At the hour of Hai, all the mourning tents were fully occupied, and Lu Lingxiao had no choice but to brave the heavy snow and continue setting them up.
Among all the tents, the quietest one belonged to Lu Yuan, whereas the liveliest was the one near the pavilion on the west side, filled with ministers of at least third rank and above, or senior officials from the previous administration.
They were discussing court affairs, their sharp words and the intensity of the debate creating a fiery atmosphere.
When Lu Yuan, draped in a black cloak, leisurely walked in, everyone went silent in unison, and the previously lively tent was suddenly quiet as a grave.
Lu Yuan swept his eyes over the crowd, and amidst their stunned gazes, calmly found an empty spot and sat down with great composure.
The two officials sitting closest to him imdiately felt their hair standing on end!
The officials seated at the head positions on either side were so frightened that they quickly rose in unison and said, "Grand Commander, please take the seat of honor!"
Lu Yuan, with his hands tucked into a hand warr, said indifferently, "No need, continue."
The crowd exchanged uneasy glances. Continue with what? Criticizing you? Who would dare do that in front of you? Do they want to lose their heads?
Did you overhear us condemning you and co here deliberately to catch us in the act?
Would you just make it clear? Leaving us hanging is driving us crazy!
Lu Yuan slightly closed his eyes, radiating an intimidating aura without anger, and said, "Con-tinue."
The Vice Minister of the Ministry of War coughed, "Ah! Minister Li, has your child been born?"
The Minister of the Ministry of Industry gritted his teeth: "It’s my child who was born!"
"I heard there are nurous scholars heading to the capital for the exams this year, the spring examination next year will surely be a bustling occasion again."
"The border has had a victory, reclaiming lost territory from the Beiliang forces. The court is in the process of recruiting talent, and the Imperial Examination Hall will certainly select more pillars of the nation for His Majesty next year."
"Yes, indeed."
The crowd resorted to awkward small talk.
The two officials seated near Lu Yuan eagerly gave up their spots for Shangguan Ling, who hesitated politely, "No, no, there’s a seat over there!"
"No, no, Lord Shangguan should sit close to the Grand Commander for protection duties. This is appropriate."
"Sit here!"
The two argued back and forth, almost competing with bids.
In the end, Shangguan Ling sat at the lower right—just beneath Lu Yuan. Even given a hundred guts, he wouldn’t dare sit at the upper seat near the Grand Commander.
The official who lost out on this competition was so nervous that his legs were trembling.
Initially, everyone thought Lu Yuan was just showing up for a brief appearance and would leave shortly, but half an hour passed... an hour passed... and this ruthless Grand Commander actually started resting with his eyes closed, showing no intention whatsoever of leaving.
The whole group was practically on the verge of tears.
Why don’t you stay in your own exclusive tent instead of squeezing in with us?
If you’re here to warn us, a quick warning would suffice, but do you have to scare us for an entire night?
Elsewhere, Madam Lu helped Mrs. Liu copy the first batch of gift lists and returned to her chamber for so ginseng soup.
Not seeing ng Qianqian, Madam Lu went to ask Young Madam Liu.
Young Madam Liu gave directions, "Guests in that tent brought children but no nursemaid. I couldn’t manage them, so ng Qianqian went over to help."
Lord Yong’en deliberately kept Lu Yuan’s identity secret, to avoid anyone pestering him, knowing the Grand Commander preferred peace and quiet.
However, Young Madam Liu didn’t know Lu Yuan, only that he was a very important guest.
Madam Lu went over.
Qing Shuang saw it was Madam Lu and greeted her with a bow, lifting the curtain for her.
Madam Lu didn’t recognize Qing Shuang, but Qing Shuang seed to know who she was. Without giving it much thought, Madam Lu stepped into the tent.
This place was much warr than the other tents, with smokeless charcoal. ng Qianqian was holding the sleeping Bao Shu, her body supported by a thick cushion, soundly asleep.
Madam Lu touched ng Qianqian’s forehead—cool. Then she checked the little one’s back—dry.
She had been wondering earlier upon hearing of the Grand Commander’s arrival, whether Bao Shu might have co over.
Madam Lu didn’t wake ng Qianqian and stepped outside, hesitating for a mont before asking Qing Shuang, "May I ask, young lady, whose tent is this?"
Qing Shuang replied, "It’s Miss Bao Shu’s tent. Rest assured, Madam, tonight it will only be the young madam and Miss Bao Shu here."
Madam Lu was still a bit uneasy and had Jade Lotus call Nanny Wan over.
Knowing Nanny Wan was a loyal servant from the Lu Family, Qing Shuang let her in.
Madam Lu planned to return to the treasury office to continue accounting.
On the way there, the Second Madam intercepted her with an acerbic tone, "Oh, Sister-in-law! You’re busy running around everywhere. How co I haven’t seen Qianqian? Isn’t she supposed to be here working? She hasn’t gone off sowhere to laze around, has she? Big Brother ordered her to work, not to lounge in comfort!"
Madam Lu replied coldly, "Your brother ca to let you pay your respects, not to have you keeping an eye on family mbers. If you’ve got ti, why don’t you take care of your daughter instead? To avoid her causing another fiasco like in the temple last ti!"
"You—"
This sister-in-law was becoming increasingly rude!
Second Madam was fuming, but, to her annoyance, Sister-in-law was right. She hadn’t seen Linglong for quite a while: "That girl! Where’s she gone off to now?"
Lu Linglong had gone looking for her close friends, but upon hearing about her previous arrest at the Governor Mansion, many well-to-do young ladies avoided getting too involved with her. Feeling disgruntled, she stord off.
She firmly believed ng Qianqian had hard her and sought to vent her frustrations but couldn’t find her after searching around. Hungry, she planned to head to her chamber for so food.
anwhile, the Old Madam couldn’t keep up and had retired.
Nanny Wu was watching over her in the room.
"Nanny Wu, is there any food? I’m hungry."
Nanny Wu had been dozing off but woke in a panic at the sound, accidentally dropping a bottle, which rolled to Lu Linglong’s feet.
Lu Linglong picked up the bottle, opened it, and sniffed, "What’s inside? Can it be eaten?"
"Oh my heavens, Miss Linglong, it mustn’t be eaten!"
Nanny Wu snatched the bottle back in a fluster.
"It slls sweet,"
Lu Linglong wanted to eat it.
Nanny Wu, unable to reveal that the bottle contained fertility dicine, which was harmful, hurriedly fibbed, "This is laxative for the elderly. If you eat it, Miss Linglong, you’ll have an upset stomach!"
"Laxative?"
Lu Linglong’s eyes glead.
She had been racking her brains on how to embarrass ng Qianqian—here was the perfect opportunity! She could dose that girl and let her humiliate herself in public so she’d never dare act arrogantly again!
Seizing the mont while Nanny Wu dozed off, Lu Linglong stole the dicine.
She knew ng Qianqian liked Osmanthus Cake since the Old Madam always brought back two boxes for her from the temple’s trips.
She went to the kitchen and plated a batch of Osmanthus Cake, carefully grinding the pills and sprinkling the powder evenly over the pastries.
She chuckled smugly to herself, "Miss ng, let’s see how you make a spectacle of yourself this ti!"
Lu Linglong brought the pastries back to the chamber and summoned two maids from the Second Household, instructing them to find ng Qianqian: "Tell Sister-in-law to co back and enjoy the Osmanthus Cake!"
"Yes!"
The two maids scurried off.
Lu Linglong stared at the pastries, waiting... and eventually fell asleep on the table.
The Second Madam stord into the room, sweating heavily, and snapped, "I’ve been looking for you all night, and here you are!"
She sank into a chair, catching her breath, and noticed the Osmanthus Cake on the table. Hunger pangs struck her.
"This Osmanthus Cake slls divine."
The Second Madam tasted one piece, saying, "Which chef did the Liu Family hire? This Osmanthus Cake is excellent!"
The drumbeats from the mourning hall were so loud they woke the Old Madam.
When she opened her eyes, she saw the Second Madam sitting there, eating by herself.
The Old Madam, who had eaten little at night, was already starving after being kept awake for most of the evening. Seeing the Second Madam eating so eagerly, her expression imdiately darkened: "And you didn’t even bother to greet ?"
"Mother, Mother! You woke up?"
The Second Madam quickly wiped her mouth and helped the Old Madam sit up, "Are you hungry? There’s so pastries on the table. You can have a few to settle your stomach."
"Hmm."
The Old Madam finished off the remaining three pieces of Osmanthus Cake.
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