hands, making a gesture as if tearing something apart.
The entire pond of water was ‘ripped’ in two!
Where was little Diao Chan?
He searched, and soon found her. At the bottom of the pond, the porcelain doll of a child was covered in mud. She was also holding something, covered in silt, making it hard to identify.
“You…”
Lu Chunqiu’s concern turned into exasperation when he saw that little Diao Chan was fine. He even saw her puffed out cheeks, as if she had been holding her breath.
So, the child was a surprisingly good swimmer, not drowning?
"Wow!"
Little Diao Chan was indeed holding her breath.
But upon seeing that Lu Chunqiu had separated the entire pond with his hands, she opened her mouth to breathe, cheering delightedly.
"Grandpa, you’re amazing, so amazing!”
Hearing her praise, Lu Chunqiu, despite his years of cultivation, couldn't help but feel a sense of pride.
"Quickly, come up!"
Lu Chunqiu adopted a stern expression, yet his tone was still tinged with concern. He waved his hand and summoned a stream of water that lifted little Diao Chan to the bank.
"Why did you jump in the pond?" Lu Chunqiu asked, pretending to be angry.
"Chan… Chan’er…"
This time, little Diao Chan seemed genuinely scared. Her face showed traces of panic, she even retreated a step backward. However, she clearly had something to say, and continued to face Lu Chunqiu.
“Hmm?” Lu Chunqiu frowned.
Little Diao Chan held something in her hand, now clean from the water. It was a piece of lotus root.
She held the lotus root aloft, offering it to him.
“Grandpa, eat the lotus root, it’s sweet, Chan’er loves it the most.”
Lu Chunqiu was familiar with spiritual lotus roots. They were a delicacy for cultivators, both sweet and capable of nourishing spiritual energy. Lotus roots were quite rare, quite valuable.
The fact that the Great Jin Palace's Imperial Garden had a pond full of them, was all due to Yu Shenzi’s efforts.
"You… you dove in… to pick lotus roots for me?" Lu Chunqiu asked, perplexed.
"Mmm, mmm," Little Diao Chan nodded repeatedly, "When Grandpa frowns, does your tummy hurt? When Chan'er’s tummy hurts, Mommy gives Chan’er lotus root to eat."
Lu Chunqiu was stunned. He had intended to be the one comforting the child, and now she was comforting him?
Lu Chunqiu's old face turned as red as a pig's liver. He was overwhelmed with a single thought: no matter how much he disliked the child, it was wrong to involve her in his anger.
Lost in self-reproach, he had forgotten to take the lotus root.
Little Diao Chan, seeing this, began to panic.
“If Grandpa doesn't eat the lotus root, Mommy will make you take medicine! Old man Yu’s medicine is so bitter, so bitter!"
As she spoke, Little Diao Chan stuck her tongue out, her childish charm was as potent as could be.
Lu Chunqiu smiled, and a wellspring of compassion filled his heart.
This child… she truly considered him family…
