Chapter 52: Congratulations and Divorce Letter, Sign It

Guests gathered outside Yansheng Hall. The servants in the mansion greeted them and waited for Cheng Xianzhi and Gongsun Xue to arrive. Gongsun Xue changed into a snow fox fur dress again. The dress shone with a faint luster, showing her luxury and elegance. She also paired it with a flower skirt embroidered with silver thread.

Standing together with the noble and aloof Cheng Xianzhi, they were a perfect match, the envy of others.

"Dalan has abolished the position of Shangshu for decades. Now that Your Majesty has just established the position of Shangshu, he has given such an important task to Shangshu Cheng. He wants to entrust him with an important task. The vision of Zhongshu Ling in selecting disciples and good sons-in-law is unique." The new Minister of Revenue Liu Baiqi praised.

"Minister Liu is joking. As a father, I'm naturally delighted that Minister Cheng and my daughter are able to treat each other as equals."

"That's right," Liu Baiqi continued, "but your daughter has been married to Minister Cheng for half a year, so why hasn't there been any happy news yet?"

Liu Baiqi hinted at something, but Gongsun Yin remained calm. This kind of topic shouldn't be brought up by a man. Liu Baiqi tried to pry, but Gongsun Yin dismissed him with a few words, "Young people have their own plans. If parents interfere too much, the end result might be separation between father and daughter, or even a severance of ties."

"Lu Pushe, am I right?" Gongsun Yin shifted the blame to someone else, implying that Lu Mingqian was willing to sacrifice his daughter as a sacrifice to please the empress dowager and become her pawn. However, everyone in the court knew about this chess game. Lu Tingwan was willing to be punished for Cheng Xianzhi's intercession in front of the emperor.

Lu Mingqian's mouth twitched, but he maintained his composure and looked towards the two people in the main seat. "What the Minister of the Central Secretariat said is absolutely true. Minister Cheng and his wife are in love. I just wonder if your daughter asked you to go before the emperor to clear his name when Minister Cheng was imprisoned."

"My daughter is not in Minister Cheng's eyes, but my heart is sincere to him. With time, the water will wear away the stone, and my true feelings will be revealed."

From Gongsun Yin's expression, Lu Mingqian knew that he had the upper hand. It seemed that this shrewd and calculating Minister of the Central Secretariat was not as unmoved as usual. At least the relationship between Gongsun Xue and Cheng Xianzhi was not as unbreakable as the outside world said.

As for the extent of this affection, Lu Mingqian couldn't figure it out, Gongsun Yin was also unsure, and even Gongsun Xue could only choose to believe that Cheng Xianzhi and herself had feelings for each other after repeated doubts.

Wherever her eyes fell, she saw the young man that everyone admired. He was right beside her. With just a raise of her hand, she could put her arm around his and share the glory with him.

But she didn't dare. The urge to go forward drove her forward. However, Cheng Xianzhi exuded a worldly air that was not affected by love. Compared to facing the support and congratulations of hundreds of officials, her love seemed so insignificant and tiny.

Even if he could turn his head and give her a look at this moment, Gongsun Xue would be able to muster up the courage to hold his arm.

That glance passed through the crowd and captured it silently.

After a long time, Lu Tingwan finally arrived at an inconspicuous place on the table. She was also looking for someone in the crowd.

But wherever she passed by, she would attract the attention of people around her. Others only knew that there was a beautiful woman named Gongsun Xue in the Cheng Mansion, but they had no idea what the concubine girl from the Lu family looked like.

Many young men of similar age came to offer flowers to Lu Tingwan. They picked up the flowers on the table and handed them to Lu Tingwan. Lu Tingwan was anxious to find someone and did not pay attention to the actions of others. His view was blocked by the flowers handed to him.

She couldn't help but stop and look at the person who handed her the flowers. This person was the eldest son of the Minister of Honglu Temple.

When he first met Lu Tingwan, he was inevitably attracted by her appearance. He said politely, "I am not talented enough to meet you alone. I wonder where you are from? If you don't mind, I would like to accompany you for a drink and write poetry."

Lu Tingwan glanced at it casually and didn't take it seriously: "I'm not good at drinking and writing poetry, but I do have some interest in appreciating flowers and enjoying their fragrance. However, most of the flowers that can be seen in this winter are hard to come by, and there are no flowers worth appreciating in the Shangshu Mansion. I am afraid it will spoil this young master's leisure."

Seeing that she was easy to talk to, not out of reach, and knew how to be polite and approachable, the boy wanted to negotiate further.

"I think the lady's outfit is very stunning and unique. This kind of makeup combination is not popular among the noble ladies in Kyoto. It is neither too complicated nor too colorful. It is like a wonderful sight in winter, and also like a ray of warm sunshine." The man rubbed his chest, and his contempt gradually became apparent.

"I was inadvertently mesmerized by this ray of sunlight. Since the young lady has no interest in reciting poems or writing essays, then she must be involved in makeup and hairpins, otherwise she wouldn't have such superb and exquisite skills."

Lu Tingwan was overwhelmed by what she heard. She had seen this kind of conversational tactics many times before. "Sir, even a regular at Chunfeng Tower could easily say what you said. Since you know so much about makeup, could it be that you are also a regular at Chunfeng Tower?"

"You..." The man was speechless.

There was a young lady from a noble family who knew Lu Tingwan, but she didn't know she was Lu Tingwan.

Seeing her dealing with others, he came over to help her out: "Isn't this Shopkeeper Jiang and Mr. He? The Cheng family actually invited Shopkeeper Jiang as well."

Mr. He felt so ashamed by Lu Tingwan's words. At the moment, there were other young ladies around, so he could only bow and leave in disappointment, but his eyes were full of reluctance.

Miss Liu from the Minister of Rites's family gathered around, looking at them with admiration. "It was Shopkeeper Jiang who redressed the farmers' grievances at the Ministry of Justice. It's no surprise that Lord Cheng has been promoted to the position of Minister and asked Shopkeeper Jiang to come."

Lu Tingwan knew that it was difficult to conceal his identity any longer, so he did not argue and let others talk, just to avoid disturbing the person in the main seat.

"Ladies, it's been a while since we last met. Zhichunli has recently launched several new body lotions. If you don't mind, Jiang Yanli will personally put makeup on you on a certain day."

"That's great. I went to Zhichunli several times before and wanted you to try makeup for me, but the people in the store said you were sick. I didn't expect to see you at Cheng's house today." Miss Liu took Lu Tingwan's arm and pulled her aside.

Several young ladies observed Lu Tingwan's makeup and hair accessories, and couldn't help but ask for her advice. Lu Tingwan described the techniques in detail and discussed the color matching. The young ladies listened with great interest. More and more people gathered around, and the chatter caught the attention of the host.

He glanced over and saw Lu Tingwan emerging from the crowd.

After her injuries were completely healed, she started to stir up trouble again, treating his promotion banquet as her own to attract customers. She was really calculating and didn't want to miss any loophole.

Now she is dressed so gracefully and charmingly, and it seems that her previous depression has been relieved, and she has finally regained the mood to dress up.

After that, the banquet was approaching its climax. After three rounds of wine, Lu Tingwan was a little drunk and too excited. Cheng Xianzhi and Gongsun Xue were no longer at the table.

Lu Tingwan thought that she had to take advantage of Cheng Xianzhi's good mood and strike while the iron is hot to get the important things done, otherwise she would be worried.

After dealing with the officials, Cheng Xianzhi stood in the pavilion and talked with Han Zhou. Lu Tingwan looked for a while and asked the servants. She finally saw him. Another group of officials came forward with their glasses raised and chatted for a long time. Lu Tingwan waited for another incense stick, which exhausted her patience. She didn't care about anything else and walked up to Cheng Xianzhi who was chatting with others and pulled him away.

After Cheng Xianzhi saw who it was, he didn't resist and let her lead him away by the wrist. The officials were confused, but they knew that the person wasn't Gongsun Xue.

Han Zhou took the opportunity to stand in front of the few people and said, "My lords, please be patient. Minister Cheng will be back soon after he finishes his important business."

"Then, that's not the eldest lady, right?" An official turned his back and whispered.

Han Zhou chuckled coldly, "Your Excellency, the Minister has a good eye. The one just now was the Second Madam of the mansion."

The official suddenly realized: "So that's how it is. The Second Madam has great integrity and is willing to accept punishment and file a complaint in front of the Hanzhang Palace. This official admires her very much."

Han Zhou nodded slightly and smiled without saying anything.

Lu Tingwan pulled the man into a corner of the courtyard wall before letting him go. Cheng Xianzhi shook his wrists to loosen his muscles, as he had been held tightly just now.

He regained his composure and replied coldly, "Is there anything that can't be said after the banquet?"

Lu Tingwan ignored his displeasure, and happily took out the paper from her sleeve pocket, carefully unfolded it, and held it in front of him.

Cheng Xianzhi frowned and glanced over, clearly seeing the three words "divorce letter" on it.

His gaze darted upward, his peripheral vision landing on her outline. Her face was as delicate as a masterpiece meticulously carved by a skilled craftsman. Looking down, he saw her feathery eyelashes spread like butterfly wings, each blink fluttering once, sinking into the calm depths of his heart. Then, fluttering again, it stirred up ripples, then sank darkly, repeating over and over again.

Lu Tingwan waited patiently for him to finish reading the divorce agreement, not realizing that he wasn't actually reading it. After a long moment, he looked away and almost questioned, "Are you so impatient?"

Lu Tingwan made no secret of his feelings and nodded heavily, "Congratulations on your promotion, sir. You will have a bright future ahead of you. You will be able to make great contributions to the country and write brilliant works."

She handed the divorce agreement forward a little further, her voice full of anticipation and joy on her face: "The divorce agreement is ready, please sign it, my Lord."

Cheng Xianzhi glanced at it briefly and casually read one line of words: "May you wear a jade crown and silk scarf, have a brilliant career in officialdom, and be a noble for generations to come. May I be like a flying bird, soaring to the mountains, and may we all be happy."

Lu Tingwan's divorce book is full of visions, with just the right amount of emotions, neither sad nor happy, and you can only hear his aspirations, not his complaints.

Lu Tingwan turned around and took out the pen and ink that she had prepared in advance, handed it over and waited for him eagerly, "Sign it."

Cheng Xianzhi glanced at the pen in her hand and said expressionlessly, "After the banquet, come find me in the study. I'll sign for you. I won't delay you."

After saying that, he turned and left. Without waiting for Lu Tingwan to call him, he had already walked out of the courtyard wall and headed towards the banquet.

Han Zhou was waiting in the corridor. When he saw him come out, he asked, "Second Madam, is there something important that you want to see me about?"

Cheng Xianzhi said calmly, "She wanted me to sign the divorce papers for her, but the beads landed on my face."

Han Zhou looked in the distance and saw Lu Tingwan walking out with a slow pace and a slightly lost look.

"Your Excellency has been promoted to the position of Minister, and since Lu Tingwan is no longer useful, let's get a divorce. This will satisfy her wishes, and we can also get rid of the Queen Mother as a pawn. Isn't that the best of both worlds?"

"I didn't say I wouldn't sign." Cheng Xianzhi looked at him, somewhat puzzled.

Han Zhou followed with a look of seeing through.

Lu Tingwan returned to the banquet and searched for Lu Tingwu. Since there were many people at the banquet, Lu Tingwu had also been searching for her for a long time. She had just seen her disappear down the corridor, dragging Cheng Xianzhi with her, and she couldn't help but feel worried.

When Lu Tingwan saw her elder sister, she stopped talking and lowered her voice to say, "Sister, I've been looking for you for a long time. Did you go to see Young Master Jiang again?"

Hearing Lu Tingwan's teasing, Lu Tingwu's face suddenly turned red with embarrassment, and she said nervously, "You, you saw it again?"

Lu Tingwan chuckled. She didn’t see it and was just talking nonsense.

"Sister," she lowered her head and thought for a moment before saying, "Has father been angry these days?"

Lu Tingwu stroked her hair and comforted her, "I'm a little upset, but I'm not angry. Oh, and my father told me to tell you that after the Cheng family banquet is over, I should go back to the mansion. He has something to tell you."

Lu Tingwan lowered his eyes. During the days he was recuperating, the empress dowager and his father had not sent any messages. He had originally imagined that they would let bygones be bygones, but now it seemed they were just waiting for the right opportunity.

Seeing that she was distracted, Lu Tingwu called out again, "Ah Wan? Did you listen to me?"

"I understand, sister." Lu Tingwan smiled sweetly, hiding her uneasiness in her heart, her bright facial features were very lively.

Lu Tingwu's curiosity piqued. "Father is unhappy with you at Hanzhang Palace. Sister knows you're in a difficult situation. You and Cheng Xianzhi are emotionally tied together, so Father's orders are a dilemma for you. Has he offered to help you?"

Lu Tingwan frowned. Emotional ties? Who?

Is Sister talking about herself and Cheng Xianzhi?