Lady Lu knew her daughter was not the type to go with the flow or let others manipulate her. Thinking of her husband, she couldn’t help but sigh deeply again: “Your father, he has always had this kind of temperament. Back then, your aunt…”
The events of those years truly harmed so many people. The Crown Prince didn’t change his view of the Empress just because he got Lu Shi, let alone treat Lu Shi well. A perfectly good cousin ended up becoming less than strangers, and Prince Gong need not even be mentioned—it was said that after going to his fiefdom, he fell seriously ill and nearly didn’t survive. Yet in her husband Lord Lu’s eyes, all of this was merely because his sister wasn’t diligent enough or clever enough, didn’t know how to bend and accommodate the Crown Prince, which resulted in the Crown Prince favoring Fan Shi instead. Thinking of this matter made her heart turn cold. Looking at her daughter, as beautiful as a flower and precious as jade, waves of helplessness surged in her heart: “You don’t know this, but your father has already gone to find His Highness the Crown Prince…”
Lu Chonghua was somewhat incredulous. It took her a long while to recover before she let out a cold laugh, her heart filled with mixed feelings. She knew her father was someone whose ambition exceeded the heavens, but didn’t know he could be this foolish. Before coming to the capital, Grandfather had repeatedly instructed them not to get close to the Crown Prince, yet he just wouldn’t listen. Now, just after Fan Liangdi’s death, when the Crown Prince’s resentment toward the Empress and the Lu family was at its deepest, he still chose this very moment to run to the Crown Prince’s side. It was truly having his heart clouded by pig’s grease! She looked at her mother and no longer wanted to beat around the bush with useless words. She got straight to the point, telling her mother her assessment of Zhou Weizhao: “Sixth Miss Song was not only chosen for His Highness the Grand Prince by Her Majesty the Empress and our aunt, but from what I can see, he clearly has feelings for Sixth Miss Song himself. There’s simply no way to insert someone between those two. Just as Qing Zhuo by His Highness’s side said, besides Sixth Miss Song, His Highness cannot see anyone else. Father thinks I’m capable—then how do I compare to the renowned Cui Hualuan of the Jin region? In terms of connections, Cui Hualuan is on par with me or even has an advantage, yet she still didn’t catch the Grand Prince’s eye. What ability do I have that makes Father value me so highly, thinking the Grand Prince would be unable to do without me? Never mind whether I could compete with this clearly formidable Sixth Miss Song—just considering the Grand Prince’s current feelings for Sixth Miss Song, if I were to become a secondary consort and stand between them, wouldn’t I just be exactly like another version of our aunt? How would that benefit me or the family then? Father is truly being too foolish.”
She paused briefly, then added with some irritation: “Moreover, does Father really not know that the Crown Prince no longer has even half a shred of familial affection for the Lu family? All these years, has the Crown Prince ever given our family a pleasant expression? Back when Grandfather sent Old Kong to protect the Grand Prince, have you forgotten what news Old Kong brought back?!”
Lady Lu gave a solid shudder. That was a forbidden topic no one dared mention. She quickly looked around and shook her head, wishing she could reach out and cover her daughter’s mouth: “You must never mention this matter again!”
Lu Chonghua fell silent for a moment, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth: “What good does not mentioning it do? What happened has happened. This Crown Prince can’t even… let alone us, who merely carry the family name without ever having any real contact with him? Grandfather explained all the stakes clearly to Father, yet Father still acts foolishly. He’s putting the entire Lu family and our aunt on the fire to roast!”
Lady Lu felt somewhat panicked. She gripped her daughter’s hand, at a loss for what to do. After a long while, she finally asked: “Then what do we do now? After receiving the news, your father went to seek an audience with the Crown Prince. Even if we want to stop him now, we can’t…”
Lu Chonghua stood up and called loudly for Xianglan to come in and help with her grooming. She turned back to her mother and said: “If we can’t stop him, then we won’t. We can’t stop him, so we’ll just have to seek out someone who can.”
Lady Lu stood somewhat hesitant under the corridor of Qingning Hall, unable to move her feet. While she normally dared to argue with her husband, when it came to truly sabotaging his plans, she had never tried it before and felt rather uneasy.
Lu Chonghua, however, was far more composed and decisive than she was. She entered Qingning Hall calmly and unhurriedly, first paying her respects to Her Majesty the Empress, then pressed her lips together and looked toward the Empress: “Your Majesty… my father has gone to find the Crown Prince.”
Empress Lu’s face immediately turned cold. She knew this nephew was somewhat eager for quick success and instant benefits. Back then, it was also because of his eagerness that the matter of Lu Shi becoming Crown Princess was accomplished, but in the end, not a single person truly benefited from it. Even Empress Lu herself often regretted this decision in the depths of the night. Now that Lord Lu was pulling this stunt again, she really felt quite annoyed.
The Crown Prince already detested the Lu family and harbored considerable resentment toward them. Yet Lord Lu still insisted on seeking him out—the Crown Prince would probably think again that she was planning to use another Lu family woman to ensnare Zhou Weizhao, casting him aside to elevate Zhou Weizhao to power. And that was the minor issue—when the Song family heard this news, what would they think?
She rubbed her temples but didn’t show any unusual expression. Instead, she asked Lu Chonghua warmly: “I heard you went to the Cui family today? Later, when you met Sixth Miss Song, what did you all talk about?”
Lu Chonghua didn’t hide anything and frankly confirmed it, relating everything about her experience today. Finally, she raised her head and looked at the Empress openly and honestly: “Your Majesty, this subject has been raised by her grandfather since childhood and deeply understands the principle that water overflows when too full, and the moon wanes when at its fullest. With you and our aunt, the Lu family has already been thoroughly labeled as imperial relatives. Many young men in the clan have suffered setbacks because of this. Grandfather said that our ancestor single-handedly built the family business not so that his descendants would live off women’s coattails. This subject deeply agrees with this.”
Empress Lu hadn’t expected this niece of hers to say such things. Her expression grew much warmer as she smiled and nodded: “Your father doesn’t understand even as well as you do. I understand now. Rest assured, I also don’t want the Lu family to be dragged down by me anymore, bearing the reputation of prospering through women.” By now, she truly felt it was somewhat of a pity. Who would have thought that her elder brother had taught his granddaughter so well? It was unfortunate she was surnamed Lu—otherwise, with Song Chuyi, such a fierce character, by Zhou Weizhao’s side, along with someone as perceptive as Lu Chonghua, at least the inner household would be worry-free. With these two intelligent women managing things, no trouble would arise.
Lu Chonghua herself didn’t find it regrettable. Life was short—she didn’t want to waste her life on someone who could never spare her a second glance, nor did she want to scheme and plot in the palace, turning into a hateful, vicious woman. Right now, she only hoped her father would see the situation clearly and stop doing foolish things.