“Preposterous!”
Upon hearing this, Lu Chongyuan was immediately infuriated. He swung his sleeve angrily and shouted, “This condition is absolutely impossible!”
“If you want the Lu family's collection of books, I can give you a hundred volumes for you to choose from. Sanlang can kneel at the Tang family gate to apologize as you wish. Beyond that, the Lu family is willing to repay in gold and silver for what they owe, at double the market price, ensuring that you do not suffer any loss regarding monetary matters.”
“But what you just proposed, the Lu family can never agree to!”
Half of the book collection—if it were really given to Song Tangning, it would be like scraping bones and draining blood.
Lu Chongyuan struggled to suppress his anger and patiently said, “If Miss Song is willing, aside from the money, I can also compensate you with some precious items that would be worth no less than what you offered to the Lu family.”
“Do you think my child would covet those things of yours or is in need of that little money?” Xiao Yan, who had been silent until now, suddenly leaned in with a cold sneer. “Is Lu Zhongshu looking down on this governor?”
“Three times...”
Seeing Xiao Yan’s mocking expression, Song Tangning remained quiet, simply observing him without a word. Lu Chongyuan gritted his teeth and said, “Five times. The Lu family is willing to repay the items taken at five times the price, all in cash, with no delays.”
After Lu Chongyuan finished speaking, he noticed that Xiao Yan was still mocking, and he couldn't help but darken his expression.
“Governor Xiao, I have repeatedly conceded, merely wanting to resolve this peacefully, but you should understand that the Lu family has its limits.”
“No matter how precious the items belonging to Miss Song are, they are not irreplaceable with money. Five times the price is already enough to offset the value attached to the items left by Grand Tutor Rong. Even if this goes to the emperor, no one would say that the Lu family has mistreated her.”
“I have already retreated to the extreme; if Miss Song is still unwilling, then feel free to report it. My Lu family will not truly be afraid of her.”
Even if the five times the price was painful for the Lu family to take out in one go, it was the utmost price Lu Chongyuan could pay compared to losing the book collection.
After finishing his words, Lu Chongyuan felt a sense of calmness in his heart. If Xiao Yan and Song Tangning were unwilling to relent, then let them tear their faces and cause a ruckus; he would never allow Xiao Yan to pressure the Lu family into a corner through Song Tangning.
Xiao Yan naturally saw the ruthless glint in Lu Chongyuan’s eyes and chuckled softly, “Since you’re not afraid, then please return, Lu Zhongshu.”
“You!”
Lu Chongyuan coldly said, “Do you really want to use Miss Song to settle your personal vendetta and ensure that both sides suffer?”
While speaking, he looked at Song Tangning: “Miss Song, Xiao Yan has a personal grudge with my Lu family, and I understand he wants to vent his anger. However, you have no deep-seated grudge with the Lu family; do you truly want to stake your own honor and future to become a stepping stone for others to challenge the Lu family?”
He almost said outright that Xiao Yan was using her.
Xiao Yan’s expression darkened, and his cold gaze sharpened: “Is Lu Zhongshu threatening me because he can’t succeed in his coercion?”
“My father was just speaking the truth; do you dare say you’re not seeking revenge?”
Lu Zhao, standing nearby, was full of sarcasm: “Song Tangning, you’ve called me uncle for several years and nearly became related to Sanlang; let me advise you: don’t be fooled by this eunuch.”
“He may not be sincere towards you; his various protections could just be a means to exploit you. By then, if you and the Lu family end up in a mutually destructive conflict, *this shameless eunuch would be the one benefiting from the sidelines...”
Bang!
Xiao Yan, whose expression had turned cold and was about to speak, suddenly saw Song Tangning jump up beside him. She grabbed something in her hand and threw it at Lu Zhao.
Lu Zhao had never expected Song Tangning to act suddenly. Caught off guard, he was hit in the face, yelping in pain, while the brocade box that flew over crashed to the ground, breaking into two. Inside, the nine-tailed phoenix hairpin rolled out.
“Song Tangning!”
Lu Zhao’s voice was sharp with pain.
Lu Chongyuan was also startled by her sudden outburst, and when he looked up, he saw that the little girl who had just been smiling was now filled with cold anger.
“Is this how your Lu family behaves? As a dignified official, you talk about exposing others' weaknesses. How does it matter if my brother has disabilities? In my eyes, he is far nobler than anyone from your Lu family!”
Song Tangning looked at them with full sarcasm: “You Lu family want to save face while also protecting the empress and her son. You casually propose conditions, and when I raise my terms, you fly into a rage.”
“If you can’t afford to meet these terms, why boast and invite ridicule? If it weren’t for the empress gifting the hairpin and begging me to spare the fourth prince this time, saying that the Lu family wished to sincerely apologize, do you think I would be willing to let this go?”
Lu Chongyuan’s expression changed: “The empress?”
Song Tangning said coldly, “Does Lu Zhongshu not recognize the empress’s phoenix hairpin?”
Lu Chongyuan suddenly lowered his head and realized that what Song Tangning had thrown was indeed the hairpin he had seen the empress wearing this morning when he entered the palace.
Song Tangning’s expression turned frostbitten: “If it weren’t for the empress gifting the hairpin and desperately requesting that I avoid involving the fourth prince, even if the Lu family was unwilling to let things go, she would still help me break off the engagement with Lu Zhinian and force him to kneel and apologize, ensuring that my honor would not be harmed. The Lu family would be willing to comply with everything I asked for, and considering the past actions of the Lu family towards me, I would never let this matter drop lightly.”
“But who would have thought you’d be so shameless? Since that’s the case, why do you even bother coming here? You could have just gone back; tomorrow morning, I will go to the Qinglong Bell and request an audience with the emperor. I really want to see just how much face your Lu family has, occupying my maternal grandfather’s relics while humiliating the rightful owner!”
Upon hearing Song Tangning's words, Lu Chongyuan's face turned pale with anger, and he felt as if he might faint when he looked at the hairpin.
What a good empress!
How clever she was!!
She had come to the Lu family to “discuss countermeasures,” only to turn around and sell them out.
She truly was a good empress for the Lu family!!
Xiao Yan reached out to grab the furious Song Tangning and stood beside her: “Lu Chongyuan, there’s no need to use Tangning as leverage. I might have forgotten to tell you that today when I submitted a petition in the palace, I also requested a decree from the emperor.”
“Out of respect for Grand Tutor Rong’s dedication to educating the populace, Tangning wishes to establish an academy in the capital under his name. When the time comes, all items the Lu family fraudulently took will be returned along with the unique ancient texts left behind by Grand Tutor Rong, all delivered to the academy for the benefit of scholars across the land. The emperor appreciates Tangning’s pure filial heart and has bestowed a thousand books from the palace’s collection, along with a decree establishing a monument of culture in front of the academy.”
“Out of respect for the empress, Tangning does not wish to pursue this matter with the Lu family and is willing to let it go, stating her intent to engrave the Lu family’s charitable act of donating books on the monument of culture, allowing you to inscribe your name in the academy as the foremost literary official.”
“However, since your Lu family does not want this honorable name and insists on tearing things apart, then please return. Tomorrow morning, I will personally discuss with you in front of all the ministers whether the items left by Grand Tutor Rong can be offset by gold and silver.”
After finishing, Xiao Yan said coldly:
“Someone, show them out!!”
==========
T/N: *It's important to note that being a eunuch was considered the worst and most shameful kind of disability in many ancient Chinese dynasties. It was normal for eunuchs to be mocked by people and it is considered extremely disrespectful to call an eunuch “eunuch” to his face. When a eunuch became powerful due to the emperor’s favor it was not unusual for them to kill or punish anyone who called them “eunuch” to their face.
Happy new year everyone!
You can read ahead to chapterr 200 here
I will never understand why people think someone’s genitals or lack there of make any difference whatsoever to their skills or honour… 🤯
ReplyDeleteBrains don’t reside in someone’s pants 😂