The Grand Secretary's Child-Raising Diary

A son born out of wedlock, relying on his limited education and a minor official position in the court, dared to disregard his legal mother. Now look what happened; arrogance always has its consequences, and in the end, it was the small fry in the river who benefited.

"I've already had someone calculate it. That brat is destined to be a lone star, and he's already killed his parents. If he stays in the manor, he might endanger the Lord."

The only way now is to send him to a temple outside the city, where he can eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist prayers every day to atone for his sins in his past life.

What's the point of having those gold, silver, and other worldly possessions then?

Hearing that Madam Qin was indeed not going to let Lu Youning go, Madam Sun felt a sense of relief despite her grief and indignation. Fortunately, she had sent Madam Zhang away in time. Madam Zhang was a kind-hearted person who treated the Third Young Master as her own child. When the Second Master was around, she was overstepping her bounds, but when the Second Master was not around, she was a lifesaver for the Third Young Master.

The money that ends up in Zhang's hands will eventually be used for the Third Young Master, and she will not have failed the Second Master's trust.

Having achieved her purpose at Songtao Courtyard today, Qin Shi was too lazy to stay any longer. She instructed Granny Lai, "Tie them up and lock them up in this courtyard for now. Once the commotion over that person's burial has passed, send them wherever they need to go."

Thinking that her son had gotten a young, unmarried woman for free, Granny Lai couldn't stop smiling and followed Qin Shi fawningly, saying, "Don't worry, Madam, I'll take good care of things here."

Lu Youning hid in the shadows and took in everything that happened at Songtao Courtyard.

Qin said he was a cursed lone star, and her repeated insistence on sending him to a temple inexplicably overlapped with some scenes from his past life. For a moment, Lu Youning was in a daze, almost doubting that everything in this life was just a pipe dream as he was about to die.

He was still the same Lu Youning, who was seriously ill. He didn't have a father named Lu Shiyan who would beat him silver fish. Everything was a fabrication of his.

This feeling is really bad, so bad that it makes you have a crazy thought of destroying the world.

Fortunately, this daze didn't last long, and Ren Dong's suppressed sobs brought Lu Youning back to her senses.

Lifting his aching legs from running all the way, he emerged from his hiding place. Mother Sun was the first to see him. Afraid of alerting the old woman guarding the gate, Mother Sun could only watch with tearful eyes as her poor young master walked towards her step by step.

Honeysuckle and Half Summer finally spotted Lu Youning, but no matter how scared they were, they tacitly refrained from shouting.

Lu Youning silently went to untie the ropes binding the three people. Sun Mama, unable to comfort the child, could only explain the arrangements she had made as clearly as possible:

"Third Young Master, listen to what Aunt Sun said. I've asked the wet nurse to take Dendrobium and Coltsfoot to find a place to settle them. Don't be afraid, they'll come back for you. Don't be afraid, my good child."

Lu Youning wasn't afraid at all; he was just angry. He was angry at the swollen and ulcerated skin on the faces of Granny Sun and the others, angry at the chaotic state of Songtao Courtyard, angry that God wouldn't give him any way out, and angry at how unlucky he was.

After untying the ropes binding Sun Mama and the other two, Lu Youning turned and went into Lu Shiyan's study. From a hidden compartment known only to him and the owner of the study, he took out the indentures of Sun Mama and the others.

"You are government slaves, and your slave status cannot be removed, but since we can't find your indentures, no one dares to sell you. Take your indentures and go find Zhang Mama first when night falls; I'll be there shortly after."

Madam Sun immediately rejected the idea: "No, Second Master entrusted you to us. How could we possibly leave you alone in this den of wolves? Third Young Master, if you want to leave, we'll leave together."

Lu Youning shook his head, and with a composure beyond his years, said each word clearly: "No, Father's funeral is tomorrow, and I want to see him off on his final journey."

Ren Dong had been holding back for a long time. The story of Granny Lai's family was no secret in the Cheng'en Earl's Mansion. The thought of being forced to marry such a person terrified her. At this moment, she cried and said, "Third Young Master, please come with us. Second Master loved you so much. He won't blame you if he's in heaven."

Lu Youning patiently said, "You can't help me if you stay here. Don't forget, I'm still studying at Chongwen Academy. If I don't return for a few days, the teachers at the academy will definitely ask about it."

Even if they were to send me to a temple, Qin would first have to figure out a way to deal with Chongwen Academy. In this time, I would definitely find a chance to run away and find you. Even if I were really sent to a temple, you would still be able to come and find me.

Madam Sun looked closely at Lu Youning and said with a sob, "Third Young Master, you've grown up."

Lu Youning: Yes, he's an adult now.

The bolder a person is, the greater the things they can accomplish. When Ren Dong struck the gatekeeper's head, she showed no mercy. She was even afraid that she wouldn't have enough strength and that the woman might wake up at any moment, so she struck her again.

As they opened the courtyard gate, Grandma Sun and the others looked at Lu Youning with some reluctance.

Lu Youning, however, didn't bother to chat with them about anything else: "Be careful to avoid the servants on night watch, go directly to the lotus pond in the backyard, there's a dog hole near the west corner of the wall that's blocked by a stone, go through there."

After Sun Mama and the others disappeared into the night, Lu Youning stood in Songtao Courtyard for a while, then took out a tinderbox from Lu Shiyan's study and turned to leave.

The fire in the front courtyard of the Earl's mansion burned for a full quarter of an hour, and the servants who were supposed to be guarding the mourning hall but were hiding somewhere and sleeping did not notice.

The mourning hall was made up of paper effigies, and when the paper burned, the fire spread rapidly, quickly igniting the front hall, then the mourning banners and lanterns hanging under the eaves.

The flames burned brighter and brighter, leaping higher and higher. Lu Youning stood in the middle of the sea of ​​fire, holding his adoptive father's memorial tablet in his arms. The more he looked at it, the happier he became. He had fantasized about such a scene many times in his previous life.

The entire funeral hall was engulfed in flames. Finally, someone noticed and cried out in terror, "Fire! Fire! Someone come quick!"

Lu Chong had been resting in the front yard. When he was awakened by the noise, he felt as if he had been soaked in water. "What happened? What's going on?"

Lu Xin rushed in in a panic, grabbed Lu Chong and dragged him outside: "Lord, hurry up! The mourning hall in front is on fire, and the fire is so big that it looks like it's going to spread all the way here. You should go to the madam's courtyard in the back to take shelter."

Lu Chong was dragged along in a daze. He didn't know how big the fire was. When he looked up, he saw that the sky above the Chengen Earl's Mansion was a crimson red.

Xiao Shunzi led the Imperial Guards as fast as they could, but when they saw that half of the sky above the Chengen Earl's mansion had turned red, they sighed inwardly, "It's all over."

"Quickly, quickly, General Ning, go ahead and bring Young Master Lu out, otherwise we and the Imperial Guards who are guarding the palace gates today will all die."

Before he finished speaking, a man and a horse had already leaped out.

At this moment, in the Chengen Earl's residence, Madam Qin, wearing an outer robe, looked at the fire spreading in the distance and exclaimed in panic, "What's going on? How could there be a fire? Where are the fire brigade? Why is no one putting out the fire?"

Madam Cui rushed over: "The mourning hall in front suddenly caught fire. There were many funeral items piled up there, and once the fire started, it was out of control."

Seeing that the fire was about to destroy the century-old foundation of the Chengen Marquis's mansion, Madam Qin was nearly driven mad: "That jinx, even though he's dead, he still comes to harm us. Is he going to make everyone in the mansion homeless?"

Lu Chong stood there, stunned, feeling as if their Lu family was just like this mansion that had been mercilessly devoured by the fire serpent, with no end in sight.

It was Cui who proved somewhat useful, loudly organizing the maids, servants, and young men to fetch water and put out the fire, at least until the fire brigade arrived.

The capital city was quite safe. As soon as the fire started, the fire brigade packed up their things and rushed over. But they were entangled by the neighbors of the Chengen Earl's Mansion as soon as they arrived.