Lu Wan didn't say any word as he entered the building. Following Lu Wan, Ye Jiao could see a finely decorated room with a table filled with food in the middle. It has refreshing cream color on the wall, but the tense atmosphere coming from the center destroyed everything.
"Father, Second Brother is here," Lu Zhi gave her greeting.
Ye Jiao secretly raised her head slightly as she moved to the side. The servant's position was at the edge of the room, far away from the main table. She could see a middle aged man sitting at the other side of the room. He has fine countenance with dark brown hair and well maintained moustache. His robe was well decorated with golden thread, showing his status as the prime minister and the king's right hand.
Lu Changqing.
Ye Jiao has heard a lot of words regarding this man from her mother when she studied the kingdom's history. It was known that he was a man of rules and always followed after them so strictly that he was nicknamed as rules dictionary. He was a good prime minister with countless knowledge but he was never a good father in his family.
'Senior Brother Lu looks stand out here… why is his hair look very different?'
Ye Jiao had never realized it before, but the Lu Family mostly had brown to black hair. Other than Lu Wan, there was no one else who had the same hair color. Did her senior brother color it?
She had never seen him do that, so she doubted it.
"Father," Lu Wan called in a flat tone as he bowed slightly as per the rules.
Lu Changqing pointed to the chair near Lu Zhi. "Sit down."
"Yes, Father."
As soon as Lu Wan sat down, the room was filled with great pressure coming from the prime minister. Lu Changqing tapped the table.
"I received the report of your activities for the past year from the butler and it seems, you're all doing very bad this year."
Past year?
Ye Jiao was stunned to hear the man's words. Did it mean he neglected his children for a year and only met them afterwards? Was he truly a father? She knew that he was not a good father, but she had never heard of a father ignoring his children for an entire year.
Well, there might be other people like him out there, but she didn't know any.
The three of them didn't reply as they just waited for their father to speak. The stifling atmosphere intensified as many of the servants were trembling.
"Lu Su, it's already the time for you to take over my work. The amount of paperwork you do for the past year is still insufficient, so increase it."
"Yes, Father."
"Lu Wan, you should train harder. The imperial family is waiting for you to perform well in the hunt alongside with the other two."
Lu Wan's expression didn't change as he replied. "Yes, Father."
"Lu Zhi, you might have secured your engagement, but it doesn't mean you can neglect your training. You're already 13 years old, it's shameful that you haven't formed your core yet."
"Yes, Father."
The three of them didn't refute their father's words as they took everything up and just agreed right away. Even from the side, Ye Jiao felt suffocated when she heard the instruction. It seemed as if they were attending the court and the subjects were not allowed to do any mistake.
Afterwards, Lu Changqing still gave more instruction, but Ye Jiao didn't listen to him anymore. She felt sick listening to how he treated his children. Even though she had seen Mu Xin and her father looked like the military, their lunch and dinner were always filled with warmth.
Here, she couldn't sense it at all.
After Lu Changqing finished giving his instruction, he started lunch. "Start eating."
"Yes, Father."
The way they ate was extremely refined. It was clear that they had been taught how to handle proper manners when they were eating as they didn't make any mistakes whatsoever.
Lu Changqing finished eating first and left the dining hall because he still has work to do. Once he left, the stifling atmosphere suddenly turned murderous.
"Lu Wan."
"What is it?" Lu Wan asked with his hand still holding a pair of chopsticks. His expression was no longer expressionless like before, but it was one that showed his dissatisfaction.
"The matter of the challenge has been resolved, but you still have to mend your relationship with Wei Cheng," Lu Su remarked. "It's almost time for Spring Hunt, so it'll be better to keep amiable relationships."
"I'm doing whatever I want, Lu Su. You don't have the right to dictate me," Lu Wan replied.
"Lu Wan!"
"If you're just worrying about the family's honor, there's no need to worry. I'll deal with it using my way and there won't be any news of this matter after I have finished," Lu Wan replied.
Lu Su sighed. "Fine, I hope I can hear good news from you."
"Yeah, yeah."
Afterwards, Lu Su turned his head to Lu Zhi. "Lu Zhi, I heard that you spend time alone with your fiancé yesterday? Even though you're engaged, it's still not right to spend time with men alone."
"I'm not alone. There are servants around us."
"Lu Zhi, do you want to hear gossip…?"
Lu Wan stood up as he was not interested to hear the two of them clash. "I'm full, so I'll be going first."
Without waiting for the other's answer, he walked out of the room. Ye Jiao sneaked a glance at the other two as she saw a hint of helplessness in Lu Su's eyes and hint of killing intent in Lu Zhi's eyes.
Were they truly family?
She didn't understand why family members would try to kill one another like that. In her eyes, family was those who would stay together no matter what happened. This Lu Family was simply too much.