“I’m so envious.” Lin Qingyuan noticed the happiness on Lu Liangwei’s face and moaned with some jealousy.
Lu Liangwei darted a look at her. “If you’re that envious, just find yourself a good family to marry into. After that, you would never need to envy others again.”
Lin Qingyuan sighed and leaned onto the table. “Stop poking fun at me. Not everyone is as lucky as you.” She did not want to talk about herself, so she changed the topic. “Do you know who I bumped into at the Gao Family’s holiday home?”
“Who?” Lu Liangwei asked nonchalantly.
“Madam Li and her daughter.” Lin Qingyuan began to speak with more relish at the mention of those two. “There was gossip in the imperial capital today about how Li Tong’er was a dirty woman and had contracted some disease, which was why her husband had divorced her. When she heard this, her face went pale on the spot. Those officials’ wives and daughters said it was bad luck to see her there. Many of them didn’t even greet Madam Gao and just ran off. They were afraid they would get infected by Li Tong’er if they left any slower. Doesn’t that sound funny?”
Lu Liangwei was a little surprised. “Something like that actually happened?”
Lin Qingyuan looked at her. “Didn’t you get someone to do this?”
Lu Liangwei looked innocently at her. “No, I didn’t. I wouldn’t have known this if you didn’t tell me.”
Lin Qingyuan gave her a curious look. “I thought you had gotten someone to spread the news. If it wasn’t you, who was it?”
Lu Liangwei shook her head. “The Li Family are about to leave the imperial capital. Why would I do something so unnecessary?”
“Well, you can’t really say that. You’re letting them off too easily to allow them to leave just like that. How dare they set their eyes on His Majesty and go about parading about it? I feel it’s best for them to pay some sort of price. Although, it will be the end of Li Tong’er’s reputation after this.” Lin Qingyuan did not bother to hide her delight.
Another thought crossed her mind as she said with slight disdain, “I bet you weren’t aware that Li Tong’er has been making the rounds these few days. She was announcing herself everywhere, as if afraid no one knew who she was. I kept bumping into that mother and daughter pair no matter where I went. There must be something wrong with those officials’ wives and daughters. How could they even think of trying to get into the good graces of someone so unpresentable? One would think that they were important guests with the way they were acting.”
Lu Liangwei had not known about this at all. She had not expected Madam Li and her daughter would choose to go so high-profile.
Zhu Yu was quite upset when she heard this. She could not help but join the conversation. “Madam Li and her daughter are so shameless! When Li Tong’er pretended to fall down in front of His Majesty on his birthday, His Majesty had ignored her. It’s embarrassing to think about it. To think that she’s able to pretend like nothing happened and continue embarrassing herself in public.”
Zhu Yu had accompanied her Miss to the lavatory that day and had no idea what had transpired outside. It was Jiu who shared this story with her afterward.
Now, Lin Qingyuan was talking about Li Tong’er’s antics outside. No matter how slow Zhu Yu was with the uptake, even she could still guess what Li Tong’er was planning.
What a joke. A woman whose honor had been compromised harbored desires for His Majesty and was even planning to usurp her mistress’s place?
Where did this woman get all that courage and confidence?
At the thought of this, Zhu Yu also felt that evicting them from the capital was letting them off easy.
Lin Qingyuan had not heard about what happened at the Western Gardens from Lu Liangwei. She was astonished when Zhu Yu brought it up.
“That actually happened? Who does Li Tong’er think she is? A fairy descending from the heavens? How thick-skinned is she?”
Zhu Yu agreed. “Exactly. I have never seen anyone as thick-skinned as she is. What a shameless person.”
“It’s lucky that His Majesty was having none of it! Although, now that we’re talking about this, I bet there’s something wrong with her, for her to return home after her husband had divorced her. I initially felt sorry for her, but now I think she deserved it. She’s an embarrassment to all women,” Lin Qingyuan said with disgust.
Zhu Yu and Lin Qingyuan spew words one after the other, bad-mouthing their common enemy, Li Tong’er, together.