The moment she heard the mention of Lord Lu's second daughter, Madam Wu's ears perked up.
As she listened, she realized they were indeed talking about Second Miss Lu.
However, had these people even seen Second Miss Lu before?
They actually had the audacity to call her an ugly village girl!
Madam Wu could not endure it. With a darkened expression, she barked a rebuke, "Open your eyes and look properly before you speak!"
The men, who were deep in their spirited conversation, were startled. They all turned their heads in unison to look at her.
"Madam, that's a bit much. We were just chatting among ourselves. Who was even looking at you?" one of them grumbled. Why did she have to be so insulting?
Madam Wu had initially felt that engaging with such people might only blow the matter out of proportion, but she truly could not hold herself back.
Since the scolding had already left her mouth, she simply let everything out.
"You were discussing the Second Miss of the Lu Family, were you not?"
"Why? Does Madam know that little village girl from the Lu Family?" Someone sized up Madam Lin. Seeing her extraordinary temperament, they did not dare to be too impudent.
"Little village girl? Second Miss Lu has already been granted a marriage to Prince Jin by imperial decree. By insulting her here, are you showing no respect to the Emperor and Prince Jin?"
The men looked at each other in silence.
One of them offered a sheepish defense. "It was just because Second Miss Lu lost her decorum. We were merely discussing it casually; how can that be called an insult?"
"Second Miss Lu is refined, intelligent, well-mannered, and has insights far beyond the ordinary. She is absolutely not the ignorant village girl you claim her to be. I can say with certainty that none of you have ever laid eyes on her. You are merely parroting what others say and talking nonsense!"
"Tch, and who are you? Wasn't Second Miss Lu raised in the countryside for ten years? The Lu Family said so themselves. Who's talking nonsense?"
"Does being raised in the countryside mean one must be vulgar and ignorant? When the Former Grand Tutor was young, did he not live in the wilds for fifteen years? Yet, he wrote the 'Collected Works of Idle Clouds and Wilds,'
became world-renowned, and his talent was passed down through the generations. And then there is Lord Li Lan; was he not also from a poor family? He studied his way to the capital and became a Triple Champion, a model of a talented scholar from a humble background whom the Former Emperor highly praised."
Madam Wu spoke in a cold voice, her gaze sweeping over several men who were quietly shrinking into the corners.
Those few had seemed the most excited in the crowd just now, their words flying as they guided the others to criticize and disparage Second Miss Lu.
There was definitely more to this than met the eye. Someone wanted to ruin Second Miss Lu's reputation.
It was simply outrageous.
"What kind of person is Second Miss Lu to be compared to the Former Grand Tutor and Lord Li?" someone sneered.
"I am not comparing Second Miss Lu to those two lords. I am refuting your mockery and contempt for those raised in the countryside. You may have grown up in the capital,
but you are grown men standing here speaking ill of a young lady. What is the difference between you and snakes or rats? Are you even a fraction better than those from the countryside?"
Madam Wu's gaze swept over them once more. "If you truly wish to discuss others, speak with facts. To catch at shadows and invent stories is that the behavior of an upright person?"
Having said her piece, she flicked her sleeve and walked away.
Her maidservant hurried to keep up.
The remaining men stood there for a long while, unable to react.
"Who is she?"
"Who cares? But did she just praise Second Miss Lu to the high heavens?" someone noted, catching another point of interest.
"That's right. She called her refined and intelligent..."
"Have any of you actually seen that Second Miss Lu?" With that, everyone became curious about Lu Zhaoling.
Originally, they were only discussing her public embarrassment, but now they truly wanted to see if this Second Miss was actually refined and intelligent.
At that moment, someone weakly raised a hand.
He had wanted to speak earlier, but everyone was so excited talking about the lady's mishap that he couldn't get a word in edgewise.
"This humble scholar has seen her."
Swish. Everyone turned to look at him.
It was a scholar in his late teens, thin and frail, but with a handsome face. His clothes looked old, and his robe was a bit short, making him look rather destitute.
He likely came from a poor family.
"This brother has seen Second Miss Lu?"
"Yes... on the day Prince Jin returned to the capital. I happened to be on the street and saw her. Second Miss Lu was being chased by thugs at the time, and her head was covered in blood..."
The scholar began to describe the events of that day.
When he reached the part where Second Miss Lu took a whip and lashed the Heir of Marquis Qingfu until he fainted, the crowd gasped in unison.
The Heir of Marquis Qingfu who among them didn't know of him?
"So that means Zhu Minghao wasn't grounded by the Marquis these past few days, but was actually nursing his wounds!" A few of Zhu Minghao's fair-weather friends were there, and their eyes lit up at the news.
Although they were friends, Zhu Minghao had been incredibly overbearing in the past. Hearing that he had been whipped into a faint in the street by a girl made them feel a strange sense of satisfaction.
"Then that means Second Miss Lu is formidable! She's not the refined and quiet lady that woman described. She's clearly a fierce girl."
"Maybe it's because she has Prince Jin backing her up?"
The conversation naturally drifted toward Prince Jin.
After Madam Wu left, she thought for a moment and bought some pastries, sending someone to deliver them to Lu Zhaoling.
"Tell Second Miss Lu that there are many people outside speaking ill of her."
She couldn't let Second Miss Lu be kept in the dark.
Madam Wu was still fuming, so she went to the Fu family home.
Elder Fu was out, but his wife, Madam Yao, received her. Upon hearing Madam Wu's reason for coming, Madam Yao grew angry as well.
"Second Miss Lu saved our Cheng'er; she is our family's benefactor. We absolutely cannot allow people to mock and bully her like this. Rest assured, Madam Lin, we will handle this."
Madam Wu knew her husband had returned to the capital to report on his duties. It was still unknown what arrangements the Emperor had for him, and his future was uncertain, so she couldn't afford to cause trouble. However, Second Miss Lu had done their family a great favor; how could she sit idly by?
Thus, after returning from the Fu family, she spoke to her husband about the matter.
Lin Rong pondered for a moment. "Madam, I will send men to identify those who are intentionally throwing dirty water on Second Miss Lu. When she needs it, I will give her the list of names. This matter is clearly someone trying to use Second Miss Lu as a scapegoat; the one who truly lost her decorum must be someone else."
They did not hide these matters from Lin Yanran.
Lin Yanran was also very upset. "Sister Lu is definitely not that kind of person."
Though she felt that sometimes an upset stomach was uncontrollable, she simply believed that Lu Zhaoling was not the type to be greedy or lacking in tact. Even if an accident happened, she would have handled it properly.
"I will go investigate the events of that day," Lin Rong took the task upon himself.
It wasn't long before word from Elder Doctor Fu spread through the Fu family.
Elder Doctor Fu stated that he had been commissioned by Prince Jin to treat Second Miss Lu's injuries. He had taken her pulse and confirmed that while she suffered from a deficiency of both Qi and blood and was somewhat weak,
her stomach and intestines were in perfect harmony. Second Miss Lu had been taking the medicine he prescribed these past few days. If anyone claimed she suddenly had issues with flatulence, they were claiming his Old Fu's medicine was faulty!
Doctor Fu's words were a strong defense for Lu Zhaoling, proving that it was impossible for her to be the one who lost her decorum that day.
Anyone who dared to say it was her was essentially questioning his medical skills and his medicine!
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