Princess Su kowtowed deeply and said earnestly, "Your Majesty, it is indeed true that my son acted improperly in this matter. I would like to ask Yue Niang a question in person."
She turned to look at Ju Yue. "Yue Niang, Mother knows you are a good child. Today, in front of His Majesty, tell Mother: are you willing to marry my son?"
"You and Lou Buqi have not yet consummated the marriage. It is not too late to change your mind."
"If you are unwilling, Mother will not force you. I will adopt you as my goddaughter, choose a new husband for you, and marry you off with great honor and ceremony. This is also what our Prince Su's Manor owes you."
"If you are willing to stay and accompany Mother, I would be immensely grateful."
"I cannot promise much else, but there is one thing Mother can guarantee you: the men of our family may only take concubines if they reach forty without an heir."
"This is a rule of the Lou Family. You need not worry about sharing a husband with others."
Whom Princess Su was referring to with these words was perfectly clear to the Yun Family, and they all snorted in disdain.
But in front of The Emperor, they dared not say more.
The Emperor above was thoroughly enjoying the drama, and the slight dissatisfaction he had felt toward Ju Yue earlier had completely vanished.
This young woman was truly quite interesting—beautiful, clever, and quick-witted.
He asked Ju Yue with great interest, "Tell Us, are you willing to marry that scoundrel Lou Buqi?"
"Speak boldly! If you are unwilling, We will decide for you!"
Yun Feiyang suddenly spoke up. "Your Majesty! Ju Yue is my wife! My lawfully wedded wife through proper matchmaking and betrothal gifts! It was Lou Buqi who acted unreasonably and forcibly took her away!"
His regret had now reached its peak. Seeing a chance to possibly renew his marital ties with Ju Yue, he eagerly interjected and made this request to The Emperor.
He thought to himself, what if? What if The Emperor agreed? Then everything could still have a chance to start over.
If such an opportunity truly arose, he would never let Ju Yue suffer again and would certainly protect her…
"Your Majesty! Yesterday, I was momentarily blinded and made a mistake. Now I realize my error. I beg Your Majesty to return Ju Yue to me!"
Princess Su, forgetting for a moment that they were in the main hall and in front of The Emperor, could not help but roll her eyes dramatically.
Was Yun Feiyang insane? Truly insane?!
Her own son had already taken Ju Yue back, the marriage certificate had been written, and it was filed with the authorities!
Even though they had forced Scribe Wang to do it, it still counted!
Ju Yue could only be her daughter-in-law!
Her asking this question in front of The Emperor was merely a subtle way of requesting an imperial sanction for the marriage.
She simply wanted to legitimize this overly hasty union, nothing more.
It was not truly about giving up her daughter-in-law.
What was wrong with this Yun Feiyang? Barging in to interfere—did he have no eyes? Could he not understand human affairs?
But clearly, The Emperor was enjoying the gossip immensely. A drawn-out "Oh~" already revealed his mood.
Not one to shy away from stirring the pot, he asked Ju Yue, "Ju girl, you tell Us yourself. Whom do you wish to marry?"
Ju Yue's lips moved slightly.
To be honest, both Yun Feiyang and Lou Buqi were strangers to her. She did not wish to marry either.
But Ju Yue was clearly aware that she could not say so, nor could she even entertain the thought.
Meekly lowering her body, she prostrated herself on the ground and replied, "This subject girl leaves it to Your Majesty to decide."
The Emperor laughed and turned to Lou Buqi. "What do you say?"
Would this kid actually beat up Yun Feiyang right in front of him?
Surely not, right? Surely not?
It's said that when this kid gets into fights with others, it's usually a thirty-seventy split.
The kind where he makes the other person cry seven times within three minutes.
The Emperor wanted to witness it firsthand.
Then he saw Lou Buqi remove the handkerchief that had been stuffed up his nose, wipe it, and seeing that it was no longer bleeding, carefully fold the handkerchief and tuck it into his chest.
He cleared his throat and dropped a huge temptation:
"Your Majesty! This humble subject has a way to increase the capital's birth rate! I beg Your Majesty to grant Ju Yue and me a belated imperial marriage decree!"
This temptation was huge! The Emperor simply couldn't refuse.
Unless Yun Feiyang could present even greater merits, he wouldn't be able to compete with him.
But could Yun Feiyang produce such merits?!
That good-for-nothing simply couldn't.
Where there's a will, there's a way—as long as you're willing to give up. Since he couldn't produce any merits, he should just obediently keep his mouth shut!
Otherwise, he would really have to teach Yun Feiyang a lesson about how losing a love might not be a bad thing after all.
As soon as Lou Buqi finished speaking, everyone took a sharp, deep breath.
They all turned to look at Lou Buqi in disbelief. Especially Ju Yue, whose eyes widened even more.
The problem of low birth rates—even modern civilization with all its advancements couldn't solve it. Could the Little Tyrant really manage it?!
The Emperor grew excited, stopped tugging at his beard, and asked, "Is that true?!"
But then, thinking about the kid's past "glorious achievements," he leaned back again and snorted coldly, "You kid, when will we see results? Three years or five years? Thirty years or fifty years?"
Trying to drag it out, huh? He wouldn't fall for this kid's tricks!
Lou Buqi knelt and shuffled forward a few steps, his clear eyes filled with invisible wisdom.
"At most three months!"
"Three months?" The Emperor frowned. "How can we see results in three months? We're talking about people! Not kittens or puppies!"
Lou Buqi answered firmly, "Your Majesty can check the medical records of all the clinics in the capital now and compare them three months later! This humble subject dares to guarantee that the number of pregnancies will exceed the current records by twenty percent!"
The Emperor laughed heartily, his mood lifting, and his anger subsiding significantly.
"Draft the decree!"
"Lou Buqi, the son of Prince Su, acted recklessly by snatching a bride on the street, corrupting social morals. This is unforgivable, but considering it is his first offense and his attitude toward admitting guilt is good, he shall be allowed to atone through meritorious service."
"As for the marriage between him and Ju Yue, the legitimate daughter of the Ju family, since it has already become a fait accompli, and remarrying would harm Miss Ju's reputation, Ju Yue shall remain with the Lou family."
"Ju Yue is hereby conferred the title of Su Wang Shi Zi Fei. All corresponding golden certificates, ceremonial robes, and other matters shall be handled by the Ministry of Rites."
But it wasn't over yet—there was also punishment for Prince Su and Princess Su:
"Prince Su and Princess Su failed in their duty to educate their son, allowing him to snatch a bride and setting a bad example. They deserve punishment. They are hereby ordered to forfeit six months' salary as compensation to Yunyang Marquis Mansion. So it is decreed."
Prince Su and Princess Su were overjoyed.
Forfeiting six months' salary—this punishment was practically nothing!
They quickly knelt and bowed to the ground, thanking His Majesty for his great mercy.
The Yun family opened their mouths, then opened them again, unsure of what to say.
To say the Emperor had made a fair ruling—they were only compensated with six months' salary. What kind of ruling was that?
But to say the Emperor hadn't made a ruling—they were indeed being compensated…
Could they really say the Emperor was wrong?!
The Emperor didn't even glance in their direction.
The Marquis's Wife wanted to bring up the matter of the noble title several times, opening her mouth repeatedly, but she obediently closed it each time.
She didn't dare speak up, didn't dare ask.
At this point, there was almost no room left for struggle.
The imperial decree had been issued, making the Emperor's stance unmistakably clear.
The Yun Family members wisely refrained from further speech to avoid inviting trouble.
With the matter thus concluded, everyone awaited the Emperor's dismissal to return to their respective homes.
Unexpectedly, as if suddenly recalling something, the Emperor abruptly posed a question: