Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot
Chapter 214 - 198: The Origin of Lu Yuan

Chapter 214: Chapter 198: The Origin of Lu Yuan

At the hour of Hai, Meng Qianqian and Tan’er returned to the Governor Mansion.

Steward Cen, who had been waiting inside for quite some time, let out a long sigh of relief. "Ah, Young Madam, you’ve finally returned."

Meng Qianqian asked, "Is Bao Shu looking for me?"

Steward Cen replied awkwardly, "Miss Bao Shu did indeed look for you."

Meng Qianqian instantly understood the hidden meaning behind "did indeed." "Where is Madam now?"

Steward Cen answered, "She’s in Tinglan Garden, keeping Miss Bao Shu company."

Meng Qianqian glanced at Steward Cen. "The Old Madam..."

Steward Cen smiled faintly. "Young Madam, you needn’t worry. Though Madam has a fiery temperament, she wouldn’t trouble the Old Madam."

Meng Qianqian raised her eyebrow. "She never nitpicks with the staff either, as if I’m the only one she likes to torment."

Steward Cen choked slightly.

Meng Qianqian sighed with a sorrowful expression. "Well, what can I do? After all, I’m her daughter-in-law."

Steward Cen gave an awkward smile, scanning Meng Qianqian and Tan’er from head to toe. Seeing their disheveled state, he couldn’t help but ask, "Young Madam, you’ve been exhausted all day. Why don’t you rest first? I can handle Madam’s side for you."

"Wait." Meng Qianqian suddenly remembered something. "Madam once shortlisted three maidens from Miaojiang to marry my husband. Are their portraits still in the mansion?"

Steward Cen gave her a puzzled look.

Meng Qianqian smiled. "I have no other intentions; I just want to take a look."

"Ah..."

Although Steward Cen didn’t understand, he complied.

Back when the nanny brought too many portraits, Miss Bao Shu had torn at them in a fit of anger but couldn’t rip them all. The remaining ones were thrown into storage by him.

Steward Cen fetched the portraits and delivered them to Meng Qianqian’s room.

When Meng Qianqian saw the second portrait of a Miaojiang woman, she suddenly had a moment of clarity. "No wonder she looked so familiar. Isn’t this the woman who appeared with the Young Master of Miaojiang? She called him ’brother,’ so she must be the Miao King’s granddaughter. Though adopted, he has no biological children. Doesn’t that make her position just as legitimate?"

"Lu Yuan, oh Lu Yuan, do you even know who you turned down?"

"Ahem!"

An arrogant cough came from outside the door, belonging to Liu Qingyun.

Meng Qianqian hurriedly rolled up the portrait and stuffed it into Nanny Li’s embroidery basket without much care.

Liu Qingyun, with her chin raised like a proud peacock, strutted in with an air of superiority, ignoring everyone else.

Meng Qianqian greeted her with a smile and a bow. "Mother."

Liu Qingyun glared at her coldly. "So you still know how to come back?"

Meng Qianqian respectfully explained, "Today, I went to visit a grave for a neighbor. The graveyard was a bit far, outside of the Capital City. That’s why I returned home a little late. I hope Mother can forgive me."

Liu Qingyun looked at the dirt on her shoes and the smell of incense and funerary paper clinging to her. She snorted.

See? She’s not unreasonable after all.

If it had been the Lu Family’s Old Madam, she would be scolded for meddling. "What business do you have with other families’ graves?"

Taking advantage of the moment, Meng Qianqian struck while the iron was hot. "Mother, you’ve been in the Capital City for a few days now but haven’t gone out to properly explore. How about I accompany you tomorrow to stroll around the streets and buy some new clothes and ornaments?"

Liu Qingyun responded coldly, "Don’t think that’ll make me forgive you—"

Meng Qianqian glanced behind her. "Husband, you’re back?"

Whoosh!

Liu Qingyun disappeared.

Meng Qianqian turned around to look at the creaking, swaying window lattice, unable to suppress a small smirk.

She really is quick-witted.

"Is it really that funny?"

Meng Qianqian’s body stiffened. She turned around. "G-Grand Commander?"

So he really was back?

Are you secretly related to Cao Cao?

"What’s this?"

Lu Yuan’s gaze fell on the portrait stuffed in the embroidery basket.

Meng Qianqian hastily reached out for the embroidery basket on the table, but Lu Yuan was a step ahead and pulled out the portrait.

Unrolling it one by one, he remarked nonchalantly, "Meng Xiaojiu, I didn’t expect you to care so much about the marriage negotiations I had with other women."

Meng Qianqian said seriously, "Grand Commander, let me explain."

Lu Yuan looked at her coolly, shaking the rolled-up portrait in his hand. "An explanation is just a cover-up."

Meng Qianqian sighed, opened the portrait, and singled out the one of the Miao King’s granddaughter. "She has come to the Capital City. I saw her today at the relay station! I just wanted to make sure I didn’t mistake her."

Lu Yuan asked, "You even remember what the other few look like?"

Meng Qianqian was momentarily at a loss for words.

Forget it. What’s the point of explaining? Think whatever you like.

"Do you want to hear something important or not? If not, I’m leaving."

"Where do you think you’re going?"

Right. Where could she go? Liu Qingyun was staying right in the courtyard.

Meng Qianqian closed her eyes, resigned to her fate, and returned, smiling. "Grand Commander, Xiaojiu has an important report."

Lu Yuan dusted off his wide sleeves. "Speak."

To Lu Yuan, Meng Qianqian kept no secrets. She even recounted the part about tailing Shangguan Ling in detail.

"Do you know? She’s the Miao King’s granddaughter. If you had married her, you’d now be the royal son-in-law of the Miao King. I can’t help but feel sorry for you."

Lu Yuan gave her a side-eye.

Meng Qianqian shrugged. "But it’s too late to regret now. Better focus on figuring out how to disrupt Prime Minister Xun’s relationship with the Miao King. Whatever happens, don’t let him gain the Miaojiang people’s power."

Lu Yuan retracted his sharp gaze.

Meng Qianqian continued, "Speaking of which, what’s your mother’s status in Miaojiang? How could she negotiate a marriage alliance with the Miao King’s daughter? Your family’s standing in Miaojiang must not be simple."

Lu Yuan hesitated for a moment, seeming somewhat resistant, but he eventually spoke. "I’m not too sure. I lived with my grandmother when I was a child."

"Your grandmother is the matriarch of the Yao Family, right?"

Lu Yuan paused, realizing why she asked. His mother and Consort Li were half-sisters, and Consort Li’s mother was the Yao Family Matriarch.

He replied, "Consort Li is registered under the Yao Matriarch’s name. I have no connection to the Yao Family."

"Then..."

Meng Qianqian gazed at him longingly, clearly eager for him to continue.

Lu Yuan pressed his lips together. "My grandmother was from Miaojiang. She lived in an isolated village where customs differ from those in the Central Plains. Women could establish their own households, but once they did, they could never leave for the rest of their lives."

Meng Qianqian asked curiously, "How do you establish a household?"

Lu Yuan replied, "By marrying and having children."

"M-Marry?" Meng Qianqian was stunned. "How many husbands can they marry?"

Lu Yuan snapped coldly, "Meng Xiaojiu!"

Meng Qianqian put on a serious face. "I wasn’t envious! Absolutely not!"

Lu Yuan let out a cold snort and returned to the main topic. "When I was a child, I once asked my grandmother who my grandfather was. She said he was a silkworm farmer who refused to stay in the village, so she drove him away."

Meng Qianqian mused, "It doesn’t sound significant. There’s no connection to the Miao King."

"Could it be your father?"

Lu Yuan spoke with indifference. "Even less likely. My father had a short life; he passed away before I was even born."

"Forget it. I’ll ask your mother directly."

Meng Qianqian went to Liu Qingyun’s quarters.

"Mother, are you asleep?"

She gently knocked on the door.

Liu Qingyun set aside the plate of fried pastries, covered it with a cloth, wiped her mouth clean, and said coolly, "Come in."

Meng Qianqian pushed the door open and entered.

The rich aroma of fried pastries wafted over.

She pretended not to notice. "Mother, I have something to ask you."

Liu Qingyun responded, "Speak."

Meng Qianqian said, "You know the Miao King, right?"

"Kn—" Liu Qingyun’s eyes flickered briefly before she solemnly replied, "Don’t know him."

Meng Qianqian smiled.

Seems she knows him.

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