The legitimate daughter was reborn, and the emperor’s little Jiaojiao went crazy.

Chapter 1099 His heart is full of scars

In the Listening to the Rain Pavilion in the southwest corner, a stone table was strewn with delicate seasonal snacks. A pot of Mingqian Longjing tea sat in a celadon warming container, a faint puff of white mist emanating from the spout.

The maids served tea and retreated outside the pavilion.

Just then, a breeze blew by, gently swaying the branches of the colorful dress curtain and slightly lifting the wide white gauze sleeve on Lu's left wrist.

But there was a shallow scratch winding along the inside of the fair wrist, which had now faded to moonlight white, like a silk cloth that had been wrinkled by time and then carefully smoothed.

Only when you look closely can you discover the subtle undulations on the edge of the trace, as if on a snowy night many years ago, a thin blade had once blossomed into a blood-red plum blossom here.

Shi Anxia lowered her eyes and pretended not to see it.

Don't do anything that exposes other people's scars, just smile and chat.

Mrs. Lu was nearly fifty, but her features still retained a touch of her former charm. Time had been kind to her, and even more so to her adopted son, Lu Sangyu.

Mrs. Lu recalled the past events and expressed her gratitude. She said that if it were not for the princess's kindness, she would have been forced into a dead end by the Lu family.

"They have forged the deeds to the farmland and estates, just waiting to wipe out the entire family." Mrs. Lu still felt a lingering fear when she mentioned it.

"It's all in the past." Shi Anxia smiled faintly, "Lord Lu is now an important member of the cabinet. No one dares to bully you anymore."

"Yes." Madam Lu lowered her head slightly. "Thanks to the princess, Yu'er has this good fortune."

"It's his own hard work." Shi Anxia did not take credit for it.

Lu Sangyu used the laws of the Northern Wing to send the Lu family members to prison one after another. Everyone who had bullied them and their son was punished.

The Lu family now shuddered at the mention of Lu Sangyu. They all knew that she was a wolf, clawless and fangless, ready to bite at the throat at the first opportunity.

The two talked for a while, and Lu once again prostrated herself to Shi Anxia to express her gratitude and left.

Jiang Yan was already waiting outside the pavilion. When he saw Lu come out, he walked towards her with a warm and considerate look in his eyes.

The two of them talked in low voices and walked away together.

Shi Anxia stared at their backs in a daze, feeling a little sorry for Lord Lu, but also understanding Lu's determination to die to show her will.

Isn’t the fading scar on the wrist another kind of fulfillment?

When Mrs. Lu noticed the love growing in her adopted son's eyes, she cut her wrist with the silver scissors she brought as a dowry, and drops of blood stained Lu Sangyu's clothes.

What she saved was not only her own reputation, but also her adopted son's hard-earned future.

The etiquette and laws of this world cannot tolerate this. Even though they are not related by blood.

Later, Lu Sangyu knelt in the ancestral hall for three days and three nights, kowtowed deeply in front of the tablets of Lu's ancestors, and vowed to treat them as a mother and son in this life.

From then on, Mrs. Lu wanted to remarry.

Lu Sangyu married Lu into the Jiang family with tears in her eyes.

He suppressed the excruciating pain with extraordinary perseverance and said to Jiang Yan, "Be kind to my mother. If she suffers any injustice, I will fight her to the death."

He uttered harsh words, turned around with tears streaming down his face, his back looking desolate.

Jiang Yan is a gentle person and only thinks that Lu Sangyu cares about her mother.

His first wife passed away many years ago and he has a son.

When Lu got married, the son was only ten years old.

Later, Lu Sangyu often visited Jiang's house. On the surface, she was drinking and discussing politics with Jiang Yan, but in fact, she was secretly observing whether this man was consistent in his words and deeds.

He was like a judge, criticizing Jiang Yan with his sharp and harsh eyes.

Jiang Yanze was completely unaware of this and was always very happy to see him. During festivals, he would wait in front of the palace gate and invite him into his house for dinner.

She even followed Mrs. Lu in calling him "Yu'er," treating him like her own son. Lu Sangyu felt so irritated that she couldn't vent her anger.

Seeing that Mrs. Lu was indeed living a happy life, Lu Sangyu felt sad, happy, but also felt a strong sense of resentment and grievance.

Although the son of the Jiang family was not very close to Lu, he was extremely respectful and visited her every morning and evening without slacking off.

Lu Sangyu completely compromised and said to Mrs. Lu sourly, "You have another son now, so you don't need me anymore."

Mrs. Lu said sternly, "You will always be my support and source of strength. From the day I accepted you as my son, I considered myself your biological mother."

Before that, Mrs. Lu never called herself "mother".

Every word she said was a reminder that his heart was filled with scars.

Lu Sangyu said this one year when he was on a diplomatic mission to Liang State and was drunk with Shi Anxia and his wife.

At that time, the rain was knocking on the window at night. He stroked the wine glass and cried like a child, "If I could do it again, I would never recognize her as my mother again, even if I died."

……

Shi Anxia was lost in thought.

In today's Northern Wing court, the retired emperor does not interfere in routine government affairs. He only personally oversees major matters such as border battle reports and grain rerouting.

The rest of the daily affairs of the court were handled by Emperor Wenxuan. He then set up a cabinet to assist him. The cabinet members included Shi Yunqi, Lu Sangyu, Gu Boyan, Qiu Zhiyan, and Xiao Changle.

In addition, Lu Sangyu also held important positions in the Ministry of Justice and the Northern Propaganda Department. He had solved border espionage cases and dealt with treasonous princes, truly a person of "high rank and power".

Such power not only protected Lu from wasting time in her later years, but also earned her a first-rank imperial edict.

In the eyes of everyone, Lu's marriage to Jiang Yan was considered a marriage of good and bad.

However, Lu Sangyu wasted his time, from a young man full of vigor and vitality to now in middle age, and is still single.

Every spring, the matchmaker would lower the threshold of the Lu Mansion by three inches. From the daughters of noble families to the noble ladies of the capital, he always refused with the excuse of "being exhausted by paperwork."

Now he is almost forty years old, and there is not even a maid in his house. He has become the "Jade-faced Devil" that the noble ladies often complain about after dinner.

Shi Anxia sighed. The marriages of those around her had all been full of twists and turns, and their chances of marriage and having children were extremely slim.

At some point, Lu Sangyu came.

Yan Xingchen followed behind him.

They both bowed and explained their purpose.

They are planning to get married, and the date is set around the Dragon Boat Festival in the second half of the year.

"I wonder if the princess will move back to the North Wing to watch the ceremony?" Lu Sangyu asked.

Shi Anxia looked at Lu Sangyu, then at Yan Xingchen, and nodded, "Yes!" After a pause, she asked, "Are you two in love, or are you just living together? Or..."

The two were surprised that Her Royal Highness the Princess asked so directly and were both stunned.

Yan Xingchen suddenly laughed, "Since I entered the officialdom, I have given away so many gifts and money. It would be worthwhile if I could take them back."

Lu Sangyu also smiled, "Xingchen is right, we have to take it back."

Shi Anxia: "..."

It seems like you two are a perfect match. But she knows that's not the truth. "You two should think carefully about this. Lifelong events are not to be taken lightly."

Lu Sangyu looked at Yan Xingchen and said, "We have worked together for many years and are familiar with each other's temperament. If we get married, we can still discuss court affairs when we get home, which is great. That way, no one will always be watching our lifelong affairs and thinking about them."

Yan Xingchen nodded. "Yes, I'm busy with court affairs and have no time to waste on other things. But my family keeps making small moves, which makes me very annoyed. In this case, why not marry Lord Lu? That way, everyone can be at peace, and I can focus on my work without any distractions."