Chapter 405: Chapter 226: Ah~ So It’s Yue’Er I’m Marrying! Mother, Why Didn’t You Say So Sooner
Lu Yuan caught General Guangwei’s Heavy Hammer with his bare hands.
The Crown Prince, Gu Biao, opened his eyes wide. He was so astonished by the scene that for a moment, he wondered if Lu Yuan was even a member of the Human Race.
The Beast Race was able to occupy its own territory not because of its underdeveloped intellect, but because its members used their immense physical strength to fight the Human Race.
Outside the Training Ground, a brief silence was followed by an explosive round of applause.
"A hero emerges from the young!"
"I heard he’s the one who cured the Empress’s illness!"
...
The crowd outside the Training Ground buzzed with discussion, their earlier scorn completely gone.
Of course, everyone participating in the martial competition today was a Military Officer. Besides Lu Yuan, not a single Civil Servant could be seen.
In the newly established Divine Ling Empire, the status of Military Generals was far higher than that of Civil Servants, especially since Emperor Gu Yuanzhang greatly favored them.
As for when the Civil Servants might take charge in the Divine Ling Empire, that would all depend on whether a War God would appear in the future to lead the Empire’s Military Generals into a disaster on the scale of the "Tumu Castle Incident."
Aside from them, many others saw Lu Yuan as an enemy, grinding their teeth in frustration.
A mere Scholar on the field, yet even General Guangwei couldn’t handle him.
At this point, the clever ones in the crowd began to wonder if they could handle a sparring match with General Guangwei as effortlessly as Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan stood at the edge of the Training Ground, holding General Guangwei’s Heavy Hammer, when he suddenly heard his mother-in-law’s voice transmission: "Son-in-law, I’ve met Yue’Er."
Distracted, Lu Yuan sent back an intermittent transmission: "Mom, your son-in-law is in the middle of a sparring match with a brute right now."
Su Liyan’s mother’s confused voice came back: "Son-in-law, you’re in the Imperial Capital. How did you get into a fight?"
"Mom~ If you hadn’t contacted me right now, I’d have already won!" Lu Yuan transmitted to his mother-in-law, his movements slowing as he held up the Heavy Hammer.
"Oh. Well, go get ’em, Son-in-law!" Su Liyan’s mother didn’t ask any more questions.
「 ... 」
Before all this, Su Liyan’s mother had been led to the Empress’s chambers by a group of eunuchs.
Before she sent the voice transmission to Lu Yuan, she had already been speaking with the Empress for quite some time. The two of them hit it off as if they were old friends and had a delightful conversation.
Although it was the first time Su Liyan’s mother had met Empress Ma, they were like sisters from the same village, sharing many common topics and chatting about daily trifles.
Empress Ma herself came from a peasant background, and her easygoing manner made Su Liyan’s mother feel not at all constrained or uncomfortable in the Imperial Capital.
After the two had been talking for a long while, Gu Ziye darted out from behind a screen in the Empress’s chambers.
Su Liyan’s mother was sitting across from the Empress while two maids served fresh tea, as the previous pot had grown cold.
Gu Ziye’s sudden appearance was what prompted Su Liyan’s mother to send the voice transmission to Lu Yuan; it was like seeing a familiar face in the Imperial Capital.
Seeing Su Liyan’s mother staring blankly for a few seconds, a mischievous Gu Ziye waved a hand in front of her face.
"Yue’Er, don’t be rude!" Empress Ma shot Gu Ziye a stern look and chided her sharply.
"Okay, Mother." Gu Ziye placed her hands behind her back. She wore a long dress and a long string of beads, her hair in two pigtails. Standing beside the Empress, she bowed her head slightly and pouted.
Within the palace, only Gu Ziye was allowed to wear her hair in pigtails; all the other women wore their hair up in buns. This was, one could say, a special privilege granted by the Emperor.
Now that she was back in the Imperial Capital, Gu Ziye was even more endearing than before.
Gu Ziye, who was already quite pretty, had put on a princess’s gown and transformed into a true little beauty.
She was the very picture of ’Who isn’t a princess, after all?’
The only thing lacking was her slender figure, which could have used a few more pounds of flesh on the chest.
If she hadn’t drunk that Snow Clam and papaya soup back at the Zhao Mansion in Taiping City, she’d likely be even more of a plain sight.
Snapping out of her daze, Su Liyan’s mother stood up and said, "Yue’Er, oh, no, Your Highness the Princess, please have a seat."
Gu Ziye ran to Su Liyan’s mother’s side, placing her hands on her shoulders. "Auntie~" she said, "there are no outsiders in this room. Let’s not be so formal with each other."
Seeing her daughter’s complete lack of decorum, Empress Ma smoothed things over, saying, "My youngest daughter... she’s wonderful in every way, just not very dignified."
"Mother, how can you talk about a young lady like that~ If you keep saying these things, what decent man will ever take a liking to me?" Gu Ziye said, feigning displeasure.
Gu Ziye’s older sisters had all been married by the time they were sixteen or seventeen.
Logically, Gu Ziye should have been married for two or three years by now, yet she remained unwed.
Gu Ziye didn’t mention her own reasons at all, instead blaming it on her mother for speaking ill of her in front of others.
It was only because her parents doted on her that she could act spoiled and talk such nonsense.
Of course, Gu Ziye was a princess of the Divine Ling Empire. Her family was rich and powerful, so her desire to marry a few years later was purely due to her own playful nature.
Gu Ziye was eighteen now, not twenty-eight; she didn’t need to go fishing for a husband.
She wasn’t like some people who have ’princess syndrome’ without being an actual princess, putting their own money into fixed deposits while single-mindedly spending their "little boyfriend’s" money. Even Lu Yuan couldn’t afford to support such a scheming woman!
Empress Ma chuckled and said, "You? Afraid no one will want you? Hasn’t your father, the Emperor, been nagging you this whole time? And who was it that was yelling, ’You want me to marry one of those rich young masters? In your dreams! I’d rather die than marry them!’ hmm?"
Empress Ma said all this without the slightest hesitation, right in front of Su Liyan’s mother.
Gu Ziye shot a quick glance at Su Liyan’s mother, stomped her foot, and said, "Mother, if you say one more word, I’m not going to be nice to you anymore!"
Su Liyan’s mother simply smiled along, listening to the mother and daughter’s exchange.
Empress Ma continued, "I heard from your father, the Emperor. Today’s martial competition on the Training Ground is to find a husband for you."
Gu Ziye protested vehemently, "I don’t want to! If it’s someone I don’t like, Father can just marry him himself!"
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