AUBTN -Chapter 93 My Bottom Line

Seeing that he couldn’t suppress Lu Yan on political grounds, Lu Zhixing turned to Yu Qing, who was quietly trying to shrink herself into the background.

If force won’t work, then attack the soft spot.

“You keep talking about loyalty to the emperor and loving the country, claiming that I don’t care about the Lu family’s survival. And what about you?”

Lu Zhixing suddenly raised his hand and pointed at Yu Qing. “You, a decorated commander of the Embroidered Guard, mingling inappropriately with a palace maid alongside the legitimate eldest son of the Lu family—do you even care about the ancestors of the Lu clan?”

Yu Qing was busy counting the grains of rice in her bowl, thinking, Can this noble family feud leave me, a tiny shrimp, out of it? Suddenly, being singled out made her shiver in fright.

【Wǒcào! Old man! Where’s your sense of martial ethics? Can’t beat your son, so you take it out on me?】

The little imp inside Yu Qing was already itching to pluck that stubborn old man’s beard clean off.

But on the outside, she still had to play the part of the frightened little white rabbit.

She shrank back slightly and timidly looked at Lu Yan, her eyes so pitiful it almost begged for mercy.

“Master Lu… I…”

“Shut up! You have no right to speak here!”

Lu Zhixing’s sharp command cut off Yu Qing’s act. He then turned and fixed Lu Yan with a cold, piercing gaze. “Yan’er, if you don’t want to discuss state affairs, then let’s talk about your lifelong matters.”

“I have already arranged a match for you—the daughter of Minister of Rites, Lord Wang. Gentle, virtuous, learned, and sensible—that is the proper wife you should marry! As for this woman—”

He cast a disdainful glance at Yu Qing, as if looking at something filthy.

“Of unknown background, she shall not set foot in the Lu family’s doors as long as I, Lu Zhixing, am alive! Even as a concubine, she doesn’t deserve it!”

Yu Qing’s anger boiled.

Although she was silently cursing in her mind, she had to admit—Lu Zhixing’s words were undeniably hurtful.

Especially that condescending disdain—it made Yu Qing’s modern soul feel an intense, almost physical discomfort.

She instinctively clenched her sleeves, her knuckles whitening slightly.

So this is the ancient obsession with social rank?

Even though she was a transmigrated woman, in the eyes of these elites, she was still just an ant-like plaything.

Just as Yu Qing was preparing to grit her teeth and continue playing the role of the pushover, a warm hand suddenly covered hers.

Lu Yan looked down at their hands overlapping, his voice unnervingly calm.

“Father, are you done speaking?”

Lu Zhixing was taken aback, then his anger surged even higher. “What? You still want to say something! I tell you, if you insist on being with her, I will—”

“And do what?” Lu Yan lifted his head, his icy eyes full of disappointment and rage!

“Expel me from the family? Remove me from the clan records?”

Lu Zhixing was stunned by the resolve in his son’s eyes. The threat on his lips suddenly choked in his throat.

“You don’t need to use these to pressure me.”

Lu Yan slowly stood, pulling Yu Qing up with him.

Tall and upright, he positioned himself in front of her, blocking Lu Zhixing’s venomous gaze.

“I decide my own matters.”

Every word seemed forced out through gritted teeth, metallic and firm, echoing like a hammer.

“She is not just a palace maid; her name is Yu Qing.”

Lu Yan’s gaze locked on his high-ranking, powerful father, with no hint of retreat—only unprecedented determination.

“She is also my bottom line.”

Yu Qing suddenly lifted her head, staring in disbelief at the man before her.

His back was broad and rigid, yet in Yu Qing’s eyes, it seemed to be glowing with a golden light.

【Oh my… this… this is way too manly!】

Yu Qing felt her heart as if it had been violently struck by something, a tingling sensation instantly spreading through her entire body.

She had thought Lu Yan was just a cold, straightforward man!

But she never expected him to be so good with words!

Lu Zhixing was completely dumbfounded.

He pointed at Lu Yan, his hand trembling violently, lips quivering as he couldn’t get out a single complete sentence: “You… you… wretched child! Wretched child! For the sake of a woman, you actually…”

“The Lu family’s wealth and glory have nothing to do with me. Don’t forget, I moved out of the Lu household the day my mother died!”

Lu Yan interrupted his father’s roar again, his voice turning cold: “But if Father insists on dragging the Lu family into the abyss, though I cannot stop it, I will never go along with it either.”

After saying this, he turned and tightly held Yu Qing’s hand.

“This meal… looks like we can’t finish it. We’re leaving!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Lu Yan strode toward the door, pulling along a still-stunned Yu Qing.

“Get out! Get out of here! And never come back!”

Behind them came Lu Zhixing’s hysterical roar, accompanied by the crashing sounds of broken porcelain, shattering loudly all around.

Lu Yan’s steps didn’t falter in the slightest.

Once outside the Prime Minister’s mansion, the night air was cool.

It wasn’t until they were seated in the carriage that Yu Qing felt truly alive again.

The carriage was silent.

Lu Yan leaned against the wall, eyes closed, brow furrowed, his handsome face betraying no emotion, only the tightly pressed thin lips revealing a hint of his mood.

Yu Qing curled up in the corner, secretly observing him.

The scene at the banquet kept replaying in her mind, and that line—“She is my bottom line”—buzzed in her ears like a spell.

【No, no, if I don’t speak soon, I’ll burst!】

Yu Qing swallowed and cautiously poked Lu Yan’s arm with a finger.

“Um… Lu Yan?”

His eyelashes trembled. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and in those deep eyes was an almost imperceptible trace of fatigue and… gentleness.

“What is it?” His voice was slightly hoarse.

Yu Qing blinked her big eyes and feigned innocence: “Just now… when you said I’m your bottom line… did you really mean it?”

In truth, she was already thrilled inside, wishing she could broadcast it a hundred times over with a megaphone. But on the surface, she had to maintain that dramatic act of “I don’t believe it unless you say it again.”

Lu Yan watched her, clearly pleased inside but pretending to be naive.

Miraculously, his previously dark mood lightened a little.

He turned his head to look at the shadows flickering past the window, his tone returning to its usual cold clarity.

“Just a temporary measure.”

“Huh?”

Yu Qing’s smile froze.

“A temporary measure? Just to piss off your dad?”

Lu Yan didn’t answer, his Adam’s apple moving slightly, and the fingers resting on his knees curled up awkwardly.

Yu Qing wasn’t about to let it slide—her sharp eyes and dramatic instincts could not miss this.

How could she not see that this man was lying through his teeth!

She noticed that although Lu Yan’s face remained indifferent, the roots of his normally pale ears were now visibly flushed crimson.

【Ohoho! Shy! He’s shy! The stubborn, kingly Lu Yan is blushing!】

Her inner commentary went wild, and the corners of her mouth couldn’t help curling into a grin.

“Aha, so it was just a temporary measure~”