"What?" Everyone in the room except Lu Guanying and Cheng Yaojia froze. Madam Tang was an absolute authority in Lu Mansion; when had she ever been contradicted like this?
Madam Tang's first reaction was not anger, but thinking she had misheard. Only when she saw everyone else's reactions did she realize she had indeed heard correctly. Humiliated and enraged, she noticed Lu Guanying's expression beside her and became even more convinced that he was gloating. In a fury, she hurled her teacup at his head. "Lu Guanying, what kind of worthless friends have you made? You even bring people like this into our home? Are you trying to get yourself expelled from the family?"
Lu Guanying's expression changed instantly. In this world, expulsion from one's ancestral hall was the harshest punishment. From then on, one would have no ancestors to worship and could not return to one's roots even in death.
Yet the scalding tea streamed down his head, and the humiliation made the veins on his forehead throb. If his wife had not tightly held him back, he might have turned hostile on the spot.
Seeing what had happened to Lu Guanying, Song Qingshu's expression turned even colder. Just then, Cheng Ying hurried forward and stood between the two sides. "Madam Tang, Third Brother's friends are all people of the martial world. They have always been accustomed to living freely and without restraint, unlike great clans such as the Lu family, which place such importance on etiquette. Especially those with truly exceptional abilities—they often disregard such formalities entirely. If his words have been offensive, I hope Madam Tang will forgive him."
Cheng Yaojia could not help giving her a grateful look. She knew that her cousin had stepped forward to plead for them entirely because of her.
Song Qingshu