After some commotion, seeing that Zhen Yan had no intention of telling Sheng Songyan, Lu Wanning could only sigh. "Fine then. I'll go find He Nanfeng tomorrow."
Zhen Yan didn't mind. She pulled Lu Wanning and asked, "So, what was He Chan doing at the brothel yesterday?"
Lu Wanning explained to her helplessly, "I didn't see He Chan. Instead, Sheng Songlin told me that He Chan was a pawn of Sheng Chenyi, used to win over powerful officials. Of course, I knew He Chan was a pawn, but she's so stupid. What can she do?"
Zhen Yan's eyes widened. "Really?"
Lu Wanning was confused. "What do you mean 'really'?"
Zhen Yan said, "He Chan is a pawn used by Sheng Chenyi to win over powerful officials?"
Lu Wanning was still at a loss. "Even if she is, so what? The He family has been so low - key in the past few months. They don't even dare to breathe loudly. What can He Chan do?"
Zhen Yan reached out to touch Lu Wanning's head. "Are you really innocent or just pretending to be stupid? Don't you know this?"
Lu Wanning blinked her eyes and subconsciously frowned. "You mean... she went to the brothel..."
Zhen Yan nodded. "I know that among the common people, there are some human traffickers who like to abduct the daughters of officials. Some high - ranking officials like this kind of girls. After all, a real young lady from a noble family is different from those raised in brothels. However, the laws of the Great Zhou are strict now. It's not as closed - off as in the previous dynasties. Regions are basically interconnected. If such abductions and sales of women occur, both the buyers and sellers will receive the most severe punishments, including the guilt of being implicated. So, such things rarely happen these days."
Lu Wanning was still in a daze for a moment. But that was He Chan, the legitimate daughter of the He family and the niece of the queen!
Zhen Yan asked, "Have you seen He Chan recently?"
Lu Wanning explained, "I've seen her twice. The last time she told me about the marriage alliance... I thought she was sick because she looked so thin and pale. Now that I think about it, it's very strange. Usually, sick people don't run around everywhere, but she was always out and following Sheng Chenyi... That day, it seemed that most of those people were men, and there were no women."
Zhen Yan clapped her hands. "That's right! She's a pawn. She's used to win over those officials and make them pledge their allegiance to Sheng Chenyi. Of course, one He Chan is not enough. There must be others."
Lu Wanning frowned. Such things were so shocking that she hardly had the ability to accept them. She even wondered what Sheng Chenyi's intention was in wanting to marry her. Did he also want her to do such dirty things for him?
In the book, Lu Wanning lived in the inner courtyard, only caring about getting angry with Fu Rongxuan and suppressing Shi Aohan. She only knew that Fu Rongxuan and Shi Aohan were Sheng Chenyi's right - hand men, but she didn't know how they did their jobs.
A chill ran down Lu Wanning's spine, and she subconsciously hugged her arms.
Seeing her like this, Zhen Yan quickly patted her arm. "Ning'er, don't think too much. Beneath the peaceful and prosperous era, there are some chaotic situations that we can't see."
Lu Wanning lowered her eyes and gave a faint smile. "Sister Zhen, such chaotic situations should not have occurred. Our Great Zhou is supposed to be a prosperous and peaceful country, but some people don't think about how to build a better country. They only want to seek personal gain, even using others to do so..."
Zhen Yan held her hand and said nothing.
Lu Wanning sighed. "I've always disliked He Chan, but from beginning to end, I've also pitied her. She was like me, a precious daughter at first, but our parents are so different. It was also through her that I knew there were such evil parents in the world who didn't care about their daughters' lives."
Zhen Yan nodded. "So, we're lucky."
"Actually, I used to dislike Sister Jiang's parents. I thought they liked to be flattered and thought they were so noble, but they couldn't even give their daughter happiness. But now I know that their so - called consideration of the overall situation is just a matter of cognition and ability. It doesn't mean they don't love their children. The He family are truly selfish parents."
There was a lump in Lu Wanning's heart. After a long silence, she said, "How can I change such a world?"
Zhen Yan, who had also been silent, was surprised when she heard this. "You have such great ambition? Is this something that a boudoir girl should think about?"
Lu Wanning looked up at her. "I'm also a commoner of the Great Zhou and a princess highly favored by the emperor. Why can't I think about it? However, I can't get involved in such private matters, nor can I solve them. But this incident also makes me understand how evil and despicable Sheng Chenyi is. I will never side with him!"
Zhen Yan laughed. "All in all, you're going to support King Yu, aren't you?"
Lu Wanning ignored her teasing and just asked, "You're helping Sheng Songyan. Isn't that also supporting King Yu?"
Zhen Yan nodded. "You're right. When King Yu took the initiative to lead the army, my father got the news and told me that there was hope for the future of the Great Zhou. I deeply agree. If the future of the Great Zhou doesn't belong to King Yu, the Great Zhou will no longer be a country."
Lu Wanning laughed. "So, we're on the same side."
Regarding He Chan's matter, Lu Wanning pretended not to know. She still behaved as before, sometimes going to the palace to accompany the emperor and sometimes going out to play with Jiang Shishi.
The days of clear autumn skies and pleasant weather were not many. In the blink of an eye, the autumn wind was blowing coldly, and even Lu Wanning didn't like going out to be exposed to the wind.
The place she visited most was Wei's courtyard. Wei's belly used to grow bigger every day. When you put your hand on it, you could feel the strong movements of the fetus. But now it was quiet.
Lu Wanning pouted. "People feel sleepy in autumn. Is it sleepy too? It's so lazy."
Wei laughed. "It's like this when it's almost time to give birth. It doesn't move much."
Lu Wanning looked up. "So, it's almost time to come out? Baby, can you hear what your aunt is saying? Baby, when are you coming out? Auntie wants to hug you."
Wei was amused by her childish tone. "It would be strange if it could hear."
Lu Wanning said, "Why can't it hear? It's in your belly, but it can still hear and sense whether its family is kind and loving to it. Right, baby?"
Wei burst out laughing. "That would be great. You, this aunt, love it so much. It must know."
Lu Wanning nodded. After thinking for a while, she touched Wei's belly and said, "But grandma also loves you very much. Don't think she has a bad temper recently. In fact, she's just going through menopause. It doesn't mean she doesn't love you."
Wei asked in surprise, "What does menopause mean?"
Lu Wanning explained, "It means that women in their forties are prone to having a bad temper and being in a poor mental state. Especially when their families don't care enough about them, the symptoms of menopause are more serious. What's wrong with my mother recently? Why is she angry every day? Did father do something to upset her?"