The Lucky Heiress

Upon hearing the news, Wei Qingwan, in a daze, shattered the teacup in her hand.

Then, she collapsed back into her seat.

“Wei Qingruo… to become the lawful wife of the Ninth Prince…”

Only after a while did Wei Qingwan snap back to reality. She turned to Cuihe, who had brought the news, for confirmation: “Really, the legitimate wife of the Ninth Prince? You didn’t mishear?”

Cuihe pressed her lips together and shook her head with a mournful expression: “This slave triple-checked, she is indeed the legitimate wife.”

“Why is Wei Qingruo so lucky?” Wei Qingwan couldn’t understand.

Back when she was in Taizhou prefecture, she was disturbed by rumors and had a bleak future. She, against all odds, received a royal marriage and became the concubine of Prince Yu.

But the rumors about her back then were baseless with no concrete evidence.

On the other hand, Wei Ruo’s engagement cancellation and the prophecy from Daoist Qianyuan about her killing her husband were substantial.

Wei Qingwan was genuinely confounded as to why, under such circumstances, someone would still want to marry Wei Ruo, and this person happened to be the presently favored Ninth Prince!

“Miss, don’t worry, isn’t the court abuzz that the Ninth Prince is a sickly man who doesn’t have long to live? The eldest miss judgment to marry him is to be a widow, far inferior to yours,” Cuihe comforted her.

“But even if the Ninth Prince is short-lived, she as a widow will still have a worry-free life! She shouldn’t still have such good fortune… she was abandoned by the Xuanping Marquis Residence, how can she still manage to find a better marriage match?” Wei Qingwan gritted her teeth.

“Miss, calm down, your health is the most important. Now things are still not clear, even if the eldest miss gets truly married, it might not be a good thing. This slave heard that the Ninth Prince is not only sickly but also very odd and ruthless. He straight-up beat a maid to death who did not serve him right.”

Wei Qingwan remained silent for a long time, unconsciously clenched her fists, and her lips were pressed into a tight line.

###

King Jing’s Mansion.

Lu Yuhong came to find Chu Lan with a jug of fine wine.

Upon pushing the door to Chu Lan’s study and seeing him cleaning a bow and arrow set, Lu Yuhong teased: “You’re actually still so leisurely? The Emperor has already set your marriage, aren’t you the least bit anxious?”

Chu Lan, wearing a casual indigo suit, stood in front of the bookshelf and leisurely cleaned the bow and arrows without interruption.

Facing Lu Yuhong’s tease, he responded calmly: “There’s no need to rush.”

“Why is there no need to rush? This is a major event in your life, decided so abruptly. I thought it would at least wait until Prince Yu’s wedding.”

“He’s not in a rush to arrange a marriage for me, rather it’s for Chu Yi,” Chu Lan replied calmly.

“That Chu Yi indeed needs to quickly arrange a marriage, out of fear that his body can’t hold up. I just lament for Miss Wei of the Wei Family a bit, I’m kind of reluctant for her to marry such a man on his deathbed,” Lu Yuhong sighed.

Unusually, Lu Yuhong revealed a regretful expression over someone else’s marriage.

“You seem to have a fondness for Miss Wei?” Chu Lan asked.

“Don’t misinterpret. I don’t have those kind of romantic feelings for her. I think of her as a friend. Moreover, she has saved my life,” he clarified.

“Best if not because, even if it were so, she’s already been granted a marriage to Chu Yi. Nobody can change this fact now,” Chu Lan said.

“I’m aware of that.”

Lu Yuhong placed the wine on the bookcase, then invited Chu Lan to drink with him: “Come on, let’s drink, this is a fine wine I stole from my old man.”

Lu Yuhong noticed that Chu Lan was still staring at the bow and arrow in his hand.

“What’s so special about this bow and arrow that you’ve been looking at it for so long?”

“This bow and arrow have been refined and can fire at a farther range than ordinary ones.”

“What?” Lu Yuhong immediately stood up, full of curiosity, and came to Chu Lan’s side.

After examining the bow and arrow for a while, he was not satisfied and took it from Chu Lan’s hand to try it out.

As a martial arts fanatic, he was the most familiar with these things.

“This bow and arrow seem ordinary, whether it be the bowstring or the bow itself. But I know that a miss is as good as a mile. Even a slight deviation in the length, hardness, or angle of this bow’s arm can lead to a huge impact. The same goes for this bowstring. The material, thickness, and tension can all result in a major difference,” Lu Yuhong explained before asking Chu Lan, “Where did you get this bow and arrow?”

“It’s currently in use by the Anti-Japanese Army, an improved technology brought by Xu Zhengyong,” Chu Lan replied.

“Was the repeating crossbow and thunderbolt bullet also brought by him?” Lu Yuhong asked.

“It was him.”

“Good lad, surprisingly capable of acquiring such good things!”

“Not his capability.”

“Not his?”

“He has a cousin named Xu Heyou.”

“Xu Heyou? Your lifesaver?”

“It’s him.”

“This Xu Heyou is really capable. Why didn’t you recruit him under your command, give him a government position, and let him show his ambition on the court?”

“He doesn’t like it.”

As they discussed this matter, a layer of frost involuntarily formed between Chu Lan’s brows, as he recalled Xu Heyou’s cold expression when facing him.

“I really don’t understand you guys,” Lu Yuhong shook his head, “Never mind, I don’t care about your relationship. Do you have more of these bows? Give me one, I want to take it back to try.”

“No more,” Chu Lan took the bow back from Lu Yuhong and put it carefully back on the wall.

“Stingy,” Lu Yuhong muttered under his breath.

Then he proposed to Chu Lan to go out for a stroll, which Chu Lan agreed to.

###

Because the imperial decree concerning Wei Ruo’s royal marriage had been issued, her status in the Loyal and Righteous Duke’s Residence greatly improved, even better than before her engagement with the Xuanping Marquis Residence was called off.

Today, Wei Ruo wanted to go out, and the old Madam Wei readily agreed without much thought.

Wei Ruo further stated that she didn’t want to go out with other brothers and sisters from the mansion. Old Madam Wei hesitated but still agreed, assigning only a nanny and some guards to accompany Wei Ruo.

The nanny assigned this time was Nanny Zhang, whom Wei Ruo was familiar with, making it easier for Wei Ruo to act.

She went to the house that Wei Jinyi had previously taken her to and changed her clothes there.

Her second brother had told her before she left last time that this house was usually vacant. He left all the disguises there for her so she could come here whenever she needed to.

After changing clothes with Xiumei, Wei Ruo then went out pretending to be Xu Heyou.

They arrived at Tongde Hall and found the same shopkeeper as before.

As Wei Ruo was talking to the shopkeeper, Chu Lan and Lu Yuhong walked in from outside.

Lu Yuhong was prattling on to Chu Lan: “You have no idea how stubborn my old man is. His old injury was recurating and causing a lot of pain, but he insisted he was fine and refused to see a doctor.”

Chu Lan’s attention was no longer on Lu Yuhong, but on the Wei Ruo, dressed as a man, at the counter…