SEC Chapter 282 The Only Wife
Chapter 282 The Only Wife
Lu Mingyang continued, "Your Majesty is willing to arrange a marriage for me. I am flattered. However, my brothers and sisters are not at home, so I dare not accept the favor. Can we wait until my brother returns to the court before arranging the marriage?"
Since ancient times, parents' orders were followed, and when parents were no longer around, the elder brother became like a father. Her request was not excessive.
The emperor's face turned cold. "In the battle against the Xiongnu, the Marquis of Bei'an, as the commander-in-chief, ordered the Marquis of Lu Jun to garrison Ningwu. The Marquis of Lu Jun disobeyed orders and led his troops to Pingjing Pass without authorization. Back then, Lu Shao was the same, insisting on starting a war without authorization. Now, humph, you people in the Marquis of Chengyang's Mansion are really..."
The emperor didn't say it out loud, but the way he lip-synced clearly showed that he was a traitor. His sneer covered it up.
Is this a threat?
If he refused, he would punish his third brother for disobeying military orders.
Lu Mingyang broke out in a cold sweat and kowtowed, saying, "Brother, you are naturally overjoyed to have received the news. I, your humble servant, would like to thank Your Majesty for your grace on your behalf."
"Good!" The emperor smiled. "Three days from now will be a good day. Yuanrui will then marry the fourth daughter of the Lu family."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Song Wei and Lu Mingyang kowtowed together.
Prince Guangcheng looked at his eldest brother, then at his uncle, then ran to Lu Mingyang and asked curiously, "Sister Yang, aren't you my eldest sister-in-law? Why did the emperor want you to marry my uncle?"
Lu Mingyang looked up at Chu Mingzheng. She was kneeling and he was standing. She couldn't see his face clearly, and she didn't dare to look at him again, so she quickly looked away.
Song Wei said, "Your Highness, call me aunt."
Lu Mingyang said angrily, "Sir Song, stop talking nonsense."
Song Wei knelt back, held Lu Mingyang's hand, and said affectionately, "Yang'er, in my heart, you are my only wife."
After saying that, he looked at Chu Mingzheng provocatively.
"Hurry up and leave!" came the emperor's cold voice.
"Yes, Father." Prince Guangcheng responded and pulled Chu Mingzheng away. Song Wei also let go of Lu Mingyang's hand.
The carriage slowly drove away, and Yang Nianshu climbed onto the platform. She wanted to comfort her second sister, but she didn't know how to start. Lu Mingyang turned and looked at the eight hundred female soldiers below the platform. They all looked listless.
Day and night of training, full of expectations, could not get a single glance in return. If it weren't for the marriage granted to him, the emperor would not even remember there was such a group of people, and would not even bother to show them contempt.
Watching the troops is nothing but a joke.
Lu Mingyang blinked his sore eyes, stood up, and said loudly, "Others may deceive me, but I will not deceive myself. You must continue to train and never slack off. One day, you will get everything you want. This is my promise to you."
Lu Mingyang looked up at the sky.
Emperor, one day, I will let you know that a marriage contract means nothing. It will only laugh at your ridiculousness.
……
"Second sister, are you okay?"
On the way back to Chengyang Marquis Mansion, Yang Nianshu saw that his second sister was neither crying nor making a fuss, and was eerily calm, which made him worried.
"It's alright, go ask Uncle Zhong to do some shopping." Lu Mingyang said with a smile, "The Emperor has granted us a marriage, so we have to make it lively and avoid gossip. Third brother still has to serve as an official in the court, so we don't want to make things difficult for him."
"Second sister!" Yang Nianshu frowned, "Are you really going to marry Song Wei?"
"What else can she do?" His Majesty has granted her a marriage, what else can she do? Is she going to raise an army and rebel? Lu Mingyang smiled bitterly: "Nian'er, do you still remember what happened?"
"What?" Yang Nianshu was a little confused.
"Dad married me to Butcher Zheng in exchange for a betrothal gift of ten taels so that my younger brother could go to school. Aunt Liu brought me back so that I could be her daughter's dowry. The Emperor married me to the Xiongnu to appease their hatred. The Queen Mother married me to Prince Ningyuan so that I could serve her dying grandson and carry on his family line. Chu Mingzheng married me to win over my father's old subordinates. The Emperor married me to Tian Qing in order to frame Chu Mingzheng. And now, he wants me to marry Song Wei so that my third brother..."
At this point, Lu Mingyang couldn't continue. He burst into laughter while crying. "I just can't understand it. I'm a living person with hands and feet. What can't I do? Why do all the people in the world, when they think of a use for me, give me to a man?"
Yang Nianshu was stunned, tears streaming down her face. "Second sister, you're not the only one like this. All women in the world are like this."
"Yeah, it's always like that." Lu Mingyang thought of Jing and the eldest princess, slammed his palm on the table, and said angrily: "It's always like this, is it right?"
"Second sister, what should we do?" Yang Nianshu asked.
"Have a meal."
"what?"
"What?" They could do nothing but complain. Lu Mingyang gradually calmed down: "After dinner, let's go shopping."
It’s just marrying a man, what can change?
One day, she would pull the emperor down from the throne and let him know the consequences of offending her.
"Second sister, you look so scary."
Seeing his second sister's face sullen as she stuffed bags and bags into the carriage, Yang Nianshu worriedly grabbed her arm. Lu Mingyang brushed her hand away with disdain and continued to the next store.
"What are you trying to scare me about? I'm telling the Emperor how satisfied I am with his arranged marriage."
Yang Nianshu gently tugged at her sleeve and asked softly, "Will Your Highness be sad if he knows?"
"Why is he sad?" He didn't even come to see me. Lu Mingyang yelled a few words, but soon he became depressed. At night, he lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
She knew that Chu Mingzheng was right not to come to see her, but she felt really uncomfortable when she didn't see him coming.
Yang Nianshu sensed her low mood and asked, "Second sister, are you sad?"
"Go to sleep!"
The Emperor had granted him a marriage, so what could he do? Why was he expecting anything? Lu Mingyang stopped thinking about it. The next morning, he led his men to decorate the Chengyang Marquis Mansion.
She had been married so many times, but only this time was the Chengyang Marquis's Mansion decorated with joy.
After a busy day, Lu Mingyang stood in the front hallway, looking at the spacious and bright courtyard, and asked Zhong Bo: "What do you think, should I hold a wedding banquet?"
Worried that the fourth young lady would be upset, everyone in the Chengyang Marquis's mansion was making arrangements, and they didn't dare to utter a word. Unexpectedly, the fourth young lady actually brought it up on her own initiative.
Uncle Zhong tried to speak, asking, "Fourth Miss, are we qualified to hold a pavilion banquet?"
According to the rules, a wedding banquet is always held for the wife when she gets married. I have never heard of a wedding banquet being held for a concubine.
Just as Lu Mingyang was thinking, a servant ran over.
"Fourth Miss, Madam Song from Duke Song's Mansion is here."
"What is she doing here?" Lu Mingyang glanced at Uncle Zhong and ordered, "Please let her in!"
Supported by her maid, Zheng Xuan walked into the Chengyang Marquis's residence with her head held high and her arrogance in the air. She walked up to Lu Mingyang and shouted with a smile, "Hurry and bring him in."
Two rows of servants filed in, carrying wooden boxes with large red flowers on them one after another. Soon, the whole yard was filled with them.