General, you should rest now; the lady is even more ruthless.

The Empress almost thought she had misheard.

That's Prime Minister Lü! He's been the top civil official for twenty years!

The Empress admitted that her voice had been a bit loud. Now, let whoever wants to hold a grudge, let them; she, for one, had no resentment whatsoever.

A wise ruler is one who is discerning, insightful, and has the ability to recognize talent!

It would have been perfect if his life had been a little shorter. (￣?￣)

She didn't believe the Emperor was unaware of the court officials' attitudes over the years, yet he had always tacitly approved of their actions. Now, he even directly wanted to marry Prime Minister Lü's youngest daughter to Feng'er. This wasn't just an implication; it was practically an explicit declaration. What difference was there between this and directly establishing a crown prince?

Chen Chengfeng understood the stakes involved, but now that he knew Qi Qi was still alive, he didn't want anyone else to become his primary wife...

Chen Chengfeng looked up. Everyone around him was waiting for his reply. The Empress Dowager had her eyes half-closed and her face was expressionless. The Empress was frantically giving him signals, her eyebrows, eyes, and nose almost squeezing together.

Seeing his hesitation, the Emperor asked, "Feng'er, are you not satisfied?"

Chen Chengfeng gritted his teeth. If he really became emperor in the future, he didn't care if she was the wife of a general or the wife of a prime minister. As long as he wanted her, there was nothing he couldn't have.

Thinking of this, Chen Chengfeng knelt on one knee: "Thank you, Father, for bestowing this marriage upon me."

"Get up," the Emperor said when he agreed. "As for the date, I will have the Imperial Observatory decide it. However, it is not advisable to be too hasty in the marriage of a prince, especially a legitimate son. We should allow a few months for preparation."

"Your Majesty is right." Seeing how much the Emperor valued this marriage, the Empress couldn't hide her joy, her face beaming with happiness.

"There is no time to lose. Since everyone has agreed, I will go back and have someone draft an imperial edict to be delivered to Prime Minister Lü's residence. Lü Shuyi shall be the Third Prince's consort."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Your subject (son) respectfully sees Your Majesty (father) off."

The emperor's mind is unfathomable; no one expected his decision.

But the Empress was still very happy.

Now that Shen Luo has married Jiang Qiqi, and Jiang Qiqi is the daughter of Jiang Qianzhong, the Third Prince's faction, if Feng'er were to marry Lu Xiang's daughter, wouldn't both of these top civil and military officials be their people?

The throne would be an easy and readily available prize for her.

As the Empress stepped out of Cining Palace, she felt a gentle spring breeze and felt refreshed.

As long as she can seize this opportunity with Prime Minister Lü, she won't be afraid, even if there are three or five more old women, let alone just the Empress Dowager.

The Empress had just left when the young eunuch guarding the gate entered the room to report: "Your Majesty, the General Who Protects the Nation has arrived."

When Shen Luo entered, he saw that the Empress Dowager was already sitting by the bed.

"Your humble servant Shen Luo greets the Empress Dowager. May Your Majesty live a thousand years!"

"Xiao Luo." When the Empress Dowager saw Shen Luo enter in a wheelchair, tears immediately fell from her eyes. "No need for formalities, come here quickly, let me take a look at you."

Shen Luo slowly moved over, taking the opportunity to look at the Empress Dowager.

His memory of the Empress Dowager was still stuck four years ago.

When he wasn't on the battlefield, he would always be with the eldest prince, who lived in the Cining Palace, so he could often see the Empress Dowager as well.

He is the God of War of Nanyue, and Ajin is the eldest son who is highly regarded. The two young men together have a fearless and indomitable spirit.

The Empress Dowager watched them cause trouble but did not stop them, though she would always punish them afterward.

As time went on, they became more restrained for fear of being punished. Only then did the Empress Dowager slowly teach them some principles, how to conduct themselves, and... their duties as ruler and subject.

They benefited greatly.

There was only one problem: she always complained that the two of them didn't eat enough, and she would force them to eat until they couldn't eat another bite at every meal.

Four years have passed.

She seemed to have aged and become thinner, and he was no longer as spirited as he had been four years ago.

The Empress Dowager held Shen Luo's hand, looking at him from left to right, as if she couldn't get enough of him.

"You've gotten taller, darker, and thinner, Xiao Luo, you must have suffered a lot these past few years, right?"

Shen Luo gently shook his head: "Thanks to the Empress Dowager, I am doing well."

"Everything is fine." The Empress Dowager feigned anger. "What happened to your leg?"

Shen Luo gently touched his leg and smiled slightly: "On the battlefield, bumps and bruises are inevitable. Your Majesty need not worry. It's just a minor injury."

"A minor injury? You still want to hide it from me?" The Empress Dowager's cloudy eyes were full of heartache. "I've already heard that there's no way to heal your leg."

Shen Luo fell silent; he didn't want to lie to the Empress Dowager.

"Never mind, you're still just a child after all." Fortunately, the Empress Dowager didn't press the matter further.

She sighed deeply: "I never thought my illness would take four years to cure. So many things have happened in these years. Jin'er went to the Western Border, and although you defeated Beiming, the price you paid was heavy enough."

“But it’s alright,” the Empress Dowager patted Shen Luo’s hand, “I’m all better now, and I will seek justice for you.”

Shen Luo reached out with his other hand, and the boy's large, warm hand grasped the old man's withered, thin hand in the middle.

This was a highly disrespectful act, but the Empress Dowager showed no intention of pursuing it: "Xiao Luo, you..."

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, A-Jin and I have grown up and no longer need your protection." Shen Luo's voice was soft but firm. "Now, it's our turn to protect you."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

If you had just said you were going to the palace, that would have been enough. Stop dragging your feet.

Jiang Qiqi had originally wanted to ask Shen Luo who owned all those teahouses in the capital. But she decided to wait until tomorrow.

Jiang Qiqi knew that the General's Mansion also had some properties, but these were always managed by Shijiu, and she was not aware of them.

She's opening a teahouse now, but what if the General's Mansion is right next door? That would be terrible.

It wasn't that she felt she couldn't compete with the General's Mansion, but rather that she was afraid of driving the General's Mansion out of business. After all, she was currently living under someone else's roof, and Shen Luo was a very kind person; she couldn't repay kindness with enmity.

Jiang Qiqi's last shred of conscience wouldn't allow her to do that.

Just as she was about to give up and leave, she glanced at the study doorway.

Ok?

"Come back." Jiang Qiqi reached out and pulled Twelve back, who was just about to leave.

I'll ask first this time, so that Shen Luo won't say again that she found a suspicious person and didn't tell him.

"Twelve, have there been any drills in the manor lately? Like, me pretending to be an assassin and you coming to catch me or something."

Twelve scratched his head: "No."

"Are you entrapping someone, like deliberately creating a defensive opening so that an assassin walks right into your trap?"

"nor."

"Oh, I see." Jiang Qiqi pouted. "So you didn't know about the assassin in the study?"

Twelve frowned instantly: "Madam, you said there's an assassin in the study?"

"Yes."

He was actually a little skeptical.

Although the lady was able to see through his tracking, he could actually see through it if they were on equal footing.

But this time, even with his top-notch martial arts skills, he didn't notice the assassin's infiltration. How did she, an ordinary person who doesn't know martial arts and is lazy and ignorant of farming, discover it?

Jiang Qiqi knew he wouldn't believe her.

“Look at that door,” she said, pointing to the study door.

Twelve followed his gaze and asked, "What's wrong?"

The door, as beautiful and clean as ever, stood between two walls, separating the house from the courtyard, blocking the wind and rain, and protecting the secrets and privacy that their young general could hardly speak of.

“This door is wrong.” Jiang Qiqi pointed with her finger. “The left door is on top of the right door.”

"Oh, Madam, you have OCD... Ouch!" Twelve clutched her head. "Madam! Our country doesn't condone violence!"

Jiang Qiqi put away the flute without changing her expression. She found it to be a good thing; she could play it when she was in a good mood, and use it to attack when she was in a bad mood.

"This indicates that someone has been in the room. You mean Shen Luo needs a wheelchair to go in and out, right?"

Nod at twelve o'clock.

"When a wheelchair enters or exits a door, both doors need to be opened, right?"

Nod at twelve o'clock.

When the doors close, both doors will close together. If they close together, will one door end up on top of the other?

Nod at twelve o'clock.

Twelve covered his head and shook his head!

After this explanation, Twelve realized something was amiss. He gestured for Jiang Qiqi and the others to be quiet, and then jumped into the study.

Soon, the sounds of fighting could be heard from inside.

Jiang Qiqi had completed her task and wouldn't be of any help staying here, so she turned around and went back inside.

As soon as Twelve engaged in combat, he realized that his opponent's strength was no less than his own, which explained why he hadn't noticed it before.

Fortunately, the madam discovered this. The master cannot use his internal energy now. If he had really seized the opportunity to assassinate the master...

The consequences were unimaginable.

Twelve gritted his teeth and fought the assassin for dozens of rounds. Both were injured but neither could gain the upper hand. Finally, the assassin took advantage of Twelve turning around and jumped out of the window to escape.