Why (Repaired)

The old lady rolled her eyes at him. "Even if you are not thinking that right now, you must have thought of it at first." she thought.

Nanny Wen brought the chicken soup to Lu Youping and said with a smile, "Old Madam said that the Master would be in a bad mood when he returns home and that will affect his appetite. So she asked me to make chicken soup earlier on. Nothing is more important than your health. Master, try it."

"Okay." Lu Youping took a sip of the chicken soup. His stomach instantly felt warm and comfortable.

Old Madam softened her voice and said, "Lu Mingzhu said that she gave the hairpin to Xiangxiang, but Xiangxiang didn't receive it at all. Could it be that you would choose to believe only her words because you love Lu Mingzhu?"

"Xiangxiang is also my daughter. Of course, I won't wrong her. It's just that I know Mingzhu's personality. She won't have an affair with an outsider."

Heh, then you really know the character of that mother and daughter.

The old madam looked at her silly son in front of her, who had a face that said, "Madam Liu is gentle and virtuous while Mingzhu is gentle and refined." She just wanted to pull out her shoe and smack him into the wall.

"Is there a misunderstanding?" Lu Youping asked.

The corners of the old madam's mouth trembled as she said, "How important is a woman's innocence? That man called Wang Er announced in front of everyone that he knew her and was in love with her. All who were present watched him take out Lu Mingzhu's personal jewelry from within his clothes. I know that you like Madam Liu and dote on Lu Mingzhu, so I punished Wang Er and warned everyone in the manor not to gossip. I also gave Madam Liu and Lu Mingzhu a small punishment. Otherwise, do you think that after Lu Mingzhu did such a bad thing, both mother and daughter could still stay in the Lu Manor?"

I'm doing this for your sake, understand?

"Mother, I don't want Mingzhu to suffer."

"Then what do you want to do? Investigate thoroughly? Let's not talk about whether you can investigate this matter after Wang Er's death. Even if you do find out in the end, the probability of Lu Mingzhu's innocence is only 50%. The incident happened at Hua'an Temple. During the investigation, you couldn't keep Hua'an Temple out of it. Do you want to publicize it to everyone? At that time, Lu Mingzhu would really be destroyed, and all the daughters of the Lu family will be implicated. Do you really want to ignore the consequences?"

Lu Youping choked. The words he wanted to say were stuck in his throat, and he was stunned.

He wanted to clear Mingzhu's name, not to kill her.

Even if they could clear Mingzhu's name in the end, they would definitely not be able to hide this matter from the public during the investigation. When the time came, rumors would spread and even the truth would become lies.

The first option was to keep this matter within the manor. When Madam Liu was given a status and Mingzhu was recorded on the Lu family's genealogy, no one would dare to look down on the mother and daughter with his love and protection. The second option was for him to investigate thoroughly and should he do that, it was very likely that it would spread throughout the city…

Lu Youping thought for a moment before making his decision.

"Mother is wise. It's indeed not appropriate to make this matter public. However, I also believe that Mingzhu will not have an affair with anyone. Although Xiangxiang is proud, she has always been close to Mingzhu since she entered the manor. Moreover, she would not do anything to scheme against her sisters at a young age. It's just that I was too anxious previously. I'm afraid that someone deliberately schemed against our Lu family."

"Yes, you have a point."

As long as her precious granddaughter was not maligned, you can think whatever you want.

"From now on, this matter will rot in your stomach and end here," the Old Madam said.

Lu Youping said, "Yes, I'll pass on the instructions. When Mingzhu wakes up, I'll invite the elders over and record her birth in the Lu Family's genealogy. She will become a true young lady of the Lu family. At the same time, I'll give Madam Liu a status and let her take charge of the Lu family's affairs. This way, no one in the manor will dare to gossip about Mingzhu's innocence behind her back."

The Old Madam was so angry that smoke was almost coming out of her head. After taking a few deep breaths, she said, "I'll do as you say in the first part, but to let Madam Liu handle the family's affairs? If this was before what had happened today, I would have considered it. Right now? Don't even think about it now. I tolerated the mother and daughter because of you. You believe that Lu Mingzhu is innocent, but I don't believe it since there was so much evidence. What right does Madam Liu have to control the Lu family's affairs when she raised such a daughter? Are you trying to ruin the reputation of my other granddaughters?"

"Mother…"

"It's useless even if you were to call in the ancestors. Madam Liu is your concubine, and Lu Mingzhu is the fourth daughter of the Lu family. Even if the matter with Lu Mingzhu did not happen today, touch your heart before talking to me. With Madam Liu being a concubine, the same status as the rest, what right does she have to run the family? In terms of merits, Concubine Yao gave birth to a son for you. In terms of long service, Concubine Fang and Concubine Lin had been with you for more than 10 years, aren't all of them more qualified than Madam Liu to handle the family's affairs in that case?" The Old Madam said as she looked at Lu Youping coldly.

If that vicious woman were to take over the family's affairs, would Xiangxiang still have a way out?

Lu Youping's face stiffened, and he was too embarrassed to speak.

His mother's words made sense. He could not refute her.

The Old Madam continued, "If we were to let Madam Liu manage the family's affairs, how many people in the manor do you think will submit to her? If we were to hand over the power to her forcefully, it would backfire. You're not doing this for her own good, but harming her instead."

"I'm not deliberately making things difficult for you. How about this? Since you like her that much, let's set a time frame of two years. If Madam Liu contributes greatly to the Lu family during this period and half of the servants in the manor are willing to obey her, we would allow her to handle the family's affairs. This way, it would be more convincing for the rest as well."

The old lady did not want to force her son to avoid hurting their relationship, so she retreated in order to advance.

After seeing the true nature of Madam Liu and her daughter, the Old Madam would only be on her guard. There would be plenty of variables in two years' time. She had enough time to guard against Madam Liu and prevent her from obtaining the power of the family.

Moreover, in her opinion, with Madam Liu's character, she would be thankful if the latter would not tarnish the Lu family's reputation. How could she expect her to contribute to the Lu family?

Lu Youping didn't know what the Old Madam was thinking. When he heard this, he immediately put on a happy smile. He stood up and bowed to the Old Madam. "Thank you, Mother." Since his mother was willing to give Madam Liu a chance, it meant that she approved of her. As long as Madam Liu remained dedicated to the Lu family in the future, even if she didn't make a big contribution, she would agree to let Madam Liu manage the family's affairs.

If the Old Madam knew what Lu Youping was thinking, she would definitely roll her eyes at him.

Approve of Madam Liu?

Hehe, son, you're thinking too much.

She was stalling for time.

"Since it's a test for Madam Liu, don't make it so clear to her. Otherwise, it won't be real if she did it on purpose," Old Madam said.

Lu Youping thought about it and nodded. "I understand."

In his opinion, Madam Liu was virtuous and understanding. It made no difference whether she knew it or not.

It was good that he didn't tell Madam Liu as well. When the time came, her mother would be able to see Madam Liu's character for herself. She would only be more convinced of his thinking and hand over the power to handle the family's affairs to her.

When Madam Liu found out that not only did Lu Youping not seek justice for them mother and daughter, but he also made them suffer in silence. She was so angry that she vomited blood. However, she didn't dare to continue making a fuss and could only say against her will, "As long as the Master trusts us, I do not care about how others feel."

She failed to get the management rights of the family's affairs and her precious daughter was also forced to become the Fourth Miss Lu.

This was all the old woman's fault…

Madam Liu's hatred for the Old Madam burned like a raging fire in her chest.