Chapter 13: If Liu Xiahui isn't one of my men, which manor should I return to? ...
The system thought for a moment: [Although I don't quite understand, what the host said seems to make a lot of sense.]
"Also, after I draw this card, how will the character corresponding to the card appear in front of me?" Yuan Yan continued to ask the system.
"Well... drawing a card doesn't actually mean you own that character. It just creates an opportunity for the host to meet that character. As for when and where you'll meet them, that's all unknown... and whether the host can ultimately recruit that character also largely depends on the host's own actions," the system explained.
"In other words, what you call gacha pulls only provides one possibility." Yuan Yan was speechless.
The system, embarrassed by her words, replied, "Well, I guess that's how it is..."
"Fine, I never expected anything from you anyway, I'll do it myself." After saying that, Yuan Yan stopped talking to the system, closed his eyes and began to rest.
...
The Prince of Qi's Mansion.
As soon as Yuan Jing returned to the palace, he immediately sought out his advisors to complain.
"Today, Yuan Yan not only snatched Young Master Lu away in public, but also slandered me in front of the Empress Dowager. As a result, I was reprimanded and all the officials in my household were punished. She is becoming more and more hateful."
"But the Empress Dowager is biased towards her, preferring to give Young Master Lu to her as a servant rather than marry him to me. She also did not punish Yuan Yan for his outrageous act of snatching a bride in the street. I, Yuan Jing, will never forget this humiliation of having my husband stolen... Does the Lady Historian have any way to teach me how to properly deflate her arrogance?"
“Your Highness, please calm down. Young Master Lu is handsome and talented, and he has the Lu family lineage behind him. It is indeed a pity to lose such a fine husband.” The advisor shook his head slowly. “However, looking on the bright side, this may not be a bad thing. Aristocratic families value their reputation the most. This time, Young Master Lu was bestowed the position of consort to the King of Yue instead of a chief minister. The Lu family will certainly consider this a disgrace and will not serve the King of Yue.”
"Your Highness can take this opportunity to win over the Lu family once again. In this way, although the King of Yue will gain the beauty, he will lose the Lu family behind her. Your Highness will still retain his position as the chief minister and can find another man from a prominent family to form a marriage alliance between the two families," the advisor said with a smile.
Hearing her words, Yuan Jing's anger and resentment gradually subsided. "What the lady says makes sense. I will listen to her."
...
When Yuan Yan returned to the Prince's residence, His Majesty's imperial edict had already been issued.
When the officials and guards learned that His Majesty would no longer pursue the crime of the Prince of Yue for abducting a bride, and that the Prince of Yue would be given the young master Lu as his principal wife, they were all waiting for her in the main hall.
"Congratulations, Your Highness! Congratulations, Your Highness!" Captain Yu was very eloquent and offered a string of congratulatory words to Yuan Yan.
"Oh, what's there to be happy about?" Yuan Yan glanced at her and asked.
"Of course, congratulations to Your Highness on winning back Young Master Lu, passing His Majesty's hurdle, defeating Prince Qi, and winning the beauty's heart," Captain Yu said gleefully, looking quite proud. "We are all happy for Your Highness!"
"Exactly!"
"Thanks to His Majesty's fairness, justice has been served for His Highness, and all of us sisters are overjoyed." The others echoed in agreement.
"Yu Liu, you little girl, you really know how to flatter me." Yuan Yan laughed at Yu Xiaowei's teasing. "Today, you risked your lives to kidnap the bride and made great contributions. I hereby reward you with one hundred taels of gold and fifty bolts of silk as a reward for your service."
Upon hearing this, everyone, including Xue Lang who was in charge, was overjoyed and thanked him profusely.
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness!"
[Host, look! Their loyalty has increased!]
“Isn’t this normal? Rewarding meritorious service lets the people below know the benefits of following you, which helps to consolidate their loyalty. This is also a strategy for governance,” Yuan Yan said.
"Fortunately, the Imperial Noble Minister left Yuan Yan a lot of good things back then, so he is not short of money unless something major happens. Otherwise, I would probably have an even bigger problem now."
The system thought about it and agreed.
After everyone below finished expressing their gratitude, Captain Yu noticed Yuan Yan's expression.
"Your Highness deserves to die. I was so busy congratulating you that I forgot you just took a concubine. I need to hurry and comfort your beauty... Concubine Lu has been arranged in the courtyard by the servants. Your Highness, please go ahead with your business. We will not disturb you any longer."
Lieutenant Yu assumed that Yuan Yan was distracted while talking to the system because he was in a hurry to see Lu Lingyue, so he smiled and pulled his colleagues to take their leave.
Xue Lang rebuked him: "Do you think His Highness is like you, with his mind filled with nothing but this kind of thing?"
“However, it is getting late. Your Highness has worked hard all night and should rest well. I will take my leave.” She said respectfully.
After all the officials of the Prince's Palace withdrew, Yuan Yan turned and went to the backyard.
[Host, what are you planning to do?]
"Of course I'm going to see my good husband... After all the effort I put into getting him here, what else can I do with him? I'm not a saint, I'm not going to just bring him here and keep him in my house for nothing."
As Yuan Yan spoke, he instructed a servant to lead the way to the courtyard where Lu Lingyue was being housed.
At this moment, Lu Lingyue was placed alone in the courtyard. The servants around him did not know his identity and simply served him food and water, without speaking to him.
He was in the inner courtyard, with no servants or attendants around, and was completely isolated from news. He was unaware of the contents of His Majesty's decree, nor did he know that he had been bestowed the title of Yuan Yan's consort.
Therefore, when Yuan Yan arrived, Lu Lingyue was still dreaming that Yuan Yan would let him leave.
“Your Highness, my mother must be very worried about my disappearance tonight. The Prince’s Mansion and the Lu family will be searching everywhere for me. As a kidnapped person, it is no longer possible for me to marry Prince Qi. Since Your Highness has achieved your goal, why not let me return to the Lu family?” Lu Lingyue saw Yuan Yan enter the room, stood up, and tried to persuade her.
"Who said the Qi Prince's Mansion and the Lu family are looking for you?"
"Because of the Lu family's affair of having one son marry twice, the Empress has already issued an edict to remove Lord Lu from his official post and punish him. You have also been bestowed the title of my consort. Today, you will be considered to have been accepted as my consort."
"Now you want to go back to your residence, but which residence are you referring to?" Yuan Yan mocked.
"What……"
His mother was dismissed from her post, and he was given the position of concubine. This devastating news left Lu Lingyue speechless, as if struck by lightning, and she stood there stunned.
He never doubted that Yuan Yan would lie to him, after all, the fact that Yuan Yan was able to return to the manor unharmed at this moment already spoke volumes about the final outcome.
Given Lu Lingyue's intelligence, it's impossible that she couldn't have guessed that Yuan Yan had likely confirmed the engagement to His Majesty, leading to this outcome.
Even a concubine is less desirable than a junior official... Aristocratic families pride themselves on their social standing, and men from the Lu family typically marry women of equal rank as their principal wives. Even if they enter the imperial court, they are mostly high-ranking officials, and it is absolutely impossible for them to become lowly concubines.
Now that he had been personally demoted by the Emperor to the rank of Attendant, Lu Lingyue felt all her strength drain away and her eyes became vacant.
So what was the point of him spending the last ten years or so diligently practicing his talents, attending poetry gatherings and banquets, and building his reputation, all at his mother's insistence?
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