In the past few days, Lu Hongxi had been ordered by the emperor to go on a mission out of the capital. Since it was a last - minute assignment, he just sent someone back to inform his family and then left. Although the princess had packed his luggage and had his personal guards take it away, she was in a bad mood. She found fault with anyone who happened to be around.
Wei Shi shook her head helplessly. "Even if father has never been on the battlefield, the emperor still has other tasks for him. How can he stay idle at home every day? Mother is just angry that he didn't come back to say goodbye properly this time. Ning'er, don't talk nonsense. Otherwise, mother will be even more angry."
Lu Wanning stared blankly at Wei Shi's belly, looking unconcerned.
Seeing that she didn't respond, Wei Shi asked again, "Ning'er? Did you hear what I said?"
Lu Wanning looked up and hesitated for a while. "Sister - in - law, do you hope it's a daughter?"
Wei Shi blushed slightly and quickly replied, "A son or a daughter is fine. For the Lu family... having prosperous descendants is the best thing for the Great Zhou."
The best thing? The Lu family seemed to be in glory, and the descendants were no longer as few as before. But Lu Wanning still felt uneasy. Was everything really moving in a good direction?
"I've thought about it. It would be better if it's a son."
Wei Shi was a bit surprised and curiously asked, "Before, you always hoped it would be a daughter, saying she could accompany us. Why has your thought changed now?"
Lu Wanning reached out and stroked Wei Shi's belly. "If it's a son, as a Lu family man, he will be upright and indomitable. In the future, the fate of the Lu family will depend on them. But if it's a daughter... nowadays, a girl depends on her father and brother at home and on her husband after marriage. Sister - in - law, I'm afraid we won't be able to protect her."
Wei Shi was stunned for a moment. She reached out and held Lu Wanning's hand. "Ning'er, you've been thinking too much recently. But our Lu family has never been a timid one. Sons should be brave, and daughters should be the same. Ning'er, you're a princess. Your niece will surely be outstanding. Let's protect her together, okay?"
Lu Wanning's eyes sparkled. She held Wei Shi's hand and nodded. "Okay. As long as I'm alive, I'll surely make her the happiest little princess in the world."
She did think a lot. Because of He Chan's incident, she always wondered that in this world, a woman couldn't even control her own destiny. Even He Chan, who was born into a wealthy family, couldn't escape the fate of becoming someone's plaything. What about others?
He Chan was indeed wrong, but perhaps it would have been more merciful for her to be killed with one blow rather than being humiliated like this.
Lu Wanning was always worried. In the book, she lived in the inner courtyard. Her sister - in - law tried every means to send her niece to her for protection, but she still failed to protect her in the end. What kind of humiliation did her mother and sister - in - law outside suffer?
No, she would never let such a thing happen again.
A few days passed like this. Lu Wanning had slept too much in the previous days and felt her bones were numb. So she got up early. She had been lazy for so long, and it was time to get up and practice martial arts seriously.
When she got to the martial arts training ground, she saw the martial arts teacher teaching Lu Cheng martial arts. Lu Cheng practiced martial arts both in the morning and evening, and he also had to study during the day. He was really not relaxed at all.
Lu Wanning blushed involuntarily. To be honest, she was not even as good as a child. She had been lazy every day. She had clearly promised Zhen Yan that she would compete with her, but she practiced martial arts so irregularly.
No, she still had to set a goal. From today on, she would practice for one hour every day.
But after only half an hour of practice, Lu Wanning's legs were trembling. She thought that one hour might be too long. Maybe half an hour would be better?
After less than half an hour, Lu Wanning got up out of breath. She thought that the original owner had some basic martial arts skills. But in less than a year, she had completely lost them. How could she show the aura of a girl from a general's mansion?
She still had to keep going.
After Lu Cheng finished his basic training, he wiped the sweat off his face and looked at Lu Wanning. "Aunt, you can't practice like this. You need to stretch your muscles, and you should do it step by step. Otherwise, your body won't be able to bear it tomorrow."
Lu Wanning deeply agreed and immediately nodded. "I also think that after practicing for such a long time today, it's almost enough. We should take it slowly step by step."
After all, Lu Cheng was just a child. He believed her words and said, "Aunt is so diligent. In the future, when I go to Luocheng, I can rest assured to leave everything at home to you."
Lu Wanning blushed. She reached out and tapped Lu Cheng's head. "You child, you're just like a little adult."
Lu Cheng smiled with curved eyebrows. "How about starting tomorrow, aunt practices martial arts with me? The martial arts teacher is teaching me anyway. It won't be a problem to teach one more person."
The martial arts teacher's mouth twitched. He had already thought of several reasons in his mind and was about to refuse.
Lu Wanning forced a smile. "Well... forget it. I have other things to do, so I won't practice with you."
Come on, Lu Cheng got up at 5:30 in the morning to practice martial arts. How could she possibly get up that early? Lu Cheng practiced for three hours straight and then went to study with the tutor at 9 o'clock. She felt ashamed of herself, but she didn't want to torture herself like this.
Wei Shi walked out of the resting room and greeted them. "Chengcheng, have you finished practicing? Come here quickly to wash up. Have something to eat and then it's time to review your lessons."
Lu Cheng showed no sign of unhappiness. He nodded. "Mother, I'm coming."
Wei Shi was used to getting up early with Lu Cheng every day. But when Lu Cheng was practicing martial arts, she could rest in the resting room for a while.
Lu Wanning had snacks with Wei Shi and Lu Cheng. Listening to Wei Shi asking about Lu Cheng's lessons, she felt extremely guilty.
She used to think that modern children were so pitiful. They studied from a young age but might not be able to move up a social class. In ancient times, the social classes were fixed. As the eldest grandson of the direct line like Lu Cheng, he would have no worries about food and clothing all his life.
Now she realized that the higher the status, the greater the responsibility. Lu Cheng was only four years old, but he already knew how heavy the burden on his shoulders was. He was diligent every day without being lazy, believing that all these were what he should do.
It was really not easy to be an ancient person.
Just then, a maid beside the princess rushed over to pay respects. "Princess of the heir apparent, the princess asks you to go over."
Seeing the anxious look on the maid's face, Wei Shi suppressed her uneasiness. She calmly said to Lu Cheng's nanny, "Take the young master there later. The princess has something to do. I'll go first."
Lu Wanning also got up and followed Wei Shi out of the room.
Wei Shi whispered, "What happened?"
The maid quickly explained, "The house was robbed. The princess couldn't make a decision alone, so she sent me to invite you."
"Robbed?" No wonder Wei Shi was surprised. The guards of the Lu family were the strictest except for those in the imperial city. How could the Lu family be robbed for no reason?
Following the maid forward, Lu Wanning found that the place that had been robbed was actually Lu Hongxi's study.
When the princess saw them coming, she greeted them. "Zhaozhao, Ning'er, over here."