When the Duke of Zhenguo entered the mansion, Lu Yucheng also arrived with his newlywed wife, Qi Wanting.
Qi Wanting knelt respectfully on the prayer mat to serve tea to her father-in-law and grandmother. The Duke of Zhenguo was very satisfied with this daughter-in-law, and smiled as he gave her a large red envelope, and also gave her the red envelope that had been given to the late Lin Shi for many years.
Under the persuasion of Granny He, Old Madam Lu reluctantly suppressed her dissatisfaction and ordered Granny He to give Qi Wanting a jade bracelet of ordinary quality.
Lu Yucheng caught a glimpse of it and felt displeased.
Qi Wanting quickly thanked her and accepted the gift, putting it on her wrist as a sign of respect for her grandmother.
The Duke of Zhenguo glanced at him and said to Lu Yucheng, "Cheng'er, take your wife to offer incense to your mother, then go back and rest."
"Yes, Father."
"Yes, Father-in-law."
The two men bowed to the Duke of Zhenguo.
"Mother, I have many official duties to attend to. Let Granny He escort you back to your room," said the Duke of Zhenguo, looking at his pale-faced mother.
The three men bowed to her and prepared to leave.
Old Madam Lu had been holding her temper all morning, and now she was even more determined to give her new granddaughter-in-law a dressing down. She spoke with veiled sarcasm, "Where is Lu Xiaoyun? What kind of behavior is this, a woman sleeping until noon every day!"
Qi Wanting felt as if those words had slapped her across the face, and her face immediately turned red. She lowered her head and awkwardly twisted the handkerchief in her hand.
Lu Yucheng frowned unhappily and gently squeezed her hand to comfort her.
Old Madam Lu looked at Lu Yucheng with her cloudy eyes: "I heard that not long ago, you even had the manor's guards protecting Tongjia Courtyard? So many men in the courtyard of a woman who has been divorced and sent back to the manor, aren't you afraid of ruining your reputation! If you ask me, you should send her to a nunnery as soon as possible, so as not to corrupt the young ladies of the manor!"
The Duke of Zhenguo's face darkened immediately. On the second day of Cheng'er's wedding, with the new bride present, his mother showed no respect whatsoever.
However, he couldn't say anything to his mother, and only said lightly, "Mother is overthinking it. The secret guards protect the safety of the entire mansion, and Tongjia Courtyard is also a courtyard of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, so it is naturally within their scope of duty."
Old Madam Lu snorted coldly, knowing that her son and this eldest grandson were extremely biased towards Lu Xiaoyun. She then glanced at Qi Wanting, whose face was somewhat embarrassed.
"When you have free time, have your wife come with me to copy Buddhist scriptures. It will help her cultivate her character and prevent her from being corrupted by those shady people!"
She also heard that before the wedding, that brat Lu Xiaoyun deliberately made the engaged couple meet, and later even left them alone in a private room at Lianfu Restaurant.
It's improper for a man and a woman to meet before they're even married. It was all that brat's idea. If we keep her in the mansion any longer, she might even corrupt this new granddaughter-in-law.
Lu Yucheng was furious and was about to say something when Qi Wanting stopped him and shook her head.
Qi Wanting bowed and said, "Yes, Grandmother is right. From now on, your granddaughter-in-law will serve you by your side every day."
Suppressing his anger, the Duke of Zhenguo said to Lu Yucheng, "Take Wanting to offer incense to your mother."
Lu Yucheng said no more, and took Qi Wanting's hand and left.
Madam Lu's gaze followed the two people's clasped hands, and seeing that they were not avoiding the attention of others, she was furious.
The Duke of Zhenguo glanced coldly at Old Madam Lu, then said to Granny He, "Help Old Madam up."
Madam Lu withdrew her gaze and saw her son's icy expression. Her heart skipped a beat: "What do you want to do!"
“Since Mother feels that she can no longer stay in this mansion, I will have someone send you back to Ganlu Temple.”
"You, you, you..." Old Madam Lu trembled with anger, pointing a finger at the Duke of Zhenguo's face, unable to speak for a long time.
"Didn't Mother say half a month ago that she wanted to return to Ganlu Temple? Now that Cheng'er is married, I will immediately send someone to take you back."
Granny He was also terrified: "Your Highness, the old lady is old, and the weather is so hot. Ganlu Temple is a poor place, so it is really inappropriate to send the old lady there like this. Besides, the old lady's trunks and clothes have not been packed yet. Even if we want to send the old lady there, we need to wait a few days so that we can put the old lady's things away properly."
The Duke of Zhenguo made up his mind: "I will have the trunks and clothes sent over later. As for the austere life at Ganlu Temple, my mother has been there for so many years, she should be used to it by now."
"Heavens above! What kind of wicked child did I give birth to!" Old Madam Lu pounded her chest and wailed.
Ignoring Granny He's advice and the way Old Madam Lu was crying her eyes out, the Duke of Zhenguo immediately ordered his men to prepare a carriage and half-pulled, half-helped Old Madam Lu onto it.
He then ordered his personal guards to escort him before returning to his study to handle official business.
After Lu Yucheng led Qi Wanting out of the front hall, he took the jade bracelet that Old Madam Lu had given to Qi Wanting off her wrist.
"Husband?"
Lu Yucheng smiled faintly and casually handed the jade bracelet to Si Hua, Qi Wanting's maid behind him: "Put it away."
Seeing the young master's protectiveness towards his young lady, Si Hua was delighted and readily agreed, "Yes, young master."
After the two went to the ancestral hall to offer incense to Lin Shi and returned to their room, Lu Yucheng slipped a priceless blood jade bracelet onto Qi Wanting's wrist: "I wanted to give it to you yesterday, but when I saw you, I couldn't help myself..."
Qi Wanting blushed and punched Lu Yucheng's hard chest with her little fist.
Lu Yucheng felt a ticklish sensation as the little pink fists pounded against him.
The next morning, while Lu Yucheng was still fast asleep with his beloved in his arms, Luo Wang's voice rang out from outside: "Your Highness, news has come from the palace that the Crown Prince passed away early this morning."
Lu Yucheng released Qi Wanting, put on an overcoat, came out, closed the door, and asked, "Does Father know?"
"Yes, Uncle Qing has already reported to the Duke."
Lu Yucheng sighed softly, not finding it particularly surprising. It was already quite an achievement that the Crown Prince had been raised to the age of six.
The death of the Crown Prince's wife was a huge blow to the already sickly young prince. With his birth mother gone and his birth father imprisoned, and without a royal physician by his side, his health deteriorated further.
After Lu Yucheng returned to his room and told Qi Wanting something, he walked towards the front courtyard of the Duke of Zhenguo.
It was still dark when the Duke of Zhenguo finished his boxing routine and was preparing to bathe and change.
When Uncle Qing saw the Crown Prince arrive, he said, "It is said that the Third Prince poisoned the Crown Prince. Commander Qi has already gone to the Third Prince's residence to arrest him on the Emperor's orders."
The two paused for a moment.
...
Zhu Chen has barely been able to sleep for the past two days. Just thinking about how Xu Jing refused to tell him where she hid the money, even to the point of death, makes him seethe with hatred. He's acting like a madman.
The head guard, along with a large number of guards from the Third Prince's residence, searched almost every inch of Shengjing City, but they still couldn't find the woman's maid.
"Go find her! Go find her! Dig three feet into the ground and find that little slut for me! Don't miss a single place. If you can't find her, I'll skin you alive!" Zhu Chen roared at the head guard and the others, his eyes bloodshot.
That bastard, he died and I didn't even give him the money. What? Could he take it with him to his next life or something?!
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