Lu Ruoyun was in a panic.
She learned immediately that the male members of the Lu family had been arrested by the Jingzhao Prefecture, while the female members were confined to their residence.
She had sought out the Second Prince to accompany her to the palace, only to be refused.
When she tried to return home, she found herself unable to even enter the gates of the Cheng En Gong Mansion.
She attempted to assert her status as the Second Prince's Consort, but the Imperial Guards remained unmoved. What was a prince's consort to them? They were acting on imperial orders.
Lu Ruoyun could only return to the prince's mansion. Restless, she went to confront the Second Prince.
"Your Highness, we are husband and wife. Are you keeping even me in the dark about what is happening?" Lu Ruoyun's eyes welled with tears.
"Precisely because we are husband and wife, I am preventing you from going to the palace. Rest assured, no matter what happens, I will not abandon you. The Lu family is the Lu family, and you are you. Calamity does not extend to married daughters. I believe Father Emperor thinks the same. However, if you act recklessly, even I may not be able to protect you." the Second Prince said.
"So, Your Highness does indeed know what has transpired." Lu Ruoyun's expression turned grim.
"I do not know what the Lu family has done. All I know is that I am Father Emperor's son, and it is never wrong to obey Father Emperor." the Second Prince stated.
"Whatever the Lu family has done, it was for you. Do you think by doing nothing and staying obediently in the mansion, you will be safe? I should have known you would always be this foolish." Lu Ruoyun's face contorted with rage.
The Second Prince's expression soured; no one would be pleased to be called foolish.
"If I am foolish, why did you go to such lengths to marry me?" the Second Prince asked, his face dark.
"Do you think I wanted to? If my aunt had no other children, if you didn't have royal blood flowing through you, do you think I would have chosen you?" Lu Ruoyun's features were distorted by anger, devoid of any of her usual tenderness.
"So, the words you spoke were merely to placate me?" Although he already had his suspicions, the Second Prince still found it hard to believe.
"Yes."
Lu Ruoyun had been meticulously trained since childhood. At this point, she understood that the Lu family had been utterly ruined.
Reason told her that now was the time she should try to appease the Second Prince.
However, her emotional anger made her lose control.
The Second Prince gave Lu Ruoyun a look of disappointment, then flicked his sleeve and strode away, without a trace of lingering affection.
Lu Ruoyun, unwilling to accept this, smashed various furnishings in the room.
This time, no one stepped forward to calm her down, no one cleaned up the mess, and no one bothered to put back what she had broken.
With the fall of the Lu family, those she had brought from home were now worried about being implicated themselves. How could they possibly concern themselves with Lu Ruoyun's emotions?
The Second Prince went to Su Qingyue's courtyard.
Feng Yin had already informed Su Qingyue of the events unfolding outside.
The Second Prince tightly clasped Su Qingyue's hand, gazing at her affectionately. "A Yue..."
"Why has Your Highness come to my courtyard at this hour?" Su Qingyue asked gently. "I just made the date paste cake that Your Highness likes. Would Your Highness care to try some?"
The Second Prince sat with Su Qingyue on the couch, and soon, steaming date paste cakes were brought in.
Su Qingyue did not particularly enjoy date paste cakes, but for him, she had diligently learned the recipe from the most skilled imperial嬷嬷.
A Yue loved him so much, yet he had hurt her heart time and time again.
He was truly despicable!
"A Yue's date paste cakes are my favorite," the Second Prince said, touched.
"Then Your Highness should eat a few more pieces," Su Qingyue said softly.
The Second Prince indeed ate the entire plate of date paste cakes, as if only by doing so could he express his guilt towards Su Qingyue.