Lu Xiaoyun cleared her throat: "Um, cough, Grandmother, I just jumped into the water to hug Princess Zhenguo. So many people were watching, you see..."
Zhu Dan was afraid that Yun'er would say such a thing, so she immediately stopped her: "Grandmother, you mustn't."
Zhu Yu burst into tears: "Empress Dowager, you must do me justice! Just now in the water, Prince An touched me too. He looks so respectable, but his hands are anything but honest. He touched my whole body. If I can't marry Prince An, I will have no face to show anyone."
Zhu Dan: "..."
Looking at the crowd in the front hall, although they all had their heads down, their gossipy ears were perked up high, and some even secretly glanced at "Prince An's" hands.
Tsk tsk, the seemingly virtuous Prince An is actually a lecher. What a pity, why isn't it me?
Zhu Dan had a headache and waved for everyone to leave, leaving only the main people in the room.
Zhu Yuyou continued, tears streaming down her face: "Your Majesty, why won't you agree? My reputation has been ruined by Prince An. If you won't allow me to marry him, then I might as well cut off my hair and become a nun. Or Your Majesty, you can just order my death right now. Poison, dagger, white silk—the three death items—you can give me whichever you choose, and I will certainly not say a word."
Zhu Dan: "..."
Zhu Yu cried so hard he could barely breathe.
The Empress Dowager glared at her: "What nonsense are you spouting!"
Zhu Yu wailed, heartbroken: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I'm not talking nonsense! Empress Dowager, you heard it too! The Emperor simply won't allow me to marry... to Prince An! Waaah..."
"I haven't done anything wrong. His Majesty has already bestowed upon me the title of Princess Zhenguo, yet he won't allow me to marry Prince An. Isn't it obvious that he looks down on me? Waaah, it's such a pity that my father guarded the southern border for decades, leaving him with a host of ailments. It's such a pity that my brother followed my father in the southern border for over a decade, and he too is wounded. Waaah..."
Zhu Dan: "..." He was caught in the middle, he was guilty.
No, Fourth Brother, don't you want to listen to what you're saying? Ah!!
Lu Xiaoyun rested her hand on her forehead, looking helpless, but in reality, she was having a hard time suppressing her laughter.
The Empress Dowager sighed heavily. "Never mind," she said, "the purpose of this banquet today is to select consorts for the Emperor and Yu'er. Lu Xiaoyun is a good child, but Yu'er is really mischievous; how could he touch her in front of so many people?"
He touched her, and then he said it in front of so many people. What a terrible thing to do.
Forget it, Lu Xiaoyun is now the Princess Zhenguo, and has made many great contributions. The late Emperor's decree of divorce was originally meant to break up the couple, so let her issue an imperial edict to allow them to reunite.
She, as the mother, should pay for the mess her son made.
She couldn't really be forced to become a nun or slit her own throat. She had already brought up her father and elder brother. If she still didn't agree, it would make the royal family seem too heartless and ungrateful.
The Empress Dowager said, "Stop crying. I grant your request. I will let Yu'er marry you into the Prince An's mansion in a grand and glorious manner."
Zhu Dan's face turned pale, and she jumped up from her chair: "Grandmother!"
It would have been better if he hadn't been so eager to stop her. But now that he had, the Empress Dowager remembered what she had said upstairs: "Both the fourth prince and the emperor are quite protective of her."
The Empress Dowager glanced at him sideways and said to Lu Xiaoyun, "Yu'er, you must treat people well in the future and never let the same thing happen again."
Lu Xiaoyun stood up and bowed, saying, "Yes, thank you, Your Majesty. I was wrong before, and I will never do it again."
"Okay, you can all leave now."
Zhu Yule left with a huff, and before leaving, she rolled up her sleeves to reveal the dazzling red characters: "4300 points"!
That's three hundred points more than his original goal!
Zhu Dan's brow twitched.
Lu Xiaoyun said, "Grandmother, Mother, I will go and see the Princess off."
The Empress Dowager nodded.
In the front hall, only the Grand Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, and Zhu Dan remained.
Zhu Dan watched the two figures disappear into the distance and said urgently, "Grandmother, you cannot marry her to Fourth Brother. Your grandson must marry her as Empress!"
"Nonsense!" The Empress Dowager's face darkened. "She was originally the fourth prince's wife. It was your father who was senile and issued that decree for divorce!"
Zhu Dan knelt before the Empress Dowager: "Grandmother, I love her, and I only want to marry her. Please grant my wish!"
The Empress Dowager slammed her hand on the table: "Emperor, are you and Yu'er going to turn against each other over a woman!"
"That's not what I meant."
The Empress Dowager looked coldly at Zhu Dan kneeling on the ground: "Don't even mention the dynasties throughout history. Even the three brothers Zhu Heng, Zhu Chen, and Zhu Zhi, if it weren't for the struggle for the throne, would my Great Zhou have fallen to the point where they dared to provoke the Southern Liang!"
Zhu Dan knelt with his head bowed, refusing to back down. Yun'er was his, she was his!
His heart felt like it was being ripped apart by a dull knife, the pain so intense he could hardly breathe.
The Empress Dowager's face was also extremely grim. She had long since seen through her son's feelings for the eldest daughter of the Lu family. Even if Zhu Yu didn't marry her, she would never agree to a divorced woman becoming her daughter-in-law, the Empress of the Great Zhou!
Judging from what he just said, after having Lu Xiaoyun, there will be no other woman in his harem. How can that be acceptable!
He is now the emperor, unlike Zhu Yu who was just a prince. The emperor has to balance the power of all parties and constantly take the daughters of ministers as concubines to ensure the continuation of the royal family.
How can one possibly favor only one woman? At that point, the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion would be so arrogant that it would be practically swaggering.
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