freenovelworld Chapter 427 Does Jianming have to pay with his life for her?
Chapter 427 Does Jianming have to pay with his life for her?
The room was filled with a great deal of noise, and Yuan Wanru and Lu Jiangnian exchanged a knowing glance.
Wang Min sat in the chair, her face as cold as ice.
No one else knew what mistake Zhou Jianming had made; only she had received the news.
That Zhou Jianming deserves to die!
"Mother, please don't panic..."
Lu Bai quickly walked to Madam Lu's side, wanting to help her up.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Looking at his mother's red and swollen eyes, his voice softened involuntarily, "Let's talk about it slowly..."
"Tell me slowly?"
Old Madam Lu shoved her son's hand away. "My grandson is about to be beaten to death, and you want me to talk slowly?"
Her trembling fingers almost poked Lu Bai's nose. "You spineless coward! I'm your mother, and Yuxiu is your sister. Are we outsiders?"
"You just stand by and watch us get bullied? Are you even my son?!"
The old lady then pounded her chest and wailed, "If any of you dare lay a finger on Jianming today, I'll kill myself right here in this house! Let the whole capital see how the Lu family drove their own matriarch to her death!"
Upon hearing this, Yuan Wanru chuckled softly, her crimson lips appearing as if stained with blood.
She slowly rose, the gold-threaded peonies on her skirt gleaming coldly with her movement.
As soon as Zhou Jianming saw her make a move, he shrank back as if he had seen a ghost, his back hitting the table next to him with a "thud," making the vase on it sway precariously.
"Don't come any closer..."
Zhou Jianming was already intimidated by Yuan Wanru, and feeling guilty, he didn't dare to look at her at all.
His voice sounded like it was being squeezed out of his throat, and the blood and cold sweat on his face made him look particularly ferocious in the candlelight.
Yuan Wanru lifted her foot to walk over, when a hand with distinct knuckles suddenly blocked her way.
“I’ll do it.”
His voice was soft, yet it made everyone in the room hold their breath: "Don't dirty your hands."
Yuan Wanru raised an eyebrow. He already knew what she was going to do before she even said what she was going to do?
Lu Jiangnian, however, was absolutely certain that he understood his wife's meaning.
She hated Zhou Jianming to the core, and now that her grandmother said she couldn't lay a finger on him, she was determined to do it anyway.
Lu Jiangnian saw through her intentions and walked up to Zhou Jianming in a few steps. Everyone only saw a blur before they heard a crisp "crack" followed by Zhou Jianming's heart-wrenching scream.
"ah--!!"
Lu Jiangnian's boots were grinding against Zhou Jianming's hand, the force so great that all five fingers were deformed.
Zhou Jianming rolled on the ground in pain, his crushed hand lying on the ground like a lump of mud, dark red blood seeping from between his fingers.
The table behind him wobbled as he bumped it, causing a vase to fall and shards of porcelain to scatter all over the floor.
As Zhou Jianming rolled around, he landed on the porcelain shards, inflicting new wounds.
His wails were incessant.
Lu Jiangnian slowly withdrew his foot, took out a snow-white handkerchief, and wiped the sole of his boot.
"Grandmother, your grandson can only be unfilial today."
The moment he looked up, the chill in his eyes seemed to drop three degrees in temperature, yet his voice was as gentle as if discussing the weather, "I've got my hands on Zhou Jianming's life."
"Jiang Nian!"
Lu Bai stared in disbelief at his nephew, whom he had always been so proud of, unable to understand why he was being so ruthless and decisive today.
Lu Yuxiu let out a shrill scream that was so shrill it was inhuman, and collapsed next to Zhou Jianming.
Her trembling fingers hovered above her son's bloodied and mangled hand, too afraid to touch it.
My son…
Her meticulously applied makeup was ruined by tears. She abruptly looked up, her bloodshot eyes blazing with overwhelming hatred: "Lu Jiangnian! I'll make you pay with your life!"
She rushed towards Lu Jiangnian like a madwoman, completely unaware that the gold hairpin on her head had fallen to the ground.
A figure flashed by—Shi Ying, like a ghost, grabbed Lu Yuxiu's wrists and subdued her with a skillful move.
Upon seeing this, Old Madam Lu couldn't catch her breath and fell backward.
Fortunately, Granny Cao behind him caught him quickly, preventing him from falling.
Her thin, bony fingers gripped her clothes tightly, her lips turning an unnatural bluish-purple: "How...how dare you! The Lu family...has there no manners left? Do you even respect me as your grandmother?!"
Zhou Fang dropped the fan in her hand to the ground, her face filled with shock. She subconsciously swallowed and then looked at her expressionless sister-in-law.
She had a premonition that the mistake Zhou Jianming made today was probably no small matter!
Lu Bai looked at the mess in the hall, his temples throbbing.
He took a deep breath, his gaze shifting between the calm and composed Lu Jiangnian and the tearful Lu Yuxiu: "Jiangnian..."
Lu Bai's voice was filled with unprecedented exhaustion, "What exactly happened? We need to give the whole family an explanation."
"Explain?"
Lu Yuxiu suddenly let out a shrill, cold laugh, her body trembling uncontrollably as she was restrained by Shi Ying. "Second brother, open your eyes and look! My son's hands are crippled! Is this how your Lu family explains things?"
She abruptly turned to the old lady, "Mother! This Lu family is no longer my home!"
Madam Lu also questioned him angrily: "No matter what the reason is, it is not an excuse for his cruelty."
Yuan Wanru suddenly let out a crisp, cold laugh: "The old lady has always been unreasonable. My aunt was raised under your care, so of course she's turned out badly!"
Her gaze swept over Lu Yuxiu, who was pinned down by Shi Ying and unable to move, and a mocking smile curled her red lips. "And this aunt who went astray raised an even more despicable Zhou Jianming—"
"How dare you!" Old Madam Lu's eyes blazed with fury. "You vixen, how dare you criticize my upbringing?"
If Lu Jiangnian hadn't married her, how could he have become like this today?
Yuan Wanru stood up unhurriedly: "Just because you didn't even ask what happened, and you immediately threatened to kill yourself."
She sighed, "Speaking of which, if this matter hadn't been handled properly, we might all have been killed by Zhou Jianming. He just happened to be one step ahead of us."
"Wanru!" Zhou Fang's face drained of color in fright. "You...you mustn't frighten Second Aunt! What happened?"
Lu Jiangnian suddenly let out a cold laugh, a laugh like a blade chilled to the bone: "Second Aunt, that's a good question."
He slowly walked up to Zhou Jianming, his boot tip lifting the tear-streaked face. "During the wedding banquet, this beast, emboldened by alcohol, went to the courtyard intending to defile Liang Yuhua. Unable to bear the humiliation, Liang Yuhua committed suicide by hitting her head against the wall."
"What?!"
"My God!"
Lu Bai and Zhou Fang stared at Lu Jiangnian in disbelief, while Old Madam Lu and Lu Yuxiu were also stunned for a moment.
After a long while, Madam Lu finally reacted: "That Liang Yuhua was just a concubine. She's dead, so what? Do you want Jianming to pay for her life?"
Lu Jiangnian laughed out loud: "Grandmother, you must have forgotten that Liang Yuhua was a concubine bestowed by the Emperor. She died in the Lu family. If the Emperor is to investigate, why don't you go and say these words to him?"
The hall was so silent you could hear a silver needle falling.