Lu Wanning blinked her eyes and looked at the emperor. "I once heard people say that Your Majesty dotes on Princess Han. So it's true?"
The emperor gave her a half - smiling look. "Doesn't Zhaoyang like her?"
Lu Wanning wrinkled her nose. "I never liked her."
The emperor stood up, reached out his hand and patted Lu Wanning on the head. "Since you don't like her, I'll send her away."
He strode towards Shi Aohan's palace and looked coldly at Shi Aohan, who was sitting on the ground sobbing.
When Shi Aohan saw the emperor, she immediately threw herself at him. "Father, they're trying to harm me. Please save me, Father!"
The emperor felt annoyed. He disliked people crying. Qin'er and the others were so afraid of him that they never cried in front of him. Ning'er had cried before, but Ning'er was always unrestrained. Even when she cried, it was with great intensity, never so coy as this.
It was truly coy. He felt disgusted in his heart and remembered the coy look of her mother back then.
A betrothed woman sneaked into his bed and wept, demanding that he take responsibility. Since the Shi family dared to use such despicable means against him, they should also bear his wrath.
Shi Aohan waited for a long time but didn't get any comfort from the emperor. She subconsciously looked up and tugged at his trouser leg. "Father?"
The emperor asked, "Why hasn't she been given the medicine?"
The nanny quickly explained, "Your Majesty, the princess refused to take it."
The emperor sneered. "If she refuses, can't you force her?"
Shi Aohan was shocked. She let go and stepped back, staring at him with wide eyes. "Father... I... I'm Han'er. I'm your daughter, Han'er."
The emperor glanced at her indifferently. "Your mother was unchaste. How do I know if you're really my daughter?"
Shi Aohan stared at him fixedly, tears streaming down her face. She looked so pitiful. "Father, how could you? Don't you trust mother?"
"Trust her? Shi Aohan, do you really not know or are you just pretending? Do you know how your mother and your maternal grandfather's family deceived me back then? And those so - called romantic moments you mentioned never existed. I'm not stupid enough to be attracted to such a disgusting woman after being framed once! Guards!"
Shi Aohan looked at him in disbelief. Did he say disgusting? But mother said that she and the emperor were deeply in love. If only she had told the emperor her true identity earlier, the emperor would have taken her into the palace long ago.
Her head was dizzy. Shi Aohan vaguely remembered what her aunt had scolded. Her aunt said that her mother was daydreaming and that only when her mother died could the Shi family make a comeback.
Who was telling the truth and who was lying?
Shi Aohan refused to take the medicine, but the eunuchs and the nanny held her down and forced it into her mouth. She saw the man in front of her, the man her mother had yearned for day and night, the father she had looked up to for so long. But at this moment, her father was cold.
She remembered that in the main hall, her father was so kind and gentle to another girl, Lu Wanning, who wasn't even his real daughter.
That bit of kindness and gentleness had only lasted for three days for her and then disappeared in a flash.
She heard his voice.
"Once you leave the capital, you can handle things as you like. If the Zhao Bi envoy turns back, I'll take your heads!"
The Zhao Bi envoy's face was beaming with joy as he led the princess of the Great Zhou back. They had all heard that the emperor of the Great Zhou doted on his princesses very much. They never expected that he doted on this one to such an extent. Not only was the dowry generous, but there were also a large number of attendants.
There were servants, doctors, and chefs. For a single princess, there were a hundred people accompanying her in the marriage. There were also two teams of imperial guards who would escort them all the way until they left the Great Zhou.
The envoy wanted to meet the princess, but the princess's personal nanny was very imposing. She said that the princess was still sick and hadn't fully recovered, so she couldn't meet anyone for the time being.
It wasn't until they reached the territory of Zhao Bi and the imperial guards handed over to the Zhao Bi guards that the envoy saw the princess for the first time.
When he saw her, the envoy was a little surprised. He had never seen Princess Zhaoyang, but he had heard of her. Princess Zhaoyang was in her prime, highly favored, raised under the care of the empress dowager, and the niece of the empress. She was said to be as beautiful as a celestial being. When she appeared, the world would pale in comparison.
But this princess, although not emaciated, was really listless.
The envoy tried hard to identify her. Even if he didn't consider the hardships of the journey and her illness, and even after a hasty dressing - up, she could only be considered a minor beauty at best.
"Is... is this Princess Zhaoyang?"
The nanny raised her eyebrows and looked at the envoy in surprise. "Who said this was Princess Zhaoyang? This is Princess Han of the Great Zhou, with the title of Junying. She's the most beloved princess of the emperor."
The envoy was greatly shocked. Princess Junying? He had never heard of such a person. There were only Princess Qingnian and Princess Zhaoyang among the princesses of the Great Zhou.
"Is there a mistake? The princess that Zhao Bi is marrying isn't Princess Zhaoyang?"
The nanny said impatiently, "Zhao Bi required a legitimate princess in the marriage. Princess Zhaoyang isn't the emperor's legitimate daughter. She was just bestowed the title of princess, so she doesn't count. The emperor has two princesses, Princess Junying and Princess Qingnian. Princess Qingnian is still young. For this royal marriage, it's Princess Junying, the emperor's most beloved princess."
Finally, the attendant beside the envoy whispered an explanation. "Princess Junying is the so - called lost pearl of the emperor of the Great Zhou that was rumored before. She was only recognized by the emperor not long ago and is said to be highly favored."
Only then did the envoy remember. At that time, he had only been thinking about Princess Zhaoyang and never thought of this Princess Junying. Now, thinking carefully, he realized the difference in the emperor's words.
The one who wasn't raised in front of the emperor wasn't Princess Zhaoyang but this Princess Junying.
He had been deceived.
But if he went back to the palace now and told the king everything in the capital, saying that he had been deceived, the king would surely cut off his head.
The nanny stared at the envoy. "Is there something wrong? You of Zhao Bi once said that you would treat our princess well and welcome her as the crown princess. You should know that our Princess Junying is the most beloved princess of the emperor, much more favored than Princess Qingnian. If you treat her coldly..."
The envoy immediately smiled. "No, Nanny, you misunderstood. We all know that Princess Junying is the most beloved princess of the emperor. How could we treat her coldly? Princess, please rest first. There are still a few days' journey ahead."
Shi Aohan felt desolate in her heart, but there was no trace of emotion on her face. Along the way, she had thought things through clearly. She knew that the emperor had used her as a pawn and sent her here for the royal marriage, and she was a substitute for Lu Wanning.
At first, she wanted to resist. She would rather commit suicide than let Lu Wanning have her way. But now, after suffering at the hands of the nanny, she knew that resistance was useless. Moreover, she had also figured it out. She was just a pawn. Back in the capital, wasn't she also a pawn of the crown prince?
Moreover, now that Lu Wanning had paved the way for her, the emperor had given her a truly generous dowry to show his favor. And because Lu Wanning was a princess of the Great Zhou, originally the princess was supposed to marry the old king of Zhao Bi, but now it had been changed to the middle - aged crown prince who was about to inherit the throne.
She was going for the royal marriage as the crown princess of Zhao Bi, the Crown Princess of Zhao Bi.
She was Shi Aohan. Even if she was in a different place, she could live a better life, couldn't she?