She Was Written to Die, So She Seized the Throne Instead

The Lu family moved quickly. The moment they realized the situation was turning against them, they immediately took action.

Lu Yanzhi’s injuries were not light, and he had fainted from sheer rage. He wasn’t in any condition to face the Princess. So, Madam Lu took her eldest daughter-in-law to the Princess Mansion, hoping to persuade the Princess first.

The staff at the Princess Mansion didn’t stop them from entering. But as soon as they walked in, they saw thick smoke billowing in the distance.

"That’s the direction of the Second Young Master’s residence."

They didn’t visit the Princess Mansion often, but they knew where Lu Yanzhi lived.

Madam Lu’s heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly led her people over, and from a distance, she saw a group of people moving things, tossing them one by one into a bonfire in the middle.

She couldn’t make out the books, but the clothes were clearly her son’s.

"What are you doing?"

She strode over, and a sweeping glance revealed Xiao Li sitting on the veranda. She immediately realized this was her doing.

"Princess." She walked up quickly and bowed in a hurry. "Princess, can’t we discuss things properly? Why must you resort to such extreme measures?"

Xiao Li was lounging lazily in her chair. Hearing her, she lifted her eyelids for a glance before slowly letting them fall again.

"You failed to raise your son properly, and now you come to lecture me?"

Madam Lu, like her son, disliked this Princess who had been forced upon them by the Emperor. But she was a princess, after all. No matter how angry she was, she had to suppress it.

"It is I who failed to raise him well, causing the Princess to suffer. Please forgive me, Princess."

Xiao Li’s eyes were closed, her voice devoid of emotion. "Since you’re aware of the situation, I can rest easy. I was originally going to burn all this filth, but since you’re here, I’ll grant you some face. Take it away. From now on, no one from the Lu family is to set foot in the Princess Mansion."

"Even if your love went unrequited, Princess, there’s no need to let it turn to hate, is there?"

Young Madam Lu, Gao Lan, looked at Xiao Li with eyes full of mockery. "Back then, you knew my second brother-in-law didn’t like you, yet you still had His Majesty decree a marriage and force him to marry you. You got what you wanted. Now that you can’t stand it, you use these despicable tactics to ruin him. You’ve gone too far!"

"Gao Lan!" Madam Lu ’displeasedly’ rebuked her eldest daughter-in-law. "What nonsense are you spouting? Hurry up and apologize to the Princess!"

"Don’t put on an act for me..." Xiao Li opened her eyes and looked at them, her dark, bottomless pupils filled with derision.

"You all think Lu Yanzhi was wronged by marrying me. Now I’m setting him free. Shouldn’t you be happy?"

She rose slowly, her smile like that of a beautiful serpent flicking its tongue. "This is his only chance to be rid of me. You’d better seize it. Otherwise, I can show you what it *truly* means to go too far!"

The two Lu women, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, were driven away. They left in disgrace, taking the scorched-black belongings with them.

Of course, the Lu family knew this was Lu Yanzhi’s chance to be free of the Princess. Lu Yanzhi had always wanted to be free of her, and they felt for their child. But this wasn’t the right time, and this certainly wasn’t the right way.

Not to mention the crime the Lu family was now accused of, even if they accepted the punishment and were freed from the arranged marriage, Lu Yanzhi’s life would be ruined.

However, before the Lu family could make a decision, the other aristocratic families, smelling blood, pounced.

Memorials flew to the Imperial Study Room like snowflakes. Impeaching the Lu family’s conduct was one thing, but among them were accusations against Lu family scions for bullying the common people and harming them, all with conclusive evidence.

The aristocratic families who saw the Lu family as a thorn in their side were instantly like jackals that had caught the scent of blood, frantically trying to tear a piece of flesh from them.

In less than two days, thirteen scions of the Lu family were imprisoned. Although they were all from branch families, the threat to the Lu family’s reputation was immense.

And no matter how anyone tried to explain, the public was more inclined to believe that Lu Yanzhi was impotent, and that the Princess was still a virgin after three years of marriage.

With public opinion turning against them, the crime of deceiving the Royal Family grew more and more serious.

At this point, it was no longer a question of whether the Emperor believed them, but a matter of their reputation collapsing among the common people and scholars.

Seeing the lintel of his esteemed aristocratic family collapse, Grand Secretary Lu finally chose to bow his head.

Old Madam Lu personally brought gifts to the Princess Mansion to mediate, but unfortunately, she was turned away at the gate.

"The Princess has said she will see no one from the Lu family."

Old Madam Lu had seen her share of storms and didn’t get the least bit angry. She simply stood at the gate and said, "I will wait right here, until the Princess’s anger has subsided and she is willing to see me."

The gatekeeper went inside to report. A moment later, Hong Yue came storming out. "What do you think you’re doing, Old Madam Lu? Are you trying to use your age to threaten the Princess?"

"Are you going to faint next, to let the world know the Princess is so vicious she abuses the elderly?"

"When the Prince Consort bullied the Princess, you all turned a blind eye, even thinking she deserved it. Now that the Princess can’t take the bullying anymore and has spoken the truth, you come one by one to threaten her."

"You people are so high and mighty, wanting both substance and face. How can you be so shameless?"

This time, Old Madam Lu truly was about to faint from anger. Her calm expression tensed with rage, and her whole body trembled. "You girl, your words are infuriating! I merely wish to see the Princess. How can you be so aggressive?"

Hong Yue’s face was full of scorn, her expression that of a venomous servant girl. "You request an audience with the Princess, so she must see you? In the past, whenever the Princess went to see you during the holidays, you’d either feign illness or dizziness, avoiding her like the plague. How is it that you’re not sick or dizzy now?"

"The Princess said that your Lu family’s station is too high. She is unworthy of associating with you, and from now on, she no longer wishes to try."

Old Madam Lu was so angry her chest hurt. Unable to stay any longer, she turned and left. When the carriage reached the Lu residence, she was helped out. Just as she stepped through the door, she heard a servant report that rumors were spreading everywhere about how the Princess had been given the cold shoulder by the Lu family for the past three years.

The Lu family all felt that Lu Yanzhi had been wronged by his marriage to the Princess. The Lu men couldn’t possibly be close to her, merely maintaining polite etiquette. But the Lu women all doted on their own child, who was like a man carved from jade, and so their attitude toward the Princess could never be warm.

The Princess had indeed deliberately tried to curry favor with the Lu family for Lu Yanzhi’s sake. Her meek and subservient demeanor made the Lu women feel she was incredibly easy to manipulate.

So, it was true that the Old Madam had feigned illness to avoid seeing her. It was true that Madam Lu had made the Princess stand and wait on her. And it was true that the eldest sister-in-law looked down on the Princess, spoke ill of her, and treated her with scorn.

The Grand Secretary, Lu Zhanglin, looked at his wife, his expression full of disappointment. Old Madam Lu could bear it no longer and fainted on the spot.

A rumor takes but a moment to spread, but dispelling it can take a lifetime.

What’s more, these weren’t fabrications. Every single claim was true.

With the Lu family’s reputation in ruins, the court was in a state of revelry.

The Emperor, ’forced by the circumstances’ and with ’no other choice,’ punished several members of the Lu family and reclaimed some of the powers associated with them.

Only after he had secured the benefits he was after did he make a hypocritical show of offering to persuade Xiao Li.

After all, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Besides, the Lu family had only suffered superficial wounds; they still needed to be kept in check.