Chapter 553

Chapter 553: Returning to the Lu Family

Ye Zhen followed Lu Shiming back to the Lu Mansion. As soon as she entered the gates, she was immediately engulfed in a warm and soft embrace.

Pei Shi’s voice came from above her head as she said, “You little heartless girl, what place did you go to practice medicine with Mr. Huangfu? Are you trying to scare us to death!”

“Mother…!” Ye Zhen was stuffed in her arms and couldn’t even speak clearly. “Didn’t I come back well?”

“Come back well?” Pei Shi immediately raised her eyebrows and glared at her. “You’ve already lost a lot of weight, how can you still come back well?”

“Mother, let go of my sister first, she’ll be suffocated to death by you.” Lu Xiangzhi couldn’t help laughing at the side.

“Tell me!” Pei Shi waited as she glared at her son from the corner of her eye before finally letting go of Ye Zhen.

Ye Zhen took Pei Shi’s hand and said coquettishly, “Mother, although I have lost some weight, I haven’t suffered. In fact, I have learned a lot.”

“You are not allowed to leave the capital in the future!” Pei Shi slapped her hand hard. “I was so worried that not a day went by when I could not sleep well.”

“Mother, isn’t it possible for her to leave the capital after getting married?” Lu Xiangzhi said with a smile.

“Okay now, Grandmother is still waiting,” Lu Shiming interjected with a smile, “first say hello to her.”

Ye Zhen looked at Lu Shiming and Pei Shi and was surged with emotions. Although she hated Lu Lingzhi and wanted to ruin the current status* of the Lu family, she also hoped to repay the kindness of this couple. Without their sincere love, how could her twin sister have lived this happily? They really loved this adopted daughter of theirs.

[* wealth and prosperity]

She just wanted to take revenge on Lu Lingzhi and not hurt anyone beyond necessary. The matriarch had also been very kind to her, and there were still some good people in this family.

“Big Brother.” Ye Zhen looked at Lu Xiangzhi with a smile.

Lu Xiangzhi came over and poked her on the forehead. “You can’t blame Mother for being this worried. When we received word that Huaijiang was inflicted with plague, she wanted to head right there to bring you back in person, but she was stopped by father.”

Now, Ye Zhen was overcome with guilt. She had indeed been too stubborn and never once stopped to consider how worried Lu Shiming and his wife would be about her. “I won’t dare to do it again.”

If they knew that she was kidnapped in Gujia Village and almost killed by Zhao Mingxiao on Zhao Jia Island, they would definitely not let her out of the gates in the future. Fortunately, Mo Rongzhan had people hide all this news.

When the group arrived at the upper hall, Old Madam Lu hurriedly pulled Ye Zhen into her arms, then she carefully checked her and said dotingly, “This heartless little girl didn’t turn herself into a wild boy again. It doesn’t seem like you’re having a hard time out there.”

“Grandmother, I really didn’t suffer at all. Even though there was a flood in Huaijiang Village, I was still in the city. How could Master put me in danger?” Ye Zhen said softly from Old Madam Lu’s embrace. “Even when there was a plague, I was just helping brew the medicine.”

Mrs. Lu patted her little butt as she said, “Don’t try to coax this old woman. If you weren’t in danger, why would the emperor lock up Xu Ji? He didn’t even put you, the princess, in his eyes!”

Xu Ji is locked up?  Ye Zhen was stunned for a moment but before she could for details, Old Madam Lu spoke again…

“How did you get to Zhao Jia Island? You returned with such a big accolade, was there any danger on the island?” she asked hurriedly.

Ye Zhen was at a loss. “Grandmother, what accolade?” she said.

“Don’t you know about this?” Lu Shiming said with a smile. “His Majesty sent a decree a few days ago saying that it was only with your help that Zhao Jia Island could be subdued, not a single soldier was sacrificed in the process. Now, the entire capital knows that you are the emperor’s lucky star*.”

[*福星 fú xīng: mascot; lucky star]

“Lucky star?” Ye Zhen cried out in surprise. What is Mo Rongzhan trying to do?

When he attacked Zhao Jia Island, she had already been taken to Black Wind Island, so how could it have anything to do with her?

Old Madam Lu’s wrinkled face beamed as she said, “Our Yaoyao is a blessed person, she can bring blessings to whoever she is around.”

“Grandmother, in fact, I didn’t do anything. It was all thanks to the emperor and my master that we were able to subdue Zhao Jia Island. “Ye Zhen laughed dryly. She didn’t want to take this credit at all, who knows what ulterior motives Mo Rongzhan was harboring now!

Pei Shi glared at her, “You must have done something, otherwise why would the emperor accredit you?”

Ye Zhen laughed dryly, increasingly sure that Mo Rongzhan would definitely do something next. He had showered her with accolades over her meritorious service, there was no reason for him to abolish her position as the princess. Since that was the case, what would his next move be?

“Father, what’s the matter with Xu Ji?” Ye Zhen didn’t want to continue talking about the merits, she would directly ask Mo Rongzhan the next time they met.

At the mention of Xu Ji, everybody’s face sank, especially Lu Shiming who snorted coldly. “In all consideration, the emperor has already given Prime Minister Xu face by simply putting him in the prison… That guy wanted to set the village near Huaijiang on fire disregarding your life. This not only incensed the empress dowager, but also the emperor. As if this was not enough, there were times he spied on the imperial harem and displayed a rebellious streak. If it were someone else, he would have already been sentenced to death.”

Xu Ji indeed deserved to be damned. However, she reckoned that since he was Prime Minister Xu’s son and Xu Huiru’s younger brother, Mo Rongzhan only punished him on the surface. She did not expect… He really decreed a heavy penalty… “Father, why did he spy on the imperial harem?”

Lu Shiming glanced at Ye Zhen and whispered, “When the emperor was young, he was saved by a girl. The empress dowager summoned this girl to accompany her for a few days… Concubine Xu then told about this to Xu Ji, who later blabbered nonsense outside, completely angering the Emperor…”

“Who is Concubine Xu?” Ye Zhen asked in surprise. She had only been away for a few months and yet there were many things she did not know of.

Old Madam Lu smiled lightly as she said, “Concubine Xu is Xu Xianfei*, the emperor abolished her position, and now she is just a concubine without a title.”

[*贤 xián: worthy or virtuous person, 妃 fēi: imperial concubine]

Xu Huiru was actually deposed as the imperial concubine… An inexplicable emotion surged in her heart.

“There is not even one imperial concubine in the palace now,” Pei Shi said with a soft sigh.

Pei Shi sighed in a low voice. Initially, there were a few imperial concubines in the palace. To begin with, there was only a Guifei before a Xianfei joined. Now both imperial concubines, without any exception, were abolished from their positions. Not to mention, Lu Wushuang’s fate was far more tragic. Indeed, she wondered which lady was capable of obtaining the emperor’s sole favor in the imperial harem.

Old Madam Lu glanced at Ye Zhen, and a smile appeared on the corners of her lips. “Yaoyao has been traveling on the road for several days, hurry back and rest. We will hold a banquet for you and Lingzhi in the evening.”

Ye Zhen was very dusty, she really wanted to go back to freshen up first. “Grandmother, then I’ll come back to accompany you later and tell you about the interesting things I encountered on the way.”

“Go on!” Old Madam Lu nodded with a smile.

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