I only wished to take up my fiefdom, but my elder brother forced me to rebel.

There were hurried footsteps behind the pillars.

A woman came around the side path, her skirt billowing in the wind, and the silver hairpin in her hair was askew, but no one bothered to straighten it.

She jogged along, her shoes making a pattering sound as they stepped on the bluestone slabs.

Seeing Su Yuling leaning against a pillar from afar, his eyes reddened.

"Jade Spirit!"

Shen Hanqiu rushed over, grabbed Su Yuling's wrists with both hands, and looked her up and down.

"Hello, what's wrong? I rushed here as soon as I heard the news. Please don't do anything rash!"

After being shaken twice, Su Yuling smiled.

Fifth Sister-in-law, I'm alright.

"What's wrong with you? The whole capital is talking about it, and you still won't admit it?"

Tears streamed down Shen Hanqiu's face, her voice trembling, "If something were to happen to you, how could your brother's spirit rest in peace?"

Su Yuling didn't say anything, but instead grabbed her hand.

My body was ice-cold, and I was covered in cold sweat the whole way.

"I'm fine now."

The door to the front hall was opened, making a sound.

Lu Yuan followed Su Tan out the door, looked around, and then turned his gaze to the woman next to Su Yuling.

I watched it twice.

Shen Hanqiu wore a moon-white ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with a plain sash tied around her waist, and her hair was styled in a drooping bun.

Her features were delicate, and her eyebrows and eyes were very clean.

Her eyes were full of tears, and very bright.

Lu Yuan thought to himself: The Su family has excellent feng shui, and the girls are all beautiful.

When Su Tan saw Shen Hanqiu, his face, which had been tense all morning, finally relaxed, and he managed a smile.

"Autumn's here? Quick, everyone, let's go inside!"

Shen Hanqiu released Su Yuling's hand and bowed to Su Tanfu.

"grandfather."

"Okay, okay, come in and have a seat!"

Su Tan tapped the ground with his cane, his tone much better than before.

A group of people entered the front hall.

When Zhao and Li saw Shen Hanqiu arrive, they quickly offered him a seat and poured him water.

After helping Su Yuling to a chair, Shen Hanqiu didn't let go of her hand.

Lu Yuan didn't sit down. Instead, he leaned against the door frame, tilted his head, and winked at Su Yuling.

Su Yuling's face turned red.

"Did you hear what I just said to the Earl?"

Lu Yuan crossed his arms over his chest, his attitude very casual.

Su Yuling didn't speak, but just twisted the hem of her clothes in her hands.

What are you thinking?

The venue was very quiet.

Zhao and Li were even breathing very carefully. Su Tan held his teacup but didn't drink it, his eyes fixed on his granddaughter.

Su Yuling raised her head and looked at Lu Yuan's face for three seconds.

"After we get married, will you really not interfere with my martial arts training?"

When has Lu Yuan ever lied?

"People who practice martial arts often get injured. Can you handle it?"

"It's bearable."

Lu Yuan answered readily, "If you're not satisfied, I can be your sparring partner when we get home. Although I'm not as good as you, I still have experience taking a beating."

Su Yuling's lips twitched, and she almost laughed out loud, but she held it in.

Shen Hanqiu, who was standing next to her, opened her eyes wide.

"So you're the legendary Ninth Prince, the one with no ambition?"

Lu Yuan turned around and bowed to her.

"That's right, it's me!"

Shen Hanqiu jumped up from her chair, pointed her finger at Lu Yuan's nose, and spoke in a hurried and harsh tone.

"Ninth Prince, no matter if you are a prince or anything else, if you dare to bully Yu Ling, as her sister-in-law, I will definitely not let you get away with it!"

Everyone in the room was stunned.

Before Su Tan could put down his teacup, Zhao opened her mouth wide, and Li stopped chanting.

Lu Yuan was taken aback, then raised his eyebrows and smiled.

"Huh? So, what method do you plan to use to achieve your goal?"

Shen Hanqiu choked.

She had spoken in one breath, and now that someone was asking her "why not let it go," her train of thought was immediately blocked.

His fingers were still stuck in front of Lu Yuan, and his mouth moved three or four times, but he didn't make a sound.

Su Yuling turned her head to the side, her shoulders trembling.

"I, I, I..." Shen Hanqiu's face turned bright red. After holding it in for a long time, she gritted her teeth.

"I'm going to eat you up!"

After a moment of silence in the front hall, Lu Yuan finally smiled.

It wasn't a polite laugh; he was genuinely amused, laughing so hard his shoulders were shaking, and he bent over to cover his stomach.

Shen Hanqiu's face was so red it looked like it could bleed, and she wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground.

Su Yuling finally couldn't help but smile slightly, but quickly looked away.

Su Tan coughed twice and tapped the ground with his cane.

"This is outrageous!"

Although he said that, a smile still appeared in the corner of the old man's eyes.

Lu Yuan finished laughing, stood up, and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"What my fifth sister-in-law said is the most powerful thing I've ever heard."

Shen Hanqiu glared at him, then sat down in the chair and stopped talking.

After Lu Yuan stopped smiling, he looked at Su Yuling again.

With a serious expression, he took two steps forward and stopped in front of her.

"Yu Ling, let me say it again. I, Lu Yuan, will not use the rules of the inner quarters to restrict you, nor will I restrict you from wielding swords and spears, riding horses and shooting arrows. If you are willing, I will find opportunities for you to command troops, fight on the battlefield, and carry on the banner of the Su family."

Su Yuling's eyes flickered slightly.

Command the army and fight the enemy.

To have someone else utter these eight words is like drawing a picture of a cake to satisfy hunger.

However, the weight of such words carried by a prince is entirely different.

Her grandfather spent his entire life fighting, and her father and his brothers, a total of nine people, all died on the battlefield.

The Su family's glory was earned with their lives.

But as a woman, once married, she could only stay in the inner quarters and couldn't even touch a knife.

She was not convinced.

Is what you're saying true?

"If my word doesn't count, then you can have Fifth Sister-in-law bite me to death."

Shen Hanqiu glared at him angrily from the side.

Su Yuling looked down at the thing in her hand and stared at it for a long time.

My hands are covered in calluses, all from frequently handling knives.

After a long while, she finally raised her head and nodded slightly.

Although the movement was small, everyone saw it.

The teacup Su Tan was holding fell onto the table, spilling all the water inside.

"Good! Very good! Very good!"

He said "okay" three times, then walked over with his cane and said to Su Fu, "Go prepare lunch! Kill the old hen in the backyard! And bring out the osmanthus wine I've been storing for three years!"

Su Fu agreed and then ran out.

Zhao and Li also started to cry, but this time it was tears of joy.

Aunt Zhao held Su Yuling's hand and kept repeating the same sentence.

"At least I don't have to die."

Lu Yuan stood there, a slight smile playing on his lips.

It became.

The marriage between the Su family and the Su family is now considered settled.

The next step was to return to the palace to request an imperial decree for the marriage, push forward the horseshoe issue, and once a foothold was established, things would be much easier.

Just as he was considering it, hurried footsteps came from the door.

A twelve or thirteen-year-old maidservant ran into the front hall and, still not quite catching her breath, curtsied to Shen Hanqiu.

"Miss, we snuck out. Master and Young Master Han don't know! People from the manor came by earlier and said Master has found out and is furious!"

Shen Hanqiu's expression immediately turned ugly.

The initial drive was gone, replaced by an unconcealable fear.

She instinctively grabbed her sleeve, and her fingers turned blue.

Su Yuling moved quickly and grabbed her hand in one go.

"Is the Han family still clinging to you?"

Shen Hanqiu opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Su Yuling's gaze became very heavy.

Lu Yuan frowned upon seeing this scene.

"What happened?"