Years ago, the old emperor went to the south of the Yangtze River and favored a woman from there. He had no intention of bringing her back to the palace. However, when he went to the south of the Yangtze River again a few years later to look for the woman, he learned that she had given birth to a daughter ten months after he left.
However, she herself was overwhelmed with worry and passed away before her daughter was even a year old. For the past two years, the little girl has been fostered by her brother and sister-in-law.
That sister-in-law was not a good person. In addition, she did not know that the little girl in front of her was a princess. She thought that the little girl was an illegitimate child born from her sister-in-law's affair. She would beat and scold the two- or three-year-old child at the drop of a hat, and the little girl's body was covered with scars.
The old emperor felt guilty for failing the woman's deep affection, and also felt sorry for his youngest daughter who had suffered so much at such a young age. After punishing the wicked couple, he brought his daughter into the palace and doted on her ever since.
Having learned from the lessons of the power struggle among the concubines after the Empress's death, the Empress Dowager took Ruoling under her wing and personally taught her.
The little girl was very pretty and had a sweet tongue. The Empress Dowager felt sorry for her because she had lost her birth mother at such a young age and was tormented by her uncle and aunt. She doted on this little princess.
She was clever and mischievous; it wasn't a big deal for her to suddenly want to watch two teams play Cuju (ancient Chinese football) at her brother's house.
"Xi Yi, obey Princess Ruoling's orders."
Xi Yi accepted the order, scratched his head, and left. When did his master start spoiling his younger sister again?
Lu Xiaoyun turned to Princess Ruoling and asked in a very gentle voice, "I'll have Ayan accompany you. Fourth Brother will go see General Qi first, and he'll come to see you after he's done with his work. Would you like that?"
Princess Ruoling looked at Lu Yuyan and nodded with a smile: "Of course I'm willing. I wonder if Mr. Lu has the time?"
Lu Yuyan nodded and smiled slightly, completely different from the carefree and spoiled young master he had been that morning: "It is my honor."
He was a refined gentleman, gentle and elegant, and gestured to Princess Ruoling, "Princess Ruoling, please."
Princess Ruoling smiled sweetly and said generously, "Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Lu."
Lu Xiaoyun hurried towards Feixue Garden. She needed to ask Zhu Yu what Qi Shaocheng had come for today, and whether the two of them had any plans.
Qi Shaocheng is the heir of the Yongbo Marquis's mansion.
In her memory, the original owner looked down on her fiancé, saying that he only knew how to rest on his ancestors' laurels and had accomplished nothing himself, and even declared that he would never marry him.
Qi Shaocheng was seven years older than the original owner. Back then, when the original owner's mother was pregnant, she and the Duke of Zhenguo took Qi Shaocheng and his wife, the Marquis of Yongbo, on a spring outing in the suburbs. Suddenly, an earthquake struck, and it was the Duke of Zhenguo who rescued the three of them from the collapsed ruins.
Although Qi Shaocheng was only seven years old at the time, he was handsome and calm in the face of danger. When the three of them were trapped in the rubble, he gently comforted the Marquis of Yongbo and his wife. Two days and two nights later, the family of three was rescued with only minor injuries.
The Duke of Zhenguo praised Qi Shaocheng as a promising young man with a bright future. The Marquis of Yongbo and his wife were overjoyed and immediately asked Qi Shaocheng to acknowledge the Duke of Zhenguo as his godfather.
However, since the Duke of Zhenguo already had a son, it would be inappropriate to adopt another son. Therefore, the wife of the Marquis of Yongbo suggested with a smile that if Madam Lu was pregnant with a girl, Qi Shaocheng would become her son-in-law in the future.
The Duke and his wife readily agreed.
It was meant as a joke, but the Marquis of Yongbo and his wife took it seriously.
Even though the original owner's mother later died in childbirth, and everyone cursed Lu Xiaoyun as a jinx who brought misfortune to her mother, the Marquis of Yongbo and his wife never proposed to annul the engagement.
But who would have thought that the original owner looked down on his son at all.
Enraged, Qi Shaocheng joined the army, and eight years passed. He didn't go to the Lu family army in the southern border of the Duke of Zhenguo, but to the Northern Army, which was known for its strictness.
Qi Shaocheng was already a handsome young man of seventeen years old at that time. The Marquis of Yongbo and his wife never neglected his education. As soon as he entered the Northern Army, he showed amazing military talent and rose from a lowly soldier to the current deputy general of the Northern Army.
Zhu Yu had just finished washing up when Li Feng was about to hand him the porridge. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lu Xiaoyun walking towards them.
Zhu Yu, who had already sat up, immediately slumped back down, closed his eyes, and frowned, looking quite pained.
Li Feng was startled. How could her young mistress, who had been perfectly fine just moments before, suddenly feel unwell again? Her eyes immediately reddened. "Miss, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? I'll go and fetch Mr. Lu right away."
Zhu Yu seemed very uncomfortable, his brows furrowed, and his voice extremely weak: "No need, my injuries are just a little painful, I'll bear it. Princess Ruoling is here, don't disturb them."
As soon as Lu Xiaoyun stepped into the room, Li Feng, with red eyes and choking back tears, said, "Your Highness, Miss is feeling unwell again. Miss has really suffered a great deal this time."
Lu Xiaoyun hurried over, sat on the edge of the bed, and touched Zhu Yu's forehead. Fortunately, it wasn't hot: "Where do you feel uncomfortable?"
"I feel unwell all over." Zhu Yu squinted at Lu Xiaoyun, who was looking at him anxiously, then quickly closed his eyes again. His face was pale and he looked uncomfortable all over.
Lu Xiaoyun recalled that when she woke up this morning, she was almost completely lying on top of Zhu Yu, and she felt extremely embarrassed. He was in so much pain now, probably because she had been pressing down on him.
When did she become such a terrible sleeper?
"Li Feng, go quickly and invite Mr. Lu. He is with Princess Ruoling at the martial arts training ground."
"Li Feng, don't go. I'm fine. I'll feel better after eating something. Princess Ruoling rarely comes to Prince An's mansion, so let Ayan keep her company. I'm alright."
Li Feng glanced at her young lady lying weakly on the bed, then at the "prince" with an indescribable expression, and felt that something was amiss.
She saw two blankets when she came into the room this morning.
Good heavens, so after the prince sent her away yesterday, he stayed in the room with the young lady and even stayed overnight?
Although I know that with such serious injuries, nothing could possibly happen to the young lady, that doesn't matter. The first step on the long journey has been taken.
Good heavens, good heavens, her young lady has finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel!
Has Miss already won over the Prince?
The young girl immediately understood; the young lady had to take advantage of the illness to win the prince's heart: "Your Highness, this servant will go and see if the medicine is ready."
After saying that, he ran off in a flash.
Lu Xiaoyun stared at Zhu Yu: "Are you really feeling unwell?"
Zhu Yu nodded, looking aggrieved.
"Let me see." She said, reaching out to lift Zhu Yu's clothes.
Zhu Yu pressed down on his clothes: "Don't move. I'll just eat something and I'll be fine. Maybe it's because I don't have any strength."
Li Feng had just changed his dressing and wrapped him in gauze.
Are you hungry?
"Um."
So Lu Xiaoyun picked up the meat porridge that Li Feng had just put down, then picked up Zhu Yu, held him in her arms, and handed him the porridge.
"Here, eat it. You can't eat hard food right after waking up. In a couple of days, I'll have Ayan prepare some medicinal food for you. His medical skills are extremely high. With him here, don't worry, you'll recover eventually."
Zhu Yu held out his injured hand, wrapped up like a rice dumpling, to her: "My hand is broken, I can't eat. Lu Xiaoyun, will you feed me?"
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