When had He Lianxin ever seen a girl so bold, even more arrogant than herself?
Lu Zhaoling's last two questions looped incessantly in her mind.
Was she taken in by the Emperor?
Has the He family climbed over the heads of the Imperial family?
He Lianxin knew all too well that if those two sentences were leaked, not only would she lose all face, but her father would surely force her to kneel in the Ancestral Hall as punishment!
She was so furious that her entire body trembled. Blood rushed to her head, her vision went black, and she actually fainted.
"Sister He!"
Lu Zhaoyun, who had been holding onto her arm, cried out in panic and hurriedly supported her.
The two maids from the He family finally managed to clear the stars from their eyes just in time to see their young mistress collapse. Ignoring Lu Zhaoling, they rushed over to help He Lianxin.
Gu Qing's eyes widened, her palms sweating slightly as she looked at Lu Zhaoling.
Someone else voiced exactly what she was thinking
"She actually provoked Miss He so much that she fainted!"
Lu Zhaoling thought to herself: Truly a legendary fainting spell.
She let out a light sigh and spoke clearly, "You can't blame me. This Miss He has excessive liver fire and heavy internal dampness; she suffers from a slight case of hypomania and is easily impulsive. Furthermore, her forehead is darkened today. She clearly ran into some ill omens the moment she left her house. She was bound to be unlucky today anyway."
The onlookers, who had just closed their mouths, gaped once more.
What was Lu Zhaoling saying?
He Lianxin had been provoked to the point of fainting, yet Lu Zhaoling wasn't panicked in the least. She even dared to say He Lianxin was just having a run of bad luck?
"Second Sister!" Lu Zhaoyun finally snapped back to reality, nearly screaming. "How can you cause such trouble the moment you arrive!"
Her plans hadn't even begun. She hadn't even seen Princess Changning or Shen Xiangjun yet, and Lu Zhaoling had already made He Lianxin faint!
"You're the one who asked me to come," Lu Zhaoling replied innocently.
The He family maids glared at them. "Our master will not let the Lu family off for this! Just you wait!"
Not daring to delay, they exchanged a few quick words with the staff of the Princess's Residence and hurriedly carried He Lianxin away.
Lu Zhaoyun shouted at their retreating backs in desperation, "I will come to your house personally to apologize! I beg for Sister He's forgiveness!"
The two maids ignored her.
Lu Zhaoyun turned back and walked quickly toward Lu Zhaoling. "Second Sister, look at the mess you've made! Are you trying to get our whole family killed?!"
The Lu family was like a tiny ant compared to the He family!
It had taken her years to become close friends with He Lianxin, and now Lu Zhaoling had ruined it all in an instant! He Lianxin would certainly take her anger out on her!
Lu Zhaohua covered her mouth, looking at Lu Zhaoling with a face full of terror.
She was nearly stunned by Lu Zhaoling's ferocity.
Could it be that being raised in the countryside truly left one ignorant of status and social hierarchy?
"Big... Big Sister, Second Sister probably thinks this place is like the countryside, where you can just argue and pull hair without knowing anyone's status..." Lu Zhaohua's weak voice leaked through her fingers.
Beside her, Gu Qing suddenly turned to look at her, frowning.
Was Lu Zhaohua belittling Lu Zhaoling? Was she trying to paint Lu Zhaoling as a crude village girl who only knew how to get into brawls?
Or was she overthinking it?
"And you! Why didn't you help pull her back?" Lu Zhaoyun glared at Lu Zhaohua, fuming with rage. "I was busy stopping Sister He; couldn't you have held back your Second Sister?"
Lu Zhaohua began to cry from the grievance.
Lu Zhaoling sneered. "Addicted to acting, are we?"
"Second Sister"
"If you howl one more time, I'm going home." Lu Zhaoling's single sentence choked Lu Zhaoyun's words in her throat. She gritted her teeth in hatred.
At that moment, someone else spoke up.
"You Lu sisters certainly know how to make a scene. Do you even know where you are?"
"Exactly. Do you think this is some common marketplace? Lu Zhaoyun, the Princess only sent an invitation to you, didn't she? Yet you had the nerve to bring two sisters along. Isn't that a bit much?"
Lu Zhaoyun's face flushed red with embarrassment, her eyes welling up.
These women all had higher status than her and had always looked down on her. If she hadn't managed to please Princess Changning and He Lianxin, they never would have tolerated her presence.
Clearly, her beauty surpassed theirs, as did her talent and reputation, yet they still refused to treat her well.
They were nothing but a group of jealous women!
However, Lu Zhaoyun was still very good at maintaining her facade in front of outsiders.
She sniffled and put on an expression full of grievance and apology, bowing to the group.
"Zhaoyun apologizes to everyone. It is truly because my sister has just returned to the capital from the countryside. Our parents, out of their kind hearts and earnest intentions, wanted her to meet all of you and learn some proper etiquette and social graces. That is why I brought her."
"But I was afraid I wouldn't be able to look after her closely enough and that she might offend you, so I brought Zhaohua along as well. I truly didn't expect her character to be so wild. When I return, I will inform our parents so they can teach her properly. Zhaoyun apologizes to everyone once again."
By lowering herself so much and speaking so sincerely and considering the fact that they weren't the ones being provoked the other young ladies couldn't be bothered to argue further. They were more interested in seeing how He Lianxin would retaliate later.
"You'll have plenty of explaining to do once the Princess comes out."
Gu Qing, however, felt that Lu Zhaoyun's words sounded off.
As an older sister, how could she brand her own biological sister as 'wild' and 'ignorant of etiquette' in front of everyone?
Adding in what Lu Zhaohua had said earlier...
Gu Qing couldn't help but look at Lu Zhaoling. Why did she feel that this Second Miss Lu was a bit pitiful?
"Actually, wasn't He Lianxin the one at fault first?" Gu Qing couldn't help herself. "The moment we entered, without any previous grudge, she ordered her maids to seize Second Miss Lu and tried to force her to kneel. No one could endure that."
Lu Zhaoling had been about to speak in response to Lu Zhaoyun, but she hadn't expected this girl to speak up again.
She looked at Gu Qing.
The sixteen-year-old girl was fresh
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