QT: Grace To Grass Counterattack System

Thirty minutes later, the Matriarch's robes were changed and ointment was smeared over her lower arm. Her face was red with anger as she finally instructed, "Bring that disgraceful grandson here for me!"

Before Lu Peng arrived, the other members of the Lu family began to show up one after the other. They'd all gotten the news but it would be inappropriate for them to go outside the mansion and see for themselves.

Besides, Bai Yun's servants had acted quickly and dragged Lu Peng back to his courtyard to clean up whilst the guards went out to search for the two servants Lu Peng had been caught with.

Lu Yunyue was the first to arrive at the grand hall. She was dressed in a white dress and had a light blue shawl wrapped around her dainty figure. Her eyes were puffy from crying and her skin was pale from the emotional blow.

Overall, she looked quite pitiful but compared to how she looked on the surface, Lu Yunyue's heart was full of anger. She couldn't believe how selfish Lu Peng was. How could he do such a thing without caring about how it would affect her?!

She had no choice but to rush over here first in order to set herself apart from Lu Peng in the Matriarch's eyes and also to prevent others from using this chance to pull her in muddy waters!

When she finally reached the foot of the dias, Lu Yunyue squared her shoulders and firmly called out, "This granddaughter sends her greetings to grandmother."

As predicted, when the Matriarch took in Lu Yunyu's demeanor, her heart softened a bit. The girl had clearly been crying so hard but even at this moment, she still managed to raise her head high with a firm voice.

Just like the Taoist priest had said, Lu Yunyue was born to be Empress indeed.

Matriarch Lu sighed and, with her uninjured hand, she motioned the girl to sit by her side.

Shi Meifen arrived next and, ignoring the Matriarch's sneer, she silently stood to the side after paying her respects.

Lin Liang, Lu Zhenzhen, Tan Hong and two of her three sons were the next. Tan Hong could barely maintain a straight face as a smile kept struggling to break through.

She had three sons. Why was this special? Well, Bai Yun had only one son and with Lu Peng's gaffe, there was no other legitimate son in the Lu household.

In such a situation, it was okay to give the title to the son of a concubine as long as they were from the main branch. The right Prime minister was a person who cared about appearances a lot so he would have to elevate her title from concubine to secondary wife in order to give her sons a more nobler identity.

The four newcomers paid their respects to the Matriarch and moved to their positions in the hall.

The Matriarch's eyes narrowed on Tan Hong's giddy appearance and she clicked her tongue. How could she not know what the woman was thinking? There was nothing she could do but she must think of a way to cut off Tan Hong's wings to curb that arrogance.

With her mother by her side, Lu Zhenzhen's eyes zeroed in on Lu Yunyue with immense dissatisfaction. Lu Peng had caused such a mess and yet the Matriarch was still giving preferential treatment to Lu Yunyue! Her fists clenched in jealousy.

The last ones to arrive were Lu Xuilan and Fang Lan.

The second the Matriarch saw them, her expression turned darker.

Lu Xuilan rolled her eyes inwardly. She'd only taken back the shops that rightfully belonged to her mother and yet the Matriarch couldn't stand her. Compared to the resident porn star, she hadn't even done anything.

"Greetings grandmother."

"This concubine sees the Matriarch."

Lu Xuilan and Fang Lan said perfunctorily before walking off to the side.

Seeing Lu Xuilan, Lu Zhenzhen's restlessness could no longer be contained. She quickly sent a sweet smile in Lu Xuilan's direction. "Second sister, you're here."

Lu Xuilan pretended to be deaf but Lu Zhenzhen ignored this and sighed pitifully. "Ah~ What Eldest brother has done... It doesn't look good on us at all."

Then she turned to Lu Yunyue with an innocent look. "Eldest sister, you and Eldest brother are so close, did you know he was this kind of person?"

Lu Yunyue's eyes narrowed a bit. What was Lu Zhenzhen planning? She managed to maintain her graceful appearance as she answered softly, "How could I have known? Eldest brother hid it too deeply."

"Oh." Lu Zhenzhen nodded. "Okay then. I was just asking since you were both born from mother Bai and were given the exact same upbringing since young."

Various suspicious eyes landed on Lu Yunyue. Lu Peng was such a person, who knew if Lu Yunyue was the same too?

The Matriarch's face also twisted a bit and Lu Yunyue's eyes widened. "Lu Zhenzhen!"

Lu Zhenzhen blinked. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

Lu Yunyue clenched her fists. Now wasn't the time to act out so she swallowed her anger and smiled gracefully. "Of course not, third sister but you should be mindful of your words as a noble lady. Thankfully we're all family here so no one would judge you. If this were outside~..."

The Matriarch turned to Lu Zhenzhen with reproach in her eyes and Lin Liang discreetly tugged on her daughter's sleeve.

Lu Zhenzhen's nostrils flared but she grit her teeth and sent Lu Yunyue a twisted smile. "It's good that you remember we're all family here so please whatever you're doing, you better not get caught and affect the reputation of everyone else. I still want to be able to marry into a good fami-"

SMACK!

The Matriarch hit the arm of her chair with her good hand and Lu Zhenzhen immediately shut up.

Next to the Matriarch, Lu Yunyue had a stifled expression on her face and her nails pierced her palm in an attempt to calm her anger. Lu! Zhen! Zhen! She should just wait!

At the side, Lu Xuilan suppressed mocking laughter. She didn't like any of them so seeing them tearing each other apart was fun to watch.

Thinking of Lu Peng's situation, a thoughtful expression crossed her face. It was obvious that Lu Peng had fallen into someone's scheme... Her eyes moved over everyone in the grand hall... But who?

She Meifen took in their interactions and lowered her head. She didn't even want to be here but she was hoping that with Lu Peng's gaffe, the Matriarch might reduce Lu Jingye's punishment just to spite Bai Yun.

She wondered how the boy was doing in the Ancestral hall. He was always bottling everything inside. Even if he suffered a grievance, he would never speak. She was so worried.

The grand hall became uncomfortably silent as everyone waited.

Three minutes later,

"LET ME GO THIS INSTANT!"

"MOTHER!"

A screaming Lu Peng was dragged into the hall by two Lu guards with a red eyed Bai Yun following behind.

When the Matriarch took in his misdemeanor and remembered Lu Zhenzhen's words, her anger shot through the roof. Ignoring the pain from her wounded arm, she reached for an empty teacup on her side stool.

SHATTER!

Lu Peng froze when the teacup crashed a few feet away from him. He clenched his fists. He planned to hide away in his courtyard until all the heat died down. Who knew the Matriarch's people would forcefully bring him here?

With a quick glance around, he noticed the others looking at him like he was covered in filth. He was about to lash out but then he felt his mother pinch his side discreetly so he swallowed his anger and turned to the Matriarch.

"Grandmoth-"

"SHUT UP!" The old lady wasn't having it. She pointed at Lu Peng with a trembling hand. "I don't have a grandson like you!"

Bai Yun saw that the Matriarch was unwilling to listen so she quickly rushed forward and fell to the ground. "Mother! You have to get justice for Peng'er! He had been schemed agai-"

BANG!

The doors banged open and Prime minister Lu rushed in with blazing eyes and a red face. "WHERE'S THAT USELESS THING?!"

Before anyone could speak, he grabbed a baton from a nearby guard and dove straight at Lu Peng.

BAM!

"AAAAHHH!"

Lu Peng screamed in pain and scrambled away.

Lu Qian became even angrier and with his two hands, he flung the baton in Lu Peng's direction.

BAM!

"AAAAHHH!"

This time, Lu Peng, Bai Yun and the concubines screamed simultaneously. Lu Peng from pain and the women from utter shock.

Lu Qian didn't care about this. He'd met up with a few nobles last night and had decided to spend the night at Pingfang house in the red light district. Who knew he would wake up to such a horrible news?!

From the time he heard the news to the time he arrived at the Lu mansion, Lu Peng's news had already spread throughout the entire Capital.

What face did he, the right Prime minister, have left?! His legitimate son was not only depraved but depraved to the point of being the one on the receiving end of two men. TWO MEN!

Even the best courtesan at Pingfang did not dare boast of such skills!

Lu Qian had to take a few mouthfuls of air to reduce his anger before tugging at his robes and regaining his demeanor. "Go back and gather your things. You're leaving the Capital for Pyongchon today!"

Lu Peng's eyes widened. "F- Father!" Pyongchon was one of the remote farming settlements belonging to the Lu family. If he was sent away, there was no telling when he would be able to return!

Different people in the hall had varying expressions. Tan Hong lowered her head to hide her bright smile, Lu Zhenzhen openly sent Lu Yunyue a mocking smile, Lu Yunyue's face turned pale whilst an ironic smile settled on Lu Xuilan's lips.

Regarding family ties, Lu Qian was very selfish and had little care for it. At the slightest problem, he was always quick to discard others. The original Lu Xuilan had experienced this with Fang Lan and now Lu Peng was going to experience it too.

On the other hand, Bai Yun trembled from despair. If Lu Peng remained in the Capital, she could at least slowly whitewash his reputation when the news died down in a couple of months but now...

Once Lu Peng left the capital, the Lu household wouldn't have a legimate son. If Tan Hong was promoted to secondary wife then she could still be oppressed but what if Lu Qian married a new wife from a noble family?

What would happen to her Yunyue? Without the position of Legitimate miss, how could she marry as a main wife?! How could she be a Princess consort?!

PLOP!

Bai Yun kowtowed at Lu Qian. "Husband you can't do this! Think of the situation clearly, Peng'er was clearly framed!"

Lu Qian frowned. He wasn't stupid. Of course he knew this but it wasn't worth mentioning. According to the news he received, the two men caught with Lu Peng had been Min Luo and Min Guo. Lu Peng's manservants.

As the master of the Lu mansion, he was aware of Lu Peng's habits and also knew that occassionally, Lu Peng would sneak out at night with those two to look for unsuspecting young peasant boys in the capital when there was a lack of young male servants to use in the mansion.

He was also aware of the kind of aphrodisiac Lu Peng used on his victims but he turned a blind eye to everything. Most likely than not, what had happened last night was that those three had accidentally ingested the aphrodisiac and sneaked out but had lost their senses before they went very far.

Even if Lu Peng was framed, it was most likely some servant from the Lu mansion risking their life to seek revenge!

Lu Peng grit his teeth. He'd already ordered the investigation of Lu Peng's courtyard and also the death of Min Luo and Min Guo but when he thought of the fact that he would have to face the other ministers in court later, his anger flared up and he pointed at the guards. "Take him to pack up is things!"

Lu Peng held his aching head and scrambled away from the guards. "Father you can't do this! I was framed! It's Lu Jin-" The guards covered his mouth and dragged him away before he could finish.

No one bothered to listen to Lu Peng's hysterical screeching but a thoughtful expression settled on Lu Xuilan's face. Was Lu Peng about to say Lu Jingye?

With Lu Peng gone, Lu Qian's anger was barely abated and he turned to the trembling Bai Yun. Lu Peng's debauched ways had gone on for so long because of Bai Yun's pampering!

He was so tempted to abolish Bai Yun as his main wife but even in his anger, he was clear headed. The Bai family might be of much lesser standing than the Lu family but they were very rich and offered him great resources to maintain his standing with the Ninth prince.

Besides...

Lu Peng looked up at his daughter, Lu Yunyue. The Taoist priest had said Yunyue was destined to be below one and above all. He planned to marry Lu Yunyue to the Ninth prince and unlike Lu Xuilan, Lu Yunyue was not lucky to have been bethroded to a prince.

This meant that if Bai Yun was abolished, Yunye would not be able to keep her position as the official eldest daughter so how could she be qualified to marry a prince as a princess consort?

Lu Peng felt a headache. It was better when he hadn't received the fate prediction from that Taoist priest. Now, he couldn't abolish Bai Yun but then Lu Peng was his only son with Bai Yun and with what has happened, there was no way he could pass on the title of right Prime minister to the idiot.

After going through the pros and cons, Lu Peng eyed Tan Hong thoughtfully. Anyways, he still had three more healthy sons.

He still needed to discuss things with his mother so he waved at Bai Yun dismissively. "Go to the temple for a while. Accompany the monks to discuss Buddhism, pray for the betterment of the Lu family and the redemption of that idiot's soul!"

Tan Hong trembled from happiness.

Bai Yun saw this and clenched her fists but quickly regained her composure. As long as Lu Yunyue could still be the official miss and marry a prince, she and Lu Peng could always make a come back in the future!

The matter was settled that way and the members of the Lu family dispersed.

.

.

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In the Ancestral hall, Lu Jingye had no idea of what the General had done and as for He Yuan, he continued on his way to the East, ignorant of the fact that his plan to simply seperate Shi Meifen, Lu Jingye and Lu Wenduo from the Lu family would have to change when he returned to the Capital.