Lu Hongxi felt desolate inside. Just yesterday, he was still calculating how to ensure the prosperity of the Lu family for a hundred years. But now he deeply regretted his actions. He was a marshal! How could he abandon the country for the sake of his own family? How could he forget his mission? What did the emperor's situation or the state of the court matter to him? How could he be a coward at this moment?
Sheng Jinyu continued, "Now the Great Zhou is in a time of trouble. Besides my humble plea, I'm afraid I still need General Lu's advice."
Lu Hongxi looked up at the emperor hopefully.
The emperor closed his eyes for a long time before raising his hand. "Then... do as A Yu suggests. General Lu, I order you to select 50,000 troops for Prince Yu and send him on his expedition."
Lu Hongxi kowtowed heavily. "Your subject... obeys the order!"
The emperor felt sad inside. Without looking at Sheng Jinyu, he said, "General Lu, I'm entrusting my own son to you. You... must not disappoint me."
Lu Hongxi looked up and saw the emperor's sad and worried face. He gritted his teeth and said loudly, "Your subject will write a letter. As long as my two sons are still alive, they will surely protect Prince Yu."
"Good! I trust you."
In the main hall, only the voices discussing this matter could be heard. The military generals offered their strategies one after another and expressed their willingness to assist Prince Yu in the expedition.
The emperor sat on the throne without saying a word. When the discussion died down, he said, "Just now A Yu said that the Great Zhou is truly in a time of trouble. Today, my cousin was injured in the main hall. I feel deeply sad. I think it's because there haven't been any happy events in the palace for a long time. Therefore, I've decided to select noble ladies to enter the palace and accompany me."
Suddenly, everyone was in a panic. All the families whose daughters could enter the palace were either wealthy or noble. They knew that the emperor was old. Instead of offering their daughters to the emperor, they would rather take a chance and send them to the crown prince or Prince Yu. So at this moment, they didn't dare to stand out for fear of being chosen by the emperor.
The queen was surprised. She looked up at Lu Wanning and thought that the emperor loved Lu Wanning so much. Could it be... But that didn't seem right. If the emperor really wanted Lu Wanning to enter the palace, he wouldn't have made her a princess just now.
The emperor's eyes swept over the He family and pointed in the direction of He Chan. "The He family girl..."
Duke He was shocked. Chan'er was the queen's niece and the crown prince's cousin. If she entered the palace, it would be embarrassing in the future. He quickly stood up and knelt down. "Your Majesty, my daughter is stupid and has already lost her reputation and is engaged. I'm afraid she's not suitable."
The emperor waved his hand. "I've watched He Chan grow up. She's a junior. Although it's just for warding off evil spirits with a happy event, how could I choose a junior to accompany me? The girl behind He Chan, what's her name?"
Shi Aohan was in disbelief. What was going on? Did the emperor take a fancy to her? It couldn't be, it couldn't be, how could it...
Lu Wanning narrowed her eyes slightly. What was this? The rumor she spread back then about Shi Aohan being only worthy of a dragon was to make the crown prince panic, but she never really wanted it to turn out like this. Was it just a coincidence? That rumor was suppressed within a day.
Duke He was also extremely shocked. He turned around and looked at Shi Aohan.
The emperor sneered and tapped the table. "What? Are you not willing?"
The queen was the first to react. She stood up and knelt down. "Your Majesty, this is inappropriate. Less than two months ago, I took Aohan as my adopted daughter. Since she's my daughter, she's also your daughter."
The emperor glanced at her coldly. "Among my daughters, besides Princess Qin, there's only Princess Zhaoyang. Who else is worthy to be my daughter?"
Shi Aohan's face turned deathly pale. The emperor actually said that his only daughters were Princess Qin and Lu Wanning? Princess Qin was the emperor's legitimate daughter, which was understandable. But who was Lu Wanning? How could the emperor place Lu Wanning above her?
She was heartbroken. With tears in her eyes, she looked up at the emperor, her eyes full of admiration.
The queen said again, "But Your Majesty, I've already betrothed her to Fu Rongxuan, the heir of the Fu family."
The emperor looked down and his eyes swept over the Lin family. He called out, "Minister Lin."
Minister Lin had been in a panic all day because he hadn't done his job well. When the emperor called out to him, he almost fell. Regardless of his dignity, he crawled out of the line and knelt down. "Your subject is here."
The emperor continued, "I remember you have a daughter who is beautiful and of the right age."
Sweat rolled down Minister Lin's forehead. He did have a daughter, but she was born out of wedlock when he was drunk and had an affair with his wife's maid. The maid was ugly, and the daughter took after her mother. Although his wife had recorded the daughter under her name as a legitimate daughter to cover up the matter, this daughter could never be described as beautiful.
"Yes... yes, your subject does have a daughter..."
The emperor clapped his hands. "Isn't that just perfect? Minister Fu, the Lin girl and your heir are of the right age. I think they're a perfect match. What do you think?"
Duke Fu didn't dare to object. Although his wife was pinching him desperately beside him, he still forced himself to step out of the line. "Your Majesty is absolutely right. Your subject thanks Your Majesty for the grace."
Fu Rongxuan couldn't bear it anymore. He rushed out and knelt on the ground. "Your Majesty, this must not be done, Your Majesty. Your subject and Aohan have already been engaged for life. Your subject... will marry no one but her!"
"Marry no one but her?" The emperor looked at him with a half - smile.
Although the queen was extremely nervous, when she heard this, she thought secretly that since the emperor had shown so much favor to Lu Wanning today, perhaps this time he was also standing up for Lu Wanning. After all, Fu Rongxuan was the one Lu Wanning had fancied before.
She forced a smile and said, "Your Majesty, if Your Majesty thinks the betrothal I arranged is not appropriate, then the betrothal between Fu Rongxuan and Shi Aohan can be called off. There's no need to welcome Shi Aohan into the palace. After all, Shi Aohan was previously engaged to a courtier, and it's not very appropriate for her to enter the palace."
What she meant was that it was not the act of a wise king to take a courtier's betrothed wife, and it might be laughed at by the world.
The emperor didn't say a word. He waved his hand, and soon two Taoist priests entered the main hall.
Everyone knew that after the emperor got old, he was fond of Taoist practices, and these two were the Taoist priests the emperor trusted most.
The older Taoist priest stroked his beard and looked around. When he saw Lu Wanning, his eyes lit up. He nodded at the emperor. "This girl is a celestial being."
Lu Wanning was shocked. No way, was this aimed at her?
But the Taoist priest didn't say anything else. He just smiled and asked, "Is she your daughter, Your Majesty?"
The emperor smiled. "She's a girl from the Lu family. Naturally, she's also my daughter."
The Taoist priest smiled again. "This girl is filial."
The emperor nodded. "Yes, I like her filial piety very much."
The Taoist priest then looked around and his eyes fell on Shi Aohan. He looked extremely surprised. "Your Majesty, Your Highness the Queen, this girl has the fate of a phoenix!"
The fate of a phoenix?
The queen and the crown prince were completely stunned.
The Taoist priest nodded seriously and pointed at Shi Aohan. "This girl is the reincarnation of the Nine - Heavens Mysterious Girl. She can only be matched with a dragon. Your Majesty, in the poor Taoist's opinion, this girl should be welcomed into the palace to accompany you. Only in this way can the calamity of the Great Zhou be dispelled."