Chapter 561: Invite the Prince to Join Us
"Friends are friends, courtesy should not be abandoned." Lu Xiang said with a smile.
As the daughter of a minister, she should be polite when she sees Chen Ruijin, but she is on good terms with him and never cares about these etiquettes.
Chen Ruijin stamped her feet anxiously and said, "Rules are dead, but people are alive. Let's get on the boat quickly. The weather is good today, and it's perfect for a lake cruise." After that, she pulled Lu Xiang onto the pedal and got on the boat.
At her command, the sailors rowed slowly towards the center of the lake.
There was a small square table on the deck at the bow. Lu Xiang and Chen Ruijin sat opposite each other, while a maid quietly made tea beside them.
"I haven't congratulated you yet. Here, this is a gift for you." As soon as Chen Rujin sat down, she took out a box, opened it and pushed it in front of Lu Xiang: "Do you like it? This is the best thing in my dowry."
The box contains a complete set of purple gold and oriental pearl headpieces. The most precious one is the oriental pearl, which is extremely large and is a rare treasure.
Lu Xiang was stunned and said hurriedly: "It's too expensive, I can't accept it."
Chen Rujin snapped the lid shut, ignoring Lu Xiang's surprise, and turned to Ah Man and said, "You can't return a gift you've given away. It's unlucky. Hurry and put it away for your young lady."
Ah Man blinked.
Unlucky?
Then you must collect it.
"I would like to thank the concubine on behalf of the young lady." Ah Man happily held the box in her hands.
Lu Xiang: “…”
Ah Man, who do you listen to?
"Don't refuse, otherwise you just don't want to be my friend." Chen Rujin said with a fierce face, as if she would break off the friendship if Lu Xiang said no again.
Lu Xiang pursed her lips and smiled softly: "Okay, thank you very much."
Only then did Chen Ruijin narrow her eyes and smile.
The maid prepared tea and brought it to the two of them.
Chen Rujin took a sip from the teacup and said, "I originally wanted to ask you to come to the palace, but when you come, you have to go to the main courtyard to pay respects. We are both the main concubines, so why do you have to pay respects to Cao Bingbing? I tell you, Cao Bingbing will definitely not treat you with courtesy just because you are about to become the eighth concubine. On the contrary, she will take the opportunity to humiliate you even more because I am on good terms with you."
Anyone with common sense would be polite because they would consider Lu Xiang's future status.
"My prince said that his life and property are in the hands of the eighth prince, so he told me to make good friends with you." After a pause, Chen Ruijin suddenly said in a serious face.
Lu Xiang looked at Chen Ruijin with a somewhat amusing look.
Fortunately, she knew that this girl liked to tell her things that she shouldn't say from the beginning, and over time, she got used to it.
"Fortunately, this is in the middle of the lake, so there are no eavesdroppers. Otherwise, your two princes would be drowned in the saliva of the censors for such blatant cliques and selfishness." Lu Xiang said with a smile.
"No more talking, let's drink tea." Chen Rujin chuckled, secretly stuck out his tongue, and murmured while holding the teacup, "I believe that the Third Prince will be drowned by the censor's saliva, but the Eighth Prince will definitely not."
The emperor was the first one to disallow it.
Looking at the frank Chen Rujin, Lu Xiang smiled and said, "Has the Third Imperial Concubine been released from house arrest?"
"Yeah." Chen Ruijin rolled her eyes and nodded.
Seeing her like this, Lu Xiang asked, "Why, is she making things difficult for you?"
"She wanted to, but it didn't work out. It's just annoying that she keeps making trouble every other day. During her confinement, His Highness gave me the household goods, but because of her making such a fuss, he never asked me to give it back."
The Third Prince protected her, and she almost had her way in the mansion, so Chen Ruijin was not very interested in whether he was in charge of the household or not.
However, since she can suppress Cao Bingbing, she will naturally not be stupid enough to push away the power she has obtained.
"Let's not talk about her anymore. It's just a spoiler. Xiangxiang, can you fish?" Chen Ruijin suddenly said.
"Try."
It's just for fun, so it doesn't matter whether it works or not.
Chen Ruijin happily ordered his men to prepare fishing rods.
The two played until the afternoon, when the pleasure boat returned to the shore. Lu Xiang and Chen Ruijin said goodbye and got on the carriage to go back.
As soon as I returned to the house, I saw Lu Qiao sitting on the stone bench in the front yard, supporting her chin with one hand and swinging the handkerchief in her other hand boredly.
"Sixth sister." Lu Xiang called out.
When Lu Qiao heard Lu Xiang's voice, she quickly stood up and ran towards her: "You are finally back."
After hearing what she said, Lu Xiang asked, "Why? You want to see me for something?"
"Is He Zhimin from the Marquis of Wu'an's Mansion here?" Lu Qiao asked, and as she spoke, she wrinkled her nose in disgust.
This woman is arrogant and hypocritical.
"Is she alone?" Lu Xiang asked after a moment of shock.
Some time ago, Liuliu came to the Lu family and told her that He Zhiyan was under house arrest. The reason was that the wife of Marquis Wu'an asked her to bring He Zhimin to the Lu family. The purpose was self-evident. He Zhiyan used the excuse of being unwell to shirk her responsibility, but she didn't expect that the wife of Marquis Wu'an would get so angry that she simply locked her up in the house.
That's why Lu Xiang was thinking, He Zhimin came today, could it be that the wife of Marquis Wu'an lifted the house arrest on He Zhiyan?
"Yes, she is the only one." Lu Qiao nodded and couldn't help complaining: "This person is simply mentally ill. She clearly came to make friends with you, the third sister, but she looked down on me, a concubine's daughter, and sneered at me. Does she think that you will look at her differently if she bullies my third sister?"
If it were in the past, she might have been irritated by He Zhimin, and even blamed it all on her third sister.
But now that her third sister takes care of her and protects her sincerely, she will not do anything stupid.
Lu Xiang didn't know that Lu Qiao had been thinking so much, so he stretched out his hand to pinch her cheek and said with a smile: "Then next time she comes to your house, ask someone to throw her out."
Lu Qiao's mouth twitched slightly: "Third sister, you are coaxing a three-year-old child!"
Even if she wanted to, she had to consider the other person's identity.
As for the daughter of the marquis, if she wanted to drive people out, her reputation for being domineering and rude would spread throughout the capital.
Lu Xiang laughed a few times and went back to Qixia Courtyard with her.
He Zhimin was sitting quietly in the flower hall drinking tea, with Qingyu waiting beside him.
It’s not that she didn’t want to act like the daughter of a marquis in front of these maids, but Yun Lu and the others looked so fierce that He Zhimin didn’t dare to confront them.
Yunlu was the senior maidservant beside the Queen. Over time, even though she was just a maid, she had a similar sense of oppression as Queen Song. The maids who came with her to the Lu family were personally selected by the Queen for Lu Xiang, and they were extremely outstanding in all aspects such as ability.
So even though He Zhimin didn't know the identities of those people, the aura they exuded made her behave well subconsciously.
What's more, if she acted domineeringly in Lu Xiang's place, she would be afraid of being driven out by Lu Xiang.
"Good luck to the Third Miss, and good luck to the Sixth Miss."
Greetings were heard from everyone in the yard.
Hearing this, He Zhimin put down his teacup and stood up, then saw Lu Xiang walking in slowly.
Qingyu bowed and said, "Third Miss."
Lu Xiang nodded slightly, then turned to look at He Zhimin and nodded, "Miss He Wu."
"Xiangxiang, you're back." He Zhimin raised a smile that she thought was sweet and kind on her face. The familiar "Xiangxiang" was very gentle and graceful. People who didn't know her would think that their relationship was extremely close at first glance.
Lu Xiang shuddered, and goose bumps instantly appeared on his arms.
"I wonder what brings Fifth Miss here?" Lu Xiang didn't want to get too close to her, so he asked straight to the point.
He Zhimin seemed not to notice the alienation in Lu Xiang's tone, and said with a smile: "No need to be so formal, just call me Minmin."
Lu Qiao couldn't help but roll her eyes and muttered softly, "Hypocrisy."
Her voice was not loud, so He Zhimin did not hear it, but he saw the eye roll clearly, and immediately glared at Lu Qiao angrily: "Lu Qiao, what do you mean, how dare you roll your eyes at me."
Lu Qiao's face froze. It wasn't because she was afraid of He Zhimin, but because she was caught rolling her eyes. She felt very embarrassed and was even more worried that it would bring trouble to Lu Xiang.
So she subconsciously looked towards Lu Xiang, thinking that she had accidentally exposed her disdain for He Zhimin, and wondered if this guy would continue to give in.
Lu Xiang looked at He Zhimin indifferently. He Zhimin was just a familiar stranger to her, and she never cared about her thoughts and feelings.
"Miss Fifth, if you have anything to say, please speak up."
He Zhimin was stunned for a moment, feeling the indifference from Lu Xiang. She felt a sudden choke in her heart, and almost couldn't maintain the friendly expression on her face. After finally suppressing her irritation, she said, "My grandmother's sixtieth birthday is in three days, and I have repeatedly asked you to come and attend."
As she spoke, she took out an invitation.
"Thank you for your kindness, Madam. However, Sister Yan is not feeling well, so I can't bother her. Besides her, I am not familiar with anyone else, so I won't go. Please apologize to Madam He for me."
He Zhimin's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. He stared at Lu Xiang blankly, his mind going blank for a moment.
She never thought that even though she came to his house in person to deliver the invitation and show her goodwill, Lu Xiang would still refuse directly without giving her face.
“But…but…”
He Zhimin subconsciously wanted to say something, but didn't know where to start.
"I'm sorry, Miss Fifth, I'm busy with something important, so I won't entertain you." Lu Xiang raised a polite smile and saw the guest off.
He Zhimin's face turned pale and blue, and she gritted her teeth with a look of grievance. She stomped her feet and ran away with the invitation, not even caring about the etiquette and rules.
Yunlu blinked when she saw this and came to a conclusion in her heart.
The fifth lady of the Marquis of Wu'an's Mansion is not liked by the young lady. Well, we don't have to deal with her in the future.
He Zhimin returned to Wu'an Marquis Mansion and ran back to her room. Soon, she began to cry.
When the wife of Marquis Wu'an learned about it, she hurried to her courtyard, and Marquis Wu'an followed her.
"Min'er, what's wrong? Who bullied you?" As soon as Lady Wu'an Hou entered the room, she saw He Zhimin lying on the table crying sadly. She walked over and sat down beside her, patting her back and asked with concern.
He Zhimin raised her head, revealing a tear-stained face, and said aggrievedly: "Mom, it's Lu Xiang, Lu Xiang is too much."
Marquis Wu'an originally thought that if he knew who had made his daughter angry, he would stand up for her no matter what.
When he heard Lu Xiang's words, he immediately touched his nose awkwardly and closed his mouth tightly.
She was the Eighth Royal Concubine. Even if she didn't follow the Eighth Prince, if she offended Lu Xiang for the sake of her daughter, the Eighth Prince would skin him alive, and even the Emperor would not forgive him.
I didn’t hear it! I didn’t hear it!
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