Are you crazy? Trying to trick him into military service? He's the number one dragon on the fro

The Great Zhou Imperial Palace, the Hall of Diligent Governance.

Emperor Dehong sat upright behind his desk, frowning as he reviewed memorials, occasionally letting out a sigh.

I don't know how much time passed, but Wang Fu came over with small, quick steps, presenting a memorial to the emperor with both hands:

"Your Majesty, Zhang Hengzhi, the Director of the Imperial Observatory, has just personally delivered the auspicious date he has selected. Please take a look!"

"Oh? You've made your choice so quickly?"

Emperor Dehong was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and took the memorial, carefully reading it through.

When he saw that the date was set for January 22nd, just a few days before the New Year of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he was overjoyed:

"Excellent! If my Princess Pingning could marry her beloved a few days before the Spring Festival, it would be a joyous occasion for the whole world!"

"As expected of my chief supervisor, not only did you handle things so well, but you also know how to prepare a surprise for me!"

After he finished speaking, he looked up at the other side:

Where is Minister Zhang?

"Your Majesty, after submitting his memorial, Lord Zhang returned directly to the Imperial Observatory. He said that his recent calculations indicated a high probability of a severe snow disaster in a certain area, and he was worried about it, so he hurriedly returned to lead his subordinates to continue the calculations."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Dehong nodded, his eyes filled with approval.

"In that case, let him go. Later, send him a bowl of bird's nest and snow pear porridge for me."

"It's freezing cold, don't get angry because of the disasters in other places."

"Go and invite Princess Pingning over; I want to tell her this good news myself!"

Princess Pingning, also known as his junior sister Liu Xianya, was given the title meaning peace and prosperity.

Since Liu Xianya returned to the capital safely, Emperor Dehong has been trying to find a suitable identity for his junior sister so that she can live a glorious life and no one in the entire Great Zhou would dare to bully her.

After much deliberation, he decided to personally bestow the title of Princess upon Liu Xianya in front of all the civil and military officials, stating that she was no different from his own younger sister.

He had originally thought that this matter might be obstructed by the Prime Minister.

But the other party didn't say anything after hearing about it. Instead, he suggested that the prince bestow several houses near the palace upon Princess Pingning.

"This servant understands."

Wang Fu smiled and nodded in agreement, but instead of leaving the Hall of Diligent Governance as usual, he lingered for a while, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Seeing this, Emperor Dehong frowned, put down his vermilion brush, and said in a deep voice:

"Speak your mind. Why are you hiding things from me?"

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister... The Prime Minister has recently caught a cold. Although the imperial physicians have examined him and prescribed medicine, and his health is gradually improving, he still has a poor appetite. He barely touches a few bites of the food delivered to the Hall of State Affairs before having it taken away."

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Dehong was greatly alarmed and instinctively stood up, his voice filled with anger:

"Why wasn't I informed of such important news from the beginning?"

"Wang Fu, do you want to die?"

"Your Majesty, spare me! Spare me!"

puff-

Wang Fu hurriedly knelt down, prostrating himself on the ground.

"Your Majesty, this servant truly deserves to die and is willing to accept punishment, but wouldn't this be a good thing for Your Majesty?"

"The Prime Minister is autocratic and often disregards His Majesty. This servant has long been burning with anger and wishing he would..."

"Now, the Prime Minister is advanced in years and has also caught a cold. It seems that his days are numbered. If he were to pass away here..."

"madness!"

Upon hearing these words, Emperor Dehong flew into a rage and kicked Wang Fu hard, his voice icy cold:

"To me, the Prime Minister is like family. How could I possibly hold a grudge against him over such a trivial matter?"

"You audacious lackey!"

After saying that, he slapped Wang Fu across the face several times, and continued angrily:

"Yes, the Prime Minister has been somewhat autocratic in some matters, but it was all for my sake, for the sake of the Great Zhou dynasty, and not for his own selfish interests!"

"Moreover, the Prime Minister is a master at handling problems. Anything becomes exceptionally simple in his hands, and he has solved countless troubles for the Great Zhou."

"If I were to dismiss the Prime Minister simply because of some minor flaws, do you know what problems would arise for the Great Zhou?"

"Will it be a completely selfless person who lacks flexibility who rises to power, or a smooth-talking but self-serving individual who holds a position without doing any real work?"

"..."

After being reprimanded, Wang Fu was filled with shame and cried out, begging Emperor Dehong to punish him.

The latter was also in a bad mood, but after seeing the memorial sent by the Imperial Observatory, he felt much happier.

He kicked Wang Fu away:

"You worthless wretch! If you dare to hide anything from me again, I will personally tear you to pieces!"

"Why aren't you hurrying to invite Princess Changning over?"

"Here you go!"

……

About half an hour later, Liu Xianya arrived at the Hall of Diligent Governance, bowed gracefully, and asked curiously:

"Your Majesty summoned my daughter... What are your orders?"

"Junior Sister, I've said before that we don't need to be so distant in private."

Emperor Dehong looked at the other person with concern, quickly brought a stool for him to sit down, and personally served him tea and water:

"How have you been living in the palace these past few days?"

"not bad."

Liu Xianya was about to reply as a princess, but after sensing a signal from the other party's eyes, she quickly changed her words and relaxed.

"Her Majesty the Empress is a really kind person. She never looked down on me because I didn't know anything. She taught me step by step from the beginning."

"Senior brother, you're so lucky!"

"This is our good fortune!"

Seeing her like this, Emperor Dehong finally smiled happily:

"Actually, I don't want you to be troubled by these palace etiquettes, but I think with your intelligence, Junior Sister can understand that if putting in a little effort can help your husband expand his network in the capital, it's worth it."

"Junior Sister, today's hardships are for tomorrow's glory!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Xianya nodded emphatically, indicating that she understood.

During this time, as winter approached, she had nothing to do in her residence outside the palace. Just as she was about to sew some clothes and shoes for Lu Xiao, her senior brother, the emperor, summoned her to the palace with an imperial edict and personally handed her over to the empress to learn various etiquette.

Originally, as a young lady from a prominent family, Liu Xianya was knowledgeable about these things, but Emperor Dehong stated that royal etiquette was very different from that of ordinary people.

She had to start learning from scratch.

After chatting for a while, Liu Xianya remembered that it was her senior brother who had called her over today, and immediately asked again:

"Senior brother, you called me here..."

"Look at my memory, I forget things as we talk!"

For a moment, Emperor Dehong shook his head with a wry smile, then handed the memorial to her, saying with a chuckle:

"Your wedding date with Lu Aiqing has been set for January 22nd of next year, which is about two months from now, so you need to start preparing now."