I only wished to take up my fiefdom, but my elder brother forced me to rebel.

In the end, Lu Yuan was forced to sleep in the study.

Inside the palace, Lu Cangqiong had no desire to sleep.

The emperor's desk in the Qianyuan Hall was covered with more than twenty portraits, depicting all sorts of body types.

Zhou Fu unfolded one of the paintings.

"Your Majesty, this is the daughter of the Vice Minister of Rites. She is seventeen years old this year and is proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She has a gentle temperament."

Lu Cangqiong glanced at it and then showed a disappointed expression.

"Very thin, not lucky."

Zhou Fu then changed the painting again. "This is the granddaughter of the Marquis of Dingyuan. She has practiced martial arts since childhood and is in excellent health."

"Thick eyebrows, supposedly a sign of bad luck in marriage!"

"Your Majesty, the daughter of the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies can sing and dance, and she is also very beautiful."

"That won't work either. She looks like she likes to cry all the time; wouldn't that drive Xiao Jiu crazy?"

Zhou Fu changed several of the cards, but Lu Cangqiong still didn't like any of them.

After throwing the portrait onto the table, he sat on the dragon throne, frowning.

"What kind of person do you think that old hermit likes?"

When Zhou Fu heard about this, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

If he had the chance to meet the old sage, he would definitely ask him that question.

But he didn't have that opportunity.

"Your Majesty, what the immortals value may not be appearance, but rather a woman's fate."

"I understand."

Looking at the portrait on the table, Lu Cangqiong asked, "Is fate written on their faces?"

Zhou Fu was speechless, unsure how to respond.

Lu Cangqiong got up and walked around the imperial desk, then placed the portraits of Su Yuling and Shen Hanqiu side by side for comparison.

One was a doorwoman, the other a loyal martyr's widow; the two had nothing in common in terms of background or personality.

Old Nine slept with Su Yuling, then took out stirrups and horseshoes.

After marrying Shen Hanqiu, he created cement, a national treasure.

If we find the right person, the country's financial strain might be resolved.

When Lu Cangqiong thought of this, his eyes lit up.

"How about we take the portrait back and show it to Lao Jiu?"

Zhou Fu quickly shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, the Ninth Prince has only been married for a short time. If the officials find out about sending him dozens of portraits of women at this time, they will definitely become suspicious."

Lu Cangqiong thought about it and agreed. He couldn't be too biased towards one side, otherwise if Lao Jiu was targeted by others, the consequences would be hard to predict.

"Then what should we do? We can't exactly send the Ninth Prince to the palace and tell him that I urgently need him to marry several more women so he can exchange them for treasures from the gods!"

"This matter shouldn't be publicized too much!"

Zhou Fu glanced at the portrait on the table, his eyes darting around.

"The Flower Festival is just around the corner, and there is a tradition in previous years that the palace would hold a banquet for the emperor."

"Why not hold a Hundred Flowers Banquet in the name of Consort Shen, and invite the noblewomen and women from the families of officials of the fifth rank or above in the capital to participate and admire the flowers in the palace?"

"All the eligible young ladies have come, so Your Highness should naturally accompany the Princess Consort to the banquet."

"Let the Ninth Prince see for himself then, while His Majesty keeps a close watch from the shadows."

"It is neither conspicuous nor will it arouse suspicion or cause any concern among the officials."

After pondering for a few moments, Lu Cangqiong finally smiled.

"You old man, you always have a way with things."

Lu Cangqiong rolled up the portrait.

"Let's set it for three days from now. Post the notice widely, so no one is left out."

"This servant obeys the decree."

Zhou Fu put away the portrait and left the Qianyuan Hall.

As he walked outside the hall, he looked back and sighed inwardly for Lu Yuan.

Your Highness is not going to admire flowers.

It's clearly a message for His Majesty to be driven into the flower garden and catch whoever he wants.

……

The Second Prince's Mansion.

The smell of medicine filled the room, and with the doors and windows tightly closed, it was so strong that it was hard to breathe.

Lu Cheng sat on the couch, most of the gauze on his face had been removed, his left cheek was still swollen, and his broken arm was hanging in front of his chest.

Liu Hong, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, sat at the lower end of the table, his tea untouched.

"Your Highness, the case at the Imperial Clan Court has been closed. Being confined for six months is not a bad thing; it's a good time to lay low and wait until the Ninth Prince makes a mistake, then His Majesty will naturally remember you."

After hearing this, Lu Cheng grabbed the medicine bowl from beside his pillow and smashed it on the ground.

"Six months!"

"Lu Yuan presented me with a few scraps of iron, and Father Emperor gave him the Imperial Sword and put him in command of the Phoenix Battalion. Meanwhile, I'm to be confined to my residence for half a year!"

The broken porcelain rolled to Liu Hong's feet.

Liu Hong moved her shoes back slightly, showing no sign of annoyance.

"The Ninth Prince is currently in power, so Your Highness must not confront him directly. To endure one step today is to take ten steps forward in the future."

"How can I, the prince, tolerate this?"

Lu Cheng pointed to his face, which was still swollen.

"He beat me several times, stole my fiancée, and even threw Han Gou into jail. Now the whole capital is laughing at me!"

Liu Hong lowered his eyes.

Su Yuling's daughter, Liu Ruyan, was also involved in the matter of traditional Chinese medicine.

Although the Imperial Clan Court did not investigate further, the threat still hangs over the Liu family's heads.

If Lu Yuan doesn't fall, the Liu family will inevitably run into trouble sooner or later.

"Your Highness, rest assured, the more prestigious the Ninth Prince becomes, the more people will be watching him."

"Besides, you know how difficult it is to make money. He won't be able to hold down this job for long."

Lu Cheng's anger subsided slightly.

Footsteps sounded outside the door, and a steward entered and bowed.

"Your Highness, news has come from the palace that the Imperial Concubine will be hosting a Hundred Flowers Banquet in three days, inviting ladies from all the capital's households to the palace to admire the flowers. His Majesty will also be attending."

Lu Cheng and Liu Hong exchanged a glance.

"A banquet of a hundred flowers?"

Why did the palace suddenly do this?

The steward replied, "It's being said that His Majesty hasn't taken any new concubines into his harem for many years, so he's taking advantage of the Flower Festival to select new ones."

Lu Cheng was stunned for a moment.

A glimmer of light appeared in Liu Hong's eyes.

"Your Highness, the opportunity has arrived."

"What opportunity?"

"Send Ruyan to the palace."

Lu Cheng's expression changed instantly.

"What did you say?"

Liu Hong raised his head and said in a calm tone, "My daughter Ruyan is exceptionally beautiful and skilled in singing and dancing."

"If I can win His Majesty's favor at the Hundred Flowers Banquet, I will enter the palace and be made a concubine."

"With her by His Majesty's side speaking up for His Highness, you'll be able to get your lost job back sooner or later."

Lu Cheng sat up straight, propping himself up on the edge of the bed, his anger barely concealed.

"Bullshit! Ruyan is my woman!"

Liu Hong knew, of course.

Lu Cheng and Liu Ruyan had been secretly seeing each other for a year, and he even wanted to destroy Su Yuling and break off their engagement for her sake.

But what is a daughter more important than the future of the family?

"Your Highness has not yet married my daughter, nor has he given her a formal title."

"Shut up!"

Lu Cheng's chest heaved, and his grip on the corner of the blanket tightened.

"Liu Hong, what do you take me for? Giving your own woman to my father, how can I ever hold my head high again?"

After standing up, Liu Hong knelt down again. "Your Highness, I have a question for you: Is Ruyan more important, or is the position of Crown Prince more important?"

Inside the room, only Lu Cheng's heavy breathing could be heard.

Liu Hong added, "If Your Highness ascends to the Eastern Palace, then you can choose any woman in the land. If you lose to the Ninth Prince, not only will Ruyan suffer, but the Liu family and those around Your Highness will also meet a terrible end."

"Sending her to the palace is to have the princess work for His Highness, not to abandon her."

Lu Cheng closed his eyes, and the wounds on his face began to ache again.

After a while, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"Let her go."

Liu Hong bowed his head in greeting.

"Your Highness is wise."

"No need to say more."

Lu Cheng opened his eyes, his gaze icy. "If Ru Yan is favored, make her remember who sent her in."

"I see"

After Liu Hong got up, he brought up another matter.

"Han Gou must also rescue him quickly. Han Zheng controls the Ministry of War and has only one son."

"The longer Han Gou stays in prison, the more dissatisfied he becomes with His Highness."

Lu Cheng asked coldly, "How do you rescue someone who was personally ordered imprisoned by the Emperor?"

"The imperial court is short of funds."

Liu Hong made a cupped-hand gesture towards the direction of the palace.

"His Highness provided a sum of money to help the Ministry of Revenue solve its urgent problem, and requested His Majesty to allow Han Gou to atone for his sins by citing his illness."

"Han Gou did not commit a capital offense. His Majesty can release him once he has accepted the money."

Lu Cheng felt a pang of sympathy after hearing this.

Over the past few years, he has won over many court officials and bribed many retainers, so the silver in his mansion is running low.

But Han Zheng cannot be lost.

The Ministry of War cannot allow anyone else to obtain it.

How much do you want?

"One hundred thousand taels."

After Lu Cheng's facial muscles twitched twice, he said to the person at the door, "Someone come here."

The steward came into the room.

"Go to the accounting office and get 100,000 taels of silver. Send it to the palace tomorrow morning."

"yes!"

The manager handed the task over to someone else and then left.

Looking at the broken medicine bowl on the ground, Lu Cheng felt as if a piece of his heart had been cut out.

He sent his beloved woman to the palace, and the money was also sent to the treasury of Dayong.

This was all forced upon them by Lu Yuan.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Once I become the crown prince, I will make him return everything I gave him today, with interest."