In the evening, the whole family had dinner at the same table without any formality.
The Lu family was a simple one. Among the direct descendants, there was only Lu Hongxi's branch. Lu Hongxi had three children. His eldest son, Lu Hanchi, was the heir apparent. He was talented in both literature and martial arts. His wife was Wei Zhaozhao, the eldest legitimate daughter of Lord Wei, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies. Although the Wei family didn't hold high - ranking official positions, it was a century - old aristocratic family in the capital with a strict family tradition. Back then, Lu Hongxi and his wife had spent a long time before choosing Wei Zhaozhao, a sensible woman, to manage the household in the mansion.
Lu Hanchi and Wei Zhaozhao had been married for six years and had a three - year - old son named Lu Cheng.
Lu Hongxi's second son, Lu Hannian, was extremely strong and had achieved great success at a young age. Three years ago, when he was sixteen, he was valued by General Shao, the governor of Luocheng, who married his daughter, Shao Mingzhu, to him. The two of them were defending the country on the border and didn't come back very often.
After dinner, when they reached the main hall, Lu Hongxi waved his hand and said, "The eldest son's wife, stay. The second son's wife, you take the children back to rest first."
Shao Mingzhu stood up, picked up the young Lu Cheng, played with him for a while and walked out. She also motioned for Lu Wanning to go out with her.
But Lu Wanning pretended not to notice. She walked to the princess's side and obediently sat on the footstool beside her.
The princess said with a smile, "Ning'er, be a good girl. Your father, elder brother and sister - in - law have something to talk about. Go and play."
Lu Wanning mumbled, "When parents have something to talk about, it's natural for Chengcheng to leave because he's still young. But I'm already so old. Why should I leave?"
The prince was taken aback and was about to persuade her again when Lu Hongxi burst into laughter. "Ning'er is right. Someone, bring a stool."
The princess gave him a dissatisfied look. In front of the children, she didn't say anything. She just told Lu Wanning to sit properly, patted her hand and said to Lu Hongxi, "It's so cold today. This child missed you and her brothers so much that she insisted on going to pick you up. After coming back from the palace, she didn't have a good rest. Later, I'll ask the nanny to send you ginger soup."
Lu Wanning acted coquettishly for a while, which made the princess stop nagging her.
Then the princess turned to Lu Hongxi. "My lord, did you see the Empress Dowager when you entered the palace today?"
Lu Hongxi nodded. "The Empress Dowager looks in good health. Ning'er accompanied her to have some snacks and a bowl of bird's nest porridge."
But the princess didn't look relieved at all. "The Empress Dowager has been in poor health for more than half a year. Her condition has been up and down... The imperial doctor said it's uncertain whether she can survive this winter."
Lu Wanning's heart skipped a beat. Could the Empress Dowager not make it? She didn't quite remember the scenes in the book. She only vaguely remembered that the Prince of Southern Suppression had committed some offense. The emperor was so angry that he wanted to punish the prince, but the Empress Dowager stopped him. However, the Empress Dowager's condition worsened because of this and she soon passed away. Before her death, she forced the emperor to protect the prince's family. Later, after the emperor died from taking too many pills, the crown prince ascended the throne, and the Prince of Southern Suppression rebelled but was suppressed by Fu Rongxuan...
It seemed to be in the spring in the book. So was it next spring? What exactly was the timeline?
Lu Hongxi looked worried. "Is the Empress Dowager's condition really that serious? I only thought she had put on too much makeup today and didn't notice anything else."
Now that he thought about it, he felt very uneasy. The Empress Dowager was old and didn't like to wear makeup. The heavy makeup today was probably to hide her sallow complexion from him.
Lu Hongxi felt melancholy. He asked Lu Wanning, "Ning'er, you often enter the palace to accompany the Empress Dowager. Have you noticed anything?"
"Auntie said it's not appropriate for me to stay in the palace all the time as I'm getting older, so I don't enter the palace very often."
Lu Wanning blurted it out. Only after she said it did she realize that it was indeed because of what the queen had said that she didn't enter the palace very often after her coming - of - age ceremony. And later, she often met Fu Rongxuan. She always felt that they were destined to be together. The last time she went to the palace, she was only begging the Empress Dowager to issue an imperial edict to betroth them.
Now that she thought about it, the queen and the crown prince in the book were both positive characters and had a good relationship with Fu Rongxuan. Did it mean that their relationship with the Prince of Southern Suppression's mansion was not as good as it seemed on the surface?
The queen was the princess's younger sister.
The princess didn't expect Lu Wanning to say anything. She turned to Lu Hongxi again. "The Northern Desert has surrendered. Can you stay in the capital, my lord?"
Lu Hongxi frowned. "I'm afraid not. The surrender of the Northern Desert was too sudden. I always feel that there's something strange about it. So I left the main army in Luocheng. I'll stay in the capital for now and see how things go next year. If there's any change, I'll set off immediately."
Hearing this, Lu Wanning quickly asked, "Father, since you're back, shouldn't you hand over the military tally to the court?"
Lu Hongxi was extremely patient with his daughter and explained, "In the Great Zhou Dynasty, military generals are allowed to raise troops for emergencies. I'm a great general with ten thousand elite soldiers of the Lu family army who only listen to me and your two elder brothers. Other soldiers of the Lu family army still belong to the Great Zhou. I can only mobilize them with the military tally."
"How many soldiers are there in the Lu family army?"
Just as Lu Hongxi was about to answer, Lu Hanchi coughed and said seriously, "Ning'er, this is a military secret. You shouldn't ask about it."
Lu Wanning was taken aback. She hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Did father hand over the military tally to the emperor today?"
Lu Hongxi shook his head. "I reported the situation of the Northern Desert to the emperor and told him that I might set off immediately after the New Year. So I haven't handed over the military tally for the time being."
Worry showed in Lu Wanning's eyes.
Seeing this, Lu Hanchi narrowed his eyes and probed, "Ning'er has grown up. Why are you interested in these things that are not suitable for girls?"
Lu Wanning felt a little sad when she saw that her elder brother was suspicious of her. But she still cheered up and replied, "I've read some books recently. It said in one of them that a general who refused to hand over the military tally was trying to... rebel."
Lu Hanchi's eyelids twitched violently. He shouted, "Ning'er, don't talk nonsense!"
Sitting beside Lu Hanchi, Mrs. Wei saw that his seriousness had caught the attention of his parents - in - law. She quickly pulled him and said, "Husband, there are only family members here. Why are you so serious? Ning'er has been very well - behaved recently. Since she didn't go out to play, she read more books and worried more about the family."
Lu Hanchi also thought he had been too harsh. He quickly turned to Lu Wanning and gave her an ingratiating smile. "It's my fault, Ning'er. I hope you won't blame me. The situation of our Prince of Southern Suppression's mansion is different from other generals. Father is like the emperor's right - hand man. Moreover, the military tally is divided into two parts. Father only has half of it. Without the other half held by the official on duty with the emperor's order, father can't mobilize the Lu family army."
Lu Wanning didn't quite understand, but she still nodded obediently. "It's my over - concern."
The princess didn't think it was her daughter's over - concern. She thought her son had become rude in the military camp and scolded such a well - behaved younger sister. She glared at him discontentedly and then said, "You've been fighting outside all year round. Do you think Ning'er doesn't worry about you at home? She misses you every day. When she heard that you were coming back, she braved the snow to pick you up. If it weren't for the setback in her marriage, I wouldn't have let her go out in the cold."
Lu Hongxi turned around in surprise. "Setback in marriage? What's going on? I thought the Empress Dowager had already issued an imperial edict to betroth Ning'er to that young man from the Fu family."