章節 19: Jiang Lao
"I will be more careful, mother," Lu Zhen said respectfully while secretly observing Jiang Lao's expression. As he expected, a frown appeared on his already furrowed face, making him look even more ugly as he became even angrier and unhappier.
"Brother Lu, I hope you will forgive me. I will take my leave then," Jiang Lao said with an ugly expression as he prepared to leave.
"Let's go, Jiang Xue," he said to his daughter, and the father and daughter duo hurriedly left.
Jiang Xue wanted to say something, but Jiang Lao didn't give her a chance as they both left.
"Hmph, that old bastard knows he cannot withstand my anger, so he left," Lu Ying said as she stared at the back of Jiang Lao, which sent chills down his spine, making him hasten his pace as he left.
As both father and daughter left, they hurried towards there carriage and departed from the Lu estate.
When they got on the carriage, Jiang Xue had a confused expression on her face, wondering why her father was fleeing so quickly.
Seeing Jiang Xue's puzzled expression, Jiang Lao decided to clarify things for his daughter.
"Daughter, do you know why Lu Zhen is considered as the heir even though there are other direct descendants?"
"No," Jiang Xue replied, her confusion growing as she thought about that point.
"It is because of his mother. She is a peak second-stage martial artist and comes from an unknown background," Jiang Lao said with some fear, as if he was searching his early memories, sweat forming on his face.
"Isn't Grandpa, the strongest expert in our Jiang family, also a peak second-stage martial artist?" she asked, shocked to the core.
"That's right. I don't know how that bastard Lu Huang got such a powerful wife, but he did," Jiang Lao said with a hint of jealousy.
"And she dotes on her son, Lu Zhen, very much. Do you know about the third stage martial artist incident?"
When Jiang Xue heard this, she was even more shocked. "Father, do you mean that..."
Jiang Lao interrupted her as he sighed and shook his head. "Some things are better left unsaid."
"So, we don't want to incur her wrath. After all, we already have an enemy, and if we provoke her too, it will be our doom," Jiang Lao said, his voice filled with concern.
Jiang Xue still had a bitter expression on her face.
"Although it was not our fault, what can we do? We are just a second-class family compared to the Lu family, one of the major families of Phoenix City. I wanted to set up the marriage for you in exchange for the help of the Lu family in keeping 'that'...," He paused, as he avoided saying about 'that'.
"Although I initially thought Lu Zhen was not worthy of you, but seeing his aura, I thought you two were a perfect match. However, these assassination attempts really foiled my plan," Jiang Lao sighed again, feeling angered.
"But, father, the Lu family also wants to benefit from 'that,' so they shouldn't annul our marriage," Jiang Xue said with some guilt.
"You don't understand the complexity of the power here, daughter. Even if they do nothing, they can gain some benefits just by staying neutral," Jiang Lao said with a heavy sigh. He felt like he had sighed more times than in his entire life.
"It's just a matter of how much they can gain. If they support us and stand up for us, they can reap huge benefits from 'that,' leaving only some crumbs for us. However, if they choose to stay on the sidelines, our family will be devoured by those hounds, and the Lu family will still gain some benefits, although less..." Jiang Lao said with despair evident in his voice.
"I am sorry, father," Jiang Xue said with a mixture of guilt as she felt that it was her fault too for rejecting the marriage with Lu Zhen.
"Sigh, I can only hope to gain some alliance from my old friends," Jiang Lao said with some despair. "As for the Lu family, they probably won't help us anymore unless you can somehow convince Lu Zhen."
When Jiang Xue heard this, she knew what this old fox was implying - selling herself to become a pawn in an alliance by keeping Lu Zhen's bed warm. The idea disgusted her to the core.
Although Jiang Lao was talking in a miserable tone and was gathering pity on himself, he was still an old fox. He didn't act like this just for the sake of it. He wanted to make Jiang Xue feel guilty and willingly sell herself to save the family.
In this world where individual strength ruled, it was very difficult to find innocent souls. Jiang Lao, too, was not naive or good. The only way he thought of surviving the extermination of the Jiang family was to rely on the Lu family, and he was determined to save his family by hook or crook.
However, seeing the cold expression of Jiang Xue as she avoided further speaking made him disappointed.
"Oh daughter, even if you don't agree, I have ways to make you comply," Jiang Lao thought as sinister thoughts swirled in his mind. "As for the assassins, they must have been sent by another major family. If I can uncover the people who planned the assassination, I can manipulate the Lu Family and force them to support us."
Both father and daughter didn't say a word after this for their entire journey.
Meanwhile, in the Lu main palace...
"Sigh, son, you shouldn't have taken the risk just to kill that mere third-stage assassin," Lu Ying said with some worry.
"Don't worry, mother, I am fine, so it doesn't matter," Lu Zhen replied in an uncaring manner.
"It looks like you have not disappointed me, son. Although I don't know how you reached the martial trainee level so early, I will help you keep your secret. Don't worry about it."
Lu Zhen was stunned as he heard Lu Ying's voice directly in his head. It was a strange feeling to have as he felt that the sound might be unreal but it felt true at the same time. It felt like the sound came from all sides and reverberated in his head. It was just a strange thing to hear.
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