Chapter 377 Receiving the Imperial Order

On November 26, the weather was clear and the afternoon sunshine was so warm that it felt like spring.

Outside He'an City, Lu He and Lu Mingke led people out of the city to welcome Yu Zheng.

As the huge team approached, the carriage slowly stopped. Lu He and Lu Mingke stepped forward and greeted him respectfully.

"I am Lu He (Lu Mingke), your humble servant, and I have met His Royal Highness Prince Jing."

Lu He was dressed in an official uniform. He was nearly fifty years old, with a straight and elegant face, and the air of a clean and honest civil servant.

The door of the carriage opened, and Yu Zheng sat upright, looked at Lu He for a few times and said, "Please lead the way, Lord Lu."

"Yes." Lu He responded respectfully and turned to walk towards the carriage.

When Lu Mingke turned around and looked up, he glanced inside the carriage and saw that Jiang Shu was a little surprised, and then he raised his lips slightly.

The spy reported only that King Jing was coming, and did not mention the entourage.

But last year, when he learned that Jiang Shu was given a marriage by King Jing and married into the royal palace, Lu Mingke was shocked.

Even more shocked than him was Shen Qingrong.

I wonder how Shen Qingrong would react when she knew that Yu Zheng and Jiang Shu came to He'an City together?

The wheels rolled, and Lu He and Lu Mingke's carriage led the way, leading the team into the city and heading to the County Magistrate's Mansion.

When they arrived at the County Magistrate's Mansion, Yu Zheng and Jiang Shu got off the car, and the father and son of the Lu family welcomed them into the mansion.

Entering the main hall, Yu Zheng sat down at the head of the table and said, "I am here with the emperor's order. Lord Lu, please prepare to receive the order."

Lu He was shocked when he heard this. He quickly ordered people to set up the incense table and invite the family members in the mansion.

After being surprised, Lu Mingke was a little worried, afraid that Shen Qingrong would lose her composure.

However, for such a major event as receiving the order, all the family members in the mansion must be present. Shen Qingrong had to come because of her title as the wife of Mr. Lu.

The servants hurried to each courtyard to report the news.

Shen Qingrong, who was under house arrest, couldn't believe it for a moment when she heard the servants' report.

"What did you say?" Shen Qingrong stood up from the chair and asked in surprise.

The servant repeated, "His Royal Highness Prince Jing and Princess Jing are here, bringing His Majesty's order. The Lord asked me to ask the young lady to go to the front hall to receive the order."

"His Royal Highness Prince Jing is here, how is it possible..." Shen Qingrong was stunned and lost in thought, talking to herself.

And Princess Jing...

Chewing on these three words, Shen Qingrong gritted her teeth, and her heart was suddenly filled with resentment.

Ever since she returned to Pingyang from Shangjing, she had been abandoned by Lu Mingke. When Lu He and his wife learned about her work in Shangjing, they were also extremely disappointed with her and agreed to Lu Mingke marrying Su Rou as his concubine.

She was unwilling to do so. The first time she contradicted her parents-in-law and made a big fuss, she was scolded by Mrs. Lu, made to kneel in the ancestral hall all night, and was punished to copy her female ring.

Last April, Su Rou married into the Lu family. The whole city congratulated her, but no one cared about her feelings.

When the new bride offered tea, Shen Qingrong refused to accept it, which angered Lu Mingke, and Mrs. Lu reprimanded her.

After that, only the new couple laughed, but not the old couple cried. Lu Mingke stayed in Su Rou's room every night, and never set foot in Shen Qingrong's courtyard again.

Shen Qingrong was unwilling to accept this, and used Lu Xingyuan to trick and force Lu Mingke to come to her courtyard. Lu Mingke did come, but she had a cold face every time, and the look in her eyes became more and more disgusted, and she never stayed overnight.

Lu He and his wife no longer stood up for her. Instead, they admonished her to be sensible, avoid jealousy, and let her educate Lu Xingyuan well.

A few months later, Su Rou became pregnant.

Shen Qingrong watched Lu Mingke take good care of Su Rou, and listened to Lu He and his wife's caring for Su Rou. They seemed to have completely forgotten her existence, and only had some love for Lu Xingyuan. Looking

at Su Rou's gradually bulging belly, Shen Qingrong felt the crisis. According to the attitude of the Lu family, if Su Rou gave birth to a son, Lu Xingyuan's position would be in jeopardy. While the

Lu family still loved and valued Lu Xingyuan, Shen Qingrong took action against Su Rou.

Su Rou almost had a miscarriage, and she had to stay in bed for three months to keep the baby in her belly.

Lu Mingke found out that it was Shen Qingrong who did it, and slapped her in anger, wanting to divorce her.

Family disgrace should

not be made public. Lu He and his wife took into account their reputation and finally persuaded Lu Mingke to give up and put her under house arrest. Lu Xingyuan was also taken away from her. Shen Qingrong was completely disappointed and gradually lost hope. She thought that Lu Mingke would never set foot in her yard again in this life.

But a month later, Lu Mingke suddenly came to see her.

Lu Mingke was in a good mood that day. She smiled and talked to her calmly.

But what she said made Shen Qingrong angry and crazy.

Lu Mingke told her that Jiang Shu was given by the imperial decree to marry King Jing and would soon marry into the palace.

Shen Qingrong felt a buzzing in her ears, and the hidden strings in her mind suddenly broke. She was so angry that she lost her mind and went back to Beijing regardless of everything.

She wanted to confront Jiang Shu face to face.

But how could the Lu family let her go back?

Not only did they not let her go back, but even the letters she wrote home were intercepted and never sent out.

Shen Qingrong didn't believe that Yu Zheng would marry Jiang Shu, but she had no way to prove it. She was tortured by resentment and hatred every day and was almost crazy.

She hated Su Rou, and hated Jiang Shu even more, but she couldn't do anything.

The only thing that supported her was seeing Lu Xingyuan every few days.

The days passed in such pain and hardship, until Su Rou gave birth to a sickly daughter, Shen Qingrong became happy again and her spirits improved greatly.

But she was confined to this small courtyard and was not allowed to go out. She could not even send or receive letters from home. It was as if she had cut off contact with this world.

After a long time, Shen Qingrong could not bear it anymore. She often muttered to herself, and suddenly went crazy and smashed things, drinking to drown her sorrows.

On her birthday, no one celebrated her birthday, so she celebrated by herself. When Lu Xingyuan came to see her, she was slightly tipsy and half drunk.

Shen Qingrong scolded Lu Xingyuan's family in front of him. Her crazy look scared Lu Xingyuan. Lu Xingyuan was scared and wanted to leave, but Shen Qingrong refused. During the struggle, the incense burner was knocked over. The hot incense burner hit Lu Xingyuan's forehead and burned a piece as big as a finger.

From then on, Madam Lu no longer allowed Shen Qingrong to see Lu Xingyuan. She

lost contact with her natal family, was abandoned by her husband's family, her son also left her, and the servants in the mansion recognized Su Rou as the young lady. Shen Qingrong was completely decadent and lived like a walking corpse every day.

"Young lady, hurry up, His Royal Highness Prince Jing and Princess Jing are waiting." The servant saw that Shen Qingrong did not move for a long time and could not help but urge her.

Shen Qingrong suddenly came back to her senses, glared at the servant with cold eyes and said: "You have to be decent when receiving the imperial edict."

After speaking, Shen Qingrong turned and went into the inner room, personally went to the closet to take out her favorite clothes and put them on, sat in front of the dressing table and let the maid do her makeup.

Although the maid moved quickly, it took her two quarters of an hour to finish dressing. After

being confined for more than a year, Shen Qingrong stepped out of the yard for the first time. She felt that the air outside was sweet and the scenery everywhere was beautiful and intoxicating.

But before she could finish her sigh, two sturdy women clamped Shen Qingrong's arms on the left and right, and roughly carried her to the front hall: "Young Madam, please hurry up, it's not appropriate to keep His Royal Highness Prince Jing and Princess Jing waiting for a long time."

"Let me go, I can walk by myself." Shen Qingrong struggled hard.

The two maids were unmoved. When they were almost in the front hall, they let her go and warned her in a low voice: "Madam said, please behave yourself, otherwise the Lu family rules will be useless."

She was a wife of the Lu family, and the Jing'an Marquis's Mansion was thousands of miles away. The Lu family had the final say on her life and death.

The lessons of the past two years were enough to make Shen Qingrong understand this truth.