eurekapd Chapter 791 [Under the Brocade 87]
Chapter 791 [Under the Brocade 87]
The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly and said slowly: "I can grant you a brand new identity and arrange for you to marry into the Lu family. Now, you just need to answer me, are you willing to do so?" His voice was neither high nor low, but it carried unquestionable majesty.
"I..." Youyou was speechless for a moment. She really didn't know how to respond. Her mind was in a mess, with all kinds of thoughts coming one after another.
The emperor saw this and did not seem to be in a hurry to get an answer. He just said calmly: "You can take your time to think about it. I will come to ask you again tomorrow." After that, he turned and left, leaving Youyou alone in a daze.
Youyou slowly squatted down, hugged her legs tightly, and buried her head in her arms. She couldn't help but wonder: Can I really marry Lu Yi as I wish? If someone finds out her true identity in the future, will Lu Yi be implicated? This series of questions was like a heavy stone pressing on her heart, making her feel a little breathless.
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye it was the next day. The emperor arrived as promised and asked again: "After a night of thinking, I believe you have made up your mind. Tell me, what is your decision?"
Youyou took a deep breath, raised her head and looked directly at the emperor, and answered firmly: "I have made up my mind and am willing to obey the emperor's order and marry."
The emperor raised his lips slightly, revealing a satisfied smile, and nodded in response, "Very good! From now on, you will change your surname to Zhu, and your name will be Zhu Qiyu. You are Princess Mingzhu, and you grew up in the south of the Yangtze River since childhood. Because of your weak constitution, you have always been protected. Now that you have reached the age of marriage, I will betroth you to Lu Jingli."
Youyou quickly knelt down and kowtowed to express her gratitude: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your great grace!"
"Since you are now my great-niece, you can just call me great-uncle. Back then, your grandfather and I were brothers as close as brothers and sworn brothers. Given your status, it is not excessive to address you like that." The emperor said with a smile on his face and a kind tone.
"Thank you, great uncle." Youyou bowed slightly and responded softly.
"I will issue an edict later. You just need to stay in the palace and wait patiently for your marriage." The emperor looked at Youyou kindly and spoke slowly.
"Yes, great uncle." Youyou bowed again and answered respectfully.
After saying this, the emperor immediately wrote down an imperial edict. He then handed the imperial edict to the attendant beside him and ordered him to send it to the Lu Mansion for reading.
Soon, the eunuch who was ordered to go to the Lu Mansion arrived at the Lu family's door holding the imperial edict. At this time, Lu Ting heard that someone from the palace had come, and his heart tightened. He quickly ordered people to go and give Lu Yi a good beating to avoid being accused of disrespecting His Majesty.
Lu Ting hurried to the front hall alone to welcome the eunuch from the palace. When the eunuch entered the front hall, he looked around but did not see Lu Yi. He frowned slightly and asked with displeasure, "Lord Lu, where is your son Lu Jingjing? The imperial edict we brought this time is specially given to Lu Jingjing."
Lu Ting apologized hastily with a smile: "I hope you will be patient, sir. My son is now in the inner room getting dressed. Please wait here for a moment." After that, Lu Ting hurriedly asked the servants to serve tea and snacks to entertain this distinguished guest who came from afar.
Not long after, Lu Yi came hurriedly. Lu Ting looked him up and down and nodded with satisfaction. The Lu Yi in front of him was no longer as sloppy and embarrassed as before, but had regained his former handsomeness and dignified demeanor.
At this time, the eunuch who had been waiting nearby saw Lu Yi appear and hurriedly shouted: "Emperor Lu, please accept the order!" However, Lu Yi seemed to be still immersed in his own thoughts and did not respond immediately. At this moment, he seemed to be absent-minded. Although he was here, his heart was flying somewhere else.
Seeing this, Lu Ting, who was standing by, thought to himself that something was wrong and quickly reached out to grab Lu Yi and pulled him to his knees. When Lu Yi came to his senses, he found himself kneeling on the ground, and the eunuch began to read out the crucial imperial edict.
The eunuch read in a rhythmic voice: "The Emperor decrees that Jinyiwei Lu Ji Lu Yi is handsome and in the prime of his life, and is truly a rare talent. I have a niece, Qi Yu, who is named Mingzhu. She comes from a famous family and has been extremely intelligent since childhood. She is gentle and virtuous, and can be called a model of a beautiful lady. Moreover, the princess is now a marriageable girl, in her prime years, with a beautiful face and a gentle and bright demeanor. I hereby grant Princess Mingzhu to Lu Ji Lu Yi as his wife, and the two will get married on the eighth day of September. Lord Lu, please accept the decree quickly."
After hearing the imperial edict, Lu Yi stood there in shock as if struck by lightning. He stared at his father-in-law with eyes wide open in disbelief, muttering to himself: "I won't marry. I only want Ouyang Youyou to be my wife in this life."
The father-in-law's face changed and he said sternly: "Mr. Lu, do you want to disobey the order?" Facing the father-in-law's questioning, Lu Yi did not back down and still firmly repeated his words.
Just as the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense, Lu Ting quickly spoke to smooth things over, "Eunuch, calm down, Eunuch, calm down! He must have been shocked by the good news and lost his composure. I hope you can forgive me, forgive me..." He accepted the imperial edict for him.
"Okay, it's all the same anyway." The father-in-law said expressionlessly, then turned and left, leaving behind only a slightly lonely back.
After the eunuch walked away, Lu Ting looked at Lu Yi solemnly and said earnestly: "No matter what, this is a marriage granted by the emperor himself, you cannot refuse!" His voice was low and serious, as if there was no room for negotiation on this matter.
However, Lu Yi stood there like a statue, motionless, with no expression on his face. Seeing this, Lu Ting couldn't help but feel anxious. He took a deep breath and advised again: "Child, don't be confused! If you don't think about yourself, you have to think about our Lu family! We only have you as the only child in our family now. If you disobey the emperor's will, the consequences will be disastrous!"
As Lu Ting spoke, he stared at Lu Yi, hoping to see a trace of hesitation in his son's eyes. Unfortunately, Lu Yi remained unmoved and just responded indifferently: "Father, you should know me. There is only You You in my heart in this life. She is my real wife." At this point, Lu Yi's eyes flashed with deep pain.
Hearing this, Lu Ting sighed helplessly, shook his head and said, "Son, I know what you are thinking. But now that things have come to this, Youyou...she is no longer alive! You can't keep being depressed like this, can you? Right now, you have to face reality and marry Princess Mingzhu! Even if you don't like her, you have to marry her first. After all, this is an imperial decree, who dares to disobey?"
Lu Yi suddenly raised his head, his eyes were red, glaring at Lu Ting, and shouted: "Are we going to let that woman occupy the position of You You's wife? Just because she has a noble status, can my wife not get the due status until her death?" His voice was full of grief and unwillingness, echoing in the entire courtyard.
Lu Ting was startled by Lu Yi's sudden outburst, but he quickly regained his composure. He walked forward, gently patted Lu Yi's shoulder, and comforted him: "My child, Dad understands your feelings. Losing a loved one is indeed extremely painful. But sometimes, fate is like this. I can only say that you and the girl from the Yan family are not destined to be together..."