Chapter 9 Unfilial Daughter! Kneel down! What wrong have I done?
Having shaken off his pursuers, Yuan Yan met up with Xue Lang and his men at a certain spot. He then threw Lu Lingyue off her horse and had Xue Lang take her away.
Lu Lingyue, a weak man, had never ridden such a fast horse before, let alone been tossed around like cargo. After dismounting, he felt dizzy and disoriented.
Despite his discomfort and pale face, he grabbed Yuan Yan's sleeve.
"Your Highness, please don't make another mistake. While there's still time, please release me. Otherwise, when His Majesty questions me later, you will surely face severe consequences for such a serious crime."
"Moreover, the two families are bound by marriage, not enmity. Your Highness forcibly taking me here is to trample on the face of both the Lu family and the Prince of Qi."
"If Your Highness and Prince Qi, even your own sisters, were to have a falling out because of a mere man like me, I would be guilty even if I were to die a thousand deaths," Lu Lingyue earnestly advised Yuan Yan, standing on her side.
"Please, Your Highness, let me go back..."
However, Yuan Yan laughed in response to his kind words of advice.
"It's no use, it's too late."
"Ling Yue, you should have known when you got engaged to me that I am a madman, a madman who is capable of anything. Since you have provoked me, you should be prepared to suffer my revenge."
"Now that you've been abducted by me in front of everyone, you're already mine. Even if I let you go back now, what difference would it make? Who would want a man who was snatched away on his wedding day?"
Yuan Yan looked down at him from his high position, revealing the bloody truth without any mercy, his eyes filled with both cynicism and pity.
Lu Lingyue knew in her heart that what she said was the truth, and a look of despair involuntarily rose to her face as she helplessly let go of her hand.
Both he and Yuan Yan were caught in a situation beyond their control due to their social positions and circumstances. Clearly, breaking off the engagement would have been best for everyone, so how did things gradually turn out this way...?
Yuan Yan looked at Lu Lingyue, who was in a daze, and ignored him, instead turning his gaze to Xue Lang.
"Xue Dianjun, take Lady Lu back first. I will go to the palace to resolve this matter and then return."
Upon hearing that Yuan Yan was going to enter the palace at this critical juncture, Xue Lang was very worried. "Your Highness, His Majesty is furious if we go to the palace now. Why don't we wait a while?"
"No need to worry, now is the best time. I'm confident I can make it. I'll be right back." Yuan Yan said, without even glancing at Lu Lingyue, and rode off alone towards the palace.
On the way, the system, which had been holding back for so long, finally couldn't take it anymore and started yelling in a frenzy.
[Ahhh, host, what are you doing?! The solution you mentioned earlier... is it to steal the bride?!]
“Yes, I wouldn’t give my things to anyone else even if they were destroyed.” Yuan Yan smiled easily. “The same goes for people.”
【No, host, how did you manage to say such cold and terrifying things with your 37-degree mouth... You only felt good when you were stealing people, did you think about the consequences of doing so?】The system was completely insane.
【You just abducted someone, and now the emperor's decree to punish you has been issued. Prince Qi hates you so much, and you're a major rival in the succession struggle. With this leverage, she'll definitely try to kill you. You're prepared to pay with your life, aren't you?】
"Even if you wanted to abduct Lu Lingyue, couldn't you at least cover your face or something...? Why did you have to do it with your bare face, right there in the street, in front of so many people? Now even if the emperor wanted to be lenient, he can't." The system's voice revealed genuine exhaustion as it spoke weakly.
"Wrong. I'm afraid it won't be me who gets exposed, but Yuan Jing and the others. The bigger this matter gets, the more I'll benefit," Yuan Yan said casually.
However, no matter how the system calculates, it cannot find any other possibilities.
Clearly, the plan to abduct the bride is now a dead end.
At this moment, it didn't believe Yuan Yan's words at all and already felt like it was giving up.
"Fine, I don't care anymore. At worst, I'll die with you. You've only been here a few days and you've already ruined yourself. I've never had a host as troublesome as you before. Never mind what I said, you can clean up your own mess," the system said in despair.
...
Inside the main hall.
Yuan Jing and several ministers were accusing Yuan Yan of publicly abducting his bride to the emperor.
"...Mother, my second sister dared to do this in public, clearly showing no respect for me as her elder sister. I don't care if I lose face, but the dignity of the royal family cannot be compromised!" Yuan Jing cried.
The other ministers echoed, "We implore Your Majesty to issue an edict immediately to punish the King of Yue for the crime of abducting a bride, so as to uphold the authority of the royal family and restore justice to the King of Qi and the Lu family."
Yuan Hao rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
Today should have been a joyous day for King Qi to marry the chief minister. Everyone inside and outside the palace was beaming with happiness, and even she herself had drunk a couple of extra cups in her joy. Who would have thought that such a thing would happen halfway through the wedding procession?
When Yuan Hao first heard this, he thought he had misheard. Even if Yuan Yan was really that audacious, how could he have managed to kidnap someone with so many guards around?
Only now, when King Qi, Lu Yingkan, and a host of ministers entered the palace to impeach Yuan Yan, did she finally believe that such a thing had really happened.
“Your Majesty, I have only one legitimate son. I have raised him with the utmost care since he was a child. Now he has been kidnapped by the Prince of Yue and his whereabouts are unknown. My heart is breaking as if my flesh has been torn out… Your Majesty must do justice for my Lu family…” Lu Yingkan followed closely behind, tears streaming down his face.
Yuan Hao felt a little ashamed after hearing her words, and could only comfort her, saying, "Minister Lu, if this is really the case, I will definitely punish this rebellious woman severely and will not tolerate her."
Just then, a palace attendant announced to the emperor, "Your Majesty, His Highness the Prince of Yue requests an audience."
Yuan Yan actually dared to enter the palace at this time? Has she lost her mind?!
A hint of suspicion flashed through Lu Yingkan's mind.
Now that Yuan Yan has entered the palace, where is her Yue'er?
The other ministers also sensed something amiss and fell silent.
After doing such a thing, how dare you swagger around here? Yuan Yan, how could you... Yuan Jing's hands unconsciously clenched when he heard Yuan Yan's name.
"Let her in," Yuan Hao said.
Therefore, when Yuan Yan entered the palace, the atmosphere became extremely tense. The ministers present remained silent, and Lu Yingkan and Prince Qi, Yuan Jing, were both staring at her with hostility in their eyes. Presumably, if the emperor had not been present, they would have torn Yuan Yan apart.
"You wicked girl! Kneel down!" Yuan Hao raised his voice and coldly rebuked her as soon as he saw the culprit, Yuan Yan.
"Your subject greets Your Majesty, please calm your anger."
Upon seeing this display of force, Yuan Yan had already guessed what was going on. He readily bowed and asked, "I do not know what mistake I have made that has angered Your Majesty so much."
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