Princess Qin remained as dull as ever. Hearing the Emperor call her, she shuffled over slowly and knelt before him in silence.
The Emperor grew impatient. Suppressing his anger, he asked, "Who am I?"
Princess Qin looked up blankly and replied timidly, "You're... Father Emperor."
The Emperor grunted in acknowledgement. "You're my only daughter. You've been well - behaved since childhood and never caused any trouble. Get up and come here to me."
Princess Qin got to her feet and walked over to the Emperor, allowing him to stroke her hair.
"Qin'er is grown up now. I originally planned to confer a title on you on your wedding day. But now I think that if I don't bestow it on you earlier, others might think I have many daughters! From now on, your title shall be Princess Qingnian."
Princess Qin nodded and was about to kneel when the Emperor helped her up.
"You don't need to kneel."
The Emperor then turned around and said, "Princess Qingnian shall be elevated to the rank of Grand Princess. All regulations shall be in accordance with that of a Grand Princess."
Only then did a ripple appear in Princess Qin's eyes. She exclaimed excitedly, "Father Emperor?"
A look of affection crossed the Emperor's face. He stroked her hair again and said, "Silly girl, you're my daughter. All the best things in the world should be yours."
In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the hierarchy of princesses was strict. The title of "Grand" was only bestowed on the eldest legitimate princess who was also dearly loved by the Emperor. Although Princess Qin was the eldest princess, she was not of legitimate birth and had never been in the Emperor's good graces. Now, the Emperor seemed determined to make up for the fifteen years of neglect in one go.
Such a deliberately - shown affection didn't seem very genuine.
But Princess Qin had no complaints. She nodded obediently. "Thank you, Father Emperor."
Fu Rongxuan shouted frantically, "Your Majesty, how could you do this? How could you be so heartless? Han'er is your own daughter, your long - lost pearl. How could you not even glance at her?"
Sheng Jinyu led the imperial guards in. Before Fu Rongxuan could continue shouting, he ordered his men to gag him and drag him away.
Shi Aohan was terrified. She had imagined the worst - case scenario, which was that the Emperor would dislike her and abandon her in some corner of the palace, just like Princess Qin used to be. But she never expected that the Emperor would start by accusing everyone.
She kowtowed like a pounding garlic. "Your Majesty, it's all my fault. Please punish me and spare them, okay? They only deceived you at my request. Your Majesty, you're a wise ruler. You would never hurt others without cause, especially those closest to you, right?"
But the Emperor just led Princess Qin's hand to the table. Seeing Lu Wanning standing there in a daze, he waved her over. "Zhaoyang, come here too. Everyone in the world knows that my daughter is Qin'er, but I also have a beloved niece, Zhaoyang. Only you two are worthy of sitting beside me."
Shi Aohan looked up blankly at the three people on the high seats. She couldn't understand why this was happening. She had the Emperor's blood in her veins. She was his daughter, but in the Emperor's eyes, there was only indifference.
Sheng Jinyu said indifferently, "This woman tried to get close to the Emperor. Someone, take her away and execute her on a chosen day."
Shi Aohan was deeply shocked. She forgot about her dignity, stopped pretending to be weak, and regardless of the public eye, she sobbed and shouted, "Your Majesty, have you really forgotten my mother, Shi Fengyun? Have you really forgotten the time you spent with her? Your Majesty, you once loved her and had a passionate relationship with her, didn't you?"
"Drag her away! Immediately..."
The words "execute" were not spoken out, as they were interrupted by Prince Yu. "Father Emperor, this woman may be suffering from hysteria. Threatening the royal family is a serious crime, but we can't let the royal family be wrongly accused. I'll have her escorted away first."
This meant that if she was killed directly, people would think the Emperor was angry and refused to admit what had happened in the past.
The Emperor understood. He pursed his lips. "Yes, A Yu. I'll leave this to you."
A maid brought a handkerchief. He wiped his hands, threw it away impatiently, and then motioned for the two Taoist priests to leave with him. As for the previous rumors, everyone understood tacitly, as if nothing had happened.
Under Sheng Jinyu's arrangement, everyone waited in an orderly manner. After the He and Fu families were taken away, they got ready to leave the palace.
Princess Qin staggered a bit when she got up. Lu Wanning gave her a hand to steady her. She forced a smile. Her face was still dull, but there was a hint of pleasure in her eyes.
"Thank you."
Before Lu Wanning could respond, Princess Qin had already left with her maids.
Lu Wanning stood there stunned for a while. Princess Qin's expression just now was like that of someone who had avenged a great wrong. But people in the palace were used to wearing masks, and she didn't want to pry into others' privacy.
As she came down, she saw Sheng Jinyu and Sheng Chenyi standing face - to - face.
Sheng Jinyu was expressionless, looking like he was just doing his job.
Sheng Chenyi glared at him coldly and almost gritted his teeth. "Did you do this? Or did you collude with the Fourth Prince?"
Sheng Jinyu didn't even lift his eyes. He said with a half - smile, "The Fourth Prince? The eunuch said this morning that the Fourth Prince broke his leg at the racecourse the day before. I don't know who did it. But now, brother, I think I understand."
Sheng Chenyi widened his eyes. "You... You did it on purpose!"
Sheng Jinyu raised his eyebrows and waved for the guards to come.
Sheng Chenyi waved his hand forcefully. "No need. I'll leave on my own."
Lu Wanning stared at Sheng Jinyu with her big eyes. She felt as if she had been used by him. Also, what did this have to do with the Fourth Prince?
Sheng Jinyu stood there, locking eyes with Lu Wanning without any sign of avoidance. He stared until Lu Wanning felt ashamed and ran behind the princess in a hurry to hide. Only then did he smile.
Was this woman, who was not afraid of anything and dared to say anything, afraid now?
Or maybe she was just shy.
He slowly walked towards Lu Wanning.
Lu Wanning's heart was pounding. What was this man up to? With so many people around, what did he want to do? Did he want to talk to her alone? Should she refuse or agree?
What could they possibly talk about at this moment? Outsiders all thought that Lu Wanning was in love with Sheng Jinyu, but he ignored her.
Now she didn't even care about him anymore. Why was he coming over? Humph, did he think he could say a few nice words and make her change her mind? She wasn't as stupid as the original owner. She had been scolded by him several times and wouldn't believe his sweet talk.
Unless, unless he became as gentle as the Sheng Jinyu in her dream, then she might consider it.
Yes, that's right!
Lu Wanning made up her mind. She looked up, ready to reject Sheng Jinyu as soon as he spoke.
But Sheng Jinyu walked over slowly and calmly came to Lu Hongxi. He bowed and said, "I wonder if the general still has the energy. Military matters can't be taken lightly. I also have some doubts in my mind and would like to consult the general."
???
He wasn't coming for me?