Sweet-tongued and Obedient

Madam Liu looked at her shy daughter with disappointment. She was so angry that she almost gritted her teeth.

She had prepared this for Lu Xiang. She bribed the coachman to drive the carriage to the back alley. The robbers would stop the carriage to rob her. Xiao Muheng would then appear to save the damsel in distress. Lu Xiang would definitely be grateful to Xiao Muheng for saving her life.

Based on Xiao Muheng's handsome looks, the little girl would definitely fall head over heels for him. Sooner or later, he would be able to seduce Lu Xiang into giving up all she had for him.

However, she would never have thought that in the end, it was her and Mingzhu's carriage that was stopped in the back alley of the Silk Cloth Manor. The hero saving the damsel in distress act that was meant for Lu Xiang was used on her daughter instead.

Not only was Xiao Muheng shocked by the outcome, she was also stunned by it.

Before she could ask what was going on, Xiao Muheng took the initiative and mocked her for accepting the money and yet, not doing anything. He even fell out with her on the spot.

Madam Liu was so angry that her entire body was trembling. She considered herself to be the mistress of the Lu Manor. How could she tolerate a merchant like Xiao Muheng being impudent in front of her? She immediately hated Xiao Muheng to the core.

Pfft, who do you think you are? How dare you be so arrogant just because you had some stinking money? How dare you speak to me like this?

Madam Liu had no idea that Lu Xiang was the one who arranged for Xiao Muheng to save the wrong person.

Xiao Muheng did not expect Madam Liu to be such a greedy and ugly woman.

Madam Liu did not dare to report it to the officials. Those three were hooligans. Not to mention whether the officials could catch them, even if they did, the three of them might expose her in order to save their lives. That would create trouble for her instead and cause embarrassment to the Lu family. Even the master would be dissatisfied with her. The gains would not make up for the losses.

She could only swallow all her frustrations down.

However, this was not the most infuriating thing. What frustrated Madam Liu the most was Lu Mingzhu's attitude toward Xiao Muheng. Her daughter was supposed to marry into a rich family in the future. How could she fall for Xiao Muheng?

"There is nothing one can do enough to repay one for saving another's life. Fourth Sister, did you ask for that young master's name? It'll be easier to repay him in the future." Lu Xiang smiled with her eyes curved, and her voice soft and pleasant.

Yun Zhe and Wu Yue looked at each other and swallowed their saliva. Their Young Miss was a little deceitful, but the poor Fourth Miss was stupid and still didn't know that it was a trap.

She deserved to be tricked.

Hearing Lu Xiang's words, Lu Mingzhu finally understood.

"Oh no, I forgot to ask his name."

Lu Mingzhu cried out in surprise, her face full of frustration.

Madam Liu gritted her teeth in anger and immediately berated her in an unfriendly tone. "Shut up. What's there to ask? He's just an unruly commoner. Besides, he didn't even make a move and those people ran away. How could you consider his action as saving one's life?"

Lu Xiang casually glanced at Madam Liu and lowered her head. No one saw the mockery in her eyes.

Madam Liu had always been pretentious in front of her and knew how to control her emotions. Now that she could not control her embarrassment and anger in front of her, it was obvious that Xiao Muheng had angered Madam Liu completely.

Lu Mingzhu was mesmerized by Xiao Muheng's charm and she was displeased that Madam Liu had criticized her benefactor. She could not help but say, "Concubine Liu, you can't say that about him. If he hadn't appeared, those people wouldn't have run away."

Why did Concubine Liu dislike him so much? That young master had clearly saved them from the hooligans.

In her heart, she firmly believed that Xiao Muheng was a hero and a gentleman!

Lu Mingzhu thought about it but could not figure it out. Hence, she did not dwell on it anymore. Her mind kept replaying Xiao Muheng's handsome and tall figure when he descended onto the scene like a god. Her heart raced.

Madam Liu choked at her daughter's retort.

"If you don't know the other party's name, it will be difficult for you to thank him." Lu Xiang pretended to shake her head in pity and then said, "But it's such a coincidence that the young master appeared then and happened to save you. As long as you two are fated, you would definitely meet again, right, Fourth Sister?" Lu Xiang looked at Lu Mingzhu with an indescribable sincerity in her eyes.

She emphasized the word "coincidence" and glanced at Madam Liu from the corner of her eye. When Madam Liu heard this, her expression instantly stiffened and became very ugly.

"You're right. If we're really fated, we'll meet again." At that time, she would thank him properly.

Lu Mingzhu's eyes were watery as she smiled. Her eyes were filled with yearning for the heroic figure.

Madam Liu looked at Lu Xiang warily. She felt that there was a hidden meaning in Lu Xiang's words, but she could not figure it out.

On the way back, Lu Xiang got into Madam Liu's carriage.

Since Madam Liu could pretend to forget about their previous confrontation, she could do the same too. Otherwise, how could she continue to fight with them?

On the way back, Madam Liu's face was ashen due to the failure of her plan today. It was all Xiao Muheng's fault. She had finally managed to coax Lu Xiang out of the manor, but he had mistaken her for someone else.

It was fine if he had simply ambushed the wrong person, but he had dared to slander her without distinguishing right from wrong. That b*stard would be dreaming if he thought he could continue to do business peacefully in Yangning City after offending her.

In the end, Madam Liu was most unwilling to lose Xiao Muheng as her money tree.

…

The spring sun was cold, and the old lady accidentally caught a cold because of the rainy weather these few days. Hence, Lu Xiang stayed in Fuyuan Hall every day to accompany the old lady to recuperate and relieve her boredom.

She stayed for more than half a month. In between, Madam Liu brought Lu Mingzhu to attend to the old lady as a form of filial piety, but she was sent away by the Old Madam indifferently.

Who knew if this mother-daughter pair came to treat her illness or poison her so that she would die faster?

In any case, the Old Madam did not believe that Madam Liu and Lu Mingzhu really wanted her to recover.

Lu Yue and Lu Qiao were afraid of the Old Madam's strict demeanor. They only came once and sat for a while before leaving during this period of time while the Old Madam did not force them to stay and accompany her.

As Concubine Yao gave birth to the youngest son of the Lu family, Old Madam doted on Lu Xiao, so she was most affectionate to Concubine Yao among the concubines. However, because she was afraid that she would pass her illness to the child, Old Madam did not invite the mother and son into the house even when Concubine Yao brought Lu Xiao to Fuyuan Hall.

Other than Lu Xiang, Qiao Jingru was the one who stayed beside the old lady the most.

She was the eldest grandson's wife. She couldn't slack off when others were slacking off.

Her husband was already a scoundrel. It was already difficult for a concubine's son to survive. If she continued to be insensible and made Old Madam hate her, the two of them would probably have no place in the Lu family.

Although Qiao Jingru was nervous when facing the old lady, she knew that the old lady was not someone who would throw tantrums for no reason. It was not difficult for her to wait on her if she did it with sincerity. The only thing that puzzled her was Lu Xiang.

She was sweet, obedient, and diligent. She thought that Lu Xiang had been possessed by a ghost.

"Sister-in-law, this is the handkerchief I just embroidered. It's for you." On the white handkerchief, a peony quietly bloomed in a corner. It was incomparably beautiful. Lu Xiang looked at Qiao Jingru and smiled brightly.