Nonetheless, recalling what happened earlier, Lu Yunshuang still felt a lingering sense of fear.
She had never expected that Chen Xuping would have remembered the kitten’s tragic death after all these years, nor that he would have held onto the hate he had felt for Lu Liangwei.
Once again, she thanked her lucky stars that she had managed to make a quick escape and Chen Xuping had not witnessed the scene of her smashing the kitten’s head in.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
Chen Xuping was a chess piece she could not afford to give up, which was why she was more than happy for Lu Liangwei to take the rap for her. Once Lu Liangwei died, no one would ever find out the truth about what had really happened when they were young. Furthermore, Chen Xuping would be even more unswerving in his devotion to her, doing his utmost in everything she asked.
Just as Lu Yunshuang was counting herself lucky in Drunk Fragrance Pavilion, Lu Hetian was at home in the Grand Duke Mansion, thinking about what had happened during the morning session of the imperial court. It made him feel uneasy.
Even though he did not dote on Lu Yunshuang as much as he did Lu Liangwei, she was still his daughter, after all.
He honestly did not wish to hear other people gossiping about Lu Yunshuang and slandering her in front of him.
Frowning, he went over to Longevity Hall.
When the Dowager Duchess saw him coming over with an unhappy expression on his face, she was quite surprised. “Is something bothering you?”
Lu Hetian might have looked displeased, but he was mindful of the fact that the Dowager Duchess treated her granddaughter Lu Yunshuang quite well. That was why whenever he made any decision regarding Lu Yunshuang, he needed to inform the Dowager Duchess.
“I don’t think it’s a good thing for Shuang’er to monopolize the entire Eastern Palace.” It was a while before he spoke, frowning.
The Dowager Duchess was rather startled. “You’ve never been involved with taking sides in the imperial court. Why are you suddenly taking an interest in the Eastern Palace?”
Lu Hetian replied with some disgust, “I don’t want to be involved, but I can’t stand listening to certain comments which are quite unpleasant.”
The Dowager Duchess took a sip of the ginseng tea that Aunt Lan had brought her and felt quite satisfied with it. “The ginseng gifted to me by that cheeky girl, Weiwei, does taste quite different. I’ve only been drinking it for two days and already, I’m feeling much more energetic than usual.”
Aunt Lan beamed. “That’s right. This aged ginseng is a rare thing indeed, and hard to obtain. Second Miss Lu is truly filial.”
When Lu Hetian heard the two elderly women taking turns to heap praises upon Lu Liangwei, he found it amusing, but also exasperating. “No matter how good that ginseng is, after only two days of drinking it, there’s no way it can already have taken effect so fast, can it?”
The Dowager Duchess darted a glance at him and said rather coolly, “Why is it that I can hear a trace of jealousy in your tone? That’s right, that girl Weiwei only remembers her grandmother. You’re unhappy about that, which is why you said what you did earlier. I can understand your feelings on the matter.”
Aunt Lan smiled when she heard these words, and shook her head. The Dowager Duchess was getting more childish by the day.
She was actually showing off in front of the His Lordship.
Unexpectedly, Lu Hetian did not take this to heart. Instead, he agreed and nodded. “Oh, you’re absolutely right. That girl only has you in her heart. That should please you, shouldn’t it?”
He may have said that, but inwardly, he was feeling quite pleased. If his mother knew that naughty girl, Weiwei, had not only given him ginseng, but also lingzhi, would his mother smack him in exasperation?
The Dowager Duchess found it strange that he had reacted so calmly.
Usually, he was sure to be jealous of his elderly mother.
This old brat loved Weiwei, but he could not stand being second in her heart. If he knew Weiwei treated someone else better than him, he would not be able to take it lying down.
Previously, Tingchen had enjoyed breakfast personally made by Weiwei several times, and this old brat had secretly created trouble for his own son.
The Dowager Duchess secretly shook her head at the memory. She felt this son of hers was just too childish, which was at odds with his public demeanor—the authoritative and powerful Grand Duke.
Lu Hetian noticed that the main topic of conversation had gotten off track, so he quickly said very seriously, “Mother, if you have no objections, I’d like to go to the Palace and explain things to the Emperor, in the hopes that he will allow the Crown Prince to accept a few concubines.”