Unbalance

Madam Liu touched the jewelry and smiled greedily, "These are from him."

"What?" Lu Mingzhu looked at Madam Liu in disbelief. "Who is that Young Master Xiao? Why is he so generous?"

"There's 2000 taels of silver too," Madam Liu continued. When she thought of the thick stack of notes, she could not suppress her excitement.

After following Lu Youping for so many years, she had never seen so much money and jewelry. Even now, Madam Liu still felt like she was dreaming.

Lu Mingzhu's pupils dilated. "Mother, he's bribing you openly. What did he want you to do for him?"

Madam Liu picked up a pair of gold bracelets and slowly put them on Lu Mingzhu's arm.

"Xiao Muheng is a businessman. He gave me so many things so that I can speak up for him in front of your father in the future. Secondly, it's for Lu Xiang."

"Lu Xiang? What do you mean?" Lu Mingzhu asked casually. She put on the pair of golden bracelets and held them up in the sunlight. The golden light made her extremely happy. "He likes Lu Xiang and begged me to find an opportunity to let him save the damsel in distress so that he can win her heart and get married to her," Madam Liu said.

Xiao Muheng was smart enough to know who had the most say in front of the Master.

Lu Mingzhu's expression immediately changed when she heard Madam Liu's words. She looked at Madam Liu angrily and said, "Mother, are you crazy? That little b*tch Lu Xiang schemed against us, and you actually want to marry her to this man named Xiao. He's so generous. Clearly, his family is rich. If Lu Xiang really marries him, won't she enjoy life? How would that do?"

How could that b*tch Lu Xiang marry so well?

If Lu Xiang were to marry Xiao Muheng, it would be akin to her falling into a golden nest. Lu Mingzhu's eyes reddened with jealousy at the thought of Lu Xiang's endless wealth. She would never allow Lu Xiang to live a rich man's life.

She wished that Lu Xiang could marry into a poor family.

Madam Liu looked at her daughter lovingly and sighed helplessly. When would she be able to get rid of this bad habit of hers of jumping at every news? If she could be as scheming and as mature as Lu Xiang, she wouldn't have to worry about her being tricked by others.

However, she was her only daughter after all. Madam Liu patiently advised, "Do you think Mother is doing this to let her enjoy life? Although Xiao Muheng is young and rich, he's still just a businessman…"

"Your father will be entering the capital next year to report on his work performance. Your aunt is an Imperial Concubine. The Lu family will only be more glorious in the future. Why would he agree to his daughter to marry into a business family? Your father cares a lot about his reputation."

Lu Mingzhu pouted. "Since Father won't agree to this marriage, why did you accept his things and work for him?"

So what if he was a merchant? Even if her father was a magistrate, he wasn't as rich.

Without money, no matter how powerful an official was, he could only eat plain porridge and pickled vegetables. If it were her, she would not want to live a hard life. She would rather marry a merchant.

If Madam Liu knew what Lu Mingzhu was thinking, she would probably vomit blood from anger.

She wanted to find a rich family for her daughter, but her daughter was short-sighted.

"Qiao Jingru is also from a merchant family. Why did Father let Eldest Brother marry her then?"

Madam Liu reached out and poked Lu Mingzhu's forehead. "Are you stupid? Would you not take the money that came knocking on your door? Anyway, I'm just pulling strings for Xiao Muheng. After that, it's all up to him. Besides, I want your father to disagree. If Lu Xiang insists that she won't marry anyone other than Xiao Muheng, no matter what the outcome is, her actions will infuriate your father and the Old Madam. The Old Madam dotes on her so much that she might be angered to death by Lu Xiang."

Even if she was not angered to death, she would still fall ill from anger when she saw that her beloved granddaughter insisted on marrying a merchant. At that time, the old woman would not be a threat and would not be able to stop the master from supporting her to be his legitimate wife.

As long as she became the mistress of the Lu family, Lu Xiang would be under her control. Her daughter would also become the legitimate daughter. If she married into a noble family in the capital, she would have power, status, and money. At that time, Lu Xiang would only be able to look up to her.

"Although Qiao Jingru is from a merchant family, her ancestors were scholars. Now that her elder brother is doing business, the other brothers are working hard to participate in the imperial examination. Their family background is better than Xiao Muheng's, and your elder brother is a concubine's son himself. It's not a disgrace for Qiao Jingru to match up to him in this case." Although the Master looked down on merchants, he could not do without the support of money.

However, as the only legitimate daughter of the Lu family, the Master and the Old Madam would not want her to marry a merchant. That's for sure.

When Lu Mingzhu thought about how Lu Xiang would be hated by the Old Madam and her father, her expression softened a little.

"But what if Father agrees in the end? Lu Xiang would still marry into a good family." This reason made Lu Mingzhu feel very upset.

"Is it good to be the wife of a lowly merchant? When you become the legitimate daughter of the Lu family, you can go to the capital. With your status as the niece of the Imperial Concubine Zhen, are you afraid that you won't be able to find a good marriage? You could even marry the eldest son of a duke's family. At that time, Lu Xiang will only be a lowly merchant's wife. She can't even compare to a strand of your hair. Wouldn't it be even more satisfying to see her kneel by your side and bow? For you to hit and scold as you please?"

Madam Liu's charming face was filled with viciousness, and her gaze seemed to be filled with venom.

If Lu Xiang was obedient and gave her money to show filial piety to her, she could spare her life. If she was disobedient, hmph, she would have no qualms in finding another obedient person to marry into the Xiao family.

How vicious was Madam Liu? She had schemed against Lu Xiang's reputation, and now she was using her as a good to trade. She was working with a viper snake to manipulate her life.

"Really?" Lu Mingzhu's eyes lit up when she heard that she was going to marry into a duke's family. When she thought about how she would be high and mighty in the future and how Lu Xiang would be at her feet to be humiliated and trampled by her, she immediately felt better.

Madam Liu raised her hand and gently caressed Lu Mingzhu's soft face. Her skin was smooth and delicate, and her peach blossom eyes were bright and charming.

"My daughter is beautiful. I must find a good future for you."

When Lu Mingzhu heard this, she immediately smiled brightly. She hugged Madam Liu's arm like a spoiled child and said sweetly, "Thank you, Mother. Mother treats me the best."

…

The sky was clear and not a cloud could be seen for miles. The carriage slowly set off from the Lu Manor and drove into the street. The lively sounds faintly penetrated the carriage.

Lu Xiang sat lazily in the car with Yun Zhe and Wu Yue beside him.

"Miss, what material do you need to make a trip to the Silk Cloth Manor in person? If you want to make clothes, you just have to instruct them and they will naturally send someone to take your measurements," Yun Zhe said.

"It doesn't matter. I wanted to go to the bookstore to buy a few books anyway. I'll take a look on the way."

Lu Xiang chuckled. How could she go along with Madam Liu's wishes if she didn't go out of the house?

Madam Liu was able to joke around with her as if nothing had happened and asked her father to allow her to bring her and Lu Mingzhu to the silk shop to pick a few new fabrics. Her words and actions revealed her intention of showing goodwill.

She wanted to see what Madam Liu wanted to do in the name of her father.