Lu Ze took back his handkerchief and saw Qi Yuning staring at his hand. He smiled and said, "Princess, why are you looking at my hand?"

Qi Yuning said, "Your Highness's hands are quite beautiful."

Slender white fingers with distinct joints.

"What a pity! I don't know how many corpses this hand has touched."

Lu Ze's smile faltered. "Actually, the bodies are usually examined by the coroner. I just watch from the sidelines. I rarely examine the bodies myself, and I always clean them thoroughly afterward."

Lingling came forward to take a look, "Daddy's hands are much bigger than Lingling's. Mommy, let's compare whose hands are bigger, you or Daddy."

Lingling took Qi Yuning's hand and placed it on Lu Ze's hand. Naturally, Lu Ze's hand was much longer than hers.

Lu Ze held the cold hand tightly.

Qi Yuning glanced at his tightly clasped hands and had no intention of pulling his hands away, so he held hands all the way back to Prince Qi's Mansion.

…

Lu Ze first sent Qi Yuning and her daughter to Prince Qi's Mansion for dinner, then went to the Duke's Mansion to explain to his uncle and aunt about the two cousins ​​staying on Tiger Cave Mountain, and went to visit Madam Lu in her yard.

Lu Ze grew up with his grandfather. When he was young, his grandfather was strict and his grandmother was kind. However, since some time ago, his grandmother became a little paranoid.

When Madam Lu saw Lu Ze enter, she asked, "You're taking a day off today. Where have you been all day?"

Lu Ze said, "I took the princess and Lingling to climb the mountain."

Madam Lu felt unhappy when she heard the word "Princess". "Zer, ah Ze, Qi Yuning lost her mother and father when she was young. She is like a star doomed to fail..."

"Grandma!" Lu Ze frowned and said, "Princess Qi is not a star destined for misfortune. She was personally appointed by His Majesty as the Princess of Chang'an. I hope Grandma will be careful with her words. I have decided that I will only marry Princess Qi in this life."

He originally said this for Lingling, but even if Lingling was gone now, Lu Ze thought, he would not change his mind.

Madam Lu was so angry that she was shaking. “You are old enough and you don’t even listen to your grandmother.”

Lu Ze said, "Grandmother, please forgive me for being unfilial."

Lu Ze returned to the Princess's Mansion from Duke Lu's Mansion.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw Princess Pingrou and Prince Consort Lu.

Princess Pingrou was jealous: "Why did you go to Duke Lu's mansion as soon as you came back?"

Lu Ze bowed and said, "Mother, I went to the Duke's Mansion to deliver a message to my third uncle and aunt."

Duke Lu, noticing Princess Pingrou's displeasure, said, "His Majesty summoned me today to inquire about the position of Dali Temple Minister. You know that He Siqing will be retiring to his hometown after the New Year to enjoy his retirement. This position is vacant, and there is indeed no one in your Dali Temple more suitable for this position than you."

Lu Ze said, "Whether I can become the Dali Temple Minister depends entirely on His Majesty."

Duke Lu said, "Your Majesty, you are indeed a little young now. Isn't it still some time before He Siqing retires? If you can get married first, you are still young enough to have a family and daughters. It would be suitable. It would be even better if you can get married before the New Year."

Lu Ze frowned and said, "Dad, how can I marry just for the position of a temple minister?"

Princess Pingrou said from the side, "It's not just for the position of Temple Minister, it's also for my granddaughter! Today, when I went to your Aunt Pingjin's house, she was holding her granddaughter and showing off, as if everyone had a granddaughter!"

"Besides, haven't you been getting pretty close to Yuning these past few days? You went out together today, so why are you so useless? It's been over two months, and you still haven't been able to get Yuning?"

Lu Ze said, "Dad, Mom, it's getting late. I have to attend court tomorrow morning."

Duke Lu said to Lu Ze, "You're going to get married anyway. If you do, you can get the position of Minister of the Temple as soon as possible. Otherwise, you won't know when your next promotion will come. Minister He is also interested in you, but His Majesty is a little worried because you're too young. If you get married, the concerns about your young age will go away. You even have a daughter. Isn't it necessary to get married sooner or later?"

Lu Ze said helplessly: "Dad and Mom, I'm tired."

Princess Pingrou was so disappointed: "Knowing you were tired, why didn't you take the opportunity to rest in Prince Qi's mansion? If you can't get Yuning to agree to marry you before the first day of the new year, you can't live in the princess's mansion anymore!"

Lu Ze: "Then the child will live in the Duke's Mansion?"

Princess Pingrou said angrily, "You don't even need to think about living in the Duke's Mansion. Go live with your brother at Xianglin Temple and become a monk!"

After Lu Ze sent his parents away, he returned to his room to take a shower.

Deqing, the servant who was bathing beside him, said, "Master, I think the princess is willing to marry you. Didn't she throw herself into your arms on Tiger Cave Mountain during the day?"

Lu Ze glanced at Deqing and said, "The princess is just sad, don't say anything nonsense."

Deqing said, "But, my lord, that is the position of Dali Temple Minister after all. If I miss this chance to be promoted, I don't know when I will be promoted again."

Lu Ze's starting point in the imperial court was too high. He entered the Dali Temple at the age of eighteen and became the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple at the age of nineteen.

Now, at most, it will take two or three months for him to turn twenty-one. Normally, twenty-one is just the age to enter the court.

However, he was to be one of the Three Courts, the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple, who held the power of life and death. He was indeed too young to win the support of the people.

Lu Ze said, "If I get married just to get promoted, I'm afraid Princess Qi will really ignore me."

Finally, Qi Yuning had changed her mind about him. If he proposed to marry her just to get promoted, given Qi Yuning's temper, I'm afraid...

Lu Ze thought of her angry look and chuckled softly.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!