Chapter 14 The Prince Consort's Marriage Contract
“The princess is beautiful and innocent, and is wonderful in every way. However, I already have Yingniang. This world treats women extremely harshly, saying that a woman's reputation is more important than Mount Tai. Since Yingniang has come to my house and has been managing the Lu family for many years, I cannot betray her!”
Shen Si could barely hold back the tears welling up in her eyes. Not wanting to lose her composure and leave a bad impression on Lu Wensheng, she stubbornly said, "Since you are already engaged, Editor, please get off the carriage!"
"Princess, take care."
Lu Wensheng stood up, bowed as required, and then jumped off the carriage.
Over the years, she often stayed out all night in brothels and played around on the streets, causing trouble for many young ladies. It wasn't that no one wanted to marry her and sent matchmakers, but rather that they were all scared away by her deliberately ruined reputation. As a princess, Chen Si was well-informed and should know everything, yet she came to confess her love without any regard for the consequences, which shows that she truly liked her!
A complex sense of guilt welled up in Lu Wensheng's heart. This sincere affection was like a clear mirror, reflecting the huge lie she had hidden deep inside.
Shen Si's pure feelings for her were destined to be misplaced and unfulfilled; as a woman herself, she could never reciprocate.
The further Lu Wensheng walked, the clearer her mind became, and the more determined her steps became. She needed to discuss the marriage with Yingniang that evening. Originally, she had planned to choose an auspicious day to cancel the marriage she had arranged with Yingniang earlier.
At the same time, Li Yun, upon entering the carriage, tenderly comforted Chen Si, saying, "Your Highness, don't be sad. There will be someone better to take care of you."
"It won't happen again." Her long, raven-feather-like eyelashes drooped, concealing the despondency in her deep eyes.
For the past two weeks, she has been having the same dream. In the dream, she is constantly making terrible mistakes. Not only does she force her eldest brother to marry her, but she also blackmails him with his secrets every day and colludes with court officials to try to overthrow his throne.
She didn't love her eldest brother; her ultimate goal was simply to become empress. Just when she was about to succeed, she was imprisoned by her eldest brother and suffered endless retribution.
She initially thought it was just a normal nightmare, until reality unfolded exactly like her dream: her eldest brother staged a coup and organized a banquet identical to the one in her dream, thus eliminating most of the court without bloodshed.
She didn't want to get involved in court intrigues again, much less face the same fate. But a woman must eventually marry, so she set her sights on this Editor Lu, a figure who had never appeared in her dreams, but alas…
“Your Highness, don’t be discouraged,” Li Yun interrupted Chen Si’s thoughts. “Lu Bianxiu will definitely go on the Shangsi Festival on the third day of the third lunar month. Your Highness might as well make some more preparations. As long as you are not officially married, there is still room for maneuver.”
"You're right." She doesn't want to marry anyone who has even crossed her mind in her dreams; her husband must be Lu Wensheng!
As evening fell, wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys of every household.
When Lu Wensheng arrived home carrying the duck and milk ball, Song Zhiyun was washing scallions. "You're home so early today...and your clothes?" Song Zhiyun was startled.
She was wearing an official robe when she went out, but she changed her clothes when she came back in the afternoon. Has her identity been discovered? Is it too late for her to run away with Yingniang?
Lu Wensheng handed the item in his hand to Song Zhiyun, saying, "Be careful not to tear it when you go to court. This was a gift from His Highness the Crown Prince."
Song Zhiyun breathed a sigh of relief. "It's good that you're alright. Go wash your hands and eat. I'll go call Yingniang."
After the food on the table was finished, Lu Wensheng finally got down to business: "Yingniang, do you have someone you like right now?"
Yingniang paused in her biting of the milk ball.
Song Zhiyun was clearing away the bowls and chopsticks, and was about to tidy up the table when she heard this and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong? Can't make a living and are you planning to find a husband for Yingniang so she can get married and escape to a better place?"
"My mind is perfectly fine, how could I possibly have such an outrageous idea!"
Yingniang breathed a sigh of relief: "I don't have anyone I like." It's not that they want to marry her off; she feels that marriage is too boring now.
Lu Wensheng recited what he had already prepared: "This afternoon, I met Princess Yongjia in the square in front of the Meridian Gate. The princess directly asked me to be her consort. I am not young anymore. Since Yingniang does not have anyone she likes, I am thinking that after two months, when the situation in the court becomes clearer, I will marry Yingniang to silence the gossip."
Lu Wensheng lowered his voice to a whisper: "If Yingniang takes a fancy to any young man after the marriage, I'll buy her a farm and raise her there. Any children she gives birth to will be mine. If she wants to get married, I'll get her a new household registration so it will be easier for her to marry."
Yingniang swallowed the milk ball in her hand: "Alright, does my lord need a son? If so, I'll think of a way right now." Yingniang's words were tactful, but Lu Wensheng understood what she meant.
If she says she's short of children now, Yingniang will probably start thinking about how to get rid of the father and keep the son from tomorrow.
Lu Wensheng: "I don't lack anything, having a wife is enough. Children only have a meaningful life if they live the life they love, so don't do anything reckless."
Yingniang: "I know, I'm just asking."
Song Zhiyun slammed down her bowl and chopsticks: "You two are messing around. I said before that this marriage shouldn't have been arranged. Tomorrow morning I'll go to all the major escort agencies and send them a few more portraits of your brother, along with some extra benefits, to see if we can get any news back. Once your brother is found, whether you get the official position or not doesn't matter."
Lu Wensheng: "Putting my brother aside, if this marriage doesn't go through, the princess will go directly to the palace to request a decree to decree it. What am I going to use to marry her? What will we use for our wedding night? Radishes?"
Song Zhiyun said irritably, "I can't argue with your sharp tongue!"
After explaining the details of the wedding preparations, Lu Wensheng went to his room to write the memorials and marriage certificate that he would need for the next day.
The memorial to the throne was easy to write, but she really didn't know how to write the beginning and end of the marriage certificate, so she just wrote the middle part, piling up beautiful words and praises.
After finishing writing the marriage proposal and the memorial to the emperor, and with two major projects underway, Lu Wensheng worked until the moon was high in the sky.
She put down the wolf-hair brush in her hand, got up, stretched, and moved her legs and feet.
Worried that the thin marriage certificate, which had not yet been copied onto the wedding invitation, would be blown away by the wind, he had a flash of inspiration and simply folded the marriage certificate in half and inserted it into the memorial.
What did Shen Hegui say during the day?
It seems that it will be presented tomorrow morning, but it was not mentioned that it would be presented during court.
"Hiss—" According to this calculation, she doesn't need to attend court. She only needs to deliver the memorials to Shen Hegui or the Imperial Study in the morning.
Thinking this, Lu Wensheng took a chalkboard and wrote in white chalk: "Wake me up at the end of Mao Shi (5-7 AM), and prepare breakfast that I can take with me on the way."
The three members of the Lu family had completely different schedules. Lu Wensheng's schedule was unpredictable, sometimes early and sometimes late. Song Zhiyun slept little and usually got up at dawn. Yingniang was extremely fortunate, as she could get up whenever she wanted. Therefore, for the sake of communication, each member of the Lu family had a blackboard for leaving messages and a piece of white chalk made by Lu Wensheng in their room.
Song Zhiyun would leave breakfast for the two of them and write it on the inkboard. Yingniang would also leave a message when she went to the morning market. Lu Wensheng would also write on the inkboard the night before if he planned to buy some braised dishes after his shift the next day, so that his family would cook less dinner.
As night deepened, Lu Wensheng, who had been standing all day and thinking all night, fell asleep immediately.
Before going to sleep, she made a wish that the system would lock Shen Hegui in, allowing Shen Hegui to do missions. After all, she was human and could disguise herself as a man to become an official, and Shen Hegui was also human and could disguise herself as a woman to become a supporting female character. As for the male lead, someone else could be chosen instead.
A note from the author:
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It's fixed!
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