Luoyang Brocade Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Lu An (2) 

The humiliating and painful past was repeating again thick and fast, causing huge waves to rage in her heart. 

Ling Jing Shu looked at Lu An from afar, clenched her fists hard, then lowered her head. She was trying hard to calm her messy emotions. 

The enemy was close at hand, but she couldn't move. This kind of feeling was really unbearable. 

But even if it was this unbearable, she had to endure it. 

To deal with Lu An and Madam Ling, it meant that she had to defeat the entire Lu family. This was obviously only wishful thinking for her, who was just a girl. She had to learn to be patient before she could afford revenge. 

After Lu An spoke out, Old Madam Ling and First Ling Master who were crying non-stop started to calm down. 

Old Madam Ling used her sleeves to wipe the tears from her face and squeezed out a smile, “Look at me, at this age, it is actually quite difficult to control myself. Crying in front of the main entrance, I have let Lu Master seen something to laugh at.” 

Lu An smiled slowly, his manner was excellent, it was impeccable, “Mother-in-law and brother-in-law have been separated for so long. Now that the both of you can  see each other again, it's normal to be excited and tearful. This son-in-law also feels very touched in the heart, how can I laugh at the both of you.” 

Old Madam Ling was unhappy with this son-in-law because of what Madam Ling had told her. At this time, when she finally met him, all the bad feelings in her heart suddenly went missing. 

Such a handsome man, who was the owner of Lu clan, and an official that took care of Ji Province. In Ji Province, there wasn't much difference between him and the emperor. He was this successful, it was inevitable that he would indulge in playing around and be lustful. 

Everyone surrounded Old Madam Ling and returned to Yong He hall together, sitting down and talking to each other. 

The younger generations stood either beside their parents or behind their parents. Old Madam Ling sat at the top, seated on her right side was First Ling Master, and on the left was Lu An. 

Old Madam Ling first asked with concern about whether Lu An's trip was difficult, then turned to ask about First Ling Master's trip. 

Such sincerity, Madam Yue and Madam Li were not qualified to interject, let alone a group of juniors. 

After about one hour, Old Madam Ling's excitement finally calmed down. She talked to Lu An with a smile, “All these years Son-in-law did not come and visit us, only corresponded with letters. You still do not know the children and grandchildren of Ling Residence. I will let them introduce themselves to you one by one.” 

Lu Master had come for a visit, and was considered a valuable guest. What was more, this Lu Master was from Big Zhou's big and famous family. There were dozens of people from the Lu clan working as officials in various Provinces. Lu An's legitimate second brother, Lu Ping, was the chief of the military department in the capital. Although his official position wasn't that high, he was good at currying favor. Nobody knew how he claimed connections with Prince Yan. Now at capital, he was quite famous and living quite well. 

Because of these factors, Mrs. Ling was more enthusiastic about entertaining Lu An. 

First, the younger generation of Ling's Residence first family. Then the second and fourth family, and finally the four brothers and sisters of the fifth family. 

“This nephew, Ling Ting (Ling Xiao) (Ling Fou), has met uncle.” 

“This niece, Ling Jing Shu, has met uncle.” 

Ling Jing Shu, who was wearing a light green dress, stood gracefully among her three brothers. Her eyes and brows were lowered, yet it couldn't hide her brilliance. 

Lu An's gaze paused slightly on Ling Jing Shu's body, and his eyes flashed with a glimpse of amazement and heat. 

He disguised his emotions very well. He instantly returned to normal, gently and affectionately smiled, “We are all family, there is no need to be so formal.” 

Lu Qian had been standing beside Lu An, paying close attention to his every change  in expression. When he saw the strange flash in Lu An's eyes, his whole body froze. Both of his hands trembled uncontrollably. 

Only after Ling Jing Shu had finished her greeting, and Lu An had stopped looking at her, Lu Qian then slowly released the worries from his chest. 

The sky soon darkened. 

Yong He hall's dining hall had set up four tables. Two tables for the men and two for women. Those tables were also divided into elders and juniors. Since they were all family members, they did not worry about the difference between men and women. They did not even set up any partition. 

The children and grandchildren were gathered together happily under one roof. This was the first reunion they had since her daughter married out. 

Old Madam Ling was very excited and drank a few glasses of thin wine. When her sons and daughters-in-law came to give her a toast, at most she just took a tiny sip. When her son-in-law and her daughter came to give her a toast, Old Madam Ling drank it all up. 

Borrowing a little drunkenness, Old Madam Ling said with a special intention, “I only have Ah Hui this daughter. Since young, she was willful and pampered. She was also quite possessive. Sometimes, I would treat her elder brothers a little bit better, she would also become jealous. She has married into Lu family for so many years, I'm sure she had some places that she did not do well in. I would like to ask son-in-law to be more considerate of her.” 

Lu An was very astute. How could he not understand what Old Madam Ling meant? His smile was a little bit uncomfortable. He coughed and said, “Mother-in-law is overthinking. Ah Hui's temperament is composed and knows how to grasp the big picture. She has done a good job taking care of the inner house. It is son-in-law's blessing to have married Ah Hui as my wife.” 

As he said this, he looked at Madam Ling with deep feeling. 

Madam Ling's heart felt joyful yet worried. 

The joy was because Lu An had not been so affectionate to her for a long time. What worried her was that with Old Madam Ling saying this, Lu An definitely knew she had said something in front of Old Madam Ling. He must be feeling very unhappy. At this moment, he was smiling. After they returned to the room, she really did not know what would happen. 

Old Madam Ling smiled and said, “It's good that son-in-law doesn't find me naggy.” She paused for a while and then suddenly said, “Ah Hui had been married for so many years and she has not returned home even once. Since she is back this time, I wish to let her stay for a few more days.” 

Lu An smiled and said: “Of course it is alright.” 

After they chatted for a while, Lu An then returned to his seat. 

Ling Jing Shu was seated at the same table with her cousin sisters and cousin sisters-in-law. 

The Big Zhou Dynasty ruled the world with the words of loyalty and filial piety. For the past two decades, there was no war at the borders. Civil matters had become more esteemed than the military. It was more promising to take the imperial examination route and became an official. This trend had already formed in a lot of famous families. Studying had become a top priority. 

This kind of ethos had also spread to the women. As long as the family was wealthy, they would hire female teachers to teach their daughters how to read and write. Not to mention such a big family like the Ling Family. 

It was not uncommon for one to speak like a printed book.  

Usually at such time, Ling Jing Shu would always be the one to snatch the limelight. However, she did not have any interest today. She ate a few mouthfuls of food and then put aside her chopsticks. After that, she did not say a single word. 

Ling Jing Xian felt strange at Ling Jing Shu's behavior. But honestly, she would prefer Ling Jing Shu to stay silent, so that she wouldn't snatch away her limelight. 

Ling Jing Xian approached Ling Jing Yan, trying to form some connections with her. “Cousin Yan, the both of us were born only one month apart. It's a pity that we couldn't become close because you have been living in the capital with Big Uncle and Big Aunt. Since you have returned this time, we can finally have the chance to get close to each other.” 

Ling Jing Yan was the first family's legitimate daughter, ranked number seven. It was because she had been living in the capital for a long time, she had become proud and self-reliant. She smiled slightly and said, “My father took a long leave. He plans to stay in Ding Province for two months before returning to the capital. There are indeed many opportunities for us to get close.” 

When speaking of Ding Province, it was inevitable for her to show some attitude because her status was higher than them. 

Ling Jing Xian bumped into a soft nail, and Her heart felt a little awkward. 

‘Hmph! What's so great about you. Isn't it because Big Uncle is an official in the capital? If not, do you think you would have the chance to stay in the capital? Otherwise, you would also live in this Old Ling Residence in Ding Province.' 

Ling Jing Yan was bright and charming. What she wore were exquisite and carefully planned. At first glance, everyone would know that it was the latest style in the capital. Everyone else were incomparable to her. 

Ling Jing Xian felt unreconciled. She rolled her eyes, smiled and said, “Cousin Shu, why are you so quiet today?” 

She passionately said to Ling Jing Yan, “Cousin Yan, you rarely come back, there are some things you do not know. Cousin Shu reads poetry books and is very talented. She is also good at planting famous peonies. In Ding Province, she is very famous, and someone has given Cousin Shu the title of first beauty in Ding Province.” 

Ling Jing Yan was also Ling Family's legitimate daughter. Ling Jing Shu was famous in Ding Province, yet she was an unknown. With Ling Jing Yan's proud self, listening to these words would certainly made her feel unconvinced. 

Sure enough, after Ling Jing Yan listened to such provocations with ulterior motives, she suddenly felt indignant. She looked at Ling Jing Shu's beautiful face. She showed a fake smile and said, “Oh? I didn't expect Cousin Shu to also be good at planting peonies.” 

This word ‘also', faintly revealed a little gunpowder smell. 

Ling Jing Shu finally lifted her head up and took a look at Ling Jing Yan. 

Speaking of which, Ling Jing Yan was also a tragic figure. 

The Ling Jing Yan in her previous life met with Prince Yan and had a crush on him. Ling family's status was not enough for her to become Prince Yan's legitimate wife. Even as his second wife, it was barely enough. But First Ling Master persisted in orthodoxy, and supported the crown prince's faction. So, he naturally would not let his daughter marry Prince Yan as a second wife. He rushed to find another marriage for Ling Jing Yan. 

Ling Jing Yan was reluctant, but she was no match for her father. She had to listen to her father's order.  

Later, the crown prince's faction lost. The crown prince was disposed, and Prince Yan was selected as the next crown prince. First Ling Master became the first to get charged for corruption and was sent to prison. The Ling Family painstakingly spent more than half of their wealth to save his life. 

The marriage that was set for Ling Jing Yan was cancelled due to this incident. 

Later on, Ling Jing Yan returned to Ding Province with her parents. Because of her age and her family's bleak situation, she wasn't able to pick a good husband. There was a matchmaker that came forward with a proposal. The other party's age was over thirty years old. There were a bunch of concubines, as well as legitimate and illegitimate sons in his house. 

After Ling Jing Yan was married to him, her life wasn't good. Later, she died from a difficult birth. 

Thinking of these, Ling Jing Shu sighed in her heart. She also did not have the mood to compete with Ling Jing Yan anymore. She said faintly, “I have nothing to do. Occasionally, I would spend time in the garden. Outsiders do not know the inside story, spreading incorrect rumors around.” 

Chapter end