Starting from the border troops, I've worked my way up to become a Martial Emperor.

Chapter 86 Regret

"Lu Yuan, isn't this the man I promised to my daughter? How did a centurion become a captain in the blink of an eye?" Wang thought to herself.

Then a hint of joy appeared in his eyes.

In that case, shouldn't we go back to Hongling and finalize the marriage?

Thinking about this, I lost my appetite.

He was just eagerly waiting for the banquet to end so he could go find Zhou Hongling.

Hongxiu, standing to the side, clearly also had her own ideas.

She glanced at Lu Yuan from time to time, her face full of satisfaction.

As time went by, the banquet ended after the meal, and Hongcheng left.

Wang blocked Zhou Hongling, who was about to leave with Lu Yuan. At this moment, the latter looked at this fourth aunt with a look of surprise in her eyes. She did not expect that the other party would come to find her. After all, since the last marriage proposal, this fourth aunt and Hongxiu had been deliberately avoiding her.

"Fourth Aunt, is there something you need?" Zhou Hongling asked softly.

Wang glanced at Lu Yuan, sized him up, then pulled Zhou Hongling aside, gesturing for her to talk to him.

After all, she was an elder. Although Zhou Hongling didn't have much affection for this fourth aunt, she didn't refuse and followed her.

Having just reached a secluded spot, Madam Wang glanced at Lu Yuan, who was waiting in the distance, and whispered, "Hongling, your fourth aunt has always treated you well, hasn't she?"

"Just tell me what's on your mind," Zhou Hongling said with a wry smile.

She knew that Wang was a busybody and liked to scheme, and she wondered what she was up to this time.

Upon hearing Zhou Hongling's words, Madam Wang did not hesitate and immediately said, "It's like this, Hongxiu has changed her mind and now wants to marry Lu Yuan. Should we go and talk to her again?"

"Fourth Aunt, when I introduced Hongxiu to someone, you took her to my father's courtyard and changed the subject. Moreover, this matter has reached Lu Yuan's ears, and he probably won't agree."

Zhou Hongling immediately replied.

A hint of wariness unconsciously crept into his eyes.

Wang said anxiously, "If he's unwilling, can he go against his family? You're his superior. If you step in, Lu Yuan will definitely agree. As long as he marries Hongxiu, some misunderstandings can be gradually resolved."

"Fourth Aunt, what you said was really true when I introduced Lu Yuan to Hongxiu, but things are different now. He has great talent and is valued by the Marquis. He is a seventeen-year-old captain, which is more impressive than I was back then. He will rise to prominence in the future."

The family is really considering his ideas; it's not something that can be arranged simply by finding someone else.

Zhou Hongling immediately shut down Wang's next words.

"W-what do you mean by this? Oh dear..."

"Fourth Aunt, I have some things to attend to, so I'll be leaving now. Please don't think about Lu Yuan for now." Zhou Hongling hurriedly walked towards Lu Yuan before Wang Shi could finish speaking.

She didn't want to waste any more time arguing with Wang.

Upon arriving at Lu Yuan's side, she quickly said, "Let's go."

Seeing Zhou Hongling's anxious expression, the other person didn't say anything, nodded, and followed her outside.

After a moment, he asked with some confusion, "What happened?"

"My fourth aunt wants to marry her daughter to you. Do you have any thoughts?" Zhou Hongling looked at Lu Yuan with a half-smile.

"Uh, I don't have any plans to get married right now," the latter said hesitantly.

"Is it because you don't have a girl you like?" Zhou Hongling stared at Lu Yuan.

"I guess so, and I'm used to being alone."

Hearing Lu Yuan say this, Zhou Hongling seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Then he said, "Now that you're in Yanzhou City, stay here for a couple of days. Come back to the Icefield Fortress with me the day after tomorrow. Relax for the next couple of days."

"Alright, I'll do as you say, sir." Lu Yuan nodded.

Zhou Hongling continued, "I'll introduce you to someone later. You two are about the same age, you'll definitely get along well."

As she spoke, she led Lu Yuan into a courtyard.

Inside, a young man was drinking, wearing a long blue brocade robe with his chest deliberately torn open.

Lying in the pavilion in the courtyard was incredibly pleasant.

A maidservant carefully fanned herself from the side.

"Snapped!"

As Zhou Hongling approached, she slapped the boy on the shoulder. The boy opened his eyes instantly, and before his anger could rise, his face turned into a smile upon seeing Zhou Hongling.

"Sis, when did you get back?"

"I came back at noon. Why didn't you go to the banquet at home?" Zhou Hongling was clearly a little angry.

The boy said, sounding aggrieved, "I just woke up."

Then, looking at Lu Yuan, she asked with some confusion, "Who is this elder brother?"

He rarely saw his sister walking around the manor with young men.

"Lu Yuan, the captain of the Icefield Pass, you're about the same age. I have some business to attend to this afternoon. You can take him around Yanzhou City. All expenses will be deducted from my account. Take this seriously, or Father will break your legs," Zhou Hongling said bluntly to her younger brother.

"Hey, what a great deal! No problem, I've got it covered," the boy said, patting his chest.

Zhou Hongling turned to Lu Yuan and said softly, "This is my younger brother, Zhou Hao. I'm accompanying the Marquis to handle some matters this afternoon, so I won't have time until tomorrow. Let my brother show you around first."

"Alright, I'll listen to you, sir," Lu Yuan said with a light laugh.

At this moment, Zhou Hao stood up, smiled, walked to Lu Yuan's side, stood on tiptoe, put his arm around the other's shoulder and said, "Haha, Brother Lu Yuan, right? Then I'll call you Brother Yuan from now on."

Let's go out now; I know Yanzhou City best.

Seeing her younger brother's enthusiasm, Zhou Hongling nodded in satisfaction, then said to Lu Yuan, "Then I'll be going now."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Zhou Hao then pulled Lu Yuan aside and said, "Brother Yuan, I recently discovered a really fun place. If we go there now, it'll be just opening. You're in luck today."

After saying that, she ignored her disheveled clothes and walked straight outside.

Lu Yuan followed, his face full of curiosity.

Once outside, the carriage was ready. It was quite luxurious in appearance and not only had maids but also eight guards with knives.

Such a display left Lu Yuan speechless. As expected of a son of a military family, he had never enjoyed such treatment before.

"Brother Yuan, come on up! My carriage is huge, it can fit all of us without any problem," Zhou Hao said enthusiastically.

Lu Yuan didn't stand on ceremony and immediately got into the carriage.

Inside, there was a small table laden with various fruits, and two maids were carefully attending to them.

As the carriage moved forward, there was not a single bump in the way.

This made Lu Yuan sigh inwardly once again, realizing that there are always people who know how to enjoy life.

As the carriage gradually moved forward.

Shouts could be heard from time to time on the street, clearly from the guards cleaning the streets.

However, Lu Yuan could also see that Zhou Hao just liked to show off, but his intentions weren't bad.

Although he was a bit unreliable on the way, I was very polite to him.

After an unknown amount of time, the carriage stopped, and Lu Yuan followed Zhou Hao off the carriage, only to find that it had stopped outside a brothel.

Before even entering, a strong scent of rouge filled the air.