Chapter 22: Scumbag Lu Zhinian
"Are you telling the truth?" Princess Cheng's face suddenly tightened after hearing Tang Ning's words: "Why didn't you tell me this before?"
Tang Ning whispered, "I hadn't thought of that before."
It's not that she didn't think about it, but the situation at that time didn't allow her to think about it too much.
That day, Song Qin and others suddenly called her to the front hall and said that Song Shulan was her father's blood. Song Shulan knelt on the ground and cried as she talked about the intimacy between her biological mother and Song Xi in the past. At that time, the only thought in her mind was "Father betrayed my mother", and she could not think of anything else.
Song Hong persuaded her that she was her father's blood after all. Old Madam Song said that spreading this matter would ruin her late father's reputation. Song Shulan also had several love letters written by Song Xi to her biological mother in her hand, and Song Jinxiu, who had just rushed back, also persuaded her.
The purpose was just to keep her here and give her a place to stay, so that others would not say that the Song family was heartless. She agreed in a daze with her head buzzing. When she came to her senses, Song Shulan had already become the daughter of the second wife.
Tang Ning's throat was bitter. "I originally thought she was really my father's blood. I was afraid that if she showed off those things my father wrote to her biological mother, she would be ridiculed by others. But when I thought about it again, I felt that it was not right."
"If she really was my father's bloodline, why would Third Uncle have concealed her identity when he first brought her back? Besides, my father and my mother were so loving, and even though they had no children, they never considered taking a concubine. Why would he look for someone else?"
"It was such a coincidence that my aunt got sick those few days. Even my grandmother's attitude was strange."
She was really stupid in her previous life, so she never thought about these things until her death.
Princess Cheng's face was extremely ugly. When she first learned that Song Xi suddenly had a concubine's daughter, the Song family had already confirmed Song Shulan's identity. When she asked Tang Ning, Tang Ning just cried. The Song family members also insisted that Song Shulan was Song Xi's bloodline.
She was so angry that her chest hurt. She felt that her sister had chosen the wrong person and it was not worth it to feel sorry for her.
But who could have thought that the Song family would dare to use Song Shulan to impersonate the daughter of the second wife?
"If the Song family really does this, then they deserve to die!"
Not only did he confuse the bloodline of the second branch and tarnish the reputation of his elder sister and brother-in-law, he even allowed Song Shulan to bully Tang Ning.
The most important thing is that Princess Cheng knew without Tang Ning's reminder that if Song Shulan was just an ordinary person, the Duke of Song's Mansion would definitely not allow a person with an outsider to enter the mansion given its family background. Even if she was just pretending to be from the second house, it would damage the interests of the Duke's Mansion, unless Song Shulan herself was from the Duke's Mansion.
In addition, Song Tan brought the person back and sent him to the eldest wife first, and the reactions of the eldest wife of the Song family...
Princess Cheng said angrily, "Everyone knows where Song Tan went when he was on his mission south. I will have someone investigate Song Shulan's background. I want to see who she is!"
Tang Ning's eyes flickered slightly: "Aunt, how about asking uncle to help check it out?"
Princess Cheng was stunned.
Tang Ning's eyelashes drooped slightly. "If Song Shulan really isn't my father's daughter, then my eldest uncle and third uncle would definitely try to cover it up when I got into this mess with the Song family. And when my third uncle brought her back to the capital, he probably left no trace to protect the Song family's reputation. So maybe Song Shulan isn't from Anzhou at all."
"My aunt and I are close friends. If you send someone to the Song family, they will definitely find out. They may not be able to find out the truth even if they go. But my uncle should have some capable people under his command. Let him send someone to find out the truth sooner."
Princess Cheng thought about it and felt that it made sense: "Okay, when I go back tomorrow, I will tell your uncle that if the Song family really bullies you like this, your uncle and I will definitely not let them off!"
Tang Ning said "hmm" and leaned lightly against Princess Cheng.
She wanted to see whether Prince Cheng cared about her and her aunt, or cared more about other things.
The room was quiet for a while before Princess Cheng spoke again: "Tang Ning, your marriage with the Lu family..."
Song Tangning was silent for a long time before she whispered, "Aunt, I really liked Lu Zhinian in the past."
Knowing that Lu Zhinian liked talented women, she worked hard to learn music, chess, calligraphy and painting, which she did not like.
Knowing that Lu Zhinian didn't like noisy people, she became quiet and well-behaved despite being lively by nature.
She knew she was going to marry Lu Zhinian since she was old enough to understand, and she always thought she was destined to be a wife of the Lu family. She pursued Lu Zhinian desperately, trying to make herself worthy of him and become the wife of the Lu family's headmistress.
Like Song Jinxiu, Lu Zhinian was an outstanding young man. However, unlike the Duke of Song’s Mansion which only had the title of Duke in name only, Lu Zhinian’s family background was more prominent.
As the legitimate son of the first aristocratic family and the nephew favored by the queen, Lu Zhinian was born superior to others. In addition, although Lu Zhinian had a cold temperament, he was extremely handsome. There were many girls in the capital who were eyeing Lu's family as their marriage partner.
There were many people who were jealous of her engagement with Lu Zhinian, and even more who often mocked her for not being worthy of Lu Zhinian. However, Tang Ning never cared about it. No matter how many sour words there were, she never took them to heart, because she knew that although Lu Zhinian was not very enthusiastic towards her, he did not like those people either.
But Song Shulan is different.
Song Tangning pursed her lips tightly, feeling somewhat depressed. "I've been following Lu Zhinian all these years, and he's never even glanced at me. Even though I've tried my best to please him, he's rarely smiled at me."
"I really like him, so much so that if he just says a word, I'm willing to do something, even if I don't like it. But no matter what I do, he has never praised me. I always thought that his cold treatment of me was just his nature, but later I found out that it wasn't the case at all."
"Do you know what I saw on his face the first time I heard him praise Song Shulan? It was an expression he had never shown in front of me before."
Like the warm spring breeze and the melting snow, there is an indescribable tolerance beneath the gentle tenderness.
Song Shulan blushed and smiled at the tall and graceful Lu Zhinian.
The tacit understanding between them that did not require words and only had eyes for each other made her, who had regarded Lu Zhinian as her husband in her previous life, jealous and crazy. She was so crazy that she could not tolerate Song Shulan. She was so crazy that she pushed herself into that desperate situation step by step, and finally died quietly in the backyard of the Song family.
"Aunt, I don't want to chase him anymore."
Tang Ning whispered,
"I don't like him anymore."
Princess Cheng listened to the girl's soft whispers beside her. Her hoarse, suppressed and bitter voice made her heart ache.
It's not that she didn't notice the cold treatment that the eldest son of the Lu family had towards Tang Ning. They were clearly childhood sweethearts, and the Lu family had never rejected this engagement. Even the wedding date was set by the Queen herself for Lu Zhinian, but Lu Zhinian had never shown any enthusiasm.
This engagement always seemed like Tang Ning's one-sided effort. Whenever the two of them were together, Tang Ning would talk behind Lu Zhinian. Lu Zhinian's occasional simple words would make Tang Ning happy for a long time.
Princess Cheng knew how much her niece had hoped to marry into the Lu family, and now that she said this, she knew how sad she was.
"If you don't like him, then don't like him. There are many good men in this world. Our Tang Ning doesn't care about him."
Princess Cheng gently brushed the loose hair on Tang Ning's forehead.
"Your marriage to Lu Zhinian is scheduled for next year. There's no rush right now. Once the Song family's affairs are investigated, I'll find a way to cancel the marriage for you."
Tang Ning whispered, "But the Queen..."
"So what about the Queen? She treats you well, but everyone knows that the Lu family is cold to you. Besides, the Queen won't let it go if you cancel the engagement for no reason. But Lu Zhinian abandoned you before and almost killed you. Even if you cancel the engagement, what can the Lu family say?"
The ruthless and ungrateful one is Lu Zhinian!
Princess Cheng was already thinking about how to safely withdraw the Lu family's marriage without involving Tang Ning, and how to prevent those outsiders from saying bad things about Tang Ning, and how to make the Lu family the party that was in the wrong.
Song Tangning listened to her mumbling, his eyes burning with tears as he buried his head in her shoulder.
My aunt is always like this. No matter what she wants to do, even if it goes against the will of the world, even if no one understands her or even if it offends someone who should not be offended in the eyes of outsiders, my aunt will never let her suffer any grievances.
But such a good aunt died in unclear circumstances.
Tang Ning reached out and held Princess Cheng's arm. In this life, she would never let anything happen to her aunt.
Absolutely not!!
…
Everyone was shocked by the fact that Song Tangning moved to Jiyun Lane in the south of the city. Not only were the Song family members furious, but the Lu family was also in disbelief when they received the news the next day.
"What's wrong with the Song family? They knew you and Song Tangning were about to get married, yet they let her hang out with that eunuch Xiao Yan?!" Old Madam Lu was filled with anger. "They know what kind of person that eunuch is. How could a woman like me from the Lu family associate with him?"
Lu Zhinian frowned.
"And what's all that nonsense out there? What exactly went on between you, the eldest son of the Song family, and the prince of the Cheng Palace? Why would you abandon Song Tangning on the mountain for a concubine who's not worthy of being seen in public?"
Lu Zhinian's brows knitted tighter, and his face turned cold: "I didn't abandon her."
Madam Lu angrily said, "What's going on? Do you know what people are saying about you? They're saying that you and Master Xie are in love with that illegitimate daughter, and that's why you threw Song Tangning away. I'm telling you, there's no way our Lu family would allow a illegitimate daughter to marry into our family!"
"Grandma, I don't like her."
Lu Zhinian's jaw tightened, he thought the rumor was ridiculous.
Song Shulan did look gentle and well-behaved, much more sensible than the willful and domineering Song Tangning. Moreover, she knew when to advance and retreat, and never got entangled with him too much. Every time she saw him, she would just bow gently and then step away.
But Song Tangning was like a hedgehog. Whenever he saw him talking to Song Shulan, he would throw a tantrum. Afterwards, she would either bully Song Shulan or pester him with questioning.
This made Lu Zhinian very upset.
He didn't like Song Tangning following him around like a clingy candy, nor did he like her always calling him "Brother Lu" and "Brother Lu" as if there was nothing she could do.
Lu Zhinian had no good feelings towards his fiancée Song Tangning, and he also admired Song Shulan for her humble background but determination and talent. However, even so, he had never crossed the line with Song Shulan, and he knew very well that the person he wanted to marry was Song Tangning.
Lu Zhinian said, "Grandmother, Song Shulan and I are innocent. I didn't know she was a concubine before. That day on the mountain, I was just thinking about teaching her a lesson because Tang Ning was acting so recklessly. I felt that if she didn't control her temper, she would easily get into trouble after marrying into the Lu family. "
"I originally thought that Song Jinxiu was her brother, and Xie Yin was also very close to her. Even if those two were angry, they would have left someone by her side to protect her back to Lingyun Temple. But who knew that they actually didn't leave anyone behind."
If he had known this would happen, he would not have taken all the servants away.
Madam Lu looked at him calmly, "Is there really nothing going on between you and Song Shulan?"
"No!"
"What about her?"
Lu Zhinian was stunned for a moment before shaking his head: "She never seduced me before in the Song family."
Madam Lu's expression relaxed a little after hearing this. "If that's the case, then you should stay away from that concubine, lest she ruin your reputation. And what's with Song Tangning? What's going on with her?"
Lu Zhinian pursed his lips and said, "That's just her temper. Don't worry, grandma. I'll send someone to call her back to the Song family later."
Tang Ning would not disobey his words.
Madam Lu's face was a little grim. "When she returns, let the Song family teach her a lesson. She's about to get married and yet she's acting so recklessly. You and the Lu family are a laughing stock in the capital. If it weren't for her mother's connections with the Rong family, I wouldn't agree to this marriage no matter what."
She is the eldest son of the Lu family, and she is worthy of any princess or county lord, but she chose someone who is so unattractive to her.
Madam Lu didn't like Song Tangning at all, but it was a pity that the Empress did. The Fourth Prince also needed the connections left by Imperial Tutor Rong to pave the way for him, as well as some of the things that Imperial Tutor Rong had left behind...
Old Madam Lu snorted coldly. If not for this, she would definitely look down on Song Tangning!
Lu Zhinian was scolded by Old Madam Lu, and his expression became even colder when he came out. This was because of the rumors outside and the sudden closeness between Tang Ning and Xiao Yan.
"My dear, where is Miss Song..." Song Mo, the long-time attendant who was following beside him, asked in a low voice.
Lu Zhinian's eyes were filled with annoyance. "Go to Jiyun Lane and give her the Qingyun Orchid Water Cup in my room. Also, take the coral bead bracelet she said she liked last time and give it to her as well."
Song Mo hesitated a little: "Miss Song is injured, won't you go and see her?"
"No." Lu Zhinian said coldly.
Song Tangning's personality is inherently unreasonable, and she is also very arrogant.
Although the Song family did something wrong, she could have settled it privately with the Song family. After all, family disgrace should not be made public. However, she made such a big deal out of the matter and even involved Xiao Yan, causing him to be slandered as well.
Lu Zhinian didn't like Song Tangning's domineering attitude, so how could he be willing to coax her.
"Just go see her. When you go, remember to tell her what people outside have said about me. Also, tell her that my grandmother punished me by making me kneel and I can't visit her."
Given how much Song Tangning cares about him, she will definitely know that she is wrong.
After she returns to the Song family, he will go and comfort her.
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