She refused to marry.

Su Wanwan raised her eyes and looked at the Empress Dowager.

Although the Empress Dowager is old, her features are still clear.

She must have been a rare beauty in her youth.

Especially the high nose,

She is practically a carbon copy of the Eldest Princess, Feng Chenjun, and Tantai Lin, who is far away in Wuluo Kingdom.

"What's your plan?" The Empress Dowager released the nanny's wrist.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor's white hair is a sign of his concern for the common people."

The abbot is kind and agrees to hold a Dharma assembly at the Shili Pavilion near the city gate tomorrow to pray for the salvation of 50,000 soldiers.

As long as the abbot states in front of everyone that Feng Chenjun is the reincarnation of Venus, the abbot will be able to achieve his goal.

"To save the common people, quell the war, assist a wise ruler, and protect the people of the kingdom, I will surely dispel Your Majesty's suspicions."

The abbot was stunned.

This girl is not to be underestimated.

The Empress Dowager's eyes lit up. "Good, good, this is an excellent idea! We'll trouble the Abbot with this matter."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will do my utmost to handle this matter well." The abbot clasped his hands together.

If she had brought this up alone, I certainly wouldn't have agreed. But now that the Empress Dowager has intervened, I have no choice but to agree.

This girl is very thoughtful.

Fortunately, he has a charitable heart.

"Your Majesty, we still need to contact the Imperial Observatory regarding this matter. Only if both parties make the predictions simultaneously will the people and the court believe it."

"Good, this plan is excellent. Granny Lü, take my token and go to the Imperial Household Department."

"Yes." Granny Lü accepted the order and left the main hall.

The Empress Dowager rose, walked to the woman, and reached out to help her up. "Whose daughter are you?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I am a humble woman, a daughter of the Su family." Su Wanwan bowed her head.

"The Su family, Su Tailing?" The Empress Dowager looked her over.

"Yes, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager," Su Wanwan replied cautiously.

I've heard that the Empress Dowager was ruthless in her youth, and the Princess's style was influenced by her.

So, she has to leave now.

"You are good-looking, and your family background is acceptable. Jing'er's choice of you as his wife is indeed reasonable." The Empress Dowager patted her hand with a smile.

Su Wanwan panicked and hurriedly pulled her hand away and knelt down, "Your Majesty, I am but a humble woman and dare not presume to be worthy of your presence."

My goodness!

How could the Empress Dowager say that she was chosen by the Emperor?

"Oh, isn't it you? The jade pendant in this brocade pouch is a gift from me to Jing'er."

At the time, he said that this jade pendant was a family heirloom to be passed down and would be kept by his wife in the future. The Empress Dowager picked up the jade pendant and examined it carefully.

"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager is of noble birth, and you are of the highest rank and noble bearing. I am but a humble woman of limited talent and learning. How dare I, a mere blade of grass, presume to be worthy of the glory of the sun and moon?"

"Your Majesty should be paired with a lady from a distinguished family, so that you may complement each other perfectly. What I did today was for the sake of the Kingdom, and I had no other intentions."

A hint of surprise flashed in the Empress Dowager's eyes. "If that's the case, then leave the jade pendant here. You go back first, and when Jing'er returns to the capital, he will definitely come to thank you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager." Su Wanwan rose and slowly withdrew.

The abbot followed closely behind.

The two left the garden.

The abbot's kind face furrowed a few times. "Young benefactor, your plan is truly excellent. Well then, since it's a top-tier divination, then it must be the will of Heaven."

"Thank you for your help today, Abbot."

Su Wanwan bowed and walked back with light steps.

"Miss, Miss is out." Chunhua looked up and tugged at her brother's sleeve.

"Qiushi, you've come at just the right time," Su Wanwan said with a smile.

"What are your orders, Miss?" Qiu Shi's tense gaze relaxed the moment she saw her mistress.

When he heard that the young lady had gone to see the Empress Dowager, his heart leaped into his throat.

The Empress Dowager is not someone a young girl like her can fool.

"Autumn harvest, tomorrow at the ten-mile-long pavilion outside the city gate,"

Go and prepare a thousand tables of hot porridge, steamed buns, ginger soup, and snacks.

It was provided free of charge to soldiers returning to Beijing and to onlookers.

Su Wanwan walked forward without stopping.

"Miss, a thousand tables?" Chunhua's mouth dropped open.

"Miss, it's a bit rushed. The Su family doesn't have enough servants, so we need to find some more. We spent three thousand taels today, and we've already covered the initial investment, so we need to be careful with the money." Qiu Shi did the math.

"Let's go find Cuizhu and have her pass on a message to my grandmother, asking to borrow some servants from the Pei family." Su Wanwan lifted her skirt and climbed onto the carriage.

"Miss, it's probably too late to contact all the restaurant owners in the capital to order food."

"I know some merchants. I'll find Cuizhu later. You go and contact the restaurant owner, and I'll go find the stall owners. The people they call can stretch for three miles."

"Yes."

The three split up and acted separately.

That night, the capital city was bustling with activity.

The city's general, having received the Empress Dowager's decree, specially opened a city gate for the servants brought by Xiangshan and the Su family to come and go.

Several hundred people carried tables and set them up neatly outside the city gate.

Shops in the capital that had been struggling to make ends meet also started to get busy.

They emptied the kitchen of all their belongings, cooked them into food, and sent it out of the city.

The husband-and-wife vendors, one in front and one behind, lifted their carts and headed out of the city.

Upon seeing this, the people flocked to the streets to investigate.

With more people, the roads became congested.

The general guarding the city reported this to the palace. Upon hearing this, His Majesty specially opened the city gates for one night to welcome the triumphant return of Prince Fengchen the next day.

The next day, it was dawn.

The area outside the city was already bustling with activity.

Hearing that there were delicious foods and beautiful sights outside the city, many people went out of the city to play.

The imperial city specially dispatched patrol officers to provide support, in order to prevent any trouble from arising. However, a group of servants were already maintaining order outside.

Only after checking did I realize that he was a servant of the Pei family.

Suddenly, a horse galloped past in front of us!

The messenger, his voice hoarse, shouted:

"Great victory at the front! Return to base immediately! All bystanders, open the palace gates at once!"

"Lord Fengchen has defeated the enemy and is about to return in triumph. Quickly prepare the ceremonial regalia!"

The sound traveled through the city gates, and the people whispered among themselves, speculating whether the emperor's hair had turned white.

So they all rushed to Shili Pavilion to watch.

Behind the Shili Pavilion, the monks of Xiangshan Temple set up a ritual site.

Thousands of monks were chanting scriptures when the abbot, standing before the platform, suddenly stopped, his eyes snapped open, and he proclaimed in a loud voice:

"This humble monk observed the celestial phenomena last night and found that Venus in the Purple Palace Enclosure had been dim for three years."

This year, on the day of the Awakening of Insects, a sudden burst of light shone forth, its brilliance piercing the Big Dipper, illuminating the direction of His Majesty's return!

"Old monk, what does this mean?" someone asked loudly.

"It must be that Venus has left its position and descended to the mortal realm, its starlight returning to its rightful place to protect the mountains and rivers of my Chen Kingdom."

The abbot struck the large chime with his hammer, and the deep, resonant sound made one's chest tingle.

"Venus, the Marshal, wields power that shakes the four directions. He holds military authority, his white light shining brightly. He obeys the mandate of Heaven and eliminates calamities."

The abbot chanted aloud.

The people below whispered among themselves, "Is he the reincarnation of Venus? Or was it a deal he made with the mountain spirit?"

"What kind of mountain spirit is this? Offending the gods will bring bad luck!"

"Oh? Amitabha! Quickly tell them."

"Go, go, go! Hurry up and go out and tell everyone that this is the reincarnation of Venus, not a mountain spirit!"