Chapter 10 You and I will definitely get married in a year

Qi Yuning heard this, his eyes were cold, and he looked at Guan Zhiyi coldly, "The Guan family's wealth and glory should also come to an end."

Guan Zhiyi raised her eyes and asked with great pain: "Who are you?"

Qi Yuning said coldly: "You are not worthy of knowing who I am."

Guan Zhiyi looked at Qi Yuning's contemptuous eyes, stood up and said, "You, don't be so arrogant."

Qi Yuning picked up Lingling and said, "Mom, please take you to the palace and ask His Majesty to grant you a royal status, okay?"

Lingling smiled and said, "It's good to be in the palace. I can play with my uncle! Lingling likes playing with my uncle the most!"

Qi Yuning had the right to enter and leave the palace freely since she was young, without having to report in advance. When she arrived outside the Zichen Palace, Emperor Shi Yuan summoned her into the palace in a short while.

Your Majesty is over sixty years old, with premature gray hair and a long white beard. Having been on the throne for more than forty years, Your Majesty is not as harsh as those in power now, but rather kind.

Qi Yuning bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Lingling beside Qi Yuning also knelt down in imitation of Qi Yuning, her little peach blossom eyes secretly looking at His Majesty.

Emperor Shiyuan said, "Ningning, please stop being polite."

Qi Yuning saw Lingling secretly looking at the Shiyuan Emperor, who didn't look like the Shiyuan Emperor he knew, so he asked Lingling in a low voice: "Lingling, don't you know the ancestor in front of you?"

Lingling shook her head.

Qi Yuning was stunned. Lingling remembered her uncle, grandmother, and Uncle Lin Jiang, so... there would be no His Majesty after six years?

When Emperor Shi Yuan saw the little girl beside Qi Yuning, he stood up from the dragon chair and walked to the little girl, "Ningning, is this Ze'er's daughter?"

Qi Yuning was so familiar with lying at this point that he was not afraid of committing the crime of deceiving the emperor.

"Your Majesty, when I was young and ignorant, I had a secret affair with Master Lu. I was young at that time, and Lingling was born. I didn't tell anyone about it because I was afraid of being laughed at."

Emperor Shiyuan said, "How can we keep such a big thing as having a child a secret?"

Qi Yuning knelt down and said, "At that time, Master Lu and I were still young, and I didn't have parents to teach me, so I didn't know much..."

When Emperor Shi Yuan heard Qi Yuning say that she had no parents, he felt guilty and said, "It's all Ze'er's fault. I will grant you a marriage and let Ze'er marry you as the Crown Prince's Consort."

Qi Yuning said: "No, Your Majesty, Prince Lu and I have long been heartless, and when we separated, we also agreed that marriage is irrelevant.

But the daughter of Guan Chengyilang insulted my daughter, saying that she was not a daughter of a royal family, but an illegitimate child. Lingling is the descendant of the most loyal and brave generals of Dasheng, so she cannot be a illegitimate child.

Lingling should not bear such infamy for the mistakes that Master Lu and I made when we were young and ignorant.

I would like to ask Your Majesty to give Lingling an identity so that Lingling can avoid being criticized."

Emperor Shi Yuan looked at the little girl who looked exactly like his grandson when he was little and asked, "What is the name of this child?"

Lingling smiled lightly and said, "Lingling's name is Lu Yiling."

Emperor Shi Yuan stroked his graying beard and smiled, "This cleverness is exactly the same as Ze'er's when he was young. Lu Yiling, what a good name. I will issue an edict right now to confer Lu Yiling the title of Princess of Xichang."

Qi Yuning smiled and said to Lingling: "Lingling, thank you, Your Majesty."

Xiao Lingling knelt down and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Emperor Shi Yuan pulled Xiao Lingling up and said, "Come here, go call Lu Ze. How could he have kept the fact that he had a daughter a secret from me for so long?"

Qi Yuning hadn't told Lu Ze about her lie yet, hoping that Lu Ze would be able to react on his own accord.

Emperor Shi Yuan also ordered someone to call Queen Qin. Emperor Shi Yuan and Queen Qin were a young couple who had been together from childhood to old age.

Previously, the empress had no son and the crown prince had never been appointed. It was not until 23 years ago that Empress Qin gave birth to a prince when she was nearly 40 years old that he was named crown prince. This shows the deep love between the emperor and the empress.

When Queen Qin arrived, Qi Yuning stepped forward to pay her respects.

Queen Qin chuckled and said, "No need to be polite, Ningning. I will not let Yun'er off easily for breaking off the engagement! If he wants to become a monk, let him do it. As long as he doesn't admit his mistake to you, you will never let him return to secular life until you calm down!"

Qi Yuning smiled softly and said, "Thank you, Queen."

Queen Qin looked at the little girl sitting next to Qi Yuning, "What is this?"

Qi Yuning saw that Lingling also looked unfamiliar with Queen Qin.

Qi Yuning pursed her lips slightly. So, even Queen Qin only had less than six years left?

Emperor Shi Yuan said, "This is Lingling, the daughter of Ningning and Ze'er. Ze'er and Ningning secretly had a child, but they didn't dare to tell anyone until the child was three years old."

When Queen Qin heard that her eldest daughter had a granddaughter, she was surprised and delighted: "Oh, this is my first great-granddaughter! Ningning, what can I say about you? You kept such a big thing a secret."

Qi Yuning lowered her head and let the queen talk. She couldn't tell Lingling's origins, especially since six years later, there was no queen anymore.

Lingling smiled and looked at Queen Qin and said, "Grandma."

Queen Qin smiled happily and said, "You are so cute. You look exactly like your father when he was a child."

When Lu Ze entered the Purple Palace, he saw the two elders of the Lord of the World playing with Lingling.

"Your Majesty, Madam."

When Emperor Shi Yuan saw Lu Ze, he asked Queen Qin to take Ling Ling to the harem to play. He angrily threw a cup at Lu Ze and said, "Kneel down!"

Lu Zelian knelt down and looked at Emperor Shi Yuan in confusion. This was the first time his grandfather was angry with him.

Emperor Shiyuan said: "If it weren't for Prince Qi, I would have died long ago, the Great Zhao Dynasty would no longer exist, and there would be no mother, and you would not have the wealth and glory of this life.

You are so good! How dare you betray the loyal and brave Queen Qi? How old was Ningning at that time? She was only fourteen, and you let her give birth to a child. Is that humane?"

Lu Ze looked at Qi Yuning, not knowing how she had told His Majesty and the Queen about Lingling's identity, so he admitted his mistake and said, "I know I was wrong, and I am willing to take responsibility for Princess Qi."

Qi Yuning said, "No, Master Lu, you and I have severed our relationship. You were the one who said that men and women have nothing to do with each other when they marry. I have nothing to do with you anymore. Although Lingling is your blood, you didn't acknowledge this daughter at that time. Now I won't force you to acknowledge Lingling."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Shi Yuan became even more angry, "Lu Ze, you! How dare you deny your daughter?"

Lu Ze said: "I know I was wrong. I hope you will give me another chance and I will be responsible for you and Lingling."

Qi Yuning snorted softly, "That depends on Master Lu's sincerity. Your Majesty, I will not bother you any more. I will take my leave now."

Emperor Shi Yuan stroked his gray beard and said, "Okay."

As soon as Qi Yuning left, Lu Ze followed.

The two walked side by side, and Qi Yuning smelled the orchid fragrance on Lu Ze again. Today, the orchid fragrance on Lu Ze seemed to be stronger.

After leaving the Purple Palace, Lu Ze asked Qi Yuning, "Why did Princess Qi bring the child into the palace?"

Qi Yuning said: "Someone said in front of me that Lingling was a bastard. I will ask His Majesty to give Lingling an identity and make those gossipers shut up."

Lu Ze asked: "How did the princess explain Lingling to His Majesty?"

"You and I were young and ignorant, and then we went our separate ways. In the future, we will have nothing to do with each other when we get married."

Lu Ze said slowly: "If you and I really have nothing to do with marriage, Lingling would not be here."

Qi Yuning stared at Lu Ze.

Lu Ze said in a clear voice: "If Princess Qi marries someone else in the future, the child she gives birth to will not be Lingling, so Princess Qi should stop talking about the irrelevance of marriage in front of His Majesty and Prince Qi."

Qi Yuning looked at Lu Ze and said, "You don't like me, and I don't like you either. If you don't say that men and women marry and it's irrelevant, then His Majesty has granted us a marriage right now. Does that mean we have to get married right now?"

Lu Ze sneered and said, "You and I will definitely get married in a year. Even if we are granted marriage now, it will only mean getting married earlier."

Qi Yuning smelled the orchid scent coming from Lu Ze and frowned, "Master Lu, how can a man like him often use a woman's orchid scent?"

Lu Ze said, "In the Dali Temple, we often have to deal with corpses, so it's inevitable that we will have some corpse odor on our bodies, so we use orchid ointment to cover up the smell."

Qi Yuning took two steps away from Lu Ze. "Is it possible that this princess went blind after a year? Otherwise, how could I marry a man who deals with corpses all year round?"

Lu Ze listened to Princess Qi's words of disdain and sneered.

He once thought that the future Crown Prince's Consort would be gentle, virtuous, considerate, and quiet, but Princess Qi had nothing to do with those qualities.

Lu Ze really couldn't imagine how he and Qi Yuning could have Lingling one year later.

(End of this chapter)