Jiang Shishi continued, "I heard that the emperor has secretly sent people to arrest him. I'm afraid that the King of Qishan will receive the news soon."
Lu Wanning pursed her lips. She was a bit worried. She had absolutely no impression of Sheng Songyan in the book. But now, she knew that Sheng Songyan was a good friend of Sheng Jinyu. Was this escape arranged by Sheng Jinyu, or was it Sheng Songyan's own intention?
If it was intentional, wasn't it holding Sheng Jinyu back?
After much thought, she was still a bit uneasy. She told Jiang Shishi and then went to the front of the hall to look out. She also found a familiar eunuch and asked about the whereabouts of Prince Yu.
Not long after, she learned that Prince Yu had come early and was resting in the side hall.
Lu Wanning immediately went to the side hall. Sure enough, she saw Sheng Jinyu sitting alone at the table, reading a scroll.
Humph, so pretentious. At a time like this, he's still here reading.
Sheng Jinyu raised his eyebrows. Seeing it was her, he frowned and stood up involuntarily. "Why has the Princess of Zhaoyang come here? A young lady should be in the garden."
"I'm looking for you."
Sheng Jinyu subconsciously glanced at the screen behind him. "If you have nothing to do, just leave."
Lu Wanning put her hands on her hips. "Who says I have nothing to do? I'm here precisely because I have something to talk about. And yet, when I come, humph, it's already this late. Instead of going out to greet the emperor, you come here to read. Let me have a look."
Sheng Jinyu took a step back and gave her a cold look. "How many times do I have to tell you, Your Highness, that there should be proper distance between men and women. I and you..."
"Ah, what's your attitude? Wasn't it you who gave me the jade pendant before?"
Sheng Jinyu's face flushed with embarrassment and he quickly said, "That was because..."
"Come on, no need to explain. I know. You were forced by your aunt to give me the jade pendant. I didn't take it seriously. Sheng Jinyu, don't worry. I'm not the kind of person who pesters others. I really came here because I have something to ask you."
Sheng Jinyu was silent for a while before asking, "What is it that Your Highness wants to talk about?"
Lu Wanning asked, "What's going on with Sheng Songyan? I heard that he left the capital without permission."
Sheng Jinyu frowned even tighter. "Where did you hear this?"
"Don't worry about where I heard it. Sheng Jinyu, don't blame me for not warning you. You regard Sheng Songyan as a friend, but he's so unreliable. He spends his days chasing women. And now he's done such a treasonous thing. I think..."
"Lu Wanning!" Sheng Jinyu couldn't hide the anger between his eyebrows and strode towards her.
Lu Wanning was greatly startled and took several steps back. "What... what are you going to do? Sheng Jinyu, this is the palace. If you dare to lay a hand on me, I'll tell the emperor right away."
Just as she finished speaking, the emperor's laughter came from behind the screen. "Yes, Zhaoyang, just tell me. I'll stand up for you."
Lu Wanning was completely stunned. What? Why was the emperor here? And why was the emperor hiding behind the screen?
Sheng Jinyu had already suppressed the anger on his face. He turned around and bowed. "Father."
Only then did Lu Wanning notice that there were actually two teacups on the table. Why hadn't she noticed it just now? What had she said just now? She hoped she hadn't said anything inappropriate.
The emperor didn't mind. He waved to Lu Wanning. "Come here and pour tea for me."
Lu Wanning obediently walked up to the emperor. After pouring the tea, she wrinkled her nose and said, "This tea is not good."
The emperor asked, "This is the newly produced Longjing tea this year. How can it not be good?"
Lu Wanning said, "Longjing tea has a strong fragrance, but when you drink it, the bitterness overpowers the fragrance. If you boil it with milk, the fragrance will be stronger."
The emperor laughed. "Not bad. Go and boil milk tea according to Zhaoyang's suggestion."
Sheng Jinyu said, "Your Majesty, the banquet is about to start. It may be too late to boil tea now."
The emperor nodded. "A Yu is right. Someone, pack some of my Longjing tea and send it to the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion. Also send some fresh milk and bestow it to Zhaoyang to make milk tea."
Lu Wanning was in a daze and was glared at by Sheng Jinyu several times.
"Aren't you going to thank His Majesty?"
Lu Wanning's eyes were slightly sour. She lowered her head and said, "Thank Your Majesty for your grace."
The emperor asked in surprise, "Why isn't Zhaoyang happy?"
Lu Wanning said, "Originally, I didn't like milk tea very much. I thought it was too thick and didn't quench my thirst. But now I miss it very much. However, the milk tea I make always doesn't taste as good as the one in the Shoukang Palace."
Speaking of the empress dowager, the emperor also felt a bit sad. He looked deeply at Lu Wanning and said, "You look quite plain today."
Lu Wanning frowned and said, "Father always said that I was immature. I used to be a bit unconvinced, but now I know it's true. You don't know how precious something is until you lose it. I used to think the palace was too restrictive, but now that I don't come to the palace often, I can see the shadow of the palace everywhere."
The emperor laughed heartily. "Come whenever you want. I've said before that you're a princess, no different from my own daughter. I allow you to come and go as you please without asking for permission."
Lu Wanning wasn't happy at all. She just asked, "But Your Majesty, coming to the palace only makes me more sad."
The emperor's smile froze. He was originally unhappy, but seeing the young lady in front of him with red eyes and tears welling up, he couldn't bear to scold her. After a long time, he just reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "Zhaoyang, mourn properly."
In the main hall, Lu Hongxi was very anxious. He whispered, "Where has Ning'er gone?"
The princess shook her head. "I don't know either. She said she was going to the Jiang family before, but when I sent someone to ask just now, they said they had separated long ago and didn't know where Ning'er had gone."
Wei quickly comforted them. "Father and Mother, don't worry. Ning'er is familiar with the palace. Maybe she misses the empress dowager and has forgotten the time while staying somewhere. She'll be back soon."
The princess frowned and said, "This child is really. The queen and the crown prince have already arrived. Isn't she being impolite? If she doesn't come back by the time the emperor arrives, she'll surely be gossiped about later."
Just as she was speaking, they heard the eunuch announce the arrival of the emperor.
Everyone quickly stood up. They saw the emperor walking in, with Sheng Jinyu and Lu Wanning on either side.
The crown prince's face changed. Why was Lu Wanning beside the emperor? The emperor had always been wary of the Lu family... He tried hard to suppress his displeasure. She was just a young lady. So what if the emperor doted on her?
There was no singing and dancing during the banquet. All the conversations were about national affairs. Everyone else was fine, but the Duke of Fu was involved.
First, Zhou Ducha stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I just received a battle report from General Zhen. It says that the news that the envoy from Zhaobi was killed in the capital has reached Zhaobi."
Lu Wanning's eyes flickered slightly. She whispered to Wei, "Sister-in-law, is it true that the envoy from Zhaobi is dead?"
Wei explained, "Nine days ago, the envoy from Zhaobi came. He was rude and offended Minister Lin of the Ministry of Rites. Minister Lin deliberately ignored him. Unexpectedly, when it was time for the audience, the envoy died in the posthouse."
Lu Wanning asked in surprise, "Is he really dead? But... what should we do now?"
Wei shook her head. "How would we know about the affairs in the court?"