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

Chapter 247 Small Dangers and Big Trouble

Lu Mingyang arrived at Tian Qing's inn under the moonlight. Across from the inn was the Linjiang Restaurant, where Song Wei had once secretly met Lu Mingyang. Tian Qing's room, facing that private room, was still lit.

He wondered if Song Wei was hinting that he was behind all this. Lu Mingyang no longer had the energy to think about it and knocked on Tian Qing's room door.

Tian's mother opened the door and said coldly, "What are you doing here?"

Saying that, he was about to close the door.

Lu Mingyang hurriedly blocked her way: "Aunt, please let me talk to Tian Qing."

"You have such a dirty heart. We have nothing to say to you."

"Mom, let her in!"

When Tian Qing's voice was heard, Tian's mother had no choice but to let Lu Mingyang in.

He sat on the bed, a red candle beside him. The wound on his broken leg was horrific and glaring. Lu Mingyang paused, not daring to move forward.

In just over a year, his face was weathered, as if he had turned from a young man who had not experienced middle age into a shriveled old man.

"Brother Qing, do you hate me very much?"

Tian Qing shook his head, his eyes full of innocence: "Xi'er, I don't hate you. That man is so cruel and powerful. I know you were forced. I know you only have me in your heart. Now I'm here to save you."

"No." Lu Mingyang shook his head. "Brother Qing, we can't go back. Please stop! Every step you take now is a sinking abyss. The person behind you doesn't want to help you. He just wants to use you to deal with King Ningyuan. Once his goal is achieved, he will not spare your life."

"What do you mean by 'no'?" Tian Qing couldn't hear what was said next. His mind was filled with the word 'no'. The innocence in his eyes gradually turned into hatred. "Are you in love with him?"

Lu Mingyang couldn't open his mouth to answer, and begged softly, "Brother Qing, let's forget the past, okay? I'll buy you a house in Chishui Town, the biggest one. I'll also buy you a few maids to serve you. I'll also buy you as many slaves and land as you want, so that your aunt can enjoy her old age without any more hardship."

Tian Qing smiled. "In your letter, you said how helpless you were, how regretful you were, and how you were just a little woman who couldn't influence the imperial world. Do you know how heartbroken I was when I read that?"

He grabbed Lu Mingyang's hand and pressed it against his broken leg, his face as haggard as a ghost. "For you, I worked so hard to make meritorious deeds and tortured myself into this horrible state. Now you tell me, do you like him?"

The long legs that should have stood between heaven and earth were now only a foot long. The scars on them rubbed against Lu Mingyang's palms. Frightened, Lu Mingyang broke free and fell to the ground.

Tian Qing stood up and jumped forward with difficulty.

Lu Mingyang crawled backwards in fear: "Brother Qing, I really had no choice back then. If I didn't marry him, I would die. Do you want me to die?"

"what about now?"

With a bang, Tian Qing knelt on the ground and limped forward until Lu Mingyang bumped into the corner of the table and touched the face he had longed for.

"Xi'er, I know I'm not as good as him. I can't make you rich and prosperous. But I can die for you. Can he?"

"As long as you come back to me, I don't care about the past. I just want you to come back to me!"

Lu Mingyang covered his mouth and ran out.

Tian Qing couldn't hold on and fell to the ground. Tian's mother helped her son up with a distressed look on her face. "Son, let's go home. She is no longer worthy of our family. She won't live peacefully with you. Let her go. Mother doesn't want anything to happen to you."

Thinking of being buried underground and the long feeling of death, Tian's mother felt a wave of fear.

Tian Qing leaned in his mother's arms and pounded his chest: "Mom, I won't accept this, I won't accept this."

……

Outside the inn, Yang Nianshu watched his second sister run out and hurriedly chased after her, holding her shaky body. "Second sister, he doesn't agree, does he?"

Lu Mingyang raised his bleeding face, unable to speak.

Yang Nianshu said angrily: "Ungrateful bastard, I'm going to find him."

Lu Mingyang grabbed his sister and shook his head sadly, "Nian'er, how can that be grace? If it weren't for me, he wouldn't have gone through all this."

The ten taels of silver that she once thought was a lifeline became a shackle on her body, and she would never be able to repay the debt for her broken leg in her lifetime.

"Then what are you going to do?" Yang Nianshu asked.

"I have no idea!"

Lu Mingyang's mind was in a trance, and she had no idea how she got back to the Chengyang Marquis' Mansion. That was until a bitter smell hit her nose. She looked up and saw her elder sister personally bringing the medicine bowl.

"Nian'er, go back to your room and sleep!" Yang Nianshu was making the bed. When he heard his second sister's words, he said "Oh", picked up a quilt and left.

Lu Mingyuan watched the door close and asked, "Do you have something to tell me?"

Lu Mingyang asked, "Eldest sister, am I destined to be unlucky? Will anyone who gets close to me be unlucky?"

"Nonsense!" Lu Mingyuan moved the food tray away, hugged his sister and leaned against the couch, gently scolding her, "Our family is getting better and better because of Yang'er's return."

Lu Mingyang leaned on his elder sister's shoulder, tears falling silently: "Eldest sister, I don't want to be a bad person, but I really can't bear to leave him."

"I told you not to go, but you insisted on going." Lu Mingyuan said distressedly: "Yang'er, you have done very well. There is no need to ruin your life for a promise."

"But Brother Qing's life has been ruined. It's ruined because of me."

No matter how you try to resolve this, the barrier in your heart will never be overcome. Lu Mingyuan stopped trying to persuade her, saying, "Just think of it as bearing this for the sake of your elder sister, for Aze, and for the sake of clearing the name of your father and Ayuan. We are now in the same boat with the King of Ningyuan. We share life and death, and there is no turning back."

"Elder sister!" Lu Mingyang choked.

Lu Mingyuan picked up the medicine bowl and handed it to his sister: "Drink it, it will be more bitter if it gets cold."

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the courtyard. Lu Mingze knocked on the door and said, "Eldest sister, the border is 800 miles away and the emperor has summoned me to the palace for a meeting."

As the words fell, the footsteps faded away.

Lu Mingyuan hurriedly put down the medicine bowl and chased after him, "Aze, did His Majesty say anything?"

"The Xiongnu raided Ningwu, and the Marquis of Bei'an was defeated. He requested reinforcements."

"It's only been a few days, why is Jin Yiluo's dispatch of troops so strange?"

"..."

Lu Mingyang stayed in her room, listening to the voices of her eldest sister and third brother grow later and later until they faded away. She looked at the steaming medicine bowl on the table.

This is a fake pregnancy drug specially made by Leng Lingfeng. Chu Mingzheng said that as long as she drinks the drug, he will take care of the rest.

The Huns' invasion is no small matter.

That night, Lu Mingyuan slept in the small study at Zezhou Residence, waiting for his younger brother. A rooster crowed, and Lu Mingze returned home in the cold wind. Lu Mingyuan woke with a start, opened the study door, and called out to his younger brother.

"Sister, why are you here?" Lu Mingze went in and took off his cloak.

Lu Mingyuan poured him a cup of hot tea and asked, "Your Majesty, what do you want to do?"

After drinking tea all night, Lu Mingze's mouth was full of bitterness. He just picked up the teacup to warm his hands. The coldness on his face eased a little, but his heart was still blocked and uncomfortable.

"Bei'an Hou and Jin Yiluo fought outside Ningwu Pass, losing 30% of their troops. They are now retreating to Ningwu Pass and are holding their ground. Jin Yiluo has set up camp outside the pass to confront them."

"It's already mid-October. In another half month, the Hui River will dry up, and the Xiongnu cavalry will be able to march south along the river valley. Ningwu Pass will then be a derelict pass, and Jinyiluo can be besieged. With just a few months of siege, Ningwu will fall without a fight."

Lu Mingyuan frowned: "Why does it sound so strange?"

"Sister, you've noticed something's wrong too!" Lu Mingze felt a pang of unease. "If he was aiming for Ningwu, why would he start the war a month in advance, giving us time to prepare? In another month, the rivers outside Pingjing Pass will freeze over, and the Xiongnu cavalry will be able to cross on the ice."

Lu Mingyuan asked, "You mean, the Xiongnu are making a feint to the east and attacking in the west?"

Lu Mingze said, "I said this to His Majesty, but His Majesty said that the Marquis of Bei'an is currently engaged in a battle with the Xiongnu, so his judgment should be relied upon. Send someone to lead the troops for rescue first, and as for the rest, we will react accordingly."

Lu Mingyuan asked anxiously, "What did your highness say?"

Lu Mingze said, "Since Fourth Sister's matter is not settled yet, how could the Emperor possibly summon Your Highness? As for the selection of people to go to war, Your Highness is even less likely to be the one."

"What about you?" Lu Mingyuan asked.

Lu Mingze shook his head: "When I left the palace, the emperor left behind several veteran generals, most of whom had nothing to do with Prince Ningyuan. I instinctively thought they were the candidates for the expedition."