The Yang family, however, had no intention of letting her off easily.

Although the imperial physicians arrived, they all gathered around Madam Yu and no one came to take care of her.

Zhou Wanxiu was in excruciating pain, and not even a midwife came.

Her maids and servants panicked and rushed back to the Duke of Wei's mansion for help.

Xu Pengju came to apologize in person, and only then did Yang Zhen have Zhou Wanxiu carried away.

However, it was too late. Because of the delayed delivery, Zhou Wanxiu's child had been suffocated in the womb for too long and was born with a bluish-purple complexion, and did not even cry.

He died three days later.

Zhou Wanxiu herself was also severely injured, and she was bleeding profusely from her lower body.

Xu Pengju himself was born out of wedlock, so he really hoped to have a legitimate son.

Now that his legitimate son had suffocated to death, Zhou Wanxiu's good days were numbered. He cursed her bad luck and never went to see her again.

Zhou Wanxiu then realized that her life up to this point had been utterly meaningless.

All their schemes came to naught.

She couldn't help but think that the most glorious moment of her life was when she lived in Qingning Palace. Dressed in gorgeous clothes and looking exceptionally beautiful, she proudly told Su Wanwan about everything she had seen and heard outside the palace.

At that time, Su Wanwan looked on with envy and begged her to help her bring a rabbit lantern.

Prince Lu Xingjian excitedly presented Wanwan with a set of movable bronze figure toys, asking, "Do you like it?"

Before Su Wanwan could even play with it, she snatched it away, saying, "I like it so much, can I have it?"

Su Wanwan didn't dare to fight her for it and let her take it.

The crown prince's face had darkened, but Wanwan took the initiative to coax him back to his senses.

At that time, she thought Su Wanwan was really easy to bully.

Anything she wanted, she could take from Wanwan.

Who could have known that in the end, Wanwan would steal away her husband, Crown Prince Lu Xingjian?

Zhou Wanxiu wrote a letter and asked someone to deliver it to the palace.

Let's put an end to their entanglement over the years.

Lu Xingjian was utterly disgusted with Zhou Wanxiu and had no intention of letting Su Wanwan see her.

Su Wanwan recalled some memories from her time at Qingning Palace, "I'd better go see them."

Lu Xingjian accompanied Su Wanwan to the Duke of Wei's mansion.

Zhou Wanxiu never expected that she would see Lu Xingjian one last time before she died.

A blush crept onto her pale face.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have hurt Sister Wanwan back then at the Marquis of Changning's estate."

Compared to Lu Xingjian, who was aloof and elegant, like a white cloud in the sky, Xu Pengju was like mud on the ground.

Lu Xingjian's face was icy: "It really was you."

Su Wanwan looked at Zhou Wanxiu and felt that she was a complete stranger.

She was completely different from the lively and proud eldest daughter of the Zhou family she remembered.

Zhou Wanxiu cried sadly, "If I hadn't deliberately targeted Sister Wanwan back then, would you have fallen for me? Would you have brought me into the palace and given me a proper status?"

Even on her deathbed, she refused to relinquish this lingering obsession.

In her mind, she was better than Su Wanwan in every way, so how could she have lost to her?

"Won't."

Lu Xing answered very simply:

"You're so stupid, can't you see that Wanwan is the only one in my heart?"

"Impossible!" Zhou Wanxiu roared with all her might!

"Then why did you marry Xia Xueyi and make Rongfei and Defei the imperial concubines?"

"And Maggie, can you honestly say you weren't even slightly tempted?"

Why are you treating me so coldly?!

Su Wanwan paused slightly.

Lu Xingjian frowned, feeling somewhat troubled.

He regretted bringing Su Wanwan to see this crazy woman.

Why bring up these old stories?

Wanwan had completely forgotten about these unpleasant things.

On the carriage ride back, Su Wanwan felt that same sense of being lost in the mist again.

Everything around us is so complicated.

"What's wrong?" Lu Xingjian carefully examined her expression.

Ever since the two of them slept together, he now spends every day in Qingning Palace.

Aside from going to the Wenhua Hall to handle official business and meet with ministers, he was almost always with her.

At first, she was shy and resistant, but gradually she got used to it.

"You're lying to me." Su Wanwan looked into his eyes.

"I didn't." Lu Xingjian knew that he would have to face this question sooner or later.

There are too many people and too many things involved between them.

"Believe me, Wanwan." Lu Xingjian didn't explain anything. "Other women were all out of necessity."

"Only you are the one I want to marry."

Su Wanwan did not speak.

She could feel his enthusiasm for her.

These days I'm like a hungry wolf, I wish I could devour her.

It was a bit overwhelming for her.

Sometimes I even think, can't he just go somewhere far away?

But when she heard Zhou Wanxiu call out those names, she felt a sharp pain deep inside.

"Don't lie to me." Su Wanwan couldn't understand.

She felt extremely tired and her mind was in turmoil. "Otherwise, I would be very sad."

Lu Xingjian gently patted her head, "Just remember, in this life, I only recognize you."

The two had just returned to the palace when someone came to report: "Princess Rong is dead."

"A fire broke out at the Rong Prince's Mansion, and more than half of the buildings were destroyed."

A cold glint flashed in Lu Xingjian's eyes. "Where is Prince Rong?"

“Prince Rong was already bedridden, and although he escaped this time, he will be paralyzed in bed for the rest of his life.”

Lu Xingjian's voice was devoid of any emotion, "Send people to the Rong Prince's residence to properly handle the funeral arrangements."

Hearing about Prince Rong and Princess Rong made Su Wanwan's head ache even more.

A veil of mist seemed to be dissipating, revealing the truth behind it.

...

Urgent military reports from Datong kept coming in.

The garrison commander of Datong requested that reinforcements be transferred from the nearby important towns of Yansui and Xuanfu to support Datong.

Xuanfu, however, requested that no troops be mobilized, lest Xuanfu be left without anyone to use if the Tatars attacked, and if Xuanfu were to be defeated, the responsibility could easily be shifted.

Lu Xingjian, together with the Ministry of War, mediated and finally dispatched cavalry to be stationed in the compromise area between Datong and Xuanfu, to provide mutual support according to the urgency of the situation.

By April, the Tatar army had attacked Datong with more than 40,000 cavalry, causing shock throughout the court and the country.

Having just wiped out the bandits last year, we are now facing a large-scale invasion by the Tatars.

Lu Xingjian dispatched the Beijing army to garrison important passes around the capital, such as Zijing Pass, Daoma Pass, Longquan Pass, Juyong Pass, Futuyu Pass, Chajianling Pass, and Baiyangkou Pass.

In addition, 150,000 taels of silver were allocated for purchasing horses and used for the purposes of Xuanfu and Datong.

Fortunately, Liu Jin was extremely adept at accumulating wealth back then, and the court spent money like water during these years of war, which actually helped them manage to stay afloat.

In May, the Tatars broke through the Datong defense line, entered the pass through Baiyangkou, and plundered Pinglu, Jingping, Ganhe and other places.

The garrison commander of Datong had less than 30,000 cavalry troops available to him, far fewer than the enemy, and requested that additional cavalry be deployed to defend Datong.

Lu Xingjian ordered Marquis Qiu Yue of Xianning to serve as the commander-in-chief and military governor, leading 6,000 troops from the capital garrison to support Datong and Yansui. Another 14,000 troops were also to be deployed.

Because of the urgent situation on the border, Lu Xingjian was extremely busy and hadn't had much time to bother Su Wanwan lately.

Su Wanwan asked the palace servants about Xia Xueyi, Consort Rong, and Consort De.

The palace maid was so frightened that she stammered and dared not say more: "Your Highness, why mention those who have been abandoned?"