Chapter 29 He Protects Her
Three days later arrived quickly.
The morning sun breaks through the clouds, scattering golden threads that stitch the light gray and blue-gray clouds into a magnificent picture.
Mingwu walked out of the courtyard.
From afar, one could see the understated yet luxurious carriage parked at the wide intersection.
My heart, which had been hanging in suspense for three days, finally settled down.
From that day on, Lu Yuan handed her the invitation and said he would take her with him.
He then went to attend to state affairs.
Although he would still stay at the ward every night, he would only return after she had fallen asleep, and then leave quietly before she woke up.
If it weren't for the traces of him sleeping on the bed the next day.
She began to doubt whether Chunnan was lying when he said he came every night.
The old lady somehow got wind of the fact that Lu Yuan was going to take her to a banquet. She sent her maid to deliver a message, ordering her not to go to the Prince Ning's residence.
She thought that Lu Yuan wouldn't take her.
Mingwu straightened her back, no longer hesitating, and walked towards the carriage, as if walking towards a future of impending freedom.
"Madam, the old lady requests your immediate visit to Plum Garden."
Then, Chen, the old lady's most capable maid, led two rough-looking women and walked in aggressively.
Chun Nan, who was supporting Ming Wu, turned pale upon seeing this, and her fingers instinctively clenched Ming Wu's sleeve.
He asked in a low voice, "Madam, what should we do?" His voice trembled uncontrollably.
The most important thing now is not to clash with the old lady, but to go to the Prince Ning's residence and get the women's household registration document from the Prince Ning.
Mingwu patted Chunnan's hand reassuringly and slowly turned around.
"Please inform the old lady that I have important business to attend to. I will return to the manor later and will personally go to the Plum Garden to pay my respects and apologize to the old lady."
They adopted a very humble attitude.
I'll endure it one last time, and wait for her...
However, Granny Chen was not buying it at all. She narrowed her triangular eyes and suddenly raised her voice.
"Is Madam openly defying the Old Madam?"
“These days, you’ve been using the excuse of ‘not feeling well’ to skip even your morning and evening greetings. The old lady has been very tolerant, thinking you’re ‘young and ignorant.’ But what about you?”
Knowing full well that the old lady and the Dowager Princess of the Ning Prince's Mansion had a deep-seated grudge from years ago.
How dare she, a woman of the Lu family, take the initiative to celebrate the birthday of her enemy?
Isn't this utterly disrespectful to the old lady?!
As for Lu Yuan's visit, it was because the Dowager Consort had sent out an invitation first. That was the Prince Ning's Mansion currying favor with the Prime Minister's Mansion; it was a matter for the men in the court.
However, the Dowager Princess did not send an invitation to the old lady, her former sister-in-law.
Given the old lady's pride, how could she possibly bow her head and admit defeat first? Moreover, the Prince Ning's mansion is currently weak, while the Prime Minister's mansion is at its zenith.
If anyone is to go, it should be the Dowager Princess who sends the invitation first. There's no reason for her to post it herself.
Seeing that Mingwu had turned around again, one foot was already on the carriage shaft.
Granny Chen shouted, "Someone, hurry up and 'invite' Madam back to Plum Courtyard. The old lady is waiting to 'teach' her manners."
Upon receiving the order, the two old women pounced on them menacingly.
"I'll see who dares to challenge me!"
Mingwu whirled around, her gaze sweeping over the two restless old women like icy blades. The sudden burst of authority actually made the two old women pause in their movements.
A hint of hesitation flashed across his face.
These past few days, the Prime Minister has been staying out of the palace every night for the first time ever, and the servants are whispering among themselves that the Madam is probably about to turn the tables.
Meeting Ming Wu's icy gaze, they felt their hearts pound and dared not act rashly.
Then he thought of the Prime Minister's unusual attitude towards his wife recently.
Seeing this, Granny Chen urged sternly, "What are you standing there for? This is the old lady's order. Why aren't you doing it?"
The old women's eyes hardened, and without further hesitation, they grabbed straight at Mingwu.
"Madam, please be careful."
Chunnan screamed, trembling with fear, yet somehow mustered the courage to spread her arms and shield Mingwu with her frail body.
"Madam, please hurry."
However, she was weak and was shoved hard by one of the old women, falling to the ground like a kite with a broken string, letting out a cry of pain.
“Chunnan…”
Mingwu was both shocked and angry. She tried to bend down to help, but another old woman seized the opportunity to grab her wrist.
At this critical moment.
"stop."
A deep voice, filled with thunderous rage, suddenly rang out.
Everyone froze in place as if under a spell, staring in horror at the source of the sound.
Lu Yuan strode over.
He was dressed in a purple first-rank official robe with a qilin design, a jade belt around his waist, and walked with a tall and straight posture.
His handsome face was covered with a thick layer of frost, and his dark eyes swept over everyone, the oppressive aura of someone who had long held a superior position crashing down on everyone's heads.
Time seemed to freeze for a moment.
Granny Chen and the old women were terrified and quickly released Mingwu, falling to their knees with a thud.
"Prime Minister, Your Excellency..."
Lu Yuan didn't even glance at them, and walked straight to Ming Wu's side.
He gently brushed aside Mingwu's crumpled sleeve, his gaze lingering for a moment on the glaring red mark around her wrist.
When he turned to the old woman on the ground who was holding Mingwu, his eyes were cold and piercing.
"Insubordination and disrespect to the mistress. Take him away and sell him."
Upon hearing this, the two old women felt dizzy and fainted.
Granny Chen, being an old servant of the madam for decades, was terrified but still managed to hold on, begging for mercy with tears streaming down her face.
"Your Excellency, please calm your anger. This old servant..."
Granny Chen was an old servant of the madam. Although her face was deathly pale and her body was trembling like an autumn leaf, she had not fainted.
"Your Excellency, spare me! Madam..."
"You're actually going to disobey your own mother for such an ill-mannered and disrespectful woman?!"
The old lady, supported shakily by her maid, hurried over, leaning on her dragon-patterned cane. Her face was ashen, and she glared at Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan glanced at the old lady indifferently.
“Mother, Madam Ming is my lawfully wedded wife, a first-rank noblewoman bestowed by His Majesty, and the rightful mistress of this Prime Minister’s residence.”
"It is proper for her to accompany her son to the Prince's mansion for his birthday banquet today, and it is also a matter of decorum."
His sharp gaze swept over the servants.
"If anyone in the household dares to disrespect their superiors or show disrespect to the mistress in the future, this will be their fate."
The old lady choked on his merciless words, trembling all over, and slammed her cane heavily on the ground.
"You...you actually did this for her..."
She stared in disbelief at her son, a son who was both familiar and unfamiliar.
Although he wasn't particularly close to her in the past, they at least maintained a facade of maternal love and filial piety, adhering to the rules of filial piety and etiquette.
Now, for the sake of this woman from a merchant family, he publicly refuted and defied her.
This is an utter disgrace.
No, this isn't the first time.
Although Lu Yuan wasn't close to her before, he still treated her with respect on the surface.
She pressured him relentlessly to marry Qi Lan, arguing that it would be a good match and greatly benefit his career. But he refused.
He even went so far as to tarnish his own reputation by marrying the infamous daughter of a merchant who had used underhanded means to climb into bed with him.
Both acts of disobedience were for the same person.
"Lu Yuan, how can you face Qi Lan with such actions?"
Lu Yuan had already half-protected Ming Wu in his arms and was about to help her into the car.
Upon hearing this, he paused, helped Mingwu into the carriage, and then slowly turned around.
A tall figure stood beside the carriage.
"How have I wronged her? Mother, why don't you... tell me in detail?"
The old lady felt a sudden panic when she was looked at by those eyes that seemed to see through everything. Her eyes flickered, and she subconsciously avoided his gaze.
The sound also weakened.
“Yuan… what is Yuan’er saying? Mother… Mother doesn’t understand.”
A faint hint of mockery flashed across Lu Yuan's eyes.
Since Mother 'can't understand', then let's just forget about it.
As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around deftly, and the heavy indigo curtains fell silently, completely isolating the outside world from everything.
The wheels rumbled and rolled over the bluestone road, slowly disappearing into the distance.
The old lady stood frozen in place, her face alternating between pale and ashen.
Her knuckles turned white from gripping the cane so tightly, and the tightness in her chest made it hard for her to breathe.
The old lady's expression shifted unpredictably.
At that moment, a woman in plain clothes sitting in a wheelchair was slowly pushed out from behind the bushes not far away by her maid.
It was Qi Lan.
Her face was so pale it was almost transparent, her lips were bloodless, and there was a faint, frightening bluish-gray tinge to them.
His thin body was wrapped in loose clothes, as if a gust of wind could blow him over.
She coughed violently, her voice broken and mournful.
"Cough cough... Madam, please calm down... Don't... Don't let Lan'er's sake... ruin your mother-son relationship with the Prime Minister... The Prime Minister... in his heart... there is only Madam now... cough cough cough..."
She coughed so violently, as if she were coughing up her lungs, and she was so frail it was heartbreaking.
Seeing her like this, and comparing it to Mingwu's "disobedience and unfilial piety" just now, the old lady's anger burned even more fiercely.
She slammed her cane against the ground with a dull thud.
"I thought she was just a merchant's daughter, and that she was easy to please, but I never expected her to be so ill-mannered and unruly."
"Fortunately, I had thought that if she could give birth to the eldest grandson, it would be a meritorious act..."
How dare they openly slap her in the face like that.
She looked at Qi Lan, who was coughing uncontrollably but still trying to comfort herself.
His gaze softened, filled with pity.
"Good child, it's Yuan'er... I'm so sorry. He was bewitched by that vixen..."
Upon hearing this, Qi Lan lowered her eyelashes. She bit her lower lip tightly, shook her head vigorously, and tears rolled down her cheeks like broken beads, her voice choked with sobs.
"Madam, please don't say that... It's Lan'er's fault... Lan'er is unlucky and has a short life... It's no wonder the Prime Minister is blamed... You must not let Lan'er cause further discord with the Prime Minister... Otherwise... even if Lan'er dies ten thousand times... she will still be to blame... Cough cough cough..."
Another bout of heart-wrenching coughing erupted.
The old lady looked at how "sensible" and "sensible" she was, and then thought about how "disobedient" Mingwu was.
She reached out and gently patted Qi Lan's hand, a resolute glint flashing in her cloudy eyes, her tone unusually gentle.
"Good child, you've been wronged."
"Don't worry, as long as I'm alive, I will never let you suffer this pain in vain..."
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