Sheng Chenyi narrowed his eyes and looked at Lu Wanning seriously. Sowing discord? The news that Lu Wanning had touched the heavens with her filial piety and saved the emperor at noon had already spread throughout the entire palace.
However, he had been puzzled before. He hadn't even fully taken action yet, so how could his father suddenly fall ill? That was why he had hesitated to make a major move. Now it seemed that his father wasn't feigning illness.
Sheng Chenyi said indifferently, "They're not just obeying me. They're just being sensible."
Lu Wanning pretended not to know that he was implying that she was being insensible. Instead, she said seriously, "I don't need to avoid this. But Your Highness, the Prince of Chen, be careful when reporting to the emperor. The emperor has just regained consciousness. Don't agitate him too much."
Sheng Chenyi's face stiffened, but he saw his father nodding approvingly at Lu Wanning. It seemed that his father was really indulgent towards this life - saver.
He didn't need to care about such a person at this point.
"Since Zhaoyang said so, I'm a bit worried. But this is such an important matter that I have to report it to Father. Early this morning, the Shao family sent an urgent report saying that the eight - hundred - thousand - strong army led by the Prince of Yu was completely annihilated in a battle ten days ago, and the Prince of Yu..."
Lu Wanning's head exploded with a buzz.
"The Prince of Yu has been beheaded..."
Sheng Jinyu was dead? Beheaded? Earlier and more unexpectedly than in the book?
Before Lu Wanning could react, she heard a "thud" behind her. The emperor fell heavily onto the bed.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"
Lu Wanning rushed to check on him in a hurry. But now, he was only breathing out and not in.
"Someone, summon the imperial physician! Hurry and summon the imperial physician!"
There was complete silence. There was not a single stir anywhere.
The Hall of Diligent Government had been taken control of by Sheng Chenyi.
This thought popped into Lu Wanning's mind, and she stared at Sheng Chenyi viciously. "What do you want to do?"
Sheng Chenyi curled his lips into a smile. "I haven't done anything. I gave you a chance to escape just now. It's your own fault for stubbornly staying here."
Lu Wanning saw Sheng Chenyi walking towards her step by step. She stood in front of the emperor and glared at him fiercely. "Sheng Chenyi, I will never let you touch the emperor."
Sheng Chenyi burst into laughter. "You're so ridiculous. He's my father. Do you really think that just because you called him Father, he belongs to you? Now, this palace belongs to me, and the entire Great Zhou also belongs to me."
Lu Wanning ignored his nonsense and looked back at the dying emperor. Presumably, due to the extreme anger, the emperor had vomited blood. Since he didn't hold it in, there should be no big problem.
She reached out to pinch the emperor's philtrum. Sure enough, the emperor slowly regained consciousness. But his eyes were very cloudy. He opened his mouth for a long time but couldn't say a word.
Lu Wanning didn't care about anything else. She reached out to pick up the cold tea on the table and carefully fed it to the emperor.
After drinking some water, the emperor managed to regain some energy. He took a deep breath and looked at Sheng Chenyi. "Is A Yu really..."
Sheng Chenyi sneered. "A Yu? Father, you've been so partial. From childhood to adulthood, have you ever paid attention to me? Have you ever thought about me? Have you ever... called me in front of others?"
He was the crown prince before and now the Prince of Chen. Occasionally, he would be called Sheng Chenyi. It seemed that the last time he heard his father call him Yier was when he was ten years old. Now... more than a decade had passed, and his father had become more and more partial.
The emperor ignored him and just continued to ask, "Beheaded... You're lying to me!"
Sheng Chenyi laughed maniacally towards the sky. "Lying to you, Father? Why would I lie to you? This Great Zhou will soon be your son's. What else do I have to lie about? He's dead. Do you know how he died? It was the Lu family who colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country. They told the military intelligence to the Northern Desert and conspired with them to frame him so that he had no way back."
Lu Wanning was stunned and quickly said, "You're talking nonsense. My elder brother would never do such a thing. Your Majesty, don't listen to him. My elder brother is an upright man and would never do anything to collude with the enemy and betray the country. The Prince of Yu must still be alive."
Sheng Chenyi looked at her contemptuously. "You're so stupid. Your father and elder brother have had rebellious intentions for a long time. All that talk about being upright and serving the country is all fake. Didn't Father notice it long ago? If it weren't for the late queen's last words, Father would probably have already ordered a raid on their family, right?"
Lu Wanning looked at the emperor and saw him fall silent. She couldn't help but feel even more frightened.
"Your Majesty, you can't believe him. Father and elder brother are dedicated to the country and would never do such a thing."
"Zhaoyang, stop talking." The emperor struggled to sit up, leaned against the head of the bed, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
Lu Wanning's eyes were filled with tears. She didn't know what was going on outside, nor did she know what Sheng Chenyi had actually done. She believed that the Lu Hongxi family would never do such a thing. But they only had the Great Zhou and the war in their hearts. If they were framed, they might not be able to defend against it.
Also, was Sheng Jinyu really dead?
If so, why did she travel to this damned place? She couldn't protect anyone she wanted to protect, and the lover she wanted to spend her life with had vanished. What was the meaning of her living here?
No, she couldn't give up like this. She mustn't just sit and wait for death. Maybe these words were just a guise from Sheng Chenyi. Whether it was true or not, she had to find a way. She couldn't let the Lu family be wronged, and she couldn't let Sheng Jinyu be wronged either.
Lu Wanning asked loudly, "Regardless of whether what you said is the truth or not, Sheng Chenyi, what do you mean by this act of disrespect?"
Sheng Chenyi was taken aback. He didn't expect Lu Wanning to still have the mind to question him at this time.
Lu Wanning stood up and pointed at Sheng Chenyi. "I'm asking you. Since the emperor is ill, why did you take control of the hall and not allow the imperial physicians to enter to diagnose the emperor?"
Sheng Chenyi said indifferently, "Father is fine now."
Lu Wanning sneered. "Then I'll ask you again. There were always two cultivators by the emperor's side. Where are they?"
"Those two had evil intentions and wanted to harm Father. Father, your son has already ordered them to be executed."
Lu Wanning's eyes were like torches. "The one with evil intentions is either them or you, Sheng Chenyi. You even dared to touch the people closest to the emperor. Clearly, you have ill intentions. You deceived the emperor with a fake battle report. You deserve to die!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Sheng Chenyi took out a silk scroll from his bosom and threw it in Lu Wanning's face.
Lu Wanning picked up the silk scroll and was shocked. There was already paper in the Great Zhou, but since paper was easily damaged, to avoid it being damaged during a long - distance journey, many people still preferred to write on silk scrolls for important and urgent matters. For example, the most urgent battle reports.
This battle report was written by the Shao family in Luocheng. The handwriting was hasty. It was obvious that the head of the Shao family had written and sent it out in a hurry.
From the words on the silk scroll, one could even imagine how desperate the situation in Luocheng was now.
When Lu Wanning saw the words "the Prince of Yu has been beheaded", her tears couldn't stop flowing. But she still held on to a glimmer of hope and handed the battle report to the emperor, hoping that he could tell if it was the Shao family's handwriting.