Chapter 82 Lu Zhinian: I won’t cancel the engagement
Jiyun Lane was full of joy, but the Lu family was in chaos.
Looking at Lu Zhinian's pale face, Old Madam Lu slammed the table hard.
"Bastard, that bastard!!"
It was clearly her who sent those things in the past, and she had tried every means to please them in order to integrate into the Lu family. Now she actually dared to settle accounts with them for these foreign things, and even dared to strip his grandson's clothes in public and throw him out of the Tang Mansion, making the entire Lu family a laughing stock.
Madam Lu was so angry that she was shaking all over. "How dare Song Tangning humiliate Sanlang like this and let those servants humiliate the Lu family. Does she still want to marry into our Lu family?!"
"If she really wanted to, why would she break up with us?"
Lu Chongyuan's words made several people in the hall look up suddenly. He pinched the beads on his wrist, thinking of the rumors circulating outside, and his expression was cold: "The Song family girl must have thought about breaking off the engagement a long time ago."
At least she had no intention of continuing with Lu Zhinian.
"How could it be..." Madam Lu was shocked.
No one knows better than her how much Song Tangning depends on Lu Zhinian. Her whole heart is on Lu Zhinian, and her whole body is tamed by him. She dares not do what the Lu family says. Why would she suddenly become rebellious?
Lu Zhao stood aside and looked at the box of things in the hall. He didn't care whether Song Tangning was a traitor or not. He just remembered how embarrassing it was that the servant from Jiyun Lane stood in front of the mansion gate and read out the things in the box in front of everyone.
"In the third month of the eleventh year of the Yong'an reign, Mr. Lu presented her with a wooden hairpin, and she returned the favor with a jade inkstone and three sets of headpieces inlaid with red gold, pearls, and rubies."
"In April of the eleventh year of the Yong'an reign, the young lady presented Mr. Feng He, a great scholar of the previous dynasty, with a painting of Lin'an Spring Dawn and two scrolls of Lanting seals. Madam Lu returned the gift with a string of coral beads."
"In the first month of the twelfth year of Yong'an, I presented Madam Lu with a water-shaped exquisite vase and a set of rosewood screens with pine and crane patterns..."
Lu Zhao looked at what was written on the scroll.
If it was just something from the Lu family, it would be fine, but those people from Jiyun Lane just mentioned the gift from the Lu family in front of the door, and then added that it was something sent by Song Tangning.
Everything Song Tangning sent to the Lu family was a treasure, but the "return gifts" from the Lu family were almost all random, meaningless things. Moreover, they would only return something after receiving it five or six times from Song Tangning. In this contrast, the stingy face of the Lu family was clearly revealed.
Whenever Lu Zhao thought of the extremely strange looks those people outside the door gave him, he felt suffocated.
"Mother, Song Tangning has been engaged to us for many years, and our Lu family is not short of gold and silver. In the past, you have given more than this to your relatives and younger generations. Why are you so stingy with Song Tangning?"
Lu Zhao looked at the records on the scroll and said with embarrassment:
"Song Tangning used to send us large gifts, and I thought it was just a courtesy from the mansion. But I never thought you would give her this much. After ten years of engagement, you can't even fill a box. Do you know what people outside say about us? I was so embarrassed by what they said just now."
Everyone said that the Lu family had embezzled an orphan girl's belongings, and the family's reputation was completely stripped away.
Mrs. Lu's face turned pale and blue when she heard what her own son said.
Lu Zhinian also pursed his lips and looked down at the items in the box.
He had long been accustomed to Song Tangning's existence. He knew that she liked him and depended on him. No matter how cold his face was, the little girl would always call him "Brother Lu" in a soft voice and follow him closely.
Sometimes when he was in a good mood, or when he was annoyed by her pestering him, he would just give her some small gifts. Those were things he had never cared about, but no matter what they were, the little girl would be overjoyed after getting them and would treasure them carefully.
The wooden hairpin that Lu Zhao mentioned was one he bought when he was bored because he saw it carved interestingly by a street vendor.
That day, Song Tangning came to see him crying because she had been wronged. He thought her tears were disturbing, so he gave her a wooden hairpin. She just thought he had carved it for her personally, so she held the hairpin and smiled with misty eyes, saying, "Brother Lu is so nice."
For a long time afterwards, even when Song Tangning was wearing a silk dress and had her hair in an exquisite bun, she always had that extremely simple wooden hairpin stuck in her black hair. She didn't care even if people laughed at her, and she was still happy.
When Lu Zhinian thought of the little girl sweetly calling him "Brother Lu", he felt as if someone was squeezing his heart and he was suffocating in pain.
Lu Chongyuan raised his eyes and looked at Lu Zhinian: "Sanlang, what do you think?"
"What else can we think? Of course we should cancel the engagement. Our Lu family cannot tolerate such a big Buddha..." The second uncle of the Lu family said angrily.
Lu Zhinian suddenly said, "I won't cancel the engagement."
The second uncle of the Lu family turned around and said angrily: "Sanlang, that Song girl has stepped on your face. What else do you want to do if you don't cancel the engagement?!"
Lu Zhinian pursed his pale lips, thinking of what Song Tangning had said to him in Jiyun Lane before, and felt unwilling. He liked Song Tangning, even though he did feel pity for Song Shulan at the beginning, but in his heart, the future Mrs. Lu was only Song Tangning.
The second uncle of the Lu family frowned: "Brother, do you still want that Song girl to be your daughter-in-law?"
"The Duke of Song's mansion is gone now. Song Hong probably won't get out of prison this time. That daughter of the Song family ruined the Duke of Song's mansion, completely disregarding the ties of family. How could such a cruel and vicious woman be worthy of marrying into the Lu family? Moreover, she has already humiliated Sanlang so much. If the Lu family accepts her again, how will others view us in the future?"
Lu Zhao also hated Song Tangning's cruelty. He turned to look at Lu Chongyuan and said, "Father, why don't we call off this marriage..."
"Can't give up!"
Madam Lu suddenly spoke.
Everyone in the hall suddenly turned their heads and looked upwards. Madam Lu was clutching her sleeves, her lips pale. "This marriage was arranged by the Empress. It's not just for the Duke of Song's Mansion. The Fourth Prince also needs the connections left by the Rong family."
"Besides, there's such a commotion out there right now. If the Lu family really cancels the engagement with Song Tangning, wouldn't that prove that the Lu family has treated Song Tangning unfairly? It would also make people think that the Lu family is cold-hearted and heartless, abandoning this engagement just because the Duke Song's Mansion is in decline."
Lu Zhao and Lu Qin, the second son of the Lu family, both frowned, while Lu Chongyuan stared at Old Madam Lu.
Madam Lu forced herself to keep a straight face. "Although Rong Qian'an is dead, there are still many people in the court who remember him. Those who have received favors from the Rong family will never watch his bloodline being bullied. The reason why the Duke of Song's Mansion fell so quickly was that there were many people who fanned the flames."
"Sanlang's official career has just begun, and the Fourth Prince is also at a critical juncture in his fight for the throne. The Empress will definitely not agree to let the two families break off the engagement..."
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