I want to be innocent, but they don't allow me

Prime Minister's Mansion, Inner Courtyard.

The little maid with a bun on her head rushed into the courtyard in a panic, shouting as she ran:

"Oh no, miss, oh no!"

There is a plum tree planted in the yard.

Under the tree, a woman in white was kneeling in front of a guqin, her slender fingers gently dancing on the strings.

Hearing the maid's shouting, she frowned, pressed her hands on the strings of the zither, and looked towards the gate of the courtyard with her bright black eyes.

"If you keep yelling like this, I will sell you out. From now on, you will just stay in the yard and keep me company."

Lu Jianjia's tone was cold. She clearly meant it as a joke, but the words that came out were all threats.

Hearing this, the little maidservant stopped dead in her tracks, covered her mouth tightly with both hands, her eyes full of pleading.

Lu Jianjia glanced at the little maid calmly and said in a calm tone:

"say."

"Please, miss. I know I was wrong. Brother Huzi is a very kind person. Please..."

"Okay, okay, what's wrong with you?"

Lu Jianjia interrupted and said impatiently.

The little maidservant seemed to have remembered something important. She ran to Lu Jianjia and said anxiously:

"I heard from the gatekeeper that His Majesty has granted Miss a marriage!"

Lu Jianjia was stunned for a moment, narrowed her eyes slightly and asked in doubt:

"Does Song Chi have the ability to get His Majesty to grant him a marriage?"

The little maid shook her head vigorously and said, "It's not the Ninth Young Master, it's the Prince of Yan! The imperial edict says that the young lady and him are betrothed since birth!"

Hearing this, Lu Jianjia's eyes lit up and she said excitedly:

"Really? When will he come? Has he already come to the capital?"

When the little maid heard this, she was completely shocked. She was stunned for a long time before she came back to her senses. Then she heard Lu Jianjia ask:

"Tell me, does he know how to play 'The Rising Tide of the Blue Sea'? Go and ask him when the Prince of Yan will come to marry me."

The little maid's mouth twitched, as if she realized something, and asked tentatively:

"Miss, do you know what marriage is?"

Lu Jianjia glared at the maid and said unhappily:

“Just like daddy and mommy.”

Then he pointed to the abandoned courtyard at least a hundred meters away and said:

"When the time comes, tear down the firewood shed over there, build a yard, and let the Prince of Yan live there."

Seeing this, the maid rolled her eyes and said:

"Miss, when you get married, you two should stand shoulder to shoulder!"

Hearing this, Lu Jianjia frowned but said nothing.

"And then there's the bridal chamber."

A hint of confusion flashed across Lu Jianjia's eyes, but she concealed it well.

"And on weekdays, you can't live so far away from each other. You have to live in the same room, and when you are alone, you hold hands, hug, and kiss..."

As the little maidservant spoke, she could no longer bear it and her voice became smaller and smaller.

Lu Jianjia raised her hand and slapped the surface of the zither heavily, which immediately produced a harsh sound, and she said angrily:

"Like you and that boy?"

The little maidservant released her hands that were blocking her ears, her face slightly red, but she still nodded vigorously.

"I was wondering why he didn't reply to my letter. So this is what he was thinking. Go tell mother that I don't agree with this. Tell the Prince of Yan to give up on this idea."

The little maid looked embarrassed, but she didn't know how to remind Lu Jianjia. After thinking for a long time, she said:

"Miss, this is His Majesty's order. The master has already received the imperial decree, and this matter cannot be changed."

Lu Jianjia frowned and said in a cold voice:

"No matter whose will it is, isn't the original correspondence good enough? Why is Emperor Hongwen so nosy?"

Hearing this, the little maid hurriedly looked around, and when she saw that no one else was around, she breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"Perhaps the Prince of Yan admires the young lady, so he went to His Majesty to ask for an imperial decree to grant her marriage. Even I can see the Prince's intentions from those poems."

Lu Jianjia nodded slightly and said:

"I used to have a good impression of him, but I don't like what he did. I'd better not associate with him in the future."

The little maid looked at Lu Jianjia with complicated eyes, hesitated for a long time but didn't say anything, turned around and walked out of the yard.

"By the way, I have already obtained the servant's indenture from my mother."

When the little maid heard Lu Jianjia's words, she paused and turned around, and saw Lu Jianjia holding a palm-sized wooden sign and shaking it in her hand.

Then he took out a bundle wrapped in silk cloth from behind him and said with a smile:

"I have prepared fifty taels for you, and a shop on East Street in the outer city. You can go out and get married tomorrow."

Hearing this, the little maid's eyes suddenly became moist. She fell to her knees with a plop, tears flowing uncontrollably, but she couldn't utter a word.

Lu Jianjia smiled and said jokingly:

"What's wrong? I saw you two were hugging each other and chewing each other, you looked very happy, why are you crying again now?"

"Miss, I can't bear to..."

"Alright, alright, go find my mother. You won't be leaving the house until tomorrow, and you still have work to do for me today."

Lu Jianjia interrupted the maid and waved her hand.

The little maid kowtowed three times to Lu Jianjia. When she felt a little dizzy, she stood up and left the yard, thanking him profusely.

Just a few steps out of the inner courtyard, I heard a very familiar male voice:

"Xiao Li! What's wrong with you?"

The man's words were full of concern. He walked quickly to Xiaoli and touched her forehead with his hand.

Seeing her beloved lover, Xiaoli's eyes showed some tenderness and she quickly told Huzi what had just happened.

After saying that, Hu Zi did not hesitate and immediately knelt down, banging his head several times towards the inner courtyard.

Xiaoli hurried forward to help Huzi up, saying with a smile:

"Okay, Brother Huzi, the young lady can't see you if you kowtow here, and the young lady's yard is over there."

As he spoke, he pointed in the direction of Lu Jianjia's courtyard.

Seeing this, Hu Zi just smiled naively and said, "Second Miss is a very good person. There is nothing I can do. I can only kowtow a few more times."

Xiaoli nodded slightly: "Well, Brother Huzi, you go back and pack up. I still have to go find the lady and pass on the message for the young lady."

Having said that, he turned around and prepared to leave.

However, before he could take a step, Hu Zi grabbed his hand.

Xiaoli looked back in confusion, and heard Huzi whisper:

"Xiao Li, have you ever thought that the Second Miss might want to get along with a man?"

Xiaoli frowned and immediately retorted:

"Impossible, no man has ever been able to get within ten feet of the young lady, not even the master and the third young master are exceptions!"

Hu Zi thought for a moment and said, "I remember you said that the Second Miss and the Prince of Yan had correspondence, and the Miss always looked forward to receiving letters from the Prince."

Xiaoli waved her hand and said, "Okay, Brother Huzi, I know what you mean, but the young lady and I grew up together, and I know her temper best."

After saying that, he no longer paid attention to Hu Zi and turned to walk towards the front hall.

But not long after walking, Xiaoli's eyes gradually showed some doubts, and she muttered softly:

"If the Prince of Yan is willing..."

Halfway through his speech, he quickly shut up, shook his head vigorously and snorted:

"What am I thinking? The Prince of Yan must be the same as the Ninth Prince of Jiang. They are both coveting my young lady's beauty. If he dares to come, let me see how my young lady will deal with him!"

...

Exquisite waterside pavilion and inner courtyard.

Li Mu held his forehead with one hand and sat in front of the stone desk, feeling a little irritated.

"The emperor's attitude changed so quickly. He was so enthusiastic before, but today he doesn't even want to see me."

"Sir, the Prime Minister's Mansion just sent someone to deliver a letter, inviting you to come over."

At this time, Qiu Ju trotted to Li Mu's side, smiling, and spoke to Li Mu in a crisp voice.

"Prime Minister's Mansion?"

"Yes, it is the Prime Minister's Mansion of the future Crown Prince's Consort."

There seemed to be little stars twinkling in Qiuju's eyes, and her tone was very cheerful.

"Okay, prepare the car!"

Li Mu gave the order directly.

Just because he thought of the Prime Minister's Mansion, Li Mu suddenly remembered another name, Lu Sangtuo, the boy who called him brother-in-law as soon as they met.

Li Mu concluded that if this matter had nothing to do with the Prime Minister's Mansion, then something strange would happen.

"I want to see if the Prime Minister will marry his daughter to a man who flirts with his daughter the first time they meet."

Li Mu thought in his heart, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up, and he said slowly:

"By then, I won't be the one who disobeyed the emperor's order. The emperor will give me the first day of the new year as compensation to appease the old man's 200,000 troops stationed at the border."

Li Mu nodded slightly, feeling that he had improved in terms of political struggle and was no longer the reckless man he used to be. He began to think in his mind,

"We need to think about this matter. How can we make the Prime Minister's Mansion suffer a loss without finding fault with it?"