The hot temper that Miao had developed since childhood is not so easy to change. Even now, after years of self-cultivation, she looks like a kind-hearted old lady on the surface. However, as long as her reverse scale is touched, she will immediately regain her former charm and turn into a fire-breathing dragon.
"Let's go, take my invitation and go to the Lu family to pay a visit to the old lady and the ladies, and ask them what they are planning. They dare to step on anyone's head once they raise their feet! Mingyu is a new daughter-in-law with a thin skin, and she allows those shabby people to take advantage of her. But I don't care about my old face, I'll just go for it!" Miao cursed angrily, and called Bixi to ask her to find Liu Cai to harness the carriage.
Wei Ma Ma gave a few token words of persuasion, but she knew that this matter touched Miao's sore spot, so she didn't dare to persuade her harshly. Seeing that Miao ignored her, she hurriedly followed her. With her watching, Miao's anger was suppressed, so that she wouldn't make a scene. Before leaving, Miao went to worship the Buddha for good luck, asking him to bless her son's safety, and also solemnly worshipped the newly invited Guanyin, asking the Bodhisattva to bless Mingyu's belly to grow soon, so that she could hold her grandson soon.
At the same time that Miao received Mingyu's letter, the Xu family also received Mingyu's letter. In addition to reporting safety in the letter, Mingyu also told Xu Mingye about her troubles. Xu Mingye took Mingyu's private letter back to his room, but it was unexpectedly seen by Fu Lemei. After secretly reading the letter from her sister-in-law, Fu Lemei was furious. Did she think Mingyu's family was easy to bully? She was about to go to the Lu family to ask for an explanation with her big belly, but was stopped by Xu Mingye with a pale face.
"Mingyu said it in the letter. Her mother-in-law will take care of this matter. You should just focus on taking care of your pregnancy." Xu Mingye coaxed her patiently.
Fu Lemei pouted and refused, "What if Old Madam Sima doesn't want to care? I think she would be happy for her son to take a concubine and have more grandchildren. It's not like all mothers-in-law in the world are as good as you!"
Xu Mingye smiled and said, "When that time comes, Mingyu will be counting on you as her sister-in-law to help her out. Now you should just focus on giving birth to Mingyu's nephew and don't let her worry."
Fu Lemei then snorted twice and touched her watermelon-sized belly, temporarily giving up the idea of venting her anger on Mingyu.
The Lu family is a large family. Of the Lu brothers who followed Emperor Taizu Song Wei to conquer the world, only Lu is left. As the trend of valuing culture over military affairs gradually emerged in the Great Chu, in recent decades, most of the Lu family's disciples have studied and become officials, and no one wants to endure a hard life in the barracks.
The old lady of the Lu family believed that the Lu family was a well-behaved and ceremonial family, and that all the daughters-in-law and girls in the family were outstanding in both temperament and character.
So when the invitation from the old lady of the Anxi Marquis' Mansion was handed to her, Mrs. Lu really just thought that the old lady of the Marquis' Mansion, who lived a secluded life, wanted to talk to her to relieve her boredom.
After Miao sat down and drank a sip of tea, she went straight to the point and said with a smile: "Old lady, based on seniority, I have to call you aunt.
Today I came here because I received a letter from my son and daughter-in-law from the northwest. It seems that your family wants to marry a girl to my son as a concubine. The girl is good at wielding swords and guns. When she goes to my son, she will help my daughter-in-law kill rabbits and chickens. She is very powerful! My daughter-in-law has just married and is shy. She didn’t know what to do when she encountered this matter, so she wrote to ask me, her mother-in-law. I thought about it for a long time, but I couldn’t figure out what was going on. I thought that your family is one of the most well-behaved families in the capital, and you, my aunt, are an old nobleman appointed by the late emperor, and you are also famous for your kindness. So I thought about what the matter was, so I just came to ask you directly, and don’t let any misunderstanding ruin the friendship between our two families, which would be bad. "
Old Madam Lu's face turned purple and white. She forced herself to faint while Miao was talking. After Miao finished speaking, she smiled awkwardly at Miao and said, "Madam Sima, this matter... must be a misunderstanding. To be honest, the girls in our Lu family are all in the capital. They are strictly controlled. Except for the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month to burn incense, they don't go out of the main door or the second door on weekdays. Even when they go out to burn incense, they are followed by a group of maids and old women. There is no girl in our family who is in the northwest, brandishing swords and guns... You are right, this is a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!"
After Miao got the answer she wanted, the atmosphere became harmonious. Several ladies chatted and laughed about family matters. The third wife of the Lu family personally saw Miao off.
After Miao left, the old lady of the Lu family rudely called her daughters-in-law to her room. She couldn't help but get furious and vented all her anger. "It's okay if you know, but if you don't, you might think that the girls of our Lu family are so cheap! They are willing to be concubines! No girl in our Lu family, even if she is born out of wedlock, will be a concubine!"
The third wife of the Lu family glanced at the fifth wife and whispered: "Mom, don't be angry. That girl is not a proper girl of our Lu family. Which girl of our Lu family is so rude and shameless!"
Old Madam Lu glanced at the Fifth Madam and sighed. It was not her fault. "Fortunately, you held your ground and did not acknowledge her. If you really acknowledged her, and this shameful thing got out, no matter whether she was married or not, where would the face of the Lu family girls be? After all, she was born out of wedlock and cannot be shown in public!"
After scolding, Mrs. Lu still felt unsatisfied. She couldn't sleep in the middle of the night and asked the maid on duty to help her get up. She dictated a letter to her daughter-in-law and wrote it to her fifth son Lu who was far away in the northwest overnight. She sent her trusted old woman who had been with her for many years to deliver it day and night.
After receiving the letter and reading a few sentences, Lu felt as if his mother, who was over 70 years old, was standing in front of him and scolding him loudly, with her spit almost spraying on his face. Mrs. Lu, who was called the king of the world in the absence of tigers, was not much better. She listened to the scolding of the old lady Lu's trusted maid with a trembling face.
"Madam..., I am representing the old lady and have a few words to say to you." The old woman looked down at this "Madam" Lu with a sarcastic and contemptuous look on her face. "Since you are serving the commander, you should serve him well and stop having those evil thoughts. If you serve the commander well, the old lady will be happy. Maybe she will have another granddaughter. If you don't think about serving the commander well and just think about something else, don't blame us old ladies for sending you off with a bowl of soup! It will also save you from dragging down the girls of our Lu family and ruining the good reputation accumulated by our Lu family for decades!"
Lu Xuer had never been humiliated by a servant in such an arrogant way since she was a child. She immediately became furious and stood up to find her whip to beat the old woman she hated, but Madam Lu secretly grabbed her hand.
After the old woman left, Mrs. Lu let go of Lu Xuer. Lu Xuer was so angry that her face turned red. She shouted, "Why don't you let me hit her? I'm your father's daughter. What if I beat her to death?" She had been a local tyrant in the northwest for so long that she had forgotten about the life-and-death penalty.
Mrs. Lu was so angry that her heart ached. "No one outside the northwest will recognize you as a daughter of the Lu family. What's the point of just having the surname Lu? Then will Sima Hong be willing to marry you? I tell you, if you are really disrespectful to this woman, the old lady in the capital will really send you two bowls of soup, and your father will never disobey his own mother."
Lu Xuer was overwhelmed with grief. She hugged Madam Lu and cried for a long time, tears streaming down her face. She cried, "Mother, is this all that can be done? Why doesn't Brother Sima look down on me? Am I not more capable than that Xu? She can't do anything. She is timid and incompetent..."
Madam Lu also cried, "Silly girl, why are you so stupid? Mother has told you so many times that men are fire and women are water. Women need to be gentle and charming to win the love of men. It's all because of your father. He spoiled you to have a hot temper and don't act like a girl. Sima Hong is such a proud man, how could he like a woman who is stronger than him? Think about it carefully, learn more from Xu, be a gentle and considerate woman, even if you don't marry Sima Hong, there are still many good men waiting for you to choose."
Lu Xuer opened her mouth to object, what she despised most was a timid and weak woman like Xu Mingyu who was powerless. However, when she thought about it, her mother's words did make sense. She only saw that Brother Sima smiled gently at Xu, but treated her like any other brothers in the camp, with no difference.
If Brother Sima only likes women like Xu, she will just try to learn from him reluctantly. One day, Brother Sima will discover her good qualities.
After Miao's visit to the Lu family, Xu Mingye, who was the Cheng'an Sheren, wrote a memorial and visited Lu Cheng, the eldest grandson of the Lu family's first house, with a smiling face. Lu Cheng was a sixth-rank court doctor, and logically had nothing to do with Xu Mingye. Xu Mingye's sudden visit, coupled with Miao's previous visit, made him a little wary.
Xu Mingye smiled and presented the memorial he had written. "Brother Lu, you have been in the court longer than me and have more experience than me. This memorial is what I am going to present to the emperor when I go to court tomorrow. It concerns the Lu family. I am afraid that the information I got is inaccurate, so I want to ask Brother Lu if this is true."
Lu Cheng was not a fool. He hurriedly read the thin piece of paper that Xu Mingye handed to him, and cold sweats broke out. This kid accused the Northwest Army Commander Lu of not being a good parent, not knowing how high the sky is and how deep the earth is, not knowing the hierarchy, and repeatedly offending the fourth-rank imperial wife bestowed by the emperor. Moreover, as the commander of hundreds of thousands of troops, he openly kept a mistress. Not only was it immoral, but if the superiors followed suit, and everyone followed suit, wouldn't the society be in chaos? I beg the emperor to punish him severely, and he must be severely punished!
The news that the Northwest Army had captured Tianshui and Longxi had already arrived. This was the critical moment for rewarding meritorious service. If this kid reported him, his uncle's merit would be cut in half. Lu Cheng wiped his sweat and said with a smile, "This is a misunderstanding. Grandmother has clarified with Old Lady Sima before. The girl was born out of wedlock and has nothing to do with us. We will never let her enter our Lu family's genealogy. Grandmother has also sent someone to reprimand her. Sir Xu, don't worry."