Chapter 130 – Strength of Character
Lu Jing did not expect Ye Zhen to have the audacity to prove her wrong. Although Ye Zhen claimed that she held no secret, Lu Jing was unwilling to be humiliated especially by her.
“Yao Yao, I heard that you sent Third and Fourth brother to find Princess Liu Hua?” Lu Jing soon asked.
Thrown with such question, which sounds harmless to others but actually bears malice, Ye Zhen only felt annoyance. She knew that the Fourth Miss Lu didn’t like her and have always wanted to crush her. This time, Ye Zhen thought, she chose the wrong method.
“Yes, she owed me money. Since she accepted my bet and I won, she will naturally lose an amount of money… to me.”
“But Liu Hua is the only daughter of the eldest princess. Even the emperor has great respect for her. Didn’t you make her lose face by letting our brothers knock on her door and collect the money she lost by defeat? I’m afraid that Third sister’s mindlessness would make sworn enemies to our family sooner or later!” Lu Jing practically snorted, folding her arms in front of her chest.
As everyone in the college knows, Lu Jing tried her best to befriend the princess and now that Ye Zhen humiliated Liu Hua, she felt afraid that it would spoil her relationship with the princess.
Although the Lu family now had Lu Wushuang as a noble concubine and Lu Lingzhi as a high official, in the eyes of the real aristocratic families, the Lu family is still nothing.
“If her mother, the eldest princess, was afraid of her daughter losing face, she wouldn’t have let Liu Hua open the bet in the first place. Since she instigated it herself, she should be prepared to lose. Besides, If I didn’t ask her for my silvers, she would think that I don’t take her seriously.” Ye Zhen said with a nimble laugh.
“You are simply trying to argue rationally!” Lu Jing fumed with anger.
“Fourth sister, why don’t you help me instead of worrying about people who try to humiliate me? You’re not worried because of my relationship with the princess, it is yourself that you are so concerned about. Liu Hua does not associate with you that much and it’s our business. She won’t be angry with you.” Ye Zhen said lightly.
Lu Fang followed and said, “Yes, Fourth sister, don’t worry about it. Besides, when you made the bet, the princess openly expressed her agreement.”
“You…” Lu Jing stared at them with disgust. “Do you even know the princess? Aside from being the only daughter of the eldest princess, she is the dowager empress’ most loved princess! There are many noble ladies who have made friends with her in the capital. What good can it be for us to make feud with her? Ah! She must be abhorring me now!”
With a horrified face, Lu Fang gasped in realization. “That’s also true …” She forlornly nodded and turned her gaze to the floor.
Nonetheless, Ye Zhen faced them with incorrigible confidence. “You are now misses from a noble family and you are different from before. Why do you feel the need to go through all these lengths to please others?”
The sisters couldn’t speak so Ye Zhen continued.
“There is no need to curry favor with others deliberately. If you think others don’t want you in their circle nor to talk to you, then you should consider simply nodding across their ways whenever you see them. What a simple thing to do.”
The Lu family sisters used to be the daughters of imperial merchants. In order to gain some respect, they are used to worshipping noblewomen like saints. But for Ye Zhen, she was born in a family of splendor and came from a high position. She had her own strength of character and would never stoop low to curry favor with Liu Hua.
Lu Jing turned pale after Ye Zhen spoke. “So, Third sister thinks that it is not worthy to talk to the princess?
Extremely tired and exasperated by all of these, Ye Zhen answered indifferently. “If you want to think like that, there’s nothing else I wish to say.”
“Alright. Second sister, let’s go.” Lu Jing pulled up Lu Fang with her and ranted to her as they walked away from the tea table.
“I don’t agree with Third sister at all! We just want to make friends and there’s nothing wrong with this! It turns out that these are all despicable practices in the eyes of the third sister. She even thinks so highly of herself that she refused to accept us in her study!”
Able to hear every word that came out of Lu Jing’s mouth, considering her deliberate loud voice, Ye Zhen let out a sigh. She speculated none of the things the Fourth Miss Lu had said.
Now, in brisk steps, Lu Jing took her sister’s hand and urged her to be haste. They stepped on the upper room and saw Lu Lingzhi talking sincerely to the Old Madam. Nonetheless, Lu Jing announced their arrival with adamant fervor. “Grandma, you have to decide for us!”
Looking at the two granddaughters coming in with flushed and disappointed faces, Old Madam Lu asked what happened right away.
“Third sister is really cruel!” Lu Jing’s nose flared and her voice choked faintly.
When Lu Lingzhi heard that it has something to do with Ye Zhen, he decided to postpone his leave.
“Yao Yao? What’s wrong with her?” Old Madam Lu asked.
Huffing a breath, Lu Jing’s eyes became moist, and she relayed exactly what Ye Zhen told them. “…Grandma, listen to this, Third sister thinks lows of us! Is it wrong for us to get along with others as if our doing humiliates her?”
“Yao Yao has just arrived in the capital. She is a little ignorant so you should not dispute with her.” Old Madam Lu said, her heart was still in favor of Ye Zhen.
Taking in what had transpired, Lu Lingzhi let his opinion be heard, “Yao Yao is not wrong. Now you have different identities. You don’t have to be the same as before. You always cater to others’ favor. You have to show respect to yourself before others will respect you. In the first place, you should have taken Yao Yao’s side.”
Lu Jing originally wanted to shame Lu Yaoyao while Lu lingzhi listens, but she didn’t think that even he was biased towards Lu Yaoyao.
“Eldest brother, should we then be like the third sister who likes to feud with others?” She asked, clearly hurt.
“Feuding with others? These girls! It seems that I should invite someone to come and teach you etiquette!” Old Madam Lu could be seen shaking her head, not a bit pleased by the sisters.
“Grandma, what else are we not doing well?” Lu Jing was a little anxious. She didn’t know what she was doing badly and how Lu Yaoyao was right. She felt that her position in the Lu family slowly declined from what she first thought it was.
“I’ll teach you how to be a noblewoman!”
“Grandma…” Lu Jing bitterly sobbed. Where on earth am I not like a noblewoman?
Thinking of how kind Ye Zhen gave her medicine for his injury, Lu Lingzhi added. “Although Yao Yao grew up in the border town, she did not lose sight and tolerance to others. She is just bold with her words, that’s all.”
Although Old Madam Lu did not think Ye Zhen’s words were entirely right, her mind changed into thinking that Ye Zhen was definitely right upon listening to her grandson’s opinion. Misses of the Lu family should not lower their status by pleasing others now.
“She was brought up by your third uncle. How can she be any less bold in character?”
At this very moment, with the Old Madam and Lu Lingzhi opposing her, Lu Jing knew that it was futile to argue further. As long as Lu Lingzhi thinks that Lu Yaoyao is right, no one would dare say that he is wrong.
This way, she felt even more resentful towards Ye Zhen.
All the while, Ye Zhen finally received the admission notice from the Women’s College, and the Lu brothers also had arrived with the silvers she won from the princess.
A total of 21,000 taels, although not a large sum, was really a lot of money for Ye Zhen.
“Brother! I also want to return 2,000 taels to Tang Zhen.” Ye Zhen took the bag of silver and beamed at Lu Xiangzhi.