Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved-Chapter 182 - Who is Really Living a Worse Life
Chapter 182: Chapter 182 Who is Really Living a Worse Life?
Chapter 182 -182 Who is Really Living a Worse Life?
“Our lives are still very long; we have plenty of time to repay the Princess Consort. Let’s move in since the Princess Consort has given us such a generous gift!”
Manager Chai patted Lou Zixi’s shoulder and said.
Lou Zixi nodded firmly, “You’re right, we have a long time ahead of us!”
As the two of them walked out, they saw about twenty people standing outside, and upon seeing them, they hailed them as ‘Great Master’ and ‘Second Master’.
For convenience, on their way to the Capital City, Manager Chai and Lou Zixi had sworn brotherhood, though not related by blood.
This was also the reason why Murong Jiu had only sent one mansion; if she had sent two, they would have refused.
Both had lost all their relatives. During the initial flood disaster, they had supported each other and thus had survived.
Otherwise, Manager Chai wouldn’t have brought him to Capital City to seek refuge with distant relatives.
However, no one had expected that upon entering Chen Mansion, their legs would be broken.
But surely, Chen Mansion had not anticipated that they would receive help from a Noble Lady, and now, they had even bought the Chen Mansion.
All these servants were bought personally by Steward Lin, at the Princess Consort’s command; the deeds of sale were exactly what Manager Chai had seen earlier.
All the men were strong and muscular, the maids looked smart and capable, and there was an old steward, very respectful and absolutely loyal.
The two of them normally had attendants. Lou Zixi’s attendant student was also a gift from the Princess Consort, trained from a young age in martial arts and very clever.
They didn’t feel they needed protection, but it was difficult to refuse the Princess Consort’s kind intentions, and now seeing these carefully selected servants, they felt even more grateful.
Saying they would move, Manager Chai and Lou Zixi led their servants in a majestic procession toward Chen Mansion.
Unexpectedly, the Chen family had not yet moved out. The door was tightly shut. Their several servants forcefully broke open the door, and the people inside began cursing loudly, attracting many onlookers.
The wicked servants of the Chen family accused them first, saying that they had stormed the mansion of a Capital City official and threatened to take legal actions.
Without a second thought, Manager Chai took out the deed and said,
“Everyone look carefully. We have the deed to this mansion here. The Chen family sold the house but didn’t move out; that makes no sense. We are here to evict them, and if we can’t, we’ll be the ones to call the officials.”
The crowd, seeing this, began to loudly criticize the Chen family.
Manager Chai and Lou Zixi then learned what had happened. Apparently, a few days ago, Lord Chen’s only son, Chen Wenyi, was at a brothel fighting over an oiran while drunk, and a brawl broke out. In the chaos, Chen Wenyi’s servant pushed someone off the building, who died instantly upon hitting the ground.
The deceased was from a powerful family. Though Lord Chen was only an eighth-rank official, he was impeached and removed from office the next day.
Although Chen Wenyi didn’t go to prison, thanks to his servant taking the blame, he ended up crippled by the retaliation of the victim’s family. They said when the Chen family found him, he was barely breathing, castrated, and his legs smashed to pieces, twisted horribly—truly a fate worse than death.
In desperation, Lord Chen hurried to sell the mansion, hoping to return to his hometown to avoid disaster and also to raise money for Chen Wenyi’s treatment.
But just after the mansion was sold and the silver obtained, it was stolen by river pirates, leaving them without even the funds to leave the Capital. Thus, they failed to move out in time.
Manager Chai and Lou Zixi felt a great sense of justice served. The Princess Consort surely knew about this but didn’t let the Chen family leave, likely so the two of them could witness the miserable state of the Chen family.
Lou Zixi exhaled a turbid breath, feeling a sense of relief wash over him.
He still remembered the disdainful and repulsive looks from the Chen Family from the beginning. If it weren’t for Manager Chai’s willingness to manage their shop for free, and his own status as a scholar with potential prospects, the Chen Family would never have considered taking them in.
But no sooner had they agreed to take the two in than, after Lou Zixi had merely helped Miss Cousin of the Chen Family who nearly fell, Chen Wenyi saw it, flew into a rage immediately, and ordered his evil servants to drag him out and brutally beat him, intentionally breaking one of his legs.
“Let’s see how you sit for the imperial examinations with a broken leg! Pah! What lowly trash, daring to entice my cousin; I’ll make sure your life is worse than death!”
Lou Zixi still remembered the fierce look on Chen Wenyi’s face that day.
If it weren’t for the Princess Consort, his life would have been ruined, indeed, making living as good as being dead.
The Princess Consort was his eternal benefactor.
Lou Zixi instructed the servants behind him, “Drive out all the Chen Family people.”
He quite wanted to see the appearance of Chen Wenyi looking like a dog that has lost his home.
The Chen family members were cursing and shouting inside, but since most of the servants in the house had been sold off, and the remaining were no match for these servants, it didn’t take long before the Chen Family members were driven out, clanging and clattering, with pots and pans thrown out after them.
“How outrageous! How outrageous!”
Old Master Chen was so angry his face turned red and his neck swelled, becoming extremely upset.
The female family members behind him cried and wailed, particularly Old Madam Chen, who clutched at her chest as if she might faint at any moment.
It was then that Old Madam Chen noticed Manager Chai and Lou Zixi.
The two were no longer the skinny figures of the past. Their robes, made of material even the Chen Family couldn’t afford back then, showed they frequently interacted with high officials and noblemen, their demeanor reserved, clearly not of ordinary folk.
“It was you! You bought our estate?”
Old Madam Chen recognized Manager Chai because he had originally sought refuge with her, as she was his mother’s cousin, making her his maternal aunt by relationship, within the fifth degree of kinship.
Otherwise, Manager Chai would have felt ashamed to bring someone to seek refuge with her.
But that day, Old Madam Chen looked down at him discerningly, as if the mud on his shoes dirtied the floor of Chen Mansion, stating although she and his mother were cousins, their ages differed by a generation, and they had only met a few times. This made him feel like anyone could come seeking favors from her.
Manager Chai felt extremely embarrassed that day, remembering how his family had not suffered a flood disaster in the past, his mother would have him send gifts to the Chen Mansion in the Capital every year-end, insisting on not forgetting their manners.
Yet Old Madam Chen treated them like they were just fortune-seeking, disdaining them as much as she could.
After Chen Wenyi broke Lou Zixi’s leg, Manager Chai had pleaded with Old Madam Chen, but she just scoffed:
“It seems the scholar has gone mad with poverty. He no sooner entered our mansion than he began flirting with our cousin Miss. Look at his own sorry state! My grandson did rightly; such a person, even if beaten to death, deserves it!”
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Not to mention offering some silver for medical treatment or finding a reliable physician, she didn’t even offer an apology, instead blaming Lou Zixi for the incident.
It was actually the cousin Miss who, finding Lou Zixi handsome, had glanced over at him several times, accidentally twisted her foot, and stumbled towards him. Lou Zixi couldn’t just push her away, so he helped her, which led to the unfortunate incident.
But that moment, Old Madam Chen excitedly said: “Chai Tuo, I hear you are with Prince Ling’s Mansion and have earned quite a bit of silver under Princess Consort Ling. Hurry, return the deed to our house, and go find a good physician for Wenyi’s injuries. After all, Wenyi is your nephew! You can’t just ignore him!”
