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

Concubine Song raised her sleeve to hide the smile on her lips and warned, "Warrior Wu Weixie, the woman you claim deceived you is none other than the fifth young lady who grew up in the Chengyang Marquis's mansion, and the woman you are talking about is the fourth young lady who was found yesterday."

As she spoke, Concubine Song looked at Jin Yiluo and said with a smile, "Since your most capable subordinates have confirmed that the Fourth Young Lady of the Chengyang Marquis's Mansion is genuine, then this matter is over."

Jin Yiluo glanced coldly at Wu Weixie. Wu Weixie lowered his head in frustration. In his eyes, the people of Sheng Dynasty all looked the same. He had only taken a few quick glances yesterday, and today, after changing clothes, how could he tell them apart?

If he had not been shot by Lu Mingyuan on the battlefield, he would not have remembered Lu Mingyuan's appearance so clearly.

Jin Yiluo looked at the emperor, touched his shoulder and saluted, "There are so many people like me in this world. This action further proves that the Chengyang Marquisate has ill intentions. I beg the Emperor of Shengchao to give us an explanation."

He repeatedly mentioned this point in order to seize the opportunity to demand more money and cities. Money was fine, but Ningwu had always been a strategic location. If it were lost, the Sheng Dynasty would be at the mercy of the enemy, and the people would not agree.

The emperor coughed lightly and assumed a rare firm stance. "I have already allowed you to choose your own bride price for the princess, which demonstrates your sincerity. The Marquis of Chengyang and his wife are already dead. If you continue to dwell on unverified matters, I will doubt your sincerity in negotiating peace with the Xiongnu."

Jin Yiluo sneered: "What if I can produce evidence?"

Everyone was speechless.

Jin Yiluo continued, "I've heard that the Sheng Dynasty has a method of testing paternity by dropping bones. If it proves to be true, we Xiongnu will have no objections."

If he refused to allow the inspection, it would mean that the emperor had tacitly agreed that the Chengyang Marquis' Mansion had replaced one thing with another. After thinking it over again and again, the emperor had no choice but to grit his teeth and agree.

The emperor's personal eunuch, Eunuch Su, personally escorted everyone out of Chengtian Gate.

Yang Xier was walking at the end, and from afar she saw a figure in a blue official uniform kneeling outside Chengtian Gate. He looked tiny yet eye-catching in the vast sky and earth.

When they came, they went through the Xuanwu Gate leading to the harem and did not see this scene.

"Who is he?"

After Duke Song and the Huns left, Yang Xier asked Eunuch Su curiously.

"Ministry of War official Shen Yan."

Eunuch Su looked helpless. "Ever since His Majesty agreed to the marriage with the Xiongnu, he's been kneeling here. He fainted a couple of days ago, and we had a hard time getting him home. Now he's awake and here he is again. The Minister of War and the left and right assistant ministers have no objections. Why is he, a mere official, getting involved?"

Although Eunuch Su's face was filled with disdain, he also felt a bit of admiration for him when he saw his father's persistence. He said with regret, "A twenty-year-old who passed the imperial examinations twice, the first since the founding of the Dasheng Dynasty, should have had a bright future. What a pity."

The carriage from the Chengyang Marquis' Mansion arrived. Yang Xier said goodbye to Eunuch Su and got on the carriage with Lu Mingqin.

The coffin was carried out from the Chengyang Marquis's mansion, and the funeral procession was carried out in a grand procession to the Lu family's ancestral resting place. Although there were many servants, the only descendant who carried the coffin was a daughter-in-law.

The suona music stopped, and the sound of horse hooves could be heard. Song Wanli turned around and saw a large procession of carriages and horses approaching. Jin Yiluo quickly dismounted and pointed directly at the coffin of Chengyang Marquis Lu Shao, ordering, "Open the coffin."

The Duke of Song then got off the carriage and announced to the Chengyang Marquis' Mansion the emperor's order to test the paternity by dripping bones.

Song Wanli, who was kneeling on the ground, looked up in surprise and demanded angrily, "The coffin is already sealed. How can you disturb the deceased's peace? Your Majesty, aren't you afraid of public criticism for this action?"

"Shut up!" Duke Song scolded his daughter, raising his hands to the sky. "Marquis Chengyang provoked war without authorization, causing great suffering to the people of both countries. Your Majesty has granted him a magistrate's burial. You, a woman, must not speak nonsense."

"Declaring war without authorization? The Marquis of Chengyang is clearly following the Emperor's orders..."

"Pull her away," Duke Song interrupted his daughter harshly. Two eunuchs pulled Song Wanli away, and officers from the Dali Temple stepped forward to pry open the coffin of the Marquis of Chengyang.

The coffin is placed next to the grave, and it is only one step away from being buried.

"Father, I have dedicated my life to the country and the people. How can I bear this humiliation? Please go and ask His Majesty for permission again." Song Wanli knelt on the ground, sobbing: "Father, please, please, how can I explain this to A Yuan?"

Duke Song looked at his little daughter, whom he had cherished and raised in his arms, his heart filled with heartache. He leaned over to support his daughter, saying soothingly, "Wan'er, the Chengyang Marquisate is on the decline. Even Lu Shao's eldest daughter knows not to come, so why do you have to endure so much? Father has already sought permission from His Majesty. After the burial today, you can return home with father, and you will have nothing to do with the Chengyang Marquisate from now on."

"Daddy!" Song Wanli shook her head in disbelief. "I am Lu Mingyuan's wife, and I will always be."

"Nonsense!" Duke Song said displeasedly, "You're not even twenty yet, and you don't have any children. Are you going to be a widow forever for Lu Mingyuan?"

He sighed and continued, "Wan'er, you've done very well. Everyone in the world has seen it, and no one will criticize you. You can cry at his grave again later, and it will be considered as completing the love you have shared as husband and wife for the past three years."

"Daddy..."

"It's settled now." Duke Song no longer paid attention to his daughter, turned around and ordered everyone to continue opening the coffin.

The officers and soldiers moved quickly, and the coffin of Marquis Chengyang was only missing one last nail to open it.

Song Wanli looked up at the sky. The sun had already moved westward, and the dazzling light had long since disappeared. Only a crimson glow filled the sky, like blood spilled on a battlefield, oppressing people and making them breathless.

"Who dares to move again!" Song Wanli drew out the sword of the officer behind him and pointed it at the officer who was opening the coffin.

Duke Song asked anxiously, "Wan'er, are you going to drag the entire Duke Song's Mansion with you to be buried with you for Lu Mingyuan?"

"Sir Song!" Song Wanli turned around with his sword in hand, his eyes determined: "From today on, the relationship between you and me as father and daughter is severed. I am no longer a daughter of the Song family, but only a wife of the Lu family."

Then he cut his palm, and blood flowed from his fingertips into the dust.

"I didn't expect that there is such a strong-willed person in the Duke of Song's Mansion. It's a pity that she is a woman." Jin Yiluo sneered.

Song Wanli glared at them, "This is indeed a barbaric land without civilization, devoid of human ethics and morality. Today, my Lu family has sacrificed their lives. If you dare to disturb the peace of my ancestors, you will be punished by heaven."

As the voice fell, a delicate yet resolute figure crashed into Lu Mingyuan's coffin, blood splattering across her plain clothes. Song Wanli leaned against the coffin, lips slightly parted, and raised her arm slightly, as if she wanted to say something.

But she was openly defying the imperial order, defying the emperor's authority. No one dared to approach her. The Duke of Song was no different, simply calling out "Wan'er" over and over again in grief.

But Yang Xier is not afraid.

"Second sister-in-law!" Yang Xier walked over and knelt in front of Song Wanli, holding the hand that no one dared to hold.

Song Wanli looked at the visitor in a daze, and spat out tears of blood with difficulty: "Please, bury me with A Yuan."

"Okay, sister-in-law, I promise you."