Chapter 152 The Treacherous Nature of the Human Heart
Granny Zhou nodded: "It is indeed that young master Lu."
Yan Jinyue's expression changed: "So, it was the Third Miss's fiancé who saved the Fourth Miss?"
Granny Zhou nodded: "Yes."
Yan Jinyue looked at Chu Yunjin and said hesitantly, "This Young Master Lu is too inconsiderate. He is the Third Miss's fiancé. How could he jump into the river to save the Fourth Miss?"
The Chu family has so many servants.
Miss Chu should also have maids by her side, right?
"There might be a reason for this." Chu Yunjin knew better than to air her dirty laundry in public and didn't want to say more. "I'll go back and check, Princess—"
"I'll go with you," Yan Jinyue said hurriedly. "You're pregnant now, so you can't afford any mishaps. If I go with you, I can keep an eye on things."
Chu Yunjin looked at her for a moment, said nothing, and walked out on her own.
Granny Zhou quickly ordered someone to prepare a carriage.
Chu Yunjin and Yan Jinyue boarded the carriage and headed towards the Chu family home.
Because they left in a hurry, Granny Zhou didn't have time to put a basin of ice in the carriage, so Yan Jinyue could only lift both curtains to let the wind dissipate some of the heat.
Chu Yunjin leaned against the carriage without saying a word, but what she was thinking about was that Chu Yunshan was not satisfied with this marriage. She had once wanted to marry the Prince Wen of the Ning'an Princess's Mansion, but after the Wen family was exiled, her wish was dashed.
She thought that without Prince Wen, she could obediently wait to marry into the Lu family.
Unexpectedly, something still went wrong.
What should have been a visit to discuss marriage arrangements turned into such an unexpected situation, which is quite worrying.
Chu Yunjin thought of the common tactics used in power struggles within families in ancient times, her brows furrowed, and her face showed disgust.
Even saving a life can be used to scheme against someone. A woman's innocence is paramount. How can a life-saving favor be used to scheme against both men and women at the same time? If someone sees a woman fall into the water and stands by indifferently, how can a kind-hearted person get past their conscience?
The wickedness of the human heart is truly everywhere.
"Fourth Imperial Sister-in-law, what are you thinking about?" Yan Jinyue noticed that Chu Yunjin's expression was not good and thought she was angry with the Fourth Miss. "The Fourth Miss didn't fall into the water on purpose, did she?"
Chu Yunjin said calmly, "Just because she didn't fall into the water on purpose doesn't mean there's no hidden story behind it."
Yan Jinyue was puzzled.
"The son of the Vice Minister of Rites..." Chu Yunjin turned to look at Yan Jinyue, "Do you know his temperament?"
Yan Jinyue nodded: "I've heard some of what he's said. He seems to be quite talented and a nice person, but he's not very good at being charming and diplomatic, so he's never really stood out among the young men of the capital."
Chu Yunjin felt reassured and nodded slowly, saying nothing more.
The carriage slowly arrived at the gate of the Chu family.
Yan Jinyue got off the carriage first and instructed the maid to help Chu Yunjin down, making sure she didn't fall.
A series of footsteps sounded.
Madam Chu stepped out of the gate first, followed by her two unmarried daughters and several maids.
Just as Madam Chu was about to speak, she looked up and saw Yan Jinyue there as well. Her expression froze slightly, clearly surprised.
However, the unusual color only lasted for a moment.
She quickly bowed and said, "This humble woman greets Princess Zhaoyang and the Princess Consort of Yan."
Chu Yunjin was helped off the carriage by two maids, one on each side. After she stood up, she looked up at Madam Chu and Chu Yunshan and the others.
Madam Chu lowered her head, her expression somewhat evasive.
Chu Yunshan feigned composure, her face still showing a hint of anger, as if she was unhappy about Chu Yunyao falling into the water. However, upon closer inspection, it was not hard to notice that a hint of guilt would occasionally flash across her face.
On the contrary, Chu Yunyao, whose hair was still a little damp, looked pale and apprehensive, appearing somewhat fearful and uneasy.
Chu Yunjin's gaze returned to Madam Chu's face: "Mother, where is Young Master Lu?"
Madam Chu glanced at Yan Jinyue cautiously before bowing her head and replying, "He originally intended to come and pay his respects, but I... I felt that men and women should not be too close, so I had him wait in the inner hall... Hmm, your father is also at home."
Chu Yunjin was not surprised.
Such a big thing happened to the Chu family, so we definitely had to inform Father.
"So Minister Chu's father is so powerful that even when the Princess Consort of Yan returned to her parents' home, he refused to come out to greet her." Yan Jinyue smiled faintly. "Is this the Chu family's etiquette?"
Madam Chu's expression changed, and she quickly knelt down, saying, "Your Highness, it wasn't that Master was deliberately neglecting us. It's just that what happened today was too... too unexpected. Master couldn't leave Young Master Lu alone in the inner hall, and we were all caught off guard, so..."
She paused, then lowered her voice and begged for forgiveness: "Please forgive me, Princess Zhaoyang, and Princess Consort of Yan."
Chu Yunjin frowned slightly: "Let's talk inside the manor."
After saying that, he turned to look at Yan Jinyue.
Yan Jinyue snorted coldly: "Madam Chu, please rise."
She had long heard that Madam Chu was extremely biased, doting on her eldest son like the apple of her eye, while treating her biological daughter worse than her illegitimate daughter—although this was undoubtedly due to Chu Yunjin's past misbehavior, a biological daughter is still a biological daughter.
Moreover, Chu Yunjin married a prince and is a princess consort.
Regardless of whether Minister Chu and his wife were dissatisfied with their daughter, they had to maintain the proper respect on the surface, otherwise it would be considered a disrespect for imperial authority.
The group walked through the front yard and entered the inner hall of the middle courtyard.
When Minister Chu learned that Princess Zhaoyang had also arrived, he quickly led Young Master Lu to rise and greet her respectfully.
Yan Jinyue said, "Lord Chu, there's no need for such formalities. I heard that Fourth Miss fell into the water, and Fourth Princess Sister-in-law was very worried and said she wanted to come back to see her. I was concerned about Fourth Princess Sister-in-law being pregnant, so I came along to check on her. I hope Lord Chu doesn't mind that I came uninvited?"
"I dare not, I would never dare!"
Yan Jinyue, supporting Chu Yunjin's hand, stepped into the inner hall. The two sat down in the main seats before Yan Jinyue asked, "What exactly happened?"
Chu Yunshan looked resentful and was about to speak when she saw Chu Yunjin look at Chu Yunyao: "Fourth sister, you speak."
Chu Yunshan's face stiffened.
Chu Yunyao's eyes suddenly reddened: "I...I didn't mean to, I didn't scheme against Young Master Lu, Second Sister..."
"It's alright, tell me slowly." Chu Yunjin said gently, "Tell me the whole story, and Princess Zhaoyang and I will judge whether it's true or false."
Chu Yunyao bit her lip and nodded gently: "Young Master Lu came to the manor today to discuss his marriage with Third Sister. A maid ran into my room and said that Mother wanted me to go out for a while—"
"Nonsense!" Madam Chu said sternly, "Why did I ask you to come out when Young Master Lu was discussing his marriage with Yun Shan?"
Chu Yunjin frowned: "Mother, let Yunyao finish speaking first. I will judge whether it is true or false."
Madam Chu's face turned pale.
However, because Princess Zhaoyang was present, she dared not express her emotions.
Chu Yunyao bit her lip and lowered her head, saying, "I don't know if it was my mother who called me, but that maid... that maid did say that."
"And then what?"
“I followed the maid out and walked towards the back garden—I had asked the maid why we were discussing the marriage in the back garden, since the wedding arrangements should be in the front hall. The maid said the scenery was nice there, and my mother was waiting for me there, so I… I didn’t ask any more questions…”
Madam Chu wanted to speak again, but before she could open her mouth, she met the eyes of Chu Yunjin and Yan Jinyue, her expression changed slightly, and she remained silent awkwardly.
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