Chapter 2 Taking Wives and Concubines
Guan Yi'an's face turned completely red.
He was intelligent from a young age, and despite his family's poverty, he still had many people who appreciated his scholarship.
He grew up surrounded by praise, envy, and flattery, and deep down he has a confident and superior sense of self-worth.
Three months ago, he passed the imperial examination with top honors and became engaged to Meng Lingge, the eldest daughter of the prime minister. He received even more praise and adulation, and his sense of superiority reached its peak.
The favor of the girls, the admiration of his friends, and the appreciation of the high-ranking officials gradually pushed him from confidence to arrogance, giving him the illusion that he could manipulate everyone with his wisdom.
When one's name is on the list of successful candidates, it is the wedding night.
Today should have been another glorious and triumphant moment in his life. But he was not satisfied with this. When he received Meng Huanyan's invitation, he knew there was a risk of being seen, but he still arrogantly believed that he could handle any unexpected situation.
But this unexpected turn of events was far beyond his expectations. He was naked in front of several burly military officers. He could cover his face but not his body, and he could cover his body but not his face. After being pushed around, his whole body was exposed. He was extremely humiliated.
"Gentlemen, we are all colleagues. Please do me a favor and return my clothes. Today's events are all a misunderstanding. Once I am dressed properly, I will give you a reasonable explanation."
Guan Yi'an tried his best to remain calm. Seeing that only a few military officers had arrived, he already had a plan in mind.
Although he was only a sixth-rank compiler in the Hanlin Academy, lower in rank than the military officers present, he still held the title of the top scholar in the imperial examination and was now marrying the prime minister's daughter. He was undoubtedly a rising star in the court. The military officers did not want to offend him completely, so after a moment's thought, they smiled and threw their clothes to him.
"Your Excellencies have shown me great kindness, and I will remember your words. To be honest, the girl in the bed is Meng Huanyan, the second daughter of the Prime Minister's family. We have always been in love and have mutual affection. However, before this, I was already engaged to the eldest daughter of the Meng family. I could not bear to see my parents and the eldest daughter of the Meng family heartbroken, so I could only keep my feelings to myself. Today, I married Huanyan's elder sister, and she lost control of her emotions and asked to meet me. We confessed our love to each other, and unable to control our feelings, we impulsively did something wrong..."
"Now that things have come to this, for the sake of the reputation of the two young ladies of the Meng family, I hope that you gentlemen will help me keep this matter a secret. Yi'an is not an irresponsible person who starts something and then abandons it. After I marry the eldest daughter of the Meng family, I will persuade her to agree to let me take Huanyan as a concubine."
Guan Yi'an quickly dressed while speaking eloquently.
He portrayed a scandalous affair—his affair with his bride's half-sister on their wedding day—as something more, turning him from a lecherous scoundrel into a helpless, tragic figure of a couple caught in the middle.
But no one present was stupid. Hearing his explanation, although they did not continue to insult him, their eyes were full of mockery and disdain.
“Everything Yi’an said is true. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Miss Meng.” Guan Yi’an turned to Meng Huanyan anxiously: “Huanyan, please explain to the officials quickly.”
Meng Huanyan was completely naked, huddled under the covers. Fortunately, when the military officers kicked the door open and shouted to capture the thief, Guan Yi'an covered her with the blanket. Otherwise, if these rude officers had seen her body, she would have been utterly humiliated.
Meng Huanyan was initially terrified and panicked that her affair had been discovered by so many people. However, Guan Yi'an's words struck a chord with her, making her truly feel the injustice and illusion of having her love stolen away and being unable to have the one she loved.
She peeked out from under the covers, her eyes filled with tears.
"It's true... Young Master Guan is not a lecherous scoundrel. I am willing to marry him, and I will serve Young Master Guan well with my elder sister..."
She wouldn't remain a concubine forever. Given Guan Yi'an's affection for her, replacing her elder sister was just around the corner. Now, with these adults as witnesses, Guan Yi'an was even more determined not to betray her. As long as there was hope for the future, what did it matter if she endured this temporary humiliation?
The military officers smiled, for everyone in the capital knew of Guan Yi'an's proposal to marry the eldest daughter of the Meng family. This display of affection between Guan Yi'an and Meng Huanyan evoked no sympathy from them, only a sense of absurdity and ridicule.
But since both parties are acting voluntarily, and it is a private matter for the Meng family, they really have no right to interfere.
As for concealing this matter? That was not something they needed to consider at all. With such a commotion along the way, how could they possibly hide it? Besides, those with good hearing already knew that there was a group of spectators rushing to the door.
"Excellent! I wondered who was so bold as to steal from the Prime Minister's residence. It turns out it was someone from Prime Minister Meng's own family, and what they stole wasn't gold or silver treasures, but a beautiful woman. We may have arrived a little late, but we didn't miss this good show."
"Prime Minister Meng's invitation today only mentioned the marriage of his legitimate daughter. Now that another illegitimate daughter is being married, we don't have time to go back and collect another gift. It seems we can only owe it to him for now."
"Oh, Lord Liu, you're mistaken. I just heard the top scholar say that we have to wait for the eldest daughter of the Meng family to agree before we can take the second daughter of the Meng family as our bride. As for your betrothal gifts, there's no need to rush..."
"Hahaha……"
Laughter erupted outside the door, followed by the entry of seven or eight civil officials. The last to enter was Meng Xingyuan, whose face was extremely ugly.
He looked at Guan Yi'an and Meng Huanyan with disappointment, the resentment in his heart still hard to dissipate.
Guan Yi'an visited him five times to propose marriage to Meng Lingge, the eldest daughter of the emperor. He admired Guan Yi'an's talent and was impressed by his infatuation and devotion to Lingge, which is why he finally agreed to the marriage.
But now this hypocrite actually did something outrageous with Huan Yan on their wedding day, and even claimed that he had always loved Meng Huan Yan and was forced to marry Ling Ge by circumstances. Such a double-dealing and treacherous face of a villain is truly disgusting!
And then there's the second daughter, Meng Huanyan. I asked her just a few days ago if she had anyone she liked, and she pretended to be obedient and docile, saying that she would leave everything to her parents. But at this crucial moment, she's seducing her brother-in-law. It's truly foolish and greedy.
Disgusting as it may be, and angry as it may be, things have already escalated to this point, so we can only continue down this wrong path.
It would be best to finish the wedding as soon as possible while Lingge is still unaware, so as to minimize the problem and resolve it peacefully.
After looking around the room, Meng Xingyuan forced a smile and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.
"I'm sorry for my foolishness. This is a young lady's private quarters, so it's not appropriate to talk here. Please come with me to the courtyard to talk."
The wind was biting cold, and fallen leaves were flying everywhere.
The courtyard of Ya Cui Residence was spacious, with two stone tables and several stone benches. Everyone sat down in turn, and Guan Yi'an, who was at the back, knelt heavily in front of Meng Xingyuan.
“Father-in-law, it is all my fault, I have wronged Lingge. But my feelings for Lingge and Huanyan are real. Lingge is gentle and dignified, and Huanyan is charming and lovely. I can’t bear to part with either of them. It is rare that they both have feelings for me. If you agree to marry them to me, I promise that I will only have the two of them for the rest of my life and will never have three wives or four concubines.”
Meng Xingyuan's face was gloomy. He had never thought of letting his two daughters marry the same man, but now it seemed to be the best solution.
He composed himself and said, "Get up. Today is your wedding day with Lingge, you must not let Lingge down. Since Huanyan is determined to follow you, you can bring a sedan chair to pick her up after your wedding."
Upon hearing this, Guan Yi'an felt relieved. He knew that Meng Xingyuan had agreed to marry Lingge to him and then take Huanyan as a concubine.
But before his smile could reach his lips, a clear and melodious voice came from outside the courtyard.
I disagree.
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