At this moment, she couldn't help but wonder if Lu Xingli had this in mind when he first said he wanted to talk alone.
By framing someone with a self-inflicted injury, what was she trying to gain?
She was deep in thought.
Wei Huaixu then spoke up: "Madam Lu, you are mistaken. I can understand your good intentions as a mother, but I cannot understand your aggressive motives."
"Miss Liu has already told me about this. It was only because she told Miss Lu that I was in love with her that Miss Lu was so provoked that she jumped off the carriage. I really don't understand why Miss Lu did this, or what her purpose was."
Madam Lu's expression froze for a moment, then she stammered, "Your Highness...you are...in love with her?"
"Exactly."
His frank admission caused Madam Lu to widen her eyes in surprise. "Isn't there a reason for this? Doesn't Your Highness know the reason...?"
She paused abruptly, glancing at Lu Xingli with a hint of pity on her face.
She took a deep breath and said, "Is Your Highness going to condemn my daughter based solely on her one-sided account?"
"Convict her?" Wei Huaixu shook his head and said, "I never said I would convict her. I was merely stating the facts to Madam Lu and hoping that Madam Lu would not make things difficult for Shushu."
"My daughter is lying here unconscious, yet Your Highness tells me not to make things difficult for those who cause trouble? Isn't your favoritism a bit excessive?"
Wei Huaixu pretended to think about it seriously for a moment, then smiled gently and said, "I also feel that this is a bit unfair to Miss Lu. How about this, let Miss Lu explain herself, so that you won't say that I only believed one side of the story, what do you think?"
Madam Lu frowned, puzzled, and said, "Xingxing has fainted, how can she explain herself?"
"Huh? It's true that it's hard to speak when you're unconscious, then... just wake you up."
He gave the doctor next to him a look.
The other person nodded and bowed in agreement, then stepped forward.
Madam Lu quickly stopped them, "What are you doing? She's injured like this, don't you have any heart?"
Wei Huaixu raised an eyebrow and said, "Is Madam Lu defying me? Hmm?"
As soon as Madam Lu met his gaze, she immediately calmed down. She looked at Lu Xingli again, sighed helplessly, and stepped aside, clutching her handkerchief.
The doctor was about to use the silver needles when he noticed that the person lying on the couch was obviously stiff. He was surprised, but then he calmly put away the silver needles and pinched the soft flesh of her arm hard.
Lu Xingli cried out in pain almost instinctively.
Upon seeing this, Qingying immediately realized that she had been pretending to be asleep.
He chuckled and said, "It's fortunate that you woke up in time. Otherwise, if the doctor had stuck a few needles in you, I would have felt sorry for your delicate skin."
Lu Xingli was in so much pain that tears streamed down her face. She sat up, feeling embarrassed and helpless. She reached out to pull at Madam Lu, "Mother..."
Madam Lu was heartbroken, but dared not act rashly in front of Wei Huaixu. She could only suppress her anger and say softly, "Your Highness, please don't be offended. Now that my daughter has woken up, she can explain herself."
Lu Xingli looked up at Wei Huaixu, tears welling in her eyes, looking weak and pitiful: "Your Highness, this is not Liu's fault. I was too sad and forgot where I was, which is why I lost my footing and fell off the carriage."
Her words were quite clever; she didn't deny what Qingying had said earlier, and even took the initiative to exonerate her, attributing the incident to an accident, leaving no room for criticism.
Qingying couldn't help but silently applaud her in her heart.
"Sister Lu, you must be more careful in the future. You are so young and you are already so absent-minded. It's fortunate that you fell off the carriage today and were not seriously injured. But if one day you are playing on the edge of a cliff and suddenly forget where you are, then..." As she spoke, she pretended to be frightened and covered her heart.
"You..." Lu Xingli held back for a long time before managing to restrain himself from rushing over and straddling her and biting her. In the end, he forced a bleak smile and said insincerely, "Thank you for your concern, Sister Liu. I will be careful."
Seeing her so angry yet trying to hide her pitiful state, Qingying felt a tightness in her chest for her.
Although Wei Huaixu was present, she still couldn't ignore the subtle glances from Madam Lu. She couldn't afford to make things too ugly, so she had to stop while she was ahead.
"Today's events are ultimately related to me. I will visit the Duke of Lu's residence with gifts later. It's getting late, so I'll take my leave now."
Wei Huaixu also said, "In that case, I will take my leave."
Madam Lu bowed and said, "Respectfully seeing Your Highness off."
Once everyone had left, Madam Lu sat down on the edge of the bed and said in a low voice, "That good-for-nothing girl! It's bad enough that she hasn't managed to win over His Highness after all this time, but someone else beat her to it."
Lu Xingli pouted and burst into tears.
Madam Lu panicked and quickly coaxed her, "Oh my darling, it's just a man, why are you doing this? You're in the prime of your life, and with the Duke's mansion backing you up, are you afraid of not finding a good husband?"
"No, I want His Highness the Crown Prince! I want to be the Crown Princess! I don't want any other men, and I won't even glance at them!"
"Alright, alright, it has to be His Highness the Crown Prince... But right now, he's completely obsessed with Liu Qingying. You were just making excuses for her in front of him. Are you out of your mind?"
“I’m not trying to excuse her.” Lu Xingli wiped away her tears and said coldly, “He’s obviously here today to stand up for Liu Qingying. If I keep pressing him, it will only upset him. I might as well go along with him for now.”
Madam Lu gently stroked her hair and nodded, saying, "They are not engaged yet, so there is still a chance."
"Liu Qingying hasn't reached marriageable age yet, there's still a long time to go." She smiled reassuringly, "I was indeed impulsive today."
However, she was only at ease for two days before she was provoked again.
Qingying sent a visiting card to the Duke of Lu's mansion and, under the pretext of visiting Lu Xingli, brought gifts to their door.
Upon learning of this, Lu Jingyan waited at the door early and personally welcomed her into the mansion.
"How is Sister Lu's injury healing?"
"It wasn't anything serious to begin with, and now it looks like I'm almost fully recovered." Lu Jingyan's tone was relaxed and cheerful, his eyes seemingly glued to her.
Qingying wanted to pretend she didn't know, but it was too obvious for her to keep up the act. "Young Master Lu doesn't seem to care about Sister Lu's affairs at all. Do you know that she was injured because of me?"
Lu Jingyan blinked and said, "Didn't she accidentally fall off the carriage?"
Qingying suddenly felt a bit ironic; it seemed that even siblings born of the same mother couldn't be very reliable.
She didn't answer, so Lu Jingyan changed the subject.
As they were walking, they suddenly ran into Wei Huaixu.
He was dressed in purple today, looking very noble. He walked slowly and was talking to the Duke of Lu who was following behind him.
Qingying stopped in her tracks, and when he came up to her, she gracefully gave him a bow.
Wei Huaixu stopped in front of her, without letting her get up. After a moment, he slowly reached out and lifted Qingying's chin amidst the surprised gazes of those around him.
"Miss Liu looks much healthier today than last time."
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