Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 146 - 117: In That Year of ’49, The Current State of the Lu Family

Chapter 146: Chapter 117: In That Year of ’49, The Current State of the Lu Family

Lu Chang’sheng was, of course, gracious as always.

Once everyone had left, he suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a crystal-clear pill, placing it back into the jade bottle.

Given his current strength, he could wrap the pill with his True Qi, so it wouldn’t be contaminated by saliva.

This technique was beyond anyone’s expectations, so naturally, they had no reason for suspicion.

In Lu Chang’sheng’s view, human nature is unpredictable; he would never risk testing everyone’s character with a Longevity Pill.

So, he could only apologize for that.

He glanced back at where Nangua had vanished, then carefully put away the Sound Transmission Shell and left, step by step.

Sure enough, just as he’d predicted, no ill news came out of Jinghua Prefecture.

If that female emperor wanted to deal with an Innate Martial Artist like him, she’d have to marshal a massive force of elite troops to encircle him, and deploy heavy siege engines as her weapons.

Yet, based on the strength he’d displayed back then, she’d need to send at least a hundred thousand elites, or else there’d be no way of restraining him.

Even with a hundred thousand, there was no guarantee he’d be caught.

So, that empress was no fool; she wouldn’t be stupid enough to push him to the other side.

The last trace of worry disappeared from Lu Chang’sheng’s heart.

As long as he had no designs on her throne, she probably wouldn’t act rashly against him.

Back home, Lu Chang’sheng called a family meeting, announcing Li Nangua’s journey to the Spirit Realm.

Of course, only Big Brother Lu Haozi, Mr. and Mrs. Lu, and his eldest son Lu Chang’an were informed.

The others remained in the dark.

He declared this a Lu Family secret—unless permitted, it must not be spread, or family rules would mete out punishment.

Over these years, Big Brother Lu Haozi had wallowed in women, taking more than ten concubines in succession, and adding over a dozen new children to the Lu Family.

Even though Mr. and Mrs. Lu believed that more children meant more fortune, they found this quite a headache too.

And this was just counting the boys—if you added the girls, the number would be even higher.

Lu Chang’sheng looked at his now much thinner big brother, trying to talk him around for a long time but to no avail—you can’t exactly tie the man down to stop him from having more kids, can you?

Fortunately, the Lu Mansion no longer lacked for silver coins, so a few dozen extra mouths weren’t really a big problem.

At this, Lu Haozi was quite pleased with himself, thinking: I must ensure the Lu Family branches out and flourishes, even if it costs me my health.

He never meant to compete with Lu Chang’sheng’s descendants for the family fortune; he simply thought, with the Lu Mansion well-off now, if the two of them only had three children each, just how long would it take for the clan to grow strong?

Lu Haozi wasn’t cut out for big enterprises, but he still wanted to give his all for the clan’s growth.

Having lived through war and famine, Lu Haozi knew the trials of having too few kin.

He understood Lu Chang’sheng’s worries, so he personally found him, solemnly declaring, "Back then, I watched our elder brothers waste away and die. Father, afraid the Lu Family would die out, made Mother guard me day and night until you were born—only then did he breathe easy. Now, while I’m still useful, let me do a bit more for the Lu Family."

When he finished, he also hoped that Lu Chang’sheng would take on a few more concubines, in order to help the clan thrive.

Otherwise, such good stock would be wasted for nothing.

Looking at his big brother’s serious face, Lu Chang’sheng couldn’t tell if it was because of some outside influence or if this was a side of Haozi he’d always hidden. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Thinking it over, he supposed it wasn’t a bad thing for the Lu Family, so he let Haozi be.

He simply warned him to show a bit of restraint and not ruin his body.

As for concubines?

Lu Chang’sheng simply had no interest. It wasn’t that he had no desires; it was just that he had a certain scrupulousness in matters of the heart—unless he met someone who truly moved him, he wasn’t that enthusiastic.

Lu Haozi nodded.

Seemingly emboldened by Lu Chang’sheng’s approval, he took concubines at an even faster rate.

In a flash, ten years swept by.

In those ten years, aside from that female emperor ascending her throne with much fanfare, there were few events of real prominence.

But for the Lu Mansion, a great deal had changed.

After more than two decades of growth, the name Zhao Family Village had gradually faded, replaced by Lu Family Manor.

Four years ago, Lu Chang’an passed the Advanced Scholar exam, causing a stir throughout Black Mountain Prefecture.

The once all-but-forgotten Scholar Lu was brought back up among the populace.

His legendary riddle-solving feat on the Ruilong River was once more talked about as one of the great tales of the Lantern Festival.

Countless people remarked: Like father, like son—two Advanced Scholars in one house.

Unlike Lu Chang’sheng, Lu Chang’an chose the official’s path, and, aided by the likes of Wang Heihou and Niu Dazhuang, devoted himself to reading, preparing for the upcoming Metropolitan Exam.

His prospects looked bright as day.

Xu Yuan, now a central figure in Jinghua Prefecture, even made the trip to Black Mountain Prefecture’s city to personally accept Lu Chang’an as his student.

Lu Chang’sheng knew this was, in large part, because of his own reputation, but he didn’t mind Xu Yuan’s approach.

As long as it didn’t interfere with his martial or cultivation practice, he didn’t care.

Embracing power was nothing to be ashamed of.

Seeing Lu Chang’sheng had no objections, Xu Yuan was overjoyed, and several days later, arrived with a large entourage to pay his respects.

Several dozen, at least a dozen, carriages rolled grandly from Black Mountain Prefecture’s city—half the region was left in shock.

From then on, Lu Family Manor became a very special place indeed.

That empress, so delighted, ordered Black Mountain Prefecture’s new governor to build a road straight to the Lu Family Manor.