Qin Wan took out her own military token and said, "I've had it with me the entire time. Zhenzhen brought it to Huzhou Prefecture to investigate, intending to seek assistance from Jianning. During that time, I never let it go. Furthermore, Huzhou Prefecture had already been captured, and the fifty thousand troops hadn't arrived yet. So if the token was lost, it must have been lost before that."
Prince Yong had been leading troops for a long time and knew exactly how many military tokens the Five Military Commanderies had, which one was in whose hands and what was its use.
He looked at Lu Yan and asked, "Look at this military token. Is it the one you used when you led the troops?"
Lu Yan stepped forward to take the military token and recognized it at a glance. He had carried this military token for eight years and was naturally familiar with it: "Yes!"
Prince Yong suddenly laughed: "Did you keep it with you for even a moment in these eight years? Did no one else take it?"
Lu Yan opened his mouth to say "never", but stopped himself and said hesitantly: "Maybe...Bai's!"
Prince Yong nodded and said, "Just now, the Crown Princess said that the Fourth Prince had visited the border many times. Perhaps it was during that time that he obtained the military token and made a fake one. With the real one in hand, it would be easy to forge one."
Lu Yan fell silent. He hadn't been sure whose child Ping'er was, but now that Prince Yong had said that, it was most likely the Fourth Prince's. Otherwise, how could he explain how he and Bai Wanyi had been together for so many years, and Ping'er was the only one? She hadn't taken any contraceptive pills, so why hadn't she gotten pregnant again?
Lu Yan was not stupid. He had indeed heard that some couples were in good health but had never had children. After the concubine gave birth to several children, the wife could not bear it anymore and asked for a divorce letter and remarried, and then had children.
This is why the couple are not destined to be together.
Lu Yan suddenly felt something green above his head.
Prince Yong looked at Lu Yan and sighed deeply. Such a rare talent in the Great Zhou Dynasty had been ruined like this. He shook his head and said, "Everything is just speculation right now. We won't know for sure until we meet with Bai and the Fourth Prince. The most important thing right now is the situation in the palace."
Qin Wan also looked towards the capital with great concern...
In the palace.
The "Crown Prince" left the capital, and the Crown Princess was recuperating during her pregnancy, leaving all the affairs in the palace to the sole responsibility of Concubine Min.
The emperor now looks healthy and in good spirits. When he goes to court every day, the concubines in the palace have also started to get excited.
The emperor has been ill for several months and has never set foot in the harem. Now that he is well, why doesn’t he rush to compete for favor?
Concubine Li dressed up beautifully and went to the Palace of Heavenly Purity to pay her respects, and several noble ladies also used all kinds of tricks.
Lu Linglong occupied the main hall of Yinghua Palace. After Li had tidied it up, it became extremely luxurious, and she was extremely satisfied.
Upon learning that several concubines were vying for favor, Lu Linglong also began to have ideas.
Seeing this, Xiao'e, the palace maid who originally served beside Li, took out a set of Li's clothes and gave it to her: "Don't be disgusted, Cainu. Although this is Li's clothes, she has never worn it since it was made. She wore it when she was a noble concubine."
In the Zhou Dynasty, apart from a few specific patterns and bright yellow fabrics that had regulations on who could wear them, the rest of the regulations were not that strict.
So even if it was made when Li was a noble concubine, she can wear it now. Not to mention, Lu Linglong considers herself a concubine, which means her status is nobler than Li's. Why can't she wear it?
Lu Linglong immediately picked up the clothes and tried them on herself, then said with a bit of disdain: "The color is a bit old, do you have any other clothes?"
Xiao'e's eyes flickered slightly, and she smiled and said, "Of course, Cainu, please follow me."
Xiao E took Lu Linglong into the room and turned to give a wink to the palace maid standing in the corner.
Lu Linglong changed into the clothes she had chosen directly. Xiao E pulled her to the dressing table and put her hair into a bun again. She also picked out some red hairpins and jewelry for her to wear, and put on makeup again.
The palace maids who have served the favorite concubine are extremely good in both aesthetics and hands-on ability.
After Lu Linglong put on makeup, she looked like a completely different person.
She was stunned herself: "Is this still me? So beautiful!"
Xiao E took the food box handed to her by the palace servant and said with a smile, "It is because I am a beautiful concubine. Concubine, I have prepared some soup for you. Your Majesty must be tired and would like to drink something hot. Wouldn't it be a good idea for you to bring some soup to His Majesty?"
"You really suit my taste! Fortunately, the inner treasury didn't transfer you away!" Lu Linglong happily left with the lunch box.
She didn't notice at all that Xiao'e's meaningful smile, and that as soon as she left, Xiao'e went to the cold palace.
Lu Linglong ran to the Palace of Heavenly Purity with great anticipation. She saw Consort Li returning home in disappointment. She greeted her with a smile, "Did Consort Li not see His Majesty? What a pity."
Consort Li glanced at her and said, "Lu Cainu left my Qingshuang Pavilion, and now she doesn't even know basic etiquette?"
"I know, of course I don't know. Hello, Consort Li." Lu Linglong casually bowed and boasted proudly, "You can't see His Majesty, but I can. I'm very familiar with the Crown Princess. His Majesty will have to see me for the Crown Princess's sake, humph!"
After Lu Linglong finished speaking, she shook her head and walked towards the Palace of Heavenly Purity with proud steps.
Li Zhaoyi didn't believe her words and didn't leave. She just stood there and watched Lu Linglong walk to the gate of the Qianqing Palace.
The guard stopped Lu Linglong and said, "Your Majesty is busy. Please stop."
"I want to see His Majesty. Go in and tell him." Lu Linglong said arrogantly.
The guards glanced at Lu Linglong. When Concubine Li came to ask for a meeting, she would give them some silver, but Lu Linglong came as a matter of course, as if they were servants, so they naturally pretended not to hear.
Lu Linglong was furious: "You didn't pass on the message? Humph! I'll have His Majesty punish you later!"
Lu Linglong stomped her foot and was about to push the door open, but was stopped by the guards: "Stop, Miss Cai."
Seeing she couldn't get in, Lu Linglong shouted inside, "Your Majesty, I'm Linglong. You've worked hard managing the government, so I'm here to bring you some soup. Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"
The emperor, listening to the shouts from outside, frowned and scolded, "Nonsense! Making such a commotion in front of the Qianqing Palace! This is outrageous!"
"I'll handle it right away!" Eunuch Zhang hurried out and felt a headache when he saw Lu Linglong.
Other concubines would be afraid of His Majesty and leave when he gets angry, but Lu Linglong is a stubborn person.
Eunuch Zhang rolled his eyes and said to Lu Linglong, "This servant greets Lu Cainu."
Lu Linglong was delighted to see Eunuch Zhang. She quickly walked inside and asked, "Does His Majesty want to see me?"
Eunuch Zhang quickly stopped her and said with a worried look on his face, "Lady! His Majesty has government affairs to attend to in there. If you're here, won't that distract him? Government affairs are important. Why don't you come with me to the side hall and wait?"
Lu Linglong was a little unhappy when she heard this: "State affairs are important, and so is health. I can't not eat or drink, right? How about this, I'll go to the side hall and wait, and the eunuch will bring in the soup?"
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