Chapter 576 Confession
"Loyal Marquis and Qin Ying Marquis have repeatedly framed loyal officials of the court. They have been stripped of their titles and exiled 3,000 li away!"
After the emperor finished speaking, he casually waved his hand. Before the two marquises could even beg for mercy, they were quickly gagged and dragged away.
The Lin clan patriarch was also taken away soon after.
Only a few people remained on the field. The emperor remained silent for a long while before waving his hand and saying to Qi Rong and Li Mingxiu, "You two have been making a fuss all day. You should go back first. I have something to ask Mingshu and Changning."
Li Mingxiu and Qi Rong exchanged a glance, and Qi Rong spoke first: "Your Majesty, I..."
The emperor coughed heavily: "Go down first!"
Knowing that his father had left the two of them behind because he had something to say, and knowing that this matter was probably not so simple, Li Mingxiu pursed his lips and pulled Qi Rong, saying, "Let's go!"
He feared that his presence here with his second son would backfire. If Xiao Liu was indeed a girl, the fact that his father's imperial physician had just taken her pulse represented his father's attitude.
Now that they've just saved Xiao Liu, they probably won't do anything to him.
Li Mingxiu quickly pulled Qi Rong out. He was no less shocked than the emperor, but he remembered the friendship that Changning had shared with them along the way. He decided to take Qi Rong with him to find the empress first.
If something happens, there will be someone to come to your rescue in time.
After the two left, the emperor dismissed everyone else in the hall.
His gaze fell upon Lin Changning and Li Mingshu, who were standing together below.
Lin Changning knew he couldn't hide it any longer, so he immediately knelt down and kowtowed to the emperor: "Father, your son is guilty."
Li Mingshu knelt down beside Lin Changning and said, "Father, I forced Changning to do this. If you really want to punish someone, you might as well punish me."
The emperor felt his temples throbbing, but remembering his daughter's poor health, he suppressed his emotions and took a deep breath before asking, "So, Shu'er, you already knew Changning was a woman!"
Li Mingshu knelt upright, raised her hand to her forehead, and respectfully kowtowed to the emperor. After rising, she looked at the emperor solemnly and said, "Father, I knew Changning was a woman long before our marriage."
The emperor opened his mouth, unsure of what to say. He couldn't believe his obedient daughter could do something so unconventional. He looked at Lin Changning with a slightly unfriendly gaze: "And you? Tell me, why did you disguise yourself as a man and infiltrate the military camp?"
Lin Changning kowtowed in response, and after rising, he looked at the emperor with a clear and honest gaze: "Your Majesty, back then, our family was in dire straits. My father and eldest brother died on the frontier, and my second brother disappeared without a trace. The quota for recruiting soldiers was replaced by my younger brother, leaving only my younger brother as the sole heir in the family. In the early spring of that year, I was framed and fell into the icy water. My younger brother went down into the river to save me and carried me back. After that, he had a persistent high fever. Just then, the recruitment of soldiers came up. If my younger brother had gone to the frontier, our Lin family would have died out. After recovering from my illness, I discovered that I possessed divine power, so I took my younger brother's identity and joined the military household to go to the frontier, hoping to make a name for myself there."
The emperor nodded to indicate that he understood. He had investigated the first part of what Lin Changning said, but he had not been able to find out the second part.
Rubbing his aching temples, the emperor was also somewhat worried about how to resolve this matter.
Seeing the emperor hesitate, Li Mingshu pulled a blank imperial edict from her bosom, held it high, and proclaimed, "Father, I beg you to forgive Changning..."
The emperor looked down at his daughter, who was staring at him with a hint of stubbornness, and sighed softly. It turned out that his daughter had asked him for several blank imperial edicts some time ago, and that she needed them for this.
Looking at his daughter's pale face, her thin body, and her stubborn eyes, he realized she bore an eighty percent resemblance to him when he was young.
The emperor's heart softened a little: "Shu'er, get up first. The ground is cold. If you're not feeling well, don't kneel anymore."
After saying that, he looked at Lin Changning with a frown and said, "And you, why aren't you helping Shu'er up!"
Seeing that the emperor seemed to have softened his tone, Lin Changning hesitated for a moment, then stood up and helped Li Mingshu, who was kneeling on the ground, to his feet.
Both of them were somewhat uneasy, waiting for the emperor's final decision.
Li Mingshu suddenly went limp and fell into Lin Changning's arms. Lin Changning was a little worried, so he picked her up and placed her on the armchair next to him.
"Ah Shu, how are you? Are you feeling unwell anywhere? Should we call the imperial physician?"
The emperor watched the two interact quietly, wanting to ask something but not knowing where to begin.
Li Mingshu shook her head and reassured Lin Changning, "I'm fine."
After saying that, she continued to look at the emperor above, and softly called out, "Father, I beg you..."
The emperor sighed, feeling a sense of helplessness. He looked at Lin Changning and suddenly asked, "Lin Changning, I will give you two choices. First, after today, Marquis Wu'an will pass away, and I will grant you the title of Princess, as his adopted daughter, to accompany Mingshu in the future."
The emperor paused, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table: "The second option is that you remain the Marquis of Wu'an, with your title and official position unchanged. You are not allowed to reveal your identity to anyone for the rest of your life. You will fight the Tartars for me and protect the country. Your future rewards will remain the same, but you will have to divorce Shu'er. You choose."
Before Lin Changning could speak, Li Mingshu knelt down first: "Father, I will not divorce you, I do not want to leave A-Ning!"
The emperor looked at his daughter with some helplessness: "You two are both girls, marrying each other! What kind of behavior is this!"
Li Mingshu knelt beside Lin Changning again, her palace dress resembling a magnificent flower: "Father, I do not wish to marry. I am very happy to be with Aning. I do not have to serve my parents-in-law, my husband, or worry about concubines sharing the emperor's favor. The Lin family treats me and my daughter very well. I am truly happy living in the Lin family."
Moreover, A-Ning wouldn't look at Yue'er with strange eyes; she genuinely cherished Yue'er. Shu'er would never find someone as good as A-Ning again. It had nothing to do with gender; it was simply that A-Ning was good, and her son didn't want to leave A-Ning!
Looking at Li Mingshu behind him with expectant eyes, Lin Changning knelt down without hesitation: "Father, I am not willing to divorce, but I am willing to become a sharp blade in your hands. I beg you to allow me to continue to expand the territory of Da Xuan!"
The emperor watched the two fall silent, his chest heaving repeatedly. After a long while, he finally couldn't resist the heartache for his daughter and also thought of Lin Changning's abilities, and sighed helplessly.
"Get up, permission is granted."
Although this matter was somewhat beyond his imagination, he knew his daughter's current condition. If he used force to harm Lin Changning, it would probably break his daughter's heart.
Furthermore, Lin Changning is indeed a rare military general. Although she is a woman, she is in no way inferior to men.
It would be a pity to really deal with the person. From Taiyuan to now, he has always liked this smart child very much. It's just that the current situation has changed beyond his expectations.
Li Mingshu finally breathed a sigh of relief; the string that had been taut all along snapped with a bang.
Everything went black, and his body went limp as he collapsed to the ground.
Lin Changning's expression changed, and he quickly scooped up Li Mingshu: "A-Shu!!!"
Upon seeing his daughter faint, the emperor immediately stood up, ignoring the scattered memorials on the ground, and rushed forward. He watched as Lin Changning picked up Li Mingshu and roared angrily towards the outside:
"Imperial physicians! Imperial physicians! Where have you all gone? Come in quickly and treat Shu'er!!!"
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