What? Lu Bingzhen looked stunned when he heard this, as if he couldn't understand the meaning of his words.
It is impossible to say that the palace of His Royal Highness the Crown Princess has not been repaired since it has been idle for a long time in the East Palace.
As soon as he entered Yichun Garden today, Lu Bingzhen roughly calculated the cost of repairing the garden based on his previous experience as a director. It makes no sense that the East Palace has the money to repair such a large garden, but there is no money to repair the palace of Her Highness the Crown Princess.
"Ahem", His Highness the Crown Prince seemed to have trouble saying, "A'rui, wouldn't it be good for you to live in Jinghe Palace with me?"
Thinking of the painful experience of the previous two nights, Lu Bingzhen subconsciously wanted to say no, but by some strange combination of circumstances, Lu Bingzhen swallowed his words.
As the breeze blew by, Lu Bingzhen looked at Xiao Min for a long time and quietly, and Xiao Min also looked back at her. For some reason, the atmosphere between the two gradually became tense.
I don’t know how long it took, but Eunuch Fushuang’s voice came from not far away. "Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness the Crown Princess, dinner has been prepared. Do you want to eat on board?"
After hearing the masters' agreement, all kinds of meals were brought to the ship in small boats. Today's dinner is a lotus feast.
The lotus breeze is blowing in my ears, the fragrance of lotus is on the tip of my nose, and in front of me is a small banquet made of lotus and lotus roots. This lotus banquet is not very expensive, and the dishes are not many, but it is fresh and exquisite.
The first is two cups of lotus scented tea. Take the best Biluochun and put it inside the lotus buds for two days. Wait until the tea leaves are stained with the aroma of lotus flowers before taking them out. At this time, use the tea leaves to make tea. The tea will have the fragrance of summer lotus flowers. .
Then there is a dish made of red beans and lotus roots. The lotus roots that grow newly grown in this season are steamed in a pot with the red beans to get the crispy and delicious flavor of the lotus roots and the glutinous taste of the red bean powder. There are also several dishes such as chicken soup with lotus leaves and lotus pods, which uses the fragrance of lotus leaves and lotus pods to cover up the greasiness of the chicken soup. Desserts include lotus cakes, lotus fruit, etc.
At dusk, Xiao Min urged Lu Bingzhen to go ashore. His gentle words always made Lu Bingzhen feel that he was treating her like a child, as if he was worried that her willfulness would hurt him, and that too much persuasion would bore her. . Then he always persuaded her in a gentle voice.
After returning home three times, Xiao Min and Lu Bingzhen got up early in the morning and prepared to set off. Because the rule when returning home is that you cannot stay at your parents' house until the afternoon, and you have to return after lunch.
The honor guard of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the Crown Princess marched all the way to the door of Fan Yanglu's house. Perhaps it was the news that came out of the East Palace yesterday, but everyone in the Fan Yang Lu family was waiting at home today. From the grandfather Lu Zhi to the youngest brother Lu Bingxi, everyone was waiting at the door to greet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the Crown Princess.
Lu Bingzhen felt slightly awkward in his heart when he saw his brothers, sisters, parents, uncles, and even grandparents saluting him. Fortunately, His Highness the Crown Prince is not a rigid person, and he summoned everyone almost immediately to avoid red tape.
All of a sudden, the guests and hosts were having a great time, and the monarch and his ministers were getting along with each other. It was a lively scene.
Ever since Lu Bingzhen got married that day, Mrs. Li has been worried about how her daughter will get along with her husband after marriage. Mrs. Li knew that Ah Rui was intelligent and enlightened, and she could learn various things by analogy. But there was only one thing that Ah Rui didn't quite understand, and that was love.
When talking about this matter, Mrs. Li always felt that A Rui understood everything from seven to six. She seems to know how to figure out other people's thoughts, but it is difficult to find out whether others admire her.
This was the case with Ah Rui when she was in Lingzhou. The young man who came to express his love finally plucked up the courage to speak out, but she asked him blankly who he was. After hearing the explanation, she also persuaded him not to let the outside world The good name beautifies her. In the end, it's often the young man who wants to leave in shame and anger.
Seeing her daughter bid farewell to His Highness the Crown Prince happily, and then happily walking towards her, without the slightest hint of reluctance to leave her newlywed husband, Mrs. Li felt her head start to hurt.
In the main courtyard, Mrs. Li stepped back and pulled Lu Bingzhen to ask about her marriage. Even as a mother and daughter, there are some things that are a little awkward to ask. After a long while, Mrs. Li asked hesitantly.
"A Rui, are you and His Highness living well in the East Palace after your marriage?" This sentence alone has exhausted all Li's courage.
Blinking his eyes blankly, Lu Bingzhen replied thoughtfully, "Well... His Highness is very good to me. His Majesty, the Queen and the Imperial Grandmother have never made things difficult for me, and neither has Princess Guangde. Life in the East Palace... ···Hmm······It’s all good, there’s nothing bad about it.
The matter of bed curtains was what Ms. Li wanted to ask the most and what she couldn't ask the most. She saw the traces on her daughter's neck when she moved and knew that the two must have consummated their marriage. However, her daughter was still young and had too many affairs. The principle of harming the body. Ms. Li also needed to think a moment before she could tell her daughter in detail.
But before Li could say anything, someone came from outside the hospital to report, "Madam, the old patriarch asked me to invite the Crown Princess to Yuanshan Hall."
Lu Bingzhen was not surprised by this. However, she noticed that her mother, Mrs. Li, seemed to be hesitant to speak, so she did not rush to leave immediately, but looked at her mother with encouraging eyes. In the end, Mrs. Li found that she could not speak at all, so she could only let A Rui go to Yuan Shan Hall first in frustration, but left Cai Bing and Rong Xue behind, preparing to tell them and then convey it to them.
In Yuanshan Hall, Lu Zhi and Lu Bingzhen sat quietly opposite each other in the corridor. Neither of them was in a hurry to speak, each holding a cup of tea and sipping.
After a long while, Lu Zhi finally couldn't hold himself back and spoke first. He said casually as if he didn't care, "A'rui, it's been a few days since you married into the East Palace. How do you think His Highness the Crown Prince behaves?"
After thinking silently for a long time, Lu Bingzhen slowly said, "I see that everyone in the East Palace has banned the Crown Prince. No one dares to disobey His Royal Highness, even with the slightest dissuasion. His Royal Highness seems to have no regard for our family." He is very defensive and never allows me and my dowry to interfere in the affairs of the East Palace."
Hearing this, Lu Zhi frowned. He didn't marry his most proud granddaughter into the East Palace to be the Crown Princess to cultivate a beloved concubine for His Highness. What he wanted A Rui to be was someone who could control the situation in the harem. The East Palace can even influence His Royal Highness the Crown Princess to make decisions on official matters in the court.
In the past few days, Lu Zhi has also heard about His Highness the Crown Prince’s many protections for A Rui. However, according to what his granddaughter said, His Highness the Crown Prince may have some serious affection for A Rui, but he is so wary of the Lu family that he doesn’t even want to. How well the Crown Princess takes care of the East Palace. From this point of view, A Rui's step of marrying into the East Palace is almost a waste of time.
Unless A Rui gives birth to an heir for His Highness the Crown Prince in the future, and A Rui's child can ascend the throne and be established as the Crown Prince, the Fan Yang Lu family's investment in His Highness the Crown Prince will not bring any benefits except countless troubles to themselves.
All of this is something that Lu Zhi and even the entire Fan Yang Lu family cannot accept.
Lu Zhi's thoughts were surging, and he didn't know if His Highness the Crown Prince really wanted to exclude the Fan Yang Lu family, or if he wanted to use this matter to beat the Fan Yang Lu family. Perhaps His Highness the Crown Prince already knew the reason why the Beidi King cooperated with him, and knew about Lu Yun, the daughter of the Lu family, and began to become suspicious of the Fan Yang Lu family.
That's right, Lu Yun, as the Queen Mother Regent of Beidi, made almost no splash after entering Beijing. There is certainly a reason why His Highness the Crown Prince's triumphant march to kill Hulu Khan shocked both the government and the public. But it may not be because His Royal Highness the Crown Prince deliberately wanted to suppress the Queen Mother, the Regent of Beidi, and even the Fan Yanglu family.
The more Lu Zhi thought about it, the more frightened he became, and he felt a rare sense of regret.
If he had known that His Royal Highness the Prince was a master of military skills and could easily travel thousands of miles to kill Hulu Khan, Lu Zhi would never have used his daughter Lu Yun's power so rashly. Now that His Highness the Crown Prince has won a great victory on his own, the Lu family not only failed to use this matter to be kind to His Highness, but were instead suspected by His Highness the Crown Prince and really lost his wife and troops.
Thinking about how to deal with this matter, Lu Zhi heard his granddaughter seem to have remembered something again, and continued, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is quite independent in his actions and is often unable to be controlled by others. Perhaps the Lu family can only be broad-minded but continuous and resourceful. Only by following a decisive path can you be compatible with His Highness the Crown Prince."
With a sigh, Lu Zhi thought that maybe he should withdraw from the court and give up his position to his sons when His Highness the Crown Prince ascends the throne. Because of this matter, His Highness the Crown Prince already has a knot in his mind towards the Fan Yang Lu family. Even if His Royal Highness' knot is removed, it will leave a source of doubt in His Highness' heart.
At present, His Highness the Crown Prince still needs to rely on the Fan Yang Lu family, but he can tolerate the Fan Yang Lu family. When His Highness the Crown Prince ascends the throne and is able to flex his muscles, he, an old man, can only wise up and abdicate before His Highness the Crown Prince can no longer bear it.
Fortunately, his son Lu Qi has always been innocent. When he was an official, he would also work conscientiously and love the people like a son. Perhaps after he, an old man, leaves office, Lu Qi can maintain some of the relationship between father-in-law and son-in-law and his Royal Highness, and achieve mutual understanding between king and minister.
As for whether his granddaughter was telling the truth, Lu Zhi had no doubts. Granddaughter Ah Rui is extremely intelligent, so since she is sure, it must be true. Lu Zhi never even thought about the possibility of his granddaughter cheating on him. This is completely unnecessary. Now she, the Crown Princess, who was born in the Fan Yang Lu family, and the Fan Yang Lu family are like grasshoppers tied together in the same boat.
The homecoming banquet ended in this way, with everyone having their own hidden agendas. Just after noon, Lu Bingzhen and Xiao Min left Fan Yang's Lu's house and returned to the East Palace, sitting in the honor guard of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
For several days, Lu Bingzhen didn't get a good rest. Even though she was going back to her parents' home today, she couldn't avoid socializing. As soon as Lu Bingzhen returned to the East Palace, he went back to the palace to rest sleepily. Xiao Min did not follow him. He had not discussed matters with his officials and staff in the past few days. Seeing that Lu Bingzhen was so sleepy, he ordered Fu Shuang to take good care of the Crown Princess and went to discuss matters.
In the evening, Xiao Min came to have dinner with Lu Bingzhen as if nothing had happened. His gentle and smiling appearance did not reveal the ruthlessness of his afternoon discussions with his staff.
