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

"Okay, okay, okay, I won't laugh anymore."

He was used to her hypocritical acting, and when he suddenly heard such sincere and heartfelt crying, he was a little dazed for a moment.

Could it be that what she just said was not a lie?

Chu Mingzheng lowered his head, his tear-stained eyelashes fluttering, making his heart a little confused.

Lu Mingyang raised his head from his arms and asked tentatively, "Your Highness, my brother-in-law is dead, and I'm scared. Can you protect me and my elder sister?"

After all this fuss, it turns out he's really waiting here.

"What about you?" Chu Mingzheng leaned over and touched his cold forehead, asking, "Are you devoted to me?"

Lu Mingyang looked at the lips in front of him, stood on tiptoe, closed his eyes and kissed them. His sincerity was cut short halfway through, and Lu Mingyang opened his eyes tremblingly, only to see three fingers blocking his lips.

His face was as cold as ice, and he was obviously not satisfied with her response.

"What does it mean to be wholeheartedly devoted? I'll give you some time to think it over." Chu Mingzheng let go of the delicate body in his arms without any reluctance and turned to leave.

The warmth suddenly disappeared, and Lu Mingyang froze in place, shivering with cold.

After a long while, no one came chasing him. Chu Mingzheng turned around and saw tears splashing down. The woman was hidden in the darkness, like a shadow puppet.

"Aren't you going to take me home?"

"Come on, come on!"

Lu Mingyang hurriedly blinked away the tears in his eyes and chased after him, holding his cloak.

"Why don't you speak?"

After a long time, Chu Mingzheng couldn't help it. He looked at the girl who was walking with her head down beside him and held her hand.

What does this mean? Doesn’t it mean that you don’t like my touch?

Lu Mingyang was really going crazy because of his torture. "I'm afraid Your Highness doesn't like to hear it."

"Then don't say it." Anyway, it's you who has something to say, not me.

"you……"

Lu Mingyang really couldn't help it. Her elder sister's affairs were weighing on her heart, so how could she let him leave at ease?

"Your Highness, overwork is harmful to your health. No matter how well His Majesty does his job, what good will it do us?" You are already a dying man.

At this point, she began to hint, "Your Majesty only wants a result. It would be better to close the case as soon as possible. That way, I... Miss Qin can spend more time with His Majesty."

"What about you?" Chu Mingzheng realized that she had changed.

Lu Mingyang lowered his head: "Of course I am willing to spend more time with Your Highness."

At this moment, she couldn't even tell whether what she said was true or false.

Chu Mingzheng said: "I want to, but how can we close the case as soon as possible?"

Lu Mingyang probed, "Didn't Lord Shen find the Xiongnu's hiding place today? It shouldn't be difficult to capture one or two Xiongnu spies, right?"

"You want me to kill innocent people?"

"The Hun spies are not considered to be killing innocent people, right?" They should be executed if they are caught.

"Even if we find someone to take the blame, it has to be reasonable." Chu Mingzheng sighed: "But the murder weapon has not been found yet!"

"Your Highness has agreed!" Lu Mingyang jumped up happily, one leg high and one leg low like a little white rabbit.

Chu Mingzheng held her shoulders and continued to remind her: "Also, they must have a motive for killing Lord Zhongxin."

The murder weapon was easy to explain, as it was definitely in the eldest sister's hands. But what was the motive? Lu Mingyang thought about it and asked.

Chu Mingzheng didn't answer, stopped, and said lightly: "Go back!"

go back?

Lu Mingyang followed his gaze and saw the plaque of Chengyang Marquis Mansion.

"Didn't I send you home?" she said embarrassedly.

"At this hour, the city gates have already been bolted."

"Ah, where do you live then?"

Chu Mingzheng picked up the girl, who was as light as a kitten, and placed her on the steps. He lowered his head and asked with a smile, "Does the princess mean to invite me to stay overnight?"

"Good night, Your Highness!"

Lu Mingyang stuffed the cloak into his hands and ran into the Chengyang Marquis Mansion.

Chu Mingzheng's gaze fell from the woman's back to her cloak, and he smiled.

"Good night. Where did you learn this phrase? It sounds pretty nice."

During the New Year holidays, the capital city was ablaze with lights, a vibrant scene of joy. Yet, the streets were the quietest of the year. Chu Mingzheng walked alone, his cape radiating the woman's lingering warmth. For the first time, he felt a sense of warmth.

"Come out!"

Chu Mingzheng silently slowed down his pace as he passed through an alley. After leaving Chengyang Marquis Mansion, he sensed someone following him, so he let the carriage leave first.

Pei Mian followed His Highness and presented him with a map showing the possible hiding places of the Xiongnu spies that he had circled.

Chu Mingzheng took a look and found that it was exactly the same as Shen Yanquan's.

"I will ask the Dali Temple to investigate tomorrow. Don't worry about this matter."

"Your Highness!" Pei Mian was anxious. "The Dali Temple is loyal to the Song family. They hope that you can't find out the truth. How can they work hard?"

"If I can't find out, that's a good thing." This means Song Wei's plan stops here. Just because he can't solve the case is not a big deal. But he is worried that his plan is more dangerous.

Fortunately, the little girl would soon verify it for herself. Thinking of Lu Mingyang, Chu Mingzheng felt mixed emotions. It turned out that the person she finally chose to trust was her eldest sister.

If he were in her place, he would have made the same choice. He felt that she was right, but he couldn't hide his disappointment in his heart.

"Your Highness, what are you thinking about?" Pei Mian asked.

"Nothing!" Chu Mingzheng asked, "Have you collected the taxes levied on the Xiongnu from Yanmen Pass?"

Pei Mian shook his head. "You and the Xiongnu agreed on April, and the Yanmen governor, seeing how poor the people are, planned to wait until after the first month of the lunar year to collect the crops."

"There's none now, but will there be after the first month of the lunar year?"

"Yes!" Pei Mian also sighed: "For farmers, the beginning of spring is the most difficult time."

……

In Yuanzhi Pavilion, Lu Mingyang eagerly got on Lu Mingyuan's bed again, with a servile smile on his face.

Lu Mingyuan poked her head with a sullen face, "Who told you to bring Yin'er here on your own initiative?"

"Eldest sister, Yin'er is not only Chen Hong's son, he is also yours. He also has our father's blood in his body. From now on, he will be our child. Don't think too much. Father will definitely be happy to see him."

Lu Mingyang crawled into the bed, and her legs touched the hot water bottle. She remembered that there was only one at the latest, but she didn't expect that there would be two tonight.

"Eldest sister, you knew I was coming!"

She smiled, and this time it was a genuine smile.

Lu Mingyuan said, "Yang'er, you don't have to worry about me. If Prince Ningyuan wants to investigate, then let him do it."

"Eldest sister, you are confused." She knew that she was very conflicted. It was already a great act of filial piety to her father by hiding the truth from him. How could she stop others from telling the truth?

Lu Mingyang racked his brains and came up with a reason, then spoke seriously.

"Prince Guangcheng is the emperor's only biological son. Will the emperor allow the truth to come to light and make the future prince's mother's family a criminal?"

"If we investigate this matter to the end, the only conclusion we can draw is that Earl Zhongxin is collaborating with the enemy. How would that benefit Yin'er? If Prince Ningyuan is of low character, he might even try to curry favor with Concubine Song by saying that you killed your husband out of love and hatred. Wouldn't that bring even greater shame to father?"

"Father is watching from heaven and will only say that you are confused."

"So, we must not let Prince Ningyuan find out about this matter."

"Eldest sister, for Yin'er and for father, you have to cheer up."