Chapter 556

Chapter 556 – Jealous Sisters

Lu Lingzhi took the imperial decree to the Lu family ancestral hall, while Lu Shiming took people to put all the gifts in the store. These were bestowed by the palace, and they did not dare to pile them up arbitrarily, destroying the things that were rewarded by His Majesty was a great sin.

Even though Ye Zhen was inexplicably depressed at this time, she still accompanied the matriarch back to the upper hall with a smile.

Old Madam Lu and Pei Shi were both quiet. This decree had caught them both off guard. It was all wrong… Hadn’t Aunt Cheng personally made a trip to the Lu Mansion and hinted to the old madam to not let the princess marry the Marquis of Jing Ning… that the emperor had declared he wanted to marry Yaoyao and make her the empress?

Back in the upper hall, Old Madam Lu sent Lu Jing and the others away, leaving only Ye Zhen by her side as Pei Shi sat in silence to one side.

“Yaoyao, be honest with Grandmother, how did His Majesty treat you along the way?” Old Madam Lu said in a low voice.

Ye Zhen was taken aback for a moment, wondering why the matriarch would ask such a question. “His Majesty was very good to me, Grandmother, why do you ask this?”

Old Madam Lu and Pei Shi looked at each other, their puzzlement deepening.

The matriarch continued, “Then… did His Majesty meet any other woman?”

They know! Ye Zhen was shocked to the core. It turned out that Old Madam Lu and Pei Shi were aware of the emperor’s intentions towards her, if not why would they ask her such questions? But… how did they know?

“No. But Grandmother, what does the emperor meeting another woman have to do with me?”

It seems this little girl isn’t aware that the emperor wanted to make her his empress. It’s good this way… there will be no disappointment when there is no expectation…Would be better to think it was just a dream. “It’s nothing, I’m just asking. Send someone to see if your father and eldest brother are here, and have someone prepare dinner.”

Ye Zhen was still in shock. She had no idea how Old Madam Lu knew about Mo Rongzhan and her. Could it be that the fellow was discovered when he had visited the Lu Mansion late at night? But the matriarch’s reaction seemed to say otherwise…

No matter what, now they all had to pretend that they did not know anything. Ye Zhen was glad that Old Madam Lu had not said anything about this before, this way she could retain her dignity.

She couldn’t guess what Mo Rongzhan was thinking. Seeing how he had showered her with his attention and care all through their journey, she didn’t think he would really marry her to someone else. And she certainly didn’t know what ulterior motives he was currently harboring.

Ye Zhen walked out of the inner room and saw Lu Fang and Lu Jing talking in the tea room* next door.

[*reception room exclusive for tea or some such]

Lu Fang was dressed as the typical furen*. Having married Liang Chun, she was a marquis’ wife. Although she was only the second wife**, she could take charge of the family she married into. However, there was an indistinct malevolent and baleful air about her. One could gather that her life in the Liang family was not very easy.

[*妇人 fù rén- married woman/main wife.

**It’s been mentioned previously that Liang Chun is a 30-year-old widower.]

“Ah, Third Younger Sister is here.” Lu Fang snickered, hardly able to contain her envy at the sight of the little girl who seemed to be getting more and more beautiful.

“Second Older Sister, Fourth Younger Sister.” Ye Zhen smiled lightly and walked in.

Ye Zhen had a kind of beauty that could move hearts. As Lu Jing looked at her, she thought of all the gifts she had never been able to receive… All the rare and precious jewels that had eluded her grasp, and yet Lu Yaoyao had managed to have it all, without lifting a finger. She was mad with jealousy. “Sure enough, no matter how similar people are, they have different destinies. Third Sister secretly left the capital with someone, and not only did she not get punished by Grandmother, she even got to enjoy all the rewards the palace bestowed upon her. Third Sister, you had better not forget the support us in the future.”

Ye Zhen glanced at her indifferently and said, “Fourth Younger Sister, how do you want me to support you? You might as well tell me directly.”

“Third Younger Sister should put in good words for Fourth Younger Sister before the empress dowager and the emperor, that’s how you can support her,” Lu Fang said with a smile. “Tsk, tsk, quickly come and let Second Older Sister take a look at you. Our third sister went on a trip, and yet, instead of wilting, she has grown more lustrous. I don’t know who will be cheaper* in the future.”

[*as in, who’ll be able to get a bargain by marrying Third Sister, the feels should be mildly derogatory but with decent words.]

“Hmph.” Lu Jing snorted coldly and glared at Ye Zhen disdainfully.

Lu Fang’s hand, which was on Ye Zhen’s arm, subconsciously tightened. “If I were a man, I would also like to hide you away in a golden house*.”

[金屋藏娇 jīn wū cáng jiāo- a golden house to keep one’s mistress (idiom); a magnificent house built for a beloved woman. It’s a negative connotation wherein LF means YZ is a seductress. In this era, a concubine is perceived as a seductress, so she is also alluding that she is a concubine material.]

Ye Zhen pushed Lu Fang’s hand away as she said, “Second Sister, being kept in a golden house is not a good thing.”

“Any decent family would not want such a daughter-in-law. Isn’t it the same as inviting sin in?” Lu Jing snickered. The likes of Lu Yaoyao were just like those evil concubines depicted in books— anything but good.

“Lu Jing, we haven’t seen each other for a few months, and you have become even more brazen. You still keep saying things you shouldn’t say.” Ye Zhen eyed the girl coldly, her voice stern.

A woman’s envy is a terrifying thing, regardless of whether it is a married woman or a girl in a boudoir. Since her own life was unsatisfactory, Lu Fang hoped that others would have a similar fate too. Lu Jing was someone who had always resented those better-looking or more outstanding than her. It did not take a genius to discern their feelings right now.

Lu Fang frowned and said, “Third Younger Sister, Jing’er is your sister after all, how can you say such a thing.”

“It is because she is a younger sister that I taught her a lesson. If it were someone else, they could just die and I wouldn’t so much as say a word,” Ye Zhen retorted coldly.

“Second Older Sister, she is a princess of high standing, naturally she will look down upon us. We had best not say anything, lest we get blamed,” Lu Jing said as she took Lu Fang’s hand.

Ye Zhen hardly had any affection for these two Lu sisters, so she naturally didn’t care about their attitudes.

They waited in the tea room for less than a quarter of an hour before Lu Lingzhi and Lu Shiming came back. The maids then arranged the tables and chairs, and the family banquet soon began.

“Fang’er is here too,” Lu Lingzhi remarked indifferently (upon seeing her). As the elder brother, he didn’t care much about this concubine-born sister, he was just being perfunctory.

Lu Fang’s lips rose into a smile. She had been home for a while now and yet Lu Lingzhi only found out now. “Yeah, Eldest Brother, I was happy to hear that you and Third Younger Sister are back, so I came to see you.”

“How is your life in the Liang family?” Lu Lingzhi asked casually, but his eyes couldn’t help but look at Ye Zhen who was beside Old Madam Lu.

“Quite… quite good,” Lu Fang said with a reluctant smile.

She had initially insisted on marrying Liang Chun, so she could become the marquis’s wife. However, it was only after marrying into the Liang family that she realized the reason her grandmother had been against this marriage.

She had been so smitten by the dazzling facade, that she failed to sense the misery within.

She reckoned Lu Yaoyao must have long known of Liang Chun’s character, if not she would not have rejected the Liang family’s proposal so vehemently back then. Alas, she really had become Lu Yaoyao’s scapegoat.

Lu Fang resented Old Madam Lu and Ye Zhen in her heart, blaming them for her current sufferings. She turned to look at Ye Zhen, suppressing the jealousy that was overflowing in her heart.

When Ye Zhen heard Lu Fang’s words, she simply sighed in her heart. When Lu Fang insisted on marrying Liang Chun, she had urged her not to go ahead with the marriage while Old Madam Lu too tried to stop her. However, she was stubborn as a mule and refused to heed no matter what. Thus, the matriarch had declared that Lu Fang’s plight in the Liang family was something she had brought upon herself and had nothing to do with anyone at all. As such, she could only swallow the bitterness in her stomach and not blame anyone for her misfortune.

Unfortunately, Lu Fang thought otherwise.

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