My Husband Became the Most Powerful Minister - Chapter 23

As soon as Lu Wuyou stepped into the entrance of the Hanlin Academy’s Editorial and Inspection Hall, numerous scorching gazes fixed on him, hot enough to seem like they were going to devour him alive.

He seemed completely oblivious and walked to his desk as usual.

He called the junior clerk to brew a pot of tea for him, and then Lu Wuyou rolled up his sleeves, ground some ink, and prepared to start working.

Although he remained calm, the others were not calm.

In the Office, They all are editors of seventh grade otherwise reviewers of seventh grade. They have relatively shallow experience and are still young. On ordinary days, they mainly engage in tasks such as writing historical documents and inspecting historical records, which are quite tedious and monotonous, making it rare for their lives to have any excitement.

Regarding the recently heard bombshell news, everyone was somewhat excited and couldn’t contain themselves, with a hint of envy and jealousy mixed in with their excitement.

Soon, someone couldn’t hold back any longer and walked over to Lu Wuyou’s table, cleared his throat, and said, “Brother Ji’an, seeing you so full of joy today, is there some happy event coming up? Why not share it with us? I would love to bask in your happiness!”

Lu Wuyou pinched the penholder and looked up innocently, saying, “I’m truly sorry, there’s nothing to celebrate.”

“Lu Wuyou, you’re really not being considerate here!” Someone else chimed in, “The fact that you proposed to the Helan family and even sent a matchmaker with gifts has spread all over the capital! To dare propose to the Helan family, you’re truly an extraordinary brave man.”

Most importantly, I heard that not only did the Helan residence not kick the person out, but they actually accepted the gift!

It also means that this matter is probably settled.

At this time, there were no superiors in the Inspection Office, and everyone gradually became bolder.

“Are you really going to marry that Miss Helan?”

“Wait a minute, don’t you have a fiancée back home that your family arranged for you? You don’t care about her? What if the Emperor asks about it…”

Lu Wuyou smiled gently yet helplessly, “With so many questions, which one should I answer first?” He maintained a poised demeanor, “Yes, I came to propose. There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you all—The one I am betrothed to is Miss Helan, who is from my hometown.” He even showed a hint of surprise, “Lord Helan’s ancestors is also from Qingzhou, how could you not know?”

Everyone looked at each other in disbelief, thinking this was just too outrageous.

Miss Helan was previously a well-known unattainable beauty in the capital, a high mountain that everyone admired but couldn’t reach. Any young man who had seen her wouldn’t dare to say he hadn’t been moved in some way, but it was also well known that she had remained unattached for many years.

Lu Wuyou looked completely at ease and confident, as if the people questioning him were the ones with the problem.

Someone with a good memory said, “Wait a minute, Brother Ji’an, when we were in the Palace and met Miss Helan at the gate of the Imperial City, you didn’t say that! What did you say? ‘I barely spoke a few words with Miss Helan.'”

Lu Wuyou was slightly taken aback and said, “I really haven’t spoken much with Miss Helan, isn’t an engagement normaly be arranged by our parents and matchmakers, right?”

He made a lot of sense, but…

“Why haven’t I heard about this before?”

“Someone went to the Helan residence to propose, but it was never said that Miss Helan was already engaged.”

“By the way, don’t we still have a scholar from Qingzhou here? Call him over and ask!”

There is one scholar-official position per province, and coincidentally, this one also comes from Qingzhou. The summoned scholar-official was completely baffled. Upon hearing everyone’s questions, he finally looked enlightened and said, “I’m not very clear about the engagement, but back then, Ji’an and the lady known as Miss Helan did indeed have mutual feelings for each other at the Jiangliu Academy… Later, when Miss Helan returned to the capital, we all felt it was quite regretful.”

Lu Wuyou’s expression was slightly melancholic: “When I was in Qingzhou before, I had neither fame nor family background, so I was naturally unworthy of Miss Helan. This engagement certainly couldn’t be brought to the table, to avoid tarnishing Miss’s reputation.”

When he spoke, his brow slightly furrowed, as if accompanied by a hint of unknown pain and bitterness.

Most of those who entered the officialdom through the imperial examination were from humble backgrounds. Seeing Lu Wuyou’s performance inevitably evoked some feelings reminiscent of the time when he had not yet achieved success, faced the harsh realities of the world, who had cried out in their heart, “Don’t despise the young and poor.” Suddenly, they felt a bit of nostalgia.

“Ji’an, this means that after hardship comes happiness.”

“Now, Lord Helan would certainly be more than happy to entrust Miss Helan to you for life.”

Lu Wuyou rubbed his brow and sighed deeply, “I’m extremely anxious as well. I’ve been restless and unable to sleep these past few days… I just hope you all won’t tease me any further.”

Everyone knows that this Miss Helan, who is to be married, is quite a hot potato.

For a moment, everyone took turns patting Lu Wuyou’s shoulder, offering him kind words of consolation. Of course, there were also those who seized the opportunity to tease, “Brother Lu, when are you getting married? We should visit your residence sometime…”

Lu Wuyou managed to handle the first wave with a relatively calm demeanor. However, while having lunch in the public kitchen, he unexpectedly encountered someone he currently least wanted to see.

Lin Zhang saw Lu Wuyou also stop in his tracks, and the look in his eyes was extremely complicated.

*****

Yao Qianxue received the news and immediately went to Helan Residence.

“Xiao Ci, are you really going to marry that troubling tempter?” Yao Qianxue said with a face full of disbelief. “Miss Kangning was still causing a scene, and you saw it during the princess’s birthday celebration… That young man attracts all kinds of attention, and if you marry him, who knows how many admirers will swarm to his residence in the future. Moreover, my father said that his official position will probably not be low in the future, and by then I’m afraid it’s going to be…”

Helan Ci certainly knew this, so she never considered marrying him from the beginning.

The plan can’t keep up with changes.

She had no choice but to explain dryly, “He said he wouldn’t take a concubine.”

“It’s just empty talk, when he wants to marry you, he’ll definitely say all sorts of sweet nothings, whatever sounds good. Men, which one is not dishonest? Besides, his looks is also good…” After saying this, Yao Qianxue glanced at Helan Ci’s expression, and suddenly changed her tone, “Cough, cough, of course there are exceptions. Look at your father, my uncle, he is very honest and loyal. In short, if he dares to bully you, I’ll have Qichuan arrest him and put him in prison

Qichuan is her fiancé, the second son of the Deputy Minister of War, and the commander of the Jinyiwei, Song Qichuan.

Helan Ci also didn’t say anything; even the Jinyiwei couldn’t casually imprison someone in the Hanlin Academy’s prison.

She simply changed the subject and said, “By the way, cousin, you’re just in time. I have something to trouble you with.”

Yao Qianxue: “What?”

Helan Ci carefully took out a few pouches from the cabinet and said, “This is the dowries that i embroidered. Cousin, could you take a look for me?”

Since Lu Wuyou is already so efficient, Helan Ci naturally has to make an effort to prepare her dowry for her wedding next month. Usually, the dowry of a noble lady includes silver and land deeds—things she indeed does not have. She also lacks gold and silver jewelry. As for furniture, dishes, and pots, she might be able to scrape together some. The rest would be various kinds of embroidery, such as quilt covers, mattress sheets, pillowcases, handkerchiefs, and pouches.

Unfortunately, Miss Helan had spent over a decade learning but had never learned embroidery.

So that…

Yao Qianxue looked down and saw a patch of black thread embroidered on the light green pouch: “Uh, Xiao Ci, is that an embroidered lotus leaf?”

Helan Ci replied with difficulty, “It’s… a pair of mandarin ducks playing in the water.”She hesitated a bit, “Cousin, can I paint directly on the cloth?”

Yao Qianxue noticed her flickering eyes and sensed something was wrong, grabbing her hand.

Only then did she see the delicate, beautiful fingers, like pieces of art, with sporadic bl00d spots appearing on them. In an instant, it broke Yao Qianxue’s heart. She hurriedly said, “Why are you in such a hurry? you just got engaged, you can take your time learning embroidery…”

Helan Ci felt a bit of a headache: “He plans to marry next month.”

“What? So soon?” Yao Qianxue was astonished, and then anger appeared on her face. “How could a wedding be arranged for next month! Why is he so eager? I think he has no good intentions. He’s just after, after… Has he ever harassed you? Has he ever behaved inappropriately?”

Yao Qianxue’s face was practically screaming, “Who wants to marry my precious cabbage?”

This is indeed unfair, after all, if it comes to ‘behaving inappropriately’ he has already do that from inside and out long ago.

Helan Ci helplessly said, “Cousin, don’t overthink it. I also want to get married soon to avoid any more complications.”

Yao Qianxue looked at her face, looked again, and suddenly sighed deeply: “He really is quite handsome. Xiaoci, you’ve reached this age… I already have ready-made items like pouches, pillowcases, and quilt covers. Anyway, I won’t be getting married anytime soon, so you can use them first. If you need anything else, just tell your cousin. My mother doesn’t know about this yet; otherwise, she would definitely want to come over and help you out.”

Helan Ci smiled back and said, “Please thank my aunt in advance for me.”
However, this thing of mine is simple and can be done quickly, so there’s no need to trouble her. The wedding dress and veil were also left by my mother; I can just wear them directly.”

Yao Qianxue felt another wave of heartache.

This heartache is hard to put into words. Helan Ci was also a beautiful girl like a porcelain doll when she was young, but at that time she was always sick, her little face pale and haggard, her breathing intermittent. Because her mother passed away early, her father was busy with work, and her elder brother had to go to school, she was mostly left unattended, and could only pitifully hold a bowl of medicine, curled up in the corner of the bed, as if she might leave this world at any moment. At that time, Yao Qianxue’s father was stationed elsewhere, so she was sent to be raised by her grandparents, and could only visit her poor cousin from time to time.

Later, after Helan Ci returned from recuperating at her hometown, she became much more lively, but she still had a simple and untroublesome nature, unwilling to trouble others. While other young ladies were busy picking and choosing cosmetics and clothes in the shops, she was racking her brains to figure out how to save a few coins. When Yao Qianxue wanted to give her some clothes or jewelry, she refused to accept them. Even for a big event like getting married, she was reluctant to spend more on herself.

She lived both independently and somewhat cautiously.

But how could a noble lady get married in an old wedding dress?

“How about… I give you my wedding dress first, and then I’ll get a new one for myself?”

Helan Ci gently and softly declined her: “No need, this is just fine.”

“Actually, cousin…” She pointed at the pouch, utterly puzzled, “How on earth do you embroider this thing?”

***

Lu Wuyou and Lin Zhang, although both were top scholars and studied at the Hanlin Academy, had different ranks. Lu Wuyou, being the Zhuangyuan, was immediately appointed as a compiler with a sixth-rank title. Lin Zhang, on the other hand, was a Jinshi and a Hanlin Academy scholar without an official rank yet. He had to wait for the three-year assessment period to end and pass it to either stay at the academy or disperse to finally reach the edge of the seventh rank.

Therefore, although the two of them had private interactions, they did not usually work in the same place.

Lin Zhang stood still for a moment, finally mustering the courage to come over, his voice hesitant: “Ji’an, I heard…”

Lu Wuyou let out a light sigh and said, “It’s true.”

Lin Zhang’s face instantly showed a mix of emotions, it was quite a sight. He seemed a bit unsure of how to face Lu Wuyou, stammering, “How, how could this be… But, but weren’t you not interested in Miss Helan… And you already have a fiancée arranged by your family…”

The trouble is just here.

Lu Wuyou’s previous excuses are all useless now.

He pondered for a moment and replied, “It was the result of a discussion between Miss Helan and me. The fiancée back home is indeed a fabrication; I just hope Shaoyan can keep this matter confidential for me.”

Lin Zhang was also taken aback: “Miss Helan discussed this with you?”

Lu Wuyou replied, “I lied about having a fiancée to politely decline the princess’s intentions. This shouldn’t be hard to guess. Miss Helan was very troubled by the previous incident involving Cao Shizi. She needed a husband, and I needed a wife. Since she had lived in Qingzhou before, she pretended to be engaged with me to protect her reputation. In fact, there is no personal relationship between Miss Helan and me.This matter I have only discussed with you, Shaoyan, so please do not spread it outside.”

Lin Zhang never expected it to be for such a reason.

He was taken aback and said, “I wouldn’t tell anyone else. But why would Miss Helan come to you…”

Lu Wuyou sighed and said, “I don’t understand it either. Maybe she thinks I look honest.”

Lin Zhang: “……”

Lu Wuyou had enough of the pretense and said frankly, “It’s not that I intended to hide it from you. I really wasn’t familiar with Miss Helan before, and the decision to propose was made only recently. There were some unexpected circumstances. Shaoyan say, If you still can’t let go of Miss Helan…”

Lin Zhang hurriedly shook his head, but there was still a hint of bitterness in his tone: “Miss Helan and I are not fated to be together; I no longer dare to hope for it. If Ji’an will marry Miss Helan… I would also be happy for you both. It’s just that I didn’t expect Ji’an to truly had no interest in Miss Helan. I, I…”He swallowed the rest of his words, “I lost my composure a bit. I’ll take my leave now.”

What Lu Wuyou feared the most was encountering such a situation.

Compared to that, other things like people coming to pick a fight, cornering him at the foot of the imperial city, or mocking and threatening him, are not worth mentioning. After all, he had already experienced all of this in Qingzhou.

The same news also reached the Princess’s residence.

Xiao Shao’an immediately wanted to go to the Hanlin Academy to ask her brother Lu for clarification.

Didn’t he get engaged in his hometown? How could he possibly be marrying that woman! That woman, aside from being a bit more beautiful than her, what else does she have?

Before he could even step out the door, he heard the messenger say, “I heard that the one Lu Zhuangyuan got engaged to back home is Miss Helan.”

“What? They knew each other before?”

Xiao Shao’an turned her head in shock.

Last time, she totally failed to get what she wanted. Not only did she fail to get Lu Wuyou to marry her, but now Lu Wuyou avoids her from a distance and looks at her with cold eyes. She tried to block him outside the Hanlin Academy several times but couldn’t catch him. Only then did she realize that he might have guessed something about the incident at the mansion, so now… he might dislike her.

Xiao Shao’an originally thought there was nothing more frustrating than this.

But to her surprise, her brother actually guessed it right…

Those two must have had a tryst at her mansion that night! And now they’re pretending not to know each other in front of her; who knows, they might have already…

Just thinking about how Brother Lu would treat that woman with tenderness, endless affection, and deep love, while being cold and indifferent to her, refusing even to see her, made her grind her teeth in frustration.

Xiao Shao’an bit her thumb, wishing she could bite her nail off entirely. She gritted her teeth for a while, lifted her skirt, and decided to go find Xiao Nanxun first.

Xiao Nanxun had also received the news.

He asked the Imperial physician to check the records of the sacrificial rites, mainly to confirm whether the top scholar really had a weak constitution, but unexpectedly discovered that the two had once been in the same carriage.

But when he stepped into the carriage at that time, he had never seen that top scholar before.

This person must have something hidden in his sleeve.

And, those two probably indeed had something going on long before.

Xiao Shao’an was still on the side, whimsically nagging: “……How about we send someone from the Imperial Medical Institute to go to the Helan residence and have Helan Ci examined? She must not be a virgin anymore! If this news gets out, I wonder how she will get Brother Lu to marry her!”

Xiao Nanxun glanced sideways at his foolish sister, who had been spoiled by their mother, his gaze slightly cold.

Xiao Shao’an immediately shut up: “……Then what do you think we should do, Brother?”

Xiao Nanxun replied calmly, “You go ahead first, I have my own plans.”

Three days later, an extremely shocking event occurred— the newly appointed Zhuangyuan was attacked on the way to the government office and was severely injured, falling into a coma for a time.

This incident inevitably brought back the rumors of Miss Helan being a femme fatale.

After all, the news about the famous and beautiful Miss Helan, who was engaged to the Zhuangyuan who was a handsome and talented man of the capital, had just spread like wildfire. The previous Shizi of Cao family had rumors with Miss Hean. Now one was a fool and the other was injured, making it hard not to feel weird.

When Helan Ci found out, she was still struggling with the pouches in her room. She put down the pouch and, after listening to Shuang Zhi rush in and speak breathlessly, her first reaction was—absolutely impossible.

With Lu Wuyou’s ability to fly and escape, how could he possibly be caught off guard by a sneak attack?

Then she calmed down for a while and thought, since Lu Wuyou could be easily poisoned, being stabbed wasn’t something completely unimaginable…

Now that the two of them have already betrothed, there are many fewer taboos.

Helan Ci immediately replied, “Prepare the carriage, we’re going out.”

Lu Wuyou had previously lived in her great-uncle’s residence. After she chose a house, it seemed he immediately bought it and moved there. Helan Ci still remembered the location on the map; it was not far from Helan Residence, and the carriage arrived there in no time.

Before she could get off the carriage to explain her purpose, the doorman—she was surprised for a moment that Lu Wuyou actually had a doorman—first greeted her with a courteous smile: “Miss Helan, right? The master has instructed us, please go right in.”

Helan Ci didn’t have the heart to look any longer and went straight into the inner room.

Inside, a familiar, strong, bitter herbal smell permeated the air. Helan Ci’s heart skipped a beat as she saw Lu Wuyou lying on the bed in a simple robe, his face pale and breath faint, as if he couldn’t even open his eyes. His head was wrapped in bandages, and the chest exposed by the bedding faintly showed bl00d-soaked bandages. At first glance, it even gave off a hint of a dying person atmosphere.

A servant-like person was wiping the sweat off Lu Wuyou’s forehead, and the steaming medicine was placed on the low table beside them. Upon seeing Helan Ci, he cleverly said, “Miss Helan, remember to feed the medicine to the master,” and then stepped out.

Helan Ci was startled by his appearance: “You… how did you end up like this? Don’t scare me.”

She couldn’t help but lean closer, lowering her head to examine the wounds on his body.

Lu Wuyou heard the voice and slightly opened his eyes. His peach blossom eyes were languid, his lips moved as if he didn’t even have the strength to speak. His chest heaved a couple of times before he weakly managed to say, “Miss Helan, if I really can’t survive…”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Her tone involuntarily carried a hint of impatience, “Don’t say anything. Where’s the doctor? I’ll go ask the doctor.”
She had just gotten up when she realized that her hem was being held by Lu Wuyou. The finger holding her was extremely strong, making it impossible for her to move an inch.

Helan Ci: “……”

Lu Wuyou leaned against the wall, his face full of illness. He lowered his eyes, his long, delicate eyelashes casting sparse shadows. In a pitiful tone, he said, “The doctor has already left… can you… stay with me?”

Helan Ci then quietly sat down again.

Lu Wuyou continued to tug at her hem, touching the palm of her hand that hung by the edge of the bed. Helan Ci slightly recoiled, but it was gripped even tighter. She steadied her mind and slowly relaxed, feeling a tingling sensation in her palm. She could sense Lu Wuyou’s fingertips writing “Someone is eavesdropping” on her hand.

Helan Ci instantly understood.

She sighed in agreement and said, “I won’t leave, then.”

Then she gently turned her hand and wrote “Who?” on Lu Wuyou’s palm.

This time, Lu Wuyou’s response was very simple; he just lightly traced two strokes on her palm.

Helan Ci’s eyes widened slightly; she hadn’t expected the Second Prince to be so mad as to really want to kill Lu Wuyou. Her heart tightened for a moment, and her hand instinctively tightened around Lu Wuyou’s fingertip.

But then, Lu Wuyou gently shook his head, his fingertip slowly writing the word “test” in her palm.

That means the Second Prince sent someone to assassinate him, not to actually kill him, but just to test him. So now he is pretending to be injured, also to put on a show for the Second Prince’s people.

Thinking through the situation, Helan Ci felt somewhat relieved, but her palms began to feel strange.

The fingers intertwined were slightly sweaty. Originally, Helan Ci rarely had any physical contact with men, and the only time was with Lu Wuyou. No matter how hard she tried to divert her attention, her palms still felt a burning sensation, accompanied by a slight tingling that made her want to pull her hand away.

Breathing unconsciously became a bit hurried.

Lu Wuyou paused for a moment, then slowly released her hand.

Having lost their means of communication, the two could only look at each other in silence, with a hint of awkwardness in the air.

Helan Ci glanced at the medicine bowl beside him, suddenly remembering something, and said, “Why haven’t you taken your medicine yet? How about I feed you this medicine?”

Lu Wuyou’s gaze dimmed slightly: “……”

“Lu Daren, you’re already so seriously ill, why aren’t you drinking the medicine…” Helan Ci picked up the medicine bowl, trying hard to show a tense and worried expression, “Since the doctor prescribed it, even if you’re not feeling well right now, you should drink it, okay?”

Lu Wuyou closed his eyes and tilted his head to one side.

Helan Ci almost couldn’t help but laugh out loud. She put down the medicine bowl, tucked the quilt around Lu Wuyou, and accidentally touched the bl00d-stained hemp cloth on his body with her fingers. Lu Wu You frowned and let out a slight “hiss.”

The acting is really convincing.

Helan Ci was just feeling emotional when she suddenly noticed that the bloodstain she touched with her fingertips was slightly warm.

She was taken aback.

She remembered the temperature of that fake bl00d was cool. Helan Ci moved her finger to her nose, sniffed lightly, and immediately felt something was off. She gently pushed the quilt aside and said, “Lu Daren, let me see your wound.”

Lu Wuyou refused to comply, only mouthing “I’m fine.”

Helan Ci couldn’t just go up and rip off his clothes. Although they had already slept together, their relationship still hovered between being slightly familiar and unfamiliar. Helan Ci hesitated for a moment. She had originally thought the medicine was just for show, but now it seemed it was actually made for him. She softly said, “No matter what, at least drink the medicine.”

“……Lu Daren, are you awake?”

After a while, Lu Wuyou finally opened his eyes and struggled to sit up a bit, somewhat resigned.

Helan Ci skillfully picked up the medicine and brought it to his lips.

Lu Wuyou glanced at the medicine, then at her, his brows furrowing into a “川” shape. In the end, he reached out and took the medicine bowl, his expression showing even more restraint than that night, furrowing his brow and gulping down the medicine.

Helan Ci had just wanted to put down the medicine bowl when Lu Wuyou grabbed her arm.

She didn’t think much of it and turned her head, only to find Lu Wuyou’s pale yet ethereal face suddenly leaning in. His lips brushed against Helan Ci’s ear, his breath lightly grazing her cheek. In a hoarse voice, he dragged out the words, barely above a whisper, “……I’m dying of bitterness, do you have any sugar?”

Helan Ci instantly recalled some rather inappropriate images, and the delicate tips of her ears turned a faint pink.

“I…”

She had just turned her head to speak, but her ear brushed against Lu Wuyou’s lips, sending a jolt through both of them.

For a moment, both of them were stunned.

Just then, footsteps were heard outside the door.

“Brother Ji’an, it was my fault earlier. Hearing that you were injured, I was truly worried…”

Helan Ci and Lu Wuyou hurriedly turned their heads, only to see Lin Zhang standing at the door, also stunned.