"Your Highness, the rebels outside have been defeated. Please decide the fate of the two princes."
Mingzhu pushed Emperor Da'an outside the palace, and this was the first time in months that the man had seen the sun outside.
"Father, is it beautiful?"
The woman in red bent down and asked in the emperor's ear.
The Emperor of Da'an has long lost his former prestige; now he is just an old man with a full head of white hair and a beard, his hair all disheveled.
“I’ve said it before, they’re both not as good as me.”
"Father, give me the throne and I will spare their lives; otherwise, execute them immediately."
In fact, Mingzhu could have killed them both right now, but Da'an and Da Yan are a bit different. They value legitimacy more. In other words, there are many scholars there who like to write poems that allude to people when they have nothing to do.
Mingzhu wants to be aboveboard, just like Huo Xiaolong.
"Nod if you agree."
The elderly man in the wheelchair nodded vigorously.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Princess Mingzhu is diligent and virtuous. When I was unwell and unable to attend to state affairs, she led the court, quelled the plague, and repaired the dikes. Her contributions are immeasurable. From this day forward, Princess Mingzhu shall be the Crown Princess of Da'an, and upon my death, she shall inherit the throne. Now, the evidence of the Fifth Prince and the Seventh Prince's rebellion is conclusive. They are hereby stripped of their titles, expelled from the imperial family genealogy, and demoted to commoners!"
Mingzhu smiled brightly as she looked at her mother beside her.
She still doesn't want to be the Crown Princess; it doesn't sound good. "Princess" sounds much better.
Let me be a princess for a few more years.
That was the end of it. With the support of her maternal clan, Mingzhu gradually took control of the government.
Later, she heard that Huo Xiaolong had become emperor and specially sent her many congratulatory gifts.
Among them was the Eastern Pearl, a gift from the Emperor of Da'an when she was born, signifying her as the apple of his eye.
Huo Xiaolong had never seen beads as big as those.
She liked it, so she kept it by her side.
Later, Long'er became a mother.
When Mingzhu learned that Huo Xiaolong was pregnant, she was also worried and wanted to go to Dayan to see her.
Unfortunately, she was no longer a princess who could do nothing every day, and she could not leave Da'an.
“My son, don’t blame your mother for urging you. It’s been so long, you need to find a man. He must be outstanding. Da’an needs an heir, an heir after your death. After the child is born, we can leave the child to the father.”
Mingzhu was reviewing memorials with her pen in hand. Seeing her mother, who used to be so obsessed with power struggles in the harem and whose husband was her everything, turn into this, she felt guilty.
"Mother, I already have someone I love."
"Who? It's all up to my son's fate who he takes a fancy to. The entire Da'an is now in my son's hands. Who would dare to disobey?"
"..."
"The Prince of Zhenbei".
Mingzhu didn't want to keep it a secret from her mother. "If you ask me, I'll tell you. It's no big deal."
Empress Xu tilted her head as if she hadn't heard clearly and asked again.
"who?"
"The Prince of Zhenbei".
"The one from Great Yan?"
"Oh, by the way, she is now the Dragon Maiden of Great Yan."
"..."
"She was a woman..."
Mingzhu nodded and replied:
“I know, Mother. She is a very, very good person. If you met her, you would definitely want her to marry your daughter.”
Empress Xu spent her entire life stealing men from the palace, but she never stole any women, not even a little bit.
"She has an empress now, who I heard is an extremely handsome man and the former crown prince of the Great Yan."
Mingzhu didn't care about any of that and continued to write and draw on the folded paper.
“It’s alright, Mother. I didn’t say I was going to do anything. I just have her in my heart and don’t want to be intimate with other people.”
After hearing this, the woman didn't dare to urge him any further and just nodded repeatedly.
"Fine, you... well, you can decide for yourself."
After Empress Xu left, Mingzhu lay on the bed in the back, humming a little tune, and happily read Huo Xiaolong's reply again.
Later, Huo Xiaolong had a child.
Title: Princess Mingzhu.
"Do you think she also cares about me? That's why she gave her daughter this title."
"It must be! There's no mistake!"
Mingzhu kept muttering to Yuqin beside her that the woman in black had already gone to Dayan to ask, she had gone herself, and asked Xiong Ying and Bai Lianhua.
Why make this trip?
It's because she also knows that Mingzhu likes Huo Xiaolong, but it's impossible for them to be together.
You two, Da'an and Da'yan, should just be good friends.
As a result, your Dragon Girl insisted on giving her child the same name as our princess.
It's over,
Mingzhu had imagined a million reasons why Huo Xiaolong liked her, so Yuqin came to ask her for clarification and to bring Mingzhu to her senses.
"No, she... the Dragon Maiden of Great Yan, when you first went to Da'an, she thought your title sounded nice, and she wanted to change it, but her mother wouldn't allow it."
"Now that I have a child of my own, I'll name my first child Mingzhu."
"I won't listen!"
Mingzhu pouted and turned her head away. What's wrong with letting her be happy for a little while?
So unromantic!
"If I could, I really wish... I could stay in Dayan."
"Yuqin, do you know?"
“I grew up in the imperial harem and have seen so many ways to seduce men. Sometimes I think, if she were a man, I would go to great lengths to stay by her side.”
"But... there are no 'ifs'."
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