Su Shihang’s expression was extremely unpleasant.
Mrs. Lu, seated among the ladies, was so angry she wanted to stand up and argue with Mrs. Min.
She was held back by her niece, Lu Yiner.
It wasn’t just that she couldn’t argue with Mrs. Min in front of the Emperor; even under normal circumstances, she would always be the one running away in defeat.
Mrs. Min’s combativeness was feared by every noblewoman in Shengjing.
When Mrs. Lu heard Mrs. Min questioning whether her son was Su Shihang’s offspring, her face turned ashen.
She looked towards the Emperor at the head of the hall, trying to calm her anxious emotions.
If this old woman continued to make trouble, it would be good to anger the Emperor.
She hoped that the Emperor would punish Mrs. Min.
However, the Emperor showed no sign of reacting.
It’s no wonder Mrs. Lu didn’t understand the Emperor’s tolerance for Mrs. Min’s antics.
As Su Shihang’s wife, Mrs. Lu had always been a hidden existence.
After Min Baozhen died, Mrs. Lu thought she had finally become the true mistress of the Su Mansion.
But because Mrs. Lu had neither a family background nor influence, and had grown up in the countryside, Su Shihang despised her and rarely allowed her to socialize, rarely even attending palace banquets.
This time, she was brought to seek the Emperor’s blessing for Su Chengmin’s marriage.
Mrs. Lu’s eyes showed confusion; she didn’t understand why Mrs. Min, who was also from the countryside and even more vulgar than her, was invited to family and palace banquets.
Even more puzzling was why the Emperor would indulge her so.
Mrs. Min, exhausted from her tirade, sat down, catching her breath.
Behind Mrs. Min, Chen Sufen and Mrs. Zhao and others were sweating; this was the palace banquet, and Mrs. Min had put on an outrageous display right in front of the Emperor. Those unaware might have mistaken it for an argument under the big willow tree in Qinghe Bay.
Tong Huaqiong was about to offer Mrs. Min a cup of tea to soothe her throat when the Emperor chuckled and said to Eunuch Pan beside him, "The old madam is tired from her rant, give her a cup of tea."
The entire hall was in an uproar.
Some unconsciously glanced at the Mighty General.
The Crown Prince’s incident involved many people, leading to rivers of blood in Shengjing.
The Mighty General’s nephew, also the Crown Prince’s nephew, is missing, yet the Mighty General’s standing in the Emperor’s heart remains unaffected.
Now Mrs. Min was cursing others in front of the Emperor, and instead of being angered, the Emperor offered her tea.
Once again confirming that only the Mighty General’s standing with the Emperor is as solid as a rock.
Everyone shifted their gaze to Su Shihang, wondering if Lord Su regretted having schemed against General Min’s sister.
Mrs. Lu was stirred by the cup of tea given by the Emperor to Mrs. Min, her eyes turning red, and she instinctively looked at her niece, Lu Yiner.
She was unwilling to accept the collapse of her niece’s engagement with Su Chengmin.
As she was feeling disappointed, the Emperor suddenly addressed Su Shihang, smilingly asking, "Mr. Su, you just requested the marriage for Chengmin, which family’s daughter are you asking about?"
Mrs. Lu’s heart lifted.
The Emperor still cared about her husband’s opinion.
Seated next to Mrs. Lu, Lu Yiner trembled slightly, unable to hide her excitement.
Mrs. Min clenched her fists, ready to curse again, but upon seeing her son sitting as steady as a mountain, she remained seated too.
If Su Shihang dared mention any girl other than Taohua, she would curse even more vehemently than before.
Su Chengmin’s heart was in his throat.
He wished he could block Su Shihang outside the palace and curse him personally.
He had already refused Su Shihang’s attempts twice to pair him with Lu Yiner, and the words he used were as harsh as his grandmother’s curses.
Yet, Su Shihang was still relentless.
Su Chengmin secretly thought Taohua was surprisingly absent today; if Taohua were here, he would seize the chance to ask the Emperor to bless the marriage, crushing Su Shihang and Mrs. Lu’s schemes regarding his matrimony.
Su Shihang was humiliated by Mrs. Min, initially hoping to bide his time, but hearing the Emperor bring up the matter again, he seized the opportunity and said, "It’s my wife’s niece."
Mrs. Lu’s face broke into a smile.
Lu Yiner lifted her head, her eyes shining as she looked at Su Chengmin, her face filled with shyness.
Su Chengmin’s expression was extremely unpleasant, and facing Lu Yiner’s gaze, he saw disgust in her eyes, causing her eyes to redden.
Mrs. Lu patted Lu Yiner’s hand, smiling at the corners of her mouth.
No matter how much Su Chengmin disliked Lu Yiner, once the Emperor’s decree for marriage was given, he would be Lu Yiner’s husband.
No matter how capable Su Chengmin was, he would ultimately fall under her niece’s influence.
And she held her niece, essentially holding Su Chengmin.
"Is it Mrs. Su’s niece? But Mighty General hasn’t married yet, how could he have a daughter?" a lady close to Mrs. Min murmured.
This murmur was distinctly heard by everyone present.
Mrs. Lu, hearing this, couldn’t help saying, "It’s my niece, Lu Yiner."
Having spoken, she nudged Lu Yiner.
The lady pursed her lips and said, "Oh, I misunderstood. But it’s not my fault; Lord Su always boasts externally of being Mighty General’s brother-in-law, so I thought the niece he mentioned was a Min family girl."
Mrs. Lu’s face turned pale with anger.
Though everyone in Man Shengjing knew about Su Shihang and Min Baozhen’s entanglement, being pointed out in public still left Su Shihang with an embarrassed expression.
The Emperor sat at the head, unperturbed.
Neither agreeing to the marriage nor rejecting it.
Mrs. Min pounded the table once more, invoking her inner shrew.
"Have you even considered what in Lu Family’s girl is worthy of Chengmin? She doesn’t even qualify to warm his bed, let alone be his main wife. Is your Lu Family so desperate you cling to Chengmin?"
Lu Yiner, sitting in her place, was publicly insulted by Mrs. Min, unable to lift her head.
Mrs. Lu couldn’t hold back, ultimately blurting out, "Madam, please mind your words in the Emperor’s presence. My Yiner is a proper young lady, and your words unfairly tarnish a decent young girl, who will be Chengmin’s wife. Aren’t you disgracing Chengmin with such talk?"
Mrs. Min grew even angrier; the Emperor hadn’t reproached her, yet Mrs. Lu jumped out, was she not inviting scorn?
Mrs. Min cursed, "Which proper young lady blocks Chengmin and secretly gives him scarves? Their fate isn’t even connected yet, where does this ’wife’ come from?"
"You speak of propriety? If your family were so proper, why did Su Shihang abandon his first wife? You, now bold enough to challenge me, why didn’t you stab him when Su Shihang abandoned you to marry someone else? You cried and demeaned yourself to become a concubine just to enter the Su household, shameless enough to continue climbing into his bed."
Mrs. Min hadn’t intended to curse so vulgarly; thinking of her daughter incensed her.
She knew her daughter’s death was caused by Su Shihang.
But Mrs. Lu wasn’t entirely innocent either.
Su Shihang deserted her and she didn’t resent him, yet took it out on Baozhen.
Scheming and inciting, provoking Baozhen.
Baozhen’s death, if not attributable to half the responsibility to Mrs. Lu, was certainly at least a third.
Now wanting to shove her niece onto Baozhen’s only son, Su Chengmin, how could Mrs. Min stand it?