Love Lock

Chapter 52 Base Area

Seeing Zhao Zun's serious expression, Han Lei quickly sat up straight.

Zhao Zun then asked seriously, "What do you mean by having me deliver that bird to His Majesty today?"

"What's wrong? Did that bird cause trouble?" Han Lei's eyebrows twitched, and she felt a little uneasy.

"I didn't cause any trouble, but I certainly made His Majesty laugh."

Zhao Zun found it amusing even now. So, he recounted the joke the myna bird had made in court that day.

Hearing this, Han Lei breathed a sigh of relief, covered her mouth and laughed, "Hehe, the effect is indeed very good."

"What do you mean?" Zhao Zun asked, puzzled.

Han Lei laughed for a while before leaning close to his ear and whispering, "Hasn't the emperor always suspected that you're too powerful and have too much military influence? I gave him this bird to let him know that besides fighting and killing, all you do is play with dogs and birds, and you're not someone who likes to play power games. That way, his wariness of you will be lessened a bit."

"Heh, you're so clever." Zhao Zun chuckled, a surge of gratitude welling up inside him. "Girl, I didn't expect you to be so thoughtful. Thank you!"

"There's no need to thank me. I'm doing this so that we can have a more relaxed and peaceful life in the future, so that he won't keep making you worry."

Zhao Zun felt even warmer inside. He habitually patted Han Lei's head and couldn't help but sigh, "Meeting you in this life is truly a blessing I, Zhao Zun, have earned in my past life!"

"Hmph!" Han Lei gave him a haughty glare. "Now you know how clever I am, right? I offered to be your strategist, but you didn't want to. I told you long ago that I have a lot of clever ideas."

Zhao Zun smiled, his eyes filled with even deeper affection. "I've already told you, I don't want a strategist, I only want a princess."

"Hmph! How annoying!" Han Lei said coquettishly, "You have the thickest skin."

"Heh, heh heh, hahaha..." Zhao Zun laughed heartily, his mood bubbling with joy. Then, as if remembering something, he added, "Oh, right. Speaking of the Princess Consort, you'd better be prepared."

"what happened?"

“My mother asked the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to choose a wedding date for us, which was set for the second day of the second lunar month, the day the dragon raises its head. But... today, I asked His Majesty in the court to grant us a marriage decree.”

"A marriage decree? Is that really necessary? We were already planning to get married anyway," Han Lei asked, puzzled.

They were supposed to get married anyway, so why bestow a marriage upon them? But Zhao Zun didn't see it that way and patiently explained it to her.

“I remember you once said that everyone is equal and that love is free, but this place is different from China. Here, imperial power is supreme. With His Majesty’s bestowal of marriage, you are the Emperor’s chosen Princess Consort. In the future, even if I am gone, apart from the royal family, no one in the entire Great Jing Dynasty will dare to bully you.”

"How could you be gone?"

A sense of foreboding rose in Han Lei's heart. Could it be that even after the emperor stripped Zhao Zun of his military power, he still couldn't tolerate him? If so, she would have to consider preparing a powerful weapon.

However, using such powerful weapons in the capital now could harm innocent people. She could escape unscathed, but it might bring unforeseen trouble to Zhao Zun's family.

Seeing the worried look on Han Lei's face, Zhao Zun quickly smiled and reassured her, "Don't overthink it. I was just saying that to you. I wanted you to understand just how noble the status of a royal consort truly is; others would kill for it!"

"Tch! You scared me." Han Lei rolled her eyes at him. Why did he have to add that line: even if I'm no longer here?

Zhao Zun chuckled, his large hand unable to resist caressing Han Lei's fair cheek. He was always powerless against Han Lei's adorable charm and always wanted to touch her.

“I also told His Majesty that you are the niece of Luo Hai, the magistrate of Qingshui County, and that you should call Luo Hai your uncle. Remember, this is your new identity.” At this point, Zhao Zun’s expression turned serious again.

"Uncle?" "Yes! Uncle Luo's brother-in-law's surname is Han. So, I had already made arrangements with Luo Hai when we were in Qingshui County. With this new identity, His Majesty's bestowal of a marriage is basically a done deal."

"You said I was being thoughtful. Turns out, you'd already arranged everything for me all along." A warm feeling welled up in Han Lei's heart.

As a transmigrator from another world, she would indeed face many inconveniences if she didn't have a legitimate identity to live a peaceful life in this world.

For so long, she had never considered these things, believing that with her own abilities, she could thrive here.

Looking back now, it was indeed somewhat naive. And all of this, Zhao Zun had quietly and meticulously arranged for her long ago.

It would be a lie to say that Han Lei wasn't moved; Zhao Zun's heart was always so delicate.

"It wasn't intentional! It just so happens that Uncle Luo's brother-in-law also has the surname Han, so I thought of it." In order not to make Han Lei feel guilty, Zhao Zun deliberately spoke in a lighthearted manner.

"Thank you, Zhao Zun. It's so good to have met you in this world!" Han Lei threw herself into Zhao Zun's arms, and Zhao Zun hugged her tightly.

At that moment, Han Lei suddenly remembered the Buddhist saying the system had mentioned. No wonder it said there was an entanglement between her and Zhao Zun; it turned out that everything was so natural.

"On New Year's Eve, there will be a banquet in the palace. His Majesty asked me to take you to the banquet with him. Remember to wear the pink dress we bought at the border. And dress yourself up as beautifully as possible."

"Since it's a palace banquet, shouldn't I dress more formally? Won't people laugh at your princess for being too shabby?"

Han Lei was puzzled as to why Zhao Zun specifically wanted her to wear the dress he had bought at the border. After all, it was a palace banquet hosted by the emperor! Was that appropriate? The dress bought at the border was made of ordinary material, and Qin Yiniang had even mocked it to her face today.

"No! I'll wear that one." Zhao Zun insisted, but didn't say anything more.

"Oh fine."

……

That night, Han Lei lay in bed, lost in thought.

Zhao Zun said that the emperor's bestowal of marriage was a done deal, so she would have to live in the capital from now on.

The capital city is a place where power is concentrated; you can throw a stone anywhere and it will hit a powerful person.

The people in the capital are wealthy and have strong purchasing power, so she turned the capital into the base of her business empire.

In Taoyuan County, Jingzhou, he had Tao Qing and Amao build a winery. After arranging employment for them, the system rewarded her with a large sum of gold per person.

Now, she has enough money to do what she wants. Besides the pig farm, restaurant, and winery, she has many other ideas waiting to be implemented.

Today is the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month. The palace banquet on New Year's Eve is the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow she will go out and stroll around the streets to find a suitable location and plan what to do next.

The problem is, she's already made arrangements for all the wounded soldiers. No, she absolutely has to go to Zhao Zun tomorrow to borrow some men.

Since there's no war going on right now, and Zhao Zun's personal guards are just sitting around doing nothing, it's better to lend them to her for now to tide her over. Once Zhao Zun summons the human traffickers, she can then buy some suitable manpower according to the plan...

As she pondered these thoughts, Han Lei drifted off to sleep.

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(End of this chapter)