Chapter 6: Spreading rumors takes only a mouth, debunking them breaks your legs

Chapter 6: Rumors are spread with a mouth, but debunked with broken legs

The Lu family acted quickly, immediately taking measures once they realized the situation was unfavorable to them.

Lu Yanzhi's injuries were not light, and he had actually fainted from anger. It was currently inappropriate for him to face the Princess, so Madam Lu took her eldest daughter-in-law to the Princess's manor, hoping to persuade the Princess first.

The people in the Princess's manor did not stop them from entering, but as soon as they entered, they saw thick smoke billowing not far away.

"That is the direction where the Second Young Master lives."

They did not visit the Princess's manor often, but they knew where Lu Yanzhi resided.

Madam Lu's heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly led her people over, only to see a group of people from a distance moving things and throwing them one by one into a central bonfire.

The books were still indistinguishable, but those clothes were clearly her son's.

"What are you doing?"

She walked briskly forward, scanned the area, and saw Xiao Li sitting on the corridor. She immediately realized this was her command.

"Princess." She hurried forward and bowed hurriedly. "Princess, if there is an issue, we can speak of it properly. Why must things be taken to such an extreme?"

Xiao Li lay lazily on the chair. Hearing this, she lifted her eyelids to glance at her, then slowly lowered them again after a moment.

"You cannot even teach your own son well, and now you come to lecture this Princess?"

Like her son, Madam Lu disliked this Princess who had been forcibly pushed upon them by the Emperor, but since she was a Princess, she had to swallow her anger.

"It is this servant's failure to teach him well, causing the Princess to suffer grievances. Please forgive me, Princess."

Xiao Li kept her eyes closed, her voice devoid of emotion: "Since you are aware of it, then this Princess is relieved. I originally intended to burn these filthy things, but since you are here, I will give you some face. Take them away. From now on, no one from the Lu family is permitted to step foot into the Princess's manor."

"Even if the Princess cannot have what she desires, surely she wouldn't turn love into hatred?"

Lu's eldest daughter-in-law, Gao Lan, looked at Xiao Li with eyes full of mockery: "Back then, you knew perfectly well that Second Brother did not like you, yet you still had His Majesty grant the marriage to force him to marry you. You have already had your wish. Now that you cannot stand it, you use such despicable means to destroy him. This is simply going too far!"

"Gao Lan!" Madam Lu scolded her eldest daughter-in-law "displeasedly." "What nonsense are you talking? Hurry and apologize to the Princess!"

"Stop acting in front of me." Xiao Li opened her eyes to look at them, her dark, deep eyes filled with mockery.

"You feel that Lu Yanzhi is wronged by marrying me. Now that this Princess is granting him his freedom, shouldn't you be happy?"

She rose slowly, smiling like a beautiful serpent flickering its tongue: "This is his only chance to escape this Princess. You had better seize it, otherwise, I can show you exactly what it means to go too far!"

The two women of the Lu family were driven away, leaving with those blackened, burnt items, departing in disgrace.

How could the Lu family not know that this was Lu Yanzhi's chance to escape the Princess? Lu Yanzhi had always wanted to escape, and they also felt heartache for their child, but this was not the right timing, nor should it have been this way.

Setting aside the fact that the Lu family now bore a criminal stigma, even if they truly accepted the punishment and escaped this arranged marriage, Lu Yanzhi's life would be ruined.

However, before the Lu family could make a decision, other noble families, smelling blood, pounced upon them.

Memorials as numerous as snowflakes flew toward the Imperial Study. It was one thing to impeach the Lu family's moral character, but someone actually accused the Lu family disciples of using their influence to bully others and harm the common people, and the evidence was conclusive.

The noble families who viewed the Lu family as a thorn in their side instantly became like jackals smelling blood, frantically wanting to tear a piece of flesh from the Lu family.

In less than two days, thirteen members of the Lu family were imprisoned. Although they were all from branch lines, the threat to the Lu family's reputation was no ordinary matter.

And no matter how others tried to explain, the world believed more in the rumor that Lu Yanzhi was impotent, and that after three years of marriage to the Princess, she was still a virgin.

Public opinion was a powerful force; the charge of deceiving the Imperial Family grew more intense.

At this point, it was no longer a question of whether the Emperor believed them, but rather that their reputation among the common people and scholars had collapsed.

Seeing the prestige of a high-ranking noble family collapsing, Grand Secretary Lu finally chose to bow his head.

Old Madam Lu personally brought gifts to the Princess's manor to mediate, but unfortunately, she was turned away at the door.

"The Princess said she will not see anyone from the Lu family."

Old Madam Lu had seen many storms in her life; she did not show any anger, merely standing at the door and saying, "This old woman will wait here until the Princess's anger subsides and she is willing to see me."

The gatekeeper went in to report, and a moment later, Hong Yue came out in a rage: "What is Old Madam Lu doing? Does she intend to use her seniority to threaten the Princess?"

"Are you going to faint next, so the world knows the Princess is so vicious that she abuses the elderly?"

"You turned a blind eye when the Consort bullied the Princess, even thinking the Princess deserved it. Now that the Princess has simply spoken the truth because she couldn't stand the bullying, you all come to her door one by one to threaten her."

"You claim to be noble, yet you want both prestige and profit. How can you be so shameless?"

This time, Old Madam Lu was truly about to faint from anger. Her peaceful expression tightened with rage, and her whole body trembled: "You girl, your words are too infuriating! This old woman only wishes to seek an audience with the Princess, how can you be so aggressive?"

Hong Yue's face was full of mockery, wearing the countenance of a vicious maid: "You think you can just see the Princess because you wish to? In the past, whenever the Princess visited you during festivals, you were either pretending to be sick or feeling dizzy, as if you couldn't wait to avoid her. Why aren't you sick or dizzy now?"

"The Princess said that your Lu family has high status, and she cannot climb that high, so she has no desire to climb it in the future."

Old Madam Lu's chest ached from anger. She could no longer stay and turned to leave. When the carriage reached the Lu residence, she was helped down. Just as she entered the door, she heard servants reporting that rumors were spreading everywhere about how the Princess had been treated coldly by the Lu family over the past three years.

The Lu family felt that Lu Yanzhi was wronged by marrying the Princess, and the men of the Lu family could not be close to her, only maintaining polite etiquette. However, the women of the Lu family all felt heartache for their jade-like child, so none of them could possibly have a warm attitude toward the Princess.

The Princess had indeed deliberately tried to please the Lu family for Lu Yanzhi's sake, and that submissive manner made the women of the Lu family feel she was far too easy to manipulate.

So, it was true that the Old Madam feigned illness to avoid her; it was true that Madam Lu wanted the Princess to follow the rules; and it was true that the eldest sister-in-law of the Lu family looked down on the Princess, spoke ill of her, and used sarcasm.

Grand Secretary Lu Changlin looked at his wife, filled with disappointment. Old Madam Lu could no longer endure it and fainted on the spot.

Rumors are spread with a mouth, but debunked with broken legs.

Moreover, these were not fabrications out of thin air; every single matter was a fact.

As the Lu family's reputation fell, the imperial court was in a state of revelry.

The Emperor, "forced by circumstances" and "having no choice," dealt with several members of the Lu family and even reclaimed some powers related to the Lu family.

Only after he had taken all the benefits he deserved did he hypocritically express his intention to persuade Xiao Li.

After all, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse, and besides, the Lu family had only suffered superficial wounds for now; they still needed to be kept in check.