Chapter 83 Those things, the Lu family can’t afford it
Lu Chongyuan interrupted Madam Lu directly: "I will speak to the Queen Mother. Song Tangning and Sanlang are not suitable."
"But……"
Madam Lu opened her mouth and wanted to speak.
Lu Chongyuan narrowed his eyes and looked at her, then said in a deep voice, "You don't want Sanlang to break off his engagement with Song Tangning. Is it because of the Fourth Prince and Sanlang's future, or do you have other concerns?"
Madam Lu's face turned pale instantly: "What can I worry about..."
She wanted to force herself to make a few excuses, saying that she was only doing it for the greater good, but when she saw Lu Chongyuan looking at her coldly, with those sharp eyes that seemed to be able to see through her, the words on the tip of her tongue could not come out, and she just lowered her eyes with a pale face and looked away.
Lu Chongyuan frowned and turned to Lu Zhao and the others and said, "You go out first, Sanlang stay."
"Father……"
"go out!"
Lu Chongyuan has always been the one who has the final say in the Lu family. Although Lu Zhao and Lu Qin were puzzled by their mother's attitude, they did not dare to argue with Lu Chongyuan's cold tone.
After the two of them left, the door was closed again. When only three people were left in the room, Lu Chongyuan said in a deep voice, "Now it's just me and Sanlang. Tell me, what happened to the Song girl?"
Mrs. Lu's face turned pale and she wanted to make a few excuses.
Lu Chongyuan said, "The Lu family has been pushed to the forefront by Song Tangning. If you conceal something that causes trouble for the Lu family, even if you and I have been husband and wife for decades, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Old Madam Lu's face twitched. No one knew Lu Chongyuan's cruelty better than her. He only cared about the interests of the family. He would sacrifice anything that conflicted with the family, including his wife and children.
Madam Lu didn't dare to gamble on whether Lu Chongyuan would soften his heart towards her. She looked at him coldly and lowered her voice: "Song Tangning's marriage cannot be cancelled."
"Why?"
Madam Lu's lips trembled slightly as she lowered her voice. "The Rong family left behind many rare ancient books that are hard to find outside. Many of the ones Song Tangning sent were taken away by the Fourth Prince. He used them to win over some senior officials in the court and sent them to their residences as gifts..."
Lu Zhinian was shocked: "Grandma?"
Madam Lu didn't dare meet his gaze, and simply said to Lu Chongyuan, "Those things had already been sent to someone else's house by the Fourth Prince. How could we possibly ask for something back that the Fourth Prince had personally given away?"
Lu Chongyuan never expected such a thing to happen. His face instantly turned ugly: "How much did the Fourth Prince take?"
Madam Lu whispered, "More than half..."
"Does the Queen know about this?"
"I don't think I know."
Madam Lu's face turned pale. "When Song Tangning sent the gifts, I just thought that she would marry Sanlang in the future. Since we were family, and she could help the Fourth Prince, I let him take the gifts..."
Some old ministers in the court do not value material possessions very much, so if the Fourth Prince wants to win them over, he naturally has to be "ingenious" and put in more effort.
Rong Qianan served as an official in three dynasties and was a great scholar when he was alive. The money in his hands may not be as good as the wealth of a noble family, but those rare ancient books, collections of books, calligraphy and paintings are far more precious than gold and silver, and are worth a fortune.
Song Tangning is a simple and easy-to-please girl. She has no idea that she is holding a treasure mountain. Every time she just needs to say a few words, she will bring those precious things to her door.
She thought that Lu Zhinian liked those things, so she was never stingy. At that time, Old Madam Lu was certain that Song Tangning would marry into the Lu family. Since she was the daughter-in-law of the Lu family, she naturally had the obligation to help the Lu family and get the favor of the Fourth Prince. So when she handed those things to the Fourth Prince, she did not mention Song Tangning at all, but only said that they were precious things accumulated by the ancestors of the Lu family.
The Fourth Prince gained the support of some court officials through this, and thus became closer and more grateful to them.
At the time, Madam Lu only thought she was clever enough to control someone as valuable as Song Tangning. But she never imagined that Song Tangning would suddenly turn against them, even going so far as to list the things he had given her and ask the Lu family to return them...
“You’re confused!!”
Lu Chongyuan was so angry after hearing what Madam Lu said that he suddenly stood up, no longer able to maintain his composure. "How could you give away the Rong family's things? And even gave them to the Fourth Prince to send to the ministers in the court?!"
"I didn't expect Song Tangning to suddenly turn hostile..."
"What does this have to do with falling out?"
Lu Chongyuan was furious: "Our Lu family is short of this little money, how can you be so short-sighted? Ordinary people know that women's dowries should not be touched. Even if Song Tangning married into the Lu family, you shouldn't have planned to take her things, not to mention that she hasn't even married Sanlang yet!"
If this gets out, how will outsiders view the Lu family?!
Madam Lu's face turned pale. "I am also doing this for the Lu family, so that the Fourth Prince can gather the court officials and ascend the throne as soon as possible..."
Lu Chongyuan became even more angry after hearing this, glaring at his old wife who was still trying to argue. "You are trying to kill the Fourth Prince and the Lu family. Who is Rong Qianan? The Rong family's things are not so easy to take. Song Tangning is now clearly trying to turn against the Lu family, and this list is known to everyone."
"You said you wanted to help the Fourth Prince, but what should we do now? The Lu family can't produce these things, and Song Tangning is still clinging to Sanlang's past. If the information on this list gets out and people know that the Rong family's belongings have entered those people's residences, how do you expect the Fourth Prince to cope?"
If we don't ask for it, the Lu family won't be able to give us the things we want, and they will definitely tear it apart in an ugly way.
But if he goes to ask for it, and then takes back the things he gave away, those people whom the Fourth Prince had previously won over will probably turn against him.
The most important thing is that the prince used the "dowry" of his cousin's wife who had not yet married into the family as a gift. The Lu family forced Song Tangning to embezzle the Rong family's relics and use them to pave the way for the fourth prince. If this news spreads, not only will the fourth prince's reputation be ruined, but their Lu family will also lose face.
"You, you are simply..."
Lu Chongyuan's chest was heaving with rage. He pointed at Madam Lu and wanted to curse, "You knew that Song Tangning is no longer the same as before, and she was hanging out with that eunuch Xiao Yan. She even got everyone in the Duke of Song's mansion imprisoned. Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?!"
Madam Lu's face turned pale after being scolded: "I thought Sanlang could coax Song Tangning back. He and Song Tangning have different feelings..."
Who could have thought that the well-behaved little girl who had been tamed by her pride would turn against her so cruelly and hit the Lu family so hard.
Lu Zhinian's palms were shaking, and he suddenly remembered the look on Song Tangning's face when she said to him with clear eyes, "You, the Lu family, can't pay it back," in Jiyun Lane. His face turned pale.
At that time, he just thought Song Tangning's words were extremely ridiculous. How could the Lu family not be able to pay back such a small amount?
But now, looking at the dense handwriting on the roll of paper, he felt dizzy and found that he was the extremely ridiculous person.
He thought she was vulgar and materialistic, but he coveted her things in his house.
Now, let alone returning them in their original condition, it would be difficult to even collect them all together. The Lu family really cannot afford to pay back these things.
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