In the royal palace, Su Wen followed Eunuch Liu to the Cultivating Heart Palace Hall where the Zhou Emperor was currently residing.
When he entered, he saw the Zhou Emperor reclining on a couch, with a beautiful woman standing beside him.
The moment the Zhou Emperor saw Su Wen enter, he smiled and said, "Su Wen, come quickly. This is your future wife, Yan Luoying."
Su Wen and Yan Luoying looked at each other.
Yan Luoying thought to herself, 'Su Wen is quite good-looking, but pity that he's just a good-for-nothing.
As for Su Wen, 'Beautiful, but pity that she's a human butcher.'
Both of them had their own thoughts, but maintained the smiles on their faces. After greeting each other, the emperor smiled and continued, "Su Changqing and Yan Ze are both my trusted subordinates. The two of you are also young and talented. So, I've decided to bestow a marriage pairing upon you. In a few days, I'll get the Ministry of Rites to pick a good date for you both to conduct the marriage ceremony."
The Zhou Emperor had only just finished speaking when Yan Luoying cupped her hands and said, "Your Majesty, please reconsider."
Emperor Zhou narrowed his eyes slightly and asked lightly, "Why?"
Yan Luoying looked at Su Wen and said, "I just entered the city today and heard that Young Master Su spent the night at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion."
The emperor smiled, "He's a playboy, but that's not a big deal."
"But Young Master Su spent hundreds of thousands of taels of silver on that courtesan overnight!" Yan Luoying said without any trace of politeness. "Your Majesty, how many border armies can you provide for hundreds of thousands of taels of silver? How many commoners can you provide for? Young Master Su, on the other hand, is only doing this for a single night. This little girl doesn't dare to agree to such actions!"
Emperor Zhou shook his head and said, "After all, the money belongs to them. How they spend it is their business. There are many rich people in the Great Zhou. We can't let them donate their family's private assets to support the border army and help the people, right?"
Su Wen didn't expect that he would arrange everything for Yan Luoying to understand without waiting for his own explanation.
"Your Majesty, I heard that you gave Su Wen a Cyan Sea Star Jade Hairpin for his future wife. Is that true?"
The Emperor nodded.
Yan Luoying then spat in anger, "But Su Wen gave the Cyan Sea Star Jade Hairpin to that woman from the brothel! He knew about the betrothal a long time ago, but he still did it. Did he ever take me seriously?"
As Yan Luoying spoke, tears fell from her eyes. She knelt on the ground and kowtowed. "Your Majesty, this girl begs you to cancel my marriage with Su Wen."
The Zhou Emperor was silent for a moment, gazing at Su Wen with displeasure.
"Su Wen, you've gone too far this time!"
Su Wen bowed. "Su Wen knows his mistake!"
He was already prepared to receive a reprimand from the emperor.
However, to Su Wen's surprise, the latter ignored him. Instead, he stood up with a smile on his face and personally helped Yan Luoying up. He smiled as he soothed her, "Luoying, this Su Wen is young and sentimental. If he's willing to do this for a woman from a brothel that he fell for, isn't it obvious that he is someone sincere and emphasizes a lot on relationships?"
"How about this? You can stay in the capital for now. As for the marriage, we can wait for the two of you to get to know each other better. We'll talk about it in the future. How about it?"
Since the emperor had already spoken thus, Yan Luoying knew that there was no way she could refuse.
The Zhou Emperor then turned his gaze to Su Wen. After sizing him up, he said in a solemn voice, "You're also a grown man. Staying at home all day is not a long-term solution. How about this, you shall go to the East District's patrolling office to serve as Luoying's deputy to train up a bit. The two of you should interact more."
Su Wen hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Your subject understands."
"Forget it, I'm a little tired. You two can leave first."
Su Wen and Yan Luoying bowed and left.
As he watched the two leave, the Zhou Emperor fell into deep thought.
After a while, he asked, "What do you think of these two children?"
In the darkness, an old eunuch appeared.
It was as if he had always been there, but also as if he had never been present.
His face was withered, and only his eyes were frighteningly bright.
The old eunuch said, "Young Master Su is not simple. At his age, there aren't many people with his cultivation level. Furthermore, his every move imitates an ordinary person, and his aura is also concealed quite well. He can be considered quite the schemer."
The corners of the emperor's mouth curled up into a smile as he said, "That's true. I really didn't expect Su Wen to hide his cultivation so deeply. If I hadn't summoned him today, I wouldn't have known that he had such a cultivation level."
At this point, he sighed and said, "He is shrewd, able to endure, and talented. He is a good seedling. Unfortunately, like his father, he likes to overthink things. I'm not as narrow-minded as they think."
The old eunuch shook his head and said with a smile, "Your Majesty is as magnanimous as the sea. It's naturally difficult for ordinary people to compare and fathom. I'm afraid that it's a problem if Young Master Su does not want to marry Yan Luoying."
The Zhou Emperor smiled and said, "When a man and a beautiful woman interact with each other day and night, they will eventually change. Furthermore, whether he wants to or not is not important. He just needs to do it."
After finishing the discussion about Su Wen, the old eunuch continued, "As for Yan Luoying, after she entered the palace, her every move was extremely scheming. Although she did not ask Your Majesty to cancel the engagement today, she managed to delay the wedding date, achieving her goal. She is indeed worthy of being someone who had led troops to conquer Fort Boulder."
Zhou Emperor rubbed his brows and said, "It's precisely this kind of smart person that can persuade Yan Ze and furthermore willingly enter the capital. She also knows that entering the capital is the bottom line, the matters regarding the marriage can be discussed."
"Since she has already expressed her sincerity, I have to give her a chance. If this marriage really doesn't work out, then we have to find another suitable candidate. However, I feel that these two scheming fellows are quite suitable together, saving us the trouble if they decide to scheme against others."
...
At this moment, Su Wen and Yan Luoying were walking out of the palace together.
Neither of them spoke throughout the long walk.
The moment they left the palace, Yan Luoying finally spoke, "I won't marry you."
Su Wen looked at Yan Luoying. This woman was quite narcissistic. Did she really think that he would marry her?
A smile appeared on Su Wen's face. "Lady Yan, I'm taking a concubine tomorrow and I'm preparing to hold a feast at home. Would you like to come over to have a few drinks?"
Yan Luoying was furious!
She had been acting angry and crying in front of Emperor Zhou just now, but now she was truly incensed.
What did Su Wen mean?
At the end of the day, the two of them could be considered to have an engagement, so how could he take in a concubine tomorrow? And even invite herself to come for a drink?
"Humph!" Yan Luoying snorted and turned to leave.
She did not want to say another word to Su Wen.
However, Su Wen's attitude made her feel more at ease. It was obvious that Su Wen did not want to marry her.
However, Yan Luoying could not help but feel a little disappointed. This was the nature of humans, there was a big difference between rejecting others and others giving up on her.
Unfortunately, Su Wen didn't seem to have any intention of letting her off. He shouted from behind her, "Lady Yan, tell me if you want to go or not. Don't go at the last minute. My family doesn't have chopsticks for you to use, but if you don't mind, I can feed you. I usually feed my cats and dogs. I'm very familiar with this act."
Yan Luoying didn't even turn her head. Her face was flushed red as she stood up and disappeared in a few leaps.
Su Wen wore a disdainful expression. "Just like that?"