Lu Zhi had just arrived in time to hear Zhang Chanhui’s whole tirade.
Then he saw Yu Xi looking utterly wronged, facing off against the arrogant, overbearing woman in front of her, clearly at a disadvantage.
He walked over to Yu Xi’s side, his long brows drawn tight.
Yu Xi immediately grabbed Lu Zhi’s sleeve, pointing at Zhang Chanhui and accusing her. “Husband, you’re finally here, I’m being bullied to death! They knocked over my teacup!”
Zhang Chanhui, her face soaked in the spilled drink, was stunned, this Yu Xi was simply shameless.
“I didn’t knock it over…” Zhang Chanhui trailed off partway through, catching Lu Zhi’s cold gaze and remembering that the man in front of her was a cabinet minister. Her voice caught, and she could only say, “Yu Xi knocked over that teacup herself, everyone here can testify to it.”
Yu Xi said, “It was you who knocked it over, Jin Yao can vouch for me!”
Jin Yao, still somewhat dazed, immediately backed her up. “Right, Minister Lu, Yu Xi’s practically been bullied to death!”
Goodness, Yu Xi really hadn’t lied, her husband was far too handsome!
Zhang Chanhui looked at the group of girls who had just been united against Yu Xi moments ago, only to find them all suddenly mute, unable to voice her grievance, and could only grip her handkerchief in silent fury.
Lu Zhi hadn’t come to listen to their testimonies, he’d come to back Yu Xi up.
He lowered his head, looking at Yu Xi pitifully clutching his sleeve. “Are you hurt anywhere?”
Yu Xi wrinkled her nose and said sweetly, “Not hurt, but it’s a good thing husband came in time, or I would’ve been bullied to death.”
Her voice was soft and sweet, and Zhang Chanhui ground her teeth, what was she putting on this act for, she certainly hadn’t sounded like this while splashing her earlier!
Lu Zhi said nothing, instead turning to look at Vice Minister Zhang, who had hurried over, and said coldly, “I’ve heard the Zhang household is known for its strict family discipline, why is your daughter so overbearing? To the point of bullying my own wife.”
Having finally gotten a rare day off and just gotten into the spirit of drinking, Vice Minister Zhang heard that Zhang Chanhui had gotten into a dispute with Yu Xi. In the past he might have let it go, but now that Yu Xi was married, and married to Lu Zhi, no less, he hurried right over.
Vice Minister Zhang hastily apologized. “This is entirely my failure in raising my daughter.”
As he spoke, he glared at Zhang Chanhui. “It’s one thing for you to cause trouble outside all the time, but now you actually dare offend the cabinet minister’s wife, apologize at once!”
Zhang Chanhui refused, protesting, “Father, she splashed me first, shouldn’t she apologize to me instead!”
Yu Xi, however, snorted coldly. “Then do you dare say what you just said again, in front of my husband?”
Lu Zhi frowned. “What did she say?”
Vice Minister Zhang also turned to Zhang Chanhui. “What nonsense did you spout?”
Zhang Chanhui said, “I, I…”
Anxious and flustered, seeing the crowd of onlookers growing, she could only steel herself and apologize to Yu Xi first. “I was talking nonsense just now, please forgive me this once, Madam Minister.”
With Lu Zhi standing right there, even with a hundred times the nerve, Zhang Chanhui wouldn’t have dared repeat what she’d said before.
She had assumed Lu Zhi surely despised Yu Xi, never expecting he would actually stand up for her.
Watching Yu Xi’s smug expression, Zhang Chanhui could only swallow her broken teeth along with her anger.
With Zhang Chanhui’s apology given, Yu Xi didn’t want to press the matter further either, after all, Zhang Chanhui had been wrong, and with the crowd growing bigger by the moment, continuing the argument wouldn’t do her any good either.
Yu Xi lifted her chin. “Since you’ve apologized, I’ll be gracious and forgive you this once. Next time, I won’t be so easy to deal with!”
Seeing Yu Xi let it go, Vice Minister Zhang glanced at Lu Zhi’s expression and relaxed, then said to Zhang Chanhui, whose face still held resentment, “Well? Aren’t you going to thank Madam Minister Lu?”
Zhang Chanhui swallowed her anger. “Thank you, Madam Minister, for not stooping to my level.”
Having apologized, Zhang Chanhui turned and ran off. The group who had just been helping her bully Yu Xi, seeing that they weren’t being implicated, all quietly slipped away too.
The area cleared quickly, and Yu Xi tilted her face up to ask Lu Zhi, “Husband, why did you come too?”
Although today was a day off, Lu Zhi had gone into the palace early because the wedding had delayed many matters.
It was Madam Lu who had sent him word that the Jin family’s spring outing banquet was happening today, a grand affair that all the prominent families in the capital would attend, and that since he and Yu Xi were newly married, they ought to appear together, or people might start speculating.
Lu Zhi said, “I finished the matters at hand for the moment, so I came over.”
With that, he glanced at Jin Yao, still standing nearby, and said to Yu Xi, “You two carry on, I’ll go now.”
Yu Xi blinked. “Then let’s go home together tonight.”
Lu Zhi nodded. “All right.”
Once Lu Zhi left, Jin Yao hugged Yu Xi tightly, her voice a bit excited. “Your husband really is so handsome! And so impressive too, did you see how Zhang Chanhui looked just now, she must be furious.”
Yu Xi said proudly, “Of course. When picking a husband, you have to pick one like that, I’d advise you to hurry up and find one too.”
“You’re right!”
After yesterday’s incident at Xunwei Restaurant, the Jin family had already begun discussing calling off the engagement with the Zhang family, only for Zhang Gao to suddenly dig in his heels and refuse to let go no matter what.
But Jin Yao no longer wanted to marry him, no matter how stubbornly Zhang Gao clung on, it wouldn’t matter.
And Jin Yao had already made up her mind, when marrying, you really should marry someone handsome. She hadn’t realized it before, but ever since Yu Qing had helped her yesterday, that glimpse of his handsome face had shaken her heart badly. Looking at Yu Xi’s husband too, Jin Yao realized she’d truly been shortchanged all these years being engaged to Zhang Gao.
Yu Xi felt quite gratified that Jin Yao had finally come to her senses, patting her shoulder. “A student worth teaching. I’ll keep a good eye out for you from now on, the moment I spot a handsome man, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Ahem, um…” Jin Yao cleared her throat. She’d meant to ask about Yu Qing, but held back, Yu Xi couldn’t keep a secret, better not to ask around just yet. “All right, then I’m entrusting my life’s happiness to you.”
Yu Xi said, “No problem!”
The two hit it off instantly. Having said this, Yu Xi looked regretfully at the two empty bowls on the table. “Ugh, I only got one sip of my lychee peach drink. It’s all Zhang Chanhui’s fault, what a waste.”
“It’s fine,” Jin Yao lowered her voice. “My second sister has some in her room, I’ll take you to drink it.”
Yu Xi said, “Let’s go!”
The two walked off happily together.
Not far away, up in a pavilion, Lu Zhi looked away.
The man sitting across from him, dressed in a lake-blue brocade robe, curved his eyes into a smile, unable to resist teasing. “Minister Lu really is different after marriage, I never thought you’d go stand up for your little wife.”
Lu Zhi looked at him. “Your Highness Prince Qi jests. My wife is young and not skilled at disputes, if it had gone on, it would only have damaged the Lu family’s reputation. Having witnessed it, naturally I couldn’t just stand by.”
Not skilled at disputes?
Prince Qi, drinking his tea, nearly choked. Before Lu Zhi had arrived, he’d been sitting right here watching the whole thing clearly, Lu Zhi’s little wife had thrown water at people, holding her own against several opponents at once, her spirit not lacking one bit. Where exactly was the part where she wasn’t skilled at disputes?
Of course, with Lu Zhi right there, Prince Qi still said, “Of course, husband and wife are one, when the wife suffers a wrong, there’s no reason for the husband not to step in.”
Lu Zhi nodded, glancing out the window again, Yu Xi’s figure had already vanished from sight.
He didn’t expect that someone so spoiled would actually be bullied like that, seems she was more of a paper tiger, fierce only at home.
Prince Qi poured Lu Zhi a cup of tea. “Drink up, drink up. Since you’re finally free, let’s have a proper talk. Care for a drink at a tavern tonight?”
“No,” Lu Zhi picked up his teacup. “I still have duties tomorrow. Your Highness has only just returned to the capital, you should spend more time with His Majesty, to fulfill your filial duty. Spending all your days lounging around taverns, if noticed by the wrong people, might stir up gossip again.”
“I’ve never had a shortage of gossip about me, one or two more lines won’t hurt,” Prince Qi said with a smile, then couldn’t help adding, “You’re so rule-abiding, I don’t imagine your wife is the rigid, well-behaved type either. How does she put up with you?”
Hearing this, Lu Zhi thought about it, at home, it was always Yu Xi who came close to him on her own; because she clung to him so much, Lu Zhi had never even considered this question before.
Of course, he had no intention of considering it either, what he wanted was mutual respect and a certain distance between husband and wife, no need to bend himself out of shape to accommodate anyone.
“I don’t know,” Lu Zhi said. “I’m not close with her.”
Prince Qi shook his head. “Not close with your own wife, truly a rare thing in this world.”
But from what he’d seen, though Lu Zhi claimed they weren’t close, his wife certainly seemed eager to get close to him.
Perhaps given a bit more time, this cold-faced minister would find himself thoroughly worn down by his little wife.
Prince Qi looked forward to seeing it.
·
Once the spring outing banquet ended, Yu Xi quickly spotted Lu Zhi about to board the carriage at the gate.
She cheerfully said goodbye to Jin Yao, then trotted over to Lu Zhi with small steps. “Husband, wait for me!”
Hearing her voice, Lu Zhi stopped and waited for her, he’d told her before not to shout and make a scene in public, to act with proper decorum. It seemed Yu Xi had forgotten all of it completely.
Yu Xi ran over, and seeing Zhang Chanhui not far away, took hold of Lu Zhi’s hand. “Husband, you’re so nice, waiting for me specially.”
Lu Zhi saw through her little scheme, but out in public, he’d still give her some face. “Let’s go.”
The two of them, walking off together, looked affectionate and well-matched, which only made Zhang Chanhui more resentful. She reached her hand out toward her own fiancé, Hu Song. “Hold my hand.”
Hu Song glanced at her. “There are so many people around, why would I hold your hand? I still have some pride.”
Zhang Chanhui couldn’t help saying, “Yu Xi held her husband’s hand, why can’t you hold mine?”
Hu Song knew of Yu Xi too, pretty, with a sweet voice, the kind of woman any man would want to cherish. Not like Zhang Chanhui, who always looked down her nose at everyone and argued with people over everything. He had no desire to hold her hand at all.
Hu Song brushed her off. “They’re married, we’re not. It’s not the same thing.”
Zhang Chanhui had no choice but to lower her hand. After a moment, still unconvinced, she said, “Go be a cabinet minister too then. I want to be a cabinet minister’s wife as well.”
Hu Song glanced at her. “Do you not remember Minister Lu was my examiner last year? Me, a cabinet minister? Give it a few decades.”
“Then why did Minister Lu enter the cabinet so young,” Zhang Chanhui thought him hopeless. “Can’t you try harder?”
Since she was, after all, his fiancée, Hu Song patiently explained to her, “Minister Lu placed first in the imperial exam at seventeen, spent five years at the Hanlin Academy, then four more years gaining experience across the Six Ministries, before finally entering the cabinet, and he’s highly regarded by His Majesty besides. Reaching that position takes both ability and fortune in equal measure, please don’t put me in a difficult spot.”
Hearing this, Zhang Chanhui only grew more envious, why did this Yu Xi have such good fortune! She refused to believe it, a man like Lu Zhi, truly unbothered about marrying his own brother’s former fiancée?
And she’d also heard that the Lu family had a highly talented cousin, deeply devoted to Lu Zhi. Heh, just wait, sooner or later, she’d get to watch Yu Xi become a laughingstock too!