Hearing this, Lu Hannian was burning with rage. So there was such a hidden trick. He had said that his younger sister was smart and skilled in martial arts. How could she have fallen off the cliff?
He grabbed his sword and was about to rush out when Lu Wanning quickly called out again, "Second brother, has she... has she been found?"
Lu Hannian glared at her angrily. "She treated you so badly. Why do you still care about her?"
Hearing this, Lu Wanning buried her head in Lady Yang's arms and sobbed. "After all, she's my cousin. Moreover... if something happens to her, Aunt will blame me again. Since childhood, every time something happens to her, Aunt would tell everyone it was my fault... Wuwuwu..."
Lu Hannian felt an overwhelming pain in his heart. He paced back and forth in the room. "He Chan... He Chan... He Wenbo is here today too. Sister, wait for me. I'll go and beat He Wenbo up to avenge you."
Fortunately, Mrs. Shao still retained her sanity. "Husband, don't do this. They're all looking for He Chan now. If you go and beat He Wenbo up at this moment, it'll seem like we're in the wrong. After He Chan is found tomorrow, I'll go with you. We'll surely beat the two brothers, He Wenhao and He Wenbo, until they can't find their teeth!"
Lady Yang was almost laughed out of anger by the couple's words. But looking at Lu Wanning's swollen and red eyes, she really couldn't bear it. People said that the princess was arrogant and domineering. In her opinion, it was completely untrue. She was just a little girl who had been overly pampered.
A high - ranking princess was supposed to be a bit arrogant. What was there to criticize? And judging from today's situation, the princess was clearly the one who had endured injustice.
Indeed, although He Chan was also arrogant, no one thought she shouldn't be. It was because Mrs. He was very sophisticated, while the family of the Prince of Zhennan were all straightforward and didn't know how to be tactful.
Lady Yang thought she had grasped the truth. She comforted Lu Wanning earnestly, left a small bottle of calming pills, and then got up to take her leave.
Lu Wanning's eyes flickered. This Lady Yang was one of those gossiping ladies who always told stories vividly. Moreover, there was not a single lie in her words today. She didn't have to worry at all that no one would know He Chan had brought this on herself.
Not long after, there was news from outside that Miss He had been found. But the messenger hesitated and only said this one sentence without saying anything more.
It was Princess Qin who came back and sneered, "Those people from the He family are really disgusting. They insisted that it was you who caused He Chan's situation. If Lady Yang hadn't told the truth earlier, they would have shifted the blame onto you. Even Xiao Li was said by He Wenbo to have been bribed by you."
Lu Wanning smiled. "And then?"
Princess Qin tossed her head and said proudly, "With my elder brother around, how could he let you be bullied like this? My elder brother said on the spot that he saw it clearly. It was clearly He Chan who deliberately tried to hurt you, but unexpectedly you saved He Chan instead."
It took Lu Wanning a while to realize that the elder brother Princess Qin was talking about was the King of Yu. She never thought that the King of Yu would stand up for her. He not only saved her but also spoke up for her.
Wow, was this love? She was so excited.
"Why is your face so red?"
Princess Qin didn't know when she had leaned over. She poked Lu Wanning's cheek and smiled in a strange and ambiguous way.
Lu Wanning coughed guiltily twice. "It's just... a bit stuffy in here."
Princess Qin didn't care. Instead, she laughed happily. "You're the first woman my elder brother has ever cared about. Zhaoyang, you're really special."
The first one?
Lu Wanning looked back at her. "The King of Yu... So when we went to the temple to pray last time, you spoke up for me because..."
There was a sly look in Princess Qin's eyes. She didn't look as dull as usual. She walked to the table, propped her face up and nodded. "Yes, I'm not a meddling person. He told me that if something happened to you, the Empress Dowager would be heartbroken. I don't believe it. Since childhood, the Empress Dowager has treated him very well, but he has never been close to the Empress Dowager. How could he care whether the Empress Dowager is heartbroken or not? I just don't know when he started to care about you so much."
Lu Wanning's heart was beating even faster. "And later, in the palace, you..."
Princess Qin shook her head. "That's not it. He just told me before that if anyone in the palace bullied you, I should protect you. I was still thinking that as the most favored princess, who could bully you? But looking at the situation these days, being a princess is really miserable for you. It's really the case that it's easy to dodge an open spear but hard to guard against a hidden arrow."
Lu Wanning sat down in front of her, poured herself a cup of tea and said, "You're talking about me. I always thought you were the kind of person who wouldn't say a word even if beaten with a stick. I didn't expect you to be completely different from what I thought."
Princess Qin was about to drink tea and almost spat it out. "At least be a lady. Can you stop talking like this?"
Lu Wanning waved her hand. "You haven't been with Zhen Yan. She used to be in the military camp when she was a child. She dares to say all kinds of vulgar words."
Princess Qin took a sip of tea, paused for a moment and said, "I have to say, it's quite interesting. The rules in the palace are very strict. If I say one wrong word, the maids will scold me for a whole day. I always thought that it would be better to get married and leave the palace. But seeing so many ladies, no matter how they seem on the surface, they're all unhappy in private. Now I don't even have the intention of getting married."
Maybe feeling that her words were too sad, Princess Qin quickly changed the topic and asked curiously, "Sister Zhaoyang, tell me how you met my elder brother?"
Lu Wanning pouted. "Don't make fun of me. I... Cough cough, actually at first, I just wanted to rely on him."
"Rely on him?"
Lu Wanning nodded heavily. "Think about it. I was bullied so badly by that scumbag Fu Rongxuan. My reputation was also ruined. The Crown Prince and the He family all looked down on me. I thought that if I had a powerful backer, I wouldn't have to be scared all the time."
Princess Qin didn't understand. "But you're Zhaoyang, the daughter of the Prince of Zhennan. When have you ever needed to be afraid of them?"
How could she explain this?
Lu Wanning grabbed Princess Qin's hand. "Oh, forget it. Don't mention these things. How about He Chan?"
Princess Qin's eyes flashed with disdain. "She tried to hurt you but failed and got herself into trouble. I don't know whether the He family will abandon such a daughter or support her. Of course, the most likely thing is to marry her off to the Fu family. Actually, I'm really curious. After Fu Rongli marries the legitimate daughter of the He family, who else can Fu Rongxuan marry?"
Lu Wanning understood what she meant. She raised her eyebrows and said, "Besides me, who else do you think the Fu family will target, Princess Qin?"
Princess Qin slowly rubbed her fingers, which made Lu Wanning stare blankly. This action of Princess Qin was so similar to the King of Yu's usual action.
"Me? Hehe, it's getting more and more interesting."
Lu Wanning poured her another cup of tea. "How do you want to play, Princess?"
Princess Qin raised her eyebrows. "I prefer to be an on - looker. I don't care about these boring things. Besides us, isn't there also Princess Hekang?"