I only wished to take up my fiefdom, but my elder brother forced me to rebel.

Su Bo'an's head was buzzing, and he looked at Lu Yuan in disbelief.

"Your Highness, the other party is, after all, the Minister of War, a high-ranking official of the second rank in the court, this..."

"What's a second-rank official like? I'm a prince!"

Lu Yuan waved his hand, "Besides, it's only right to pay back debts. If he doesn't pay, then his whole family will go to jail with Han Gou."

After saying that, Lu Yuan turned and left.

Su Bo'an stood there, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

His Highness's temper is getting more and more difficult to deal with...

……

Han Mansion.

Han Zheng sat in his study, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

The butler stood to the side, head bowed, not daring to utter a sound.

"One hundred thousand taels?"

Han Zheng lowered his voice, "Why doesn't Lu Yuan just rob him?"

"Master, His Highness the Ninth Prince said it must be delivered before sunset, otherwise..."

"What else can we do?"

Han Zheng stood up. "He still dares to raid my home?"

The butler dared not respond.

Han Zheng paced back and forth in his study a few times.

One hundred thousand taels of silver is no small sum.

The Han family can afford it, but they can't swallow this insult.

Han Zheng gritted his teeth.

"Go, prepare my horse."

"Sir, where are you going?"

"Enter the palace."

Han Zheng said, "I want to see His Majesty and seek justice."

……

Qianyuan Hall.

Lu Cangqiong was reviewing information about the daughters of officials.

He frowned when he heard that Han Zheng was requesting an audience.

"Let him in."

Han Zheng entered the hall and knelt down with a thud.

"Your subject Han Zheng greets Your Majesty."

Get up.

Lu Cangqiong put down his pen. "What brings you to the palace? If it's to plead for your son, then forget it."

Han Zheng stood up and began to sob, feeling wronged.

"Your Majesty, I wish to file a complaint against His Highness the Ninth Prince."

Lu Cangqiong frowned.

"Accusing Lao Jiu? What happened to him this time?"

"His Majesty."

Han Zheng cupped his hands in greeting, "Although my son has made mistakes, His Highness the Ninth Prince not only imprisoned him but also demanded 100,000 taels of silver. This... this is simply too much of a bully."

Lu Cangqiong's face darkened.

"Han Zheng, what do you mean?"

"I meant no other thing."

Han Zheng quickly said, "I just feel that His Highness's actions are unfair."

"Is this unfair?"

Lu Cangqiong smiled, but the smile looked a bit cold.

"Are you aware that your son kidnapped the princess?"

The color drained from Han Zheng's face.

"Your Majesty, my son... my son was bewitched by the Second Prince..."

"Being misled was his own choice. Did the second brother hold a knife to his throat and force him to do it?"

Lu Cangqiong interrupted him, "Han Zheng, you've been in the Ministry of War for so many years, and I've always thought you were a wise man. I never expected you to be so confused."

Sweat began to bead on Han Zheng's forehead.

"Your Majesty, minister..."

"Alright, you can go back now."

Lu Cangqiong waved his hand and said, "Give me the 100,000 taels of silver that is due. Otherwise, just because your son abducted a prince, I can send the Ninth Prince to confiscate your property."

"His Majesty……"

"Step back."

Han Zheng held back his words, but finally bowed to Lu Cangqiong and left.

After leaving the Qian Yuan Hall, his face turned frighteningly dark.

Lu Yuan...

Han Zheng clenched his fist.

He remembered this grudge.

……

Ninth Prince's Mansion.

Before sunset, the steward of the Han family arrived at the Ninth Prince's residence with 100,000 taels of silver.

After receiving the silver notes, Su Bo'an counted them again before going into the backyard.

Su Bo'an gave him the silver note.

"Your Highness, here are 100,000 taels of silver notes."

"That's more like it! Wouldn't it have been better if it had been this straightforward from the beginning?"

Lu Yuan took it, glanced at it, and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Alright, you can go ahead and get busy."

Su Bo'an responded and turned to leave.

Lu Yuan stood in front of the mirror and straightened his clothes.

Today he is wearing a bright red wedding robe, with a jade belt around his waist and a crown on his head.

He looked in the mirror and was quite satisfied.

"Not bad, pretty handsome."

Footsteps could be heard outside the door.

Su Yuling walked in, having also changed into a wedding dress, a red ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with a gold hairpin in her hair.

Lu Yuan turned around, saw her, and his eyes lit up.

"Wow, it's actually quite good-looking."

Su Yuling's face turned slightly red.

Stop being so cheeky.

"I wasn't just being cheeky!"

Lu Yuan walked over and said, "I'm just telling the truth."

Su Yuling rolled her eyes at him.

"Alright, hurry up and get out of here, the auspicious time is almost here."

"What's the rush?"

Lu Yuan grabbed her hand. "Let's make this clear first: after we're married, you can't use a knife to cut me."

Su Yuling was stunned for a moment.

"What did you say?"

"I'm afraid of you."

Lu Yuan said with a serious expression, "I can't block your knife."

Su Yuling couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't worry, I won't cut you."

"real?"

"real."

Lu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good."

The two walked towards the front yard.

The courtyard was already full of guests.

All the civil and military officials were present, as were many imperial relatives.

Lu Cangqiong asked Zhou Fu to oversee the ceremony.

Zhou Fu stood in the middle of the front yard, holding the imperial edict in his hand, with a smile on his face.

Upon seeing Lu Yuan and Su Yuling emerge, he shouted loudly.

"Newcomer arrived..."

The guests in the courtyard all stood up and focused their attention on the two people.

Lu Yuan took Su Yuling's hand and led her into the main room.

Shen Hanqiu stood aside and also changed into her wedding dress, but the color was lighter than Su Yuling's.

Upon seeing Lu Yuan, her face immediately turned red, and she lowered her head, not daring to look at him.

Lu Yuan glanced at her and smiled.

"Don't be nervous, just do as Uncle Zhou says in a moment."

Shen Hanqiu nodded slightly, her face turning even redder.

Zhou Fu read the imperial edict in a loud voice.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The Ninth Prince, Lu Yuan, shall marry Su Yuling, the eldest daughter of the Yongning Earl's family, as his principal wife, and Shen Hanqiu as his secondary wife. So be it."

The guests offered their congratulations.

Zhou Fu put away the imperial edict and stepped aside.

"First bow to Heaven and Earth..."

After the emcee's voice rang out.

Lu Yuan pulled Su Yuling and Shen Hanqiu around and knelt down to kowtow at the entrance of the courtyard.

"Bowing to the parents twice..."

The three men turned their heads toward the memorial tablet in front of the main room and knelt down there.

Then that would be the memorial tablet of Lu Yuan's birth mother, the late Empress Consort.

After kowtowing, Lu Yuan stood up and looked at the memorial tablet.

He had never met the original owner's biological mother.

She is said to be a very kind person.

If she were still alive, she would be happy to see her son get married and have children.

"Husband and wife bow to each other..."

"The ceremony is complete; they are escorted to the bridal chamber."

After the emcee finished speaking, cheers erupted again from the courtyard.

Lu Yuan took Su Yuling and Shen Hanqiu's hands and walked towards the backyard.

After entering the bedroom, Lu Yuan closed the door and chased away the people who had come to make a ruckus at the wedding.

Su Yuling sat on the bed, and Shen Hanqiu stood beside her. Both of them were very nervous and dared not speak.

Lu Yuan stammered a little when he looked at them.

"that……"

He scratched his head and then asked, "Which of you two will go first?"

Su Yuling looked up and glared at him.

"What did you say?"

"It's nothing..."

Lu Yuan chuckled twice. "These kinds of things always have a sequence, so how about... we do them together?"

Shen Hanqiu's face turned red, and she lowered her head, not daring to speak.

After Su Yuling stood up, she walked up to Lu Yuan.

"If you treat us badly in the future, I'll cut your head off with a knife."

Lu Yuan immediately waved his hand and said, "No, no, I wouldn't dare."

Su Yuling snorted, turned around, sat on the bed, lifted the covers, and crawled inside.

Lu Yuan glanced at Shen Hanqiu.

"You can go in too."

Shen Hanqiu gritted her teeth, walked to the bedside, and slipped into the covers like a wisp of smoke.

After Lu Yuan stood there, he took a deep breath.

Another tough battle is coming tonight.