Sheng Jinyu raised his eyes and smiled. "Normally, one should avoid looking at what is improper. That day, I barged into your boudoir without permission. It was my fault. But how could I act like a scoundrel and ignore you? Rest assured. After the period of mourning for the Empress Dowager is over, the Emperor will surely make arrangements for us."
Lu Wanning suddenly stood up. "What do you mean? I didn't do anything that day!"
She was afraid that if she spoke too loudly, people outside might hear and think there was really something going on between her and the Prince Yu. She pouted, looked around, and lowered her voice. "Your Highness, please don't act recklessly. Do you think the Emperor will bestow a marriage on us? That's impossible. I can pursue you openly, but I will never humble myself like that!"
Hot face? Cold buttocks? Sheng Jinyu squinted his eyes, covered his lips and coughed, then raised his eyebrows playfully. "Our relationship hasn't developed to that stage yet... You don't have to be so impatient, Miss Lu."
Lu Wanning stared at him with wide eyes and said angrily, "Sheng Jinyu, stop being so unreasonable, okay?"
Sheng Jinyu smiled faintly. "Unreasonable? Me? It seems you were the one who pestered me first."
Lu Wanning couldn't argue with him. She got up to leave and said, "Just consider I was blind before. Don't worry. From now on, we'll go our separate ways..."
As soon as she finished speaking, Sheng Jinyu grabbed her wrist and gently pulled. Lu Wanning couldn't stand steadily and was about to crash into the table. Fortunately, Sheng Jinyu got up and caught her in his arms.
Lu Wanning was so angry that she bared her teeth. She took out her scimitar and was about to attack.
Sheng Jinyu quickly let go and raised his eyebrows indifferently. "Blind? Lu Wanning, you can be blind once, but not twice. And are you going to be a heartbreaker?"
Lu Wanning gritted her teeth. "Are you crazy? Sheng Jinyu, when I was chasing after you, what were you doing? Now that I've given up, you come to provoke me?"
Sheng Jinyu's face gradually turned cold. "Chasing after me? Lu Wanning, were you really chasing after me? You even said yourself that you just wanted my protection."
Lu Wanning immediately asked, "Since you know, why are you acting like this?"
Sheng Jinyu looked at her coldly and turned to leave.
Lu Wanning rushed in front of him and said fiercely, "Want to leave? Dream on. You haven't explained clearly yet. What do you mean?"
"At present, I'm still useful to you, aren't I?"
"You think I'm using you?" Lu Wanning felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head. But she couldn't deny that before, when she thought he was going to die, she had been using him. She even thought that in the future, when she met someone more suitable, she would find another powerful backer.
Sheng Jinyu confirmed the information on Lu Wanning's face. His gaze turned even colder. He bypassed Lu Wanning and left.
Lu Wanning listlessly returned to the table. For some reason, tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her face.
When she got home, Lu Wanning was still in a very bad mood. When she returned to her room, she asked Jiyue to tell the Princess that she would go to bed early. Fortunately, because of the death of the Empress Dowager, her state had been off recently, and the Princess didn't suspect anything.
In the middle of the night, half asleep and half awake, Lu Wanning opened her eyes and saw a figure sitting in front of the table. In the darkness, it was not very clear. Lu Wanning wasn't afraid at all. She murmured, "Are you here to take me away?"
The figure didn't move at all.
Lu Wanning mumbled, "Am I in a dream or in reality? Are you a celestial or a real person? If you're a celestial, please tell me what's going on. Is Lu Hongxi in trouble? Doesn't he know how much the Emperor suspects him? And Sheng Jinyu is also crazy. Does he... like me?"
She was so sleepy that after saying this, she leaned against the bedside and fell asleep again.
It seemed that there were a pair of hands moving. They gently helped her lie down properly.
Lu Wanning opened her eyes again and grabbed his hand. "Doesn't he know that I like him very much? Even if he's going to die in two years, I still like him."
The hands trembled. They gently covered her with the quilt as if to comfort her. After making sure she was sound asleep, a soft voice said, "He... likes you."
When Lu Wanning woke up the next day, she was still a bit dazed. It seemed that she had had a dream last night, but she couldn't remember what it was. But it should have been a good dream, because she felt that she had slept very soundly.
A good omen was always good.
Jiyue rushed over in a hurry and whispered to Lu Wanning, "Princess, the Heir Apparent has been conferred the title of General Fengwei. He led the troops to war at the end of the Yin hour this morning."
Lu Wanning had already known from Sheng Jinyu yesterday that the Emperor hadn't let Lu Hongxi go to war. If the northern barbarians invaded, the Emperor would surely send Lu Hannian. So she wasn't surprised. She was still a bit dazed because of last night's dream.
But was it so urgent? At the end of the Yin hour, hardly anyone was up. Now... it was already noon. Did Lu Hanchi just leave without saying a word?
Seeing that Lu Wanning seemed out of sorts, Jiyue said again, "Princess, the Prince isn't going. It's the Heir Apparent who is going."
Only then did Lu Wanning come to her senses. She nodded and said, "Fetch some water. I should get up."
Jiyue was stunned for a moment and then asked, "Aren't you worried, Princess?"
"Worried about what?"
Jiyue didn't know how to respond. But the Princess should be worried. After all, the rumors outside about the Prince falling out of favor were getting more and more intense. Several families had come to inquire about the news, and they had all been sent away by the Princess.
Lu Wanning didn't care about these things. After washing up, she asked, "Is my father in the martial arts field?"
On days when Lu Hongxi wasn't on duty, he usually spent most of the day in the martial arts field. He should be there at this time.
Jiyue shook her head. "No. The Prince went to the Ministry of War early this morning. The Emperor had ordered him to handle some official business..."
Lu Wanning was very surprised, but she didn't say much. Instead, she went to accompany Wei Shi.
Wei Shi was sitting alone in the room in a daze. The maid led Lu Wanning in. After calling her for a long time, Wei Shi finally reacted. She quickly got up and forced a smile.
"Ning'er is here? Why didn't you announce your arrival? Hurry up. The kitchen made some new pastries today. Go and bring them up."
Lu Wanning looked at Wei Shi. The dark circles under her eyes couldn't be hidden at all, and her eyes were red and swollen. It seemed that she hadn't slept well all night last night.
"Sister-in-law... After the northern barbarians completely leave the territory of the Great Zhou, Big Brother won't have to go anymore."
Wei Shi picked up a piece of pastry for her, pursed her lips and shook her head. "He's a military general. He was born to be one. Leading troops to war is his responsibility."
Lu Wanning walked to the chair beside Wei Shi and sat down. She reached out and stroked Wei Shi's slightly protruding belly. The pregnancy was still in its early stage, and she couldn't feel anything at all.
Wei Shi said, "Your brother said that he only hopes this time it will be a son again. All the descendants of the Lu family can serve the country loyally."
They all knew how heavy the mission of the family and the country was. Lu Hanchi was the eldest grandson and the future head of the family. Wei Shi was the future mistress. They were destined to be separated.
Wei Shi lowered her head and gently stroked her belly. "I think if it's a daughter, it would be fine too."