哈哈漫画

The Prince laughed at his words. "You know Yanyan has a good relationship with the sisters of the Zhou family.”

"What has their relationship got to do with me? Xia is my wife. I won't allow anyone to bully her." Lu XuanNing exclaimed sternly, showing his concern for Li Xia.

"Handsome men, they do lead people astray," Cao Fugui joked from the side.

The joke by Cao Fugui made the Crown Prince laugh out loud. The laughter of the most influential young man drew the attention of many people.

"I will talk to Yanyan," the Crown Prince, aware of the situation between the Lu and Zhou families, said, implying that there was no point arguing over a settled matter.

Xu Xinyue, feeling somewhat disturbed, arrived in a carriage. Originally, Xu Xinyue didn't want to come, but Li Xia personally sent an invitation to the Wang Family. She specifically told Xu Xinyue that if Xu Xinyue didn't come, Li Xia would drive the carriage to invite her personally.

Knowing that Li Xia is a person who keeps her word, Xu Xinyue decided to go alone to the Mansion of Marquis of Pacifying the South to prevent matters from becoming complicated.

Upon leaving the carriage, she found Li Xia already waiting for her.

"Mother," Li Xia supported Xu Xinyue out of the carriage, intending to escort her in personally. Xu Xinyue refused.

"Today you are the hostess with many guests to receive. I can enter myself," Xu Xinyue, accompanied by a maid, entered the courtyard. The surrounding eyes staring at her made Xu Xinyue feel uncomfortable. Just as she was wondering what to do?

"Xinyue," Mrs. Lu beckoned Xu Xinyue over.

As Xu Xinyue walked over, she noticed that sitting next to Mrs. Lu was Old Madam Lu.

Mrs. Lu introduced Xu Xinyue to Old Madam Lu. "Old Madam, this is Xia's biological mother, Wang Xu's wife." She further introduced Old Madam Lu to Xu Xinyue, "Xinyue, this is Xia's great-grandmother."

"Hello, Old Madam," Xu Xinyue quickly bowed to Old Madam Lu, worried that her appearance would upset her.

However, Old Madam Lu was supportive and happy when Li Xia mentioned Xu Xinyue's attendance. She was satisfied that Li Xia hadn't forgotten her biological mother.

"Please get up," Old Madam Lu examined Xu Xinyue and said to Mrs. Lu, "They do look very alike, don't they?”

"Yes, Xia has inherited Xinyue's beauty," Mrs. Lu didn't show any signs of annoyance and cheerfully agreed with Old Madam Lu's comment.

"I remember Xia mentioned that you have a son. Why didn't you bring him along?" Old Madam Lu has heard from Li Xia many times about the mischief and cuteness of Wang Hong.

"The boy is too naughty. I didn't bring him along," Xu Xinyue was afraid that Wang Hong would wreak havoc.

"It's good to have naughty children. XuanNing was quite naughty when he was a child. Bring him to see me next time,” Old Madam Lu’s calm tone put Xu Xinyue at ease.

"Sure, I will bring him to see you next time," Xu Xinyue agreed.

Those who originally wanted to witness a drama at the side left in disappointment upon seeing that Li Xia's mother and stepmother were getting along well.

One batch of guests after the other arrived. Li Xia and Lu XuanNing kept themselves busy, welcoming the guests, leading them either to the garden to appreciate the flowers or to the rooms to rest and chat.

The mansion in question used to belong to a family that was impoverished and was reclaimed afterward. Many people have visited it before. The courtyard is large, but there's nothing special inside. They have also visited the Manor of Marquis of North Ning, which turned out to be nothing extraordinary.

Everyone who came here was prepared not to see much of interest, yet they were totally surprised to see the luxuriant flora. The garden was intricately designed, neatly arranged, and quite unlike an ordinary residence, which was indeed a refreshing sight.

The woman was enjoying the garden. Coming from a martial arts background, she knew many officers. Therefore, things like flowers and grass have always been dull and mundane to them.

What drew their attention was a martial arts training ground specifically setup inside the manor for Lu XuanNing and his followers. The place was filled with various kinds of weapons and training projects. They got to see the traditional plum blossom piles, and some others made by Li Xia which were unique and crafted based off the end-of-world military training. Each round was quite exhausting.

The civil officials, on the other hand, were intrigued by the casually placed massive stones next to the training ground and the bamboo nearby. They started commenting and discussing.

After bidding farewell to the guests, Li Xia was physically and mentally exhausted. She discussed with Lu XuanNing and concluded that it would be better if they hold fewer banquets in the Manor in the future.

Lu XuanNing agreed, as he too didn't like such gatherings. They agreed how much better it would be just to live a simple life together.

After the party matter was sorted out, Li Xia thought of Zhou Luoer, who had been looking at her oddly all day. She fixed her gaze on Lu XuanNing and asked, "Is there anything between you and Zhou Luoer that you're hiding from me?"

"Nothing, I have no relationship with her," Lu XuanNing replied very succinctly.

"Really? Lu XuanNing, you know I have ways to find out. Honesty is the best policy," Li Xia, guided by her intuition, said, feeling that something was amiss.

Seeing this, Lu XuanNing hesitated, "I'll tell you, but don't get mad."

"I'll only be mad if you don't tell me," Li Xia crossed her arms, waiting for Lu XuanNing to speak.

Lu XuanNing explained the situation in detail. Zhou Luoer was his cousin.

They were close in age and had a good relationship growing up. Madam Zhou, Lu XuanNing's mother, always wanted to strengthen family ties. She suggested arranging a marriage between the two to her brother and sister-in-law. The Zhou family agreed.

But as they were still young at the time, it was merely agreed orally to arrange Lu XuanNing and Zhou Luoer in marriage, but it was never made public.

When Prince YongKang revolted, Lu XuanNing was seriously injured and lay unconscious in bed. Out of desperation, Madam Zhou wrote to her brother, hoping to make Zhou Luoer marry into the Lu family early to take care of Lu XuanNing.

Of course, the Zhou family did not want their daughter to marry into the Lu family: According to the imperial doctor, there was a chance that Lu XuanNing might never wake up. To Zhou Luoer marrying into Lu family it would be essentially a widowhood.

The Zhou family then immediately denied any talk of marriage with the Lu family. They began externally promising to find a husband for Zhou Luoer. Zhou Mier, who had married into the Xu family as sister-in-law to the Crown Prince's wife, even went to the palace to seek the help of the Crown Prince's wife, hoping to find a good family for Zhou Luoer.

The Zhou family found a match for Zhou Luoer, with the wedding scheduled for last May.

However, in April, the mother of Zhou Luoer's fiancé, Jiang Qingyu, died. Jiang Qingyu had to follow the tradition of mourning for three years, hence the wedding was delayed.

"Madam Zhou, my mother-in-law, wasn't quite right in doing this," Li Xia said, considering the matter pragmatically. "How could you ever consider making a young girl a widow?"

"My mother just did that because she loves me too much," Lu XuanNing replied. He too didn't agree with his mother's decision when he woke up and knew everything. But since his mother did it all for his sake, he couldn't complain much.

Li Xia agreed with the situation, although it had nothing to do with her. Why is Zhou Luoer staring at her with such an intense gaze?

"It has some relevance to you," Lu XuanNing grumbled.

"What relevance?" Li Xia was confused.

"Jiang Qingyu's mother, whose maiden name is Liu, is the sister of Liu Jie, the Minister of Works. Madam Jiang's health isn't good and she can't be updated with any alarming news. They didn't tell her about her nephew's issues, and it so happened she passed away from the stress," Lu XuanNing's words gave Li Xia some clarity.

However, in Li Xia's perspective, how is it her concern? All these consequences are the results of their own actions.