It was just as the words slipped out of his mouth that Lu Hongxi suddenly realized why the palace knew but he didn't. The palace had intercepted the information that he should have known.
A cold sweat broke out on his body. In the three months since he returned, Ning'er had often told him that she wanted him to stay at home with them. And during the few times he met the Empress Dowager, she had repeatedly urged him to hand over his military power.
Previously, he only thought it was because they cared about and missed him. But now, thinking about it, it sent a chill down his spine.
Lu Hongxi slowly turned to look at his eldest son and asked hoarsely, "What did the Emperor say?"
Lu Hanchi lowered his head and replied, "The Emperor ordered me to lead the Lu Family Army to Luocheng to assist Lord Shao, the city lord."
Lu Hongxi staggered. His son was the heir to the Prince of Zhennan. It was reasonable for his son to lead the army in his absence. But what did "assist" mean? To assist meant that Hanchi couldn't make independent decisions and had to follow the Shao Family's arrangements.
The Emperor might not necessarily trust the Shao Family, but clearly, he wanted to take away the Lu Family's power.
Lu Hanchi pondered for a long time before saying, "Father, I know how to handle the war. But I'm really worried about the Emperor's decision..."
Lu Hongxi took a deep breath and forced a bitter smile. "I used to be as close as a brother to him. But I forgot that even blood - related brothers in the royal family can't be trusted, let alone us. Forget it. You're the lord and I'm the subject. I shouldn't have cared about these things."
He quickly calmed down and took his son to the study. He took out the maps of Luocheng and Mobei and carefully pointed out the directions his son needed to pay attention to.
"Remember, Liao Fang is a very talented man, but he's rather conceited and doesn't know how to be modest. Also, although Jing Zhai is a martial artist, you're the general and he's the soldier. You should make your own decisions in everything."
Lu Hanchi asked, "I understand, Father. But what about General Shao?"
Lu Hongxi rubbed his fingers. "He's indecisive, which is a big taboo in battle. You must remember that the family motto of the Lu Family is to protect the people of the Great Zhou. The people come first, the city comes second, and as for one's head, it comes last."
Lu Hanchi was greatly shocked. "What do you mean, Father?"
Lu Hongxi took a deep breath. "Mobei has been hiding their strength. Even if I were to lead the army myself, I wouldn't be a hundred percent sure of victory. To know the enemy and oneself is the key to victory in a hundred battles. But now, they can do this while we can't find out what they've hidden. You're already twenty - four years old and should be able to stand on your own. Hanchi, do you remember what I said?"
Lu Hanchi clenched his fists. He had long suspected this. If the Mobei battle weren't extremely dangerous, why would his father have refused to listen to the Empress Dowager's persuasion and insisted on keeping the tiger amulet?
But even though he had guessed in his heart, when he heard his father's words, he still felt extremely heavy. He just pursed his lips and replied, "I remember. The people come first, the city comes second, and my head comes last of all!"
Lu Hongxi stepped forward and patted Lu Hanchi hard on the shoulder. "You're a man of the Lu Family. Don't be too worried. This is just my worst - case scenario. And I'll definitely find a way in the capital to persuade the Emperor to let me lead the army into battle."
Lu Hanchi hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Father, in your opinion, if you were to fight, what would be your chance of victory? And if I were to fight, what would be my chance?"
Lu Hongxi just looked at his son silently and didn't reply for a long time.
Lu Wanning left the mansion and sat in a private room in Wangyue Tower drinking tea. After the death of the Empress Dowager, the whole country was in mourning. All ceremonies except the funeral were not allowed. Weddings were postponed. If there were any new - borns, there could be no celebrations. So the whole capital looked desolate.
The Emperor respected the Empress Dowager and had listened to her last words. Otherwise, the Lu Family in the book wouldn't have lasted until the Emperor's death. But Lu Wanning never understood why Lu Hongxi had been caught with a handle by the Crown Prince's faction.
Or rather, how could a man like Lu Hongxi have any handle at all?
She didn't like drinking tea at first, but gradually getting used to it, she had become quite picky. For some reason, in spring, she got inflamed. There were blisters on the corner of her mouth, so she ordered chrysanthemum tea and sipped it slowly.
She just wanted to relieve the uneasiness in her heart, but she didn't know what she should or could do.
The door opened, and Sheng Jinyu came in.
Two days before the Empress Dowager's death, Lu Wanning and Sheng Jinyu had a big fight in Shoukang Palace. After that, she hadn't seen Sheng Jinyu again. She didn't even see him on the day of mourning. Since female relatives couldn't go to the funeral, she didn't know the specific situation.
But she thought Sheng Jinyu must have gone. Because when he didn't go to mourn, the Queen had even taken the opportunity to say something to the Emperor. If he hadn't gone to the funeral, the court officials would probably have caused a big stir.
Lu Wanning gave Sheng Jinyu a cold look. She was originally angry with him for not coming to mourn. But seeing his grief - stricken face, she couldn't bear to blame him.
She personally poured tea for him. "Chrysanthemum tea is actually not very suitable. I've been really stressed lately, so I thought of drinking it."
Sheng Jinyu didn't care what kind of tea it was. After taking a sip, he asked, "Stressed? Is it because the Emperor won't let your father go to war?"
Lu Wanning was stunned. "The Emperor won't let my father go to war? I haven't heard about it."
Sheng Jinyu didn't answer, and the two fell into silence. When Lu Wanning wanted to pour more tea for Sheng Jinyu, he stopped her.
"Do you have any sweeter tea?"
Lu Wanning frowned for a moment, then waved to call in a waiter and ordered milk tea. "This is the sweetest. It's a bit too rich. I don't know if you can get used to it."
Sheng Jinyu took a sip. It was really overly sweet, but after drinking it, he unexpectedly felt a sense of satisfaction. He didn't like this feeling of satisfaction very much, but in this situation, he couldn't help but take another sip.
"Do all you women like this kind of thing?"
Lu Wanning shook her head. "Not everyone likes it. Maybe it's because life is too bitter, so we use this kind of sweetness to numb ourselves. There were a lot of sweet things in the Empress Dowager's palace."
Sheng Jinyu fell silent. After a long time, he took another sip and forced a bitter smile. "She liked sweet things, but she wanted me to eat bitter ones. She said that only by enduring hardships can one become a great person."
Lu Wanning said, "I don't know. Every time I went there, she would give me milk to drink."
Sheng Jinyu added, "The Emperor always let me eat sweet things. He would think of me whenever there was something good. At first, he did, but later he didn't. He threw me into Shoukang Palace and always fed the sixth and seventh princes sweet things. Now I understand, but it seems too late."
Lu Wanning smiled. "It's not too late. It's never too late."
"That day... I was wrong. Please... don't be angry with me."
Lu Wanning frowned and then understood that he was referring to the day when he said she was a member of the Crown Prince's faction. She pursed her lips and shook her head. "It's okay. I was crazy that day to say such things to you."
Sheng Jinyu didn't say that he had spoken thoughtlessly that day. Instead, he seriously explained, "That day, I had just learned from the imperial physician that the Empress Dowager only had a few days to live. I was very upset and just blurted out some nonsense. I made you sad."
Lu Wanning looked at Sheng Jinyu in great surprise. She could understand what he said before. They had gone there for the Empress Dowager that day. But she didn't know that she had even driven him away, and he hadn't even seen the Empress Dowager for the last time.
But what did his last words "I made you sad" mean? He...