My Husband Became the Most Powerful Minister - Chater 25

Helan Ci sincerely explained, “I didn’t expect her to come to you every day. Uh… if I had known, I would have made a couple more trips myself, so you wouldn’t have to suffer alone.”

She could barely stand listening to it for a moment just now.

Lu Wuyou’s past three days are truly unimaginable.

“Forget it, as long as you have this intention.”

Lu Wuyou didn’t seem to really want to complain to her; he just sighed and rubbed his forehead, saying, “In any case… let’s just get through these days before the wedding. Our marriage is indeed a bit difficult.”

Helan Ci deeply agreed and also sighed.

If it were anyone other than Lu Wuyou, any ordinary official’s son would probably be scared out of their wits after being attacked like this.

Evenif it was a gentleman of good character like Lin Zhang would not break off the engagement with her. Helan Ci would probably feel guilty for dragging him down, and they would develop mutual resentment. Although she still feels a bit guilty now, under the circumstances of mutual entanglement, her mindset is obviously much more relaxed.

“…How much longer?”

Lu Wuyou said, “Once the geng tie is returned, it will take about half a month until the engagement date. Haven’t you seen the lanterns hanging outside the door?”

Helan Ci hesitated and said, “Are you referring to that lantern that is red on one side and white on the other?”

Lu Wuyou calmly said, “Yes, that lantern is red when hung the right side up, and white when hung the other way. Let’s hang it the left way for a while to create a bleak atmosphere, and then turn it the right way when the wedding date is near.”

“……”

Helan Ci was speechless for a moment, then suddenly remembered something: “Oh right, what are all those things piled up outside your door?”

Last time she came, she didn’t see it, but this time she found the courtyard of Lu Wuyou’s residence piled high with things: chickens, ducks, geese, and some unknown herbs still attached to their roots, a towering green onion, several eggs, sun-dried goods, and even a turtle kept in a tank, making it look just like a market.

“Oh, those… are gifts from visitors,” Lu Wuyou said casually. “When I was living at my relative’s place, not many people came to visit. After moving here, especially since I was injured in an assassination attempt, people have been coming non-stop to visit, inquire about my health, and bring gifts. The storeroom couldn’t hold any more, so we just placed them there. There’s still a pile of visiting cards in my study that I haven’t had time to read… I had Qingye and the others return the more expensive ones, and just kept these.”

Helan Ci was slightly surprised: “So many?”

Because her father’s reputation for being “clean and honest” was well-known, very few people came to visit. Even her uncle would deliberately avoid suspicion and rarely came over. The most frequent visitors were probably the impoverished scholars her father occasionally helped, but once they achieved success, her father would often cut off contact. Therefore, Helan Ci was not aware of how busy a typical official residence could be.

Lu Wuyou naturally said, “Because I have a great reputation… you haven’t been out for quite a while?”

Helan Ci paused.

After experiencing the Cao Shizi and the Second Prince incidents, she indeed felt a bit traumatized, fearing that she might encounter more bad situations if she went out. So recently, she basically stayed indoors, only listening to Yao Qianxue tell her all the gossip about the marriage.

Lu Wuyou thought for a moment and said, “…Qingye, come here for a moment.”

Outside the door, Qingye immediately pushed the door open and came in, clearing his throat and saying, “Young Lord, don’t worry, we’ve already persuaded that imperial physician to leave, and we guarantee he hasn’t leaked a word… What? How big is the young lord’s reputation now? Miss Helan, let me tell you, I’m not bragging. In just these three days, our Young Lord’s residence has received forty to fifty visiting cards. Not just from Young Lord’s peers, juniors, and subordinates…Officials from all six ministries have sent invitations wanting to befriend him, including those from the Grand Secretariat, the Imperial Academy, and the city Military Affairs officials. Their ranks aren’t very high, though…If that weren’t enough, there are also some well-known scholars who want to become aides to the young lord, seek refuge, become disciples, ask for guidance… just now the door had to be blocked.”

“……The most common are those seeking guidance and wishing to become disciples. There’s a thick stack of essays submitted in the study.” Qingye spread his arms and gestured, “All of them are students from various places. After Young Lord’s fame for scoring six out of six in the imperial examination spread, it is said that someone in Qingzhou has already started building a Confucian temple for him.”

Lu Wuyou propped his chin and said, “I wanted to tell you about this earlier. The Hanlin Academy is currently working on revising the history of the late emperor. I really don’t have the time to read it, so I was waiting for you to come and help me with it after we get married.

Helan Ci said in surprise, “…… Do I have this obligation?”

Lu Wuyou nodded and said, “You can’t possibly have been in the capital for three years and not read any books, can you?”

She had indeed been reading books; after all, her father was as poor as a church mouse, and the only thing he had in abundance was a collection of books.

Helan Ci paused: “But… they came to find you. Are you sure it’s okay for me to help you?”

Lu Wuyou raised an eyebrow and laughed, “So what? Didn’t you used to be so eager to compete with me in writing that you couldn’t wait to compare essays? Lost your confidence now?”

When their relationship was extremely poor in Qingzhou, besides being sarcastic to each other when they met, Helan Ci also secretly tried to compete with him in writing. At Jiangliu Academy, classes were divided by gender, and every time the results of the small writing tests were announced, they were also separated. Helan Ci’s essays often ranked first on the women’s list back then—although she thought it might be because most families believed that as long as their daughters could read and write, it was sufficient, and there was no need for them to study deeply.

She thought for a moment and said, “If you don’t mind, I don’t have any objections.”

The two were talking when a commotion suddenly erupted outside the door.
“The imperial decree has arrived!”

Helan Ci: “……!”

Lu Wuyou yawned and lay down.

Qingye went out to greet him, and a eunuch’s voice came from outside, saying, “The Emperor knows that Lu Zhuangyuan is bedridden. This one just need to announce this decree inside, and the scholar doesn’t need to get up…” As soon as he entered and saw Helan Ci, he immediately beamed and said, “Miss Helan is also here. That’s great, it saves this one from having to go to the Helan residence later.”

Lu Wuyou continued to tremble, struggling to get up, and the eunuch hurriedly said, “Zhuangyuan, you’re in no condition to move! Just lie down, ah…”

“The Emperor, upon hearing about your assassination attempt, was so worried he couldn’t sleep at night. That’s why he ordered this one to bring these items to you, so you can take good care of yourself. You don’t need to worry about the Hanlin Academy either; I’ve already spoken with the head of the academy. They know that the Zhuangyuan was busy with historical revisions, so they know you won’t neglect your duties.”

Helan Ci looked at the old mountain ginseng that had been sent over. Although the Emperor and the Second Prince didn’t resemble a father and son, they are indeed father and son.

Besides the mountain ginseng, there were also some other precious medicinal herbs.

Lu Wuyou, with a face full of illness and a voice like a mosquito’s buzz, portrayed a severely ill young man to perfection, evoking a sense of pity.

“……Thanking Your Majesty and Qian gonggong¹.”

“Just thanking the Emperor is enough. This one were also worried and came to see you, Zhuangyuan. Those assassins were truly despicable. The Emperor has already sent the Jinyiwei to investigate, and soon we will seek justice for you… Also, the Emperor heard that you are to marry Helan Daren’s daughter. Knowing that Helan Daren lives a modest life, he specially bestowed some jewelry from the palace to Miss Helan as a bridal gift.”

This Helan Ci really didn’t expect it.

She quickly followed suit and expressed her gratitude.

Eunuch Qian smiled like a blooming flower, so kind and amiable: “You two really are a perfect couple. Just looking at you makes this one feel delighted, you are truly a match made in heaven. With a wife like this, Lu Zhuangyuan should take care of himself quickly to avoid letting such a beautiful lady down.”

After sending the person away, only the two of them were left in the room.

The two exchanged a glance, their expressions somewhat subtle.

Lu Wuyou’s gaze shifted away from Helan Ci’s face, and he suddenly smiled, saying, “The Emperor knows that the Second Prince sent someone to assassinate me. He must be making up for his son now, and perhaps it can also be considered an apology for the disrespect shown by his daughter.”

Helan Ci pondered, “But you shouldn’t have known about this.”

Lu Wuyou said with a half-smile, “Yes, so I should be extremely grateful and indebted now, wishing I could give my all to repay the Emperor’s great kindness. I told you, I have a great reputation in the capital. If the news spreads that the Second Prince sent someone to assassinate me out of jealousy, he will really be in trouble.”

Helan Ci said uncertainly, “……You don’t actually want that to spread out, do you?”

Lu Wuyou slowly shook his head, smiling, but with a hint of ambiguity in his eyes: “Even if it gets out, it won’t topple him. But as long as this matter isn’t revealed, the Emperor will feel indebted to me. Look, this not only helps you but also adds to your dowry. If he tries to assassinate me a few more times, who knows, I might get promoted to the position of daily lecturer directly.”

Helan Ci always felt that his words carried a hint of rebelliousness.

Thinking of her father, who had truly a feeling “sacrificed everything for the country,” she couldn’t help but feel a bit complicated, but she also vaguely felt that Lu Wuyou’s words made a lot of sense.

Lu Wuyou noticed her expression, coughed lightly, and said, “…… It’s not a bad thing to be loyal to the emperor and love the country like Helan Daren, but our current situation is quite troublesome.”

Helan Ci said, “It’s okay, I think you… have quite a good opinion.”

Lu Wuyou turned his gaze and looked at her again.

Helan Ci said frankly, “If I were as loyal to the emperor and that patriotic to the country, I would have already married the Second Prince by now.”

Lu Wuyou couldn’t help but tremble slightly, his voice quivering, and he chuckled softly, “True.”

The reason they both ended up in this situation is that they are unwilling to accept their fate.

While speaking, Lu Wuyou casually got up from the bed, his movements completely different from when he was about to die, as if he had become a different person. He walked while pushing open the door and said, “It’s happens that I still have something to do…”

He led Helan Ci outside, and at this moment, the main gate was closed. Ignoring the crowing of roosters and the honking of geese in the courtyard, it still exuded a sense of chill air.

“……Although the house has been bought and tidied up for a few days, most of the rooms haven’t been decorated much. I wanted to ask if you have any preferences?”

Helan Ci was taken aback: “I haven’t even married in yet.”

Lu Wuyou said, “Isn’t it more troublesome to change it after you get married? Besides, in a few days, you won’t come to see me anymore.”

Helan Ci asked in confusion, “Hmm?”

Lu Wuyou candidly said, “I want to avoid trouble—I will say I went to find a miracle doctor for treatment, and won’t be returning home for a while. The prince probably won’t be able to find me.”

Helan Ci didn’t expect him to have this trick up his sleeve.

“You’ve had it tough too…”

Lu Wuyou pointed at the ‘market’ in the courtyard and said, “By the way, you can take whatever you can carry back.” He even introduced some briefly, saying, “This turtle is said to have been raised for a hundred years, and eating it can prolong life. This green onion, the person who brought it said it is a rare divine onion, as tall as a tree, capable of granting wishes… and the medicinal herbs bestowed by the Emperor just now, you can take those as well.”

He looked as if he were clearing out before fleeing.

Helan Ci couldn’t help but say, “Where would I put it…”

Lu Wuyou said, “I’ll have someone deliver it to you by horse-drawn carriage, just consider it my honor to Helan Daren in advance.”

He spoke with utmost sincerity.

Helan Ci made an effort to overcome her instinct to politely refuse, suddenly recalling something. She was about to take out the special zongzi candy she had bought and hand it to Lu Wuyou when she suddenly noticed something had fallen out of her pocket first.

Lu Wuyou saw it before she did, bent down to pick it up for her, and was about to hand it back, thinking it was a handkerchief. But when he took a closer look, he was taken aback.

“……What is this?”

Helan Ci’s eyes flickered and said, “……a pouch.”

Lu Wuyou focused again for a while and said with some difficulty, “Did you embroider this?”

Helan Ci finally couldn’t hold back any longer and reached out, saying, “Can you give it back to me first?”

“Miss Helan…” Lu Wuyou’s voice sounded particularly confused, “May I ask, what is this… pattern you are embroidering?”

“……Just a bunch of black lines.”

“Is there any meaning to it? Does it refer to our current chaotic situation?”

Helan Ci simply went along with his nonsense and nodded, saying, “Yeah, you’re right.”

This time it was Lu Wuyou’s turn: “……?”

She simply decided to throw caution to the wind and said, “I haven’t learned for long, and I’m still not very good at it. I thought I could follow the custom and embroider a pouch for you, but… you should just return it to me.”

Lu Wuyou paused and said, “So… this is… for me?”

Actually, it’s not hard to guess. Traditionally, before marriage, the bride would give the groom tokens like pouches, and this pouch from Helan Ci is indigo in color, which is clearly meant for a man, not something a female would use.

Helan Ci corrected, “It was.”

“To be honest, I’ve never seen such a unique purse… Just thinking that you embroidered it, I can’t help but…” Lu Wuyou’s shoulder quivered, his peach blossom eyes curving into a smile. Under Helan Ci’s glare, he swallowed the latter half of his sentence, “… then I’ll accept it.”

Helan Ci’s face was a bit annoyed: “If you don’t want it, don’t force yourself.”

Although she came intending to give it to him, she just couldn’t bring herself to do it—despite Yao Qianxue’s efforts to comfort her, at least this was a relatively smoother embroidery than the last.

Lu Wuyou had already tucked it away and then seriously changed the subject, saying, “Let’s talk about what kind of arrangements you want. After all, our next meeting might be at the wedding banquet.”

***

It was only when Helan Ci returned home that he realized.

Sweets… forgot to give it to him.

Helan Jian, holding the green onion taller than himself, exclaimed in shock, “There really is such a big green onion! Where did my brother-in-law get this?”

Helan Ci said, “Wait… he’s not one yet.”

Helan Jian said, “You two are already so close, so what’s the big deal! By the way, is he feeling better? Don’t let it be a chongxi wedding! If he find a rooster for the wedding I’ll have to give him troubles!”²

Lu Wuyou has gone into hiding, and Helan Ci’s family has shut their doors. To say there is any joy in the marriage is truly out of the question.

Helan Ci was worried every day about unexpected disasters, such as Noble Consort Li suddenly summoning her to the palace, or the Second Prince directly coming to her door, or even Lu Wuyou suddenly bringing bad news, and so on.

As a result, nothing happened. Even when the matchmaker and relatives of Lu Wuyou coming to deliver the betrothal gifts, it went very peaceful.

Only Yao Qianxue, always in high spirits, came to help her prepare her dowry, forcefully stuffing her with a bed of embroidered wedding quilts, two pillows, and several large red embroidered items.

One day, she even mysteriously dragged Helan Ci into the inner room, her voice extremely low and her face flushed, saying, “My mother is afraid you won’t understand, so she specifically asked me to bring this to you, to prevent you from being bullied in the future.”

Afterwards, she took out two small booklets.

Helan Ci initially thought it was something similar to the erotic books her brother looked at. But as soon as she opened it and saw the pictures in front of her, she was instantly stunned, her head buzzing, and her cheeks burning.

Yao Qianxue, as if having anticipated it, still blushed and said, “Xiao Ci, are you scared too? Just… my mom said it won’t necessarily be very painful, so… don’t be too scared…” She stammered a few words, but couldn’t continue.

At this moment, Helan Ci couldn’t help but recall some things she shouldn’t have remembered.

What was swirling in her mind were the desolate and silent hall that night, the scenes of her muddled and fragmented consciousness.

It’s not particularly painful…But Lu Wuyou holding her waist and whispering teasingly in her ear suddenly became as clear as yesterday.

His voice was drawn out, with a sticky and nonchalant tone, as he kissed the tip of her ear, articulating each word one by one. His praises were unbelievable and made her blush, and he even encouraged her to say it out loud too.

How could she possibly say it?

Ah——

Helan Ci pressed her head hard.

Yao Qianxue was startled: “What’s wrong! Xiaoci, if you’re scared, don’t look… Anyway… isn’t he still seriously ill? He might not even be able to do it! Yeah, that’s right! He definitely can’t—”

Helan Ci: “……”

No one knows better than Helan Ci whether Lu Wuyou can do it.

To the extent that, in addition to her worries, she felt an indescribable sense of shame and tension.

A few days after Lu Wuyou had sent the betrothal gifts.

Someone sent over several large crates. Helan Ci initially thought they were empty crates for her wedding gifts from Lu Wuyou, so she had Shuang Zhi’s people take them in.

Before long, Shuang Zhi, with a look of astonishment on her face, said, “Miss, Miss, come quickly and see!”

Inside the opened box, seven garments in rainbow hues—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet—were neatly arranged, one piece per color. Each garment, while unique in style, was simple, elegant, and designed for ease of movement. The fabrics were clearly of the highest quality, including luxurious silks like ruanyanluo (soft smoke gauze), xueguangduan (snowlight satin), and zhijinjin (woven gold brocade), subtly woven with hidden patterns and shimmering gold and silver thread.

The second box also held seven skirts, each distinct in style and color.

The final two boxes were filled with winter attire: padded jackets and skirts, long velvet cloaks, fox fur capes, and more. Each piece was exquisitely crafted with fine, meticulous stitching, promising exceptional comfort.

Reaching the last box, they saw that the one, even larger than the previous ones, was adorned with a golden lock in the shape of a ruyi (scepter) and double happiness symbol.

Upon opening it, a dazzling golden light immediately shone, almost blindingly. Inside lay a magnificent and radiant crimson wedding dress. The cloud collar (yúnjiān) and ornamental cape (xiapi) were embroidered with auspicious dragon and phoenix patterns in gold thread. At the edges were studded red ruby beads, with hanging tassels covering the front. The skirt trailed on the ground, extending into a long, gold-trimmed train resembling a peacock’s tail, shimmering and dazzling in the sunlight, a scene of breathtaking beauty.

Resting upon the dress was a complete set of exquisitely crafted phoenix crown and head ornaments. These included huadian (forehead decorations), tiaoxin (hairpins), yanbin (temple ornaments), etc., as well as a pair of gold phoenix hairpins, a pair of gold hairpins in the shape of twin lotus flowers, with long, dangling pearl chains – Wedding attire, often granted special dispensation by the imperial court, could surpass normal regulations, and no degree of magnificence was deemed too much.

Helan Ci was taken aback for a moment.

A letter, with “Upon reading this, it is as if we meet” written on the cover, lay squarely in the center.

She steadied herself and opened it.

Lu Wuyou’s handwriting, casual and free-spirited, concealed a sharp edge within its strokes, succinctly conveying a single line.

——Given as compensation to my wife. [Signed] 憂 (Yōu).³

1. 公公 (gōnggong) has a few meanings, including “grandfather” or “father-in-law.” In this context it is used to address a high ranking eunuch.
2. 沖喜 (chōngxǐ) refers to a practice of holding a wedding to ward off bad luck or illness, especially when someone is seriously ill. Sometimes, if the groom is too ill to participate, a rooster might be used as a symbolic stand-in during the ceremony.
3. 憂 (Yōu) from Lu Wuyou name “陸無憂”

T/N: I have not learned how to use footnote QAQ. So please bear with this inconvenient footnote for now…. I will definitely learn how to do it asap! (˶˃ᆺ˂˶)