Outside in the courtyard, a few servants were still washing vegetables, boiling water, cooking meat, and hauling firewood...
In short, the celebration of Jiang Ziya's wedding had thrown the entire Song Mansion into a frenzy. Every servant in sight was rushing about in a panic.
Lu Chuan headed for the latrine. The farther back he went, the fewer people he saw.
Since it was a wedding celebration, everyone's attention was naturally on the day's star, Jiang Ziya. Most of the guests were gathered in the front courtyard, too.
Aside from those who urgently needed to relieve themselves, hardly anyone came to this latrine.
Lu Chuan had not gone far when he looked around and saw that there was no one in sight.
"Just as I expected."
A glint flashed in Lu Chuan's eyes. He kept walking, but turned aside and headed straight for a courtyard behind the kitchen.
Lu Chuan remembered that no one seemed to live in this courtyard. It was usually used as a storeroom for the Song family's kitchen, and held food, vegetables, and the like.
The courtyard gate was ajar. Lu Chuan did not go straight in. Instead, he crouched by the narrow gap and peered inside.
There was a large tree in the courtyard, and, sure enough, nobody was there. Tied beneath the tree was a huge black dog, about the size of a calf.
The dog was pitch-black from head to toe, without a single stray hair of another color. Its coat was smooth and glossy as satin.
It was even a little larger than a real wolf and looked vicious enough to scare most people away on sight.
"Crack... crack..."
Crouched beneath the tree, it pinned the piece of ox bone with its strong forepaws and chewed it with loud crunches.
Suddenly, as if it sensed something, its ears twitched, and it warily looked toward the gate.
Lu Chuan stared at the black dog, pushed open the gate, then shut it behind him. He reached for the knife tucked at his lower back.
The front courtyard.
The wedding ceremony continued. The bride and groom had bowed to Heaven and Earth and completed their rites as husband and wife; now the bride had been escorted to the bridal chamber.
It was already noon, and the feast had begun. Jiang Ziya was making the rounds, offering wine to the guests.
Lu Liang found a moment to slip away and look for Lu Chuan so they could eat together. But Lu Chuan was nowhere to be found in the kitchen. He was told Lu Chuan had gone to the latrine, but Lu Liang did not find him there, either.
Lu Liang thought, That brat said he'd help out in the kitchen. How did he disappear in the blink of an eye?
As he wondered, he caught sight of Lu Chuan sneaking toward the front courtyard with both arms around one of the small wine jars used at the banquet, now scattered all over the ground.
"Chuan'er!"
Lu Liang called out, but when Lu Chuan heard him, he didn't stop. Instead, he hurried even faster toward the front courtyard.
Lu Liang froze for a moment, then strode after him.
Dozens of banquet tables filled the front courtyard. It was bustling with noise, and servers carrying dishes and guests coming and going crisscrossed between the tables. There was no sign of Lu Chuan.
"What's that brat up to now?"
Lu Liang's eyes grew dizzy as he searched. Unable to find him, he had no way to chase after him, so he gave up and turned back to help with the banquet.
Still, he kept an eye out for Lu Chuan.
Before long, he saw Lu Chuan appear at the main gate. After cautiously checking the courtyard and making sure no one was watching, he slipped inside and headed for his room.
"That boy... why's he acting like a thief?"
Lu Liang shook his head with an amused smile. He assumed Lu Chuan was just fooling around and decided to leave him be.
But then, as if something occurred to him, his expression changed. He hurried after Lu Chuan.
Inside the room.
Lu Chuan came in and quickly shut the door. Leaning against it, he let out a long breath, then went over and poured himself a cup of water.
Sweat beaded his forehead and the tip of his nose, but his face held a hint of excitement and satisfaction.
Thud!
After drinking, Lu Chuan went to the bed and flopped down. In moments, he was drenched in sweat.
Thud!
Suddenly, someone kicked open his door and strode in.
Lu Chuan was about to get angry at the person for barging in so rudely, but when he saw who it was, he immediately stood up with a smile. "Father, you... what brings you here?"
"Where did you go just now?"
Lu Liang asked, searching the room with his eyes.
"I didn't go anywhere. I went to the latrine, then came back to sleep. You woke me up," Lu Chuan said with a smile.
"Is that so?"
Lu Liang found nothing. He went over and sat on the bed, then asked Lu Chuan, "Chuan'er, did you 'take' something from the Song Mansion?"
He put extra emphasis on the word "take."
"Take something?"
Lu Chuan was startled at first, but Lu Liang's scrutinizing gaze made him quickly understand what he meant. "You're saying I stole something, right?"
Lu Liang looked taken aback, but said nothing, tacitly confirming it.
"No!" Lu Chuan said. "Father, how could I be a thief? You can't accuse me out of nowhere without any proof."
Seeing that Lu Chuan wouldn't admit it, Lu Liang's expression darkened. He thought for a moment, then said, "That little wine jar you were carrying..."
"I picked it up off the ground."
Lu Chuan smiled. "Didn't you see wine jars thrown all over the ground outside? Everyone's helping clean up. If taking a piece of rubbish they don't want counts as stealing, then I have nothing to say."
"You..."
Lu Liang said gravely, "I'm asking what was inside the jar, and why you sneaked out of the mansion."
"I didn't do anything. I just helped throw away a jar."
Lu Chuan said impatiently, "If you don't believe me, I'll go get it back right now. How's that?"
Lu Liang fell silent.
Lu Chuan was getting fed up with the questions, too. He sat down in the room, fuming. He hadn't been a thief; he'd just played the part of a dog butcher for once.
"Chuan'er, your father may not amount to much, but I can provide for you. Whatever you need, just tell me. You're my only son. What wouldn't I give you?"
After father and son had been locked in a stalemate for a while, Lu Liang tried to reason with him. "If you really did something wrong, then it's because I didn't raise you right. We still have a chance to fix this before anyone finds out. Otherwise, if this blows up..."
Lu Chuan cut him off. "I didn't steal anything. Stop imagining things."
Fix it?
There was no fixing it. How could he make it right after the dog was dead?
Besides, if he hadn't killed the dog, his own life would have been in danger. He hadn't forgotten what those bastards had said. They had only stopped short of forcing him to fight the dog today because it was Jiang Ziya's wedding.
If he didn't butcher that dog, they would definitely force him to fight the vicious beast another day...
Honestly, if he hadn't had a knife, he wouldn't have stood a chance against that huge black dog. It was like a starving wolf the size of a calf. If he got hurt and caught rabies, would he even survive?
"Then... all right!"
Lu Liang stood up and said, "Chuan'er, remember, though we're poor, we still have our pride. Don't pick up any bad habits."
"I'll remember."
Lu Chuan watched him leave with a smile, then sighed. "I don't want to stay in this Song Mansion another moment."
"Tonight, I'll go see Jiang Ziya again as planned. If he won't take me in, I'll find another master..."
This world put great importance on loyalty: ministers were loyal to their ruler, servants to their master. If a ruler ordered a minister to die, then refusing meant being disloyal. Lu Chuan had already seen some of that in Lu Liang.
So he would wait until he'd made something of himself and then make sure Lu Liang no longer had to serve as a servant. Maybe that would cure him of the habit.
After deciding, he changed out of the clothes torn by the dog's claws. They were badly ripped, and his hands had a few cuts, but he had injured himself while hacking at the dog with his knife; the dog hadn't hurt him.
He'd aimed a few blows at the dog's head, and the knife had been battered until its edge curled.
Once he had finished, Lu Chuan went to bed to rest up for the plan he would soon put into action.
The banquet lasted until dusk.
Jiang Ziya, a little tipsy, stood at the main gate with Song Yiren to see off the guests.
Song Yu and a few friends had also drunk their fill. They prepared to leave, saying their goodbyes around a table in the front courtyard.
Young Master Wang staggered off to the courtyard behind the kitchen to retrieve his dog.
But when he pushed open the gate and saw the courtyard, he shook his head. Then he suddenly jolted, his drunkenness vanishing in an instant. He shouted, "Where's my dog?"
The courtyard was empty. The rope that had been tied to the tree was still there, but the black dog was nowhere to be seen.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
Song Yu and the others heard his cry and hurried over to ask.
When they saw the courtyard, they were stunned, too. Thinking their eyes were playing tricks on them, they rubbed them, but the courtyard was still empty.
"Song Yu, where's my dog? I spent fifty taels of silver on him, and I've been raising him for half a year..."
"This..."
Song Yu couldn't make heads or tails of it. He quickly said, "Brother Wang, don't worry. I'll have people search the whole mansion right away..."
The others quickly joined in, helping to calm Young Master Wang down.
Song Yu called for Lu Liang to gather the servants, and they began searching the entire mansion for the black dog.
When he heard about it, Lu Liang immediately thought of Lu Chuan and the clothes torn to shreds on his body.
Could Chuan'er have stolen someone's dog?
Lu Liang's heart jumped, but then he remembered that when Lu Chuan had left, he'd only been carrying a small jar. How could he have fit a dog the size of a calf inside it?
That thought put Lu Liang somewhat at ease.
After assigning tasks to the servants, he quietly went to Lu Chuan's room. The little jar couldn't have carried the dog away, but he still wasn't entirely reassured. He needed to check for himself.
But when he got there, Lu Chuan was already gone. A few of his clothes had disappeared as well.
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