The Empress had no idea about the changes in that person after she left. She was simply being supported by a palace maid as she walked forward.
Jinzhi was the Empress’s personal maid who had served her since she was still with the Lu family. Later, she followed the Empress into the palace and was the person the Empress trusted most.
Noticing that her mistress was in a bad mood, Jinzhi whispered while supporting the Empress, “The Grand Empress Dowager is old and no longer clear-headed. Even the Emperor and Empress Dowager rarely visit her anymore. Why should you trouble yourself, Your Majesty?”
“What do you know?”
The Empress’s voice was cold. “Even if she’s muddled, she’s still a royal elder and the Emperor’s own grandmother.”
“The Emperor and Empress Dowager don’t need to show her much respect because they have nothing to gain, but our son has not yet been made crown prince. If we can gain the support of the older officials by showing filial piety, not only serving tea and food but even personally attending to her needs would be worth it.”
The Grand Empress Dowager was eccentric and often spoke incoherently, but her high status could not be ignored. Additionally, there had been several recent incidents in the capital, and the Fourth Prince had been somewhat implicated.
The Song Duke’s family had fallen, and it was clear that Prince Cheng’s household had also lost the Emperor's favor. Moreover, the matter of the exiled Crown Prince might drag the Lu family into it as well, so the Empress had to find a way to make up for these losses.
The Emperor had been seduced by that eunuch, Xiao Yan, and the Empress Dowager was difficult to deal with, but the Grand Empress Dowager was the only one she could win favor with while also fulfilling her filial duty without much effort.
As the Empress crossed the crescent-shaped archway, she asked, “You just mentioned that my mother has entered the palace. Where is she now?”
“The old madam has gone to Fengxi Palace.”
Upon hearing this, the Empress frowned. She had assumed that her mother had come to complain to her. She had expected this after the incident with the Song Duke’s family.
“I thought she would come earlier, but I didn’t expect her to hold back for so long.”
Jinzhi hesitated and then said, “Your Majesty, the old madam didn’t come alone. The Third Young Master is also with her. From the looks of it, both the old madam and the Third Young Master are quite upset.”
She paused, making sure there was no one around before continuing in a low voice, “Your Majesty may not be aware of what’s happening outside, but I’ve heard that this afternoon, the Third Young Master went to Jiyun Lane but was stripped of his clothes and thrown out…”
“What did you say?” The Empress was shocked.
Jinzhi lowered her voice and said, “I was also very surprised when I heard it. We’ve all seen how much Miss Song admired the Third Young Master, but today she seems to have turned against him.”
“When the Third Young Master was thrown out of the Tang residence, he was barely clothed. Not only that, Miss Song had all the gifts the Lu family had sent her over the years returned to us and even demanded the return of everything she had gifted the Lu family. She’s saying she wants to break off the engagement and sever ties with our family.”
“She’s outrageous!”
Upon hearing this, the Empress was furious. This engagement had been granted by her personally. Even though it wasn’t an imperial marriage bestowed by the Emperor, the Empress’s decree still wasn’t something that could be annulled so easily.
Moreover, Song Tangning, a mere young lady, was neither gentle nor compliant. Even with the engagement in place, she was acting so recklessly. Her words and actions reflected on the Lu family, and this behavior was a disgrace to both Lu Zhinen and the entire Lu family.
The Empress’s face darkened as she returned to Fengxi Palace. When she saw the old madam, she wanted to immediately question her about Song Tangning, but Lu Zhinen knelt down before she could speak.
“Sanlang, what are you doing?” The Empress frowned.
Lu Zhinen said quietly, “I am here to apologize to you, Your Majesty, for the matter regarding Tangning. I beg for your forgiveness.”
The Empress said sternly, “What does Song Tangning’s behavior have to do with you? She is the one being unreasonable. How could she lack the virtues of a proper woman, breaking off an engagement that has been set for so many years? What is she thinking?”
“I will summon her to the palace right now to ask her myself. Does she truly have no regard for this marriage now that the Song family has been sent to prison? How dare she annul the engagement I personally bestowed? Does she even acknowledge me as the Empress?”
As the Empress spoke, she was about to order Jinzhi to summon Song Tangning to the palace, but the old madam hurriedly intervened, “Your Majesty, please don’t!”
The Empress turned her head. “Mother?”
The old madam’s face had gone pale. “That Song Tangning is no longer the easily controlled girl she once was. She’s already caused great trouble for the Song family, and she’s been ruthless toward Sanlang. Such a disaster is not fit to marry into the Lu family. I think it would be better to call off this marriage.”
“What nonsense are you speaking?” The Empress frowned. “I worked so hard to get Lord Rongqian to agree to this engagement. It wasn’t easy to make it happen.”
“You must know that my goal was never just Song Tangning. If you really don’t like her, once she marries into the family, you can always bring in a few concubines for Sanlang later, but her position as the official wife must be hers.”
Only by marrying Song Tangning into the Lu family could they access the connections left by the Rong family. Rongqian’s former subordinates, acquaintances, and even the reclusive scholars would be at their disposal through the Rong family’s influence.
This would also enhance the Lu family’s and the Fourth Prince’s reputation and put them in the good graces of the veteran ministers and royal relatives who were hard to sway.
Most importantly, Lady Rong had left behind something of great importance, which was likely in Song Tangning’s possession. Once she married into the Lu family, the Empress could legally acquire it without arousing suspicion.
“This marriage cannot be annulled. If you’re worried about Song Tangning, I can help you control her.”
“She’s just a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl. I have plenty of mamas in the palace to teach her proper manners. No matter how unruly she is, I can make her behave…”
The old madam had harbored some hope that the Empress would agree to annul the engagement, which would allow them to avoid mentioning the matter of the Fourth Prince. But to her surprise, the Empress flatly refused.
Lu Zhinen, kneeling on the ground, looked pale. “Aunt, it’s not that Tangning is unsuitable. This marriage must be annulled.”
The Empress frowned. “What do you mean by ‘must be annulled’?”
Lu Zhinen said quietly, “Aunt must have already heard about my being thrown out of the Tang residence today. Tangning harbors deep resentment toward the Lu family and hates me because of the matter at Yishan.”
“She had mentioned breaking off the engagement before, but I thought she was just angry and joking. Today, she listed all the gifts exchanged between our families over the years and had people loudly return everything we had given her, while also demanding the return of her gifts. She is determined to sever ties with us.”
The Empress hadn’t grasped the full meaning of his words and said dismissively, “That’s nothing but the whims of a young girl. If she wants those things back, just give them to her…”
Lu Zhinen shook his head. “We can’t return them.”
The Empress was puzzled.
Lu Zhinen’s voice was bitter. “Aunt, look at these two scrolls, and you’ll understand.”
He handed over the items that Lu Chongyuan had instructed him to bring to the palace, giving them to Jinzhi to present to the Empress.
At first, the Empress was merely confused, but as she skimmed through the thin piece of paper and then looked at the seemingly endless list on the scroll, her expression changed.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she spoke, “Don’t tell me this list belongs to Song Tangning.”
Lu Zhinen replied in a hoarse voice, “It does. Moreover, the majority of it had been given to the Fourth Prince by Grandmother, who in turn passed it onto others as gifts.
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You can read ahead to chapterr 182 here
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