The emperor's voice was soft. "Yes, Zhaoyang is my princess. How could I ever be willing to blame her? Zhaoyang, come here to me."
The queen's face froze completely. Lu Wanning had directly rejected her. It was simply an insult to her. How dared she? She was clearly relying on the emperor's favor and not putting the queen in her eyes. It was as if she was about to say that she no longer liked Prince Yi.
This was the well - raised daughter of her older sister! She had long known that her sister's family was unreliable.
The queen looked at the princess with anger and resentment in her eyes. However, the princess also looked extremely angry. The two sisters stared at each other defiantly for a while. Since the queen held a higher position, afraid of being noticed, she was the first to avert her gaze.
Just then, a scout came to report and presented a letter of apology from the King of Qishan. It said that the King of Qishan had sent his second son with several personal guards and they were already on their way to the capital at full speed. In this letter of apology, the king not only expressed his guilt for the unauthorized escape of the Qishan Prince's heir but also voluntarily requested to have his title demoted. He also stated that the second son would bring back the seal of the Qishan Prince's Mansion to the royal family and hand it over to the emperor for decision.
The words on this seal were written and engraved personally by the founding emperor to show his importance attached to the King of Qishan. This was also the foundation for the Qishan Prince's Mansion to have stood firm for a hundred years. Moreover, this seal was comparable to a military amulet and was the item by which the Qishan Prince's Mansion could mobilize its army. Handing it over this time meant that the king was giving up his 800,000 - strong army.
Upon receiving the news, the emperor was immediately overjoyed. He smiled and said to Lu Wanning, "Zhaoyang is truly my lucky star. Whatever you want, just tell me."
Seeing the emperor in a good mood, Lu Hongxi let out a slight sigh of relief. In any case, as long as there was no war, the common people would not be in a situation of great suffering. This King of Qishan was quite sensible. He must have taken immediate action after getting the news.
Speaking of which, it was really this Sheng Songyan who was so ignorant.
Just then, an eunuch came over and whispered to report, "Your Highness, your personal guard sent a message saying that the Qishan Prince's heir has been found."
Lu Hongxi was stunned. He had been searching for so many days, and now he was found?
Seeing Lu Hongxi talking to the eunuch, the emperor asked, "What is my cousin talking about?"
Lu Hongxi quickly stood up. "Your Majesty, my guard just sent a message saying that the Qishan Prince's heir has been found."
The emperor frowned and ordered Sheng Songyan to be brought up.
To everyone's surprise, besides Sheng Songyan, there was another person, Zhen Yan.
The emperor was stunned and asked, "You are... Zhen Yan? Why are you here?"
Sheng Songyan quickly explained, "Your Majesty, the people of the King of Zhennan said that they wanted Miss Zhen to come back to testify for me, so..."
Hearing his words, the emperor immediately shouted, "Sheng Songyan, do you know that unauthorized escape is a capital crime!"
Sheng Songyan half - opened his mouth and stared at the emperor in a daze. He swallowed his saliva and said nervously, "I... I... I was just going out for fun! Your Majesty, please spare my life. Your Majesty, please save me. I really didn't know. Before, they just said that I was not allowed to leave the capital. They never said that leaving the capital was a capital crime!"
The originally serious atmosphere was disrupted by Sheng Songyan. Everyone looked at each other, not knowing whether they should laugh or keep silent.
The emperor slapped the table hard. "You didn't know?"
Lu Wanning finally felt relieved. Since the emperor was scolding him so directly in front of so many people, there was still room for maneuver. It all depended on whether Sheng Songyan was smart enough.
Sheng Songyan nodded pitifully. "I really didn't know... Your Majesty... Uncle Emperor, I was wrong. Uncle Emperor, please spare my life."
The emperor was too lazy to pay attention to him. He pointed at Zhen Yan and said, "You tell me."
Zhen Yan was quite clear - headed. She explained seriously, "Your Majesty, thirteen days ago, I went to Daihe with my father and brother. Since I was used to the food in the capital, my brother hired a cook to accompany us. The Qishan Prince's heir mixed in with them and worked as a fire - starter. I didn't know about it before. It was not until the King of Zhennan sent people to chase after us and investigate that I found out it was the Qishan Prince's heir."
The attendant who escorted them up immediately responded, "Your subordinate and others were ordered to track them down. When we were approaching Daihe, we met General Zhen's troops. During the search, we found that this person couldn't prove his identity. After a detailed investigation, we found out that he was the prince's heir. Your subordinate and others didn't dare to delay, nor did we dare to make a decision on our own. We just rushed back to the capital with the prince's heir at full speed. However, General Zhen and the young general Zhen were not convenient to return to the capital, so we brought Miss Zhen back to the capital as well."
Back then, in a fit of anger, the emperor had issued an oral order saying that if Sheng Songyan dared to defy the order, he could be killed on the spot. Although he could only be killed after defying the order, this oral order was almost like a death sentence for Sheng Songyan. If it weren't for a rigid person like Lu Hongxi, Sheng Songyan might have lost his head long ago.
This was also the reason why they needed someone who could speak on his behalf to prove that Sheng Songyan was just being naughty and not really escaping without permission.
The emperor looked at Sheng Songyan coldly. "You disguised yourself as a cook? What were you going there for?"
Sheng Songyan looked embarrassed. He asked nervously, "Your Majesty, can I talk to you... privately?"
The emperor roared angrily, "Sheng Songyan, behave yourself. Guards, hold him down!"
Sheng Songyan immediately shouted, "Your Majesty, please spare my life. Your Majesty, you know me. I can't do anything and I don't have any martial arts skills. I... I'm already grown up and I haven't even gotten married yet. No family in the capital is willing to marry their daughter to me. I finally got a wife, and she even wants to run away. So of course..."
Hearing this, Zhen Yan was so angry that she stamped her feet. If all her weapons hadn't been confiscated before entering the palace, she really would have taken out her long whip and given this irresponsible man a good beating. "Sheng Songyan! If you talk nonsense again, I'll tear your mouth apart!"
"Miss Zhen, you can't be so heartless. What did I suffer these ten days for? It was just to be closer to you. Although I didn't cook your meals myself, I basically helped with the fire - starting for each of your meals."
Sheng Songyan couldn't break free from the guards who were holding him. He just looked at Zhen Yan pitifully. "Miss Zhen, from the first time I saw you, I've liked you and wanted to be with you. I knew you were leaving and I couldn't stop you. The only thing I could think of was to follow you."
Although it was supposed to be a very touching speech, after Sheng Songyan said it, Zhen Yan became even angrier. She pointed at him and scolded, "Get out of here. If you dare to ruin my reputation again, you'll be in trouble!"
She was used to living in the military camp since she was a child. When she got excited, she would say anything without caring. She didn't even care that they were in the main hall.
It was the princess who coughed heavily and scolded lightly, "Ayan, how can you talk nonsense in front of the Holy One? Come here."
Only then did Zhen Yan realize that she had overstepped. She quickly bowed and apologized, then neatly ran to the princess. The Zhen family was not from the capital, and she had no one to rely on in the main hall. Since the princess was protecting her, she was naturally willing.
Moreover, the emperor was quite indulgent towards young girls. Maybe because he was getting older, he especially liked to watch these young people's disputes. So he didn't mind Zhen Yan's rudeness. Instead, he laughed heartily. "Sheng Songyan, for the sake of pursuing a girl, you've done such a ridiculous thing. I really can't let you off without punishment."