The Big Landlord

Chapter 31 - Before Fleeing*

[*T/N: The Chinese word used here is very specific to the situation. It is 逃婚 tao hun and it literally means "to flee to avoid an arranged marriage"]

After leaving the study, Qiao Er and Xing Er hurried back to the lady's boudoir.

An Yu Zhi, who was sitting on a chair, immediately stood up and hurriedly asked, "What did Brother ask you two about?"

"Young Miss, do not worry, Xing Er and I did not say much about your situation, the young master still does not know." Qiao Er said placating. Her smiling face held a hint of smugness*.

[*T/N: 邀功 yao gong: "to take credit for somebody's achievement." The author used this word because the one that responded to An Zi Ran was Xing Er, and here Qiao Er is making it seem like she was the one that cleverly duped him when she said nothing at all.]

An Yu Zhi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Xing Er could not help wrinkling her brow and saying, "Young Miss, is it okay for the two of you to fool the young master like this? If the young master finds out, he will definitely be very angry." When she was just speaking to the young master, she did not dare say too much. She only said a part of the truth, so if the young master found out, the responsibility would not be as heavy.

An Yu Zhi was dissatisfied when she heard her. "Can't let Brother find out."

She was consciously hiding this from An Zi Ran. Especially after hearing that the marriage talks went well, she became even more adamant in her idea.

"Xing Er, you're worrying too much. Even if the young master knows afterwards, it would be impossible for him to punish the young lady. Once our lady marries into the Fu palace she will be a wang fei, who dares to bully her then ah!" Qiao Er said with a look of pride.

Xing Er saw her like that and just shook her head.

Neither of them noticed An Yu Zhi's emotional expression.

Three days later, the wedding date was finally settled on. It was on April 17. It was an auspicious date. Because the sole senior member of the Fu household had some problems with his memory, all the marriage preparations were handled by Fu Wu Tian himself. On the fourth day, the wedding gifts from the Fu palace were sent over to the An family.

The courtyard that they lived in was no longer a rented one. An Zi Ran had spend a few thousand silvers and bought the place. Then the courtyard was converted into one of their houses. This was to prevent An Yu Zhi having to marry out from a rented house. If some ill-intention person found out, there would be an article of gossip.

News of the marriage between the An family and the Fu palace had spread throughout Jun Zi City, causing a great sensation to rock the city.

The war god's reputation was illustrious. Ever since Fu Wu Tian led numerous high-ranking military officers in their return to the city, many people wanted to witness the truth and bravery of the God of War. However, Fu Wu Tian rarely appeared before the masses. He had returned to the city for more than a month, but he still wore a mask while riding outside. Therefore, except for a small group of people, almost no one knew what he was like.

Thus, many rumors spread in Jun Zi City. Most of it was speculation about his appearance, as well as his battle record at the border. News of his marriage roused the people more than the emperor's draft*.

[*T/N: 选秀 xuan xiu: draft (sports)]

The emperor of Da Ya, Fu Chong Yi, was alarmed. Da Ya's God of War, his relative was going to get married. Even he, as the emperor, did not know. So that night, he summoned Fu Wu Tian into the palace.

The names of everyone in the imperial family were recorded in the ancestral hall. Only then would it be recognized. It also needed the emperor's approval. In other words, it meant that the emperor was in control of their marriage. Only he could assign their marriages. The imperial family could not marry casually.

Fu Wu Tian's marriage was worth more to the emperor than his sons.

Although he only returned to the capital for a month, the emperor had already brought up the topic of Fu Wu Tian's marriage more than once. There had been the idea of marrying the minister's daughter to him. Later, because of something, the idea was dispelled, but it did not mean that he gave up.

If Fu Wu Tian wanted to take someone as a concubine then he (the emperor) would not say anything, but the wang fei position, that was no good. The daughter of a landlord in some county wanted to climb into the royal family. It was absolutely impossible!

The emperor's anger soon extinguished.

Although Fu Wu Tian was his close relative, he had control of a large part of the army. For more than ten years, his prestige in the military was even higher than that of the emperor. What made the emperor most afraid was if he (ML) did not want to do something, even if the emperor ordered it, he still won't do it. Not to mention he still had a grandfather with a changeable character.

Fu lao wang ye was the emperor's uncle. In his hands he held the dragon whip of the previous emperor, which gave him the right to supervise the emperor. Although he had not been at court for a long time because of his illness, his right was still there. If he got worked up, even the emperor himself would have to give way*.

[*T/N: 退避三舍 lit. to retreat three day's march (idiom); figuratively "to give way in the face of superior strength;" a strategic withdrawal]

Fu Wu Tian brought his grandfather into the palace for a roundabout stroll. No matter what ideas the emperor came up with it was all no use. He could only acknowledge that the lao wang ye had promised a marriage contract.

Only seven days left until April 17.

While everyone in Jun Zi City was discussing the matter, An Yu Zhi was in a panic.

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