Chapter 32 Meeting at the Palace Gate
Chapter 32
After Lu Songli and her daughter arrived home, two groups of people from the palace came to their house in the afternoon. These two groups brought two oral orders. One group was the Queen Mother summoning Lu Songli to the palace to attend the dinner, and the other group was the Emperor summoning Lu Desheng to the palace for an audience.
After the first wave of eunuchs finished their announcement, Lü Desheng handed him a purse and asked if he could allow his wife and daughter to enter the palace together. The eunuch took the purse, glanced at the Lü mother and daughter, and shook his head.
After sending off the two waves of eunuchs, the three members of Lu Songli's family gathered to discuss the matter. Lu Songli felt that the Emperor had summoned her father to the palace, most likely to fulfill his promise of a reward. And the Empress Dowager's summons was likely a sign of ill intentions, as the saying goes: "No banquet is good."
Lü Desheng and Jiang looked at their daughter with concern. Lü Songli knew this was a sign that the Queen Mother was truly going to interfere in the marriage between Zhao, Lü, Xie, and Qin. She sent someone to the Qin household to inquire, and sure enough, Qin Sheng had also been summoned. It was obvious that if Qin Sheng had been summoned, then the others, Xie Zhan, Zhao Yutan, and the others, must have been included as well.
"Ali, I'm afraid I'm going to trouble you this time." Lu Desheng said with a hint of apology.
The Empress Dowager summoned Lu Songli to the palace alone, and Jiang had no way to follow. No matter what happened, she had to deal with it alone.
Lu Songli understood that her father was referring to the time when she had offended the Empress Dowager. This time, the Empress Dowager was probably going to make things difficult for her. Lu Songli knew that her father didn't want to do this either. Her father wasn't a man of integrity. If he had a choice, would he choose to offend the Empress Dowager? He must have been forced into this situation.
"Mom and Dad, don't worry about me. I can handle it."
After guessing the Queen Mother's intentions, Lu Desheng and his wife also lay down. With the Queen Mother's involvement, there was nothing they could do. They had already considered the worst-case scenario, the worst that could happen was losing the marriage with the Xie family. The Lu family knew the situation, as they couldn't change their minds.
The father and daughter found out that Xuan and his audience would both be at the same time, at the same place, so they decided to set off together.
Before entering the palace, Lu Songli took a good bath and dressed up. After putting on her clothes, she prepared to put on makeup herself.
As the saying goes, one's outlook is influenced by their appearance. Lü Songli, in later generations, has benefited from her beauty. While it's unclear how the Queen Mother will discuss the topic after summoning them, it's certain she'll be facing off against one of Chang'an City's most renowned beauties. Zhao Yutan's radiant beauty and grace could easily be compromised if she didn't carefully manage them. How could Lü Songli allow herself to suffer such a loss?
When Jiang saw that she had picked out a moon-white palace skirt, she hesitated and asked, "Isn't it too plain?"
"No, mother, listen to me," Lu Songli replied as she put on her makeup. As a working woman, applying makeup was a basic skill. Her current face was about 70% similar to her previous one, and in some ways even better, making it easier for her to apply.
As the saying goes, if you want to look pretty, you need to wear mourning clothes. A moon-white palace dress is just the thing. She has a natural light complexion, so she looks good with both heavy and light makeup. Honestly, white is the perfect color. In the upcoming scene, she's the underdog, so why not amplify her strengths, such as her cool, stunning beauty and poignant presence?
When she finished the last stroke and stood up, Jiang was so amazed that she no longer thought of asking her to change into another set of clothes.
"Hurry up, your father is already waiting. The sooner you two go, the sooner you can come back."
******
At the gate of the imperial palace, military officers had to dismount and civil officials had to get out of their sedan chairs.
As soon as the Lu family's carriage stopped, a eunuch came up and asked, "Is this the carriage of Lord Lu Desheng, the Imperial Censor?"
The father and daughter looked at each other in the carriage, and Lu Desheng got off first.
As soon as he landed, the eunuch urged him, "Lord Lu, you are finally here. Come quickly, please follow me. Don't keep the emperor waiting for too long."
This scene fell into the eyes of Xie Zhan, who arrived at the palace gate first. He stepped forward and greeted them, "Uncle Lu, Ah Li."
Lu Desheng nodded at him, and before he even had time to say a few more words to Lu Songli, he was asked to leave.
Looking at this scene, Xie Zhan thought to himself that Lu Desheng was really favored. It was already evening, and the emperor still summoned him into the palace.
The remaining two looked at each other without saying a word. To be honest, when Xie Zhan first saw Lu Songli, he was a little hesitant to recognize her.
This was the second time he had seen Lu Songli since the drowning incident. She had changed drastically, a world away from her usual timid demeanor. No, she had already changed the next day. In fact, upon closer inspection, her attire and appearance hadn't changed much. She was now dressed in a moon-white dress, with a proper bun and makeup, like a young woman in a boudoir. Unlike her usual thick bangs, she had pulled them back, revealing her entire face. Her bright eyes and white teeth shone like pearls, and her spirited expression was fully revealed.
At this moment, the Zhao family's carriage arrived at the gate of the palace and naturally stopped. Zhao Bin was driving the carriage himself. After the carriage stopped, he jumped off the ground and extended his hand to the people in the carriage.
I saw a slender hand resting on his little arm, and then a beautiful woman in red came out of the carriage. This person was none other than Zhao Yutan.
Lu Songli watched the scene leisurely and felt that she was being played a little.
Perhaps because her gaze was too direct, the Zhao siblings were the first to look at her.
Zhao Bin looked surprised. He glanced at her and turned his head away, as if he had seen some garbage.
Zhao Yutan's face looked even paler against the backdrop of her red dress, and her makeup gave the impression of someone who had just recovered from a serious illness. At this moment, she looked at him with eyes full of tears, as if she was about to cry, and hesitant to speak, which made him feel pity.
Lu Songli sighed in his heart, well, enemies often meet on a narrow road.
Zhao Yutan is also amazing. No matter what she has done, she can always act so innocent when facing herself. I don’t know how she usually hypnotizes herself.
Zhao Yutan opened her red lips slightly, "A-Li, thank you, big brother."
Soon Lu Songli realized that Zhao Yutan's gaze was not on her, but behind her. Xie Zhan was standing just behind her. She was about to turn her head to see what Xie Zhan's reaction was.
At this moment, someone on a white horse came galloping from a distance.
Xie Zhan, Zhao Yutan, Zhao Bin, Lu Songli and others looked towards the source of the sound.
After recognizing the person on horseback, Zhao Bin's face turned very bad.
The man came very fast. When he was almost in front of them, he held the reins with one hand, and after a final difficult horse-riding move, the archer turned over and got off the horse nimbly.
Qin Sheng was wearing the military officer uniform of Yunqiwei. The young man was full of vigor and vitality, and he couldn't help but attract everyone's attention.
Zhao Yutan couldn't help but stop and stare at him intently.
Qin Sheng walked past her without looking away.
Zhao Yutan opened her mouth slightly, wanting to call out to him, but in the end she could only lower her eyes sadly.
Qin Sheng was fine. In her premonition, during the years the Qin family was exiled, he had died of an acute illness, and she had carried his coffin for three hundred miles. She forgave her. She didn't want to lose her husband young, nor did she want to live a life of uncertainty as a prisoner. Perhaps, after they broke off their engagement, without her, even if the Qin family was exiled, he wouldn't have to die early?
Lu Songli openly admired the boy's enthusiasm and arrogance. Her mother was right, Qin Sheng's horsemanship was really good.
When Qin Sheng met her gaze, he paused slightly, then looked at the three of them suspiciously, frowning.
None of the four of them showed any intention of speaking.
The four people were silent, and the guards at the entrance of the palace were embarrassed for them.
As previously analyzed, the four of them now represent the attitudes of the four families. Nothing Xie Zhan said was right: Zhao Yutan had finally secured the position of the innocent victim, so it would be difficult for him to speak up at this moment: Qin Sheng was too lazy to speak up.
At this moment, the most suitable person to break the silence is Lu Songli. But why does she do this? For Lu Songli, as long as she is not embarrassed, others will be embarrassed.
Finally, Qin Sheng showed an indescribable expression and walked towards the palace. A group of seriously ill people arrived at the palace gate but didn't go in. I don't know what they were looking at. What's so good about it!
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