After Lu Ze dragged Qi Yuning away, Shen Jialin looked at Qin Feng anxiously and said, "Minister Qin, you won't stop her? No matter how powerful Master Lu is, he can't force a woman to leave, right?"

Shen Jialin said indignantly: "I can't just watch Master Lu bully that beautiful girl."

Lin Jiang waved his fan and smiled, "It's not certain who will bully whom between the two of them."

Shen Jialin said: "But..."

Zheng Hao said, "That's Princess Qi, Prince Lu's fiancée Qi Yuning. They were supposed to get married a long time ago, but something happened and delayed the wedding."

Shen Jialin suddenly realized what was going on. He looked at Lu Ze and Qi Yuning returning hand in hand at the gate of the courtyard. The two were no longer arguing.

Shen Jialin thought that this couple looked quite good together.

Zheng Hao walked up to Qi Yuning and explained, "Princess Qi, Master Lu didn't accept those nine beauties from the Western Regions. It was all because of my father and grandmother. Please don't misunderstand Master Lu."

Qi Yuning listened to Zheng Hao's explanation and nodded softly: "Yes."

When Shen Jialin saw Lu Ze, he said, "Master Lu, I want to compete with you in calligraphy. Please teach me."

Lu Ze looked at Shen Jialin and said to Qin Mang, "The princess and I have important matters to attend to. I'll take my leave now."

Shen Jialin said unconvincedly: "You must be afraid that you can't beat me and will lose, so you left."

Lu Ze ignored Shen Jialin. Instead of wasting time at the Qin family competing with such a young boy in calligraphy, he would rather spend some time alone with Qi Yuning.

They rarely see each other these days.

After Lu Ze and Qi Yuning returned to Chunjiang Courtyard, they saw a letter on Qi Yuning's desk by the window: "Lingling wrote again?"

Qi Yuning nodded and said, "Yes."

Lu Ze opened the letter and said, "It's been a whole year since Lingling returned."

Qi Yuning asked: "Is there any news about Taoist Master He?"

Lu Ze shook his head and said, "No."

Lu Ze sat on the small couch, held Qi Yuning's hand, let Qi Yuning sit in his arms, and gently hugged Qi Yuning and said: "The affairs of the court are really busy. If little Zhao Jie ascends the throne in the future, I am afraid I will be so busy again. No wonder Lingling said that I don't have time to accompany her. When she is born in the future, I have to accompany her more."

Seeing that Lu Ze was tired, Qi Yuning reached out and touched Lu Ze's face and said, "Lu Ze, you only asked me if I wanted to be a princess, what about you? Have you ever thought about becoming an emperor? You are of royal blood..."

Lu Ze looked at Qi Yuning with a smile on his face: "Why? You don't want to be a princess anymore, you want to be a queen?"

Qi Yuning said: "Don't make fun of me. Even if I want to be a princess, my brother will not agree. I just ask you, His Majesty has appointed you as regent, which shows that His Majesty is not on guard against you. Now, none of the three Prince Xu, Prince Jin, and Prince Shou are worse than you. If you want to be the emperor, it may not be impossible. There are still people in the folk who take their mother's surname and take over the family business of their mother's family. You can also..."

Lu Ze hugged Qi Yuning and said, "Although being an emperor means holding all the power in the world, how can you have any freedom? Even the selection of concubines and the birth of children in the harem are watched by the ministers.

Although I am busy now, I am still free after all. You and I can have as many children as I want. When little Zhao Jie ascends the throne in the future, you and I will teach him well. He may not repay kindness with enmity when he grows up."

Qi Yuning sighed, "Indeed, being in a high position always brings endless troubles."

Lu Ze touched Qi Yuning's head and said, "Compared to these court affairs, I think the more important thing is to decide on our marriage."

"You are so busy now, do you have time to get married?"

Lu Ze said softly, "It should be free by the end of October."

Qi Yuning stood up, went to the desk and took out a lunar calendar, flipped through it and said, "October 28th is a good day for marriage, let's choose this day."

Lu Ze took a look and saw that it was indeed an auspicious day. He smiled and said, "Then let's do it this day."

Qi Yuning looked at the almanac and said, "Lin Jiang's wife Wang Zhiyu has been pregnant for four months. She got pregnant right after getting married. But why haven't I heard Lingling mention the brothers and sisters of the Lin family?"

Lu Ze said: "Maybe Lingling didn't play with the Lin family's children anymore."

Qi Yuning thought that was unlikely. The Lin family was not far from the princess's mansion, so there was no reason why they couldn't play together.

As it was getting dark, Lu Ze said to Qi Yuning, "I have to go. Don't believe the rumors out there. If you miss me, come find me, or send someone to tell me."

Qi Yuning said: "I don't have time to think about you. I miss Lingling and my newly born nephew."

Hearing this, Lu Ze said, "We can always find some time."

In the next few days, Qi Yuning was busier than Lu Ze.

The list of sacrifices of Qi's army has been released, and Qi Yuning gave each person ten taels of silver as compensation. This silver came from the property confiscated from the Qin family.

In this battle, most of the Qi family's wealth was lost. Qi Yuning didn't care at first, but after calculating the remaining assets, he found that they were pitifully small compared to before, so he felt that he still had to settle accounts with the court.

After all, Lu Ze is in power now and Emperor Shi Yuan is still alive, so he should get back what he can.

On the Double Ninth Festival, Qi Yuning's longing for Lingling reached its peak. Today was also Lingling's birthday.

Qi Yuning thought that Lingling would be a newborn baby next year, and she had many expectations for the year ahead.

The court was closed today, but Lu Ze was still busy. He was in the Dali Temple dealing with the affairs of the court officials who were in collusion with the Qin family.

At noon, seeing Qi Yuning coming with a lunch box, Lu Ze put down the case file in his hand and said, "Yuning."

Qi Yuning took out the account books from the lunch box one by one and said, "This is the amount I have calculated recently about the expenses of our Qi family army entering Shengjing City to kill the traitors. What do you think, should the court subsidize us?"

Lu Ze rubbed his temple and said helplessly: "When Brother Qi Wang returns to Shengjing City, His Majesty will naturally reward him."

Qi Yuning said: "Rewards are rewards, and subsidies are subsidies."

Lu Ze said, "Leave the account book here first. I will ask His Majesty for permission."

Qi Yuning asked: "How is your Majesty's health now?"

Lu Ze said: "Your Majesty still uses opium quite a lot, but he has been trying to reduce it, but the addiction is deep and it is not so easy to quit."

Whether for public or private reasons, Lu Ze hopes that his grandfather can live a long life.

Qi Yuning did not go home in the afternoon, but accompanied Lu Ze to handle official business, occasionally helping Lu Ze with ideas, until dusk.

Lu Ze knew that Qi Yuning came to accompany him today because she didn't want to miss Lingling all the time in the mansion.

After Lu Ze and Qi Yuning returned to the palace and entered Chunjiang Courtyard, Qi Yuning heard a familiar cry.

"Wuwuwu, mother, there is no mother, aunt is lying!"

Lu Baozhu said: "Aunt didn't lie to you. Didn't Aunt Xiaoman go to help you find your mother?"

Qi Yuning shook off Lu Ze's hands, picked up her skirt and ran into the yard. Seeing Lingling crying on the stone table in the yard, Qi Yuning's heart melted.

“Lingling!”

"Mother!"

Lingling ran into Qi Yuning's arms and nestled in his arms. Qi Yuning hugged her tightly, "Lingling."

Lingling kept crying. Lu Ze went in and saw Lu Baozhu inside and asked, "How did you get to Shengjing so quickly?"

"Daddy!" Lingling reached out to Lu Ze, wanting him to hold her as well.

Lu Ze went forward to take Lingling, held her in his arms and kissed her little face.

Lu Baozhu said, "Lingling missed you guys so much. After we learned that you had conquered Chang'an City, we set out from the North City first. We finally arrived on Lingling's birthday. Lingling was not well behaved along the way. She wanted to buy everything. I didn't have much money left."

Lingling said: "Lingling, be good. Lingling doesn't buy things. Auntie buys them herself!"

Qi Yuning smiled gently and generously gave Lu Baozhu two silver notes with a face value of 500 taels. "Thank you for your hard work during this period."

Seeing the two banknotes, Lu Baozhu said, "It's not hard work. If you need me to help you take care of Lingling in the future, come to me more often."

Qi Yuning saw Lu Baozhu's money-obsessed look and asked, "You and Lingling are the only ones who came back together?"

Lu Baozhu said: "And Lu Baohua, she went to visit her parents."

Lu Ze said: "You have to go see grandma too."

Lu Baozhu frowned and said, "See that old woman? I'm not going!"

Lu Ze said: "Lu Baozhu!"

Lu Baozhu pouted and said, "I am being filial, okay? If I go to visit her, I'm afraid she will be so angry that her life will be shortened."

Lu Ze glanced at Lu Baozhu, and Lu Baozhu said helplessly: "If Lingling goes with you, I will go too."

Qi Yuning said: "I'll go with you too."

Lu Ze responded: "Well, my grandmother has something to say, you don't have to pay attention to her, and don't take it to heart."

…

In the courtyard of Old Madam Lu’s Mansion, there were no servants to be seen after entering the courtyard.

As soon as Qi Yuning and Lu Ze entered the courtyard, they felt the atmosphere was weird. Without anyone telling them to go, they went into the old lady's room.

When I entered, I smelled a strong smell of medicine and heard Lu Baohua crying softly.

"Father, mother, grandmother, Prince Xu is thirty-three years old this year, fifteen years older than me... How can you let me marry him as a concubine?"

Madam Lu said angrily, "You have always liked poetry and songs, but Prince Xu is just as fond of them as you are. His princess will not live long. When Prince Xu ascends the throne, you will surely become the Empress of the Central Palace!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Baozhu shouted, "Grandma, Prince Xu is my uncle, and Lu Baohua is my cousin. You want my cousin to marry my uncle? You are either crazy or confused, or your brain has been soaked in rain and water has entered it."

When Lingling saw Lu Baohua crying, she got down from Lu Ze's arms, walked to Lu Baohua's side, and wiped Lu Baohua's tears with her little hands.

"Don't cry, Second Aunt. If anyone bullies Second Aunt, Lingling will help her beat her up!"

Madam Lu was so angry that she pointed at Lingling and said, "She is so young and uneducated, yet she is so rude to her elders! She really needs to be taught a lesson. Someone, please teach her a lesson according to the Lu family rules!"