Chapter 85: The Zhou Family
The journey was uneventful. The group simply spurred their horses into a wild gallop, only stopping in the evening to rest at a roadside inn.
By the next morning, they had finally arrived outside Yanzhou City.
A grand, ancient city crouched before them like a colossal beast. Its walls bore the scars of swords and axes, testament to the countless wars it had endured. Faint Array Patterns seemed to shimmer across its surface.
Ordinarily, they had no visible effect, but they would be fully activated in times of war.
It was said that under the Array’s power, even experts above the Innate realm could only scale the walls with their own two legs. Their abilities to fly through the sky and perform an Earth Escape would be suppressed upon approaching the city.
Lu Yuan felt a surge of respect just gazing at it from a distance. It was because of the protection of great cities like this on the Northern Border that the common people could live such peaceful lives.
"This must be your first time in Yanzhou City. Have Hongling show you around for a few days—there are plenty of fun places to see," Hong Cheng said with a smile, turning to look at Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan nodded and said softly, "As you command, Marquis."
"Haha, let’s go!" Hong Cheng shouted. His whip cracked, and his warhorse charged forward.
Lu Yuan and the others followed close behind.
As they neared the city gate, the guards saw Hong Cheng and dared not show any neglect. They immediately bowed. "Greetings, Marquis."
The group, however, didn’t stop, continuing straight on.
The warhorses’ hooves clopped crisply on the bluestone pavement.
About an hour later, they arrived outside the main gate of the Zhou Mansion.
Lu Yuan couldn’t help but marvel internally at the sheer size of Yanzhou City.
"Is the meal ready?" the Marquis of Jiuse asked, turning to Zhou Ren. After dismounting, he tossed his whip to a nearby Personal Guard and strode inside with the ease of a frequent visitor.
He had clearly been to the Zhou Family many times before.
"Marquis, I sent word to the household ahead of time. It should be just about ready now."
"That’s good." With that, Hong Cheng clapped Lu Yuan on the shoulder and led him inside.
Meanwhile, not far away, a massive carriage had stopped on the same street as the Zhou Mansion.
Inside the carriage, an obese woman sat in the main seat while two handsome young men kneaded her shoulders. In a subservient position below her, Zhang Zhe carefully massaged her fat, greasy legs.
With his head bowed in submission, he looked nothing like the sinister, ruthless warrior he had been on the battlefields Beyond the Passes.
"My Lady, the Marquis of Jiuse has gone to the Zhou Family," the steward’s voice announced from outside the carriage.
The woman replied coolly, "I didn’t expect to run right into them while passing through Yan Province. What dreadful luck."
As she spoke, a flash of displeasure crossed her small eyes.
THUD!
She sent Zhang Zhe staggering with a kick.
Her voice was laced with frost. "You can’t even massage legs properly. To think I went to all the trouble of dragging you back from Beyond the Passes. I should have just let you die out there."
Zhang Zhe didn’t dare to speak.
Beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
At that moment, his heart was a mess of complicated feelings.
’Somehow, this Zhi Girl’s family found out about our connection and is now arranging for us to be married.’
When he first heard the news, Zhang Zhe had been overjoyed.
But soon after, confusion set in.
It was obvious the Zhi Girl’s family couldn’t find any man from a better-standing family willing to marry her. So, upon learning of Zhang Zhe’s circumstances, they had become desperate to arrange the marriage.
After all, while the Zhang Family wasn’t a great aristocratic house, it was, at least, a recognized clan.
His eldest uncle had now become the Governor of Yunzhou, making him a lord in his own right.
By now, Zhang Zhe also knew the identity of the woman before him: the ninth daughter of Prince Polu. A mishap during her childhood cultivation had resulted in her current appearance. As he spent more time with her, he discovered the Zhi Girl wasn’t just gluttonous, but also incredibly cruel.
She was far from a suitable wife.
But things had progressed too far. He had no way out. The Commandery Prince had issued the decree, leaving the Zhang Family no room to refuse.
What’s more, his uncle seemed to fully approve of the marriage.
He’d stated frankly that forging a connection with the Commandery Prince was a first-rate opportunity for both Zhang Zhe and their family.
So, he could only endure it. But he didn’t know when, or if, this misery would ever end.
’Lu Yuan... this is all your fault,’ Zhang Zhe thought. ’If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have to suffer this humiliation.’
A vicious glint flashed in his eyes for a fleeting moment.
"What? Are you unhappy about it?" the Zhi Girl’s voice rang out again.
Zhang Zhe forced a smile and said quickly, "How could I be? I was just lost in thought for a moment."
He then shuffled closer and resumed massaging the Zhi Girl’s legs. She closed her eyes. "Mm. My father said that after we’re married, you’ll be appointed a post in the Imperial City. You’ll start as a Captain, and your position will be promoted slowly.
Your cultivation level is far too weak.
It wouldn’t look good to give you too high an office. You’ve consumed so many Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, yet you’ve only just reached the Organ Refining realm. You’re utterly useless."
The Zhi Girl grumbled with dissatisfaction.
However, she didn’t strike Zhang Zhe again.
In truth, she knew in her heart that it was impossible for her to find a husband from a family of equal social standing. In fact, even for someone from a family like Zhang Zhe’s, any normal person would refuse to marry her.
Zhang Zhe’s family was, how should one put it, an outlier. But if not for that, the two of them would never have come together.
As for the matter with Lu Yuan, she was well aware of it.
The day after she first met Zhang Zhe, the Zhi Girl had already uncovered everything there was to know about his family and his various connections.
This, in turn, made the Zhi Girl look down on the Zhang Family even more.
However, this came with one benefit: they were easy to control.
Thinking of this, the Zhi Girl’s lips curled into a smirk as she watched Zhang Zhe’s obedient act.
As for Lu Yuan, she had no particular designs on him. She knew that Zhang Zhe had only approached her in the first place because of Lu Yuan.
She had figured that out long ago.
Therefore, keeping Lu Yuan alive was the best way to make Zhang Zhe more obedient and to constantly keep him on edge.
With this in mind, she called out to the steward, "Let’s get moving."
Her voice faded as the carriage rumbled onward.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan was seated at the main table in the Zhou Family’s hall, right next to Hong Cheng.
Because of the Marquis of Jiuse’s arrival,
the heads of the various family branches had also been invited to the feast.
However, they could not sit at the same table as the Marquis; they were seated at tables just outside the main hall.
With a full seven or eight tables set out, the atmosphere was quite lively.
Since the master of the fourth branch had died young, its representatives were the mother and daughter pair, Wang Clan and Hong Xiu.
During the meal, the two of them took notice of Lu Yuan. After all, not only was he young and handsome, but most importantly, they could see that the Marquis of Jiuse, Hong Cheng, was showing the young man exceptional favor.
Now, Hong Xiu had also reached a marriageable age.
It was only natural for her to pay close attention to such a promising young man.
Wang Clan, knowing her daughter’s mind, immediately spoke to a family disciple who had gone on the expedition with Zhou Hongling. "Who is that young man at the main table? Why is the Marquis showing him such favor?"
The Zhou Family disciple beside her immediately replied, "Ma’am, you may not know this, but that’s Lu Yuan. He used to be Big Sister Hongling’s subordinate. On this recent expedition Beyond the Passes, he repeatedly earned great merits and even saved the Marquis’s life. He’s only seventeen, and he’s already a Captain in Icefield City.
And given his talent and cultivation speed, it probably won’t even be a year before he’s promoted to a full-fledged Captain.
Seventeen! Imagine what he’ll become in the future."
His voice was thick with envy.
Hearing this, Wang Clan and her daughter exchanged a look, both of them momentarily stunned.