Chapter 55
One day after the coronation ceremony, Lu Ling sent someone to bring Zhao Zhenzhen over and also assigned a group of palace maids and eunuchs to take care of her daily life.
Sometimes, Chu Liuyun would come into the palace, find Zhao Zhenzhen, and give her some food from outside the palace.
Zhao Zhenzhen's eyes would light up every time she saw Chu Liuyun, but the palace maid said that one should behave dignified in the palace, so Zhao Zhenzhen would retract her gaze and look at Chu Liuyun silently.
After Lu Ling found out, he told his subordinates that Zhao Zhenzhen didn't need to abide by those red tapes and just needed to live happily.
In this way, Zhao Zhenzhen, who originally looked hopeless, became full of energy again.
Chu Liuyun brought someone in these days, saying that he was to keep Zhao Zhenzhen company.
There was no one in the palace who was the same age as Zhao Zhenzhen, and Lu Ling was busy with government affairs and had no time to accompany Zhao Zhenzhen. After all, Zhao Zhenzhen, whom he had taken care of for a long time, was left alone. Chu Liuyun couldn't bear it anymore, and happened to know that his fiancée had a younger brother who was about the same age as Zhao Zhenzhen and could accompany her.
When Lu Ling saw the child, he asked Chu Liuyun uncertainly, "Cousin, did my sister-in-law's family say anything?"
Although Chu Liuyun has not yet married, Lu Ling's sister-in-law has already called her out. Judging from his cousin's personality, he should have decided on that girl.
Chu Liuyun shook his head and said with a smile: "What can I say? They are so happy that they can't even wait. Do you know who his father is?" Chu Liuyun pointed at the boy.
"who?"
"Gu Xingchang, from the Gu family in the west of the city."
After hearing this, Lu Ling understood.
Gu Xingchang was originally the uncle of Concubine Zhang Shufei, the mother of Prince Chang'an. The Zhang and Gu families originally had business dealings, but later for some unknown reason, the Gu family stopped contacting the Zhang family, and the two families never had any dealings again.
The Gu family, which had fallen out with the Zhang family, was originally a businessman and needed help from officials in many things. After losing the support of the Zhang family, many officials stopped helping them. In addition, Gu Xingchang loved poetry and literature and was not a good businessman, which led to the decline of the Gu family.
Although Gu Xingchang's family fell into poverty, his wife stayed with him and raised two daughters and two sons with him. Now the father and wife are still very much in love.
Chu Liuyun’s fiancée is the second daughter of the Gu family - Gu Yan.
The boy in front of him was the young master of the Gu family - Gu Huai.
Lu Ling looked at the boy in front of him. He looked only ten years old, two years older than Zhao Zhenzhen, but his eyes were sharp and his face showed a maturity and composure that even adults couldn't match. Zhao Zhenzhen was playful and playful, which perfectly complemented Gu Huai.
Chu Liuyun asked someone to take him to Zhao Zhenzhen's place so that the two children could get to know each other.
"Cousin, when do you plan to marry Miss Gu?" Lu Ling walked in front of Chu Liuyun with a smile on his face.
When Chu Liuyun heard this, his ears immediately turned red. Even in the middle of winter, beads of sweat broke out on his face. He stammered, "I, I want to, but Gu Xingchang looks down on me and thinks I'm not as knowledgeable as him. He told me to study more and surpass him first."
Intellectuals have always looked down on each other, but Lu Ling did not expect that Gu Xingchang would act like this when it comes to his daughter's lifelong affairs.
"Actually, I think he just doesn't want to marry Ayan to me." Chu Liuyun said sourly.
Lu Ling laughed at the side, she never expected that her cousin would be humiliated one day.
"You should also think about the Gu family. Who wouldn't feel bad when marrying off their daughter? Back then, my father..."
Lu Ling paused and didn't continue.
"That's not right. They are unwilling to marry their daughter to you. Then why did you bring the young master of the Gu family into the palace and say that they were happy to do so?" Lu Ling asked.
Chu Liuyun sighed upon hearing this, then sat aside and said, "I'm not willing to do this, but it doesn't conflict with sending my son to the palace."
Since the two truly loved each other, Lu Ling originally thought about issuing an edict to grant them a marriage so that Gu Xingchang would not resist. However, after hearing what Chu Liuyun said, Lu Ling decided not to interfere.
Gu Xingchang was about to agree.
As Lu Ling expected, within two days, Chu Liuyun came to the palace and told Lu Ling that the master of the Gu family had agreed and the wedding date had been set.
When Chu Liuyun talked to Lu Ling, Chu Liuyun was still a little confused and couldn't believe that Mr. Gu agreed to it just like that.
Lu Ling smiled and told him to go back and prepare quickly.
*
Lu Ling did not have time to rest after she ascended the throne. As the ruler of a country, she had a lot to do.
Many matters concerning his accession to the throne had been almost dealt with, and everything was on track, so Lu Ling began to reward his meritorious officials.
Zhang Xunwen requested to go to Shuzhou, and Lu Ling granted his wish, conferring him the title of Marquis of Dingyuan and sending him to Shuzhou. Bai Xichen asked for nothing more than to return to Shuzhou, after all, Shuzhou was where he was born and raised, so Lu Ling no longer pressed him and let him go.
However, Chu Fan, Lu Ling's uncle, was unwilling to receive any reward, so Lu Ling turned around and rewarded Chu Liuyun, making him the Duke of Fuguo. Lu Ling still needed someone to help him in the court.
The female army was led by Ye Rong, and its ranks continued to expand.
Because of this enthronement, Lu Ling also gave Chu Liuyun a pair of jade ruyi to congratulate the wedding.
Chu Liuyun's wedding date was set for early spring. As soon as the New Year was over, the Chu family began to arrange Chu Liuyun's marriage.
On the wedding day, Lu Ling came out of the palace to congratulate Chu Liuyun. When he entered the room, everyone was surprised. Although everyone knew the relationship between Lu Ling and the Chu family, Lu Ling was the emperor after all, and it was rare for an emperor to come out of the palace to congratulate someone on a wedding.
Lu Ling was wearing casual clothes today. The patterns on the clothes were not obvious. He looked simple yet polite.
This is what Lu Ling wore specially today, so as not to steal the limelight from the newcomer, but she forgot that she is the emperor now, and no matter where she goes, she will be the center of attention.
The Chu Mansion was covered with red gauze curtains. As soon as Lu Ling entered the mansion, everyone who was drinking and laughing in the Chu family yard stopped and then knelt on the ground.
Lu Ling waved to everyone to stand up, saying that she was not the protagonist today, and asked everyone to relax, just enjoy the drink, and not to pay attention to her.
After saying that, Lu Ling walked over to Chu Fan and sat at the same table with Chu Fan to drink.
After the newlyweds finished their wedding ceremony, Lu Ling left.
Sitting in the carriage, Lu Ling pressed his head uncomfortably. He felt a little tired due to the busy government affairs recently.
Suddenly, there was a sound from under the seat. The sound was neither loud nor soft, just right for Lu Ling to hear. Lu Ling vigilantly gripped the dagger at his waist.
Once they entered the Imperial City and the gates were closed, Lu Ling stopped the car. The Imperial City was heavily guarded, and no one could escape.
Lu Ling walked out of the carriage without saying a word. It was already dark. In order to prevent the man from getting suspicious, Lu Ling asked the eunuch beside him to turn off the lights.
After waiting outside for a while, there was finally movement inside.
The guards around had already reached for their swords, waiting to subdue the man as soon as he came out.
Lu Ling waited quietly for people to come out.
The man was stealthy. He pulled the curtain and took a step out. It was pitch dark and he didn't seem to notice anything unusual around him.
"Ouch! I'm so tired." He said as he shook his sleeves, as if he was completely unaware of the danger coming.
When Lu Ling heard this, he stood there in a daze, unable to hold the sword steadily in his hand.
Before he could react, the man had already gotten out of the car and was subdued by the guards.
Lu Ling's hands and feet were numb, his head was buzzing, and he didn't know what to do next.
The eunuch next to him had already lit the lamp, and the light dimly illuminated the man's face. Lu Ling could see the face of the person in front of him clearly with the help of the light.
Lu Ling might have been lucky just now, but now she had to admit that the person in front of her was the one she loved and hated.
"Your Majesty, what should we do with this man?" asked the eunuch next to him.
Lu Ling regained his composure, took a look, and said, "First, lock him up in the Sky Prison. Tomorrow I will personally interrogate him. Order everyone not to torture him without permission."
After saying that, Lu Ling left, ignoring the man's shouting.
She was afraid that if she stayed a little longer she would become soft-hearted and forget the suffering she had endured before.
Lu Ling returned to the hall, tidied up and planned to rest, but as soon as he closed his eyes, all he could think about was seeing that person again today.
He seemed to be injured. When Lu Ling left, he kept calling himself.
The next day, Lu Ling, who had originally intended to go to the cell early, was still late. Despite being busy with government affairs, he had already finished most of them and even arrived a little earlier than usual.
She originally wanted to go see him as soon as she finished dealing with it, but when she finished and there were no memorials on the table, Lu Ling felt a little panicked. She didn't want to see him again.
She was afraid that she would be soft-hearted again.
After making preparations for a long time, Lu Ling did not go to the Sky Prison until dusk.
When he arrived at the prison, Lu Ling asked someone to open the door and walked in.
As soon as the man saw Lu Ling coming over, he immediately stood up and looked at Lu Ling awkwardly.
"A Ling, you are finally here."
Lu Ling didn't answer, but looked down at the man in front of him, as if he wanted to look at the man's whole body.
The man was wearing a white robe that was covered in dust. There were also bloodstains on his arms, probably from the accidental grime he had gotten when he was arrested yesterday. His fingers were red, probably from torture.
"A Ling, I'm here, and I won't leave this time." Nan Rongjing kept talking to himself regardless of whether Lu Ling answered or not.
This time, Lu Ling didn't leave him alone, but he didn't answer his question either.
"What are you doing here?" Logically speaking, he is now the King of Baipu. How could someone give up his own country and come to the imperial capital of the enemy country?
Lu Ling already had the answer in his mind, but he quickly suppressed it.
Nan Rongjing looked at Lu Ling with a tenderness he had never seen before in his eyes.
"A Ling, I came to see you. I know you are the noble Queen now, but I still miss you and want to see you again. I finally found the opportunity to see you."
Nan Rongjing was right. He had been in the capital for more than half a month, but had not been able to enter the imperial city. Later, he heard that Chu Liuyun was getting married, and Lu Ling valued his family the most and would definitely come to congratulate him, so he waited outside the Chu Mansion until Lu Ling came out.
When he saw Lu Ling walk in, he asked Lin Yu and Lin Yao to use a trick to disperse the guards around, and then he sneaked into Lu Ling's carriage.
It's just that the carriage was too crowded and stuffy, and it scratched his arm when he got in. As the carriage swayed, he felt uncomfortable and made a sound unconsciously, but he thought the sound was not loud and should not be noticed by anyone.
Indeed, he was not discovered and entered the imperial city safely. After hearing that Lu Ling had gone out, he thought that there was no one outside. The place where his hand was scratched was bleeding a lot. He wanted to go out and find a place to bandage it, but he didn't expect to be caught as soon as he went out.
When the sword was on his shoulder, Nan Rongjing couldn't help but be stunned. When he looked up, he saw Lu Ling not far away. He shouted a few times, but Lu Ling seemed not to hear him and just walked away.
Lu Ling looked at Nan Rongjing and said, "You don't need to come to me. Chen Wangyou is already dead. You and I are just enemies now."
Lu Ling turned around and wanted to leave, but before she left, she seemed to remember something and stopped. She said, "I'll have someone take you back. Let's just pretend what happened yesterday never happened."
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