I just want to be a princess, no, you want to be a queen

Chapter 280 His Majesty Inspects the Troops

Chu Mingzheng stood up and slapped Qin Miao hard.

The side chair knocked over and Qin Miao fell to the ground, covering her face in fear and crawling back.

Chu Mingzheng looked at the "adulterer" and said coldly, "Drag him out and chop him off."

When the man was dragged into the courtyard, he ran into the eunuchs who came from the palace to deliver the imperial edict. The eunuch stopped him, stepped into the room, and delivered the empress dowager's order.

After reading the decree, Chu Mingzheng looked at Qin Miao, "How dare you send a message to the palace?"

Qin Miao trembled and said, "Brother Zheng, Miao'er did this all for you."

The palace guards surrounded the Luqi Pavilion, forbidding anyone to leave. The eunuch delivering the imperial edict urged Chu Mingzheng and Qin Miao to enter the palace. Chu Mingzheng pulled Lu Mingyang out of the Luqi Pavilion, his eyes red.

"I might have to break my promise to you."

Why talk about this at this time? Lu Mingyang held his hand and advised: "Don't cause trouble."

Chu Mingzheng nodded.

Lu Mingyang watched Chu Mingzheng and Qin Miao leave, then turned back to look at Luqi Pavilion. A chill pierced his bones. After this incident, the Empress Dowager would pressure the Emperor, and Qin Miao would become the legitimate Princess of Ningyuan.

The emperor doesn't care, the empress dowager is happy, Qin Miao's wish is fulfilled, and by the way, Chu Mingzheng's dilemma can be solved.

It can be said that they killed three birds with one stone, but the one who paid the price was just a woman, a woman who had nothing to do with them.

A young woman of her twenties lost her virginity and her life, bringing shame to her entire family.

……

An hour later, Chu Mingzheng walked out of the palace. Withered branches blocked the moonlight, casting a shadow on his face, a solemn and murderous aura. Qin Miao followed behind him, holding a bright yellow imperial edict in her hand.

When he reached the carriage, Chu Mingzheng stopped and looked at the imperial edict in Qin Miao's hand: "Miao'er, do you really want to be a princess?"

Qin Miao's hands trembled slightly as she tried to explain, "Brother Zheng, Miao'er sent someone to tell the Empress Dowager because she didn't want Brother Zheng to suffer any injustice."

"Really?" Chu Mingzheng said with a smile, "Let's prepare well for the ceremony of conferring the title of consort. After all, there won't be many happy days left."

After saying that, he left alone.

Qin Miao watched the figure disappear and looked at Mudan behind him in panic: "What does he mean by this?"

Mudan supported Qin Miao and comforted her, "Miss, you have the Queen Mother to protect you, so what are you afraid of? After all, the position of princess is in our hands."

Qin Miao smiled and nodded, "It's a pity that we still have to wait for some time."

Thinking that she would have to wait another three months, the smile on Qin Miao's face crooked and her eyes became fierce: "Damn Mrs. Xu, she actually wanted to commit suicide."

Chu Mingzheng walked all the way to the Chengyang Marquis Mansion, looked silently for a long time, and then turned and left. Returning to the Ningyuan Prince Mansion, he walked along the familiar road into the main courtyard.

The furnishings in the room were the same as before, though too cold. Chu Mingzheng sat at the dressing table, copying the image of the woman in his memory in the bronze mirror.

"Yangyang, will you look down on me?"

"Ah!"

Lu Mingyang yawned after waking up. She'd been having nightmares for a while, and didn't fall asleep until dawn. She glanced at the glaring sunlight and hurried out of bed to wash.

I have to go to the military camp today.

Yang Nianshu sat down on the couch and said angrily, "Stinky man, you are really unreliable."

"Who offended you?" Lu Mingyang put down his handkerchief and sat over.

"Who else could it be? Your Highness." Yang Nianshu curled his lips in disdain: "Yesterday he said he would take you back home, but today he wants to make someone else his princess."

"He's not unreliable, he was just scared for a moment." Lu Mingyang had already expected this result and didn't react much. He called Ruying to serve the food.

However, Yang Nianshu was amused when he heard this description, "He can still be scared silly, he is too timid."

"He was afraid I might be in danger."

Lu Mingyang explained, "Your Highness has never seen women in the harem fighting with each other, let alone such a level of intrigue, so he didn't dare take me back."

Seeing the second sister's confident look, Yang Nianshu curled his lips and said, "You are always making excuses for him."

"That's the truth," Lu Mingyang corrected. "If Qin Miao was the only one responsible for Lady Xu's incident, it would be fine. But if the Queen Mother knew about it, how could I survive if I returned?"

Ruying brought the food, but Lu Mingyang didn't let her serve him. He personally served his sister a bowl of soup and sighed, "It's easy to dodge an open attack, but it's hard to guard against an arrow from behind. He finally realized the fear of being powerless."

Yang Nianshu stirred the soup with a spoon, his mind spinning: "Second sister, then tell me, does the Queen Mother know?"

"You probably didn't know beforehand, but you might guess it afterward." Lu Mingyang urged, "Hurry up and eat. We still have to go to the barracks after dinner."

"I'm afraid you can't go!" Yang Nianshu slapped a funeral notice on the table and said, "It's from Prince Ningyuan's Mansion. It's for Lady Xu. Zheng Hao said they've sent it to every prominent residence in the capital, so it would be inappropriate not to send it to the Marquis of Chengyang's Mansion. He said you can go if you want to, but it's okay if you don't want to."

Lu Mingyang picked up the funeral notice and saw that the title on it was still "Ruren". He raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "Your Highness is kind-hearted."

This move not only preserved Mrs. Xu's dignity after her death, but also preserved the innocence of the women in the Xu family. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for them to get married in the future.

"Shall we go then?" Yang Nianshu asked.

"I'm not going." Lu Mingyang put down the funeral invitation and said, "Qin Miao just received the imperial decree to be crowned as a concubine. How can she feel comfortable seeing me? I don't want to cause trouble for myself."

Moreover, whenever she thought of Lady Xu, she would recall the scene of pulling Lady Xu. If she had grabbed her sleeve instead of the handkerchief, she would not have died.

Yang Nianshu said "Oh" and obediently quickened his eating speed.

After dinner, the two men rode to the military camp.

A lot had happened recently, but fortunately, after a thrilling military competition, good news arrived. Lu Mingze had triumphed decisively against the Xiongnu and would soon return to the capital.

"General, let's eat some meat to celebrate."

Someone among the female soldiers sitting in a circle shouted, and everyone else cheered. Lu Mingyang stood up and said loudly, "Set up the pot. We'll slaughter ten sheep and ten pigs tonight. Plenty of wine and drinks."

"Good!" Everyone applauded happily.

In the distance, Song Wei stood on the carriage and watched this scene. He leaned over and walked into the carriage, and ordered, "Enter the palace."

Now is the best time, he doesn't want to lose her again.

The bonfire was lit and people sang and danced.

After a night of indulgence, the next morning, everyone was exhausted. Qin Xin knocked on the door anxiously, "General, General."

Lu Mingyang opened the door in a daze, "What's wrong?"

Qin Xin said, "Someone from the palace came with an order saying that our female soldiers have been training for some time, and His Majesty will come to observe the troops soon."

"A while?" Lu Mingyang woke up in fright.

Qin Xin was also on the verge of tears: "Your Majesty, it's normal to inspect the troops, but I've never seen anyone so anxious."

"You're not here to make fun of me, are you?" He couldn't let his elder sister's fame be ruined by his own hands. Lu Mingyang ordered, "Send two sober men to guard the city gates. Report back quickly when His Majesty leaves. Also, the kitchen staff, hurry up and make some sobering soup."

As he said that, Lu Mingyang went to play the drum himself.