As soon as Liu Yongzhi finished speaking, he didn’t wait for Gongsun Wenjin to reply and continued.
"I don’t think you’ll have any objections. After all, when we were discussing Xiangyu’s marriage earlier, I asked you about it. You were the one who said that since Yanran had been unmarried for so many years and had no children, you agreed to let Xiangyu marry someone else. You suggested that once Yanran got married and had a child, our two families could arrange a marriage then. But now, an illegitimate daughter has suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"I, Liu Yongzhi, am a man of my word. I can overlook the fact that she is an illegitimate daughter. In return, you shouldn’t mind that she will only be a concubine when she marries Xiangyu, right?"
Gongsun Wenjin’s face twitched. Knowing that the Gongsun Family was in the wrong here, he quickly said, "Of course I don’t mind! If you don’t mind that Ye Ling’Er is an illegitimate daughter, why would I care whether she is a legal wife or a concubine? Besides, even being a concubine is a step up for her. It is an absolute honor."
Liu Yongzhi finally smiled. He turned his head to look at his youngest son, Liu Zhengyuan. "Zheng Yuan, as his father, you don’t have any objections to this marriage, do you?"
"Father, since you made a promise back then, I naturally have no objections. The key is what my son, Xiangyu, thinks. Xiangyu, what is your opinion?" Liu Zhengyuan said, looking at Liu Xiangyu.
Liu Xiangyu was undeniably handsome and striking in appearance. Before he could speak, the beautiful woman beside him chimed in.
"With those looks, she’s barely worthy of my husband. I will allow her to be a concubine. Husband, rest assured, I will discipline her well and make sure she serves you properly."
This woman was, naturally, Liu Xiangyu’s legal wife.
Liu Xiangyu remained silent. Deep down, he was rather unwilling. He was the genius of the Liu Family—not only handsome but also immensely talented. He had grown up with a silver spoon in his mouth. He couldn’t fathom how a genius like him could be expected to marry an illegitimate daughter.
He knew Ye Ling’Er’s background inside and out. Although she was Gongsun Yanran’s daughter and had the Gongsun Family’s blood flowing in her veins, she was still illegitimate. She held absolutely no status in the Gongsun Family. Most importantly, her surname was Ye, and the Ye Family hailed from a mere small town.
Someone with such a background wasn’t even qualified to be his concubine. For a woman to be his concubine, she didn’t necessarily have to be the daughter of a major family in a city, but at the very least, she needed to be a prominent young lady from a Three-Star Main Town to qualify.
In truth, the fact that Liu Xiangyu was going to marry an illegitimate daughter was a running joke within the Liu Family. His younger siblings secretly mocked him for it. Whenever he thought about this, it drove him crazy. But there was nothing he could do. Since his grandfather had made the promise, he had to accept it, whether he wanted to or not.
Fortunately, this Ye Ling’Er was very beautiful. Those large eyes of hers, in particular, seemed expressive enough to speak. Once he married her as a concubine, he would completely unleash all his pent-up anger and frustrations on her!
"Father, I have no objections. I am willing to marry her," Liu Xiangyu said with a smile. His smile appeared gentle and refined, but in reality, it hid daggers. He was a beast in human clothing.
In his mind, he was already pondering all the different ways he could toy with Ye Ling’Er in the future. Concubines were meant to be played with, after all. They weren’t legal wives, so there was no need to worry about the powers backing them. As long as he didn’t go overboard and leave her covered in visible scars, no one would ever know. Still, leather whips, candles, and ropes would be absolutely essential.
"Mother..." Ye Ling’Er grabbed Gongsun Yanran’s hand. Even though Liu Xiangyu was handsome enough, she really didn’t want to get married this early.
Gongsun Yanran understood Ye Ling’Er’s feelings. She suddenly spoke up. "I do not agree!"
"Hmm? You don’t agree?"
"That’s right. How could the daughter of Gongsun Yanran be someone’s concubine? Father, I know that a City Lord’s word is absolute. But if Ling’Er truly must marry, it definitely won’t be to Liu Xiangyu. Even though he is excellent and highly talented, I cannot accept the status of a concubine for her. We all know that concubines have no standing in a household. I don’t want Ling’Er to marry into the Liu Family only to live at the mercy of others."
As Gongsun Yanran finished speaking, Liu Yongzhi’s expression instantly turned cold. "Yanran, what do you mean by that?"
"I mean that since Liu Xiangyu already has a wife, we can simply be flexible and marry Ling’Er to Liu Yi instead."
Liu Yi was Liu Xiangyu’s second younger brother, and he was currently unmarried.
Liu Yongzhi said flatly, "Although Liu Yi is unmarried, he already has..."
As if knowing what Liu Yongzhi was going to say, Gongsun Yanran interrupted, "If Liu Yi is already betrothed to someone else, Liu Ye or Liu Hong would be acceptable as well."
It was obvious that Gongsun Yanran had come prepared. The Liu Family had many sons, so she didn’t necessarily have to marry Liu Xiangyu. The bottom line was that Ye Ling’Er would not become a concubine.
Hearing this, Liu Yongzhi’s face instantly darkened like iron!
None of those men could possibly marry Ye Ling’Er. Allowing Ye Ling’Er, an illegitimate daughter, to be a concubine was already his way of keeping his promise. If she were to become a legal wife, wouldn’t they be laughed out of town? None of the direct lineage sons in the Liu Family were trash. If there had been a piece of trash, he might have let him marry Ye Ling’Er as a legal wife. But unfortunately, there weren’t any.
Off to the side, Gongsun Wenjin noticed Liu Yongzhi’s displeased expression and immediately barked, "Yanran, shut up! Ye Ling’Er’s marriage is settled. She will be Liu Xiangyu’s concubine."
"Father, I don’t want this! She is my daughter. I know exactly what the Liu Family thinks of this. If the Liu Family truly looks down on Ling’Er, this engagement doesn’t need to exist! Why make both children suffer? Let both sides break the engagement."
"Break the engagement? Do you think we can just toss our words aside as if they mean nothing? A City Lord’s word must be kept!" Liu Yongzhi was the first to refuse.
Gongsun Wenjin also spoke up angrily, "Insolent fool! Is a City Lord’s word a child’s game? The matter is settled! Ye Ling’Er will marry Liu Xiangyu."
"Father..." Gongsun Yanran wanted to say more, but Gongsun Xin pressed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head at her.
Only then did Gongsun Yanran calm down. She knew that acting hysterical would be useless, as there were some decisions she simply had no power to change.
"Ling’Er, I’m useless... Not only did I fail to protect your brother, but I’ve failed to protect you too." Gongsun Yanran’s eyes grew red.
"All right, this matter is settled. We just need to pick an auspicious day to formalize the engagement. Brother Yongzhi, when do you think would be a good time?" Gongsun Wenjin spoke once more.
Only then did Liu Yongzhi manage a forced smile. "Xiangyu’s marriage should be decided by Xiangyu. What do you think, Xiangyu?"
Liu Xiangyu pondered for a moment. Just as he was about to speak, Ye Xuan’s voice suddenly rang out from outside the hall.
"Marriage? What marriage?"
Upon hearing this voice, Ye Ling’Er’s face instantly lit up with pleasant surprise. Before she even turned around, she let out an excited cry. "Brother!"
She turned to see a young man in a white robe appearing in her line of sight. The young man stood in the doorway, his figure tall and imposing under the sunlight.
This young man was none other than Ye Xuan.