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The princess felt a headache just thinking about the Lu family and couldn’t help but say, “If I had known, I wouldn’t have sent the invitation to the Lu family.” Especially Lu Songli, whose condition was simply fatal when it acted up.
The young master’s wife glanced at her mother-in-law and thought, would anyone dare to not invite the Lu family? While it’s true that some people have done so in the past, what were the results?
The Lu family had a poor reputation and was avoided by the women of the capital, being far from the type they would want to invite to their gatherings. The reason for not daring to exclude the Lu family’s women was that deliberately excluding them would lead to trouble from Lu Desheng, who would cause problems for their men in the court. As Lu Desheng put it, “I may not come, but you cannot not invite me. I don’t expect special treatment, but I do expect equal treatment.”
After experiencing this kind of trouble twice, the women of the capital had no choice but to grudgingly accept it. The Lu family was unreasonable; if they neglected Lu family women, Lu Desheng would make trouble for their men in the court, and it was too risky to provoke them.
Just as the princess was about to take a sip of tea, someone came from the front yard to announce that the Lu family had arrived. She quickly got up to greet them.
Lu Desheng helped his elderly wife out of the carriage, and under the guidance of the Prince Gong’s servants, they quickly made their way to the inner courtyard. After Lu Songli fainted, Mo Bing had instructed the carriage driver to hurry back to Lu’s residence to notify the head of the household. Upon receiving the news, Lu Desheng and his wife rushed to the Prince Gong’s residence without delay, bringing along the family doctor who had been employed by them.
When Lu Songli learned that her biological parents had arrived at the Prince Gong’s residence and that their family doctor was examining her, she gradually regained consciousness.
Once the family doctor confirmed that she could be moved, Lu Desheng and his wife firmly declined Prince Gong’s invitation to stay, insisting on taking their daughter home.
Lu Songli also wanted to return with her parents and did not wish to stay at the Prince Gong’s residence. Since the incident in the water, she had felt pain and discomfort in the area of her left lower back and a heavy sensation in her chest. She vaguely suspected her heart might be unhealthy. Her maid’s observations and the doctor’s diagnosis supported her concerns. Additionally, she felt cold; even after changing into dry clothes and lying under the covers, her hands and feet remained icy, and the bed was devoid of warmth.
As the Lu family’s carriage departed, Xie Zhan and his attendants silently escorted them all the way.
The staff of Prince Gong’s residence praised Xie Zhan for his conduct.
Upon arriving at the Lu residence, Lu Desheng had his wife take their daughter and the doctor to her quarters while he stayed behind to dismiss Xie Zhan. Lu Desheng used the late hour as an excuse and did not even let Xie Zhan inside.
Angered, Lu Desheng spoke curtly, causing Xie Zhan’s expression to darken. However, Xie Zhan quickly composed himself, bowed, and promised to visit again the next day.
After seeing off Xie Zhan, Lu Desheng, with a stern face, headed to his daughter’s courtyard.
The courtyard was bustling with activity. The doctor was preparing medicine, and the servants were all busy.
Madam Jiang came out of the house and asked, “Have they left?”
“Yes.”
“Master, you shouldn’t have shown such displeasure to the future son-in-law.”
“Son-in-law? Whether he’ll be one in the future is still uncertain.” They had learned all about the events at Prince Gong’s flower banquet. Lu Desheng was full of complaints about Xie Zhan, feeling that he was of no use if he couldn’t even recognize his own fiancée!
Madam Jiang also felt troubled by the evening’s events.
Lu Desheng glanced inside the room. “Let’s not talk about him. How is A’li doing?”
“The doctor has just finished the examination and has gone to prepare the medicine. A’li has woken up and seems to be in decent spirits. I’ve had her rest on the couch.”
“Let’s go in and see her.”
When the couple entered, Lu Songli was lying on the bed and called out, “Father, Mother.”
“Do you have any discomfort?” Lu Desheng asked.
“Not really,” Lu Songli replied. She had already concluded that the original owner might have mild myocarditis, along with severe coldness.
“Did your fall into the water have anything to do with the Zhao family’s eldest daughter?” Lu Desheng inquired.
“I’m not sure, but I have my suspicions.”
“Hmm, you shouldn’t have to suffer such a loss. You handled tonight’s situation well,” Lu Desheng praised her. Taking initiative and acting preemptively was good.
Lu Songli smiled shyly and told her parents, “Father, Mother, it’s already quite late. You should go and rest.” The events of the night had dragged on until nearly midnight, which was quite late for them, given their early-to-bed, early-to-rise habits.
As the couple returned to their main residence, Lu Desheng made a trip to the front yard, as there were some matters that needed precaution.
Once they were back in their room, Madam Lu sighed, “Master, what kind of situation is this? The fall into the water might affect the engagement with the Xie family.”
Considering their daughter’s feelings for Xie Zhan, Lu Desheng also felt troubled. “As long as our daughter is fine, we’ll deal with the rest later. Hmph, I won’t let our daughter suffer.”
That night, the relevant families all had a restless sleep.
In fact, Lu Songli didn’t actually fall asleep. She admitted that she was strong internally, but not so strong that she could be indifferent after an unexpected death and transmigration.
She lay in the warm bed, gazing absentmindedly at the canopy of the four-poster bed. Her personal maid, Bing Mo, was still asleep by the foot of the bed. The dim candlelight filtering through the curtains was not harsh on her eyes. In the pitch-dark night, it provided a sense of comfort.
She didn’t feel much resistance about transmigrating into a book. After all, in the accident, she had injured her head and bled profusely. If she had been fortunate enough to survive, she wondered if there would have been any lasting consequences, such as becoming mentally impaired or a vegetative state. Just thinking about it was suffocating.
Now that she had fully transmigrated, it seemed her new body’s family situation was quite good, with a decent social status and position. That alone was a blessing. It was just a pity about the newly purchased townhouse and the unspent savings in the bank.
Although her parents’ reputation outside was not great, they seemed acceptable to her.
Lu Songli also had an elder brother, an elder sister, and a younger brother—all biological siblings. The elder sister was married, the elder brother accompanied his wife to her family’s home and was not around, and the younger brother was studying at the academy. All her siblings had strong personalities, unlike Lu Songli, who was considered an exception with a more submissive nature.
It was said that Lu Songli was a rare exception in the Lu family, a kind of good bamboo growing among bad ones. Notably, Lu Songli was very concerned with external opinions and often worried about her family’s poor reputation.
Lu Songli felt that the Lu family had protected her too well. Overall, she was quite satisfied with the Lu family. Being strong and not easily bullied was better than being mistreated. She felt that her own reputation in her previous life wasn’t great either; she was not known for her compassion or altruism.
Her friends often joked that she navigated the line of morality flexibly, suggesting that without laws to protect ordinary people, she might exploit others. While she didn’t agree with that, acknowledging that she wasn’t particularly morally driven, she considered herself a law-abiding citizen. Her self-awareness was clear—being a partner at her firm by twenty-seven indicated she was not naive or weak.
Reflecting on these thoughts, Lu Songli felt ready to sleep. She was exhausted and needed rest.