is difficult to comment on

The woman following behind Xu Ruohuai was named Bai Qingqing. She was a courtesan at Shuiyue Tower, known for her exceptional talent and charming personality. Her admirers included both wealthy playboys and scholars from humble backgrounds. She was quite famous in Shengjing.

Her entanglement with Xu Ruohuai was quite simple: Xu Ruohuai was drugged, and Bai Qingqing sacrificed her own chastity to save him. In return, Xu Ruohuai redeemed her from her servitude and took her back to his mansion to settle her in order to repay his kindness.

But Xu Ruohuai didn't realize that such a money tree wasn't something he could just redeem as easily as he wanted.

They've clearly fallen into a trap without even realizing it.

Are life-saving favors so easily claimed these days? People just spout off nonsense. It's a wonder there are fools who believe them. The Xu family's annihilation isn't entirely unjust.

After reading about Bai Qingqing's past and future, You Lu is speechless.

Pixiu, secretly gnawing on a chicken leg, asked curiously upon hearing this: "Boss, is there something wrong with this woman?"

The deer nodded, and the man and the beast began to talk privately.

[This woman is the Third Prince's person, kept at the Water Moon Pavilion as his spy, gathering intelligence for him. Today, Old Xu inadvertently ruined the Third Prince's plans, and in a fit of anger, he sent Bai Qingqing to set a trap for the Xu family.]

[Oh, so she's the one who caused the execution of Lord Xu's entire family.]

[Yes and no, it's both.]

Youlu kept us in suspense.

Xu Zheng, who had been eavesdropping, was now extremely anxious, crying out in his heart, "Little ancestor, stop keeping me in suspense! I'm dying of impatience!"

After inquiring about Xu Ruohuai's past and future, You Lu slowly spoke again.

After arriving at the Xu residence, Bai Qingqing was moved by Xu Ruohuai and developed genuine feelings for him. Originally, the Third Prince had sent her to poison the Xu family, but she couldn't bear to hurt her beloved, so she replaced the deadly poison with a slow-acting one, which dragged on for over a year.

She acted out of compassion, but her actions backfired. Old Xu, who had narrowly escaped death, repeatedly challenged the Third Prince in court. Finally, the Third Prince, unable to tolerate it any longer, threatened her with Xu Ruohuai's life, forcing her to place fabricated evidence of treason in Old Xu's study. This led to the execution of the entire Xu family.

Pixiu was speechless and remarked, "[It's hard to judge.]"

[So many complaints, I'm speechless.] A deer lamented.

Xu Zheng almost spat out blood. He felt frustrated, wanting to curse but not knowing who to curse. Finally, he gritted his teeth, took off his shoes, and beat his eldest son to death.

The front hall erupted in chaos until Xu Zheng and his wife were exhausted from fighting and things finally calmed down.

Xu Zheng put on his shoes, panting heavily, and said, "I don't care what debt of gratitude you want to repay, our Xu family cannot tolerate this big shot!"

"Father!" Xu Ruohuai, his face bruised and swollen, still managed to defend his beloved: "Qingqing is truly a wonderful girl. If it weren't for her, the Xu family's century-old reputation would have been ruined!"

"Giving birth to such a fool as you has ruined the reputation of the Xu family!" Xu Zheng said with a flick of his sleeve.

Xu Ruohuai choked and turned to look at his mother. He knew that although his mother looked fierce, she was actually much softer than his father.

She had already hit and scolded him, and the anger in Li's heart had subsided. She looked at her eldest son, who had always protected Bai Qingqing, and finally softened.

Just as Li was about to speak, Xu Zheng stopped his wife and said to his eldest son with a stern face, "I don't object to you marrying her, but neither of you should ever set foot in the Xu family again."

He didn't look down on Bai Qingqing's background, and he wouldn't stop the two children from falling in love, but the lives of everyone in the Xu family were not a game, and he would never back down!

These words startled even Madam Li, who advised, "Master, please don't speak in anger!"

Seeing that her father would rather sever their father-son relationship than accept her beloved, Xu Ruohuai's eyes reddened, and without thinking, she blurted out, "What right do you have to lecture me? At least Qingqing and I are open and aboveboard, much better than you bringing home a mistress without a word!"

Having become a mere spectator in the gossip, Youlu pointed at himself, utterly bewildered, "A mistress? Me?"

"Who else could it be but you!" Xu Ruohuai roared in fury, unleashing a torrent of abuse upon him. "A mere concubine's son dares to barge into our home? Get out! The Xu family doesn't welcome you!"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Xu Zheng roared, raising his hand to strike, but Lu quickly stopped him, advising, "Old Xu, calm down. You can't discipline a child by hitting him. We should reason with him..."

"What kind of bullshit logic is this? I'm not listening!" Xu Ruohuai shouted, interrupting him.

Youlu clicked his tongue and said helplessly, "Since you don't want to listen to reason, then I'll have to resort to fists." He raised his hand and threw a punch.

"Ah—!!" Xu Ruohuai exclaimed, covering her swollen eyes, "You dare hit me?!"

His response was a sweeping leg kick followed by a shadowless punch.

The deer punched and kicked, cursing as it went: "I'm trying to reason with you, but you insist on fighting me. I never see you at meals, but you're always eager to take advantage of me. You're truly blessed, with boundless good fortune! It's fine if you don't understand human language, but don't stoop to barking like a dog. After all, a dog's mouth can't produce ivory! You dare tell me to get lost? Try barking again!"

Xu Ruohuai rolled and crawled on the ground, howling as he was beaten.

Xu Zheng quickly pulled his wife away to prevent her from being harmed by innocent bystanders.

Bai Qingqing, who had remained silent, was terrified. She wanted to go up and dissuade them, but was afraid of being caught in the crossfire. She kept moving her feet back and forth, rubbing them together in place.

After a short while, Youlu finished his fight, exhaled, and sat down to drink tea.

Madam Li glanced at her eldest son, who was beaten beyond recognition and almost unrecognizable, paused for a moment, and said, "How about we call it a day and talk about it tomorrow?"

"What are you talking about? There's no room for negotiation! You shameless bastard!" Xu Zheng flicked his sleeves and turned away.

"Butterfly, chirp chirp..." Xu Ruohuai rushed over and hugged her father's leg. Her face was so swollen that she could barely speak, but she still pleaded for mercy.

"What are you babbling about? I can't understand a word you're saying." Xu Zheng looked at him with disgust, raised his foot to kick him, but hesitated and couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Go wash the mud-patched eagle nest!" Xu Ruohuai shouted excitedly, but no one present understood him.

"Pfft—" You Lu couldn't help but laugh out loud. When he saw Xu Ruohuai glaring at him, he glared back without showing any weakness. But as soon as he raised his fist, Xu Ruohuai shrank his neck and looked away.

Thinking of how he had been humiliated by a concubine's son, Xu Ruohuai was overcome with grief and shed tears of sorrow. The tears flowed onto his wounds, causing him to wince in pain.

Li felt both sorry for her and disgusted, and gently comforted her, "Son, let's go back to the room and apply some medicine first."

Without medicine, this pig-headed face is really unsightly.

Before Xu Ruohuai could agree, Madam Li summoned servants to carry him away. Xu Ruohuai clung tightly to Bai Qingqing's hand, his dark circles under his eyes staring stubbornly at his parents.

Xu Zheng paused for a moment, then said, "Arrange for Miss Bai to stay in the west wing."

Bai Qingqing spoke her first words upon entering the Xu residence: "Thank you, Lord Xu."

Pixiu asked in surprise, "Why did Lord Xu let Bai Qingqing stay again?"

As Lu walked out, he said, "Old Xu is a smart man. He probably already guessed that Bai Qingqing's identity is not simple. He's keeping her here, probably hoping to follow the clues."

But wouldn't this give Bai Qingqing an opportunity to strike?

[The Third Prince has many tricks up his sleeve. Even without Bai Qingqing, there would be Li Qingqing and Wang Qingqing. Don't worry, with me here, nothing will happen.]