sbdcsierra Chapter 226 Lu Yangyang Turns Painful First
Chapter 226 Lu Yangyang Turns Painful First
Sheng Junyi grasped her fair wrist, looked up at her, and said, "I'm older than you."
He looked extremely serious.
Cheng Ruoxue couldn't help but giggle.
Sheng Junyi felt somewhat helpless.
"Alright, I won't tease you anymore," Cheng Ruoxue said with a smile, looking at Sheng Junyi's extremely beautiful face. It was truly a pity to part with him.
"Weren't you very confident about marrying Sheng Yunzhu to the Third Prince before? Why do you seem so hesitant these past two years, repeatedly asking me to test the Third Prince's attitude? Is it because you lack confidence in Sheng Yunzhu, or is there some other reason?"
Cheng Ruoxue found it strange. In fact, it wasn't just the Sheng family. People in the capital were the most opportunistic. Since the Crown Prince was injured, even those who hadn't originally taken sides had started to quietly make arrangements and observe the future.
On the contrary, Sheng Yunzhu's target from the very beginning was the Third Prince.
She began to deliberately approach him from a very early age and cultivated her reputation, frequently linking herself to the Third Prince to make people feel that the Third Prince was interested in her.
Duke Sheng is a very shrewd man. Even if the Crown Prince hadn't gotten into trouble, he probably wouldn't have objected to Sheng Yunzhu's contact with the Third Prince. After all, the Third Prince's birth mother is Consort Xiao, and the Xiao family, being civil officials, wields real power in the court.
The Sheng family has Sheng Junyao, who is the Crown Prince's study companion, and they have a very close relationship. If they were to have a Third Prince's consort as well, they would not lose out either way. To put it bluntly, they would be hedging their bets.
However, after the Crown Prince was injured, it was almost certain that the Duke of Sheng would side with the Third Prince, making Sheng Yunzhu extremely important. If she really did get together with the Third Prince, then the Duke of Sheng's mansion would have won half the battle.
The other half is up to fate.
This was originally a foregone conclusion. Sheng Junyi's attitude had been very clear beforehand: he was originally trained by the Duke of Sheng to work for him, so naturally he would follow the Duke's wishes. Now that Sheng Yunzhu had come of age, as long as she successfully married the Third Prince, their goal would be achieved.
However, Cheng Ruoxue noticed that in the past two years, especially after Lu Yangyang appeared in the Duke of Sheng's mansion, Sheng Junyi's attitude had become strange. He seemed very uncertain about Sheng Yunzhu, which was not like something he would do, unless there was an unexpected event that he could not control.
Looking into Cheng Ruoxue's eyes, Sheng Junyi knew that she had already guessed most of his thoughts.
"I really don't have confidence."
He was indeed troubled. To be precise, it started after Lu Yangyang appeared and Sheng Yunzhu repeatedly made foolish and provocative moves. He began to question whether his father's choice was correct and whether letting Sheng Yunzhu go was a blessing or a curse for the Sheng family.
However, he couldn't tell Cheng Ruoxue Lu Yangyang's true identity. Although this matter was merely a family affair of the Duke of Sheng's mansion, given the current situation, any misstep could lead to unpredictable consequences. All he could do now was keep a close eye on Sheng Yunzhu and prevent her from causing trouble at this critical juncture.
Once Sheng Yunzhu is no longer of use, she must be discarded without hesitation.
And at that time...
Sheng Junyi subconsciously tightened his grip on Cheng Ruoxue's wrist.
Cheng Ruoxue winced slightly, noticing a hint of struggle in Sheng Junyi's eyes.
I couldn't help but laugh and joked with him.
"If Sheng Yunzhu is not up to the task, I will help you keep the Third Prince in check. Ah, what can I do? Ayi has such a beautiful face that makes my heart flutter."
She leaned closer to him, her watery eyes almost touching his.
As you get closer, those eyes become even more unfathomable and harder to see.
She lightly pursed her lips where neither of them could see, touching his lips briefly before pulling away, still with that gentle and tender expression: "Alright, it's getting late. They say it's the first time the young actress whom the Fairy Sound Pavilion has been raising for many years is making her stage debut. She's very beautiful, and I've been itching to see her for so long. Today I finally get to see her."
Sheng Junyi's eyes were slightly cold.
The new leading lady of Xianyin Pavilion is a man, and his fame has already spread throughout the capital even before he has taken the stage; everyone is eagerly awaiting his debut. Princess Qing'an invited Xianyin Pavilion today precisely because of this gimmick, hoping to add some excitement to the banquet.
He wanted to say something, but Cheng Ruoxue had already left his embrace, sat up straight, and taken out a small bronze mirror from her bag. She then began to fix her makeup in front of the mirror.
Sheng Junyi stared at the woman's delicate and beautiful face reflected in the bronze mirror.
He leaned over and bit her behind the ear.
Cheng Ruoxue playfully slapped him, "Are you a dog?"
Then, after straightening her clothes, she got up and walked outside.
Sheng Junyi didn't rush to leave. Instead, she reached out and poured herself another glass of wine. The wine went down her throat and tasted cold and astringent.
……
When Lu Yangyang returned to the garden, Li Duan and Sheng Yunjiao were playing cards with someone. When they saw her coming, Li Duan, who was almost empty-handed, almost jumped up. "Yangyang, come and help me! If I keep losing, I'll lose all my allowance for this month!"
Lu Yangyang walked over and sat down, glanced at the cards she had played, and found them rather indescribable. She kindly advised, "Don't play this game next time. This game isn't suitable for you."
Li Duan, bristling with anger, tried to pinch her cheek, but Lu Yangyang dodged it.
Just as he finished playing his game, a maid came over and said that the Fairy Music Pavilion was ready and invited all the young ladies and gentlemen to come and watch the show.
To prepare for today's banquet, Princess Qing'an specially ordered a courtyard to be cleared out, with a stage erected in the center and a surrounding corridor. The banquet was set up in the middle, so that guests could eat, drink, and watch the performance at the same time. Lu Yangyang and her group had an excellent seat, in the middle of one side of the stage.
Unfortunately, the table next to them was occupied by the Sixth Princess, Sheng Yunzhu, Cheng Shujin (whom they hadn't seen in a long time), and two unfamiliar girls.
The two tables were not far apart, but they clearly disliked each other. Li Duan rolled her eyes at the Sixth Princess and, without even saying hello, pulled Lu Yangyang to sit down. The Sixth Princess was furious at her attitude, especially since Lu Yangyang had humiliated her last time. Seeing the two of them, her expression immediately changed.
When Cheng Shujin saw Lu Yangyang, her face twisted in disgust.
In the past, Cheng Shujin could still be somewhat confident when she saw Lu Yangyang, after all, Lu Yangyang was dark-skinned and thin back then, and really unattractive. It wasn't easy to find a girl in the capital who was darker than her. Last year, when she turned 18, she stayed indoors for almost a year to take care of herself and hoped to get a fairer complexion.
Unexpectedly, Lu Yangyang turned pale first.
Cheng Shujin immediately broke down, staring directly at Lu Yangyang with her eyes turning red.
Lu Yangyang not only became fairer, but also grew much taller. Although she still couldn't compare to her, she stood out among the group of girls. The scars on her face, worn with a beautiful mask, didn't seem like flaws, but rather exquisite accessories, which made her entire aura undergo a dramatic transformation.
She is completely different from before.
Cheng Shujin never dreamed that the ugly country bumpkin would grow up to be so amazing.