"As long as Your Majesty does not accept Lu Tianyun as your concubine, I will spare her life."
Seeing that Zhao Zixu looked a little better and his attitude softened, showing a willingness to compromise, the empress dowager smiled and took a step back, sparing her life.
Zhao Zixu said with difficulty: "I agree."
The Queen Mother wanted more than that. She wanted to completely dispel Zhao Zixu's thoughts about Lu Tianyun. She said, "Your Majesty, Tianyun is of the right age, dignified and elegant, and the Prince of Qin is also of marriageable age. They are young and promising, and they are talented and beautiful. They are a match made in heaven. I ask Your Majesty to grant them a marriage."
Zhao Zixu said, "Mother, do you really want to do this?"
The Queen Mother said, "If Your Majesty does not wish, I will sentence Lu Tianyun to death now."
Zhao Zixu reluctantly said, "Mother, I will arrange a marriage between Lu Tianyun and the King of Qin some other day."
"It is better to do it today than to wait for a day. Tomorrow is Double Ninth Festival, which is a good day. It would be best if Your Majesty's decree is issued tomorrow." The Queen Mother pressed on.
Zhao Zixu looked embarrassed, glanced at his mother, the Queen Mother, and left in anger.
Seeing Zhao Zixu leave, the nanny signaled the palace maid to take the poisoned wine away. In fact, the poisoned wine was just a trick played by the Queen Mother to force His Majesty to give up Lu Tianyun. Lu Tianyun was the Shang Shuling's beloved daughter, and the Queen Mother would not easily sentence Lu Tianyun to death, so as to avoid alienation between the Queen Mother and the Shang Shuling.
Your Majesty has always been filial to the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother forced Your Majesty to abandon Lu Tianyun by threatening to execute her. No matter how reluctant Your Majesty was, he would eventually give up in order to protect Lu Tianyun.
The Queen Mother sees through Your Majesty clearly, but Your Majesty may not fully understand the Queen Mother. If Your Majesty insists on making Lu Tianyun your concubine, the Queen Mother may not refuse. I am afraid that Lu Tianyun will have a hard time then.
The nanny said, "Queen Dowager, His Majesty loves Miss Tianyun so much. Please ask His Majesty to grant a marriage between Miss Tianyun and the Prince of Qin. I'm afraid His Majesty may not grant the order."
The Queen Mother seemed to be thinking, "You mean to say that His Majesty might take action against the King of Qin in order to get Lu Tianyun."
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I was confused and said the wrong thing." The nanny apologized quickly.
The Queen Mother said, "No, Your Majesty is kind and filial. He would never kill his brother for a woman. How could he face the late Emperor in his grave?"
When Zhao Zixu returned to Xiangning Palace, Lu Tianyun was no longer there. The palace servants said that as soon as His Majesty left, Lu Tianyun left Xiangning Palace and returned to Fengyi Pavilion.
When Lu Tianyun was in the Empress Dowager's palace and someone invited His Majesty to the Cining Palace, she knew that the Empress Dowager must have invited His Majesty to the Cining Palace for her sake. She had been in the limelight these days, and the rumors of her being made a concubine and a crown prince were spread to everyone. It seemed that the Empress Dowager was unhappy with her and invited His Majesty to the palace just to discuss how to deal with her. It was probably impossible for her to stay in the palace, and it was even more impossible for her to be made a concubine.
If this is true, then it would be perfect. She has never thought about becoming the Majesty's wife. She participated in the selection only for the sake of the Lu family. She had no choice but to do so.
Lu Tianyun thought, she didn't know how the Empress Dowager would deal with her, so she just had to take it one step at a time.
Zhao Zixu personally wrote the marriage decree, affixed it with the imperial seal, and handed it to Eunuch Luo, instructing him, "Tomorrow afternoon, you will personally go to the Prince of Qin's mansion to announce the decree."
Eunuch Luo took the order and said, "Yes."
Zhao Zixu thought of the King of Qin, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly, revealing a faint smile, and he thought to himself:
King of Qin, King of Qin, I have taken great pains to find a reliable Yue family for you. Please do not let me down.
Growing up in the palace, Zhao Zixu is accustomed to conspiracies, intrigues, and acting according to circumstances. It is difficult to survive in the palace without scheming and means. He is cunning and resourceful, and is even better at acting.
Yes, he is good at acting and his acting skills are superb.
He deceived his mother, his wife, and everyone else in the palace.
Everything was according to his plan.
…
Li Bai said, the weather is clear on the ninth day, and there are no autumn clouds when climbing high.
Bai Juyi also said, I picked chrysanthemums and brought some wine, and rode a horse around the village, thinking of my leisurely life.
Ling Zhiheng, the son of the Minister of Rites, who was a good friend and classmate, sent an invitation to invite Ye Zelin and his wife to attend a polo match tomorrow, the Double Ninth Festival, at Luming Villa.
Hua Fushu didn't like the limelight, and she didn't like Ling Zhiheng's frivolous look, so she said she didn't want to go without thinking, but Ye Zelin agreed.
Firstly, Ling Zhiheng is his good friend, and secondly, it is Ling Zhiheng's first time organizing a polo club, so he must give him face.
Hua Fushu complained to Ye Zelin, "You said Double Ninth Festival is such a beautiful day, with clear and crisp autumn weather. Why don't you invite us to go hiking and enjoy the autumn? Why not organize a polo match? A chrysanthemum viewing party would be fine too. You could admire all kinds of chrysanthemums while reciting poems and writing essays, pretending to be elegant. You could also eat chrysanthemum wine and chrysanthemum cakes. How wonderful! If you want to go, go ahead. I won't go. I'd rather stay home and not be in the spotlight."
Ye Zelin looked embarrassed. He said, "I promised Zhiheng that I would take you with me."
Hua Fushu said: "That was what you agreed to, I didn't agree to it."
Ye Zelin held Hua Fushu's shoulders with both hands, rubbing them gently, and said in a flattering tone: "Shu'er, the ancients said that a promise is worth a thousand gold. I have already agreed to it, so I can't go back on my word. You can't bear to see me go back on my word, right?"
Hua Fushu pushed Ye Zelin away, leaving his empty hand frozen in mid-air. "I'm not a fool blinded by lust. Beauty tricks won't work on me. If you say you don't want to go, then don't go. If you want to go, go ahead. I won't stop you."
Ye Zelin touched his handsome face. Hua Fushu was not moved at all. He was very unwilling to accept it. "What about the self-torture trick?"
Hua Fushu smiled and said, "I don't believe you dare to hurt yourself."
Ye Zelin wailed, "What a cruel woman."
Hua Fushu agreed with him, "Okay, I'm the most cruel, okay."
Ye Zelin picked up the post, pointed at the words "Luming Villa" on it and showed them to Hua Fushu, asking, "Do you know where Luming Villa is?"
"How would I know?" She was a non-Beijing native and was not as familiar with the city as Ye Zelin, who was born and raised there.
Ye Zelin said, "Luming Villa belongs to Prince Zheng. This polo match was said to be hosted by the Ling family, but it was actually hosted by Prince Zheng and the Ling family together."
Luming Villa belongs to Prince Zheng? Hua Fushu really hasn't been there yet.
She only thought of one person, she thought of King Zheng's sister-in-law, "Is Yan Xijun going too?"
Ye Zelin pretended to be ambiguous, "It seems like she should go. Prince Zheng is her brother-in-law, so she should go to support him. Prince Zheng's basketball skills are really not that good."
Hua Fushu said unhappily, "I'm not going, and you're not allowed to go either!"
This guy knew that Yan Xijun was going too, but he still wanted her to go with him. Did he know that Yan Xijun was her love rival?
A love rival who is like a toad wanting to eat the flesh of a swan.
"Why can't I go too?" Ye Zelin pretended to be stupid.
Hua Fushu was even more angry when he heard him say that. "Last time, she made me fall off my horse and dislocated my joint. I was in bed for several days."
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