"I pay my respects to the prince and princess."
Lu Likun and his daughter Lu Yiyan bowed as soon as they entered the room.
Yuan Bohua quickly stepped forward to help his only uncle, Lu Likun, up. "Uncle and cousin are family, there's no need to be so polite."
Zhou Qiongyue also followed closely beside Yuan Bohua, smiling all the time. As for other things, she didn't want to participate.
Before Lu Likun could say anything, Lu Yiyan responded with a smile, "That's right, cousin Hua!"
After Lu Yiyan finished speaking, she added softly, "If we don't show courtesy to the princess, what if she misunderstands that our Lu family has poor upbringing?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Likun immediately scolded Lu Yiyan, "Yan'er, you must not be rude to the princess." After scolding, he turned around and apologized to Yuan Bohua and Zhou Qiongyue:
"Don't take it to heart, Hua'er and Yue'er. Yan'er is just timid and a little insecure!"
Zhou Qiongyue looked at Lü Likun saying disgusting things with a face full of guilt, and she turned around and sat back down. "Lord Lü, please just call me Princess! I'm shy and don't like strangers calling me Princess Yue'er."
Zhou Qiongyue sneered in her heart. Was she insecure about her cousin, or was she insecure about her cousin getting married?
Lu Likun looked at Zhou Qiongyue's smooth movements, frowned, and then looked at his nephew Yuan Bohua with an embarrassed expression.
Yuan Bohua certainly knew what his uncle meant, but he could only touch his nose awkwardly, pretending not to understand his uncle's eyes. "The princess is just shy of strangers. Uncle and cousin, just don't mess with her in the future."
Yuan Bohua was thinking, why are these three people so hostile when they meet? They are not enemies. He really wants someone to come and save him.
Lu Yiyan looked at Yuan Bohua in disbelief. What did her cousin mean? "Cousin Hua, what are you talking about? My father is the elder after all..."
Seeing his daughter's words becoming more and more outrageous, Lu Likun quickly interrupted her, "Yan'er..."
Although Lu Likun was angry that Zhou Qiongyue didn't take him and his daughter seriously, he didn't dare to confront her. After all, she was a princess, her aunt was the queen, and her cousin might be the future queen.
The highest-ranking official in the Lu family was only of the fifth rank, the kind that even the Cheng'en Marquisate couldn't invite to its banquets. Lu Likun knew very well that when one's status was too low, face was worthless.
Lu Likun could only echo Zhou Qiongyue's words, "Princess, you are right. The hierarchy should not be confused."
Lu Yiyan wanted to say something else, but when she saw her father's eyes, she could only hide her resentment in her heart.
But she was still angry, and glared at Zhou Qiongyue from the angle that Yuan Bohua and Lu Likun saw.
Zhou Qiongyue saw it, but she didn't even raise her eyelids. What the hell? It was all Yuan Bohua's bad love affair.
Yuan Bohua didn't dare to offend either side. He smiled awkwardly and silently led Lu Likun and Lu Yiyan to sit next to him.
In order to break the existing deadlock, Yuan Bohua casually asked, "What's the matter with my uncle and cousin?"
Lu Likun glanced at Zhou Qiongyue and his meaning was very clear.
Zhou Qiongyue didn't want to watch the father and daughter make trouble here, so she stood up and prepared to leave.
Yuan Bohua clearly didn't want the princess to leave, so he reached out and grabbed Zhou Qiongyue. He didn't even bother asking whether he liked her or not. He simply said that the princess was the mistress of the palace and naturally on the same side as him, so there was no need to hide anything from her, big or small.
After all, there were many things he couldn't handle, so he still had to rely on the princess. If his uncle and his family really had a falling out with the princess, it certainly wouldn't be the princess who would suffer.
Yuan Bohua still had feelings for his only uncle and wanted to mediate. "It's okay, we are all family. Uncle, please speak!"
Seeing that his nephew really had no intention of letting Zhou Qiongyue leave, Lu Likun could only sigh inwardly. It seemed that Zhou Qiongyue's position as the principal wife was very secure! Putting aside other things, just looking at his nephew's behavior, it didn't seem like he had no feelings for Zhou Qiongyue.
He suddenly regretted not stopping his daughter a little more. The princess must have understood what she meant. Now it would be difficult for her to get what she wanted.
"Your Majesty, I just don't have much food in my house, so I want to borrow some from you. The Lu family is not rich, and they don't have much ice. Yan'er is afraid of the heat and can't sleep all night. I am worried about Yan'er's health, so I want to..."
Zhou Qiongyue became increasingly speechless as she listened to Lu Likun's words. She was still a little angry. It wasn't that she didn't want Yuan Bohua to have a concubine, but how long had they been married? And they didn't have any children yet.
Everything in the palace would belong to her children from now on. She was generous enough to let them make their own way. No one should threaten the interests of her future children.
The more irritated Zhou Qiongyue felt, the gentler her smile became. "I just want to give your daughter to the prince as a concubine. Coincidentally, I don't have to return the grain, and your daughter can use ice."
"Who would want to be something as lowly as a concubine?" Lu Yiyan heard that Zhou Qiongyue's words were so unpleasant and refuted without hesitation.
Just when Zhou Qiongyue was about to give this girl a higher regard, she heard Lu Yiyan add, "Cousin Hua, aren't both of the concubine positions still vacant?"
Zhou Qiongyue sneered and picked up a cup of tea and started drinking.
Lu Yiyan didn't care about Zhou Qiongyue's attitude. She was confident that she and her cousin Hua had feelings for each other. As long as she could enter the palace as a concubine, what would happen if she was the queen's niece? She couldn't force her cousin to go to her courtyard!
She only looked at her cousin Yuan Bohua with anticipation.
Yuan Bohua just felt that it was out of place, how could it involve something like being a concubine?
He quickly looked at the princess's face. Seeing that the princess was still smiling as kindly as before, he became even more panicked.
He had seen what happened to the Second Prince. At that time, Yue'er loved the Second Prince so much! She was always around him and spent all her money on him.
As a result, the second prince fell in love with someone else, and Yue'er withdrew without any regret or hesitation.
It's like this, how could Yuan Bohua care about his uncle and cousin? He pulled the princess's sleeve and explained, "There's nothing between me and my cousin, no, there's nothing between me and Lu Yiyan.
The princess believed me, and we had barely exchanged a single word. Whenever I visited my uncle's house, I stayed in the front yard. There was no childhood friendship; at best, we were strangers.
And I really haven't considered taking a concubine. The palace can't afford to support another woman."
Yuan Bohua felt that if he took a concubine now, not to mention Yue'er's attitude towards him, the Second Prince and the Fifth Prince would tear him apart.
The royal family has always been hypocritical and vindictive. They can have many wives and concubines, but they will not tolerate any injustice among their own people.
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