Li Han was a little surprised to hear Lu Li say that he was the queen's son. He wondered what tricks he was planning to play.
The queen was also shocked by Lu Li's words. She didn't expect Lu Li to say that and she didn't react for a while.
Concubine Song snorted, "General Lu, what you said is very strange. Although you are a general, there is no need to slander the Queen like this. The Queen is the mother of a country. If you say this and someone hears it, I'm afraid it will cause misunderstandings about the Queen."
Concubine Song paused and said, "Also, the son born to the Empress is a prince, the heir to the throne. I'm afraid General Lu has other intentions when he says this about me!"
Concubine Song had been expressing her dissatisfaction with the Queen in both open and covert ways in the palace. This time, when she saw the opportunity, she began to mock the Queen in both words and deeds.
The Queen's face darkened when she heard this. What Concubine Song meant was that as the head of a palace, she could not set an example and was even suspected of defiling the palace. She also mentioned the possibility that Lu Li was planning a rebellion.
After Concubine Song said this, the scene suddenly became awkward. Everyone was waiting for the Queen to answer this question, and Concubine Song felt extremely happy.
Lu Li naturally understood that Concubine Song wanted to take the opportunity to slander the Queen, and he would naturally not let her succeed by stepping on him.
Lu Li said coldly, "Your Highness, it's strange what you said. What do you mean by unintentional people? I think the most terrifying thing is not unintentional people, but those who are intentional. Li Han is the daughter of the Queen. Li Han and I are engaged, so I can be considered the Queen's half-son. Besides, the Queen is the mother of a country. The people of the entire Li Kingdom can call her their children. Is there anything wrong with what I said?"
Concubine Song was speechless after hearing what Lu Li said, not knowing how to refute him. Lu Li continued, "Your Highness, you said Lu Li had other motives. Yes, I do have other motives. I am not a prince, and I have never thought about becoming one. But I will always remember that I am a general of the Li Kingdom. It is my duty to defend my country. I strive for peace and prosperity for the country and the well-being of the people. And these motives of mine are not to allow certain people to act recklessly here."
After Lu Li's words, some people who were just watching the fun immediately showed great respect to him. The generals who protected the country were indeed sacred and inviolable, and the queen's majesty and image could not be slandered.
Everyone present began to point fingers at Concubine Song. Concubine Song knew she was in trouble, having lost more than she gained. She quickly smiled and said, "Master Lu is absolutely right. I was reckless just now. I hope the General and the Empress will not take offense!"
The Queen was very satisfied with Lu Li's counterattack: "Noble Concubine Song, you must be more careful with your words and actions in the future. If you say something without thinking again, I will not forgive you easily."
Concubine Song was so frightened by the Queen's majesty that she trembled three times and knelt down quickly: "Yes, I will be careful with my words and actions and won't talk too much anymore." Although she said this, she was unwilling in her heart.
Li Han looked at Lu Li like this. Although he didn't know why he did this, he still looked at him differently. He didn't expect that this man had such a side.
Afterwards, the hunting activity began. Lu Li and a group of princes, sons of noble families, and military officers accompanied the emperor. All the female relatives, even the queen, were not allowed to follow. They could only stay quietly in the back, drinking tea and chatting, waiting for the emperor to return.
When Li Han heard that the female relatives could not go hunting with him, his mood immediately plummeted. He was dragged up by Lu Li early in the morning, and was looking forward to seeing the world and having some fun. He didn't expect that in the end he would have to accompany these resentful women to drink tea and chat. What's the difference between this and being in the Queen's house?
Li Han was unwilling to give up, so he ran to the emperor's tent and said to him with a wronged look, "Father, can I go hunting with you? I want to go too, okay?"
The emperor was a little helpless: "Hunting is too dangerous. It's not convenient for a girl like you to go. You'd better be patient with your mother and don't be willful."
"No, no, I just want to go. Don't you love Li Han anymore? I will follow you and be absolutely careful. Besides, isn't Lu Li here too? He will protect me, so just let me go!"
The emperor was a little helpless, but he couldn't stand Li Han's coquettishness, so he nodded and agreed: "You can go, but you must follow Lu Li closely and don't run around. Got it?"
Li Han nodded rapidly. Anyway, he would just agree first. Whether to do it or not was another matter. Li Han had already planned it out.
The hunt began, and the emperor led everyone out. Lu Li received the emperor's order to protect Li Han well, so he followed Li Han. Because Li Han walked slowly, Lu Li rode a horse and followed at the end of the army to accompany Li Han.
Before Hua Yunyun followed Prince An into the hunting ground, she had arranged for Xie Su to disguise himself as a guard and blend in with Prince An's guards, then secretly observe Li Han. Once he found the opportunity, he would take action immediately.
When Xie Su heard that Li Han was also going to go hunting with the emperor, he secretly changed his clothes from Prince An's guards into the clothes of the emperor's guards and mixed in with the army so that he could keep an eye on Li Han at any time and look for opportunities to assassinate him.
However, Lu Li followed Li Han closely along the way, and Xie Su could never find an opportunity to take action, so he had to hide in the army.
"Lu Li, don't follow me. Aren't you going hunting? You're just hitting the air by following me like this. If you don't go, there will be no prey for you in the end!" Li Han felt helpless when he saw Lu Li staring at him as if he were a criminal.
"Prey doesn't matter. I have to protect you. You are the most important." Lu Li replied.
"Oh, what's there to protect? There are soldiers all around, not even a mosquito can fly in, how can there be any danger!" Li Han suddenly thought of something: "Oh, right, why don't you catch me a little rabbit? Anyway, since I'm here, I should at least bring back something for the anniversary."
Lu Li felt that what Li Han said was right: "Okay, then don't run around. I'll catch a rabbit for you and come back. Wait for me." Then, Lu Li rode away on horseback.
After Lu Li left, Li Han felt that he was finally free, but he felt a little hungry, so he thought of picking some wild fruits to fill his stomach. While walking in the grove, suddenly a black shadow flew past from behind Li Han.
Li Han felt something strange and turned his head suddenly, only to find someone holding a dagger and stabbing straight at him.
At this moment, Li Han felt that she was going to die, and her legs and feet became weak. Suddenly, someone protected her from behind, allowing Li Han to dodge the sword.
Li Han was surprised: "Prince An!"
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