Zhu Yu suddenly sat up in bed, his phoenix eyes fixed on her. At that moment, all his pretense collapsed in front of her.
Whether Zhu Dan becomes the crown prince or rules the country, he can give up anything, but he will never let go of Lu Xiaoyun.
His breathing suddenly became uncontrollable, and he abruptly hugged her, opening his mouth to kiss her lips. At that moment, he wished he could knead the two of them into a ball, making their bones and blood intertwine.
Two tender white peaches pressed against Lu Xiaoyun's firm chest, a pair of soft hands encircled her neck, and a pair of long, beautiful legs wrapped around her thighs.
Lu Xiaoyun trembled slightly; in fact, she had wanted to say these words to him for a long time.
She tilted her head back to respond to his passionate kiss, her blood surging, her desire growing stronger, wanting to ride him immediately. The temperature in the room rose, and all they could hear was each other's rapid breathing.
Lu Xiaoyun flipped over and pinned the person down.
Zhu Yu murmured softly due to the immense pleasure in his body. The pores on his body suddenly opened as he received her, and he couldn't help but shiver.
...
Zhu Chen and the entire Third Prince's household were imprisoned in the imperial prison. Upon hearing the news, Consort De turned pale.
She removed her hairpins and put on her hair, wearing only a snow-white undergarment, and knelt outside Zhaoyang Palace to plead for her son Zhu Chen.
The old emperor was with the alchemist at the moment when he heard Zhang Zhongwei come in to report that Consort De was pleading for the Third Prince outside. He was extremely disgusted.
"Send her back to her palace. Tell her that if she dares to make a fuss again, I will send her to keep her good son company!" He then coughed several times.
Upon hearing this, Consort De, who was outside the palace, swayed and nearly fainted.
How could the Emperor treat her like this?
Doesn't he remember how he obtained the throne?
If it weren't for her father's command of the 150,000-strong Xishan military camp, which cleared away numerous obstacles for him, how could he, with so many sons of the late emperor, have ever ascended the throne?
Even the avalanche at Longshan and Zhu Zhen's death were orchestrated by her father and his confidants on behalf of the emperor.
How long has it been, and he's already forgotten?
They transferred the father to the harsh northwest border and imprisoned Chen'er on trumped-up charges.
Isn't he afraid that all of this will become known to the world?
Inside the Zhaoyang Palace, the Taoist priest sitting opposite him said urgently, "Your Majesty, you must not be angry, for anger will harm your health."
The old emperor quickly took a deep breath and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.
Zhang Zhongwei glanced down at the old emperor, who was completely bewitched by the Taoist priest's words, and came out to help Consort De to her feet with the palace maids: "Your Majesty, please go back. The Crown Prince has passed away, and His Majesty is grieving right now."
Consort De slowly stood up, her body trembling as she bowed: "Your Majesty, please take care of your health. I will now take my leave. I will come back to apologize when Your Majesty is fully recovered."
Consort De, supported by a palace maid, slowly walked towards her palace. The once spirited and arrogant Consort De seemed to have aged decades overnight, and tears rolled down her cheeks.
Chen'er was gradually tricked and led into the traps they had set for him.
Suddenly, she remembered that the day before Chen'er returned to the capital, the Empress Dowager was going to hold some kind of flower appreciation party and had summoned a group of court officials and their wives to the palace.
It was the Empress Dowager, that vicious old woman, who drugged Xie Xinru!
The Emperor and Empress Dowager are such a despicable mother and son!
She turned to look at the magnificent palace, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and strode forward without the help of the palace maids.
Before long, his trusted eunuch delivered a letter.
The funeral of the Crown Prince Zhu Zixuan was presided over by Zhu Dan. Because he had been frail since birth, the Ministry of Rites had made preparations in advance. The old emperor gave the order to keep everything simple, and because of his young age, he was buried in the imperial mausoleum seven days later.
As soon as Zhu Zixuan's funeral ended, the ministers submitted memorials to the old emperor, urging him to establish an heir apparent as soon as possible.
The ministers didn't say anything openly, but they could all see that the old emperor's health had been deteriorating since the palace coup, and they were uneasy if the position of crown prince wasn't decided as soon as possible.
After all, both the Second Prince's palace coup and the Third Prince's killing of the Crown Prince's grandson were aimed at securing the position of Crown Prince.
The old emperor was preoccupied with seeking enlightenment and had no interest in state affairs, so he agreed to the suggestion of his ministers.
Almost without any suspense, the fifth prince, Zhu Dan, was made crown prince.
Zhu Dan's appointment as crown prince was almost universally expected, and the entire city of Shengjing was freed from the gloom that had weighed on everyone's hearts due to the assassination attempt, the palace coup, and the death of the imperial grandson.
At this point, the old emperor completely handed over all the important affairs of the country to Zhu Dan.
The weather has been getting hotter and hotter lately, and it's already late July.
Zhu Dan was confined to the imperial study every day, reviewing memorials, and he hadn't seen Yun'er for several days.
The imperial desk was piled high with memorials, a sight that gave him a headache. He called over Zuo Xiu, casually shoved half of the memorials in front of him, and placed them in front of Zuo Xiu.
"Take this to Prince An's residence and ask Prince An to review it."
Zuo Xiu picked up the memorials and left speechlessly. He wanted to say, "These are memorials! Your Highness, are you really going to just hand them over to Prince An without even reading their contents? Is that really the right thing to do?"
Lunch was eaten with the old emperor in the palace.
After finishing his meal and rinsing his mouth with tea, and after the palace servants left one by one, Zhu Dan personally served the old emperor a cup of tea: "Father, please rest for a moment."
The old emperor had almost become obsessed with seeking enlightenment, and no amount of persuasion could dissuade him, so he had no choice but to let him be.
The old emperor chuckled as he accepted the document, taking a small sip: "Dan'er, you're not getting any younger. Some time ago, I had the Ministry of Rites select noble ladies from prominent families. Today, they sent over the list. Take a look. One principal wife and two secondary wives—choose for yourself. I won't interfere; just do what you like."
As he spoke, the old emperor handed a booklet to Zhu Dan.
Zhu Dan's expression stiffened slightly as the faces of Lu Xiaoyun and Zhu Yu flashed before his eyes. Could he simply choose whoever he liked?
But who knows when Fourth Brother and Yun'er's bodies will be switched back? If he had to choose now, who could he choose?
Zhu Dan's brow twitched, and he refused to take the booklet handed to him by the old emperor: "Father, your son does not wish to get married for the time being."
“Nonsense, how old are you? I’m not forcing you, but you are now the Crown Prince, the heir apparent of the Great Zhou. Sooner or later, I will hand over the throne of the Great Zhou to you. Your marriage is not your private matter, but a matter of state.”
Zhu Dan lowered his head and remained silent, suddenly remembering what Ayan had told him, "Fifth Prince, do you want me to tell you that you are now a prince, and princes never have the right to decide their own marriages! You are even more powerless than Zhang Hao in the 21st century!"
He is still the crown prince.
Zhu Dan smiled bitterly, about to refuse, when Zhang Zhongwei entered and said, "Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness Prince An request an audience."
Why is Yun'er here? Zhu Dan was slightly taken aback.
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