Blissful Days After Widowhood - Chapter 455

At the time, the family was gathered for a meal in the tent adjacent to Duke Ying’s tent. Gu Yin and Wu Qingyi, however, didn’t look their best. It wasn’t that they were deliberately showing displeasure towards Mrs. Wang; it was that Gu Yin had spent the entire night cooking the prey that Wu Qingyi had hunted during the day, and as a result, hadn’t slept well.

Wu Qingyi was in no better condition. After two days of hunting and a cold shower all night, his body had reached a point of exhaustion. Both of them began to feel drowsy and exchanged tired glances while eating.

Mrs. Wang had been trying to strike up conversations all day, but at that moment, she felt reluctant to speak and only exchanged glances with Wu Zhong. Wu Zhong had already reconciled with her, and he was aware of her good intentions, but he felt that things had become unnecessarily awkward.

Wu Zhong cleared his throat and said, “Both of you go and rest after eating. Your mother and I will take care of the rest.”

Gu Yin and Wu Qingyi nodded in agreement and were about to leave the dining table when they heard a scream.

The two of them immediately lost their drowsiness and rushed outside to investigate. The tents of the two families were only a few steps apart, and when they reached the scene, others who were a bit farther away had followed the noise.

Lu Yuanqi, covering her face with her hands, burst out of Duke Lu’s tent. Tears the size of beans trickled from between her fingers, and she sobbed, “How could you, how could you…”

“What happened?” Gu Yin and Wu Qingyi asked as they observed from the sidelines. Although Lu Yuanqi had just screamed, she understood that such matters should not be revealed to the outside world. Thus, she cried but didn’t speak, trying to shield her face as she moved away from Duke Lu’s mansion’s tent.

Several onlookers, mostly women, surrounded Lu Yuanqi, insistent on finding out what had happened. The commotion grew quite significant, and Emperor Zhengyuan dispatched his servants to inquire about the situation.

The palace servant who approached didn’t question Lu Yuanqi, but instead spoke to the guards responsible for the camp’s security. The guard, who was only in charge of ensuring the camp’s safety and didn’t have strong affiliations with Duke Lu’s mansion, had no qualms about revealing the details. He promptly reported that Duke Lu had assigned a maid to serve him at the entrance, and that the two of them had retired to the inner room. Furthermore, they were joined by Lu Yuanqi on their return.

The guard didn’t bother to keep his voice down, and the conversation was overheard by anyone with functioning ears. Lu Yuanqi’s crying intensified, and the few spectators around her couldn’t hide their amusement.

“Miss Lu, don’t cry. It’s just a minor matter. What man doesn’t have various companions?” Someone chimed in, using a euphemism for a man’s extramarital affairs.

The Feng family was about to unite with the Lu family through marriage, and they had brought Lu Yuanqi to such an event. Yet here was Duke Lu involved in a romantic liaison with a maid in such a setting, with Lu Yuanqi stumbling upon them. It seemed as though they were trampling on the dignity of the Lu family’s daughter.

From the crowd, someone called out, “Why hasn’t Duke Li come out to address this situation? His delicate fiancée is crying like this; he should come out to comfort her.”

A nearby individual retorted, “You’re all so naive. Duke Lu is still inside… putting on his clothes and trousers.”

The crowd erupted in laughter. “No wonder Duke Lu has been defeated for two days in a row. He’s been exhausting himself during the day and keeping busy at night!”

The Feng family was located near all the military generals, and their bluntness in conversation didn’t spare any details. Lu Yuanqi felt both embarrassed and furious, her tears flowing ceaselessly. Meanwhile, inside the tent, Feng Yuan was too ashamed to come out, and even Mrs. Qin remained hidden, overcome by shame.

“Stupid thing!” Mrs. Qin scolded fiercely in the room, and one couldn’t tell whether she was screaming at Feng Yuan, who got drunk and messed up, or Lu Yuanqi, who provoked countless onlookers for their amusement.

Afterward, the palace servants reported back to Emperor Zhengyuan, and he asked Qian Sansi to let everyone rest early, bringing an end to the farce.

Gu Yin and Wu Qingyi were not the kind of people who enjoyed indulging in such private gossip. After hearing about it, they returned to their chambers to rest.

That night, one person slept on the bed, and the other on the floor. The two exhausted individuals didn’t exchange a word or engage in a game of chess; they simply drifted into sleep in silence.

The next morning, when Gu Yin woke up, she saw Mrs. Wang and Song Shiliu each holding a handful of melon seeds, chatting happily while eating.

Upon seeing Gu Yin, Mrs. Wang smiled and asked, “Did you sleep well?”

Gu Yin nodded and inquired about their conversation.

Song Shiliu eagerly interjected, “Madam, you were sleeping soundly, so you missed it. At dawn, Duke Lu claimed that his old lady was unwell, and he asked His Majesty for permission to return to Beijing with her first.”

Song Shiliu spat out the melon seed peel from her mouth and continued, “That young Lady Lu was so frivolous in front of her. She hasn’t even married into the family yet, and Duke Lu was already snatching a fish right from under her nose. Even if she becomes the Duke’s wife in the future, she’ll shudder at the mention of this incident!”

However, overnight, public opinion had fermented, and the entire camp regarded that incident as an afterthought.