Empress Su was gentle by nature and rarely referred to herself as "this palace" when speaking to those close to her, which made her seem even more approachable. The use of the word "I" instantly bridged the gap between her and Old Madam Lin.
Recounting these past events can easily lower one's guard, and as Madam Lin listened, a smile involuntarily appeared on her face. She continued along with Empress Su's words: "Your Majesty, did you hear about the marriage alliance from your mother? Initially, there was such a plan, but since the eldest son was already engaged, the matter was dropped. Otherwise, I would have definitely sought out a noble lady from a branch of your Su family."
In the end, Madam Lin realized something was wrong and quickly changed the subject, no longer daring to involve Empress Su.
Empress Su didn't take it seriously and continued, "When Yao'er was born, Lin Ke had already started his studies. There was also a significant age gap between them. I was originally unwilling to agree to this marriage, but the old lady said that the age difference didn't matter and that Lin Ke would dote on our Yao'er."
The old lady understood perfectly well that Empress Su's words implied her dissatisfaction with the marriage.
Her gaze involuntarily fell on Lu Qingyan, wanting to see how the girl would react, but Lu Qingyan actually turned her head away and stopped looking at her, an old woman. Madam Lin felt very uncomfortable.
Empress Su dismissed all the palace servants, leaving only her trusted confidante, Caiping. She looked at Old Madam Lin's resentful gaze and sighed deeply.
“Madam Lin, this matter is not the fault of our Su family. You probably don’t know yet, but Lin Ke and my brother’s concubine had an affair, and someone just happened to witness it.”
Hearing this, Old Madam Lin's face turned bright red with shame. This good-for-nothing was indeed born of an illegitimate son; he was ultimately no good and had actually caused such a mess, and had even been caught.
The Lin family's reputation has been completely ruined by this young man. While there have been many licentious figures in history, no one has ever gone this far—sleeping with his father-in-law's concubine before even marrying.
Madam Lin said awkwardly, "This is something our Lin family has done wrong to the Su family."
"This marriage is off, otherwise how will Lin Ke face Lord Su in the future?" Empress Su said. "Now that we've talked things out, Madam Lin, please return the engagement tokens. Although the marriage is off, our two families have a long-standing friendship that will not be severed."
Empress Su, your words can be considered a promise to the Lin family. As long as the Su family exists, it will never turn its back on the Lin family.
Hearing this, Madam Lin felt a little better. As long as the relationship remained intact, that was good. If the Su family really angered the Lin family because of this matter and caused them trouble, the Lin family would probably be in a lot of trouble for a while.
Although the Su family is not as powerful as the Lin family, they are no pushovers, and each member is fiercely protective of their own.
"I don't have this engagement token with me. I'll send it to the Su residence in a couple of days." Although Madam Lin was telling herself not to care anymore, she still felt incredibly jealous.
What kind of sin is it that a perfectly good daughter-in-law is about to become someone else's wife?
"If I had known, I would have been better off giving this girl to my son," Old Madam Lin thought bitterly, when a sudden inspiration flashed through her mind.
With Empress Su's intervention, the matter was considered resolved. Lu Qingyan thought that by evening, the Emperor should also know about it.
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