The Commandery Princess Ming Yue was almost infuriated by Lu Zhaozhao’s calm demeanor.
She stared hard at Lu Zhaozhao, hoping to find a crack in Lu Zhaozhao’s expression to prove that Lu Zhaozhao was merely pretending to be calm, while in reality, she was heartbroken to the core.
Gu Taohua, adjusting her mindset, smiled and said, "Since the Commandery Princess likes my third brother so much, you should show some sincerity, shouldn’t you?"
The Commandery Princess Ming Yue was baffled by Gu Taohua’s change in attitude and asked, "What sincerity?"
Gu Taohua said, "It should be the sincerity to make my third sister-in-law let go. My third brother is a scholar and so handsome; he must be worth at least two hundred thousand taels, right? Third sister-in-law, what do you think?"
Lu Zhaozhao replied with a smile, "That’s right, give me two hundred thousand taels, and I’ll willingly step aside."
The Commandery Princess Ming Yue’s eyes widened.
"Is money more important to you than Gu Jingzhe?"
Lu Zhaozhao said nonchalantly, "Of course!"
The Commandery Princess Ming Yue said, "The daughter of a merchant is indeed filled with the stench of money."
Lu Zhaozhao said, "Since you don’t care about money, then give me two hundred thousand taels, and I’ll give Gu Jingzhe to you."
"You..."
The Commandery Princess Ming Yue gritted her teeth.
Though she is a Commandery Princess, not to mention two hundred thousand taels, she couldn’t even come up with twenty thousand.
Two hundred thousand taels of silver would empty the treasury.
"I thought your feelings for Gu Jingzhe were profound, but it turns out to be just this."
The Commandery Princess Ming Yue left in anger.
Lu Zhaozhao and Gu Taohua exchanged a smile.
Asking for silver broke her defenses.
But what Lu Zhaozhao didn’t expect was that it not only broke the Commandery Princess Ming Yue’s defenses but also broke Gu Jingzhe’s major defense.
Unwilling to take it lying down, the Commandery Princess Ming Yue ran to the Imperial College to find Gu Jingzhe and told him Lu Zhaozhao was willing to give him up for two hundred thousand taels of silver.
"Unexpected, isn’t it? In the heart of your original wife, you don’t even compare to two hundred thousand taels of silver," the Commandery Princess Ming Yue taunted.
Gu Jingzhe, seeing the Commandery Princess Ming Yue come again, advised her that she didn’t understand true feelings and suggested she focus on the eligible young bachelors in Shengjing. The Commandery Princess Ming Yue angrily retorted that to Lu Zhaozhao, he was not worth more than two hundred thousand taels of silver.
Suppressing his anger, Gu Jingzhe smiled and asked, "So, is the Commandery Princess willing to give two hundred thousand taels of silver?"
Gu Jingzhe’s response left the Commandery Princess Ming Yue speechless.
Both husband and wife seem abnormal; someone might think they were conspiring to swindle her silver.
"Is two hundred thousand taels of silver the point? The point is, your original wife doesn’t really care about you; you’re worth less to her than silver," the Commandery Princess Ming Yue tried to incite.
Gu Jingzhe shrugged and said, "So what? It just means I haven’t impressed her as much as silver."
The Commandery Princess Ming Yue was driven mad by Gu Jingzhe’s attitude, feeling that his studies had addled his brain.
Gu Jingzhe was indeed rattled by the thought of two hundred thousand taels of silver.
As of now, he had no title or status, and to Lu Zhaozhao, he truly wasn’t worth as much as two hundred thousand taels of silver.
How to make Lu Zhaozhao see that his potential exceeded two hundred thousand taels of silver was something worth exploring.
Thus, in order to prove himself more valuable than two hundred thousand taels of silver, Gu Jingzhe became even more devoted to Lu Zhaozhao than before.
When Lu Zhaozhao returned home from the shop, she noticed her loyal husband became even more loyal.
Thinking about today’s events, Lu Zhaozhao felt a bit guilty.
The Commandery Princess Ming Yue returned to her residence, angrily smashing things everywhere.
She felt that she had been played by Lu Zhaozhao and Gu Jingzhe.
She wanted to see Lu Zhaozhao lose control and miscarry in a fit of rage, to see Gu Jingzhe’s fury.
Neither reaction did she see.
Was it that she didn’t provoke them enough, or did the two of them steadfastly believe their love was stronger than gold?
If Lu Zhaozhao was determined to have Gu Jingzhe, she would hold tightly and never let go.
But now, Lu Zhaozhao obviously didn’t care as much about Gu Jingzhe as the Commandery Princess Ming Yue had imagined, which made the Commandery Princess Ming Yue feel that the fight for Gu Jingzhe wasn’t as thrilling.
However, thinking of Gu Jingzhe’s face, she was indeed reluctant to let go.
Whether to continue holding onto Gu Jingzhe or to let go, the Commandery Princess Ming Yue felt stuck in an awkward position.
Unwilling, yet finding the struggle not thrilling enough.
...
Tong Huaqiong was attending a palace banquet for the first time.
To show importance to the crown prince, this welcome banquet was held with great fanfare.
Almost all the ministers and their wives and families from the court attended.
The palace banquet lasted from evening until night.
The Old Emperor sat at the head of the table, smiling warmly, but Tong Huaqiong always felt he was forcing it.
Zhao Yi sat obediently next to the Old Emperor, and his several royal uncles sat in a row with benevolent expressions on their faces.
The expressions of the civil and military officials were not clearly visible under the flickering lights accompanied by music.
Tong Huaqiong sat with Mrs. Min.
The news of her connection with the Prince Yu Mansion spread throughout Shengjing, making everyone curious about her.
From the moment she took her seat, Tong Huaqiong noticed numerous eyes on her, some admiring, some scrutinizing, and, of course, some hostile.
"That’s Princess Consort Yu," Mrs. Min nodded towards a noblewoman not far away.
Tong Huaqiong looked towards Princess Consort Yu.
Princess Consort Yu seemed to be in her forties, well-maintained, and wearing a deep purple gown with great elegance.
Princess Consort Yu noticed Tong Huaqiong looking at her and turned her head to meet her gaze, with an expression of disdain.
This expression flashed through Tong Huaqiong’s memory regarding Tong Dajiao.
In her previous life, Princess Consort Yu endured Tong Dajiao’s crudeness while making a marriage alliance with her for Gu Jingzhe, who had potential.
It was undoubtedly difficult.
In this lifetime, Tong Huaqiong started off with enmity towards the Prince Yu Mansion. If Princess Consort Yu learned that her daughter Zhao Xiyue had designs on Gu Jingzhe, she would definitely intervene.
Tong Huaqiong planned to inform Princess Consort Yu about Zhao Xiyue pursuing Gu Jingzhe, hoping she would quickly find another marriage match for Zhao Xiyue.
"Grandma, Mighty General keeps looking at you."
Man Er tugged at Tong Huaqiong’s sleeve, discreetly pointing towards the seat below the emperor.
The emperor had commanded Mighty General to personally teach martial arts to the young crown prince, so in recent days, living in the palace with the crown prince, Man Er had become acquainted with Mighty General.
Mighty General could speak the local dialect and had no airs about him in front of the children, so Man Er liked him a lot.
She tilted her head and smiled at Mighty General.
Seeing Man Er’s smile, Mighty General also grinned.
Tong Huaqiong raised her head and unexpectedly caught Mighty General grinning toothily.
As their gazes met, Mighty General’s smile froze, as though he’d been scalded, quickly averting his eyes, his heart pounding.
Tong Huaqiong: "..."
This old timer, Mighty General, acted quite shyly.
Before Tong Huaqiong could look away, Mighty General raised his eyes and they met again.
This time, neither of them looked away.
Mighty General only felt his ears grow a bit warm, fortunate that his face had tanned from the border sun, or it would have blushed crimson.
The destructive power of childhood sweethearts is indeed significant.