His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Zhao Chong looked at the appearance of the three-year-old daughter in Qi Yuning's arms. His eyes darkened, and his hands clenched into fists under his wide sleeves. A smile appeared on his face: "Princess Qi, your child really looks like Ze'er."

Qi Yuning patted Lingling's little head and said, "It's a blessing for Lingling to be the Crown Prince's nephew!"

This statement did not reveal who the child's father was, but it also did not deny that she was Lu Ze's daughter.

Zhao Chong looked at Lu Ze standing beside him and chuckled, "Even if she were Ze'er's biological daughter, she wouldn't necessarily look so much like Lingling."

Lu Ze glanced at Qi Yuning and Lingling, then nodded slightly and said, "Yeah."

Qi Yu'an walked up to Zhao Chong and bowed, saying, "It's been a long time since I last saw Your Highness the Crown Prince."

After Zhao Chong met Qi Yuan, he talked with Qi Yuan about the border military camp.

Lu Ze signaled Qi Yuning with his eyes, and Qi Yuning pointed in the direction of Chunjiang Courtyard.

Qi Yuning carried Lingling back to her courtyard. After a while, she saw Lu Ze being stopped by a maid at the gate of Chunjiang Courtyard.

Qi Yuning let Lu Ze into the courtyard and ordered the maids around her, "All of you go out and don't let anyone in."

"yes."

After the maids left, Lingling threw herself into Lu Ze's arms, "Daddy, I'm scared."

Lu Ze hugged Lingling and patted her back. "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Lingling, do you know the Crown Prince?"

Lingling tilted her head and said, "Daddy, what is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

Lu Ze asked, "It's the person Lingling is afraid of."

Lingling pouted and said, "That was a bad guy. When my mother took me to see Aunt Song two days ago, the bad guy pinched Lingling's neck! It hurt so much!"

Lu Ze and Qi Yuning exchanged a glance and asked Lingling, "Is that the person who came in with Dad just now? He's not a bad guy."

"He's a bad guy!" Lingling's eyes were red as she pinched her neck with both hands. "That's how he pinched me! Lingling doesn't like him and is afraid of him."

Qi Yuning said: "Lingling, don't be afraid, is this true?"

She originally guessed that the current emperor's grandson would ascend the throne in the year of Xinwei. There was only one possibility, that is, the Crown Prince died unexpectedly after ascending the throne, and had to adopt a nephew to inherit the throne.

But Lingling knows His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince were still alive, how could the throne fall into the hands of his nephew?

Lingling pouted and said, "It's true, mother. From now on, Lingling never wants to see Aunt Song and the bad guys again. Lingling is so scared."

Lu Ze gently raised his head and said soothingly, "Don't be afraid, Daddy is here, no one will strangle Lingling."

Qi Yuning looked up at Lu Ze and asked, "Do you believe what Lingling said?"

Lu Ze said, "They say children can't lie, but sometimes they can't tell the truth. As Lingling said, if the Crown Prince was still alive in the Xinwei Year and could strangle Lingling, it wouldn't be Lingling's uncle who ascended the throne."

Qi Yuning looked at Lingling in Lu Ze's arms, walked over, touched her neck and said, "I believe in Lingling."

Lu Ze said, "Hmm?"

Qi Yuning said, "It's hard to say what exactly happened that led to the loss of imperial power, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is definitely not that simple. Prince Lu must be more vigilant in the future."

Lu Ze said, "Princess, he is my uncle, two years older than me. We grew up together and played together."

Qi Yuning took Lingling from Lu Ze and said, "That's your uncle, and Lingling is still your daughter."

Lingling wrapped her hands around Qi Yuning's neck, "Mom, darling, Lingling doesn't want to see Aunt Song and the bad guys."

Qi Yuning kissed Lingling's little face and said, "Okay, I won't see you. I'll let Jingzhe and Aunt Guyu play with you in the yard. Mother still needs to go out to entertain the guests."

Lingling nodded.

After Qi Yuning asked Jingzhe and Guyu to take good care of Lingling, she left the courtyard with Lu Ze.

Lu Ze said slowly, "Princess, please don't tell anyone else about what Lingling said."

"I'm not stupid."

Although the Qi family has nearly 200,000 soldiers in their hands, she did not dare to discuss the future affairs of the king casually.

Besides, Your Majesty is still in good spirits now!

When the two men were about to reach the courtyard where guests were entertained, they parted ways.

Qi Yuning went to entertain the female guests and saw several bold young ladies talking about the Crown Prince's selection of a Crown Princess next to the rockery.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is already 22 years old, and the Crown Princess should be chosen by the beginning of next spring!"

“Who is so lucky?”

"There are already two concubines, two concubines, and three concubines in the Eastern Palace. I think being the Princess of Qi is better than being the Crown Princess. I just saw Prince Qi from afar, and he looks just as good as the Crown Prince and Prince Lu!"

"Just look at Princess Qi's appearance and you'll know Prince Qi must be a handsome man too."

"I think Prince Lu is the most handsome."

"Didn't Princess Qi just say that? Prince Lu has been dealing with corpses for years, how creepy it is. No matter how handsome he is, he is still better than Prince Qi!"

"Prince Qi was a soldier on the battlefield, and he even crawled out from among the corpses. Prince Lu still tried to clear the corpses of their grievances, but Prince Qi killed countless people..."

"Prince Qi killed the enemy of Dasheng, and he is a hero of Dasheng."

The daughters who defended Lu Ze and the daughters who defended Prince Qi started arguing.

When Qi Yuning heard that a rich girl was praising her brother, she thought that these two people had good taste.

After walking around the rockery, they saw the two daughters who were protecting their brother. They were Lu Ze’s two cousins, Lu Baoshuang and Lu Baoxue.

When the sisters Lu Baoshuang and Lu Baoxue saw Qi Yuning, they stepped forward and said with a smile, "Sister Ning."

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