"Alright, Princess, the person is already gone. What's the point of getting angry at a palace maid?"
"She's no ordinary palace maid. She took care of me, but she had lofty ambitions and wanted to rise to the top. Unfortunately, the Crown Prince didn't like her and kicked her out of the Eastern Palace. It also caused Anxiang to be expelled from the palace and can never return."
That's when I realized that the one kneeling was Xiren; she had returned.
"Xiren, why are you back?"
Li Zhaole shoved me: "Are you still my husband? You're speaking up for her. Zhang Mama drowned in the pond while trying to save her."
When did this happen?
Five days ago.
Fortunately, it was only five days ago. I saw him yesterday. They had already started to retreat. No wonder Xie Yuancheng refused to let me return to the palace. He had also begun to close the net.
"Princess, please help her up. Anxiang is gone, and Xiren has taken care of you for many years. It's good to have someone close to you by your side."
Lu Fengjun chimed in, "Yes, Princess, the Prince Consort is doing this for your sake."
Li Zhaole then noticed that Lu Fengjun had also arrived, and hurriedly grabbed my hand: "Quickly pour tea and serve snacks to Brother Lu."
“Princess, my husband and I have been ordered to leave the palace, and we are afraid we cannot stay any longer.”
"Brother Lu, please let me talk to the Prince Consort for a while. We haven't seen each other in a long time, it won't delay things."
I knew her intention and chimed in. As soon as Lu Fengjun agreed, she pulled me back into the room, with Xiren standing beside her, wiping away her tears.
"Why is Xiren back?"
"The Crown Prince sent her to monitor me; I should at least give her a taste of her power."
"Be careful as you travel alone in the palace. I will be leaving soon."
Li Zhaole touched her belly: "You'd better leave quickly. The Crown Prince and the Empress want to eliminate the Ninth Prince completely. Every time I go to see my mother, she has a smile on her face, which means their plan is getting closer. So she encouraged the Crown Prince to depose the Crown Princess and sent Xiren back to monitor me."
Is this really her biological mother? Are you sure she wasn't adopted?
"Then what will you do?"
"You're worried about me? You should pay more attention to Brother Yuancheng. He's in a difficult situation right now, and we don't know if he can make it through."
Li Zhaole began to shake her head. Although she was born to the Empress, she was kind, except for her bad temper.
"I don't have anything to give you, but here's a short knife for your self-defense."
That knife was given to me by my father. Let the feud between me and Li Zhaole end with this knife.
“This belongs to General Ji. If you hand it over, be careful he doesn’t beat you up.”
“My father wouldn’t do that. He just wants me to be safe. Now I also want you to be safe, so I’m just passing on this idea.”
Li Zhaole carefully sheathed the knife: "If I had known your identity earlier, we wouldn't be so distant. Don't worry, I will help take care of Brother Yuancheng in the palace. I even secretly leaked some information to him."
"Princess, thank you."
"What are you thanking me for? He's married one woman after another, but he's never given you a proper title."
"Let's talk about this later. It's good that he managed to escape this disaster."
Li Zhaole carefully put the knife away. She liked the knife very much, and it served as a memento for her, as if it were a friend she had met.
"I'm leaving. Lu Fengjun is still waiting."
“Oh, wait a minute, he’s Mother’s man. Now that you’re with Brother Yuancheng, remember to avoid suspicion.”
"All I know is about your child. If only you and Lin Yu had gone back then."
Li Zhaole rarely spoke with such grief: "I couldn't go back with him at the time, otherwise the Crown Prince would have killed people on the way to silence him. He was besieged on all sides at the time. I could bear the injustice I suffered, at least he could live."
Alas, that's how a woman's infatuation is; I would be the same way.
"I really have to go now. Take care of yourself."
I turned around, smiled at Li Zhaole, and left. I really hoped that Lin Yu would remember that there was a girl who got pregnant for him and suffered grievances for him.
As Lu Fengjun and I walked out of the palace gate, I looked at the majestic palace entrance. This was the most prosperous and precious place in Da Zhao, but it was also a prison for many people.
We came to see Consort Ji. I had secretly written her a letter before, and as we passed by, I slipped it into her clothes. She was very careful and quickly put the letter away without any hesitation.
In my letter, I told her that my father had already told me the truth, but in the end I still chose Xie Yuancheng. I hope she can take care of herself and be wary of the Empress and the new vixen.
If things go smoothly, I will be in Linyang; if not, I will pray to heaven to ensure her smooth sailing in her career.
I don't know if she wanted to kill me after seeing this, but I never called her "mother" until I left.
"Brother Ji, let's mount our horses."
Lu Fengjun urged from the side, "Although he is the Empress's relative by marriage, he is not a bad person. It's just that we have different paths. I have to protect Xie Yuancheng, so I can only lose him as a friend."
As I watched the people laughing on the street, I kept worrying whether Xie Yuancheng had left the palace. He hated the Crown Prince so much, yet he traveled with him. The Crown Prince still harbored ill intentions towards him and even hurt our sister.
“Brother Ji, it’s inevitable that the princess will be irritable during her pregnancy. We men should have ambitions beyond our borders and must not let our personal feelings get in the way of our children.”
Lu Fengjun spoke softly beside me. I knew what he meant, but he was really wrong. I was worried about my husband.
"Thank you for your guidance, Brother Lu."
"Actually," Lu Fengjun hesitated, then pulled my horse around and we rode off into the countryside.
"Brother Lu, where are you taking me?"
"Let's distract the Empress's spies first, then we can talk."
The Empress even sent men to follow him. I calmed myself down and told him to loosen the reins so we could run separately and be faster. Dust kicked up by the roadside flew up and then settled down. We ran a erratic loop around the city, and then boarded a boat.
The boatman looked somewhat familiar. As soon as he spoke, I knew it was Lingwu. How did he know we would get on the boat?
"Brother Ji, please come in and sit down. This is the boat I often use when I go out; nothing will happen to me."
Lingwu and I exchanged a glance before entering the cabin; I felt a little more at ease with him there.
"Brother Lu, how did you know it was the Empress's spy following us?"
“Her people have been monitoring me since the Lantern Festival last year.” He sneered, seemingly quite dissatisfied with the Empress as well.
"You are her own nephew, and she is the mother of the nation. Why would she be spying on you?"
“If she dares to harm the mother of the nation, let alone the people around her.” Lu Fengjun finished his tea in one gulp and looked at me with fervent eyes: “Brother Ji, I like you.”
He confessed his feelings just like that. I carefully looked at Lingwu and saw that he was gripping the oar tightly.
"Brother Lu, I am a man, aren't you?"
"I know. If it weren't for Marquis Anle coming to you, I would have spoken up. Unfortunately, he beat me to it." He said calmly, as if he were talking about someone else's business.
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