CHAPTER 656: CHAPTER 655: PRETENDING TO BE STRONG REQUIRES SKILL

Lu Da and his companions were utterly unaware that a storm was brewing and headed their way; after leaving Wufu’s home, the group temporarily took shelter at the Dache Shop.

Settling down in the inferior rooms, Old Lady Lu began berating Lu Da, her spittle flying as she pointed at his nose.

"Are you even a man? To be intimidated by a woman, it’s embarrassing! You’re a butcher and yet you’re afraid of two women? You’re just a coward!" Old Lady Lu had suffered a setback today and was infuriated beyond belief, especially since her eldest son had actually admitted defeat. How could she swallow this humiliation?

"Mother! Otherwise, what do you suggest we do? We are but a few, and they have so many. What if something happened to you? What would I do?" Lu Da tried to contain his anger and said, "I’m not a coward, I’m thinking of the bigger picture."

"Bah! You’re just a coward afraid of death, not even wanting to care for your sister!" Old Lady Lu was being unreasonable and wouldn’t listen to any sense.

Eldest Sister-in-law Lu then said, "Mother, with those words, you might as well wish for our whole family to be ruined."

"How dare you! When is it your turn to speak here?" Old Lady Lu spat out a retort.

Eldest Sister-in-law Lu muttered a few words and turned her head away, remaining silent. After all, as a daughter-in-law, she could never match up to her trouble-making daughter!

"Tell me, are we just going to abandon Zhen Zhu?" Seeing her daughter-in-law put in her place pleased Old Lady Lu, and she turned her cold glare back to Lu Da.

Lu Da, with a headache brewing, said, "Mother, how can you say we’re abandoning her? Didn’t we agree before we left to make a respectful request? But you just couldn’t hold your temper. We didn’t even get to ask, and now we’ve completely offended them. How can we even begin to make our request now?"

Old Lady Lu was at a loss for words, fuming, she said, "I just can’t stand her smug face. Pah! What’s she? Nothing but a tramp passed around by thousands!"

"With words like these, Mother, if they were to reach their ears, we might as well just go straight to the jail and join Zhen Zhu and the others!" Lu Da lost his temper.

"You!" Old Lady Lu was so angry she shook all over, then suddenly started a tantrum, crying and flailing her arms at him: "I think you, the eldest, are bewitched by that vixen, always defending that stinking woman and ignoring your own mother! You unfilial son!"

Lu Da was exasperated with Old Lady Lu’s irrational nagging and roared, "Mother!"

Old Lady Lu was startled.

"Mother, you still don’t understand, do you? They are not easy to bully. Otherwise, how did you lose your tooth?" Lu Da pointed at her teeth.

Old Lady Lu reached to feel the empty spot.

"Third brother, you’re always looking out for Mother. Did you see what happened?"

Lu San frowned and shook his head. This was what baffled him; no one had laid a hand on Old Lady Lu. It was just a scuffle, yet suddenly she lost a tooth and spat blood.

"That was done by someone hidden in the shadows." Lu Da spoke with a dark face, "They have experts hidden in their mansion, along with house servants. How can a few of us stand a chance? Mother, you have to know your limits when showing off. Do you really want to see us lose our lives?"

Old Lady Lu pursed her lips and kept silent.

"Let’s not even mention that, but Mother, you had to go and say that they were in cahoots with the County Magistrate. How could you say such a thing? That’s the official, the government authority. Do commoners have any chance of survival after offending the official? The entire Lu Family doesn’t have enough necks to be severed!"

What truly alarmed Lu Da was Old Lady Lu’s reckless tongue. Cursing Wufu and the rest was one thing, but cursing government officials? Wasn’t that like the God of Longevity committing suicide for longing to live? That was just asking for trouble.

Only then did Old Lady Lu begin to feel genuine fear, and said, "I... it was an unintentional slip of the tongue, not done on purpose."

"The government official won’t care whether it was intentional or not."

Old Lady Lu, now truly panicked, asked, "What should we do?"

Her outburst had been fueled by the infuriating actions of that despicable Madam Zhou, and she hadn’t realized the gravity of the situation!