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

Faintly recalling the words of the two young palace maids who had mocked him, Lu Mingyang asked softly, "Are you talking about my second brother, Lu Mingyuan?"

"Yes, yes. I greet the Fourth Young Lady." The Imperial Guard saluted solemnly with his fists clasped together. The Imperial Guard beside him also saluted in a loud voice.

Unexpectedly, Lu Mingyuan's name was more effective than Chu Mingzheng's here. However, Lu Mingyang didn't have time to chat with him and continued to ask him about King Ningyuan.

The Yulin guard said, "Entry and exit are strictly prohibited at Chengtian Gate today. We don't know this, so you'll have to ask the guards at other gates of the imperial city."

"Thank you!"

Lu Mingyang hurried to the nearest city gate, walked around for a while, and finally asked outside Cheng'an Gate about the news of King Ningyuan entering.

"Thank you!" Lu Mingyang wanted to go in but was stopped by the guard.

"Princess, no one is allowed to enter today unless summoned."

In the past, only a summons and a badge were required to enter the imperial palace, and the imperial guards would not check identities.

Lu Mingyang said, "Then please inform His Royal Highness Prince Ningyuan that I have an urgent matter and ask him to come out."

Seeing the guard standing still, she emphasized, "I am the sister of the former General of the Imperial Guards."

The guard still blocked the knife and said fiercely, "I am also following the orders of the captain. Please don't make things difficult for me, Princess."

"Captain, aren't you the Imperial Guards?"

The guard said, "The Imperial Guards have all been transferred to Chengtian Gate. The Imperial City is poorly defended, and we are an infantry battalion transferred from the outskirts of the capital."

So that's what's going on. Lu Mingyang said anxiously, "Just help pass the message on for me. I'm not going in."

The guard coldly refused, "It's my duty, I'm sorry I can't obey."

"You..."

"Hey, sister, don't you want to come?"

A carriage slowly stopped, and inside the window, a woman's slender phoenix-tail eyebrows were raised high.

"Miss Qin!" Unexpectedly, Qin Miao hadn't entered the palace yet. Lu Mingyang excitedly held the car window and said, "Sister, I have something urgent to do. Can you go in and see His Highness and ask him to come out?"

"Okay!"

"You agreed?" Lu Mingyang was surprised.

Qin Miao clapped her hands and smiled condescendingly: "I will do my best to help my sister, but I can't make the decision on whether Your Highness can come out or not."

Lu Mingyang thought for a moment and said, "Just tell me that everything I said at the Green Water Pond is true. I have a matter of life and death, and I want him to come out immediately."

The guards inspected the carriage and let it pass. Qin Miao smiled and waved to Lu Mingyang. When the carriage reached the palace gate, Mudan helped Qin Miao into the palace and couldn't help asking, "Miss, do you really want to help Fourth Miss Lu pass on a message?"

Qin Miao smiled: "Didn't I tell you that it's not my decision whether Her Highness comes out or not. It's not cold today, so let her wait at the foot of the Imperial City."

The sky gradually darkened, and the shadows on the ground disappeared completely. No wonder he agreed so readily. Lu Mingyuan could finally confirm that he had been fooled.

"Where is Captain Pei's Yueqi Battalion?" Looking at the guards' armor, she thought of Pei Mian.

The guard said, "The Captain of the Yue Cavalry is in charge of the West Gate today."

"Thank you!"

Lu Mingyang turned and ran towards the West City Gate, but it was too far away. The round trip was already past the hour of Xu. She walked into a restaurant and said anxiously, "Boss, I'd like to borrow a horse. I'll return it to you in two hours at the latest."

As he said this, he took out the silver.

The shopkeeper was so frightened that he waved his hands hastily. "Miss, don't you know? After sunset today, no one is allowed to ride a horse or a carriage in the city. Otherwise, it will be considered treason."

"what?"

Lu Mingyang was so upset that he felt like crying. What kind of luck was this? He was right. The emperor's safety was more important than anything else.

The streets were ablaze with colorful lights, and the novel and varied lanterns made the capital look like a fairyland on earth. More and more people gathered on the streets, especially outside Chengtian Gate.

Qin Miao said that Chu Mingzheng would also accompany His Majesty to the city gate, so we could only ask the Yulin Guard to stop Chu Mingzheng at the city gate.

Lu Mingyang looked at Chengtian Gate and squeezed through layer after layer of human walls.

"quiet!"

A majestic voice rang out, followed by the resounding roar of the Imperial Guards. Lu Mingyang looked up and saw the man he had been searching for.

Chu Mingzheng, wearing a jade crown and purple clothes, stood in the most dazzling position.

Lu Mingyang waved, but the tall men around her blocked her view. Suddenly, she saw the outline of the man next to her, like a scimitar, printed on his chest.

Shouts of "Long live His Majesty, long live His Majesty!" rang out in his ears, a sign that the Emperor was about to come out. In a moment of desperation, Lu Mingyang threw a string of copper coins into the air.

"The emperor's grace is great, he has rewarded me with money and bestowed blessings!"

Although they were only small copper coins, everyone squatted down to grab them when they heard that they were awarded by His Majesty, except for the Hun spies who wanted to assassinate His Majesty.

They all put their hands into their arms, which was extremely abrupt.

Lu Mingyang quietly reminded the assassins around him, "There's a change in action, why don't you retreat quickly?"

Unfortunately, it was too late. The Imperial Guards had already noticed their abnormality and shouted "Assassin!", drawing their swords and rushing towards the assassin. Lu Mingyang crouched down and followed the crowd to escape, but suddenly, he was grabbed by a rough hand.

"Brother, we are one of us..."

Before he could finish his words, a scimitar came across his neck.

An arrow streaked through the night sky, piercing the throat. The behemoth fell to the ground with a thud, blood splattering everywhere. The gleaming scimitar flew in midair, illuminating the woman's blood-spattered face.

Am I dead?

Lu Mingyang's eyes went dark, and he vaguely saw a purple figure falling from the sky.

A warm, damp handkerchief rubbed against her face. Lu Mingyang drowsily opened her eyes and saw Chu Mingzheng. He was sitting beside her bed, meticulously wiping the blood off her face. She, on the other hand, lay beneath a brocade quilt, her clothes stripped.

"You're awake!" Chu Mingzheng noticed her embarrassment and said with a smile, "Your clothes are covered in blood."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Lu Mingyang pursed his lips, not knowing what to say. Chu Mingzheng asked, "How did you know there was an assassin outside Chengtian Gate tonight?"

"I...I don't know." He must have seen everything clearly from the tower. Lu Mingyang began to make up a story: "I wanted to watch the excitement, but I happened to see people around me with scimitars. I was worried they were assassins, so in desperation, I scattered a handful of copper coins."

"Yes," Chu Mingzheng followed her words and said, "If the palace summons you for questioning tomorrow, just say this!"

"..."

Lu Mingyang stared at the man in front of her in a daze. She wanted to ask him, "Did you save me?" But in the end, she didn't ask.

The warm and soft handkerchief rubbed against my neck, which made me feel a little itchy, and my face turned red.

"I'll wipe it myself!"

Lu Mingyang subconsciously grabbed the hand that was touching his neck, then quickly pushed it away.

He raised his hands in the air, at a loss.

At this moment, someone pushed the door open and walked in. Chu Mingzheng hurriedly dropped the bed curtain and walked out, his face quite unhappy: "Knock on the door before coming in, is there any etiquette?"