Lu Yanzhao's face stiffened. He had tried to make Gu Nanjiao happy by speaking too smoothly, but she had seen through his ruse.
Gu Nanjiao is not a submissive woman; sweet words cannot comfort her.
Seeing that Gu Nanjiao was waiting for his answer, Lu Yanzhao smiled, put his arm around Gu Nanjiao's waist, and whispered, "Lu Yanzhao will only love Gu Nanjiao in this life. If you don't leave me, I will never abandon you. If you leave me, I will be with you through life and death."
Gu Nanjiao was stunned for a moment, then pushed Lu Yanzhao away and lowered her head to say, "Now is not the time for sweet talk. I'm asking you what to do?"
Lu Yanzhao seemed confident: "Don't worry, His Majesty will not bestow a marriage upon us."
How do you know?
Lu Yanzhao looked into her eyes: "The Chu Emperor values agriculture as much as the economy. We, on the other hand, have contributed powerful firearms, invented foot-operated threshing machines and rice transplanters, and in terms of the economy, I have calculated a thirteen-character formula. Nowadays, sewing machines are all the rage. Tell me, between a princess who once contributed to the Great Chu and someone who is contributing to the Great Chu now, which is more important? If you were the emperor, who would you choose?"
"I would definitely choose the latter."
Princess Fuyang's contributions were limited to her previous marriage alliance, while Gu Nanjiao and Lu Yanzhao's inventions boosted the military, economy, and agriculture of the Great Chu. Therefore, the emperor would not easily grant them a marriage.
Lu Yanzhao paused and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, the emperor will summon us to the palace and ask for our opinions. If we disagree, the emperor can't do anything about it!"
Gu Nanjiao lowered her head, paused, and said, "I just went to Qixiang Palace and asked Consort Yue to stop this matter. I know your feelings for me, so I made preparations in advance to nip this matter in the bud."
Lu Yanzhao suddenly reached out and cupped Gu Nanjiao's face, kissed her cheek, and smiled, "I never knew my wife cared about me so much."
Suddenly, Lu Yanzhao's smile vanished: "When did you become so familiar with Consort Yue?"
Didn't Consort Yue wish she could kill this daughter?
Gu Nanjiao explained, "Consort Yue saw that we were favored by the Emperor and said that she would shake hands and make peace for the sake of our mother-daughter relationship. I thought I would play with her slowly first, find something to use against her, and then bring her down."
Consort Yue felt no affection for this daughter and wished she could kill her. Gu Nanjiao felt no maternal love for her either and wished her dead.
Since she wanted to win her over, she pretended to befriend her.
Lu Yanzhao pulled Gu Nanjiao into his arms and said softly, "Jiaojiao, you must be careful when you're with Consort Yue. But you don't need to do anything to Consort Yue. In the end, her son will bring her down from her pedestal and send her to hell."
"Huh?" Lu Yanzhao didn't understand what she meant. What did he mean by saying that Prince Cheng would drag Consort Yue into hell?
Lu Yanzhao leaned close to Gu Nanjiao's ear and whispered a few words.
"Wh...what?" Gu Nanjiao was so shocked she couldn't close her mouth.
The world is so big and full of wonders; there are even such amazing things.
Even TV dramas wouldn't dare to portray this!
It was practically a massive case of switching the prince for a princess, and she suddenly felt sorry for the emperor, who had been manipulated by two women all along.
Just like the character of the Fourth Uncle in a modern drama, his daughter and son are not his own, he has a huge green field on his head, and he is kept in the dark by a group of women.
"This is going to be interesting. We've watched her rise to power, and now we've watched her fall from grace. Just when she's dreaming of becoming an empress dowager, she'll suddenly realize that everything was a delusion, and all her schemes and ambitions have been for the benefit of others. I wonder what she'll think then."
After Gu Nanjiao finished her sigh, she looked at Lu Yanzhao suspiciously. She always felt that many things were related to Lu Yanzhao. How did he know about such a big palace secret?
"Lu Yanzhao, what exactly are you secretly plotting?" Gu Nanjiao couldn't help but ask.
Lu Yanzhao stroked Gu Nanjiao's dark hair with a look of affection and softened his voice: "You don't need to worry about the rest. Just focus on your business. Leave the rest to me. Remember, I will be your strong support."
Gu Nanjiao's face lit up with joy, and she hugged Lu Yanzhao's waist tightly: "Okay, you can't let me down."
"How could this be!" Lu Yanzhao suddenly hugged Gu Nanjiao and walked to the bedside. Just as the two were about to get intimate, there was a knock on the door.
"My lord, my lady, an imperial decree has arrived, summoning you both to an audience."
Gu Nanjiao smiled and said, "Let's go! Let's see how shameless this princess is, that she actually wants to marry a married man!"
Inside the Golden Palace, the Chu Emperor pondered for a long time before finally deciding to summon the Lu couple to an audience and ask for their opinions.
Princess Fuyang was very dissatisfied: "Royal brother, didn't you say that I could choose any civil or military official? Why don't you issue an imperial decree directly when your sister takes a liking to someone, and instead ask for their opinions?"
The Emperor of Chu sighed. Lu Yanzhao had once said that the reason he was able to achieve the highest honors in all three categories was entirely due to his wife.
Even the improvement of firearms, the production of agricultural tools, and the invention of the thirteen-character algorithm all came from his wife.
Such an extraordinary woman, even if she is ugly and plain, so what? She can contribute to the Chu Dynasty and drive its economic, agricultural, and military development.
As the saying goes, "When husband and wife are of one mind, their strength can break even metal."
The future development of the Chu Dynasty would depend on this couple. Therefore, he dared not rashly grant them a marriage.
At this moment, the eunuch announced that the Lu couple had arrived.
Princess Fuyang immediately looked out of the palace with a shy and timid expression. When she saw Lu Yanzhao, her breathing became rapid, and she quickly smoothed her hair.
On the football field, she immediately spotted Lu Yanzhao and even fell in love with him at first sight.
After returning from the northern kingdom, the Chu emperor arranged for her to meet many men, including princes, nobles, and sons of meritorious officials. However, none of them could make her fall in love at first sight like Lu Yanzhao, and she couldn't wait to marry him immediately.
Ultimately, she had to thank Zhou Wan. If it weren't for her introduction, she would never have known that such a remarkable person was hidden in the capital.
Although she is older and a widow, she is of noble status and knows how to treat people, so Lu Yanzhao probably won't refuse her.
Lu Yanzhao and Gu Nanjiao arrived hand in hand, inseparable.
This scene stung Princess Fuyang's eyes, and she wished she could kill Gu Nanjiao.
After performing the full kneeling ceremony, the emperor adopted a haughty demeanor and asked Lu Yanzhao directly, "My imperial sister has taken a liking to you and wishes to marry you as her consort. Although the princess is a bit older, she is kind and caring. I wonder if you, my dear minister, are willing?"
"Your Majesty, I will only ever have Gu Nanjiao as my wife and will never take a concubine."
Princess Fuyang's face flushed with anger as she pointed at Lu Yanzhao and said, "Who wants to be your concubine? I, the princess, will be your wife! You should divorce this ugly woman immediately!"
"Ugly woman?" Lu Yanzhao's face turned icy; he was truly furious.
He raised his eyelids and glanced indifferently at Princess Fuyang. This glance was extremely insulting, because he only looked at her once before looking away and saying something shocking: "Please forgive my impudence, but in my heart, my wife is a hundred times more beautiful than the princess."
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