Shen Xiangjun relaxed slightly.
Princess Changning was definitely right.
The Empress Dowager would never agree to this marriage. It was only because the court was currently observing the Great Mourning that the Empress Dowager couldn't spare the time to deal with it. This engagement would be broken sooner or later.
However, the sooner they could get Lu Zhaoling to give up, the better. After all, every single day that Lu Zhaoling held the title of "Prospective Princess Consort of Jin," Shen Xiangjun suffered.
How could a country bumpkin from the middle of nowhere have her name linked with Prince Jin!
"To tell you the truth, Princess, my parents also know she has overreached by aiming for Prince Jin, but they find her impossible to discipline," Zhaoyun said with a troubled expression. She tugged at Lu Zhaoling's sleeve. "Second Sister, now that the Princess is also trying to guide you, you should just be obedient."
Lu Zhaoling hadn't said a word until now. She had wanted to see exactly what level Princess Changning and Shen Xiangjun were on.
But now that she had seen enough, she was a bit disappointed.
Was this truly the standard for the capital's princesses and daughters of powerful ministers?
"Break the engagement?" she asked calmly. "Could Prince Jin even accept that? He is a dignified Prince would he really let a little country girl like me talk him into breaking a marriage agreement? What if he feels he has lost face?"
Lu Zhaoling didn't bother saying much; she knew one sentence would be enough to choke them.
Sure enough, as soon as those words left her mouth, the expressions of everyone present shifted.
Princess Changning bit her lower lip and looked toward Shen Xiangjun.
She wasn't wrong. Prince Jin had personally requested the Imperial Marriage Edict. How could he possibly allow Lu Zhaoling to be the one to break it off?
The image of Prince Jin's cold, peerless face surfaced in Shen Xiangjun's mind, and her heart throbbed with pain again.
"Then you should go and kneel before the gates of the Prince of Jin's Mansion," Princess Changning suggested, having come up with a new plan. "You will kneel and beg Prince Jin for mercy. Tell him that you are of lowly birth,
that you have neither talent nor virtue, and that your reputation is stained. Say you are unworthy of him and cannot bear the title of his Princess Consort. Beg him to break the engagement!"
Zhaoyun's eyes lit up, and she immediately echoed the sentiment. "That's a wonderful idea, Princess!"
Gu Qing's face paled.
Everyone else had moved far away from Lu Zhaoling for fear of being implicated by her, but Gu Qing remained standing by her side.
Hearing the Princess's words, she was truly terrified that Lu Zhaoling would be foolish enough to agree. She immediately reached behind Zhaoling to poke her, frantically winking at the same time.
You can't agree to this!
If she actually went and said those things, her reputation would be utterly destroyed. It would spread throughout the entire capital in an instant!
However, Lu Zhaoling didn't even look at her, leaving Gu Qing to blink her almond eyes until they nearly cramped. She was worried sick.
"From where did the Princess hear that I was unchaste?" Lu Zhaoling smiled faintly. "Well, I suppose I am a bit 'unclean.' After all, Prince Jin and I shared a carriage, and we even hugged. Is that the kind of stain you're referring to?"
Shen Xiangjun's fingernails dug sharply into her palms. Jealousy crawled up her heart, leaving it numb with pain.
She hugged Prince Jin! She hugged him!
The others also widened their eyes, unable to believe what they were hearing.
How could this Lu Zhaoling be so shameless as to say such a thing out loud!
Gu Qing also stared blankly at Lu Zhaoling. Good heavens, this elder sister is truly fierce.
"Second Sister, how can you say such things! Even if you don't care about your own shame, you must think of the Lu family's face!" Zhaoyun shrieked.
Lu Zhaoling spread her hands. "I'm only stating the facts. So, unless Prince Jin is some reprehensible scumbag, shouldn't he be taking responsibility for me?"
A scumbag...
"You're talking nonsense! Prince Jin could never do such a thing!" Shen Xiangjun could no longer restrain herself and barked a cold retort.
Prince Jin was so cold toward her that he hadn't even touched the corner of her robes. How could he have possibly hugged Lu Zhaoling?
"Many people on the street saw it that day. Haven't you all bothered to ask around?" Lu Zhaoling raised an eyebrow. "Is the purpose of your gathering today to meddle in Prince Jin's marriage? Are all of you here his elders? Are you all in such a hurry to defy the Emperor's Imperial Marriage Edict?"
The young ladies all hissed under their breath.
Their expressions transformed instantly. Lu Zhaoling had a mouth that dared to say anything they had already learned that lesson! They had originally intended to just watch the drama unfold, but now Lu Zhaoling had dragged all of them into it with a single sentence. Who among them would dare admit to that?
If word got out that they were interfering in Prince Jin's marriage and disrespecting the Imperial Edict, would the Prince ever let them off?
Consequently, they all began to distance themselves in a panic.
"We didn't say anything like that!"
"Who said anything about defying the edict? Don't talk nonsense!"
Princess Changning was fuming and was about to speak again when Shen Xiangjun grabbed her hand, signaling her to stay silent.
The two of them held the highest status here. If these rumors really spread, Prince Jin would surely believe they were the ones leading the charge to interfere in his affairs.
He would truly be incensed.
Continuing this scene would only disadvantage her.
Silenced by Shen Xiangjun, Princess Changning could only suppress her fury with a deep, resentful breath.
"I called you all here today because I wanted us to copy sutras together," the Princess announced. "I will eventually send the finished copies into the palace to be presented to the Empress Dowager. This is a gesture of our sincerity and devotion to the Retired Emperor and the Great Zhou Dynasty. Therefore, you must copy these texts properly and with a focused heart!"
Her original plan hadn't involved confronting Lu Zhaoling directly, but the girl had provoked her so much that she had nearly lost her composure.
Princess Changning hated Lu Zhaoling more than ever now.
The other young ladies didn't dare say another word on the matter. They all complied and dispersed to prepare.
Princess Changning looked around. "Where is Lianxin?"
Zhaoyun opened her mouth to reply. "Princess, Sister He wasn't feeling well just now, so she went home early."
The servants of the Princess's manor hadn't even had the chance to report the incident to her yet.
Zhaoyun knew it wasn't the right time to bring up the details of He Lianxin's departure. Did she really want to force the Princess to continue arguing with Lu Zhaoling?
Now that Lu Zhaoling had invoked Prince Jin's name, she had effectively suppressed them all!
When one calculated the seniority, Princess Changning actually had to address Prince Jin as "Uncle"!
Zhaoyun decided to wait until the event was over before mentioning He Lianxin.
"Zhaohua, take Lu Zhaoling to look around. There are sutras over there. Pick one in a moment and copy it well!" Zhaoyun commanded Zhaohua.
Zhaohua truly didn't want to be anywhere near Lu Zhaoling, but she didn't dare disobey. She could only comply.
"Just looking at you gives me a headache!" Princess Changning snapped at Lu Zhaoling. She pointed toward the lake. "Go walk around over there. Don't loiter in front of me!"
"Second Sister, let's go this way." Zhaohua looked at Lu Zhaoling with a pleading gaze.
Lu Zhaoling glanced toward the lake and didn't object.
She started walking in that direction. "I'll go by myself. You don't need to follow."
That was exactly what Zhaohua wanted. "Then I'll go pick a sutra first, Second Sister. I'll help grind your ink later!"
She had a nagging feeling that something else was in store for Lu Zhaoling. If she stayed by her side, she might get dragged into it as well. She wasn't going anywhere near her.
Princess Changning and the others saw Lu Zhaoling walking toward the lake as expected. They exchanged glances and stopped paying her any attention.
They actually had to copy the sutras; they couldn't spend all their energy on Lu Zhaoling.
The noble ladies began to spread out their paper and had their maids grind ink, preparing to begin their work.
Lu Zhaoling walked alone past the path by the rockery, heading toward the edge of the lake.
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