Chapter 13 I think you're just being delusional! ...
"So you're admitting that you did everything today?" Lou Zhongyan straightened up, his face showing anger. "Do you know what you're doing?"
Lou Xueying: "I know, I just... want to marry Marquis Wu'an."
"Is your brain filled with water, Lou Xueying?" Her frankness only infuriated Lou Zhongyan. "I won't even ask how you came to be interested in Marquis Wu'an. Fine, you're interested, but what kind of methods are these? Is this how respectable people do things? If you want to see him, just tell me. I'll find some excuse, organize a gathering, a flower-viewing party or garden party for men and women. You'll have plenty of opportunities! Why did you have to jump into the water? Have you considered your reputation?"
Lou Xueying remained silent.
"I even hinted to Marquis Wu'an for ages that he should marry you, but he just kept pretending not to understand and wouldn't budge. I thought he didn't want to take responsibility, but it turns out he was just reacting like that because he felt he was being forced into marriage!" Lou Zhongyan took a deep breath. "Before, your parents wanted to arrange a marriage for you, but you refused, saying you didn't want to get married so early, so your parents didn't force you, right? Now look at you, you've taken a liking to someone, but you don't even talk about love with them or let your parents send a matchmaker to ask for their opinion. You just come out and force them into marriage. Who taught you that?"
Lou Xueying's eyes reddened.
Seeing her on the verge of tears, Lou Zhongyan couldn't bring himself to say anything harsh. He could only angrily flick his sleeve and say, "I'm not saying this to scold you for being unchaste. I just don't understand why you would do such a thing. And do you even know Marquis Wu'an? Why are you in such a hurry to marry him? Marriage isn't just between you and him; it's between our two families! Do you know that His Majesty once intended to betroth a royal daughter to Marquis Wu'an, but Marquis Wu'an declined? Now look what's happened, Marquis Wu'an has turned around and arranged a marriage with our Lou family. What do you expect His Majesty to think?"
Lou Xueying sniffed slightly, but didn't say a word, only listening silently to the instruction.
Of course she knew her second brother was right, and his reprimand was entirely reasonable, but she couldn't explain her motives. Her only problem was that she had never done anything so bad in her two lifetimes, never schemed or plotted against anyone, which was why her first attempt at it seemed so clumsy and ridiculous.
"Sigh—" Lou Zhongyan sighed heavily and wiped his face. "What exactly did the Marquis of Wu'an do to you? You've gone mad and are in such a hurry to marry him?"
“He…he didn’t do anything,” Lou Xueying stammered. “I just saw him enter the city that day, and I…fell in love with him at first sight. I know many families want to marry him, and I’m afraid it’ll be too late…”
Lou Zhongyan: "Then why don't you just tell your parents? Do you think they definitely won't agree?"
Lou Xueying nodded.
Lou Zhongyan: "..."
To be honest, if the object of affection were the Marquis of Wu'an, the parents might actually disagree.
It wasn't that they looked down on the Marquis of Wu'an's background; after all, he had already been enfeoffed as a marquis, so his origins were no longer important. The main issue was that the Marquis of Wu'an had just arrived in the capital, and everyone was watching him closely. Even the emperor wanted to get involved in his marriage. One could imagine how much attention and gossip would be if the family he married wasn't from the royal family.
The Lou family isn't one to be so high-profile, nor do they need to rely on marriage alliances to solidify their position. Besides, Marquis Wu'an is a military general, while his entire family are civil officials. One is a fierce general who holds absolute power in the Northwest, and the other is a prestigious family that has been established in the capital for many years. If they were to make a mistake and be targeted by someone with ulterior motives... the consequences would be unimaginable.
However, it cannot be ruled out that Lou Xueying is so deeply in love with him that she will not marry anyone else, and that her parents eventually give in.
To some extent, Lou Xueying's foolish move not only put Marquis Wu'an in a difficult position, but also put her parents in a difficult position.
Lou Zhongyan rubbed his temples, looking troubled, and said, "You can't hide this from your parents. When you get home, just admit your mistake. If they ask you anything, just cry. I'll take care of the rest."
Lou Xueying stared at him blankly.
"What are you looking at? If you feel sorry for me and your parents, then think before you act in the future and stop causing us so much trouble. Especially, don't set a bad example for the children!"
Lou Xueying lowered her head and whispered, "...Never again."
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Li Residence.
"What did you say?" Mother Li's eyes widened. "You mean, you went to a birthday banquet today and ended up saving a young lady who fell into the water, and her brother wants you to marry her?"
Li Pan nodded heavily.
Unexpectedly, such a big thing happened after she took a nap. Li's mother patted her chest, composed herself, and continued to ask, "Which family's young lady is it?"
Li Pan: "She is the third young lady of the Lou family in the capital. She is eighteen years old this year. Her father is the Vice Director of the Imperial Secretariat, her grandfather is the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, and her great-grandfather was the Prime Minister. Her two older brothers are only in their twenties. One is a county magistrate in Yutian County, the capital region, and the other is a corrector in the Jixian Hall in the capital." He paused and then added, "The position of county magistrate in Yutian County is not one that just anyone can hold. It is used to build up seniority for officials in the capital."
Mother Li gasped. Of all the official titles, she didn't understand the others, only the titles of Prime Minister and County Commandant. It turned out that even the County Commandant was no ordinary person.
"If a family has produced a prime minister, wouldn't that be an incredibly powerful family?"
Lu Gui chimed in, “The Lou family is a renowned family with a history of over a century, a family of scholars and officials, with deep roots and high prestige in the capital. Although Miss Lou’s maternal family is not as prestigious as the Lou family, it is not an ordinary family either, and she even has a maternal uncle who was once a prince consort.”
"Oh my! It's really that amazing!" Mother Li slapped her thigh. "If Miss Lou falls into the water and you go to save her, all the guests will see it. Wouldn't that ruin Miss Lou's reputation? It's only right that her brother asks you to marry her!"
Li Pan sneered: "I saved her, and it turns out I'm the one who stole her innocence? So everyone's only happy if she drowns and her innocence is preserved?"
"How can you say such a thing?" Mother Li glared at him. "Of course you mean well, but it's a fact that you touched that young lady. If you don't marry her, how will she ever get married? Besides, what's wrong with marrying her? She's a respectable young lady from a wealthy family!"
Li Pan: "Mother, haven't you completely forgotten what I told you a few days ago? Do you think our family can afford to hire such a powerful figure?"
"That's a different matter!" said Li's mother. "Before, you were carefree, able to marry whomever you wanted and not marry whenever you wanted. But now that things have come to this, if you don't marry, what will people say about you? Won't you become a shameless scoundrel who took advantage and then refused to take responsibility? Besides, what's with that Lou family? Uh, a family of scholars and officials. Such a family should be very well-mannered, right? And you saved that young lady, and it was her brother who asked you to marry her. They wouldn't look down on us, would they?"
Li Pan twitched the corner of his mouth.
Li's mother frowned: "Why are you so unwilling? Is it because that young lady is very ugly?"
Li Pan: "On the contrary, she is a celestial being descended to earth."
"So that means she has a bad personality?"
"They haven't said more than a few words."
"So it's because her brother had a bad attitude?"
"That's quite polite."
"Then what are you arguing about!" Li's mother grabbed a back scratcher and hit Li Pan's arm. "Such a good family is offering themselves up for marriage. Your Li family's ancestors must be emitting auspicious smoke! Stop using your mother as an excuse. Your mother isn't some wicked mother-in-law. If you marry that pampered young lady and she really doesn't like me, I'll just move next door. I won't need her to serve me, and I won't get in her way or cause you two any trouble!"
Lü Gui also said, "Yes, my lord, why are you unwilling to marry Miss Lou? When I inquired earlier, everyone said that Miss Lou is gentle and virtuous, with extraordinary looks and character, and is proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Many young men want to marry her. It's just that her parents want to keep her here a little longer, which is why she hasn't married yet. Besides, my lord, you will be staying in the capital for a long time. If you were to form a marriage alliance with the Lou family, wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?"
Li Pan's face was grim, and he tapped the table with his knuckles: "I suspect that today's events were all deliberately orchestrated by the Lou family to force me into marriage."
Li's mother blinked blankly.
Lu Gui asked in surprise, "What do you mean by that, Lord Marquis? Could it be that Miss Lou's falling into the water was not an accident?"
“It doesn’t seem like an accident.” Li Pan shook his head. “I just told you that Miss Lou’s younger sister got lost and came to me, which is how I met Miss Lou. But think about it, Miss Lou’s younger sister is already eight years old, she’s not stupid. If she got lost in the Duke’s mansion, would she cry like that? Moreover, it doesn’t make sense that the two young ladies went out for a walk without any maids with them. Miss Lou is so pampered, she’s not getting up in the middle of the night to plow the fields, so how could she fall asleep leaning against a bamboo pole in the middle of the day? Most importantly, I pretended to go to the outhouse first, and then they went towards the bamboo forest. They clearly had been watching me from the beginning.”
Li's mother: "Then why is the Lou family forcing you into marriage? If they want to marry you, why don't they just find someone to act as a matchmaker?"
"How would I know!" Li Pan felt increasingly frustrated. "Maybe they heard that His Majesty intended to arrange a marriage for me, but I didn't agree, and they figured it was pointless to ask someone?"
Li's mother: "As Lu Gui just said, Miss Lou has no shortage of suitors, so why did the Lou family choose you over someone else?"
"Then I know even less! I've already had Old Lu inquire, and the Lou family has never married into the military!"
"I don't know, I don't know anything! The Lou family has been in the capital for so long, they're definitely more cautious than you. If they really wanted to force you into marriage, would you have seen through it? Why don't they just let that celestial Miss Lou bewitch you so much that you'd be head over heels for her and take the initiative to propose?" Mother Li rarely spoke so much in one breath, and she couldn't help but raise her back scratcher and hit Li Pan. "I think you're just deluding yourself! After arriving in the capital, people have been asking about your marriage every day, and you think you've become a hot commodity that everyone wants to snatch away? What kind of family is the Lou family? Do they need to risk the reputation of a young lady to force you?"
Li Pan laughed angrily: "Mother, what's wrong with you? When other people's sons become successful, they all flaunt their achievements and look down on everyone. But you're different. You don't flaunt your achievements and save me trouble, but we don't need to be so humble. Your son is very successful now and is especially useful. Don't always think we're not good enough for him."
Mother Li snorted: "Then let me ask you, the Lou family wants you to marry Miss Lou, but you refuse. Aren't you afraid of making enemies with the Lou family?"
Li Pan: "At worst, I'll just go back to the Northwest."
“Even if you go back to the Northwest, they can still control you! Didn’t you hear what Lü Gui said? He has deep roots in the capital. Who knows how he might deduct your military supplies and pay? Let’s see what you do!” Since her son became a high-ranking official, Li’s mother rarely had the chance to speak to him, especially after he came to the capital. She dared not disobey him. But today, she suddenly realized that she was in the right, and she got more and more excited as she spoke.
Li Pan gritted his teeth: "But I'm not willing to be forced into this situation!"
“You have no evidence, so how can you accuse them of forcing you?” Mother Li said. “Even if they were forcing you, wasn’t Miss Lou also arranged by them? If you refuse to marry her, she will lose her reputation. What if she has a moment of despair and hangs herself with a white cloth?”
Li Pan was speechless: "Mother, you really overthink things."
Li's mother: "Sigh, Shitou, try to think more positively. You're already twenty-eight. You'll have to get married sooner or later. What's wrong with marrying Miss Lou? I've listened for a long time and haven't heard anything bad about the Lou family, except for your unfounded suspicions."
Lu Gui chimed in, "Yes, my lord, think about it. If it really was a forced marriage, it was the Lou family who forced you. They needed you, so Miss Lou would definitely be obedient to you and the old lady after she married into the family. If it wasn't a forced marriage, then you are Miss Lou's true savior, and she has even less reason to treat you and the old lady badly."
Li Pan took a deep breath: "So after all this talk, you all think I should marry him, right?"
Li's mother muttered, "Anyway, I haven't seen any downsides to you marrying her yet, but I can think of several downsides to not marrying her."
"It's alright, it's alright, no rush." Lü Gui began to smooth things over. "Anyway, it's the Lou family who's in a hurry. Your Excellency might as well see the Lou family's attitude and then think it over carefully."
Li Pan slammed his fist on the table in frustration.
A note from the author:
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