In ancient times, she gave birth to seven daughters and was divorced by her husband's family.

Pei Huizhou's face turned pale in an instant and he couldn't utter a word.

Seeing that he remained silent, the Queen turned to Bai Lu and gave her a faint smile. She pulled her to sit beside her and then asked gently, "Is the food to your liking? Which dish is your favorite?"

Bai Lu pointed at the honey-glazed squid and replied respectfully, "To answer your aunt's question, this squid is the best. It's sweet but not greasy, and it's what women love the most."

The queen smiled and nodded, picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks, tasted it, and immediately praised it: "It is really delicious, bright and tasty!"

"If Bailu likes it, eat more."

"Both of you come sit next to me."

The Queen mediated the situation with a friendly attitude.

You have to know that before this, the two were at loggerheads, impeaching each other and arguing with each other, but as soon as the queen arrived and pulled them to sit beside her, they both ate in silence, turning from grumpy lions into docile little lambs.

This scene left all the ministers present dumbfounded.

They looked at each other in bewilderment.

Although they couldn't figure out the current situation, they vaguely guessed that the Queen must have said something to the two of them in private, and only then did Bai Lu and Pei Huizhou calm down.

Alas, only the Queen can find a way!

The emperor watched from the side and breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what the queen said to them, it would be best as long as they didn't quarrel in front of everyone.

General Shi, General Murong and others looked extremely ugly. They looked at each other with eyes as sharp as knives, then snorted coldly and sat aside awkwardly.

The prince watched from the side and breathed a sigh of relief.

He clutched the corner of his clothes tightly and almost rushed out to tell the emperor and others that he had already known about the women's army. Bai Lu had told him this.

But he still had some doubts in his heart: There were actually soldiers and generals mixed in with those rebels?!

But after searching over and over again, I still couldn't find any clues.

At this time, the prince suddenly remembered that Gu Liang had specifically told him that the whereabouts of the rebels were strange and must be carefully investigated.

But as soon as they arrived in Kyoto and had no time to conduct an in-depth investigation, Pei Huizhou took action first and intercepted their opportunity.

This made them lose a lot of initiative.

Fortunately, the Queen was determined to protect Bai Lu after her death, so the matter was left unresolved.

"..."

Everyone had their own thoughts, and the emperor began to reward other generals: Bai Qi, Mu Guiying, and Qin Liangyu were now officially canonized generals.

Among them, Bai Qi was promoted to general.

The emperor originally wanted to reward Mu Guiying and Qin Liangyu as well, at least give them the title of earl - after all, several other generals already had the title of earl.

However, there were too many people who deserved to be rewarded this time, so the emperor had to put the matter aside and give priority to ennobling Pei Huizhou and Zhou Langya.

Pei Huizhou was promoted to the rank of General, while retaining his original position in the Dali Temple; Zhou Langya was given the title of Marquis of Zhenxi.

The position of the Marquis of Zhenxi is not ordinary, and his status is comparable to that of the Marquis of Anguo.

You must know that Zhou Langya personally led the army to pacify the Turks, which indeed shocked the western border, and everyone had no objection to this.

During this Double Ninth Festival banquet, everyone had different thoughts while eating. They were secretly amazed, while at the same time they could not hide their envy and jealousy.

They all wondered: When will a member of their family be given a title of nobility or general, so that the family can prosper forever?

These earls and generals who are conferred titles now will surely become important pillars of the imperial court in the future.

But only Bai Lu and his companions knew how many twists and turns they had experienced on the way to conquer the Turks. It was a life-or-death experience.

If they had a choice, they would rather not have all this wealth and glory.

How much money is enough?

How high a position of power does one need to be satisfied?

If human desires are not restrained, they will never be truly happy in this life.

Several generals were sitting at the table, looking at Bai Lu and Pei Huizhou, who were sitting on the queen's left and right, and clinking their glasses with each other.

General Murong couldn't help but sigh, "Alas, just because of this battle, I even missed my daughter's wedding!"

"But fortunately, I can hold another one when I return to Kyoto, which will comfort me."

"Otherwise, my heart would always be in turmoil, up and down."

As soon as General Murong finished speaking, General Li beside him quickly responded, "Great, great! When your daughter has her wedding, we'll give a generous gift and make sure you have a grand occasion!"

"Hey, it sounds like we are doing it just for the money!" General Murong laughed and scolded him and hit him.

General Li quickly dodged and laughed in a hoarse voice, "Hey, that's not what I meant!"

"I just want to bring you some more joy and make you more financially comfortable!"

In General Li's eyes, the principle of gift-giving is simple and straightforward.

Give more money to those who are close to you, and less to those who are distant from you.

Every time he gave a gift, he never chose it like others did, but just put the money directly into the gift account.

General Li's wife always said that he was too straightforward and not presentable, but General Li felt that money was the most real thing and he kept talking about it to others.

"Don't think it's tacky to just give me money. Actually, you're all hoping for me to give you money!"

"It's just pretending to be disgusted!"

Although the words are blunt, they make sense.

Money is indeed the most real thing.

Gifts given by others may not be to your liking, so it is better to take the money and buy them yourself.

When the generals heard this, they all burst into laughter.

Someone said to General Murong and General Li, "I heard that the second brother of the Bai family is getting married?"

"Yes!"

"I also heard that His Majesty didn't want the second and third sons of the Bai family to get married outside of the capital, and specifically granted them the right to hold their wedding in Kyoto. I guess it will be arranged soon."

Just as he finished speaking, another general came over and added mysteriously, "There's another benefit to this. It can keep Lord Bai and the seven princesses in Kyoto!"

"Otherwise, given their personalities, they would only stay in Kyoto for a few days at most. They would definitely be unhappy if they stayed any longer."

After hearing this, everyone suddenly understood and nodded, saying, "Well, that makes sense!"

"Your Majesty must have his own ideas... As long as the second and third sons of the Bai family can get married in Kyoto... the seven princesses and Lord Bai must stay in Kyoto for a few more days, waiting to attend the wedding banquet?!"

"This delay will take at least one or two months."

"It's autumn now, and the Double Ninth Festival hasn't even ended yet. If we let the Imperial Household Department and the eunuchs arrange the wedding, it won't be delayed until the New Year!"

"If they get married before the Lunar New Year, will Bai Lu and her daughter have to go back to Liangzhou during the Lunar New Year? If they get married after the Lunar New Year...then they will definitely have to stay in Kyoto for the Lunar New Year."

......

On the other side, Bai Lu and Pei Huizhou sat next to the queen, and the queen asked.

"Your second and third brothers have been granted the grace of His Majesty to marry in Kyoto. What do you think?"

Bai Lu had just taken a bite of grapes when she joked with a smile, "Your humble servant will sit down and watch."

The Queen couldn't help but tap her head lightly after hearing this, and said with a hint of anger: "Now you even dare to make fun of me!"

Although she said this, the Queen's tone was full of smiles. She looked at Bai Lu and said, "As long as you are happy, no matter what time, you must put your own feelings first."

"If you don't want to stay in Kyoto, there's no need to force yourself."

"I'll go talk to the Emperor later."

Bai Lu was slightly startled after hearing the Queen's words, then she said seriously, "Your Majesty, you are wrong. My second and third brothers are getting married in Kyoto, and I must see it with my own eyes."

"Although I don't like my father and his family, I can't let my second and third brothers miss this important event in their lives."

The Queen nodded in satisfaction and continued, "If you encounter any problems in the future, please send someone to the palace to inform me. I will let Hongying handle it. It will always be more convenient than doing it yourself."

The queen now no longer cares about other people's opinions and acts more decisively.

Even if there were rumors of collusion with Pei Huizhou, she didn't care. The worst that could happen was that she would lose her position as queen.

The crown prince has now been appointed. Even if the emperor wants to change the crown prince, he has to see if others have the ability and sufficient military merit to support it.

Therefore, the prince will not be implicated because of the queen's affairs.

The Queen can now act so recklessly.

Bai Lu looked at the queen, feeling vaguely uneasy, as she always felt that the queen was planning something big.

That desperate attitude... is scary.

Could it be that she really became like this because she had died once before? !

Bai Lu suppressed her doubts and said to the Queen with a smile, "By the way... Queen, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince specifically asked me to bring you a token to leave the palace. Have you used it?"

"If I don't find time to leave the palace, I'm afraid I'll let down His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Everyone knew that the queen had been in the palace for a long time and had long wanted to go out for a walk.

But if you want to leave the palace on weekdays, it is either to go to the Huguo Temple to pray for blessings, or there is an important event in the palace (such as this Double Ninth Festival Banquet). If you want to leave the palace at other times, you have to ask the emperor for permission.

It's okay to ask for instructions once or twice occasionally, but if it happens too often, it will inevitably make the emperor unhappy.

So throughout the year, the queen only left the palace three or five times, which could be counted on one hand.

But the Queen said calmly, "There's nothing to go out for."

"I wanted to leave the palace before but couldn't. Now that I can go out, I don't have the same enthusiasm as before."

When she said this, there was a hint of melancholy in the queen's eyes.

Bai Lu was about to say a few words of comfort when she heard the Queen continue gently, "Also, don't blame the Emperor."

Bai Lu was stunned, and instantly realized that the Queen was talking about the "Chastity Arch". Her heart tightened, and she quickly asked, "Your Majesty, I still have questions about the Chastity Arch."

"I clearly delivered the imperial edict granting the chastity arch to Chief Steward Li before. Why didn't you deliver it?!"

The Queen looked at Bai Lu and patiently explained, "The imperial edict granting you the chastity arch was indeed given to you, and it was written in all its glory...but the Emperor didn't stamp it with his imperial seal."

"Because you didn't want to confront the Crown Prince and Pei Huizhou in public, you left in a hurry and forgot to get the Emperor's seal, so the imperial edict hasn't actually taken effect yet."

Hearing this, Bai Lu's face instantly darkened.

She turned her head to look at Pei Huizhou, who was sitting on the other side of the queen, and met Pei Huizhou's gaze, then turned to look at the emperor.

At this time, the emperor was eating and drinking with his ministers.

During the banquet, everyone was drinking, and the emperor suddenly felt a cold gaze falling on him.

She couldn't help but rub her hands, and when she turned around, she met Bai Lu's cold eyes...

The emperor suddenly felt guilty and grinned at Bai Lu.

He quickly turned around and continued drinking with the ministers, avoiding her gaze.

The Queen saw it clearly from the side and couldn't help laughing. She said to Bai Lu, "Nowadays, you are the only one in the world who can control the Emperor."

"It's said that the emperor is supreme and no one can surpass him, but that's not true."

"The emperor also has people he feels guilty about, and people he wants to make amends with."

"Every time he sees you, he thinks of your mother...so even if you argue with him in front of everyone...he won't say a single harsh word to you..."

"Before, the ministers impeached you, saying you led the people in an uprising and commanded an army of five hundred women... and even suspected you of wanting to become an empress. But the emperor didn't believe them. He didn't even say a harsh word to you, let alone scold you."

"..."

The emperor held the wine glass, sighed softly, and took a sip of the bitter wine.

He wished Bai Lu could understand his feelings.

Not giving her a chastity memorial isn't about forcing her to marry, but about letting her... freely pursue her own happiness...

After three rounds of drinks, the Queen suddenly grabbed Bai Lu's hand and said solemnly, "Bai Lu, I have something I want to ask for your help."

Bai Lu was stunned and said quickly, "Your Majesty, what are you talking about? You are my aunt and the Queen. You can just give me orders if you have anything to ask. It's not like I'm begging you."

The queen leaned close to Bai Lu and whispered a few words in her ear.

After hearing this, Bai Lu's eyes widened instantly and she was speechless for a long time.

This is a huge thing, "How can you do this?!"

"Your Majesty, please think twice!"

This is even more shocking than the Turkic attack!

The queen shook her head gently with a serene smile on her face: "This is my wish."

"After I help you deal with all these things and no one can threaten you anymore, you will help me fulfill this wish, okay?"

Bai Lu was silent for a moment, then finally nodded and said softly, "Okay, as long as your Majesty is happy, I will obey you."

At the end of the Double Ninth Festival banquet, Bai Lu and the others drank a lot of wine.

After all, he was a meritorious official, and many ministers came to toast him.

In the end, Bai Lu and several generals were carried back to their residence.

Bai Lu did not have her own residence in Kyoto, so the emperor gave her an elegant large courtyard in the suburbs.

The courtyard had nine entrances and nine exits, and was fully equipped. The servants were all retired palace maids and eunuchs, and it was very convenient to use.

If this courtyard was not located in the suburbs, such a magnificent nine-courtyard house would have been given away long ago, and the title deed would not have remained in the emperor's treasury.

Everyone knew that Bai Lu had a bad relationship with the Bai family, so they didn't let her return to live there.

Letting her live in the courtyard given by the emperor makes her feel comfortable and at ease!