Chapter 256: Chapter 153: Northern Warfare, Tell Her I Slipped Away

Song Meiqin tugged on Lu Yuan’s hand. "Tonight, you absolutely have to sleep with Auntie~"

Lu Yuan glanced at his wife.

Su Liyan played right along with Aunt Song. "Aunt Song, he’s all yours to take care of tonight."

Su Liyan winked at Lu Yuan and playfully stuck out her tongue.

’My own wife is pushing me into another woman’s arms.’ 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

’They say the first wife is always jealous of the other women. Why isn’t mine?’

Lu Yuan could only let Aunt Song pull him back to her room.

As soon as they were inside, Aunt Song locked the door.

Aunt Song wrapped her arms around Lu Yuan’s and said:

"My dear boy, whether or not I can get pregnant this time is all up to you."

Feeling the intensity of Aunt Song’s gaze, Lu Yuan could only respond with action.

’If I don’t show her what I’m really made of, won’t I become a laughingstock?’

’People might even think I’m not a real man.’

Lu Yuan lifted Aunt Song into his arms and walked further into the room.

’Since this is what Aunt Song wants...’

...then Lu Yuan wouldn’t hold back.

After a lengthy prelude...

Lu Yuan pressed his cheek against Aunt Song’s and whispered:

"Auntie, are you ready?"

Before Aunt Song could even react, a cry escaped her lips.

That sound was simply intoxicating.

Hearing Song Meiqin’s cries, Zhao Qiao’er thought, ’This sounds different from the other times. My sweetheart isn’t trying to work a miracle on Aunt Song with brute force, is he?’

Zhao Qiao’er found Su Liyan and asked, "Liyan, our dear boy isn’t going to kill someone playing around like that, is he?"

Su Liyan took Zhao Qiao’er’s hand and said, "Of course not. Weren’t you fine when he was with you, Aunt Zhao?"

Zhao Qiao’er blushed at her words, thinking, ’When did the Young Madam get so cheeky with me?’

Zhao Qiao’er said, "Oh, Liyan, you’re just teasing your old aunt. I’m built much tougher than Song Meiqin, you know."

"Yes, yes, of course. Let’s go check on Aunt Song together in the morning. Our man really was a bit more forceful this time," Su Liyan said, squeezing Aunt Zhao’s hand.

Early the next morning, Su Liyan and Zhao Qiao’er were already sitting on the stone bench in the courtyard, waiting to gossip.

They wanted to see how Song Meiqin was faring after her night of non-stop, songbird-like cries.

Lu Yuan and Song Meiqin hadn’t come out of the room yet.

As Su Liyan and Zhao Qiao’er were chatting, Song Meiqin emerged, shuffling out while holding onto the doorframe for support.

Zhao Qiao’er giggled at the sight of Song Meiqin. "What’s this? You need to hold onto the wall to get out?"

Song Meiqin heard her friend’s teasing but didn’t rise to the bait.

’With a belly this full...’

’...it’d be hard *not* to get pregnant now, wouldn’t it?’

...

The Emperor was in his study practicing calligraphy, a frequent habit of his now.

In his youth, the Emperor’s family had been poor, with no money for him to study and learn to read.

Now, as the revered ruler of a nation, he couldn’t let his civil and military officials look down on him.

The Jinyiwei Commander stood before the calligraphy desk, bowing respectfully to the Emperor.

Without looking up, the Emperor continued to write, asking, "Is there any news?"

The Jinyiwei Commander cupped his hands and reported, "According to my subordinates, the Princess has returned to Taiping City with Magistrate Lu.

Along the way, they were ambushed by bandits, but Magistrate Lu led his men and wiped out the local bandit gang.

After returning to Taiping City, Magistrate Lu invented a type of wheat harvester, and the people of Taiping City are all scrambling to use this new machine.

Taiping City’s wheat harvest is progressing far faster than the surrounding counties. Most households already have their wheat sun-drying on the threshing grounds.

..."

Listening to the Jinyiwei Commander’s report, the Emperor asked in surprise, "How many men did Lu Yuan have with him to wipe out a local bandit gang?"

The Jinyiwei Commander continued, "According to my subordinate’s report, Lu Yuan only took ten men that night. King Yan’s second son, Gu Gaoxu, and the Princess, Gu Ziye, went along with their personal guards. It is presumed that the Princess’s personal guards provided assistance."

The Jinyi Guard had been tailing Lu Yuan, but not too closely.

They had already alerted him to their presence once before.

The Jinyi Guard and their Xingzi, summoned via Detaining Spirit, would be discovered by Lu Yuan and his companions if they got within a certain range.

Therefore, on the night Lu Yuan wiped out the bandits, the Jinyi Guard did not follow him up the mountain.

Instead, they followed the trail left by Lu Yuan’s group afterward and went to the bandits’ mountain lair later.

The Jinyi Guard’s investigation revealed that most of the bandits were killed while completely defenseless. Their bodies had no major wounds, only small holes.

The Jinyi Guard reported this situation up through the chain of command.

It’s unknown which rank of Jinyi Guard officer thought the subordinate’s report was too unclear and decided to conceal this detail, not reporting it further.

By the time the news reached the Emperor’s ears, it had been twisted into a story where the annihilation of the bandit gang was inseparable from the involvement of the Princess’s personal guards.

The Emperor didn’t ask any further about it, merely remarking, "This Lu Yuan does have some ability, to think he could build a wheat harvester."

The Emperor had another, unspoken thought: ’I’ve still underestimated him. If this man cannot be used by me, then he must not be allowed to be used by anyone else!’

Lu Yuan’s inventive talent, it should be known, was of great use to the Court.

With this ability, even if it wasn’t enough to be made a king or marquis, as long as Lu Yuan was willing to serve him, the Emperor was willing to grant him a Junior Third Grade official post in the Imperial Capital.

A Third Grade official post was equivalent to a provincial Inspector General. The Inspector General was an important position, primarily responsible for overseeing all other officials, and was a Senior Third Grade post.

But one shouldn’t underestimate a Junior Third Grade post in the Imperial Capital; its authority was no less than that of a Senior Third Grade post out in the provinces.

Some officials in such positions wouldn’t even be willing to trade for a post of a higher grade.

The Emperor was also puzzled, unable to understand why this Lu Yuan wasn’t close to him and even seemed to be deliberately avoiding him.

However, it didn’t really matter. His own daughter was getting closer to him now.

Perhaps one day, Lu Yuan would be willing to come to the Court and seek an official position.

Besides, he had dispatched a large number of Jinyi Guard to act as his eyes, keeping everything under his watch.