"Wow, it's a sweet childhood sweetheart!"
Wang Xiuxiu rested her chin on her hands, blinking her eyes and looking at Su Yingxue with envy.
Upon hearing this, Su Yingxue couldn't help but smile, a smile as beautiful as spring flowers in bloom.
However, at this moment, Wang Xiuxiu suddenly woke up as if from a dream, and names suddenly appeared in his mind—Lizhou, Ming family, Mingxuan!
She was startled. Wasn't this the Ming family, whose entire clan had supposedly sacrificed themselves for their country?
Thinking of this, his expression instantly turned serious. He hurriedly turned to look at Su Yingxue, his voice trembling slightly as he asked, "Sister, then, then Mingxuan is..."
Su Yingxue nodded gently, a trace of sadness flashing in her eyes, and slowly said, "Yes, he is no longer here. He died in that national war."
At this point, she tilted her head slightly, as if trying to hold back the tears that were about to spill from her eyes.
Looking back on those days.
At that time, the Ming family and the Su family agreed that Mingxuan would be allowed to come to Yunzhou for a whole month every year, so that the two children could have more opportunities to spend time together and thus cultivate a deep affection.
In a few months, it will be the time for the wedding that the two families have agreed upon. For this reason, the Ming family specially asked Ming Xuan to come a little earlier to prepare for the wedding.
But who could have predicted that the Northern Frontier would come with such overwhelming force, quickly assembling a massive army in less than a month and heading straight for Lizhou.
The Ming family army was caught off guard.
Fortunately, they were well-trained and quickly recovered from their initial panic, engaging in a life-or-death struggle with the North.
The battle was exceptionally fierce, with both sides fighting with bloodlust. The battlefield was filled with smoke and the shouts of battle were deafening.
By the time news of the war reached Yunzhou, more than half a month had passed.
At this time, Lizhou was already in deep crisis and the situation was extremely precarious.
As for the Ming family, apart from the young Minglang who was rescued and hidden by the family's loyal old servant, the rest of the family fought to the bitter end and ultimately sacrificed their lives for their country.
Mingxuan was extremely anxious and wanted to set off for Lizhou immediately, but he was unexpectedly detained by an imperial edict from the capital.
At this time, Lu Nancheng had only been on the throne for a short time, and his foundation was still shallow. Whether considering the empty national treasury or the prestige in the court, he was far from being able to support a large-scale national war with the northern border.
The Ming family and the Northern Border have a deep-seated hatred. If Lu Nancheng wants to negotiate with the Northern Border to quell the war, he absolutely cannot allow Ming Xuan, the only adult heir of the Ming family at the time, to return to Lizhou.
The imperial decree not only ordered Mingxuan to remain in Yunzhou, but also instructed the Su family to guard him.
Thus, this imperial edict, like an inescapable giant net, tightly bound Mingxuan.
In the days following the delivery of the imperial edict to Mingxuan's residence, he seemed to have lost his soul, refusing to eat or drink, locking himself in his room, and his spirit was on the verge of collapse.
Su Yingxue, who had been anxiously waiting outside, finally lost her patience and ordered someone to forcibly open Mingxuan's door.
As soon as the door opened, a strong, pungent smell of alcohol hit us.
The room was dark and gloomy, like an old house that had been closed off for many years and no one had ever visited it.
As Su Yingxue entered the house, she suddenly felt a strange movement under her feet.
The wine jar she kicked rolled open with a gurgling sound, and the remaining wine inside splashed out, mercilessly spilling onto Su Yingxue's shoes.
Despite the loud noise, the person lying on the ground inside remained unresponsive.
His long, disheveled hair covered his face, and he lay on his back, motionless, like a walking corpse.
Su Yingxue forcefully pulled the person in front of her up. The moment her eyes met his face, all her questions and comfort turned into deep heartache.
Mingxuan's eyes were empty and lifeless, filled with despair and sorrow.
Mingxuan slowly turned his head, staring at Su Yingxue with his dull eyes, tears streaming uncontrollably down his cheeks.
His lips trembled, his voice hoarse, "Zhaozhao, I have no home anymore..."
Hearing this, Su Yingxue felt as if her heart was being torn apart.
"Brother Ming, don't say that. You still have Xiao Lang, and you still have me!"
These are nothing more than pale and powerless words of comfort.
Su Yingxue knew, and Mingxuan knew even better.
No one dared to disobey the emperor's orders.
Even if Mingxuan defied him at the cost of his life, he alone would find it difficult to avenge his family who had suffered such misfortune.
Moreover, the consequences of disobeying the imperial decree would implicate Mingliang and plunge the Su family into a perilous situation.
Now, all of this has forced Mingxuan into a vicious cycle.
Seeing that Mingxuan seemed to have a death wish, Su Yingxue had no other choice but to stay by his side every step of the way.
At this very moment, the capital city was filled with a cacophony of noise.
The common people were filled with fear and unease, dreading that the northern barbarians would one day conquer the vast land.
In the imperial court, the debate between the pro-war and pro-peace factions was exceptionally fierce.
Both sides stuck to their own versions of events and refused to back down.
The new emperor had only recently ascended the throne, and the court was still in an unstable state. In addition, the national treasury was empty, making it difficult to provide sufficient funds to support large-scale war operations. Under such circumstances, the voices advocating for peace gradually gained the upper hand.
Inside the Imperial Study, Lu Nancheng, with a solemn expression, kept several trusted ministers behind to discuss state affairs, and his younger brother Lu Jingze was naturally among them.
These trusted ministers each had their own considerations, and when faced with Lu Nancheng, they found it difficult to make a final decision.
Just then, Lu Jingze walked up to the crowd.
His brows were furrowed, and his gaze swept firmly over the crowd.
“These barbarians have repeatedly invaded our borders, and now they are burning, killing, looting, and committing all sorts of atrocities. How can we, the great men of the land, merely eke out a living?”
These words struck everyone like a heavy blow, leaving them looking at each other in bewilderment.
For a moment, everyone looked surprised and exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of how to respond.
Finally, someone in the crowd lowered their voice and murmured, "But...we are truly powerless to help..."
Lu Jingze abruptly waved his hand, interrupting him: "If we don't fight, the barbarians will become even more aggressive, and it won't just be the people of Lizhou who will be humiliated!"
Hearing this, Lu Nancheng, unable to contain his anger, shouted, "Jingze, shut up! Don't spout nonsense here!"
But Lu Jingze was consumed by rage and ignored his brother's reprimand. He straightened his body and stared at Lu Nancheng with a firm gaze.
"How can I allow others to sleep soundly on my bed! We, the men of the land, must prioritize protecting our homes and country, and we shall fight to the death against these barbarians!"
Seeing this, Lu Nancheng's face turned ashen. He waved his hand and roared, "Lu Jingze! How dare you!"
After everyone left, the huge imperial study was empty, and a chill swept over him.
He slowly walked to his desk, his brow furrowed, and fell into deep thought.
After a long while, he raised his head and looked at Ning Daban, who had been silently watching over him.
A heavy look appeared in Lu Nancheng's eyes. He asked in a low and hesitant tone, "Grand Master, tell me, have I really done something wrong?"
Upon hearing this, Ning Daban hesitated slightly before bowing respectfully. "This servant is uncultured and ignorant, and would not dare to comment on matters of the court. But since Your Majesty has asked, this servant has overstepped my bounds."
"In my humble opinion, you are not wrong. The ministers in the court have their own considerations, which are not wrong either. However, they are not sitting in the position of making the final decision, so their thoughts are inevitably biased. His Majesty cares about the country and puts the overall situation first, so there is nothing to criticize!"
After listening to these words, Lu Nancheng nodded thoughtfully.
The eunuch beside Lu Nancheng, whose full name is Ning Zhen, is the chief eunuch in charge of Lu Nancheng's affairs, and can be said to be the number one eunuch in the inner palace.
He had been by Lu Nancheng's side for many years and had watched Lu Jingze grow up, so they had a special bond.
Since she knew what Lu Nancheng was thinking at this moment, she couldn't help but want to say a few good words for Lu Jingze.
"His Highness Prince Jing is still young and does not understand the difficulty of making such a decision. He may act impulsively. Your Majesty, please do not be angry about this."
To everyone's surprise, Lu Nancheng waved his hand gently upon hearing this, a faint smile appearing on his face.
“How could I possibly be angry with him? Jingze has always been more mature and composed than his peers since he was a child. As his elder brother, this is the first time I have ever seen him so agitated and out of control. The reason he contradicted me today was ultimately out of compassion for the people, nothing more. I understand all of this.”
Seeing that the Emperor viewed the matter with such magnanimity and had no intention of causing fratricide, Ning Zhen's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.
After a while, Lu Nancheng spoke again: "But just you wait and see, that brat will definitely not let this go. Once he's released from confinement, he'll definitely come knocking again, and there'll be plenty of trouble!"
After listening, Ning Zhen pondered for a moment and couldn't help but agree with what Lu Nancheng said.
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