Lord Lu, know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles
As soon as the words left her mouth, a sweet, clear voice rang out from outside.
"It's not up to you to decide whether the coming-of-age ceremony is over!"
Everyone turned toward the voice. To their surprise, it was Xu Yin and Lady Xu Liu, who had already left.
And beside her were Duke Xu and the legitimate son of the duke's residence, both of whom should have been in the front courtyard at this time.
Well, now.
The whole family was together.
When Lady Xu Wang saw Duke Xu appear with a livid face, she forgot everything else and fell to her knees at his feet, weeping. "Your Grace, Jia'er must have been falsely accused."
"You must believe her."
Duke Xu flung her hand away. "Falsely accused?"
"Tell me, is that her in there or not?"
"She did something so shameless, and you still dare claim she was falsely accused!"
Duke Xu was furious, and for a moment, no one dared speak.
Inside the room, Xu Jia heard her father's furious shout, and her heart turned to dead ashes.
She lay collapsed on the bed, motionless.
But with that, she relaxed somewhat.
After a slight rustle, the older servants who had been waiting nearby finally separated the two on the bed.
A series of thuds followed as Xu Jia and her male cousin fell to their knees before the bed.
Seeing the usually overbearing Xu Jia in such a sorry state, Xu Yin let out a derisive laugh.
"How utterly disgraceful," she spat.
"Smack!"
No sooner had she spoken than Duke Xu raised his hand and slapped her.
He glared at her, beside himself with fury. "Shut up!"
Not one of them would give him a moment's peace.
If she hadn't spouted such outrageous words at the coming-of-age banquet, the ceremony and feast would have been over by now. How else would they have ended up with so many people gathered to laugh at them?
"Father..." Xu Yin covered her face and looked at Duke Xu in disbelief.
Quite a few people had crowded into the side room.
Angry curses, cries and shouts, the whispers of those watching the spectacle...
Su Luoqian let out a soft breath, finding the place far too noisy.
She raised a hand and rubbed between her brows, then turned and whispered a few words to Qin Shuning. The two of them left the side room together.
Once they left, the others could hardly stay.
Before long, only Duke Xu and his family remained.
Su Luoqian didn't go far, though. She still had to wait for Lu Jingsi.
When she reached the front courtyard, a few guests still lingered there. She instinctively looked up to check the time. Noon had already passed, so why hadn't he arrived yet?
As she was thinking this, the clatter of hooves came from the street outside the duke's residence.
Soon, a servant outside the gate cried out in terror, "Your... Your Highness, please allow this lowly one to go in and announce you."
Lu Jingsi, however, ignored him.
Clad in dark official robes, he led the people from the Prison Administration straight through the gate, filling most of the front courtyard.
Seeing this, the servant scrambled through the gate and hurried off to inform his master.
Su Luoqian stood to one side, her bright eyes fixed on Lu Jingsi.
Even with the sun high overhead, it still couldn't melt the icy chill about him.
Sensing her gaze, Lu Jingsi turned and walked over to her.
His face was still stern, but he deliberately lowered his voice, speaking softly. "Shall you return to the prince's residence first?"
Su Luoqian pressed her lips together and suddenly took a small step forward, closing the distance between them.
She raised an arm slightly and beckoned him closer.
The woman's faint yet somewhat familiar fragrance reached Lu Jingsi's nose. He lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on her hand.
Her ten fingers were like tender scallion shoots, with tiny blue veins faintly visible beneath the skin.
Like the rest of her, they were dazzlingly white in the sunlight.
Without drawing attention to it, Lu Jingsi shifted half a step to the side, his tall frame shielding her from the scorching sun. He bent down slightly and asked, "What is it?"
Su Luoqian rose on tiptoe and gave him a rough account of the chaos at the duke's residence.
Lu Jingsi's face remained expressionless.
But the sight of the princess consort curling a finger and him bending down was already enough to make the jaws of the guests still present drop.
Su Luoqian whispered to him for a while, then looked at him with her limpid autumn-water eyes and blinked.
"Lord Lu, know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles."
She had told him about the situation at the duke's residence to make it easier for him to question people later.
With that, she looked behind Lu Jingsi and asked, "Where's Zelan?"
Lu Jingsi straightened and glanced discreetly at Chengying behind him.
The couple's gazes were simply too intense.
Under their stares, a chill ran down Chengying's back. "Miss Ze-Zelan is behind us."
Su Luoqian asked directly, "You made her walk back from the Prison Administration?"
She had gone to "pass along a warning," after all, yet he had simply left her behind.
Chengying had always been at Lu Jingsi's side. Like master, like subordinate.
In his twenty-odd years of life, the most Chengying had ever spoken to women was while interrogating prisoners.
How could he have thought to take Zelan's pace and feelings into account just then?
When Zelan reached the Prison Administration, they happened to be out. Although she had a pass from the prince's residence, the Prison Administration was a place of great importance, and the guards at the gate wouldn't let her in.
Besides, Zelan didn't dare enter that grim, gloomy place.
She could only wait at the gate until Lu Jingsi and Chengying returned close to noon.
Zelan was afraid of Lu Jingsi and hurriedly gave him the main points, whereupon Lu Jingsi mounted his horse again and headed straight for Duke Xu's Residence.
Now, faced with the princess consort's questioning, Chengying awkwardly rubbed his nose and could only cup his hands in salute. "This subordinate will be sure to remember in the future."
No sooner had he spoken than Zelan's voice came from the gate. "Your Highness."
Su Luoqian instinctively looked up at Lu Jingsi. "Then I'll head back first."
Only now did Qin Shuning, who had stood nearby watching the whole exchange between the two, draw closer.
Lu Jingsi furrowed his brows. "Chengying..."
"Ah, there's no need."
Qin Shuning hurriedly interrupted him with an awkward smile. "Qianqian and I still have things to talk about."
Without even thinking, she knew Lu Jingsi was either going to send word to Zhou Xuheng or have someone "keep an eye on" her all the way back to the Eastern Palace.
Lu Jingsi ignored her and continued his instructions. "Send someone to escort the princess consort and the crown princess back to the prince's residence first, then send a message to the crown prince."
Qin Shuning was somewhat displeased. Su Luoqian patted her hand to soothe her, and the two left the duke's residence arm in arm.
A carriage with a bright yellow canopy was parked beside the gate. Su Luoqian was about to step onto the carriage stool when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Xu Yin at the side gate with a group of servants, slapping Kong Cuilian across the face again and again.
Kong Cuilian was held fast by the servants, her jeweled hairpins trembling wildly, her cheeks already red and swollen.
They were too far away for Su Luoqian to hear what they were saying, but she could guess that Xu Yin was simply blaming Kong Cuilian for everything that had gone wrong at the banquet today, while Kong Cuilian could only beg for mercy over and over.
Su Luoqian watched for a few moments, then lost interest and ducked into the carriage.