Late that night, Su Juan climbed up to the attic, leaned against the railing, felt the chilly night wind, and looked at the night scene below. The big red lanterns were hanging high. In two days it would be New Year's Eve, and another year would pass.

"What are you thinking about?" A familiar voice sounded behind him.

Su Juan looked back and saw Yu Zhong coming towards her.

Yu Zhong followed her gaze and saw a peaceful scene below, with the sound of children's laughter. "When we first arrived, Xuzhou was full of houseless people, and food was extremely expensive. The rich merchants drank and ate meat, but the common people died of hunger and cold on the streets."

Su Juan sighed, "Yes, after seeing that time, I realized how hard it is to have peace and happiness now."

If a war breaks out in the south, the first to suffer will be the people of Xuzhou.

Yu Zhong was silent for a while, then said, "You and Master Xie should be more than just ordinary friends, right?"

Su Juan was slightly stunned and turned to look at him.

Yu Zhong: "Xie Xun is a man of integrity to his friends, but he treats you differently from Miss Liu. He is more like a family member. He has been protecting you openly and secretly, fearing that something bad will happen to you in Xuzhou."

I have been in Xuzhou for quite some time, and after spending time with Xie Xun and Su Juan, that feeling has become even stronger.

Su Juan smiled, "As expected of the Dali Temple Minister, he is very observant. I wonder what else the experienced Lord Yu has guessed?"

Yu Zhong put his hand on the railing and looked at Su Juan. "During the generation of the Duke, the Xie family had one son and two daughters born out of wedlock, in addition to the Duke. The second master of the Xie family died on the battlefield in his early years and never married."

"Of the two illegitimate daughters, one married to Huaizhou and died of illness a few years ago. She only has one son."

"And the other one is the current queen."

"The whole court and the people have urged Your Majesty to appoint a crown prince because of your lack of children. Only some old officials in the court know that Your Majesty and the Queen once had a daughter, who was born when the Queen left the palace to recuperate. They were lost because of the assassination attempt by the Tao family. The princess' jade disc is still in the Zongzheng Temple."

Su Juan smiled at him and said, "But I am only nineteen this year, and I will only be twenty after the New Year. If that princess is still alive, she should be at least thirty or nearly forty, right?"

Yu Zhong said, "The princess' age matches that of your deceased mother, Li Ruohua."

Su Juan looked at Yu Zhong without blinking. She knew that Yu Zhong was smart, but she didn't expect that he was so smart that he could guess so much based on Xie Xun's strange behavior.

"Just because of this, it is too hasty to speculate that my biological mother is the princess of that year. If I tell this to others, no one will believe it."

Yu Zhong stared at Su Juan for a long time and said, "You and the queen are about 60% similar in appearance."

What he didn't say was that his features and eyebrows looked exactly like the current emperor's.

In the past few years, people in the court only paid attention to Su Juan herself. For fear of revealing their secrets, they seldom talked to her, let alone looked at her face to face, so they had never taken a good look at her appearance.

This year, Su Juan has grown up again. The more you look at her, the more she looks like the Emperor and the Empress, and even a little like the Duke.

This further confirmed his guess.

If one coincidence is just a coincidence, but when so many coincidences are added together, it can only be the fact.

Su Juan narrowed her eyes and leaned back against the railing. "Isn't it said that you in the Ministry of Justice always pay attention to evidence when handling cases? Could it be that Lord Yu already has evidence to prove it?"

"I don't have it, but the Duke must have it." Yu Zhong's tone was very certain. The Duke Ping must have confirmed her identity long ago, otherwise he would not have let Xie Xun escort her all the way.

Su Juan did not continue to argue with him on this matter. She just looked at the people of Xuzhou below and asked him, "Yu Zhong, who do you think is better, the King of Han or the King of Jing?"

Yu Zhong saw that Su Juan didn't seem to be asking casually, so he thought for a while and answered truthfully, "The King of Han is too loyal. For this reason, he can't distinguish between loyalty and treachery when making friends and employing people in the court."

Su Juan nodded in agreement, saying that those who are good at using troops are not necessarily good at using their subjects.

&t;div tentadv>Yu Zhong: "Prince Jing is a kind person, but he is too partial to others, indecisive, and easily influenced by others."

The implication was that, in his opinion, these two princes were extremely loyal as subjects, but neither of them was suitable to be a king.

Perhaps it is because of the understanding of these two people's personalities that Your Majesty has been reluctant to appoint a crown prince.

Su Juan suddenly spoke up, "What about me? How do I compare to King Han and King Jing?"

Yu Zhong didn't say anything for a long time, just looked at her quietly.

Xie Xun's voice suddenly rang out, "You guys are really here!"

He ran up with Liu Miaoqing and Liu Xuan, smiling, "Liu Xuan and the others said they couldn't find you. I guess you must be here!"

In the past few months, he had often seen Su Juan coming here, saying that from here he could see the whole Xuzhou better.

The conversation was interrupted and neither of them mentioned what had just happened.

Liu Xuan looked at Su Juan, as he had something he wanted to say to her alone, but he didn't know how to speak at this time. Liu Miaoqing, who was standing by, noticed this and brought up something else, saying that he wanted to go check out the rice shop before leaving, and dragged Xie Xun away. Yu Zhong was always observant, and guessed that Liu Xuan had something to say to Su Juan, so he followed tactfully.

After the people left, Liu Xuan said to Su Juan, "You did a great job this time. His Majesty and all the officials in the court praised you highly."

Su Juan said, "There's not much I can do, that's all."

Most of the things were done by Prefect Zeng. She had no real power and just gave advice from the side.

He followed Su Juan, leaning against the railing and looking at the night view of Xuzhou. The atmosphere of the New Year was already there. He believed that the people of Xuzhou could laugh and talk happily at this time, mostly due to Su Juan.

The more Su Juan looked at Xuzhou, which had finally become peaceful, she thought, "It would be great if they could always stay like this."

Hearing the sadness in Su Juan's words, but when she left the capital, she was not like this now. Liu Xuan asked her softly, "Why not?"

Su Juan did not answer, because she knew that if something happened to the old emperor, the court would be leaderless and civil unrest would occur. The Southern Kingdom would surely start a war and attack the Great Jin Dynasty directly. If the world was in chaos, the people would still suffer.

Sometimes knowing too much makes it difficult to live in the present moment.

"If we had real power, perhaps we could do more for them."

Liu Xuan tightened his hands slightly on the railing, "You can do it."

Su Juan turned her head and looked at Liu Xuan, "Then will you help me?"

Their eyes met, and Liu Xuan responded softly, "As long as it's for the people of the world."

Su Juan's heart was filled with enthusiasm, and he suddenly shouted to the outside of the railing, "I, Su Juan, swear here today to establish my heart for the heaven and earth, my life for the people, to carry on the lost knowledge of the past sages, and to bring peace to the world for all eternity!"

"The country is safe and sound, and I will protect the people of the world. When my temples are grey in the future, I will just live up to my conscience!"

Liu Xuan looked at her, with a slight smile on his face, "May the years pass by and I live forever."

In the attic, the three people who had not walked far were stunned.

Xie Xun: “?”

I gave you some time to say some embarrassing things that others cannot hear, but you are here to make grand statements? !