Chapter 62 Reward
Aunt Yao cast a sharp gaze on Liu. She absolutely did not believe in the idea of liking each other on first sight. What must Liu have done without her knowing?
Fu Yue handed an exquisite mahogany makeup box to Lu Mingzhu. Although Lu Mingzhu had been unable to contain her excitement, she looked at Zhenpin with an expression of flattery and did not dare to accept the gift.
Concubine Zhen smiled and opened the makeup box in front of Lu Mingzhu, then stuffed it into her hands: "I have waited for so many years, and finally you are back. Auntie doesn't have any good things, these are the rewards given to me by the emperor, and they are rare in the world."
As Concubine Zhen finished speaking, Fu Yue opened her makeup box. All of a sudden, everyone saw a bright light before their eyes. The entire set of jewelry and head ornaments inside were all exquisite and gorgeous, making people extremely jealous.
Lu Mingzhu felt the heaviness, her hands were shaking with excitement, her heart was ecstatic, after a moment of shock, she quickly came to her senses and thanked her: "I am your niece, thanking you for the reward."
Then, Concubine Zhen asked someone to bring another piece of cloth and said to Liu with a smile, "This is the tribute of Yanluo brocade from the Lin Kingdom. Only ten pieces are produced every year. The emperor gave me two pieces, but I can't wear them all. The color of the cloth is bright, but it can't make clothes for mother. Aunt Liu, take a look and see if you like it."
"I like it, I like it. Thank you for your kindness." Under the envious and jealous gazes of everyone, Liu happily stepped forward to take the cloth.
Even though it's just this one horse, it's worth a fortune.
This was another reward from Concubine Zhen, and the thought alone was enough to show the difference.
Didn’t you see that even Lu Xiang, the legitimate daughter, wasn’t the first to receive rewards and attention from Concubine Zhen?
When the old lady saw how well Concubine Zhen treated Liu's mother and daughter, her deep eyes flashed with surprise, and her serious face wrinkled slightly. She looked intimidating without being angry, but she didn't say anything to their faces. She didn't want to make any disgusting gestures towards Liu's mother and daughter at this time to embarrass her daughter.
"Xiangxiang, come here. I haven't seen your aunt for many years. Ask her to take a good look." The old lady waved to Lu Xiang who had been sitting quietly beside her. Since this child entered this room, everyone has been trying their best to gain favor in front of Zhenpin, but she just sat there quietly like a transparent person, as if she didn't exist: "Xiangxiang has grown a lot taller in the years when the queen was away. Come and see if she has become more graceful."
Listening to the old lady's endless praises, Concubine Zhen nodded slightly, but her graceful and noble eyes did not stir up any joy, and there was a hint of alienation on her face.
Mother has always liked Lu Xiang, but this girl has always been conscienceless, proud and arrogant. Concubine Zhen was angry that her mother's enthusiasm was wasted, so she has always disliked Lu Xiang. After entering the palace for many years, she didn't know about Lu Xiang's transformation in the past six months. Now she couldn't help but complain in her heart, is mother forgetful? She didn't know that no matter how good she is to Lu Xiang, she will not be grateful to her.
Aunt Fang, Aunt Liu, Aunt Yao and others are not surprised.
However, Aunt Liu and Lu Mingzhu were so excited when they saw the difference between how Concubine Zhen treated Lu Xiang and themselves that they felt like they were injected with chicken blood.
Qiao Jingru also looked back and forth between Zhenpin and Lu Xiang in confusion, with nervousness and uneasiness on her pretty face. She had seen Zhenpin treating Liu's mother and daughter so kindly before, and thought that Zhenpin was an easy-going elder who had deep feelings for her mother's family.
This…this…
Qiao Jingru secretly swallowed her saliva. While feeling sorry for Lu Xiang, she decided to avoid Concubine Zhen if possible in the future and never think about other people who didn't have any. It turned out that it was not so easy to take advantage of the emperor's concubines.
"Lu Xiang pays his respects to Concubine Zhen." Lu Xiang bowed to Concubine Zhen and greeted her respectfully.
In her previous life, because Concubine Zhen affectionately took Lu Mingzhu's hand and asked her to call her aunt, she naturally followed suit and called her aunt. However, she was met with Concubine Zhen's dissatisfied glare. Although she didn't say anything on the spot, when no one was around, Concubine Zhen called her over and gave her a severe scolding, scolding her for being ignorant of etiquette and rules, and bringing shame to the Lu family.
How could she, who was once so proud, endure such sarcasm and criticism? So she began to harbor countless resentments towards Concubine Zhen in her heart.
The reason why Concubine Zhen disliked her was simply because she was too arrogant and ignored her grandmother's love for her, so Concubine Zhen felt sorry for her grandmother.
Concubine Zhen looked at Lu Xiang expressionlessly and nodded to the old lady: "There has indeed been a significant change."
The old lady chuckled and gave Lu Xiang a glare: "How come you are so strange, kid, calling me aunt like Mingzhu?"
Lu Xiang smiled, her smile was as pure and shallow as the stars in the sky, so beautiful that it was breathtaking.
"Grandma, in my granddaughter's heart, Concubine Zhen is my aunt. But now my aunt is the emperor's concubine and has a noble status. Although my granddaughter is not well-educated, she also understands etiquette and respect for hierarchy. She dare not break the rules. If it gets out, wouldn't others laugh at her?" More importantly, she didn't want to give Concubine Zhen any chance to teach her a lesson.
Even if he still disliked Concubine Zhen, he could not make the relationship as strained in this life as in the previous one.
As soon as Lu Xiang finished speaking, Concubine Zhen was stunned, and there was a strange look in her beautiful eyes, as if she wanted to see through her.
The girl in front of him stood obediently aside. She was wearing a plain light green silk dress, and her long, shiny black hair like ink was draped behind her. She only wore a simple jade hairpin in her hair, but it couldn't hide her bright and unparalleled beauty. She stood there, neither humble nor arrogant.
Lu Xiang's long eyelashes trembled slightly, like a butterfly spreading its wings, and there was a gentle smile on her face, which was very different from the arrogant and domineering appearance in people's impression.
"You have become much more sensible." Concubine Zhen murmured softly, "But you don't have to be so formal in your own home."
"Yes." Lu Xiang responded obediently.
When the old lady saw Concubine Zhen's expression gradually relaxing when facing Lu Xiang, she couldn't help but smile happily.
She loves her daughter and cares for her granddaughter. It would be great if the aunt and niece could love each other.
Concubine Zhen brought gifts for everyone, including Qiao Jingru.
Perhaps it was because Qiao Jingru was the eldest daughter-in-law of the Lu family. Although she married a bastard's son, because there was no legitimate son, Lu Chao, the eldest bastard's son, seemed particularly noble. The whole set of headgear that Zhenpin prepared for Qiao Jingru was much inferior to that of Lu Mingzhu.
Lu Xiang, Lu Yue and Lu Qiao each received a piece of jewelry, either a hairpin or a bracelet, and each of the three concubines received a piece of cloth.
But after seeing Liu's Yanluo brocade, the three of them felt more or less uncomfortable when looking at the Shu brocade in their hands.
Lu Chao and Lu Xiao’s were the Four Treasures of the Study.
After seeing Concubine Zhen again, everyone left one after another. The old lady and her daughter were finally reunited after several years of separation, and no one was tactful enough to disturb them at this time.
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