Chapter 409: Chapter 228: The Mother-in-law Heard Everything in the Son-in-law’s Room
On the other end of the line, Zhao Qiao’Er and Song Meiqin had heard everything from start to finish. They now understood the whole story: Lu Yuan had been summoned by the Emperor to compete in a marital combat tournament.
Lu Yuan was quite the catch.
After Su Liyan hung up, she listened to Aunt Zhao’s words and realized she really hadn’t thought things through so deeply. ’I guess I was a little too naive,’ she thought.
Su Liyan asked, "Aunt Zhao, Miss Yue’Er is a very nice person. Why would she fight with me over her position?"
Su Liyan was the official main wife, married to Lu Yuan with all the proper rites. Their wedding had been a grand, lavish affair.
Now, Lu Yuan held a Fourth Grade Official Position and was a wealthy man in his own right, but his love for Su Liyan was plain for all to see and beyond any doubt.
Song Meiqin propped her pointed chin on one hand. After a moment of thought, she said, "Our suspicion makes sense, you know. Even if Yue’Er has no intention of vying for the position of main wife, she is the Princess of the Current Dynasty, after all. How could the Emperor possibly allow his own daughter to marry someone as a concubine?"
The Court’s honor was at stake!
Su Liyan said pitifully, "My dear aunts, please don’t scare me!"
Zhao Qiao’Er swayed her ample hips and patted Su Liyan’s shoulder. "Don’t worry, Liyan. No one is going to threaten your position as the main wife. If they do, I’ll be the first to raise hell!"
Watching her fiery-tempered friend, Song Meiqin decided to add fuel to the fire. "Just make sure that when you see your precious darling," she teased, "you don’t get all weak in the knees!"
Not one to back down, Zhao Qiao’Er shot back, "Weak in the knees? Don’t think I don’t know who it was whose calves were trembling from just a kiss last time!"
"You—you spied on me!" Song Meiqin exclaimed, both embarrassed and angry.
Su Liyan covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. "My dear aunts, let’s not tell crude jokes in front of the child."
"Bengbeng, go play with your little sister or Xiaotian, okay?" Zhao Qiao’Er said enthusiastically. "Second Aunt and Third Aunt need to talk with your mother for a bit."
It was simple enough to keep the child from overhearing. All they had to do was send him away. The Zhao Mansion was huge, with plenty of places for a child to play.
One should never assume children don’t understand or remember what they hear. Young couples, especially, shouldn’t just gamble that their child is already fast asleep.
It’s entirely possible that the child is just pretending to be asleep, closing their eyes to save their parents the embarrassment. Then they end up hearing all the grunts and moans!
Hearing his Second Aunt shoo him away, the perceptive Bengbeng picked up a rubber ball from the floor and said, "Second Aunt, Third Aunt, you all can chat. I’m heading out. I don’t understand any of it anyway!"
Once Bengbeng had left, Zhao Qiao’Er beckoned the other two over. "Come, come, let the three of us put our heads together!"
...
「The next morning.」
Lu Yuan was eating breakfast with his mother-in-law in the main hall on the first floor.
A figure, their face tightly concealed by a mask, entered the hall and headed straight for Lu Yuan’s table.
Lu Yuan picked up a piece of crisp radish, dipped it into his bowl of cornmeal soup, and popped it into his mouth. He then took a slurp of soup directly from the edge of the bowl.
The cornmeal soup had formed a thin skin on its surface, but it was scalding hot underneath. Lu Yuan didn’t realize just how hot it was until he’d swallowed a mouthful, feeling a burning sensation travel down his esophagus.
’Can’t rush hot soup,’ Lu Yuan thought, and quickly drank some cool water to soothe the burn.
Eating food that was too hot could damage the mucous membranes, and over time, could even lead to irreversible diseases like oral or esophageal cancer. Lu Yuan was well aware of this basic fact.
Lu Yuan kept his head down and focused on his breakfast, paying no mind to the masked person at all.
Su Liyan’s mother tapped the table twice, reminding her son-in-law of their visitor.
"Follow me!" the masked person said coldly upon reaching Lu Yuan’s table, then turned and headed up the nearby staircase to the second floor.
Su Liyan’s mother set down her bowl and chopsticks. Looking at her son-in-law, she said, "They’re looking for you. Go on."
Lu Yuan popped a piece of shredded meat into his mouth and stood up. The meat was a little salty, so he picked up his bowl and took another slurp of the cornmeal soup, which helped soothe his throat.
Lu Yuan quickened his pace, following behind without a word.
In the main hall, Lu Yuan’s trusted men and the Mansion Guards were also seated, pretending to eat while secretly stealing glances at their young master (their boss).
As long as their young master (their boss) gave no signal, it meant he had the situation under control and didn’t need them. They would just keep their heads down and eat, and they certainly wouldn’t gossip about him in private.
In the second-floor hallway, the masked person checked the number on each door until they found the one labeled "Heaven-Grade, Room One," which they pushed open and entered.
Heaven-Grade, Room One was Lu Yuan’s private room.
Lu Yuan followed the masked person into the room.
With their back to Lu Yuan, the masked person said, "Close the door."
After Lu Yuan closed the door, he chuckled and said, "So, milady, how in the world did you find this place?"
The masked person giggled. They couldn’t keep up the act any longer; being all mysterious and brooding just wasn’t their style.
The person pulled off their veil and let down their pinned-up hair, which fell into two pigtails. In a deliberately cute, pouty voice, they said, "Hmph. No fun at all. Yuan~ recognized me right away."
The visitor was none other than Gu Ziye. Unable to stay put in the Imperial Capital, she had snuck out again, only finding Lu Yuan after making inquiries with a few trusted people.
Lu Yuan just smiled and said nothing. ’With that slender little frame,’ he thought, ’you could stack two of her and she still wouldn’t be as buxom as Aunt Zhao. I knew who it was at a single glance, and she still bothered with a mask.’
Lu Yuan poured her a cup of hot water. "Yue’Er, how did you know I was here? Did you sneak out again?"
Seeing that Lu Yuan didn’t look seriously injured, Gu Ziye said, "Never mind how I got out. I heard you won five matches in a row for me yesterday, but you were injured in the end because you couldn’t defeat that wretched Daoist. Is that true?"
Lu Yuan’s eyes shifted. ’Is that what happened?’ he thought. ’I was there, so how come I don’t remember any of this? The rumor mill is really something else. By the time the story got to Yue’Er, it’s been completely twisted.’
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