Chapter 2
Chapter 2
My brother laughed.
First, his shoulders shook, and then his entire body began to tremble.
It was the laugh of someone who had completely run out of options, someone who had gone mad.
As he laughed, his voice suddenly cut off.
With a face devoid of any expression, he pointed at me and began to curse.
“Zhao Changying, you’ve really outdone yourself… truly.”
He scolded me for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, using every word from “preposterous” to “bastard.”
After he finished with me, he turned and patted Lu Yuanhui on the shoulder, speaking with heavy earnestness.
“Minister Lu, you’ve spent over twenty years studying by the cold window, working hard from dawn until dusk. You finally made it through.”
He paused and sighed. “If you become the Prince Consort, you will truly be distanced from the imperial court.”
The Emperor cherished talent, and he favored the stubborn, practical type like Lu Yuanhui most of all.
After listening, Lu Yuanhui’s gaze remained calm as he began to speak.
“Your Majesty, Your servant is a traditional man.”
“Since childhood, I have read the books of the sages; I know shame and I value my reputation.”
“Now that things have come to this, there are only two paths.”
His voice wasn’t loud, but he spoke each word with the rhythmic precision of someone striking a wooden fish.
“First, Your servant dies. This would preserve my integrity and spare Her Highness from infamy.”
My brother’s eyebrow twitched.
“Second,” Lu Yuanhui turned to me, his eyes fixed on mine, “marriage.”
“Since we have already shared the reality of husband and wife, we should bear the title of husband and wife.”
“…”
My brother was speechless.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, then swallowed his words. He had likely never encountered a Zhuangyuan so stubbornly set in his ways.
The air grew still for a moment.
My brother rubbed his temples and looked at me, his eyes clearly saying: *You caused this mess, you deal with it.*
My throat felt dry.
I looked at Lu Yuanhui. His face was devoid of extra emotion; he was simply waiting.
He had the posture of someone saying, “It’s up to you, but I’m ready to die at any moment.”
My scalp tingled.
After a long silence, I heard my own voice, sounding dry and hollow.
“…Fine.”
“I’ll marry you.”
“This Princess shall take you as her husband.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I was the first one to be stunned.
Lu Yuanhui, however, suddenly bowed, performing a perfectly formal salute.
“Your servant thanks Your Highness for your grace.”
***
My brother led us back to the hall to draft the imperial edict.
Lu Yuanhui stood by the desk watching, his eyes scanning every single word like a measuring tape.
My brother’s brush paused, and he looked up. “Minister Lu, do you have an objection?”
Lu Yuanhui thought for a moment.
“I do.”
“I ask Your Majesty to add one more clause: within three years, the Princess Royal may not divorce Your servant, nor may she cast her husband out.”
My brother: “…”
I nearly choked. “On what grounds?!”
Lu Yuanhui turned to look at me. “My chastity is already lost. If I am abandoned as well, Your servant’s only option would be death.”
There he went again.
I shut my mouth.
My brother rubbed his face and resignedly added the sentence.
Once the edict was written, it was stamped with the seal.
Lu Yuanhui received it with both hands, reading it carefully three times.
Then he bowed. “Your servant thanks Your Majesty for granting this. Your servant takes his leave.”
He took two steps, then stopped and looked back at me.
“Your Highness, according to the rules, Your servant should move into the Eldest Princess’s Residence tonight.”
“…Huh?”
“It is convenient for the preparations,” he said, lowering his eyes. “And it prevents Your Highness from regretting your decision.”
With that, he actually left.
I glared at my brother.
My brother slumped back into his chair.
“Don’t look at me. You brought this on yourself.”
I stiffened my neck. “I won’t let him move in!”
“Then you go ahead and try,” my brother sneered. “Let’s see if he hangs himself from your rafters tonight or smashes his head against your front gates.”
I said nothing, only staring back in silence.