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

The front hall was a bit deserted, with only Uncle Zhong and two servants guarding it.

The more Zhong Bo looked, the more he felt that the girl in front of him was the fourth girl. Thinking that the funeral would be held tomorrow, he handed the lit incense to Yang Xier.

"For so many years, the Marquis and the Second Young Master have searched for the Fourth Young Master many times, but to no avail. Now that we can see the Fourth Young Master before the coffin is sealed, we can finally rest in peace. Fourth Young Master, please burn some incense for the Marquis, the Second Young Master, and the Third Young Master."

Yang Xier took the incense from Zhong Bo's hand and knelt down to kowtow.

"I want to see them, can I?"

"Of course!" Zhong Bo hurriedly made way.

After the matchmaker told her the truth, Yang Xier had always thought that her biological parents were just like the people in the village, who abandoned her because they despised their daughter. But when she heard that her father and brother had been looking for her, she felt a strange feeling in her heart.

"Uncle Zhong, what is this?" She pointed to a coffin.

There was no body in the coffin, only a set of clothes, a lock of hair, a few broken bones, and a bloodstained boot.

"The Third Young Master fell off a cliff, and his body was completely gone. The soldiers searched for three days and three nights, and only found these things. They could only build a cenotaph for his clothes and headgear." Zhong Bo said, tears welling up in his already swollen eyes. "They all say the Third Young Master was eaten by wild beasts, and his body is completely gone."

Yang Xier looked at it and couldn't help but shed tears.

The round table in the room was filled with food. When Yang Nian'er saw her sister coming back, she raised her puffy face and said, "Second sister, look at all the delicious food. Come on and eat!"

"Nian'er, this is dangerous, let's go."

Yang Xier dropped the chicken leg in her hand and pulled her out. At the door, the two ran into Aunt Liu who was coming towards them.

"Where are you going?"

Aunt Liu smiled and pulled Yang Xier into the room, saying gently, "You are going to the palace tomorrow, and you can't wear such shabby clothes. Try this dress!"

As she spoke, she picked up the clothes Chunxiang was holding and gestured to Yang Xier, "The fourth girl is really beautiful."

Yang Xier looked at her smile and found it extremely creepy.

It’s over, I can’t leave.

……

The Imperial Palace was indeed the most majestic and solemn palace in the world. Yang Xier couldn't help but feel daunted as she walked through it.

"Fourth sister, be careful!"

As they climbed the stone steps, Yang Xier, lost in thought, nearly missed a step. Lu Mingqin hurriedly supported her and smiled gently. Needless to say, that smile was exactly like Concubine Liu's. Yang Xier shuddered with fear and followed the palace maid into Xiefang Palace.

"The Imperial Concubine is still busy. Please wait here and have some refreshments first."

"Thank you, sister!" Lu Mingqin bowed.

Yang Xier was in a state of confusion. She picked up the cakes on the tea table and stuffed them into her mouth. The cake crumbs fell on her clothes, and she habitually picked them up and ate them, while the palace maid beside her shook her head repeatedly.

"Fourth Miss Lu, you are so disrespectful. The Queen is kind and will not hold it against you. But you must not act like this when you meet distinguished guests later."

The palace maid was a little older and seemed to have some status in Xiefang Palace.

Lu Mingqin stood up and bowed again, "Fourth sister grew up in the countryside and has never been taught by our father, so her behavior is inevitably crude. I beg your pardon, aunt."

Yang Xier looked over and frowned slightly. She was so calm, did she know it or not?

"Aunt!" Yang Xier stood up and saluted like Lu Mingqin. "I have a stomachache and want to change clothes. Is that convenient?"

The older maid waved her hand, and a younger maid led Yang Xier away. Walking down the quiet corridor, Yang Xier saw that there was no one around, so she pulled the younger maid to the corner and stuffed ten taels of silver into her hand with a distressed look on her face.

Before entering the palace, Concubine Liu and Yang Nian'er came with them. However, they were stopped at the palace gate. Yang Xi'er unkindly took back her sister's ten taels of silver.

The young palace maid was also very sensible. She weighed the silver and put it in her arms, "Ask!"

Worried about the visitor, Yang Xier asked directly, "Your Majesty, do you want the Marquis of Chengyang's daughter to marry the Xiongnu?"

"It would have been much better if it was a marriage alliance. Although the rest of her life would have been miserable, at least she would have been able to keep her life. Unfortunately..." The little palace maid looked at Yang Xier with great sympathy and sighed, "The Xiongnu specifically asked for the legitimate princess to marry, and the Marquis of Chengyang's own daughter to be given as a dowry."

"How could Your Majesty agree to such a humiliating thing?"

Although previous dynasties had arranged marriages for princesses, there had never been a case of an emperor marrying his own daughter. In this dynasty, except for the time of Emperor Taizu, when a daughter of the imperial clan was arranged for marriage, there had been no such marriages since Emperor Taizong's conquest of the Xiongnu.

"How dare you! His Majesty is wise and will not allow you to talk nonsense." The little palace maid looked around in panic.

Yang Xier collected her thoughts and asked again, "Sister, do you know why the Xiongnu specifically asked the daughter of the Marquis of Chengyang to be their dowry?"

"Of course, it's to avenge a blood feud. Although the Marquis of Chengyang died in battle, he did kill the King of Guli, the only biological brother of the Xiongnu Chanyu Yanshi. He also wiped out the elite troops trained by the Xiongnu princes in one fell swoop. How could the Xiongnu not bear a grudge?"

The young palace maid noticed that Yang Xier's face was growing paler and paler, so she offered comfort, "But don't worry. Your identity is unknown. His Majesty is eager to facilitate this meeting and certainly doesn't want to cause any trouble. Besides, your behavior is far too rude, lacking the manners of a woman from an aristocratic family."

Yang Xier thanked him awkwardly, not knowing whether to be happy or sad.

Not long after returning home, the Imperial Concubine came to the main hall. Yang Xier secretly looked up at her and found that she had some similarities with Song Wanli in her eyebrows.

Just as she was speculating about their relationship, the Imperial Concubine's majestic yet gentle voice rang out, "My little sister told me that her two husbands' little sisters are very graceful and elegant. Seeing them today, I can see that they are indeed rare beauties in the world."

Yang Xier followed Lu Mingqin in saying polite words and thought to herself, this imperial concubine really lies without hesitation. She had just arrived at the Chengyang Marquis' Mansion yesterday. How could Song Wanli have mentioned her to her?

A eunuch carrying an imperial decree entered, shattering the false cheer and laughter in the hall. Perhaps the previous court hadn't reached an agreement, so the Imperial Concubine led the two of them to the Hanyuan Hall.

The Huns had loud voices, and their powerful questions could be heard from far away.

"I'm talking about how the Chengyang Marquisate used a fake daughter to deceive the Xiongnu. Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Sheng Dynasty, please don't be ambiguous and give us the Xiongnu an explanation."

When Yang Xier entered, she met the speaker's gaze, which was sharp and ruthless. For the first time, she felt the murderous aura, the suffocating feeling that could kill people with just a glance.

After paying her respects to the emperor, Concubine Song said to Lu Mingqin and Yang Xier, "Come here and meet the young Khan of the Xiongnu, Prince Jin Yiluo."

"This person looks so much like Lu Mingyuan, they're definitely siblings. And look at her..."

After Yang Xier saluted, she looked up and saw Wu Weixie pointing at Lu Mingqin and angrily saying, "...you don't look anything like the father and son of the Marquis of Chengyang, and you still say you're not deceiving us Xiongnu."