When Fan Lihua got up in the morning, she dressed and washed up with the help of her maid. She always felt that something was missing from the room.
Seeing that Huo Xiaolong's portrait had disappeared, Imperial Censor Xiao Fan shouted:
"I'm drawing!?"
"Who do you think you are? Stealing my paintings? Why don't you go steal some of Master Zhao's paintings instead?!"
The maidservant beside her couldn't bear to watch any longer and spoke up:
"Miss, we can't get into the Prince's mansion. What thief would dare to steal from the Prince's mansion? Only our family would."
"I'll go to the prince to borrow someone right away!"
The woman returned to Da'an with the painting. Before leaving, she kowtowed to He Yi and Huo Shuwen, saying that they lacked nothing now, and the sentiment was the most important thing.
"Here you go, the drawing."
Mingzhu hurriedly took the scroll, unfurled it, and looked at the bright and majestic woman in the painting, so lifelike that she couldn't help but smile shyly.
Her fingertips gently traced Huo Xiaolong's cheek. She was so beautiful, so pretty.
"Tell me, how should one write a letter to their beloved?" Mingzhu asked the palace maid beside her.
“Princess, as a woman, you should be reserved. But if you really can’t help it, just greet him normally. He will understand when he receives the letter. For example, ask him how you’ve been lately, or if the scenery was beautiful when you went hiking the other day. That would be fine.”
Princess Mingzhu nodded in agreement, and then picked up a pen and wrote a few large characters on the paper.
Is your leg feeling any better?
There wasn't a single extra word.
"Go and send this letter to the Prince of Zhenbei of the Great Yan."
"Princess, are you sending this so openly? Won't the Emperor mind accusing you of treason?"
"My trip to Great Yan inevitably involved some sisterly interactions. Let Father Emperor examine the contents of the letter."
"He'll watch it anyway," the young woman thought to herself.
Just as Mingzhu had expected, upon hearing that someone in the palace wanted to send a letter to the Prince of Zhenbei of Great Yan, and that the person was none other than his own eldest daughter, he ordered someone to bring the letter over.
The line above left him speechless.
"Never mind, Mingzhu is too childish. Let's just send it out."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Looking at the lush and verdant Imperial Garden, Mingzhu took a deep breath. Fifth Brother and Seventh Brother should have already discovered that she had sent the person away.
In that case, the situation in Da'an should change.
I wonder if the poison concocted by the divine physician beside the Prince of Zhenbei is effective. Father Emperor is getting old and should rest well, leaving matters to the younger generation.
“Mingzhu, what do you mean? The Emperor is unwell and the position of Crown Prince has not yet been decided. He has specially entrusted you with the temporary management of the Imperial Seal, but this is not a reason for you to interfere in court affairs.”
It's rare to see the Fifth Prince and the Seventh Prince standing together; now, both of them have lost the people's support.
It was because of these two that Da'an ceded territory to Da Yan.
If a prince had any backbone, he would either lead his troops back to fight or commit suicide on the city wall.
If it were a prince...
Mingzhu looked at her two imperial brothers and grew angrier the more she looked. They were even worse than the princesses' wives; they were useless.
If it were a prince, he would definitely lead his men to retake the city.
The young woman glanced at the jade seal in her hand, smiled, and replied:
"That's exactly what I mean. My two imperial brothers, your decision is flawed. I disagree with it."
"absurd!"
The Fifth Prince slammed his fist on the table and stood up, pointing at the pearl as he said:
"Since when has it become your place as a woman to call the shots in Da'an?"
The young woman pointed to the jade seal in her hand and said:
"Just because of it."
After saying that, she swayed her hips and entered the emperor's bedroom.
Emperor Da'an was seriously ill, and no one was allowed to visit him except for essential reasons; in other words, no one was allowed except the Empress and Mingzhu.
Emperor Da'an would naturally not entrust the imperial seal to a princess like Mingzhu, allowing her to make decisions in the court.
But it was too late for him. The illness struck like a landslide. That very night, Mingzhu took the imperial seal into her bosom right in front of him. The emperor on the bed could not speak, with the empress beside him and Mingzhu in front of him.
The princess held up the imperial seal and said to him:
"Father is seriously ill, and my two elder brothers are incompetent. I will listen to you and help you share your burdens."
Most of the people in the court now are from Mingzhu's maternal family. No one expected that she would have the ambition to succeed to the throne. In order to please her, the Fifth Prince and the Seventh Prince have arranged for members of the Xu family to hold many important positions.
"Father, why are you looking at your daughter so fiercely? What, are you angry that you can't see your two precious sons?"
"Please don't be angry, let me read them their memorials to you."
Mingzhu took the memorial and sat down next to Emperor Da'an to read it.
“Last month, there was a big flood to the south of our house. You had just fallen ill at the time, so I sent the Minister of Works to repair the dikes. Now there is some plague. Do you know what my fifth brother wrote in his memorial? He wrote that all the refugees who have the plague and all the people who have been in contact with them should be killed and burned to prevent future troubles.”
“Come on, look at my seventh brother’s. He said he’ll give him 300,000 taels of silver to help those refugees.”
"Father! Look at them! They're neither good at literature nor martial arts, how can they compare to their daughter? Don't worry, I will definitely take good care of Da'an, you should rest well."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Da'an shed a tear.
They're all useless, and they even have a rebellious daughter.
The Empress came to feed him medicine every day. He didn't even have the strength to get out of bed. He just couldn't believe there was nothing in the medicine!
Mingzhu watched her father leave the palace with a radiant smile, and when she saw her two elder brothers glaring at her with hatred in their eyes, her smile grew even brighter.
how?
Want to fight?
A coup?
Come on.
We're waiting for you.
His eyebrows were slightly raised, full of provocation.
Huo Xiaolong looked at the letter Mingzhu had sent her; it contained only one line.
"Long'er, what did Princess Mingzhu say to you? Is she asking you to lend her troops to fight her brother?"
The little girl was slurping noodles happily beside her.
Long'er shook her head and said:
"no……"
"What did she say?"
She asked me if my leg was better.
Hearing this, the little girl snorted.
"What does it have to do with her? You have me and my master by your side, why should she be a threat?"
"Is she trying to steal my place? Let me tell you, Huo Xiaolong, only Da Ni'er and I are Lan Tingche's mother-in-law. No one else is acceptable, understand?"
"Hurry up and slurp up your noodles, what's all this nonsense?"
Huo Xiaolong looked at the letter and didn't know how to reply.
This concern comes from someone who has been gone for a year. You've been so attentive to me, Princess Mingzhu.
It was Long'er, the Prince of Zhenbei, who also wrote a few words with a flourish of his pen.
"My leg is all better now. How are you doing at your place?"
"Little sister, can you help me see if this is okay?"
Hou Xiangxiang leaned closer to take a look and asked:
"You two carrier pigeons don't cost money? You don't need to feed them? They just write one sentence."
"She only wrote one sentence for me."
"Then give it to me, and I'll write a few more sentences."
The little girl's main purpose was to show off how good she and Long'er were, and to tell Mingzhu not to keep thinking about Huo Xiaolong.
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