Shen Yilei straddled Han Gou, gripping his collar with his left hand while bringing the club down on his back with his right.
“You bastard! How dare you use the Minister of War to pressure a mere sixth-rank official like me!”
“My daughter’s fiancé just died, and his remains are barely cold! Yet you insist on coming here to force her into marriage. Are you even human?”
Han Gou lay sprawled on the ground as Shen Yilei held him by the collar and repeatedly struck his back with the club. The pain made him howl miserably.
How could he possibly have imagined that this old bastard, who had just been kneeling on the ground and kowtowing for mercy, would turn against him faster than one could turn a page?
Lu Yuan leaned against the doorframe with a wine flask in hand, tilting his head as he watched the entertaining spectacle.
“Official Shen’s reflexes and adaptability are truly impressive. What a cunning old fox. It’s a shame he never became an actor.”
Behind the screen wall, Shen Hanqiu’s face flushed crimson.
Ever since she was a child, she had seen plenty of her father’s spineless behavior. However, she had never seen him sink this low.
He had been the one kneeling and kowtowing moments ago, and now he was also the one who had suddenly switched sides and started beating Han Gou.
In less than the time it took to finish a cup of tea, he had already changed faces three times, and each one was more shameless than the last.
After more than a dozen blows, Shen Yilei’s club gradually slowed.
It was not because he had grown tired. He had only been putting on a show for Lu Yuan.
He secretly glanced at Lu Yuan’s expression. Seeing His Highness the Ninth Prince leisurely enjoying the spectacle, Shen Yilei tossed the club onto the ground and climbed off Han Gou.
“Your Highness, this lowly one has finished beating him.”
Han Gou lay face-down on the ground, his back a complete mess. His ornate brocade robe had been torn open in several places.
Breathing heavily, he planted his hands against the ground and tried to get up. His arms immediately gave way, sending him collapsing back down.
Lu Yuan lowered his wine flask, walked over, and crouched beside him.
“Young Master Han, still planning to have me impeached?”
Han Gou raised his head. His eyes were swollen into narrow slits, and they were filled with hatred.
His lips moved several times, but he could not utter a single word.
“All right, stop lying around here.” Lu Yuan stood and dusted off his hands. “Get lost.”
Han Gou felt as though he had just been granted a pardon. He scrambled to his feet and limped toward his horse.
His servants hurried over to support him, immediately throwing the group into chaos.
“Come back.”
Han Gou froze in place.
Slowly, he turned around. He did not even dare wipe the blood from his face as he forced out an expression uglier than crying.
“Y-Your Highness, do you have any other instructions?”
Lu Yuan counted on his fingers for a moment, then narrowed his eyes.
“When we used to visit brothels together, after adding everything up, you ended up owing me 100,000 taels of silver. Within three days, repay the principal and interest to the Ninth Prince Residence.”
Han Gou’s body swayed.
100,000 taels.
Even if the Han Family emptied its entire fortune, that was about all they could scrape together.
However, staring at Lu Yuan’s face, Han Gou did not dare utter a single word of protest.
“…All right.”
Han Gou ground his back teeth and forced the words from his throat.
He turned around, was helped onto his horse by his servants, and the entire group fled in disgrace.
The sound of hoofbeats gradually faded into the distance, and the street became quiet once more.
Lu Yuan turned around and cupped his hands toward Su Tan.
Su Tan stood on the steps with his walking stick. The smile on the old man’s face was impossible to hide as he reached out and gave Lu Yuan a heavy pat on the shoulder.
“Good lad!”
Shen Yilei hurried over, rubbing his hands together with a broad smile plastered across his face.
Seeing him like this, Lu Yuan inwardly sighed. This old bastard really changed sides faster than one could turn a page. Moments ago, he had been kowtowing on the ground and calling Han Gou “Young Master.” Now he looked ready to package up his own daughter and deliver her straight to Lu Yuan’s doorstep.
‘Does he really think shameless flattery will eventually get him everything he wants?’
“Your Highness is mighty and wise. About what Your Highness said earlier, that you had taken a liking to Hanqiu… was that true? If Your Highness is genuinely interested, this lowly one will return home immediately and begin preparing the wed…”
Shen Hanqiu rushed out from behind the screen wall, her face burning crimson and her voice trembling.
“His Highness the Ninth Prince only said that to help me out of this situation! You…”
After being shouted at by his daughter, Shen Yilei shrank his neck slightly, but his eyes continued darting toward Lu Yuan.
The smile disappeared from Lu Yuan’s face. He looked at Shen Yilei and narrowed his eyes.
“Official Shen.”
A chill ran down Shen Yilei’s back.
“Since when do you have the right to interfere in the marriages of the royal family?”
His voice was not harsh, yet Shen Yilei’s legs immediately went weak. With a thud, he dropped to his knees.
“This lowly one wouldn’t dare! I would never dare interfere in a royal marriage!”
“Get lost,” Lu Yuan said with a single word. “If you ever dare promise Miss Shen to another man again, I’ll take your head.”
Shen Yilei kowtowed three times so hard that the skin on his forehead split open. Then he scrambled to his feet and fled outside in a panic.
Even as he reached the gate, he did not forget to turn around and shout at Shen Hanqiu.
“Hanqiu! Take good care of His Highness the Ninth Prince! Father will go home and prepare your room right away!”
Shen Hanqiu trembled with anger. Su Yuling grabbed her sleeve and quietly told her, “Ignore him.”
The street finally fell completely silent.
After taking a couple of breaths to calm herself, Shen Hanqiu walked over to Lu Yuan and gave him a proper bow.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Lu Yuan waved his hand. “We’re all family. There’s no need to be so formal.”
The tips of Shen Hanqiu’s ears turned red again.
She quietly stepped aside and said nothing more.
With the matter temporarily settled, Su Tan called everyone back inside to continue eating.
However, Lu Yuan shook his head, and his expression became serious.
“Grandfather-in-law, I’ve already eaten enough. I would like to visit the ancestral hall and offer incense to the fallen heroes of the Su Family. Would that be convenient?”
Su Tan froze for a moment.
“Your Highness, you are a member of the royal family. That would be against proper custom.”
“There’s nothing improper about it. The men of the Su Family sacrificed their lives for the Empire. They died for the royal family and for the common people. The royal family should be grateful to them. Today, both as a prince and as the future son-in-law of the Su Family, it is only right that I represent the royal family and the people in offering them incense.”
After hearing those words, Su Tan’s eyes immediately reddened.
Although the Great Yong Empire did not favor civil officials over military officers too severely, military officers still could not truly compare with the civil bureaucracy.
Su Tan had never expected Lu Yuan, a prince, to say such words.
‘If he were to become Emperor one day, wouldn’t that be a blessing for the people and military officers of the Great Yong Empire?’
At that thought, the way Su Tan looked at Lu Yuan subtly changed.
He nodded and personally led Lu Yuan toward the ancestral hall.
Su Yuling also fell into a slight daze.
‘Is this really the same useless man who spends every day drinking and seeking pleasure, without the slightest ambition?’ This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
After entering the ancestral hall, Lu Yuan personally lit three sticks of incense and bowed deeply before the memorial tablets.
That single bow was enough to make the members of the Su Family burst into tears.
With Lu Yuan showing them such respect, the sons of the Su Family had not died on the battlefield in vain.
Lu Yuan turned toward Su Tan and cupped his hands.
“Grandfather-in-law, I’ll head back now. We need to hurry with the betrothal arrangements, and none of the proper marriage formalities can be omitted. Afterward, I’ll have Father issue a royal decree granting the marriage, and I’ll marry Yuling with all the ceremony and honor she deserves.”
Su Tan wiped away his tears and nodded repeatedly.
“Good. This old man will wait here at the residence.”
He turned and glanced at Su Yuling.
“Yuling, His Highness the Ninth Prince has had too much to drink. Escort His Highness back to his residence.”
Su Yuling opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something. However, when she met Su Tan’s gaze, she swallowed the words.
“Yes.”
She answered softly and followed Lu Yuan outside.
After leaving the Earl of Yongning Residence, Lu Yuan mounted his horse.
Su Yuling held the reins and walked ahead, leading the horse as the two made their way along the long street toward the Ninth Prince Residence.
The sun was already sinking toward the west, and the number of pedestrians on the street gradually dwindled.
The horse’s hooves clattered rhythmically against the stone-paved road.
After they had traveled half a street, Lu Yuan suddenly tilted sideways and slid straight off the horse.
Su Yuling was startled and immediately turned to catch him, but his stumbling weight forced her two steps backward.
Lu Yuan wrapped an arm around her waist, pressing most of his weight against her as his head drooped onto her shoulder.
“Your Highness?”
“I’m drunk,” Lu Yuan mumbled. His warm breath brushed the base of her ear. “I can’t walk. Help me back.”
His arm tightened around Su Yuling’s waist, making her face burn.
She struggled twice but could not break free, so she had no choice but to support him as they made their way back to the residence.
Once they reached the bedroom, Su Yuling pushed him onto the bed.
“You drank so much. You’re unbelievably heavy.”
Lu Yuan landed on his back against the bedding and did not move.
Su Yuling straightened up, caught her breath, and turned to leave.
A hand suddenly closed around her wrist.
The grip was not particularly strong, but it caught her perfectly.
Her entire body was pulled backward, and she fell straight into Lu Yuan’s arms.
Her back pressed against his chest as his arm naturally wrapped around her and settled firmly around her waist.
“Where are you going?”
Lu Yuan’s voice came from behind her head, without the slightest trace of drunkenness remaining.
Su Yuling’s face burned fiercely, and her heart pounded against her chest.
She reached down and tried to pry his fingers away, but she could not.
“I’m going back. Let go of me…”
“You’re already here. What’s the hurry?”
Lu Yuan rested his chin on her shoulder and tilted his head to the side, bringing his lips close to her ear.
“That day, you pinned me down on the bed and tormented me for so long. Even now, I still haven’t gotten a taste of what it feels like.”
Su Yuling’s ears burned unbearably hot. She bit her lip and tried to shrink away, her voice trembling.
“It’s broad daylight… behave yourself… Ah… be gentle…”