She suddenly stood up, walked to the last row of bookshelves, quickly scanned the entire shelf, pulled out the book, and flipped to the page rapidly, reading it in a blur. Her expression grew increasingly grim.

Seeing that his elder sister's expression was not right, Lu Yuyan picked up the book, glanced at it, and slammed his fist on the table.

Zhu Dan said, "This is the custom of the Southern Liang Dynasty. When the father dies, the son can not only inherit the throne, but all women except his birth mother will also become his women."

"This is utterly immoral! No, we can't let Ruoling go on this political marriage. I'll take her away right now!" Lu Yuyan rushed out.

Lu Xiaoyun pulled the person back.

"You think you can take her away? Even if you can, what, are you going to spend the rest of your life on the run, living a life of hiding and running from one another? Lu Yuyan, don't forget, Ruoling is a princess, she's used to a life of luxury." Zhu Yu poured cold water on his enthusiasm.

Lu Xiaoyun: "Ayan, aren't we trying to figure something out?"

"Think of a way, think of a way! What can we do? The old emperor has already issued an edict, sister. He wants you to handle this matter personally. Can you disobey the edict?!"

"The Southern Liang delegation will arrive at the border between the two countries in three days. The marriage alliance with Ruoling is now irreversible," Zhu Yu added.

Lu Yuyan glanced at Zhu Yu, extremely dissatisfied with his attitude: "Zhu Yu, what do you mean! Would you be willing to replace Ruoling with my older sister!"

Zhu Yuteng stood up abruptly: "What did you say!"

"Alright, what are you two arguing about! That's not what Ayan meant. He's trying to find a solution. Will arguing like this solve anything?" Lu Xiaoyun stopped them.

"Ayan, watch your words."

Lu Yuyan lowered her head and admitted her mistake: "I'm sorry, sister, I didn't think before I spoke."

Zhu Yu rolled her eyes at him, "You know you don't think before you speak."

Zhu Dan asked the three of them to sit down: "Before coming here, I thought of a plan. See if it's feasible. If the marriage alliance with Ruoling is indeed irreversible, then we'll sabotage the marriage procession."

"How do you move?" Lu Yuyan stared at Zhu Dan.

"We'll choose a post station along the way, and my fourth brother's soldiers and I will disguise ourselves as bandits and rob the marriage procession. We'll rescue Ruoling in the chaos, and then set the post station on fire to create the illusion that Ruoling perished in the flames. The people of Southern Liang won't bring back a dead body."

"I will have Zuo Xiu steal a female corpse from the mortuary that is similar in size to Ruoling. Even if Father and the others have any suspicions, they will be helpless once they see the corpse."

The study fell silent as everyone mentally reenacted the scene.

After a long pause, Zhu Yu said, "What about Ayan? Ruoling has escaped, but if she still can't be with Ayan, what will she do alone?"

Without hesitation, Lu Yuyan immediately said, "The old emperor and the empress dowager both know about Ruoling and me, and they certainly don't believe I would give up taking Ruoling away so easily. So, Zhu Dan, I need to ask you to persuade the old emperor to let me join the wedding procession."

"Bandits robbed us, and I was killed while protecting the princess. Our bodies were burned together at the post station."

Lu Yuyan turned to Zhu Dan: "Therefore, I request Your Highness to allow Zuo Xiu to steal another male corpse of similar size to mine."

Zhu Dan nodded: "Okay. Just to be on the safe side, don't tell Ruoling about this. We'll tell Ruoling when the day comes."

The three thought the plan was feasible, so they agreed to do it.

The old emperor gave her very little time; in ten days, Ruoling would have to set off for the Southern Liang Kingdom for a marriage alliance.

Lu Yuyan went to make preparations. When he returned to Zhaoxi Garden, he didn't tidy up his own things, but instead went straight to the pharmacy.

Lu Xiaoyun came in and gently knocked on the door.

Lu Yuyan continued working with his hands: "Come in."

"What are you doing?"

"I need to hurry up and prepare more good medicine for you, as well as medicine to help Zhu Yu recover. Sister, I won't be by your side anymore, so you have to take good care of yourself."

Lu Xiaoyun walked over and hugged Lu Yuyan tightly: "Ayan, thank you."

Lu Yuyan chuckled: "You're my older sister, why are you being so coy? What kind of behavior is it for two grown men to be hugging and cuddling like that?"

Lu Xiaoyun scoffed at him: "You and Ruoling will come back after this storm has passed."

Lu Yuyan understood what his elder sister meant. The old emperor didn't have many years left to live. After the old emperor passed away, he and Ruoling could still return to Shengjing by disguising themselves.

"good."

Over the next few days, everyone busied themselves preparing for the marriage alliance, while also secretly arranging a plan to rescue Ruoling.

Lu Yuyan personally supervised the deployment near the post station to ensure everything was in place.

Zhu Dan was responsible for communicating with the emperor and empress dowager to persuade them to allow him to join the wedding procession.

At first, the old emperor strongly opposed it, but seeing that he wouldn't budge, he backed down and warned, "Dan'er, you are the crown prince of the Great Zhou and the future emperor of the Great Zhou. You should understand which is more important."

"Yes, Your Majesty understands. Since Ruoling's marriage is inevitable, we might as well send her to Nanliang in a grand and joyful manner."

"Do you really think so?" The old emperor stared at Zhu Dan, trying to see something on his face.

Zhu Dan smiled faintly: "You saw Ruoling's attitude that day, Father. Ruoling is shrewd and intelligent; how could she not know the importance of this marriage alliance? Father, let Lu Yuyan see Ruoling off. They are already feeling bad about being forced apart. Let them clear things up for each other."

The old emperor's gaze was deep. After thinking for a moment, he nodded and said, "Very well, tell him not to try anything funny, or I will not let him off easily."

"yes."

"How come I heard that the Duke of Zhenguo adopted him as his godson?"

The Emperor was well-informed, and of course, they didn't intend to keep it from him.

"Yes, he saved Prince Lu, and the Duke of Zhenguo was very fond of him, so he adopted him as his godson."

The old emperor snorted coldly.

Lu Xiaoyun and Zhu Yu were secretly preparing to deal with any possible emergencies.

Time flew by, and it was soon Ruoling's wedding day. Early in the morning, Ruoling got up to do her makeup, put on her phoenix coronet and wedding gown, and wore her heavy wedding dress.

First, he followed the emperor and a group of Zhu family members to the ancestral temple for sacrifices. After bidding farewell to the empress dowager and the old emperor, he boarded a carriage bound for Southern Liang.

In accordance with the customs of marriage alliances throughout history, the old emperor ordered Qi Shaocheng to personally select 500 imperial guards to accompany Ruoling to the southern border. After handing over the dowry to the Southern Liang envoy, they left behind two palace maids, two eunuchs, and ten princess guards before returning to Shengjing.

At the palace gate, the old emperor personally saw her off, while civil and military officials, dressed in crimson robes, stood silently on both sides to respectfully bid farewell to the princess.

Before boarding the carriage, Ruoling looked back one last time at the palace where she had lived for thirteen years, and forced back her surging tears as she entered the carriage.

She held a box in her hands, which contained soil from her hometown.

In this lifetime, she may never have the chance to set foot on the land of the Great Zhou again.