The gilded brazier in the main hall of the Lu Mansion burned brightly, yet Lu Mingyuan's Feicui thumb ring tapped a rapid, impatient rhythm against the armrest. Lu Jingyuan stared at the market tabloids scattered across the tea table, the headline "Legitimate Daughter of the Marquis's Mansion Illicitly Consorts with Outsider Man" burning his eyes with pain. In the accompanying illustration, Jiang Wan's portrait had been splashed with ink, her mouth slashed into a bloody mess.
"This was sold by a West City newsboy this morning," Lu Mingyuan snapped, slamming the paper onto the table. "The whole city is gossiping that Jiang Wan was unchaste before marriage. Where does this leave the Lu family's reputation?"
Lu Jingyuan gripped the edge of the newspaper until his knuckles turned white. "Does Third Uncle know that these portraits use old pictures from the Cien Temple lantern festival last year? Jiang Wan was traveling with Grandmother that day, and there were hundreds of pilgrims who can testify to it."
Chapter 220