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

"Fourth Miss! I'm not asking you to compete with him in status. Lu Xun is the son of the Marquis's uncle. In terms of blood relationship, you are not far from him. If you have his support, you will be able to live more smoothly in the palace."

However, when it came to this, Zhong Bo became a little worried and told a story that happened a long time ago.

"Fourth Miss, do you remember what I told you? Emperor Taizu had strict restrictions on the succession of titles. Titles can only be passed on to biological sons, or if the successor dies within three years, the title can be passed on to a younger brother."

"Back then, the old marquis passed away less than three years after inheriting the title. When the marquis inherited the title, his father had a quarrel for a while, so they were not close."

"But that happened decades ago. He's in such a high position now, I'm sure he doesn't care much about the past. If you act more modestly tomorrow, perhaps you can ease the relationship between the two families."

"After all, you are in the palace, and you can't do it without the support of your family."

The thought of currying favor with others made Lu Mingyang feel uncomfortable. He shook his head in disdain, "Who said I don't have family? My eldest sister can support me."

"But the eldest lady is a female member of the family after all." Uncle Zhong sighed and was about to start a long speech. Lu Mingyang responded perfunctorily and pulled his sister away to escape his nagging.

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window and shone into Lu Mingyang's eyes. He opened them lazily, and a flash of inspiration struck him: Could this be the happy event at the Chengyang Marquisate that Chu Mingzheng mentioned?

A huge crowd gathered in the main hall, stretching all the way to the courtyard. Lu Mingyang stood out among them, as she was the only woman there.

The man sitting in the main seat was the oldest in the Lu family, the youngest son of their ancestor, Chengyang Marquis Lu Hui. The man sitting in the secondary seat was the highest-ranking official in the Lu family, her cousin Lu Xun, who held the rank of Commander.

Lu Mingyang walked in, feeling a little unhappy.

Where's her seat?

Although she was of a lower generation, she was still the only descendant of Chengyang Marquis Lu Shao among those present. They didn't even leave her a chair leg.

After all, Lu Mingyang was the Princess of Ningyuan. When everyone saw her come in, they all stood up and saluted, but no one offered their seats, and the seats blocked their buttocks tightly.

An old man with a gray beard sitting at the left seat below said kindly, "Girl Yang, these are all things happening in the front yard. Go back and rest and prepare for your wedding."

Uncle Zhong walked to Lu Mingyang's side and whispered, "This is Second Grandpa."

It turned out that he was the father of her cousin Lu Xun, the commander, and her second grandfather who had competed with her father for the title of Marquis of Chengyang.

Letting her go is a joke.

Lu Mingyang bowed proudly, "Greetings to Second Grandfather. I also want to go back and rest, but I am now in charge of the Chengyang Marquis Mansion, and I am afraid that if I go back, these ignorant people will neglect my tea."

Humph, I'm leaving, don't even think about drinking tea.

The old man sitting next to the second grandfather hurriedly tried to smooth things over, "Miss Yang, it's okay for you to listen. Please take a seat."

Then he gave up his seat.

She didn't want to sit on this broken chair anymore. Lu Mingyang turned and walked out of the hall. She wanted to ask someone to bring a high chair to block the door, but when she thought of what Uncle Zhong said, she didn't get angry with the old men.

Sat in the pavilion.

Seeing that no one was around, Lu Mingyang asked, "Uncle Zhong, do they know what the emperor's will is?"

There was excitement and indescribable greed in his eyes.

Zhong Bo said, "Many of the Lu family's descendants serve in the court, so it's not surprising that they heard some rumors, especially the commander-in-chief, who is a close confidant of His Majesty."

Lu Mingyang said "Oh" and asked, "Uncle Zhong, you always say that my cousin is a commander. What kind of commander is he?"

Zhong Bo said, "The commander of the Jinyiwei."

"What's the difference between that and my second brother's Imperial Guards?" Worried that he would go on for another long speech, Lu Mingyang reminded him, "Keep it simple."

Zhong Bo thought for a moment and said, "The Imperial Guards are responsible for the safety of your Majesty, and the Embroidered Uniform Guards serve your Majesty."

Lu Mingyang was puzzled: "They are both guards, why is one called the commander and the other the general?"

"The highest commanders of the guard camps are all commanders, but the Yulin Guard was originally called the Yulin Army. Your Majesty changed the name of the army to the guard, but did not change the official title, so they still serve in the military."

Seeing that the fourth lady still had a doubtful look on her face, Zhong Bo added, "The commander of the Jinyiwei is a third-rank official, and the general of the Yulinwei is a third-rank official. However, there is no subordinate relationship between them; they are all directly under His Majesty."

Because of his eldest sister, Lu Mingyang began to imagine this family with a father, a mother and brothers, and he liked it more and more and felt more and more of a sense of belonging.

Speaking of which, I am full of pride.

Lu Mingyang touched his feet together and snorted coldly, "He's only one grade older than my second brother, who is twenty years younger than him. What's so bragging about him? He's not that great. He's not even worthy of being compared to my father."

Just now in the room, he had a cold face and was extremely serious, as if he was afraid that someone would curry favor with him.

Zhong Bo looked at the Fourth Lady's lovely appearance and responded with a smile, "Fourth Lady, don't be angry. Follow the etiquette. The female members of the family are not required to obey the imperial edicts sent to the various mansions, unless they are issued to the female members of the family."

At 9 o'clock in the morning, the eunuch who announced the imperial decree stepped into the palace gate. It was the emperor's personal eunuch, Eunuch Su. It seemed that something serious was going on.

Lu Mingyang hurriedly stood up and went to the hall to receive the imperial edict with everyone else.

The bright yellow imperial edict unfolded before his eyes, and Eunuch Su read it aloud.

The minister who had been condemned by His Majesty as a criminal for starting the war without authorization was now praised flatteringly in the imperial edict. His Majesty specifically absolved Marquis Lu Shao of the guilt of starting the war without authorization, and to reward his loyalty, even sacrificing his entire family for his country, he granted the Lu clan the right to adopt a son to inherit the title of Marquis of Chengyang.

This is indeed a happy event.

Lu Mingyang looked up at the bright yellow imperial edict, a symbol of imperial power, and suddenly found it a little amusing. It turned out that the emperor, the supreme ruler of the land, could change his orders from day to day and speak nonsense.

Yes, when he was defeated in the war and married off to a foreign princess, he needed his father to take the blame; now that the marriage is completed, he needs to use his father to appease the generals in the court to be loyal to him.

If it weren't for the fact that Lord Zhongxin was certain that he was killed by a Xiongnu spy, and if it weren't for the Xiongnu assassin who tried to assassinate the emperor, the emperor probably wouldn't have made up his mind to issue this imperial edict.

After the reading, Eunuch Su closed the imperial edict and handed it to Lu Xun, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Lu Xun took it respectfully and asked, "Eunuch Su, has His Majesty said when the candidate will be reported to the Imperial Clan Court to inherit the title?"

"The emperor said it should be done as soon as possible. The Marquis of Chengyang has not had a leader, so that's not going to work." Eunuch Su said, glancing at Lu Mingyang and continuing, "It would be best if the candidate is decided before the fourth young lady gets married. Ordinary families have their fathers and brothers to see them off, let alone marrying into the royal family."

"Thank you, father-in-law!"

Even the commander of the Jinyiwei did not dare to neglect it. He asked someone to pay the errand fee and personally escorted Eunuch Su to the carriage. After Eunuch Su left, he handed the imperial edict to the oldest old man.

"Seventh Grandfather, please select a young man from the clan who is both talented and virtuous, adopt him to the Marquis of Chengyang, and report to the clan office."