The emperor knows about it. Why is he still so indifferent?
Lu Hongxi quickly said, "Since the emperor knows, why doesn't he allow me to go? This battle is extremely dangerous. No, I'll go to the palace right now to plead my case and ask the emperor to permit me to go on the expedition."
Sheng Jinyu gave a half - smile, "Didn't the general just say that you'll only go when and where the emperor orders you to?"
Lu Hongxi said, "Your Highness, this matter is of great importance. If we delay, it will be disadvantageous to the Great Zhou."
Sheng Jinyu frowned slightly, "Don't be in a hurry. With the talents of the heir and the second young master, and the generals who were once under the general's command, they can hold out for at least one or two months. During this period, it's enough time for the general to plan strategies, isn't it?"
Lu Hongxi waved his hand, "But once the war starts, it's the common people who will suffer. If we only focus on the game and ignore the people, where will we place the original intention of war?"
The smile in Sheng Jinyu's eyes grew stronger. He then said, "In ten days, it will be the Spring Banquet. The emperor means that since it's already been a month since the passing of the empress dowager, he wants to use the Spring Banquet to restore vitality to the capital."
Lu Hongxi frowned and asked, "Your Highness means that you want me to ask for permission to go on the expedition at that time?"
Sheng Jinyu squinted at Lu Hongxi, "The general is the person I admire the most in the Great Zhou. Only after meeting you today do I know that I didn't misjudge you. However, please think twice, general. Don't ask for permission."
Lu Hongxi didn't understand, but Sheng Jinyu didn't say much. He just got up and was about to leave. After thinking for a while, he turned back, took out a jade pendant from his bosom, and presented it to Lu Hongxi.
"By the way, I once had a jade pendant. Because of my aunt, I gave it to your daughter. The other day when I was tidying up old things, I found that this jade pendant was a pair. There's no reason to separate them. Please give this jade pendant to your daughter."
Lu Hongxi held the jade pendant in his hands and frowned, thinking. Did this mean that he was going to draw a line with Ning'er? Otherwise, wouldn't it be better for each of them to keep one jade pendant?
Sheng Jinyu added, "Just take this as... an apology for my helplessness the other day."
His ear tips turned red. He reached out and stroked them, then bowed and left.
Lu Hongxi scratched his head. Without thinking too much, he turned around and asked someone to send the jade pendant to Lu Wanning.
Lu Wanning held the jade pendant and looked at it for a long time. She asked Jiyue to take out the previous one and put the two together. Only then did she find that they actually made up a whole piece, and there were characters on it.
Jiyue stared at the characters for a long time before she could distinguish them, "This is the ancient character 'Yi' (rely on), and this side is the character 'Xiang' (mutual)."
Lu Wanning made a tassel and tied the two half - pieces of jade together. Staring at the two characters "Xiang Yi" (be dependent on each other), so, was there another piece like this with the characters "Xiang Zhi" (know each other well) on it?
It might not be so. But what did he mean by this? Deliberately provoking her. This man was so bad.
Lu Wanning threw the jade pendant on the table and angrily lay down on the imperial concubine's couch, not wanting to move.
Seeing this, Jiyue thought for a while, picked up a handkerchief, wrapped the jade pendant, and was going to put it in the special place for jade on the dressing table.
"Put it down. Don't touch it!" Lu Wanning immediately got up and wouldn't allow Jiyue to move it. She got up herself, picked up the jade pendant, thought for a while, and then stuffed it under the pillow.
Jiyue couldn't help laughing, "What are you doing, Princess? You seem to dislike it, but also seem to care about it."
Lu Wanning ignored her. She propped her face up and was in a daze for a while, "It's been quite boring recently. In a while, it will be the Spring Banquet."
Although it was the Spring Banquet, it was still during the mourning period for the empress dowager. The palace banquet wouldn't be as grand as before. There couldn't be singing and dancing. It would probably just be a meal and a gathering, and then they'd have to go back. It was so boring.
Jiyue nodded, "The princess has already ordered someone to make new clothes for you."
"They're all plain. Can they make any fancy styles?"
Jiyue quickly said, "Although they're all plain clothes, there are still differences. After all, it's a palace banquet. They can't be too plain, nor too colorful. They can only embroider silver threads and silver edges on the plain clothes. The girls from noble families will all compete. If you dress too ordinary, you'll be laughed at. Even the headdress can't be casual. There are various kinds of silver ones. You're of noble status, Princess. You can't be looked down upon."
Lu Wanning frowned, "Do women have nothing better to do? They compare these things all day long."
"Didn't you like these things the most before, Princess?" Jiyue didn't mind, "But those who used to be on bad terms with you have all been betrothed. No one dares to compete with you anymore."
She was talking about Lu Yingshuang, Shi Aohan, and He Chan. But she probably underestimated Shi Aohan. The female protagonist in the original book was still extremely charming even after getting married. She was in no way inferior to the young girls. How could she miss a chance like the Spring Banquet to show off?
Lu Wanning didn't care. She waved her hand and said, "Go and tell my mother quickly that I miss the empress dowager so much that I don't want to do anything. Ask her not to bother anymore. Also, I don't want any makeup or jewelry that day."
"But..."
Jiyue wanted to say that with the princess's status, wouldn't it be impolite to do so? But in the end, she didn't say much. She just nodded and went out to reply.
When she came back, she whispered mysteriously into Lu Wanning's ear, "Princess, someone just came to spread the news. It's said that the heir of the Fu family wants to elope with Miss Shi."
Lu Wanning asked in surprise, "Elope? Why would they elope for no reason? Aren't they already engaged? Why, is Miss Shi pregnant and can't hide it anymore? Can't she wait until the one - year mourning period is over to get married?"
Jiyue never expected that her princess could be so sarcastic. If these words were to reach Miss Shi's ears, Miss Shi would cry her heart out.
She honestly shook her head, "It should not be. Mrs. Fu has been making a lot of moves recently. She dislikes Miss Shi for her low birth and is trying every means to break off the engagement. She has already angered the empress twice, but she still doesn't know how to restrain herself. She even said that as long as she's around, Miss Shi can't marry into the family..."
Lu Wanning waved her hand, "Let them fight like dogs. Don't bother."
Jiyue nodded. Just as she was about to go out, she added, "It's likely that the heir of the Fu family has been planning this for a long time. Mrs. Fu started her actions more than half a month ago. After planning for so long, the heir of the Fu family probably found that he simply couldn't persuade Mrs. Fu."
Lu Wanning's heart skipped a beat. She asked, "Has Mrs. Fu been like this for a long time?"
Jiyue quickly said, "Yes. Since she came out of the palace, it's been said that Mrs. Fu was dissatisfied. It's almost been a month."
Lu Wanning frowned and pondered. Something was not right. Fu Rongxuan was a decisive person. If he wanted to elope, why would he wait until today? Moreover, Fu Rongxuan was by no means a man who valued love more than his future. In the book, he was extremely scheming. Although he did love Shi Aohan, he would never give up his future and status for her.
Elope? It was equivalent to giving the position of the heir to Fu Rongli.
But if it wasn't because of Shi Aohan, why would he elope at this time?
Lu Wanning thought left and right but couldn't figure it out. She simply went to the desk and scribbled on the paper. Recently, there didn't seem to be any major events in the court. The main things were the invasion from the Northern Desert, Lu Hanchi leading troops there, and the matter of the envoys from Zhaobi coming to the capital.
The matter of the Zhaobi envoys was not a big deal. So, was it related to the invasion from the Northern Desert?