The little girl had fallen asleep in Xuan Tianming's arms, but the person who was awake had been chased away by her words. Holding the little person in his arms, he thought about what she had said over and over again. In the end, a bitter smile appeared on his face.
Was this country good? Was the throne good? Did he want it? He never wanted it! From a young age, he, Xuan Tian Ming, did not want to be an Emperor. Ever since he began to understand things, ever since he clearly knew that he was a prince, he never thought that there would come a day when he would have to take over this heavy responsibility from his Father Emperor. His ambition was to rule the world; however, it was not to sit on the throne and look down on the world. Instead, it was to bring this girl around the world and give her complete freedom.
In the end, he was Consort Yun's child. Like Consort Yun, he also had the same feelings of freedom that could not be shaken away no matter how many years passed. But he was also Emperor Tianwu's child. In his bones, he also had the same feelings as Emperor Tianwu. Over the years, he had suppressed his yearning for freedom and did his best to help Tianwu protect this country. He loved the people of the world. Everyone knew that among Emperor Tianwu's sons, the one he liked the most was the Ninth Prince. The one most likely to inherit the throne was also the Ninth Prince. But no one knew that none of this was what the Ninth Prince truly wanted …
The next morning, Xuan Tianming got up early to attend court. The Dashun court would begin to seal after the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month. All of the matters before the end of the year had to be taken care of in these few days. Even if it was Xuan Tianming, who had just returned to the capital, he could not rest for a single day.
Feng Yu Heng did not have much to do. After Xuan Tianming left, she curled up and slept for a while. When she woke up, Lady Zhou told her that Xuan Tianming had left her a message, telling her to wait in the manor. After court was dismissed, the two would go to the Lu manor together to give Lu Yan the gifts that the Eighth Prince had him bring back.
Feng Yu Heng just felt that it was interesting. The Eighth Prince really did listen to Noble Lady Yuan. She had told him to marry Lu Yan, and he really took it seriously. He even began to prepare new year gifts. Such an obedient child actually had the ambition to seize the throne. Who knew where the line between childishness and maturity was? Or perhaps in the Eighth Prince's mind, Noble Lady Yuan had a very clear understanding of the political situation. It was such that the decision to have him marry the Lu Family's young miss was very correct. After all, Lu Song was still the left prime minister. He, the Eighth Prince, had quite a bit of fame in the South; however, he lacked a lot of power in court, especially when it came to the civil officials.
She sat peacefully in the manor for the entire morning. It was only around noon when Xuan Tianming returned from court. After the two ate lunch, they brought the new year gifts that the Eighth Prince had prepared and headed to the Lu Family. The new year gifts did not look like there were many, and Xuan Tianming said that they would be placed in a chest. That way, it would be easier to carry them, and they would not have to bring too many servants. As a result, two full chests were filled. This caused Feng Yu Heng to sigh at the Eighth Prince's sincerity.
Xuan Tianming, however, smiled and told her: "I also bought quite a few nice things from the South for you. Later on, I will bring them all to the imperial daughter's manor."
The two chatted and laughed along the way to the Lu Family. Lu Song had just returned from court not too long ago. Upon seeing that Xuan Tianming and Feng Yu Heng had personally come to visit, he was given quite a fright. Thinking that something had happened, the entire family kneeled in horror and saluted. Lu Song was truly unable to hold back and took the initiative to ask: "Your Highness and Imperial Daughter have suddenly come to visit. Is something the matter?"
Xuan Tianming nodded and waved his hand. The servants brought in two large chests. Only then did he say to Lu Song: "This time, I came back from the South first. I returned to the capital earlier, and His Highness the Eighth Prince entrusted me with bringing some things back to give to Young Miss Lu." After saying this, he pointed at the two chests and said: "It's most likely some jewelry and clothing. In the South, they would be considered nice things. Prime Minister Lu, have your family's young miss accept them!"
Lu Song was stunned. He never thought that Xuan Tianming would come to deliver gifts for the Eighth Prince, and he never thought that the Eighth Prince would really bring gifts back to the capital for Lu Yan. He had originally thought that Xuan Tianming and Feng Yu Heng had come to cause trouble. Suddenly, a bad thing turned into a good thing. For a while, he was still unable to recover.
It was his wife from the Ge Clan that pulled him back then said with a smile: "Many thanks to His Ninth Highness and Imperial Daughter for specially making this trip." She then turned around and pulled Lu Yan forward, saying: "This is the daughter that was betrothed to His Highness the Eighth Prince by His Majesty and the noble lady. Her name is Lu Yan. Yan 'er, why have you not greeted His Ninth Highness and Imperial Daughter! "
Lu Yan quickly bowed and saluted Xuan Tianming and Feng Yu Heng in a very courteous manner. While saluting, her gaze subconsciously drifted to the two chests. The chests still had not been opened, but she had just seen that the servants that had carried them in had used a lot of strength. Thinking about it, there were definitely quite a few things in the chests. She could not help but reveal a smile, and her mood improved a bit: "Yan 'er thanks His Ninth Highness for bringing those things back. Yan' er will definitely remember this grace."
Xuan Tianming waved his hand: "It was just along the way. There's no need to speak of grace. Young miss Lu, you must not say such a thing. Let's go take a look at those gifts." After saying this, he pulled Feng Yu Heng back half a step then said to Lu Song: "I have already delivered the things and will not keep you any longer. Prime minister Lu's analysis of the situation in the South is very unique. I will ask prime minister Lu for some advice at a later date."
Once these words were said, Lu Song was startled once more. In court today, everything that he had said about the South was in favor of the Eighth Prince. Now that the Ninth Prince had suddenly said such a thing, what exactly did he mean? He raised his hand and wiped away some sweat, repeatedly saying: "I don't dare, I don't dare. This official is mistaken."
However, he heard Feng Yu Heng giggle from the side, "Mistaken? Lord left prime minister really knows how to joke. Do you know what mistaken means? Mistaken, it refers to absurd and wrong statements. But in court, in such a solemn place, every word that an official says has to focus on the entire Dashun country and make a unique analysis. You have to be responsible to the Emperor, to the country, and to the world. You don't have to say that every sentence is correct to the point of being impeccable, but you have to think carefully before speaking to the Emperor. Lord left prime minister said that what you said in court was mistaken. Then your actions are … deceiving the Emperor? "
Lu Song trembled, his legs went soft, and with a plop, he knelt down. When he knelt down, everyone in the Lu residence had to kneel down as well. Lu Song said: "Your Highness, please understand. This official did not mean that. This official really did not mean that!" Then he looked at Xuan Tianming and said: "This official was just afraid that His Ninth Highness would like to consult with this official. That's why … this official's words did not convey his meaning. Your Highness, Your Highness, please understand."
Xuan Tianming looked at him coldly, but did not say anything. He only helped him up and said: "Prime Minister Lu, there's no need to be so courteous. Your Highness was just joking with you."
Lu Song's heart twitched. Joking? Saying that he was deceiving the Emperor?! Was this kind of joke appropriate? However, he did not dare to argue with Feng Yu Heng. First, he knew his own limits. He knew that he could not win against her. Second, he really did not use the right words. How could he have made up such a mistaken idea? No wonder so many people in the court said that the Ninth Prince would inadvertently give people a sense of pressure. Often, with just a few words, he would make people lose their minds. Today, the Ninth Prince had said that it was a "fallacy". It seemed that what people said was indeed true!
Lu Song stood in place awkwardly and nervously. It was the madam of the Ge Clan who recovered first. She said: "Your Highness and Your Highness, please come in and have a seat. Have some hot tea."
As soon as she spoke, Lu Song hurriedly followed her into the room. However, he saw Xuan Tianming shake his head, "I and Your Highness have other matters to attend to. We won't disturb you any longer. We will take our leave now."
To be honest, when Xuan Tianming said that he would take his leave, everyone in the Lu Family let out a long sigh of relief. It was not until the two were sent out of the fu and they boarded the imperial carriage that Lu Song wiped away the sweat that had seeped out in the cold winter. He pulled his madam and daughter back to the fu. When he turned around, he ordered people to quickly close the fu's doors. Only then did he feel relieved.
The Ge Clan sighed. While helping Lu Song wipe away his sweat, he said: "It's really been hard on Master."
Lu Song waved his hand and said helplessly: "As the saying goes, being in the emperor's company is like being in the tiger's company. As an official in court, there is not a day where I am not on tenterhooks."
The Ge Clan continued: "In my opinion, that His Ninth Highness is still considered polite. The crafty one is that Princess Ji An. As long as she opens her mouth, you can pick out the bones in an egg. Master's fallacy just now was nothing more than a polite remark, but she heard so many tricks behind it. Dealing with this kind of person is really more frightening than being in the company of a tiger! " As she spoke, she began to feel puzzled, "It must be said that Imperial Daughter Ji An's personality really is hard to understand. During the Winter Hunt, she seemed to be helping our Lu family, but why is it that today …"
Lu Song sighed and said: "How can we guess that girl's thoughts? In my opinion, during the Winter Hunt, she wasn't really helping us. The marriage between Yan 'er and His Highness the eighth prince has always been strange. We still don't know what exactly is going on. "
Lu Yan listened to her parents' words and was a little confused: "Who cares what she's thinking or what exactly is going on. In short, daughter's marriage to His Highness the eighth prince was personally agreed upon by His Majesty. How could a golden word be false? Wasn't this the result that father wanted? "
The Ge Clan also said: "Yan 'er is right. Betrothing her to His Highness the eighth prince was something that we had planned to do. This marriage was personally sanctioned by His Majesty. We are also the prime minister's manor, and Yan 'er is the daughter of the first wife. The position of official princess cannot be avoided. Now, no matter what, our goal has been achieved. What follows will depend on whether or not His Highness the eighth prince can live up to expectations. Master will also need to do his best to help him in court. Only when His Highness the eighth prince can ascend to the throne can our Lu Family truly be able to hold our heads up high. "
Lu Song nodded, "Madam is right. Now that we've already reached this point, we can only grit our teeth and continue forward. Right or wrong, success or failure will be determined in the next few years. Even if His Highness the eighth prince's momentum is not as good as His Ninth Highness', we will need to think of a way to help him reverse the situation. "
Hearing Lu Song say this, Lu Yan felt happy from the bottom of her heart. She happily went to look at the two chests of gifts. Lu Song, however, saw his daughter's happy appearance and faintly felt a little uneasy. Wasn't this matter going a little too smoothly? It was going so smoothly that he felt that it was unreal!
Just as he was thinking this, he heard the sound of someone knocking on the manor's door. The manor's housekeeper went to open the door and exchanged a few words with the person who had come. Very quickly, he was surprised. He then quickly ran over and anxiously said: "Master, Her Highness the Empress sent someone to deliver something to the third young miss …"
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