Lu Hongxi asked nervously, "Then what you did today was..."
Lu Wanning shrugged and explained, "It's called asserting my claim. Anyway, the whole capital is spreading the rumor that I've taken a fancy to the Prince of Yu. Instead of letting people gossip, I might as well prove it myself. You don't need to worry about me. With my current reputation, I'm not afraid of having more problems."
The princess patted her hand disapprovingly. "Nonsense. I've sized up the Prince of Yu for you. He's an outstanding young man. How could you compare him to a problem?"
Lu Wanning stuck out her tongue playfully. "Okay, okay. He's not a problem. But I have to make the first move. Otherwise, if he's snatched away in the future, I'll cry my eyes out."
After Lu Wanning left first, the princess's face darkened. She asked Lu Hongxi worriedly, "What exactly happened today? Don't tell me Wanning is the only one interested this time?"
Lu Hongxi said, "You didn't say that just now when Wanning was here."
The princess explained, "I was afraid... She's already done it, and I didn't want her to feel bad. I do think the Prince of Yu is a good match, but if Wanning is so interested while he doesn't feel the same way, won't she end up heartbroken again?"
Lu Hongxi waved his hand and smiled cheerfully. "Don't worry. I can tell that the Prince of Yu has feelings for our Wanning. But as a man and a prince, he can't show his emotions openly. My lady, I didn't understand before. I thought the Prince of Yu was just trying to curry favor with us. For example, at the palace banquet yesterday, why did he volunteer? It turns out he already regarded us as family."
The princess asked, "Really?"
Lu Hongxi nodded. He remembered that the Prince of Yu had originally tried to be discreet today. But after Wanning said she would wait for him, he no longer tried to hide his feelings and only promised to return soon. It was only when parting that one could truly feel the deep affection between two people. And the Prince of Yu's initial discretion was probably to avoid burdening Wanning.
Such a thoughtful person was bound to stand out among the princes.
Thinking of this, he sighed deeply. "This battle is extremely dangerous. I was already prepared to go even if it meant angering the emperor. But unexpectedly, the Prince of Yu stepped forward first. Last night, I had a long conversation with him and realized that he is a real hero. My lady, if... if the Prince of Yu returns, I've made up my mind."
The princess understood what he meant. He was saying that if the Prince of Yu intended to compete for the throne, the Lu family would support him wholeheartedly.
Lu Hongxi reached out and held his wife's hand. "My lady, the Prince of Yu has the qualities of an emperor. He must not be buried."
The princess felt a tinge of sadness but still nodded. "I know. You don't need to worry about me. She's the queen now, and I've long since cut off all ties with the He family."
Lu Hongxi took a deep breath. "We can rest tomorrow. The day after... I've been assigned a task by the emperor. He wants me to handle the matter of the heir of the Prince of Qishan."
The princess asked, "But you're not feeling well. How can you handle this task?"
Whether he was really ill or pretending, Lu Hongxi's illness was well - known to the emperor and the court officials. It was really strange for the emperor to assign him a task at this time.
What worried the princess most was that this task might be a deliberate move by the emperor.
The Prince of Qishan held military power. Over the years, the emperor had tried his best to weaken the power of the vassal kings several times, and the Prince of Qishan had been the most affected. But even so, the influence of the Prince of Qishan should not be underestimated.
Now that the heir of the Prince of Qishan had committed a crime, the emperor was bound to punish him severely. He probably wanted to take this opportunity to send troops to attack Qishan. But the Great Zhou was in a critical situation. At this time, there was no more suitable person than Hongxi to lead the troops.
Moreover, it also had the effect of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys. Their Prince of Zhennan's Mansion was the monkey.
The pursuers had been chasing all the way from the capital to Qishan, checking every place along the way, but they still couldn't find any trace of Sheng Songyan. Lu Hongxi was really worried after taking over this task. If he couldn't find the person, he wouldn't be able to report back to the emperor.
Lu Wanning visited Jiang Shishi at the Jiang family's mansion every day. After hearing that He Nanfeng was safe, Jiang Shishi's mood had improved a lot. She didn't care whether He Nanfeng had a high - ranking official position or not. As long as he was safe, that was enough.
When Lu Wanning returned home, she happened to see her father frowning as he rushed back.
"Daddy, what's wrong?"
Lu Hongxi sighed, stroked Lu Wanning's head, and walked straight in.
Lu Hongxi's personal guard bowed and explained, "Princess, the prince was scolded by the emperor today, so he's in a bad mood."
Lu Wanning asked, "What for?"
The guard whispered, "The heir of the Prince of Qishan hasn't been found for a long time. The emperor wants the prince to lead the troops to attack... But the prince..."
Leading the troops to attack the Prince of Qishan was like fighting against his own family for Lu Hongxi. He naturally wouldn't be willing to do it. But the imperial order couldn't be disobeyed, so he was in a difficult situation.
Lu Wanning followed Lu Hongxi into the study and said with a smile, "Daddy, you've worked hard."
Lu Hongxi glanced at her and sighed deeply. "It's not about hard work. The emperor has ordered that if Sheng Songyan can't be found within five days, I'll have to lead the troops. But since Sheng Songyan left the capital, wanted notices have been issued. The search teams have covered more than half of the area from the capital to Qishan, but they still haven't found any trace of him. Even if he could fly, he couldn't be faster than the search teams."
Lu Wanning's eyes sparkled. "Daddy, have you ever thought that he didn't go to Qishan?"
Lu Hongxi shook his head. "I've also thought that he might have gone in another direction to avoid the pursuers. But all the exits were blocked in time. Logically, even if he escaped from the capital, he should have nowhere to run. But no matter how hard we search, we can't find him. Moreover, if Sheng Songyan really wanted to escape, he would surely go to Qishan. Going anywhere else would be useless."
Lu Wanning smiled slightly. "Daddy, do you think that if Sheng Songyan returns to Qishan, the Prince of Qishan will rebel?"
Lu Hongxi was taken aback. He didn't really believe it. After all, although the Great Zhou was not in a state of complete peace and prosperity, the overall situation was still quite good. Only a fool would want to rebel. But anything was possible. He hadn't seen the Prince of Qishan for twenty or thirty years.
Lu Wanning added, "Daddy, have you never thought of other directions? For example, searching all the way west?"
Lu Hongxi frowned and asked, "West? If he goes west and then detours to Qishan... Isn't that even more troublesome?"
Lu Wanning laughed. "Who said he's going to Qishan? Daddy, trust me. Search westward and hurry. They've been on the road for so many days. If we don't hurry, we'll have to look for them in the Dai River."
"The Dai River?"
Lu Wanning nodded and took Jiyue back to her courtyard.
Jiyue didn't understand and whispered, "Princess, why the Dai River? Isn't that where Miss Zhen is going?"
General Zhen had originally planned to leave the capital a long time ago, but he had postponed his departure for nearly two months because of the empress dowager's passing. Calculating the time, wasn't it around the time when Sheng Songyan escaped from the capital that Zhen Yan left with General Zhen?