Chapter 40 Did I get cheated on?
Chu Yishu carried Ling Zhaoren, sweating profusely with anxiety.
The three of them immediately dropped their chopsticks and rushed over. Lu Jinlan hurriedly asked, "What happened?"
Chu Yishu said, "We were walking and talking when she accidentally swallowed a lychee pit and choked!"
Ling Zhaoren's eyes were wide open, her face flushed red. It was unclear how long she had been choking, but she was now unable to move, suffocating to the point of near unconsciousness, and it looked like she was about to die.
Xiang Ruzhen lifted her upside down, and everyone patted, hit, and rubbed her stomach, but it was no use at all.
Lu Jinlan didn't have time to explain what the Heimlich method was. She snatched Ling Zhaoren away, wrapped her arms around her waist, made a fist with one hand and placed it above her navel, then grabbed the fist with the other hand and pulled hard.
*Pfft!* Ling Zhaoren finally spat out the lychee pit, took a deep breath, and fainted.
Ping Xiyu squeezed forward and took her pulse. "Young Madam Ling may have fainted from shock. However, she has already vomited out the foreign object, so she is out of danger."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Xiang Ruzhen explained the situation to the dean, and Ling Zhixu said, "Take her home and let her rest for a few days until she is fully recovered before she comes back to class."
So, the roommates took Ling Zhaoren to the Marquis of Dingbei's residence.
Three days later, the dean summoned the seven students from Class 106. "People from the Marquis of Dingbei's residence have come to invite you to a banquet to thank you for saving Ling Zhaoren's life. Marquis Ling has always been arrogant, so it's rare for her to be so grateful. I'll grant you half a day off. Go ahead."
The seven were overjoyed, as they were able to enjoy a feast and have a holiday. They chatted happily along the way.
Wu Qiongmeng: "I've long heard that the Ling family is the most prestigious family. Everyone says that the Dingbei Marquis's mansion is even more luxurious than the imperial palace. Now that we have the opportunity to visit the mansion, we must take a good look around and feast our eyes."
Chu Yishu didn't care: "No matter how luxurious it is, it's just some gold, jade and stones, nothing to see. I'm thinking that since Marquis Dingbei's martial arts are superb, it would be best if she would give me a few pointers."
Sun Lewen said nervously, "Don't get too excited and be impolite. You should think carefully about how to address the Marquis of Dingbei when you meet him. By the way, shouldn't we prepare a gift before we visit? Yan Yu, what do you think?"
Yan Yu, who seemed to be lost in thought, snapped out of it and said, "There's no need to bother. The Marquis of Dingbei's residence has everything we need. I'm afraid whatever we send, they won't even want it."
As they spoke, they arrived at the gate of the mansion. The gatekeeper led them into a side hall through a side door. "Ladies, please wait a moment while I go and inform them."
As soon as she turned to leave, several well-trained male servants rushed in, quickly served her tea, and then swiftly withdrew.
Yan Wuxin looked at the furnishings in the hall and said, "It is indeed extraordinary. My house is simply incomparable to this place."
Yan Yu took a sip of tea and said with a gloomy expression, "My home is not as elegant as this place."
Chu Yishu clicked her tongue, "What are you comparing yourselves to? This is the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion. Who is the Marquis of Dingbei? Back then, she was a great contributor to His Majesty's ascension to the throne and held considerable military power."
"Apart from Prime Minister Yan Weijin, who can barely be considered on par with Marquis Ling as the most powerful minister in the court, everyone else is insignificant. Just because you two share the same surname as Yan doesn't mean you can compare your family to that of a marquis. Our Chu family is also a prominent clan, but I know my own limitations. How can we be compared?"
Lu Jinlan laughed and said, "I think you just have an idol worship for Marquis Dingbei. We'll all keep quiet and let you have a proper conversation with your idol." Chu Yishu's face lit up with joy, "You said it, right? Don't blame me for stealing your thunder later."
Xiang Ruzhen quickly said, "Stop joking. Let's decide on the form of address first, otherwise how will we greet each other later?"
Yan Yu: "When paying respects, you may address him as Marquis Dingbei or Lord Linghou."
Yan Wuxin: "Anything is fine, but let's not call them two different things, let's unify them."
Lu Jinlan said simply, "Then let's both be called Lord Linghou. Come on, while no one's around, let's rehearse properly. I'll play the role of Lord Dingbei."
Lu Jinlan jumped outside the door, deliberately making loud footsteps. When he reached the door, he coughed lightly, and Xiang Ruzhen and the others smiled and said in response, "Greetings, Lord Linghou."
Before he finished speaking, footsteps approached. Lu Jinlan quickly turned around and stood with everyone. When the footsteps drew near, everyone bowed and said in unison, "Greetings, Lord Linghou."
The visitor said, "I am the steward of the manor. Lord Hou ordered me to arrange a banquet for you. The kitchen is ready. Please take your seats, fellow students."
The smiles on everyone's faces froze. Lu Jinlan couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Shall we wait for Marquis Ling to arrive before we take our seats? Otherwise, wouldn't that be impolite?"
The butler wore a forced smile and said, "My master is extremely busy and has no time to come over. Please take your seats."
Everyone was taken aback. Yan Yu hurriedly asked, "If Lord Ling Hou isn't here, then where is Ling Zhaoren?"
The steward added, "Young Master Hou went hunting today and is not in the manor."
After the housekeeper finished speaking, he left, and the food was quickly served.
Sixteen rare and delicious dishes, all with excellent color, aroma, and taste, but unfortunately everyone looked somber and no one had the appetite to touch their chopsticks.
A long silence filled the room. Then, with a loud bang, Chu Yishu slammed her hand on the table in anger. "What is this? Even poor families have a host to accompany their guests. What does the Marquis of Dingbei take us for? Beggars who can't afford to eat?"
Yan Yu's face was ashen, and she was also feeling bad. She gritted her teeth and said, "It's enough to know in your heart, why say it so loudly?"
Chu Yishu stood up and walked to the door. "I'm going to say it loudly! I'm going to let the people of the Dingbei Marquis's Mansion know that they shouldn't think we're too young to understand anything."
“Yes.” Lu Jinlan echoed softly. She suppressed her anger for a moment, but the more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
The Marquis of Dingbei's household went to such lengths to invite them, not for any reason of gratitude. If they were treated like human beings, the hosts wouldn't have refused to even show their faces, let alone offer a decent excuse. What did they mean? Did they think they were just roof repairmen, to be treated to a meal after the job was done, to show the Marquis's household a great favor?
Lu Jinlan grabbed the edge of the table and said angrily, "We don't need arrogant charity."
With a slight effort, the tabletop immediately tilted. Yan Wuxin and Xiang Ruzhen, who were sitting beside her, quickly pressed the tabletop back down with a snap.
Yan Wuxin said hastily, "We can't afford to offend the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion, so let it go."
Xiang Ruzhen also advised, "Don't be impulsive. If they don't treat us like guests, we can just leave. Why create unnecessary conflict?"
Seeing the worried looks in their eyes, Lu Jinlan slowly withdrew her hand. "Alright, let's go."
The group stormed out of the Marquis of Dingbei's residence and randomly entered a restaurant. Everyone was in a bad mood, and Chu Yishu said angrily, "This meal is on me, and nobody is allowed to argue with me. Waiter, bring all your restaurant's signs."
The meal was a mixed bag of emotions for everyone; they didn't eat much of the food, but they all drank quite a bit of alcohol.
These young people, accustomed to being prominent figures, considered themselves exceptionally talented students of the emperor, and held themselves in extremely high regard. However, they only realized today that in the eyes of Marquis Dingbei, Ling Zhijing, they were as insignificant as weeds. Giving them a meal was more than enough to repay a life-saving debt.
Chu Yishu was heartbroken. Her face was flushed from drinking, and she tearfully turned her back on her idol, saying, "What's so great about her, the Marquis of Dingbei? No wonder people say she has rebellious intentions. I don't think she even respects the Emperor!"
Wu Qiongmeng quickly covered her mouth, and Sun Lewen said, "Yi Shu is drunk, let's take her back to the academy first."
Yan Yu stood up and said, "I have something urgent to attend to, I need to go home."
The four hurriedly went downstairs and went their separate ways, leaving only three people in the private room.
Yan Wuxin weighed the wine pot in his hand, sighed, and said, "There's still half a pot of wine left. Let's finish it before we go back."
Xiang Ruzhen asked, puzzled, "What did Chu Yishu mean by what he just said? What did he mean by disloyal intentions?"
As Yan Wuxin poured wine for the two of them, he raised his eyelids slightly and said, "It means exactly what it says. This is a secret that everyone in the capital knows. It's not surprising that you two outsiders haven't heard of it."
Lu Jinlan hurriedly asked, "Wasn't it said that the Marquis of Dingbei was the one who helped the Emperor ascend the throne? How could this be?"
Yan Wuxin chuckled and teased, "Even if you two get full marks in History, you're completely clueless about anything not written in the textbook. Alright, today I, a poor student who only got 20 points in History, will give you a crash course."
Yan Wuxin lowered his voice and said, "Do you know that the current emperor's throne was seized?"
Xiang Ruzhen frowned. "I heard there was a rebellion in the palace at the time, and she led troops to defend the emperor, so..."
Yan Wuxin shook his head. "I heard that she knew she had no hope of inheriting the throne, so she forcibly took it. At least three forces helped her ascend the throne back then, and the Ling family army led by Marquis Dingbei was the most powerful force among them."
"But the Ling family's power has grown so much that it has long since exceeded the control of the imperial authority. Many people think that since the emperor's surname is Zhao, the world belongs to the Zhao family, but that is not the case."
"Of the million soldiers in Hua Kingdom, half a million are in the hands of Ling Zhijing and her sister, Grand Commandant Ling Zhichong. However, His Majesty was prepared and deployed the Ling family army to the border. In fact, His Majesty can control less than three hundred thousand soldiers. His Majesty has placed all three hundred thousand of his trusted men in the capital and the five surrounding prefectures. His intention is obvious."
Lu Jinlan pondered for a moment, "Then there should still be 200,000 troops. Who has them?"
Yan Wuxin: "The remaining 200,000 troops are the Song family army led by General Hu Piao (Song Jingxiao). She is stationed in Lingzhou, guarding the border between Hua Kingdom and Qu Kingdom."
Lu Jinlan took a deep breath, "How many Song generals are there in Lingzhou?"
Yan Wuxin: "Just one, so what?"
Lu Jinlan suddenly realized, "My mother made me marry her only son."
Yan Wuxin exclaimed in surprise, "Your mother is truly capable, finding you such a good marriage. You should have told me sooner! If I had known it was General Song, I would have advised you to go back and get married long ago. Song Jingxiao is a powerful figure in the region. If you become her son, then 200,000 troops will be yours."
Xiang Ruzhen smiled and raised her glass, "Jinlan, congratulations!"
Lu Jinlan quickly pressed her hand down, "Don't be silly, her son looks weird, I can't bring myself to do it. Whoever wants to marry him can marry him, I don't care."
Just two days after he said that, Manager Ping brought Lu Jinzhao's message: "Young Master, the Master said she received your letter and asked me to tell you that your marriage agreement with the Song family remains unchanged. Before marrying Young Master Song, you cannot marry anyone else."
Lu Jinlan: "Otherwise what?"
Ping Xiyu asked, puzzled, "What do you mean, 'otherwise'?"
Is my mom going to cut off my allowance?
"No, that's not true. No matter how much you want to use, just take the young master's seal to the counter to withdraw it."
Lu Jinlan thought to herself: Why should I listen? The mountains are high and the emperor is far away, and my mother can't control me.
As usual, she moved into the new house with Lin Cheng and Lou Yumian, and even invited friends and family to a lively housewarming party.
Because her new home was only separated from the college by a wall, she would often climb over the wall to go back and take a look whenever she had free time.
When Lu Jinlan returned home that day, neither Lin Cheng nor Lou Yumin were there.
On Lou Yumin's desk lay the book "Detailed Explanation of Military Strategy," which had just been turned to two pages.
Lu Jinlan smiled, picked it up and continued studying. Before a cup of tea could be brewed, the door was pushed open from the outside with a bang.
Lou Yumin returned from outside in a panic. When she saw her, she looked as if she had seen a ghost, and her face turned deathly pale.
Lu Jinlan sensed something amiss, his expression darkened, and he asked coldly, "What is it?"
Lou Yumin instinctively shook her head, then looked troubled and knelt down at her feet with a thud, saying in a trembling voice, "Maybe I misheard. He shouldn't... he shouldn't betray you."
What?! I got cheated on?!
Lu Jinlan felt a lump in her throat. "Explain yourself clearly and in detail."
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Author's Note: The title is "Son's Wife." The next chapter will be a new VIP chapter. Please support the official version. Thank you!
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