CHAPTER 120: CHAPTER 119: THE AUSPICIOUS WEDDING DAY

"Grand Commander..."

Meng Qianqian hesitated, as though she wanted to say something but stopped.

Lu Yuan cast a chilly glance at her. "What? Thinking of reneging?"

Meng Qianqian asked, "Why didn’t the Grand Commander dodge?"

Lu Yuan replied with a frosty tone, "Would this Commander deign to dodge a mere iron rod?"

Meng Qianqian envisioned a scene where Lu Yuan was panicked, shouting for help and scurrying to evade. That indeed... would have seemed undignified.

"Your martial arts are unparalleled—how could a simple iron rod harm you? And where was Yu Zichuan? Where was Lord Shangguan? And the Jinyi Guard?"

Meng Qianqian fired off a series of soul-searching questions.

Lu Yuan, leafing through the marriage contract, said indifferently, "Even the most skilled can slip, just as a horse can stumble."

Meng Qianqian muttered, "Horses may stumble, but when do a whole herd stumble at once?"

Lu Yuan’s voice turned icy. "Say that again."

Meng Qianqian instantly backed down. "The Grand Commander is so magnanimous and tolerant—Little Nine is in awe."

That her Third Uncle had even drafted a marriage contract was beyond her expectation.

Her parents had long passed, and her biological uncle indeed had the authority to arrange her marriage. Unless her grandfather and Second Uncle rushed from You State to intervene, but if that happened, odds were she’d be taken back to You State.

But with her deep vendetta unavenged, she couldn’t leave the Capital City.

Lu Yuan spoke, "If you’re worried about ruining your reputation, you can refuse."

Meng Qianqian asked, "If I refuse, what will happen to Little Nine’s uncle?"

Lu Yuan smirked. "What do you think?"

In truth, her reputation was the least of her concerns. She had no intention in this life of falling for any man. Marrying Lu Yuan was merely a different way of working for him.

Compared to marrying another man to tend to the household and raise children, staying by Lu Yuan’s side would grant her more autonomy.

Besides, Steward Cen wasn’t entirely wrong. Many truths she could never reach would be easily accessible as the wife of the Governor Mansion.

What’s more, Lu Yuan was merely using her to deal with Miaojiang, and there was no real intention of making her his soulmate couple.

A transaction, where both parties got what they needed.

Upon leaving the Governor Mansion, Meng Qianqian returned to Fengshui Alley.

Nanny Li, Uncle Meng, and Seventh Granduncle immediately sprang to their feet.

Seventh Granduncle asked nervously, "Third Girl, did you retrieve the marriage contract?"

They had already heard about the marriage contract from Meng Tianlan.

Meng Qianqian shook her head.

Uncle Meng, his expression complicated, said, "Third Miss, are you really going to..."

"That Lu Yuan!" Nanny Li cursed the Grand Commander hundreds of times inwardly once more. As for Meng Tianlan, she’d already given him a tongue-lashing directly, scolding him so thoroughly it could be said his head was drenched.

"No, I must go teach Old Third Meng another lesson!"

Seventh Granduncle, still enraged, went off to reprimand Meng Tianlan again.

Meng Qianqian said to Nanny Li and Uncle Meng, "Nanny, Uncle Meng, you don’t need to grieve for me. Marrying the Grand Commander isn’t actually a bad thing."

Nanny Li’s eyes turned red. "After all he’s forced you, and you still say it isn’t a bad thing?"

Meng Qianqian replied, "Nanny, remember when Miss Zhou came to visit me last time? You must have overheard what she said—His Majesty wants me to enter the palace as his concubine."

Uncle Meng was taken aback. "Is that so?"

Meng Qianqian skirted around the issue. "His Majesty lost his way and happened to stay here for a night. The next day, his biological mother sent over gifts—at that time, I should have been alert."

Uncle Meng, hearing this, assumed the Emperor had fallen for their young miss’s beauty.

Meng Qianqian whispered to the tearful Nanny Li, "Better to marry into the Governor Mansion than step into the bone-devouring Imperial Harem. And with Bao Shu’s affection, life in the Governor Mansion won’t be too harsh for me."

Thinking of Bao Shu calmed Nanny Li somewhat. "That child does have a connection with you, Miss. Fine, at least being the Grand Commander’s wife means you’ll be a proper spouse. Entering the palace, no matter how glamorous, there’s always the Empress to suppress you, and His Majesty’s biological mother isn’t easy to get along with either. By the way, do you know anything about the Grand Commander’s parents or family?"

This question stumped Meng Qianqian.

She only knew his mother was in Miaojiang; his father and other family members were never mentioned by him.

The fact he never brought it up didn’t mean they didn’t exist.

But judging from Lu Yuan’s attitude towards Miaojiang, he clearly intended to act first and report later.

Uncle Meng glanced at Meng Qianqian and said to Nanny Li, "Nanny Li, she’s just a young lady. How could she bring herself to inquire about these things? Tomorrow, I’ll go with Granduncle and Old Third to visit the Governor Mansion."

Nanny Li bristled. "What for? When has the bride’s family gone to the groom’s house for inquiries? They should be coming to us!"

Uncle Meng thought to himself, That’s the Governor Mansion we’re talking about. Would they really deign to come to us first?

Uncle Meng truly didn’t grasp the sheer power of the Governor Mansion. Back then, when Old Master Lu came to You State to propose, even with only a modest dowry, not a single soul dared laugh at him or the Meng Family—because he was a Capital Official.

Anyone who could summon Lu Lingxiao with a word and whip him with ninety lashes had to be an unimaginably powerful official.

To everyone’s astonishment, the next morning at dawn, Steward Cen arrived personally.

"I should’ve come yesterday, but the dowry list wasn’t finalized. I worked overnight to get it done. Here it is—Clan Patriarch and Third Master, please have a look. If there’s anything unsuitable, I’ll revise it immediately."

Seventh Granduncle and Meng Third Master stared dumbfounded at the dowry list that, unfolded, took up an entire table in length.

Nanny Li, who had planned to start scolding, suddenly found herself unable to say a word.

Governor Mansion.

Lu Yuan sat in the study, reading the marriage contract, while Bao Shu crawled around on the floor.

Today, Bao Shu was not her sulky "Treasure Piggy" self. She was merrily rolling all over the place—crawling a few steps, rolling once, flipping a somersault—it was all a game to her!

When the Director of the Observatory entered the study, Bao Shu happened to somersault to his feet, ending up flat on her back and staring up at him.

The Director froze nervously, his foot just shy of touching Bao Shu.

If it were anyone else, they’d be terrified of provoking this notoriously hard-to-please young mistress of the Capital City. But unexpectedly, all Bao Shu did was roll away with another somersault.

The Director breathed a sigh of relief.

Bowing to Lu Yuan, he said, "Greetings, Grand Commander. May I ask the purpose of your summons?"

Lu Yuan asked, "Are there any forthcoming auspicious dates?"

The Director replied, "The auspicious date would depend on the event."

Lu Yuan said, "A wedding."

The Emperor was set to marry the Yao Family’s legitimate daughter as the Empress, a fact everyone knew. The Director had just finalized the date and planned to submit it in court the next day.

Since Lu Yuan asked, he saw no harm in divulging it early.

"The sixteenth of next month, the ninth of June, and August..."

Lu Yuan closed the marriage contract. "The sixteenth of next month."

The Director smiled. "Excellent choice, Grand Commander. The sixteenth of next month is indeed the most auspicious date. If the Emperor and Empress were to wed on this day, it would bless them with eternal harmony and prosperity."

The only issue was that it was a bit rushed. But with Consort Li’s meticulous planning, it was presumed everything had already been prepared.

Lu Yuan scoffed coldly. "Who said it was for the Emperor and Empress?"

The Director was taken aback. "Then... for whom is the wedding date being chosen?"

Lu Yuan arched an eyebrow and slapped the marriage contract onto the desk. "For me."

The Director: "..."