Glory

Ye Yaming nodded.

She then asked, "What's the situation with your younger brother?"

She had previously asked Yun'er to investigate and only knew that Lu Guanyu was a typical scion of an aristocratic family. Shi Shi had hired private tutors for him since childhood, arranged martial arts training, and groomed him to become the heir of the marquis household. If Lu Zhongyong hadn't intervened and Duke Wei's household hadn't collapsed, perhaps both Shi Kun's army and Lu Zhongyong's troops would eventually be handed over to Lu Guanyu.

Although Shi Shi only had Lu Guanyu as her son, she invested great care in his upbringing with extremely strict demands, showing no indulgence.

However, with the Duke Wei's household as his maternal family, the empress as his aunt, and being the son of the Xuanwu Marquis, Lu Guanyu had been pampered since childhood and was extremely arrogant. Few people in the capital could gain his approval. If those incompetent aristocratic sons approached him and annoyed him, he wouldn't hesitate to humiliate them openly.

She didn't know whether he had ever humiliated Lu Guanyi before, or what feelings Lu Guanyi held toward this younger brother.

Mentioning Lu Guanyu, Lu Guanyi's expression grew more complicated.

"After Shi Shi entered the household, I lived with my grandparents in the old residence and had no contact with this side. Growing up, I've had very few interactions with Lu Guanyu. The most recent was during the vigil after my grandfather's passing. I was fourteen then, and he was twelve. He stood before me with great arrogance and told me not to compete with him for the heir position, or I wouldn't even be able to keep my life."

"I've never understood whether he still harbored some goodwill, not wanting brothers to fight over the heir position, and was kindly advising me; or whether Shi Shi, considering my father's feelings and unwilling to kill me, deliberately made him say this to make me voluntarily give up."

Shi Shi wanted Lu Guanyu to become the heir of the Xuanwu Marquis Household not because she cared about the noble military title, but because she aimed for the military power in Lu Zhongyong's hands.

Although the troops under Lu Zhongyong were recruited by the imperial court, he had spent over ten to twenty years living and eating with them, gradually building them up. These hundred thousand troops bore his distinct imprint.

Unless his son lacked military talent, under equal circumstances, the emperor would certainly have to let his son succeed him as the general. If his son achieved military merits, the noble title wouldn't even be downgraded.

For example, Duke Wei's army was built by himself, so when he grew too old to lead troops, Shi Kun—who had already become a third-rank general through military achievements—was exceptionally promoted to first-rank general to replace him. After Duke Wei's death, if Shi Kun were the heir of Duke Wei, he could continue being Duke Wei without being demoted to marquis.

Lu Guanyu was Lu Zhongyong's son and also had the Shi family's bloodline. If he could become the marquis heir, the Shi family could firmly control the military power in the northwest. The Fourth Prince's path to seizing the throne would become smoother.

A covered corridor connected the main chamber of the inner courtyard to the main hall of the outer courtyard in the Xuanwu Marquis Household. The newlywed couple was currently walking along this corridor toward the outer courtyard hall.

The capital was located on a plain, and the Xuanwu Marquis Household stood on extremely flat terrain. Military families preferred spacious styles. Looking left and right from the corridor, there were no obstructions on either side—all trees and buildings were constructed several meters away from the corridor.At this moment, Ye Yaming only had Bai Rui and Xia Momo following behind her, while Lu Guanyi was accompanied solely by Anning. These three servants had deliberately slowed their pace since the young couple began their conversation, maintaining a distance of two to three meters.

Thus, their discussion was not at risk of being overheard.

Ye Yaming continued asking, "Then how does your father plan to settle Lu Guanyu?"

"Last night, I had a long talk with my father. He asked if I wanted him to take Lu Guanyu to the military camp. I agreed."

Ye Yaming frowned slightly. "If you're both under his command, what if conflicts arise between you? Could Lu Guanyu sabotage you during missions? And if he earns military merits in the future, wouldn't he contend with you for authority in the army? Why did you agree to let him go to the border?"

"But if he doesn't leave, just after you've finished reorganizing the household, as soon as we depart the capital, he'll likely win over the servants for his own use. We can't possibly replace all the servants every time we return to the capital, can we?" Lu Guanyi replied.

"Moreover, I want to keep him under close watch. An open attack is easier to dodge than a hidden arrow. Rather than letting him scheme freely in the capital, it's better to have him nearby where I can monitor him."

Though he said this, Ye Yaming knew that Lu Guanyi was actually worried about her safety, fearing that Lu Guanyu might harm her.

If she were just any wife Lu Guanyi had married casually, perhaps Lu Guanyu wouldn't target her. However, from the marriage petition to the specially prepared meal yesterday, anyone with intent could see that Lu Guanyi held her dear in his heart.

If anything happened to her—especially if she were pregnant and both she and the child were lost—Lu Guanyi might be completely destroyed. To ruin Lu Guanyi, harming her would be like striking at his vital point. For her safety, Lu Guanyi dared not leave Lu Guanyu in the capital.

"Um..." she hesitated, "I have a question..."

She was usually straightforward, confident, and bold, rarely showing such hesitation. Lu Guanyi suddenly found her demeanor exceptionally endearing.

He reached out and enveloped her small hand in his palm. "Just say whatever you want. We're husband and wife, one entity sharing both fortune and misfortune. There's nothing you can't say."

"I'm just curious—wasn't it your father who divorced Shi Shi? Why does Lu Guanyu not resent him but instead fixates on opposing you?"

What Ye Yaming really wanted to ask wasn't about the divorce but about the thwarting of Duke Wei and Shi Kun's rebellion. After all, without Lu Zhongyong's twenty years of endurance and sacrifice, Duke Wei's conspiracy might have succeeded. How glorious would Lu Guanyu have been then?

Why did it seem from Lu Guanyi's words that the father and son got along quite harmoniously? Meanwhile, Lu Guanyu harbored intense hatred for his elder brother, to the extent that Lu Guanyi had to be fully armed to guard against him.

Her incisive question once again filled Lu Guanyi's gaze with deep affection.

He smiled. "The Shi family was executed to the last member. Lu Guanyu survived only because he bears the Lu surname. He knows very well that if my father were gone, he would struggle to survive too."

"I see." Ye Yaming nodded.

She added, "Don't worry about me. I'm not someone to be trifled with. If any servants in the household dare to listen to Lu Guanyu and harm me, not only them but even Lu Guanyu himself will face consequences they can't handle."

Her words were confident and domineering, causing Lu Guanyi to tighten his grip on her hand once more.He said, "You needn't worry about him competing with me for military merits. Because his maternal grandfather's surname is Shi, even if he defeats the entire Great Jin army, he could never take command of my father's troops."