Speaking of Shouyang’s worries, she frowned and nodded.
“I have been troubled by this for a long time. In such a vast world, it feels as though there is no place for me to find refuge.”
Lu Huiyi held Shouyang’s hand tightly, comforting her softly: “I wonder what Prince Yu thinks. Does he have a young lady in mind? Or perhaps his birth mother, Consort Li, has some plans.”
Shouyang shook her head: “It seems I have never heard of the Sixth Prince and Consort Li having any considerations for the selection of the Princess Consort Yu.”
“County Princess!”
Someone called out for Shouyang. Shouyang hurried to bid farewell to Lu Huiyi: “That is the third daughter of Junior Official Xia from the Ministry of Works. I must go over there first.”
Lu Huiyi nodded and said, “Elder Cousin, marriage is a lifelong matter. Since you are unwilling, a way will naturally be found to resolve it. Do not worry too much.”
Shouyang nodded gratefully and hurried away.
Lu Huiyi looked in the direction Shouyang had departed. Was that Xia Sanniang? Living in the capital as well, why did she not recognize this person?
Or perhaps, during those four years when she was married outside the capital, she had lost touch with such circles.
There was no time to think it over carefully. By now, Prince Yu should be on his way to the imperial garden.
Just as she was guessing which path Prince Yu would take, she suddenly noticed that most of the eunuchs and palace maids were gathered on the western side.
When Prince Yu and Prince Jing arrived together, they happened to witness this exact scene.
That young lady dressed in a greenish-blue long brocade robe was half-crouched beside the Madam of Shu peony cultivated meticulously by Noble Consort Wei. The greenish-blue wide sleeves complemented the petals perfectly, and her goose-yellow skirt draped over the ground like smoke and mist.
Prince Jing’s breathing froze for a long moment. Which noble family’s daughter was this? In his memory, he had never encountered her during this banquet in his past life.
As if hearing the pounding of his heart, the young lady turned her head at the right moment, revealing a peerlessly beautiful face. Even though he was looking down at her from above, there was no submissive look of deference on her face.
Even Prince Yu, standing right beside him, noticed his absent-mindedness. Prince Yu glanced at Prince Jing with interest, then swept a dismissive gaze over Lu Huiyi.
Prince Yu had no idea that at this moment, Prince Jing’s mind was churning noisily, buzzing so loudly that his head ached.
Lu Huiyi! How could it be this woman!
The first time he had learned of her existence was four years later, after she entered the Xingwang Manor as a concubine. Or had he perhaps seen her before, only for her to have so little presence that he simply failed to remember?
When Lu Huiyi looked up, she saw Prince Jing first and froze obviously. She cursed angrily in her mind: she had come here to lie in wait for Prince Yu, completely forgetting that Prince Jing might also make an appearance. What a tactical blunder.
Calming herself down swiftly, she then spotted Prince Yu beside him. She rose quickly, intending to bow and slip away, but accidentally stepped on her trailing skirt.
Prince Jing instinctively reached out and gave her a pull. In her panic, Lu Huiyi tried to pull away, but the more she backed away, the more off-balance she became. Prince Jing exerted force with his hands, inadvertently pulling her straight into his arms.
Wrong, wrong, everything is wrong!
Prince Jing appeared kind and harmless on the surface, but in reality, he was deep-hearted and loved to play the innocent victim to frame others. Such a double-faced scoundrel was far more difficult to handle than a fool like Xingwang or a violent maniac like Prince Yu. Heaven above, she, Lu Huiyi, had never intended to attach herself to Prince Jing. She begged the heavens for mercy not to throw the two of them together.
Lu Huiyi was thoroughly panicked and failed to notice the rigid tension in Prince Jing’s entire body.
Prince Jing was also filled with deep regret, thinking to himself why on earth his hands had been so fast to pull her. He should have just let her fall flat on her face at the banquet and make a fool of herself, rather than gathering her into his arms and trapping himself in such an awkward predicament.
What on earth should he do now? After his rebirth, he had heard that the Emperor wanted to betroth him to Xia Sanniang, but he hadn’t even figured out which one Xia Sanniang was at the banquet yet.
Besides, who knew what malicious schemes this wicked woman might be brewing in her heart, ready to bite him at any moment?
The chaos here lasted only a breath of time. Lu Huiyi quickly backed out of Prince Jing’s embrace, lowered her head, and curtsied: “Greetings, Your Highnesses. This humble maiden lost her composure and will take her leave now.”
With that, she hurried away in a flustered, stumbling rush.
A teasing smile hung on Prince Yu’s face as he paced forward, clapping a hand onto Prince Jing’s shoulder. “Seventh Brother, has your eye caught this young lady? Would you like this elder brother to go and inquire which official’s household she hails from?”
Prince Jing shrugged his shoulder, shaking off Prince Yu’s hand, and said coldly, “Many thanks for Sixth Brother’s good intentions, but I merely lent a helping hand and harbor no such intentions. If Sixth Brother fancies her yourself, you are entirely welcome to petition for an imperial marriage decree.”
With that, Prince Jing walked forward on his own accord, ignoring the sudden darkening of Prince Yu’s expression behind him.
What is he acting so arrogant about? Still thinking he is the legitimate son of the Empress? Truly ungrateful.
Lu Huiyi had already hidden herself far away, standing alone in a corner to stomp her foot in secret. She was wondering what other opportunities she might have to see Prince Yu before the Emperor issued the marriage decree between him and Shouyang.
“Huiniang, why are you standing here?”
Lu Huiyi turned her head and saw Shouyang and Xia Sanniang standing right behind her.
“Prince Yu and Prince Jing have already arrived. Shall we return to the banquet?” Shouyang asked her.
Lu Huiyi’s gaze fell upon Xia Sanniang standing beside Shouyang. She remembered now: this was the very person the Emperor had originally betrothed to Prince Jing as the Princess Consort Jing. During those few years when she was away from the capital, she did not know what had happened, but Xia Sanniang had passed away while still in her maiden home, and afterwards the Emperor never bestowed another marriage, leaving Prince Jing unmarried as well.
Lu Huiyi acknowledged with a smile, stepping forward brightly to greet them.
“Fourteenth Sister, if I had a sister like this, I truly wouldn’t have the face to come out in public.” Xu Wuniang intercepted Lu Huiyi, blocking her path.
Lu Zhenyi chimed in, “Elder Sister rarely goes out and does not realize that when we are away from home, our words and actions do not just represent ourselves, they also affect all of us sisters back in the household.”
“What kind of remarks are these, younger sister? Why are you standing here with Cousin making passive-aggressive insinuations? If you have something to say, why not speak it plainly?” Lu Huiyi frowned, her tone quite unaccommodating.
“I saw with my own eyes Elder Sister throwing herself into Prince Jing’s arms. How utterly shameless.”
“What kind of talk is this, Cousin!” Shouyang anxiously interrupted Lu Zhenyi. “How crucial is a young maiden’s reputation? You yourself said that the sisters of the household share the same honor and disgrace, so why are you still here slandering Huiniang’s innocence?”
“Elder Cousin, do not be anxious. Fifth Wu and I both saw Twelfth Sister and His Highness locked in an embrace with our own eyes. Why not let her explain herself about what happened?”
“Thank you for your concern, Zhenniang. At the time, I was marveling at that Madam of Shu peony and failed to notice the arrival of the two Highnesses. In my sudden panic, I almost tripped. Prince Jing merely acted out of kindness to help me up. Zhenniang, you must not talk nonsense, lest Prince Jing thinks that after kindly pulling me to my feet, he must also endure being latched onto by a daughter of the Lu family.”
Lu Huiyi stepped forward, pressing step-by-step toward Lu Zhenyi while casting a sideways glance at Xu Wuniang.
Consort Xu wanted to elevate her biological son, Prince Xing, to the throne, and the Xu family naturally did not wish to see the power of Prince Yu and Prince Jing grow. Teasing Lu Huiyi a little alongside Lu Zhenyi today was one thing, but if things escalated and truly linked Lu Huiyi’s reputation with Prince Jing, causing the traditionally neutral Lu family to become entangled with Prince Jing, the loss would far outweigh any gain.
Catching the underlying meaning of those words, Xu Wuniang fell silent. When Lu Zhenyi found herself without anyone backing her up, she stammered and could no longer speak.
The ninth young lady of the Duke of Cao’s household, whose engagement to Shouyang had already been broken off, appeared out of nowhere. Opening her mouth with barbs flying, she sneered, “No wonder the County Princess wanted to break off the engagement with my elder brother. So this fickle temperament runs in the blood of the Lu family.”
These words insulted the entire Lu family as well as all the married daughters of the Lu house. Lu Zhenyi, standing alongside Lu Huiyi and Shouyang, cast a hostile glare toward the ninth Miss Cao.
Shouyang was furious: “You, you, you! What kind of talk is this? You are baselessly soiling the entire reputation of the Lu family.”
Lu Huiyi held Shouyang’s hand to soothe her, stepping in front of her to question the girl: “Who in the capital does not know that it was the Heir of Duke Cao who behaved improperly with another woman, using his own life to force the Duke of Cao to come forward and break off the engagement? How is it that in the mouth of the ninth Miss Cao, right and wrong are inverted, turning it into Shouyang’s fault? Not to mention splashing such dirty water on my Lu family. May I take this to mean that the Duke of Cao is not only breaking off the marriage, but also completely severing ties with the Jiang family, the Lu family, and every single family that has marital ties with them?”
“This! You must not resort to sophistry! When did I ever say such a thing?” Miss Cao could not help but back away.
“Do you dare claim your previous words did not carry that exact meaning? Rather than standing here arguing with me, Miss Cao would do better to return home and ask your elder brother how he engaged in illicit affairs and plotted to elope with another woman after his betrothal, and when his new wedding date is supposed to be set. I imagine many people in the capital are very concerned about the Heir of Duke Cao’s marriage. Following Miss Cao’s logic just now, may I assume that such treacherous, faithless, and frivolous behavior is also a family tradition of the Cao household?”
Unable to outtalk Lu Huiyi’s sharp tongue, Miss Cao covered her face, flushed with shame and anger, and ran away.
Due to Lu Huiyi’s words, the minds of the onlookers shifted away from any possible illicit romance between Prince Jing and Lu Huiyi, redirecting their attention entirely toward the scandalous marriage affairs of the Heir of Duke Cao and Miss Liu.
No sooner had they chased away Miss Cao than Lu Zhenyi and Xu Wuniang started whispering together again.
“Twelfth Sister’s tongue is truly so sharp. Why did we never notice it before?”
“Perhaps because the mention of Prince Jing today made her anxious, causing her to cast aside the decorum of a noble young lady and resort to market-style sophistry.”
“Zhenniang, you and I are biological sisters. Do not listen to the instigations of outsiders and forget our sisterly bond, helping outsiders slander your own family.”
Xu Wuniang was choked into silence by Lu Huiyi’s use of the word “outsiders.” The other noble ladies, sensing the brewing confrontation, gradually drifted closer, and Xu Wuniang had no desire to leave an impression of loving to stir up trouble in front of everyone.
Grabbing Lu Huiyi’s arm out of gratitude for driving away Miss Cao, Shouyang stepped right up beside her and said, “Indeed. You two are biological sisters after all; how can you not verify the facts before casually spreading gossip outside about your sister’s faults? No matter what friction there was before, sisters never hold grudges overnight; things should be talked out openly. Zhenniang is older now; you ought to stop doing such things driven by personal vendettas.”
Shouyang’s tone was gentle and her mild words framed everything Lu Zhenyi and Xu Wuniang had just said as mere misunderstandings born of sisterly friction.
Noble Consort Wei had not yet arrived, and the two princes were stationed elsewhere. At this time and place, County Princess Shouyang held the highest status among the young ladies. Once she spoke, no one dared to question her further, and the group of young ladies all put on polite and harmonious expressions.
Shanglin, the eunuch serving Prince Jing, hurried back with intelligence: “Your Highness, that young lady right there is Xia Sanniang.”
As Xia Sanniang flashed past, Prince Jing hurried out of the banquet to pursue her, accidentally overhearing the conversation among the young ladies, which forced him to hide behind the pavilion pillar.
He had heard Lu Huiyi’s entire string of eloquent retorts, and he quietly peeked out with a single eye to steal a glance.
This girl was already so sharp-tongued back then; she was no different from the twenty-eight-year-old Noble Consort Lu, acting for all the world like a little rabbit.