On the morning of the next day in the imperial court, Lu Hongxi requested the emperor to let Princess Zhaoyang marry into a foreign land for peace.
The emperor flew into a rage. He immediately stood up and threw all the memorials at hand at Lu Hongxi.
"Lu Hongxi, Zhaoyang is your daughter! How heartless you are! You can't even protect your own family. What's the use of you to me?"
One of the memorials hit Lu Hongxi right on the forehead, breaking the skin. Fortunately, not much blood flowed. But it was precisely because of this that when the court officials looked at his face, they noticed many scratch marks on it.
They looked at each other, roughly understanding that these scratch marks must have been left during the quarrel and fight with the princess consort or Princess Zhaoyang yesterday. For a moment, they didn't know whether they should admire the prince's righteousness or scold him for being foolish in secret.
"In the face of national affairs, Your Majesty, I think the death of the previous envoy may be related to Mobei. If so, Mobei will have no more tricks. We just need to agree to the marriage alliance. Preparing for the marriage alliance will take some time. Maybe during this time, His Highness Prince Yu will be able to subdue Mobei."
The emperor asked, "This is just your speculation. What if it's not? Will my Zhaoyang really have to marry that old brute?"
Lu Hongxi's eyes were firm. "Your Majesty, if that's the case, Zhaoyang's marriage alliance can appease Zhaobi and also give the Great Zhou a chance to catch its breath. When the battle in Mobei is a complete victory, it will be the day for me to go on an expedition against Zhaobi!"
The emperor was on the verge of spitting out blood. "What about Zhaoyang? Lu Hongxi, is Zhaoyang just a pawn in your hand?"
Lu Hongxi frowned. "Zhaoyang is intelligent and will surely be able to protect herself until the day I welcome her back to the Great Zhou."
The emperor paced back and forth in the main hall. He pushed away the eunuch who came to console him and pointed at Lu Hongxi. "Look at him, this is my good general. He doesn't even care about his own daughter. I... I..."
The court officials whispered to each other and analyzed for a while. They also thought Lu Hongxi's method was good, so they knelt down together and requested the emperor to adopt Lu Hongxi's plan.
The emperor stopped pacing and sat back on the dragon throne in a daze. After a long time, he asked, "What if Princess Qin... goes?"
Lu Hongxi kowtowed. "Your Majesty, thank you for your love for Princess Zhaoyang. But Your Majesty, Princess Qingnian is young and ignorant, timid and innocent by nature, and not very lively in speech. If Princess Qingnian marries into a foreign land, I'm not sure I can bring her back to the Great Zhou intact in the future."
The emperor leaned back on the dragon throne and sighed deeply. "Both are my dear daughters. Qin'er is my own daughter, and although Zhaoyang is not my biological daughter, in my heart, she is no different from Qin'er."
Although the emperor said Zhaoyang was no different from Princess Qingnian, the court officials knew in their hearts that from what the emperor had just said, he would rather let Princess Qingnian marry into a foreign land than part with Princess Zhaoyang. They could tell that Princess Zhaoyang held a much more important place in the emperor's heart than Princess Qingnian.
Lu Hongxi's voice was firm. "Your Majesty is quite right. That's exactly why Princess Zhaoyang is deeply favored by the emperor. As a princess, she should be loyal to the country and share the emperor's worries."
The emperor pursed his lips. He knew that things had come to this point and he had no other choice, but he couldn't say the words of agreement for a long time.
He simply stood up and pointed at the Minister of Rites. "Treat the envoys from Zhaobi well. Let me think about this matter some more!"
Lu Hongxi wanted to persuade the emperor further, but the emperor had already turned around and left.
Finally, Minister Qin walked up to Lu Hongxi, took out a handkerchief and pointed at his forehead. "Your righteousness, Marshal. You're bleeding on your head. You'd better ask a doctor to take a look."
The emperor was in a bad mood and had no interest in dealing with state affairs. He simply went for a stroll in the imperial garden and happened to see Princess Qin playing with the Sixth and Seventh Princes there.
If Qin'er were more capable, Zhaoyang wouldn't have to go.
Thinking like this, the emperor was startled. After all, she was his own daughter. How could he think like this?
The emperor waved, and Princess Qin led the Sixth and Seventh Princes over to pay their respects.
Facing the emperor, the three children were as silent as mice. After paying their respects, they all stood there woodenly, not saying a word.
The emperor felt quite bored. Only Zhaoyang was brave enough to act coquettishly in front of him, saying and doing whatever she wanted. Unlike these other children, who were useless and timid.
Thinking like this, he was even more reluctant to let Lu Wanning marry into a foreign land. But since even Lu Hongxi thought the marriage alliance was the best way, he couldn't ignore the country's well - being just for the sake of a daughter.
The emperor sighed and asked, "Why are you here?"
Princess Qin was too timid to say a word. The Sixth Prince summoned up his courage and said, "Father, the weather is nice today. Mother is busy, so she asked sister to take us out to play."
The emperor wasn't really curious. He was just making small talk. He asked again, "Oh? What is your mother busy with?"
The Sixth Prince was too young to know. Princess Qin turned pale but didn't dare not answer. She stammered for a long time. "Mother Jing... Miss Shi in the cold palace is ill. The maids don't know what to do, so..."
Hearing it was about Shi Aohan, the emperor frowned. Was Shi Aohan still alive? It seemed so. At that time, he had just ordered her to be locked up. He had been so focused on punishing the queen and the crown prince that he had forgotten about Shi Aohan.
The emperor's eyes were gloomy. Was Shi Aohan ill? This woman who had brought shame to him. Maybe...
Princess Qin's voice became even softer. "Mother Jing said... she is also my sister, so..."
The eunuch coughed heavily, scaring Princess Qin so much that she trembled and immediately knelt on the ground, not daring to say another word. As soon as she knelt down, her two younger brothers were also frightened and knelt down too.
Sister?
The emperor's mind suddenly cleared. He glanced at the three children and even laughed out loud. "If you're coughing, go take some medicine. Don't cough randomly and scare my children."
The eunuch smiled awkwardly and took a step back. "It's my fault. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
The emperor raised his hand, signaling the maids to help Princess Qin and the two princes up. He nodded seriously. "Your Mother Jing is right. Back then, what I was angry about was the concealment of the queen and Prince Chen, not other things. No one has mentioned this to me for a while. After all, she is also my flesh and blood. Someone, send Shi Aohan to the Western Three Palaces. She is my own daughter."
This scene stunned everyone. For a moment, they didn't understand what had happened.
But soon, Consort Jing had everything arranged properly. She welcomed Shi Aohan out respectfully and sent her to the palace next to Princess Qin's in the Western Three Palaces.
Moreover, it was heard that the emperor was extremely happy about this long - lost daughter. Despite her being ill, he would go to the Western Three Palaces to visit her every day and even feed her medicine spoon by spoon with his own hands.
In just two days, Princess Han had become the most favored princess in the palace. The emperor ordered people to repair her palace, which was several times more magnificent than Princess Qin's. All her allowances were also on par with Princess Qin's.
Hearing that Princess Han liked poetry, calligraphy and painting, the emperor sent most of his collected famous paintings to Princess Han's palace to show his favor. Even the name of Princess Han's palace, "Hanbing Pavilion", was inscribed by the emperor himself and hung up by someone.
At the same time, the Ministry of Rites also changed its previous politeness. It ignored the envoys from Zhaobi. Even when they wanted to enter the palace to pay homage, the Ministry of Rites often blocked them.