The Tang Dynasty: Wu Zetian made me her imperial tutor

"I just moved, please give me a break! Besides, isn't the princess under house arrest..."

A personal visit to express gratitude is certainly necessary, but Lu Jun prefers to take the initiative.

Feng Yan's smile was meaningful: "Being confined means you can't go out, not that people can't come in."

As he entered… Lu Jun suspected he was driving, but had no proof.

Pushed and coaxed out of the house, she saw a carriage painted in vermilion and draped with brocade curtains. The carriage was covered with blue silk curtains on three sides. It was not the princess who disliked the pheasant, but rather a carriage used to welcome guests.

He knew Li Lingyue's personality; last time, he had forced the jade token on her, insisting that she do whatever she wanted.

He frowned and asked in a low voice, "Brother Feng, let me be frank with you, the princess doesn't have any other intentions, does she?"

"If that's how you address me, then you still consider me a friend," Feng Yan whispered in his ear.

"Don't drink alcohol."

After saying that, he narrowed his eyes into slits, giving a half-smile.

Zhengpingfang was very familiar to Lu Jun. The princess's residence, which occupied half of the ward, had always been among the top three most talked-about places among the students of the Imperial Academy, especially in the last six months.

It is said that the place was bustling with carriages and horses, filled with distinguished guests, and where learned scholars conversed and laughed, while no commoners were among the visitors.

The original owner of this body certainly never imagined that one day she would become one of them...

The main gate of the princess's residence is located at the south end, and the front yard is even larger than Lu Jun's new residence. It can not only rest horses, but also run horses.

The courtyard was connected by corridors. Feng Yan bypassed the front hall and led him directly into the inner courtyard, which was the master's living quarters.

Then cross the inner courtyard and enter the back garden.

A vast pond comes into view, its surface wide and shimmering. Three islands stand in the pond, each with a pavilion. Willows sway gently along the banks, peonies are in full bloom, and lotus leaves stretch endlessly across the pond. A winding pebble path leads into a secluded bamboo grove.

A painted boat was moored by the pond, and Princess Taiping, dressed in a purple gauze robe, gracefully leaned out of the window.

Wealthy and generous.

"Chu Yu, come quick!"

She smiled and waved, beckoning Lu Jun onto the boat, her fragrance wafting towards you.

The oars plunged into the water, creating ripples, and the painted boat began to move around the pond, causing people to sway along with it.

Besides the oarsman, only Li Lingyue, Lu Jun, and four maids remained on the boat. Feng Yan stood by the pond, glancing at the wine pot on Lu Jun's table from afar.

"Chu Yu, now that you've been granted an official position, do you no longer take me seriously?" Li Lingyue said reproachfully.

He raised his hand, gesturing for the maid to pour the wine.

Lu Jun bowed and said, "Your Highness must understand that the Empress Dowager's punishment was meant as a warning, to make Your Highness restrain your ambitions."

The implication is that she didn't come to visit because she was under punishment and needed to keep a low profile.

"Tsk tsk, you really understand my mother."

Li Lingyue raised her wine glass and smiled sweetly: "No matter what, you should have come but didn't, so you have to be punished with a cup of wine."

The royal family can use pure gold and pure jade wine cups; she holds a jade cup, while Lu Jun has a red gold cup in front of her.

Lu Jun ran her fingers over the golden cup: "Your Highness, I am not a good drinker; I get dizzy after just one sip..."

"Why address me as 'your humble servant'? Such formality!"

Li Lingyue's beautiful eyes darted around, and she pointed to an island in the pond: "Let's take a round trip in the painted boat. You drink one pot of wine, I'll drink three cups. After three rounds, we'll go ashore and have a good drink!"

The wine pot is exquisitely engraved, about seven inches high, and can hold roughly one liter of wine, which is equivalent to 600 milliliters in modern times.

At this alcohol content, drinking three liters isn't a big deal, but if you keep drinking...

Feng Yan had a personal relationship with him and reminded him before coming: "If Lu Lang doesn't have that intention, try not to drink."

Once you start drinking, it's hard to stop. Even if you only had a slight craving, it will turn into a lot of fun.

Lu Jun put down her wine cup: "What does Your Highness want me to do? Please speak frankly."

"You'll do whatever I tell you to do?"

Li Lingyue's purple dress accentuated her radiant face, making her even more beautiful when she smiled with a hint of anger.

Upon hearing this, the maids on both sides covered their mouths and chuckled, looking as if they had seen it all before.

Lu Jun said calmly, "Your Highness may speak. Your Highness has been kind to me, and I naturally must repay you."

"Only the peony is truly a national beauty, its blooming season stirs the capital... Chu Yu, you are so talented in poetry, so please write me a poem first, I also want to hear you praise me."

Li Lingyue pointed to Lu Jun's desk: "If you praise me to my satisfaction, all the gold jewelry on this table is yours."

The wine pot, wine cups, plates, and soup bowls were all made of gold, weighing at least three or four pounds in total.

In terms of price, gold is several times more expensive than silver...

Lu Jun lowered her eyes and glanced sideways, a faint smile playing on her lips: "I cannot write poetry, nor dare I accept any reward."

He abruptly stood up, flicked his long sleeves, and stood tall and straight: "Does Your Highness take me for a court jester? Though I am poor, I receive a salary from the court and will not bow down for five pecks of rice!"

I didn't want to write poems for appreciation in the first place, but this lady just had to bring up the very thing I didn't want to say!

If you want to praise someone, there are plenty of poems to choose from.

But I won't give you a single word!

"Ah!" the four maids exclaimed in unison, their faces showing alarm.

They knew their master's temperament very well; he was just like the Empress Dowager.

When faced with provocation, the mother and daughter only become more courageous and determined to subdue their enemy.

This handsome young man is probably going to...

Tsk tsk—

Li Lingyue, however, showed no anger. Her eyebrows relaxed, she smiled gently, and bowed slightly to Lu Jun.

"I know that the Lu family of Wu County is arrogant, daring to contradict Wu Chengsi in public, and naturally disdains to be court jesters..."

"I misspoke just now. The reward was just a joke, not meant to be disrespectful to you."

"Chu Yu, please sit down. I will punish myself with a cup of wine."

He raised the jade cup, covered his face with his sleeve, tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp. He then tilted the jade cup so that Lu Jun could inspect it.

Then, he sighed and said, "How do you know I don't genuinely want your praise?"

Lu Jun was taken aback, then sat back down: "If Your Highness wants praise, there are plenty of talented poets and writers out there, why bother with me?"

"I don't like them."

Li Lingyue blinked, her eyes bright.

The four maids, initially surprised, turned to laughter, glancing at each other furtively with pursed lips.

A cool breeze drifted in from the window, carrying moisture from the lake, making Lu Jun feel her face burning.

The fame of the Tang princess was already well-known to later generations, but her straightforwardness was still unexpected.

"Ahem, Your Highness is joking. I rarely exercise... ah, no, I know I come from a humble background, how could I possibly deserve the princess's favor?" Lu Jun almost misspoke.

It's not that my sister isn't pretty, it's just that the price is too high. If the Empress Dowager finds out, she won't believe me anymore.

Li Lingyue chuckled, "It's not like I'm making you a prince consort, what does your background have to do with it?"

Lu Jun smiled faintly and remained silent.

Your sister is teasing you; don't respond.

Li Lingyue stared at him for a long time before slowly saying, "Chu Yu, if you want to be the prince consort, I can too..."

Lu Jun suddenly sat up straight: "Your Highness's probing ends here."

He raised his eyes, revealing a calm light: "Your Highness has summoned me in such haste that there must be something important. Please speak frankly."

"Chu Yu is Chu Yu, she never disappoints me."

Li Lingyue raised an eyebrow slightly, like ripples on a pond, before quickly calming down again.

With her purple robes billowing, four maids stepped outside the boat and stood at a distance on the bow with the oarsman.

The boat had now reached the middle of the pool, neither reaching the sky nor the shore, and the conversation inside the cabin could only be heard by the two people inside.

"Chu Yu, the matter I need to ask you is related to the Prince Consort..."

"The Empress Dowager just mentioned to me that she wants me to marry her cousin Wu Youji, who is the brother of Nayan Wu Youning."

"The problem is, Wu Youji already has a wife and is not a widower. How can I marry him?"

"Give me some advice."

Lu Jun breathed a sigh of relief; it was good that there was something important to do.

Historically, it was more than a year after Princess Taiping became a widow that Wu Zetian granted her permission to marry Wu Youji. To this end, she even sent someone to assassinate Wu Youji's first wife.

The reason is simple: the time for a change of dynasty is approaching, and members of the Li clan will become targets for elimination.

The future belongs to the Wu family. Only by becoming a member of the Wu family can Li Lingyue be accepted by the Wu family after the Empress Dowager's death.

Lu Jun asked, "Your Highness, can't you see that the Empress Dowager's actions are to protect you?"

Li Lingyue frowned slightly: "Of course I know, Mother wants me to become one with the Wu family, but..."

He raised his head, his eyes suddenly sharpening.

"If I become the daughter-in-law of the Wu family, won't my status actually decrease?"

"If Mother intends to pass the throne back to the Li family in the future, she will only pass it to her third or fourth brother, not to the Wu family's daughter-in-law."

"If she wants the Wu family to inherit the throne, it won't be Wu Youji's turn, much less mine!"

"What's in it for me?"