Chapter 44: Low-key Showing Off His Figure
At this moment, Lu Hetian turned around and pulled Lu Liangwei to the seats nearby.
Seeing this, Aunt Zheng was upset and at the same time full of jealousy toward Lu Liangwei.
A trace of resentment flashed in her eyes, but instead of going after them, she went off to talk to a few women whom she knew well.
Madam Li, who was acquainted with her, took her hand and said incredulously, “How does she have the gall to enter the palace after what happened?” As she spoke, she jerked her chin in Lu Liangwei’s direction.
Everyone naturally understood who she was referring to. Someone snickered and said, “She’s probably thick-skinned. If not, how would she dare to do such a shameless thing?”
“I heard that she hanged herself last time, how come she’s still alive?” another person asked Aunt Zheng inquisitively.
Aunt Zheng immediately replied a little uneasily, “Weiwei is still young after all, so don’t be too hard on her. She’s just hopelessly in love with the Crown Prince…”
“Even so, how could she go after her sister’s husband?” someone said disdainfully.
“Exactly, if everyone acted like her, would ethical guidelines still exist?” another person immediately agreed.
“You’re too kind, Duchess. If someone dared to go after my daughter’s husband, I would have skinned her alive—there’s no way that I would let her roam free!” Mrs. Li, who had spoken first, piped up indignantly.
Aunt Zheng was secretly overjoyed at being addressed as the Duchess, but kept up the act and said anxiously, “Mrs. Li, you shouldn’t call me that, it would be bad if someone else hears…”
Madam Li patted her hand and reassured her, “Just relax, you’re the Crown Princess’s birth mother; who would dare to gossip about you? Besides, you’ve always been the only one by the Grand Duke’s side, so it’s only a matter of time before he makes you his legal wife. I’m just calling you Duchess in advance.”
As soon as Madam Li finished speaking, the other women who were gathered around Aunt Zheng quickly expressed their agreement.
“That’s right, no need to be so cautious, Duchess.”
Surrounded by several imperial consorts lavishing her with flattering comments, Aunt Zheng was filled with pride and felt like she was floating.
Just look at how accomplished her daughter was—these imperial consorts usually acted superior to others, but look at how they still ended up flocking over to shower her with flattery.
‘When the day Shuang’er becomes the empress arrives…’
As she pictured that scenario in her mind, Aunt Zheng could not stop the corners of her mouth from rising high.
So what if the Dowager Duchess did not like her? Her life would only get better and better. With a future emperor as her son-in-law, Aunt Zheng felt a kind of elated pride.
On the other side, Duke Ji looked at the father and daughter walking away, stroked his chin, and decided to go after them.
Lu Hetian saw him coming over and muttered sulkily, “Jade Dew Hall is so vast, so why must Duke Ji follow us wherever we go?”
Duke Ji rubbed his nose without any sign of embarrassment, beamed pleasantly at Lu Liangwei, then sat down in the neighboring seat.
Seeing this, Lu Hetian glared at him a little warily. “Ji Qingyuan, you have a daughter yourself, so don’t you dare harbor any intentions toward mine.”
Ji Qingyuan shot him an uninterested look. “What are you saying? When did I ever harbor any intentions for your daughter? If someone else hears this, it will make me look bad!”
“If you don’t then that’s good—hurry up and get lost.” Lu Hetian did not bother maintaining a polite front any longer.
Lu Hetian regarded anyone who tried to get close to his daughter as his enemy. Furthermore, this Ji Qingyuan had been known to be the type to harbor impure intentions even before Lihua married him.
Ji Qingyuan retorted coolly, “This is not your home, why do you care where I sit?”
When Lu Hetian heard this, the veins on his forehead throbbed furiously. Suppressing the urge to punch Ji Qingyuan, he pulled Lu Liangwei and made to stand up.
Lu Liangwei regarded the two men and said, “Father, it’s alright, let’s just sit here. Maybe Duke Ji is just a little curious about me.”
The seats in the hall were not to be taken arbitrarily, and each of them was arranged according to rank.
Even if they left now, they would still have to return to these seats once the banquet began later.
Lu Liangwei had spoken up because she was too lazy to go through all that trouble.
Lu Hetian paused and glowered at Ji Qingyuan. “You dreadful old man, what nasty thoughts are you hiding in your heart?”
Ji Qingyuan was a little surprised that Lu Liangwei could tell what he was thinking. When he heard Lu Hetian’s words, he chuckled. “Forgive my foolishness. I’m exactly thirty-eight this year, the same age as you. If I’m a dreadful old man, how much younger can you be?”
Lu Hetian was usually not so irritable. On the contrary, he was a calm and wise person, or else he would not have received the title of the Ever-Victorious General.
However, he would easily lose his composure whenever his daughter Liangwei was involved.
At this moment, hearing Ji Qingyuan’s derogatory and sarcastic remark, he sat down once again. His former wise demeanor had been restored, and he gave him a sidelong glance. “It seems that Duke Ji has no self-knowledge. Seeing how frail and vulnerable your body is, it’s natural that you can’t be compared to me. Just look at the wrinkles on your face; if people didn’t know, they would think you were fifty or sixty years old.”
With that, he puffed his chest out, low-key showing off his figure.
Ji Qingyuan’s gaze fell on him and could not help but feel a little envious.
Indeed, as a military commander, Lu Hetian had trained his army often and had also never slackened in his own training.
His body was stronger and his physique more muscular than most young men.
Therefore, although Lu Hetian was already thirty-eight this year, people who did not know would think that he was in his early thirties.
Ji Qingyuan looked at his physique and then at his own, feeling rather upset.
“Lu Hetian, don’t you get too full of yourself!” Ji Qingyuan glared at Lu Hetian and hissed through gritted teeth.
Lu Hetian bared his white teeth in a grin, feeling deeply pleased with successfully getting under the other man’s skin. “It’s useless even if you envy me.”
The corner of Lu Liangwei’s mouth twitched as she listened to the childish conversation between the two men.
At this moment, Ji Qingyuan suddenly said, “Hmph, what’s the use of maintaining your physique? When Lihua passed away, I bet that she was absolutely disappointed in you!”