Lu Chongyuan directly interrupted the Old Madam: "I will handle the Empress. Song Tangning and Saburo are not suitable."
"But..."
The Old Madam opened her mouth to speak.
Lu Chongyuan narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Are you unwilling to call off the engagement between Saburo and Song Tangning because of the Fourth Prince and Saburo’s future, or is there something else you’re concerned about?"
The Old Madam's face turned pale instantly. "What could I be concerned about...?"
She tried to stubbornly deny it, claiming she was only thinking of the bigger picture. But seeing Lu Chongyuan’s cold and penetrating gaze, as if he could see right through her, she swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue and lowered her eyes, avoiding his gaze with a pale face.
Lu Chongyuan frowned and turned to Lu Zhao and the others. "You all leave. Saburo stays."
"Father..."
"Leave!"
Lu Chongyuan had always been the undisputed authority in the Lu family, so even though Lu Zhao and Lu Qin were puzzled by their mother’s attitude, they dared not defy Lu Chongyuan’s cold order.
Once the two had left and the door was shut again, leaving only the three of them in the room, Lu Chongyuan said in a low voice, "Now it’s just the three of us. Speak up—what’s really going on with the Song girl?"
The Old Madam's face turned even paler as she tried to come up with an excuse.
Lu Chongyuan cut her off, "The Lu family has been dragged into the spotlight by Song Tangning. If you’re hiding something that puts our family at risk, don’t expect me to show mercy—even after decades of marriage."
The Old Madam trembled. No one knew better than her how ruthless Lu Chongyuan could be. In his eyes, family interests came first, and anything that conflicted with the family, whether wife or children, could be discarded.
She didn’t dare gamble on whether Lu Chongyuan would go easy on her. Lowering her voice under his harsh gaze, she finally confessed, "The marriage with Song Tangning cannot be called off."
"Why not?"
Her lips trembled as she spoke even more quietly, "The Rong family left behind many rare and irreplaceable ancient texts. Many of the ones Song Tangning brought to us earlier have already been taken by the Fourth Prince. He used them as gifts to win over some senior officials at court."
Lu Zhizhan looked stunned. "Grandmother?"
The Old Madam couldn’t meet his eyes and continued speaking to Lu Chongyuan. "Those things have long been given away by the Fourth Prince, handed over to various households. How could he possibly ask for them back?"
Lu Chongyuan’s face darkened. "How much did the Fourth Prince take?"
"More than half…" she whispered.
"Does the Empress know about this?"
"I don’t think she does." The Old Madam’s face was ashen. "When Song Tangning brought the items, I thought she was going to marry Saburo and would be part of the family. And since the Fourth Prince needed to win over officials, I allowed him to take them…"
Some of the senior officials at court cared little for material wealth, so the Fourth Prince had to go to extraordinary lengths to win their favor.
Rong Qian’an had served three emperors and was a great scholar in his time. Though he didn’t possess the wealth of noble families, his collection of rare books and paintings was invaluable, worth more than gold.
Song Tangning was naive and easily fooled, not realizing the treasure she held. A few kind words were all it took for her to bring those priceless items to the Lu family. She thought Lu Zhizhan liked them and was never stingy in offering them. Back then, the Old Madam was convinced that Song Tangning would marry into the Lu family and, as their daughter-in-law, would naturally help the Lu family and the Fourth Prince.
So when the Fourth Prince took those items, the Old Madam didn’t mention Song Tangning at all, telling him instead that they were precious family heirlooms of the Lu family. The Fourth Prince, having used them to gain the favor of senior officials, became even closer and more grateful to the Lu family.
At the time, the Old Madam felt proud of her cunning, having secured a “golden nugget” like Song Tangning. But who could have predicted that Song Tangning would suddenly turn against them, even demanding a list of the items she had given, asking for them back…
"You fool!" Lu Chongyuan shot up in anger, unable to maintain his earlier composure. "How could you have given away the Rong family’s belongings and allowed the Fourth Prince to present them as gifts to court officials?"
"I didn’t expect Song Tangning to turn against us…"
"This has nothing to do with her turning against us!" Lu Chongyuan was furious. "Does the Lu family lack wealth so badly? How could you be so shortsighted? Everyone knows you don’t meddle with a woman’s dowry. Even if Song Tangning had married into the Lu family, you had no right to manipulate her belongings, let alone when they weren’t even married yet!"
If this got out, what would people think of the Lu family?
The Old Madam’s face was ashen. "I only did it for the sake of the Lu family, for the Fourth Prince to win over the court and ascend the throne…"
Lu Chongyuan was even angrier, glaring at his wife. "You’re trying to ruin the Fourth Prince and the Lu family! Do you know who Rong Qian’an was? The things he left behind are not so easily touched. Song Tangning is clearly ready to fight the Lu family. She’s already made the list of what she gave, and now it’s public knowledge."
"You say you were trying to help the Fourth Prince. So now what? The Lu family can’t return the items, and Song Tangning won’t let go of Saburo’s engagement. If word gets out that the Rong family’s treasures ended up in those officials’ homes, how will the Fourth Prince face the world?"
If they didn’t return the items, the Lu family would be disgraced. But if they tried to retrieve them, those officials would turn against them. And the worst part was that a prince had given gifts that weren’t even his to give—gifts that belonged to his future cousin-in-law.
If this scandal spread, it wouldn’t just ruin the Fourth Prince’s reputation—it would drag the Lu family’s name through the mud.
"You… you’ve ruined everything…" Lu Chongyuan seethed, his chest heaving. "You knew Song Tangning was no longer the same person. She’s mixed up with that eunuch, Xiao Yan. She’s already brought down the Song family, and you hid this from me?!"
The Old Madam, pale-faced, stammered, "I thought Saburo could win Song Tangning back. Their relationship was special…"
Who could have imagined that the once meek girl, who had been stripped of her pride, would strike back so viciously, targeting the Lu family’s weak point?
Lu Zhizhan’s hands trembled as he recalled Song Tangning’s cold eyes back in Jiyun Lane when she told him, "Your Lu family can’t repay this."
At the time, he found her words laughable—how could the Lu family not be able to repay her?
But now, staring at the long list of items, he realized how wrong he had been. They really couldn’t repay her.
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You can read ahead to chapterr 182 here
Ohhhhhh damn, they made a biiiig mistake 🫠go get em tangning!
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