Chapter 40 Engagement
Because there was no solid evidence, the prince insisted that he killed him out of love and hate, and confessed his guilt and was imprisoned.
Lu Weiqing had no intention of finding fault with the Marquis' Mansion at this moment. There was a more important matter that needed to be completed urgently.
The recent events, one after another, made Lu Weiqing feel more and more that there were too many bastards coveting Jiang Ran, and he must marry her home as soon as possible and protect her well.
So when he returned to Chang'an, he asked Madam Lu to act as a matchmaker, and three hundred boxes of betrothal gifts were brought into the Jiang family. There were not only the usual land deeds, gold, silver, jewelry, silks and satins, but also some rare items that even Jiang Ran had never seen before, and he didn't know where he collected them from.
"Ah Ran, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory calculated that three days from now will be a good day for the wedding. If you miss it, it will be this time next year."
"This is my engagement letter. Let me take yours back." Lu Weiqing lied without blinking and handed the engagement letter to Jiang Ran calmly.
If it weren't for the fact that the marriage certificate step couldn't be skipped, he would have wanted to get married tomorrow.
Jiang Ran was stunned. "Three days later? So soon! I haven't even embroidered my wedding dress yet."
Lu Weiqing walked over to an ebony chest with silver-plated corners and took out a large gown with a gold-embroidered cloud-shoulder pattern and lotus flowers. "I've prepared your wedding dress. Try it on to see if it fits you."
Jiang Ran had no choice but to go into the house to try on the dress. The wedding dress was elegant and luxurious. It felt heavy when she put it on, and it fit her surprisingly well.
"Miss, this wedding dress looks like it was custom-made. It takes so much time to embroider the pattern that even if several embroiderers worked at the same time, it would take a year or two."
Tao Li's eyes lit up with surprise as she said mysteriously, "Those betrothal gifts can't be prepared in a short time. Sir Lu, could it be that you've been attracted to Miss for a long time?"
"Don't talk nonsense. I see that you have read too many storybooks." The joy on Jiang Ran's face faded a little. He probably took so much trouble, and it was probably prepared for that girl, but she stole her love.
She shook her head and threw away the distracting thoughts.
Their marriage was arranged, and it was Lu Weiqing who betrayed the girl. What was wrong with her being the only one to waste time on internal affairs?
When he changed his clothes and went out, Jiang Ran looked back to normal.
"Thank you, sir. The wedding dress fits me perfectly."
Jiang Huan was dissatisfied with Lu Weiqing's hasty wedding arrangements, but his anger subsided when he saw that he had considered everything carefully.
He solemnly handed the engagement letter he had prepared to Lu Weiqing, and did not forget to say something rude.
"This Engagement Letter must be kept safe. If anything unexpected happens within three days, we'll have to consult our ancestors again."
According to the custom of the Zhou Dynasty, the marriage certificates were exchanged and placed before the ancestral tablets. If both families were safe and sound, the marriage was considered complete.
At this time, Jiang Ran didn't know that after Lu Weiqing brought her engagement letter back home, he placed it under his pillow and guarded it every day, not allowing anyone to touch it.
In addition, he also specially instructed the Jinwu Guards to patrol strictly and be on duty 24 hours a day. Not only were the Lu and Jiang families safe, but all the bandits in Chang'an were wiped out.
As soon as Lu Weiqing left, the Jiang family was busy storing the betrothal gifts, and even the warehouse was full.
Jiang Ran watched from the side for a while. She was relieved that Nanny Yue and Tao Li were taking care of the storage of the gift list. But for some reason, she felt a little empty in her heart.
She had imagined the scene of her marriage many times, but she never expected it to be like this.
Jiang Ran was sitting by the pond, bored, feeding the fishes, when she suddenly saw a head pop up from the wall. The hair was covered with jewels and jade, which dazzled her eyes.
Those round almond-shaped eyes were rolling around, but when they saw her, they shrank back furtively.
Jiang Ran recognized Princess Le'an and guessed that she must be feeling bad knowing about their marriage.
Princess Le'an never expected that her curiosity in coming to see what Lu Weiqing had given her would lead to Jiang Ran's misunderstanding.
The yard was filled with betrothal gifts, and she spotted at a glance the small bow inlaid with rubies. She had asked Lu Weiqing for it several times in the past two years, but he was reluctant to give it to her. Now he was eager to deliver it to her door.
The princess decided to extort some money from the prince, but she had to rely on her brother.
Over there, Lu Yu learned that his uncle was proposing marriage today, so he started smashing things early in the morning. The vases and cups in the room were broken all over the floor, and he went to the study angrily.
Lu Yu also knew that he would take part in the imperial examination after the new year, which was a good opportunity for him to show off, but he was upset and had no literary inspiration, and the pen in his hand was completely out of control.
As he threw away the umpteenth piece of wasted rice paper, a soft and charming voice came from beside him.
"Lu Lang, don't be impatient while studying. I will always be by your side."
"A Ran?" Lu Yu turned around excitedly, only to find that it was Xu Qingwan standing next to him.
He made no effort to hide his disappointment and asked coldly, "Xu Qingwan, why are you here?"
When Xu Qingwan heard him calling Jiang Ran's name, she was so angry that her mouth twisted. But she remembered her mother's instructions and suppressed her anger.
"The imperial examination is coming soon. I heard you've been a little nervous lately. I feel bad for your hard work studying, so I specially made some Tremella soup for you."
Xu Qingwan took out a bowl of still warm Tremella soup from the food box and handed it to Lu Yu, "Try it while it's hot."
"Who said I was nervous? Don't listen to my mother's nagging. I will definitely pass the imperial examination this time!"
Lu Yu never liked sweets and was upset, so he deliberately knocked over the Tremella soup and splashed it all over Xu Qingwan.
"Ah--" Xu Qingwan screamed, her hand loosened, and the bowl smashed to pieces.
She guessed that Lu Yu was taking his anger out on her because of Jiang Ran's engagement.
She is not the type to tolerate others. She will not be able to get over this if she is treated so harshly before they even get married.
Xu Qingwan took a deep breath and yelled, "Lu Yu! Are you a man?!"
"If you like Jiang Ran, go after him. You're engaged to me, and you're turning your back on me. Who the hell are you? You're not even as good as your uncle's little toe!"
"Must be in high school? Is that a big deal?"
"Excuse me, Lu Yu, how old are you? When your uncle was the same age as you, he had already won the top three places in the imperial examinations and reached a high position in the government. No wonder Jiang Ran looked down on you. Anyone with eyes would choose Lu Weiqing!"
These words, every word, were like a knife stabbing into Lu Yu's heart.
He opened his mouth several times, and his hand, which was pointing at Xu Qingwan, was shaking badly, but he still couldn't find the words to refute.
He was not as good as his uncle, and he had always known it.
Lu Weiqing was a huge mountain standing in front of him. No matter how hard he tried, he could never get over it.
But my uncle is so outstanding, Jiang Ran never even looked at him before!
Lu Yu racked his brains but couldn't understand why things turned out like this?
He stared at the person in front of him with bloodshot eyes, "Xu Qingwan, you like my uncle, right?"
Xu Qingwan felt guilty for a moment when she heard the question, but she didn't expect that Lu Yu didn't need her answer at all.
He then yelled, "It's no use even if you like me! My uncle never even looked at you straight in the eye."
"Xu Qingwan, you are only worthy of marrying me. No, my family proposed marriage because you fell into the water and I saved you. Do you remember?"
"If your father wasn't the Prime Minister, do you think I would marry you!?"
Tears streamed down Xu Qingwan's face. She raised her hand, slapped Lu Yu hard, and ran out of the door.
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