Chapter 101 Can a living person die from holding in their pee?

After the two men left, Xiao Heng began to have doubts again, "I think those two male servants look like they're good at seducing women. I shouldn't have let them go over to serve me."

The servant beside him hurriedly asked, "Should we find an excuse to call them over?"

Xiao Heng hesitated for a moment, "Calling them all over would make me seem petty, and Marquis Lu would be unhappy if he knew. It would seem like I'm trying to control her right after we got married. I'll just call one over to let them know the temper of my new husband, so they'll know to restrain themselves in front of me and won't dare to be presumptuous in the future."

The servant hurriedly asked, "Which one is it called?"

Xiao Heng thought for a moment, "Let's call her the one with the big, watery eyes, the quick wit, and the one who knows how to play the victim."

Then a servant knocked on the door and said respectfully, "Reporting to Lord Lu, the young master said that he will be going to live in the capital with you in the future. He knows nothing about the mansion there and is feeling anxious. Since someone from the mansion has come, we would like to ask someone to come over and talk to him to find out about the situation in the mansion."

Lu Jinlan looked at the two people in her arms, "Which of you is going?"

Yu Mian quickly lowered her eyes, "I'm just a concubine, and I don't manage the household. How would I know anything about the situation in the manor? Besides, I'm of low status, and I'm afraid I'll say something wrong when I talk to the young master."

Lin Cheng snorted, "Come on, you think you can say no? You're the most eloquent person in the whole family. You go, I'm not going. I'm leaving tomorrow, I'll stay with my wife tonight."

Yu Mian didn't speak, but tugged at Lu Jinlan's clothes, looking pitiful.

Lu Jinlan coughed and asked the person outside the door, "Did the young master say who he wanted to call over?"

The voice outside replied, "Yes, the young master said he wants to invite Yanshi, the maidservant of the chief physician, over. He wants to ask about the personnel in the manor and find out from Yanshi how the chief husband serves Marquis Lu. The young master said that as a concubine, he should also learn from him to avoid making a fool of himself when he arrives at the manor."

Lu Jinlan looked around, "Who is Yanshi?"

Yu Mian reluctantly got up with a long face, and Lu Jinlan smiled and kissed him, "Go on. I'll spend some quality time with you when we get home."

Yu Mian nodded helplessly, "You'd better keep your word."

Yu Mian followed the person who came, and Lin Cheng smirked, looking extremely smug.

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, especially for Lu Jinlan, who is reunited tonight after a brief separation and will be married tomorrow night. Their intimate moments, needless to say, are another story.

Afterwards, Lin Cheng stood in front of the mirror, wearing a robe, and stroked the scar on his lower abdomen, looking sullen. "Even though I applied the postpartum recovery cream that you had Yu Mian take back, the mark is still visible. Isn't this scar ugly?"

Lu Jinlan was drowsy. She squinted at him by the candlelight and said perfunctorily, "You were stabbed, how could there be no mark at all? It would be strange if there wasn't. Go to sleep."

Lin Chenghuai gained over 30 pounds in Anbei. After giving birth and being able to get out of bed, he started looking for ways to lose weight. After more than a month of hard work, although he lost over 10 pounds, he was still a bit heavier than before giving birth.

He sat down by Lu Jinlan's bed and muttered, "The husband of Lord Zeng told me that if you take an iron rod, carry it on your shoulder, lift it up and put it down, and do this for half an hour every day, you can lose weight quickly."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jinlan thought, "Isn't this weightlifting?" She glanced at him, "You didn't do that, did you?"

Lin Cheng smiled and said in a low voice, "I don't think his physique is that great. How smart am I? I thought that this method would put the most strain on the arms. If you exercise like that every day, your arms will get thicker. Didn't you say before that thick arms look like a frog and you don't like that? So I didn't do it."

Lu Jinlan hummed in agreement. "Don't follow their exercises blindly. They don't understand what scientific fitness is."

"Scientific fitness?" Lin Cheng asked hurriedly, "Do you know anything about it? Teach me. I don't have any abs anymore, and my waist got bigger after giving birth. Tell me how to lose weight."

Lu Jinlan closed her eyes and reached into his clothes, touching the soft flesh on his stomach. "Hmm, you don't have abs anymore."

How do you get abs? Lu Jinlan is so busy in modern times that she's disheveled and overweight, it's a miracle she hasn't gained weight from overwork, let alone have the time to research weight loss.

However, she often heard people mention Jung Da-yeon and Pamela, and occasionally saw short videos related to fitness, so she had a vague impression of them.

"Lie down on the bed and do a cycling motion."

Lin Cheng was taken aback. "Isn't a carriage pulled by horses? How do you pedal it?"

Lu Jinlan paused for a moment, then said, "Never mind what I said. I'll teach you two other exercises. This is called a plank, and this is called a sit-up."

Lu Jinlan demonstrated for him, "Practice these two exercises every day for half an hour. In less than a month, you will definitely be able to get your abs back, just like before you gave birth."

"Really?" Lin Cheng calculated the days. "By the time I'm done training, shouldn't you be going home?"

"Yes, there are still some follow-up procedures to go through regarding the peace talks. Once the cities are handed over and everything is settled, it's time to head back."

Lu Jinlan held his hand, "Practice hard, and I'll check your progress when I get back."

Rin Cheng closed his eyes with relief and leaned against her side. "I will obey your command. I will take good care of the family and myself when I get back, and wait for you to come home."

*

The following day, Lu Jinlan and Xiao Heng were married. Although the preparations had been short, Xiao Chengying personally oversaw the event, and given that it was a marriage between two countries, it was still a grand and lively affair.

Many royal relatives and high-ranking officials from Qu Kingdom made a special trip from Shangdu to Chizhou, and many generals and officials from Hua Kingdom also came.

Although Song Jingxiao lived nearby, she still did not attend.

She sent Yue Chan and others to the event in her place, and specifically told Lu Jinlan, "The commander said that she is not coming for any other reason than that she heard there are too many guests at the wedding, and she is a little worried. She is not coming to prevent the Qu people from having bad intentions and to prevent them from wiping out our Huaguo generals in one fell swoop."

Lu Jinlan smiled and shook his head, secretly admiring Song Jingxiao's shrewdness and her constant vigilance.

However, she probably didn't know the specific situation here. Putting aside Xiao Chengying's personal plans, Qu Kingdom's national strength wouldn't dare to hold a bloody wedding for Hua Kingdom.

As long as Xiao Chengying doesn't want the country to perish, he won't take the opportunity to massacre his guests. To go on like this, he's already doomed.

The wedding went smoothly, the only thing that bothered the Hua people was the Qu people's custom of singing and dancing at weddings.

After the ceremony was completed and all the dishes were served, the banquet should have begun. However, a bunch of royal relatives started calling them up one by one to the stage to perform songs and dances from the Qu Kingdom.

My stomach is growling with hunger, but they're still singing and dancing over there.

Yan Wuxin drank several cups of wine on an empty stomach and anxiously asked Lu Jinlan, "When will the banquet begin?"

Lu Jinlan shook her head helplessly, "How would I know? If I had known that marrying a Qu person would be so troublesome, I would definitely have thought about it again."

It was only then that she realized that the unethical tactic of not providing chopsticks in order to control the start time of the banquet was an age-old practice.

The table was laden with delicacies, but no chopsticks were provided; the guests were forced to watch the songs and dances of the Quguo people.

However, so many military generals came from Hua Kingdom. They were used to being rough and didn't care about this at all. Who said you have to use chopsticks to eat?

In Kong Luan's words, "Can a living person die from holding in their pee?"

She wiped her hands on her clothes and immediately began to dismantle the whole roasted lamb in front of her.

"General Yue, would you like some? General Zuo, would you like a piece?"

They were singing and dancing on stage, but over here they were already eating. Yu Jifang stared in disbelief and couldn't help but whisper a reminder: "General Kong, be mindful of your manners, don't let people laugh at you."

A scholar with a thin skin would blush upon hearing this. But Kong Luan had never read a book and didn't even know how to write the word "etiquette." She only believed in her own reasoning.

Kong Luan: "A joke? Who? Are they making fun of me? Those Qu people haven't eaten for half a day, leaving us hungry, and I haven't even made fun of them yet, how dare they make fun of me? Lord Yu, you must be hungry too? Here's a lot of meat for you."

She tore off a large piece of meat and stuffed it into Yu Jifang's bowl. Yu Jifang then looked at Lu Jinlan with pleading eyes, "Lord Lu, please say something."

Lu Jinlan opened her mouth, "Um... eat up, eat up. Lamb should be eaten while it's hot, otherwise it will taste gamey."

By the time the Qu Guoren finished dancing and stepped off the stage, the Hua Guoren were almost full.

Anyway, both sides were quite happy. The people singing and dancing had a great time, and the people eating hand-pulled mutton didn't flip the table.

During their wedding night, Xiao Heng couldn't help but ask, "Among those two male servants who came yesterday, was your husband one of them?"

Lu Jinlan smiled. "Why do you ask that?"

Xiao Heng muttered, "I feel disgusted just looking at them. Tell me, which one of them is your husband?"

Lu Jinlan pursed her lips. "Guess."

Xiao Heng thought about it carefully, "In terms of looks, they are all quite beautiful. I really can't guess. Could it be... could it all be them?"

Lu Jinlan nodded with a smile, while Xiao Heng said angrily, "I knew it, they looked like they were there to seduce you!"

Lu Jinlan reached out and pulled off his belt, straightened it in her hand, and laughed, "You're already a commoner, why are you still fussing over this? No one has said anything bad about you when they see you, look how petty you are."

"Enough of this talk, let's get down to business. The long-term prosperity of your Qu Kingdom depends on our children to inherit it."

Xiao Heng stepped forward, looking aggrieved, and said, "They arrived first, and I came later. We just got married, and they're already treating me like a fool. After we return to the capital and move into the manor, you have to stand up for me and not let them bully me."

"Okay, I'll back you up." Lu Jinlan agreed with a smile, and casually unbuttoned his shirt. "Let me see where your waist is first."

A burst of laughter echoed from the bridal chamber, a scene of boundless springtime joy.

*

Lu Jinlan spent another month working at the border, finally completing all the tasks.

Lu Jinlan returned in triumph with two delegations, a group of generals, and 50,000 elite troops.

Xiao Heng, accompanied by dozens of servants and over a hundred carts of dowry, followed the procession. Through the curtain, he saw Lu Jinlan sitting majestically on his horse, with officials and commoners from all over the country kneeling to welcome him. He felt even more honored.

Upon arriving in the capital, Prime Minister Yan Weijin personally led a hundred officials to greet him at the city gate. Lu Jinlan quickly dismounted, cupped his hands, and said, "I am deeply grateful for the Prime Minister and all the officials who have been waiting here for me. I am unworthy of such hospitality."

Yan Weijin smiled and said, "Lord Lu deserves it, and all the generals deserve it."

Her gaze swept over Yan Wuxin. In just three months, Yan Wuxin had changed a lot since she left the capital.

He seems to have grown taller and stronger, perhaps because he often wears armor and trains, leaving distinct tan lines on his neck from the scorching sun of the northern frontier.

Yan Weijin's old eyes reddened, and he hurriedly said, "Generals, you have all worked hard. This battle is a great victory for our dynasty, the first since its founding. It is a great blessing for our country. Your contributions are for the nation and will benefit future generations."

"His Majesty was overjoyed and had been eagerly awaiting your return. He specially ordered us to wait here. Upon hearing the news of our army's triumphant return, the people of the entire city spontaneously gathered in the city to welcome you."

"Please mount your horses, generals. The city has prepared lodgings for you to rest. Generals Lu and Xiang Yan, please proceed directly to the palace. The Emperor wishes to see you first."

Lu Jinlan and the others mounted their horses again, and the people of the city lined the streets to welcome them. Their families also stood in the crowd, their eyes filled with tears of joy.

Xiang Ruzhen waved to Jin Xueqing, "Go home and wait. I'll go home after my audience with the emperor."

The three arrived at the palace gate on horseback. Zhao Zhiyu greeted them with a smile, "Congratulations! I wish to congratulate Marquis Lu and the two generals. The Empress Dowager wishes to see you all one by one. Marquis Lu, please go and meet the Empress first. Generals, would you like to sit in my palace for a while?"

Having learned his lesson from the previous long wait before the emperor's audience, Yan Wuxin quickly said, "Then I'll trouble Your Highness."

Lu Jinlan followed the palace servants to the outside of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. She stopped and secretly peeked out from the door.

Emperor Zhao Mincheng was sitting on the high dragon throne, writing at his desk.

Before she could take a closer look, the palace maid beside her whispered a reminder, "Lord Lu, you should go in now."

Just as Lu Jinlan was about to speak and request an audience, the emperor suddenly asked, "Has the Marquis of Jing'an arrived?"

Lu Jinlan hurriedly stepped inside, saying, "Your subject, Marquis Jing'an, Lu Jinlan, pays respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!"

A deep laugh came from above, "You're here. Why aren't you coming in? What are you spying on outside for?"

Lu Jinlan answered truthfully: "Your Majesty, this is my first time meeting you. I have never seen Your Majesty before, so I thought... I should see Your Majesty first. Otherwise, when I get home, my family will ask me what Your Majesty looks like, and I won't be able to tell them."

The emperor smiled again, "Then take a look. I'll allow you to take a good look."

Lu Jinlan didn't stand on ceremony at all. When Zhao Mincheng asked her to look, she really looked up and took a good look.

Zhao Mincheng was still writing at his desk. Although the two were of different heights, they were a few steps apart and could see each other clearly.

Lu Jinlan glanced at the emperor, then looked around, took a deep breath, and sighed softly.

Zhao Mincheng asked with a smile, "Why are you sighing? Is it because I'm too ugly that I've disappointed you?"

Lu Jinlan lowered his head and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I am not a sycophant. I speak from the bottom of my heart. Your face is broad and dignified, a natural dragon and phoenix bearing, of course you are not ugly. But... I remember Your Majesty is not yet fifty years old, and you look more than I imagined... more than I imagined..."

Lu Jinlan racked her brains for words, and Zhao Mincheng said for her, "He's a bit older than you think, isn't he?"

Lu Jinlan swallowed nervously. "Yes."

As soon as he finished speaking, countless gasps filled the air.

Lu Jinlan quickly explained, "But I sighed just now not because of that."

She explained gently, "It's because I saw that the Hall of Mental Cultivation is so large, and there are so many people serving you in the hall. But apart from you, everyone is holding their breath and not daring to breathe loudly. It's extremely quiet. This place looks magnificent and luxurious, but it seems very empty."

"You are the supreme emperor, with countless people serving you wholeheartedly. Therefore, I previously thought you were pampered and thus imagined you to be exceptionally young. But upon closer inspection just now, I noticed that you have more white hair at your temples than my mother does."

She heard countless people gasping in her ears again. The palace maid who had led her in was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat. She quietly stopped him, saying, "Lord Lu, be careful what you say."

Zhao Mincheng frowned and said loudly, "Let her speak."

Lu Jinlan continued, "When I met Your Majesty, I knew that Your Majesty's life was not easy. Although you are supreme, it is lonely at the top, and you have to worry about and plan for everything under the world. I have heard that Your Majesty works day and night to handle government affairs. I think you are tired, which is why you have so many white hairs."

"Therefore, I sigh. Such a beautiful land has attracted countless heroines to vie for its favor."

"If someone says you are not old, that person is certainly not being truthful. But if someone says you are old, you need not be upset. Because you are old for the sake of the world, which is a blessing for all people."

After Lu Jinlan finished speaking, the hall fell into a deathly silence. After a long while, a heavy sigh came from above the dragon throne.

"Such a beautiful land, attracting countless heroines to vie for its favor? Haha, what a fine line. Alas, all my years of painstaking efforts have been exposed by a young man like you."

"Yes, it is lonely at the top. Sometimes when I sit in this great hall, I often feel lonely. I have been on the throne for seventeen years and have heard all kinds of praise, but no one has ever said that I have grown old for the sake of the country."

"I have always wanted to be a good emperor who will be remembered in history. I will have the historians record your words. This is the greatest praise for me."

"I never said you were a good emperor!" Lu Jinlan thought to himself.

Long ago, when the Emperor protected Erlang Zhu and killed refugees, Lu Jinlan was convinced that Zhao Mincheng was not a good emperor, at least not flawless, and incapable of being fair and impartial.

However, after several exchanges of memorials, Lu Jinlan became convinced that she was a capable and shrewd emperor, and definitely not a reckless woman who had seized the throne by chance through a battle.

Sitting in the palace, she could foresee the development of the war thousands of miles away. The two had never met before, yet she could deduce Lu Jinlan's style of doing things based solely on what she heard, even aided by imperial edicts and secret orders—something ordinary people could never do.

Take Yan Lufeng's case for example. Lu Jinlan used extreme measures, acting first and reporting later. She thought the Emperor would at least reprimand her and privately warn her not to do it again.

But Zhao Mincheng said nothing. She gave a perfunctory reprimand in front of the court officials, then covered for her, saying it was just her heroic nature, a moment of anger for a beautiful woman. The front lines needed manpower right now, so let it go once the matter was over.

The Emperor's private edicts and letters to her never mentioned this matter, which seemed to imply that he was giving her free rein to do it.

She was an extraordinary minister, and she was also an extraordinary ruler.

Yan Wuxin had previously said that people in the royal family were more cunning than sieves. Lu Jinlan guessed that this man was a master of the art of rulership and a man of deep scheming.

Lu Jinlan silently reminded herself: Be careful and protect your head.

Seeing that she didn't speak, Zhao Mincheng thought she was frightened and laughed, "I'm glad you can speak the truth. Don't be afraid. Rise, let me see you too."

Lu Jinlan thought to himself: I dare not tell you the whole truth, otherwise you might get angry and chop me up.

She stood up, and the emperor said, "Raise your head."

Lu Jinlan slightly raised her head and met the emperor's gaze. Zhao Mincheng suddenly froze.

"Hmm?" Lu Jinlan asked with a smile, somewhat puzzled. "Could it be that I am too ugly, causing Your Majesty to be greatly disappointed?"

The emperor shook his head slightly and beckoned her to take a few more steps forward.

Lu Jinlan stood before the table, and the emperor scrutinized her closely. "Are you the daughter of Lu Jinzhao, the richest man in Yunzhou?"

"yes."

Who is your father?

"Your Majesty, my father's surname is Yan."

How old are you this year? When was your birthday?

The same questions again. Lu Jinlan's heart skipped a beat, but he could only answer truthfully: "I was born on the sixth day of the ninth month of the first year of Tianhe, and I am seventeen years old this year."

"The sixth day of the ninth month..." the emperor murmured.

Lu Jinlan hurriedly asked, "Why does Your Majesty ask such a question?"

Zhao Mincheng glanced at her and smiled slightly, "It's nothing. It's just that you are so young and promising. I'm sure your parents treat you very well."

Lu Jinlan said, "Yes, my mother seems strict, but she is very loving. My father spoils me and is very considerate. They are very good to me, but I am the one who often causes trouble and worries them."

Zhao Mincheng smiled and nodded, his gaze complex. He remained silent for a long time for some reason, until Lu Jinlan broke the silence.

"By the way, I have brought back the letter from the Marquis of Dingbei who is treasonous with the enemy. Please take a look, Your Majesty."

Zhao Mincheng glanced at it quickly and put it down with little interest. "You have rendered a great service. I don't know how to reward you. If you have any requests, just tell me, and I will try my best to fulfill them."

Lu Jinlan thought for a moment, "Your Majesty has already bestowed upon me a great reward, for which I am extremely grateful. Logically, I should not be greedy for anything more. However, if Your Majesty allows me to make a request, then I will dare to do so."

Zhao Mincheng smiled and nodded, "Tell me about it."

“Treason is a grave crime, and the Marquis of Dingbei deserves to die ten thousand times over. But her daughter is probably unaware of the truth and was wounded in battle. I dare to plead for Ling Zhaoren, hoping Your Majesty will spare her life.”

Zhao Mincheng thought for a moment, "I will consider it. Anything else?"

Lu Jinlan said, "Your Majesty is aware of the incident at the academy. I earnestly request Your Majesty to consider the long-term consequences and prevent any further acts of favoritism or corruption from occurring."

Zhao Mincheng smiled, "I think so too, but this would cause new trouble. Will you share my burden?"

Lu Jinlan was surprised by how smoothly things went and hurriedly said with delight, "Your Majesty, I am willing. If those powerful families are dissatisfied with this, I will fight them. Cheating is wrong in the first place, let's see who has the nerve to make a fuss?"

Zhao Mincheng sighed, "The affairs of the court are complicated, and it's probably not as simple as you think. But since you're going to do this, I'd like to try letting you young people do it."

"I have decided to let you students graduate early. After I bestow honors upon you generals in the palace tomorrow, I will assign you positions and let you enter the court as officials."

"With the fall of the Marquis of Dingbei, various forces have been secretly vying for power. Your new force will face a lot of pressure. Can you withstand it?"

Lu Jinlan laughed and said, "I am a young and fearless person, there is nothing I cannot handle. Besides, we are young and not afraid of hardship or fatigue. We can endure some humiliation and will try our best to get along well with the senior officials. We are all working for the court, so we should work together."

Zhao Mincheng smiled and shook his head, "I don't believe you can tolerate this, but perhaps you will bring a breath of fresh air and help me dispel the stagnant atmosphere in the court. I have a few tasks at hand, you can choose one."

Lu Jinlan hurriedly asked, "Are there any good jobs?"

Zhao Mincheng shook his head. "There are only bad jobs, worse jobs, and the worst jobs."

Lu Jinlan pursed his lips. "Then I won't choose. If you want to treat me well, don't assign me the worst tasks. Although I can handle things, I don't want to be so tired. It would be even better if I didn't have to attend court every day."

Zhao Mincheng snorted, "Dream on. Officials of the fifth rank and above in the capital have to attend court every day. How can you possibly escape it?"

"You really dare to say that. Let me tell you, don't even think about it. Also, I must remind you that you act too high-profile, which will inevitably attract attention. Listen to what others say about you, but don't get into conflicts with people as soon as you enter the court and cause chaos."

Lu Jinlan didn't understand what those words meant at the time, until he heard the sentence "Your subject wishes to impeach Marquis Jing'an, Lu Jinlan" in court the next day.

Lu Jinlan immediately cursed in her heart: What the hell did I do to you?