Chapter 228: A Directed Marriage Proposal
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
“Paralyzed for ten years, yet still able to secure the title of Jieyuan. If he had never been paralyzed back then…” The crowd dared not imagine.
“How dazzling he would have been…”
“I wonder if he can claim the title of Huiyuan in this upcoming metropolitan exam?”
Countless eyes were fixed upon Lu Yan Shu.
Someone murmured, “A genius like him was cast out by Lu Yuan Ze, even erased from the family genealogy.”
“Meanwhile, the illegitimate son Lu Yuan Ze favored never even made it into the examination hall. I heard he indulged in debauchery with three men and ruined his health.”
“The world is truly degenerating. People are no longer what they used to be.”
Lu Yan Shu paid no mind to the murmurs of others and instead stepped forward with open arms. “Chao Chao, come to big brother…”
Lu Chao Chao flung herself into his embrace.
“Big brother, you’re amazing!” She cupped his face and planted a loud kiss on his cheek.
Lu Yan Shu smiled, his youthful demeanor as gentle as jade, always carrying a warm and soft expression.
[Big brother wins the triple crown in the exams, while Lu Jing Huai enjoys a spring night with three burly men—everyone has a bright future ahead!]
Lu Yan Shu’s lips pressed tightly together. Who on earth was teaching her to speak like this?!
“Come home and rest well. Look at you, you’ve gotten so thin…” Madam Xu looked at her son with deep affection.
“Mother, your son is not tired.”
Compared to the ten years he spent in a wheelchair, this was nothing.
Living like the walking dead, unable to even handle his own basic needs—he never wanted to experience such a life again.
By the time Lu Yan Shu returned home, night had already fallen.
When he woke up, the sun was high in the sky.
“Big brother, the sun is burning your butt!” Lu Chao Chao lay by the bedside, cupping her cheeks with a bright smile.
“Why haven’t you gone to the academy?” Lu Yan Shu was taken aback.
His loose hair cascaded over his shoulders, clad in only a white inner robe, sitting cross-legged on the bed—a picture of youthful ease.
That sleep had been incredibly refreshing.
Lu Chao Chao pouted. “I don’t wanna go. The teacher bullied me!”
“He picked on me!” Her round eyes flared with indignation.
Lu Yan Shu’s heart sank.
Lu Chao Chao was the youngest student in the Imperial Academy. He often worried she might be bullied, and hearing this made his heart turn cold.
“How did he pick on you?” Lu Yan Shu’s expression turned serious, his face tense.
“He called me a dog…” Lu Chao Chao’s eyes shimmered with tears.
Lu Yan Shu’s heart ached. He quickly pulled her into his arms. “How did he call you that?”
“During class, he said, ‘Whoever speaks again is a little dog.’ And then… I spoke.” She looked up at him, full of grievance.
“So, he called me a dog!”
Lu Yan Shu’s grave expression suddenly froze.
“And he’s a liar! He said that if anyone spoke again, they’d be kicked out! But when I packed my bag to leave, he stopped me!!”
“I don’t like him!”
Lu Chao Chao bared her teeth in frustration.
“Big brother, why aren’t you saying anything? Why are you so quiet?”
Lu Yan Shu let out a long sigh.
“How about big brother personally takes you to the academy tomorrow?” He figured he might as well apologize to the teacher. He feared his sister would drive the man to an early grave.
Lu Chao Chao made a face, drooping her little head. “I… I don’t wanna go.”
No matter what Lu Yan Shu said, she refused.
With no other choice, he let her skip for the day and arranged for someone to request a leave of absence.
Once Lu Chao Chao finished breakfast, Lu Yan Shu secretly summoned Yu Shu to ask what had really happened at the academy.
Yu Shu covered her mouth, struggling to contain her laughter. “She drank too much milk yesterday morning and wet her pants. Now she’s embarrassed…”
Lu Yan Shu sighed and massaged his forehead.
Just as he put down his bowl, the little one came running back, looking all sneaky.
“Big brother, big brother! The matchmaker is visiting Uncle Rong’s house!”
“Hmph, is someone trying to arrange a marriage for him?” Lu Chao Chao placed her hands on her hips, looking fierce.
[No way, this is the stepfather I picked for myself!]
Lu Yan Shu raised a brow.
Lu Chao Chao grabbed his hand and pulled him next door. “I have the key, big brother, go open the door!”
“Hmph, always trying to please Mother… and now he’s secretly looking for a matchmaker!”
“I’ll twist his head off!” Lu Chao Chao fumed.
“Children shouldn’t be so violent…”
Lu Chao Chao paused. “Then I’ll gently twist his head off!”
She handed the key to her brother.
Once they opened the small door in the wall, Lu Chao Chao dragged her brother to peek outside the main hall.
Inside, the matchmaker’s voice could be heard faintly.
“General Rong, I’m an official matchmaker. Whatever kind of lady you desire, I can find her!”
“A lady of matching status, a beauty beyond compare, a woman of vast knowledge—I can find them all.”
“You are the only son of the Stabilizing Duke’s household, the only brother of the Empress, the sole heir of the Rong Family. You must not let the lineage end with you…”
“I am not like those East City matchmakers who haphazardly pair people for a bit of matchmaking money. I, Matchmaker Song, have principles!” She earnestly tried to persuade him.
Every year, she came to the Rong Manor to propose matches.
“Sigh, the last time I arranged a match for you was over ten years ago. Now you’re in your thirties, and still unmarried…” Rong Che, it seemed, was her biggest failure.
The Rong Family upheld strong traditions, Rong Che had military merits, and his elder sister was the Empress. Ever since he was a teenager, matchmakers had flocked to his door.
Matchmaker Song was one of them.
Who would have thought that after all these years, he remained alone?
“If you have any requirements, tell me. I’ll find you the perfect match. In this capital, I know every household…”
She looked at him eagerly.
By his usual standards, she should have been kicked out by now.
Yet today, Rong Che didn’t drive her away???
Her eyes gleamed, her smile stretching wide.
Picky clients were better than those with no preferences!
“What kind of woman do you prefer?”
Rong Che pondered for a moment.
“Ahem… preferably someone over thirty…” he said seriously.
He paused.
“Better yet, thirty-four. No, thirty-five after the new year! Ahem, the fortune teller said that a wife born in June would be best for me.”
Matchmaker Song froze.
Rong Che continued, “I also checked my fortune—it’s best if she’s divorced. A divorced woman brings me luck.”
“I have little fate with children, so if she brings three sons and a daughter into the marriage, even better…”
“Oh, and preferably… with the surname Xu.”
Matchmaker Song’s smile stiffened.
She stared at him blankly. “This isn’t a list of preferences. This is a targeted marriage proposal.”
“Thirty-five years old, divorced, three sons, one daughter, born in June… You’re basically naming Madam Xu!”
Outside, Lu Chao Chao’s mouth fell open.
[Wow! A directed marriage proposal!]
[He might as well just say Mother’s name out loud…]