Chapter 85 This Kiss, Must Be Backed Off
The queen had no idea what had happened to the man after she left. She was just being supported by the maid beside her and walked forward.
Jinzhi was the Queen's personal maid who served her when she was still in the Lu family. Later, she entered the palace with the Queen and was the person Queen Lu trusted the most.
She keenly sensed that her master was in a bad mood, and she supported Queen Lu and whispered, "The Grand Empress Dowager is old and has long been inexperienced. Even His Majesty and the Queen Mother rarely come to see her. Why bother coming here?"
"What do you know?"
Empress Lu's voice was cold, "No matter how foolish she is, she is still a respected elder of the royal family and your majesty's grandmother."
"Your Majesty and the Queen Mother don't need to be too respectful, because they don't need it. However, the prince hasn't yet been appointed as the crown prince. If I can gain the support of the elders in the court, let alone just serving tea and food, I will even personally serve her."
The Grand Empress Dowager was crazy and her words were often incoherent, but she was of high status and there had been frequent incidents in the capital during this period, so the Fourth Prince had been affected to some extent.
The Duke of Song's Mansion was gone, and the Prince of Cheng's Mansion was about to lose the emperor's favor. In addition, the matter of Crown Prince Li might involve the Lu family. She had to find a way to make up for it.
Your Majesty has been bewitched by the eunuch Xiao Yan, and the Queen Mother is shrewd and difficult to deal with. Only the Grand Empress Dowager can show filial piety without spending too much effort.
Empress Lu stepped over the crescent-shaped archway and asked, "Just now you said that mother had entered the palace. Where is she?"
"The old lady has gone to Fengxi Palace."
Empress Lu frowned upon hearing this. She had only thought that Old Madam Lu had come to complain to her. She had known this would happen after the incident at Duke Song's Mansion.
"I thought she would come earlier, but I didn't expect her to hold back for so long."
Jinzhi hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, it's not just the old lady who came. Sanlangjun has also come into the palace with her. I can see that the old lady looks very unhappy, and so does Sanlangjun."
She paused and saw that there was no one around, then she lowered her voice and continued:
"Your Majesty doesn't know what's going on outside yet. I heard that Sanlangjun went to Jiyun Lane this afternoon, but was stripped of his clothes and thrown out..."
"What did you say?" Queen Lu looked shocked.
Jinzhi whispered, "When I heard about this, I was also shocked. We all saw with our own eyes how much Miss Song was in love with Mr. San, but she just got so angry today."
"When Sanlangjun was thrown out of the Tang Mansion, he was naked. Moreover, Miss Song had people carry the gifts that the Lu family had given her over the years back to the Lu family. She also asked them to return the gifts she had given them over the years, saying that she wanted to cancel the engagement with the Lu family and settle all ties with them..."
"She's outrageous!"
Empress Lu was furious when she heard this. She had personally granted the marriage contract. Although it was not as good as the one granted by Emperor An, the Empress's decree could allow her to cancel it at will.
What's more, Song Tangning is just a young lady, not a gentle and obedient one. She is engaged but she is so absurd. Everything she says and does represents the Lu family. She is acting like this, where does the reputation of Lu Zhinian and the Lu family stand!
Queen Lu returned to Fengqi Palace with a cold look in her eyes. After seeing Old Madam Lu, she wanted to ask about Song Tangning, but she didn't expect Lu Zhinian to kneel down directly.
"Sanlang, what are you doing?" Queen Lu frowned.
Lu Zhinian whispered, "My nephew apologizes for what happened to Tang Ning. I beg the Queen Aunt to forgive me."
The Queen said in a deep voice: "What does Song Tangning's matter have to do with you? She is just too reckless. She doesn't know the virtues of a woman. She has been engaged for many years and now she wants to cancel it. What does she want to do?"
"I will summon her to the palace and ask her carefully if she has truly become unscrupulous since she imprisoned Duke Song's Mansion. How can she cancel the engagement I have given her? Does she still regard me as her queen?"
As Empress Lu was speaking, she wanted to ask Jinzhi to pass on the imperial decree to summon Song Tangning to the palace, but she heard Madam Lu urgently say, "Your Majesty, don't go!"
The Queen turned her head and said: "Mother"
Madam Lu's face turned pale. "Song Tangning is no longer the easy-to-control person she once was. The Song family has been devastated by her, and she was also extremely cruel to Sanlang. Such a disaster is really not suitable to marry into the Lu family. I think it's better to call off this marriage..."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" The Queen frowned. "I spent so much effort to get Rong Qian'an to agree. This engagement was obtained through untold hardships."
"You should know that I have never been after Song Tangning. If you really don't like her, you can wait for her to marry you and then take in a few concubines for Sanlang. But Song Tangning must be Sanlang's wife."
Only if Song Tangning marries into the Lu family can the connections left by the Rong family be used by the Fourth Prince. Only then can the Rong family's disciples, Rong Qian'an's old friends, and even those great scholars who have reclusive lives be recruited by them under the name of the Rong family.
The Lu family and the fourth prince can also gain a good reputation because of the Rong family bloodline, and win the eyes of those old ministers and royal relatives who are unwilling to listen to their advice.
The most important thing is that the eldest lady of the Rong family left behind a very important thing, which is very likely in Song Tangning's hands. Only after she marries into the Lu family can she get it legitimately without alerting anyone.
"This marriage must not be cancelled. If you are worried about Song Tangning, I can help you restrain her."
"She's just a little girl of fifteen or sixteen. There are plenty of maids in this palace who can teach her the rules. Even the wildest temper can be brought under control..."
Old Madam Lu was originally still holding on to some luck, thinking that if the Queen directly agreed to let Lu Zhinian and Song Tangning break off their engagement, there would be no need to mention the matter of the Fourth Prince. But who would have thought that the Queen would reject it outright.
Lu Zhinian knelt on the ground with a pale face: "Aunt, it's not because of Tang Ning's bad side, but this marriage must be cancelled."
The Queen frowned upon hearing this: "What do you mean by 'must retreat'?"
Lu Zhinian whispered, "Auntie must have known that I was kicked out of the Tang Mansion today. Tang Ning has a deep grudge against the Lu family and hates me because of the incident with Shan."
"She had previously told me about breaking off the engagement, and I thought it was just a prank. But today, she made a list of all the gifts between the two families, and even had the gifts from the Lu family, along with the list, delivered to the Lu family with drums and gongs, vowing to settle all grievances with us."
Empress Lu didn't understand Lu Zhinian's meaning at all, and just said casually:
"That's nothing. It's just some little girl's temper. If she wants it, just give it back..."
Lu Zhinian shook his head: "I can't pay it back."
Queen Lu looked puzzled.
Lu Zhinian said bitterly: "Aunt, just take a look at these two volumes and you will know the reason."
He handed the things that Lu Chongyuan asked him to bring into the palace directly to Jinzhi and asked her to present them to Queen Lu.
Queen Lu was confused at first, but her expression changed as she looked at him.
She first quickly scanned the thin roll of paper, and only after finishing it did her eyes fall on the endless list. Her fingers trembled slightly:
"Don't tell me, this one belongs to Song Tangning."
Lu Zhinian's voice was cryptic: "That one is indeed Tang Ning's, and most of it was given to the Fourth Prince by my grandmother, who then gave it away as a gift."
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