“Do you really understand?” Emperor Yongjia’s eyes flashed and he asked.

  Li Hao took a deep breath, straightened his waist, and his handsome face regained the old look: “Yes, Erchen has learned the lesson.”

I see.

   There was no right or wrong in this world, only winning or losing.

I see.

  Because I was not strong enough, my beloved girl was taken away, and I am not even qualified to be angry.

I see.

   You can do whatever you want only if you hold supreme power.

  I can only bow my head and admit defeat now.

   But I don’t accept this fate. One day, I will emerge victorious at the end and sit on the dragon chair above ten thousand people. By then, everyone will bow down to me.

  Whatever I want, I will just go and get it myself. No one can stop it.

  Emperor Yongjia stared at Li Hao for a moment, then waved his hand: “Okay, you can step back first!”

   Li Hao responded respectfully, turned, and left.

The moment he walked out of the Wenhua Hall, dazzling sunlight pierced his eyes.

  Li Hao stopped briefly and raised his head. The warmth of the sun seemed to wash away the darkness and obscurity in his heart. After a while, he continued walking unhurriedly.

   “Third Brother!”

   He just finished school in his study. The Fifth Prince, Li Chang, came out of the upper study room just in time to meet Li Hao.

  Li Chang came over happily and said with a smile: “I heard that our Royal Father ordered the marriage, this is a big happy event. I didn’t expect that Miss Meng would become my future third shǎo.”^[1]Wife of Elder brother

  Li Hao raised his thin lips and smiled: “Have you met Miss Meng too?”

  Li Chang nodded with a smile: “The imperial concubine often calls Miss Meng into the palace, and I have seen her. Miss Meng is kind, has an outstanding family background, and is so beautiful. The third brother can marry such a good daughter-in-law, what a blessing.”

 He lowered his voice again: “In my opinion, Miss Meng is much stronger than that Lu Mingyu.”

  Li Hao smiled slightly, and then said as usual: “Oh? Have you met Fourth Miss Lu?”

“I have met her once,” said Li Chang with a pout, his voice tinged with some annoyance. “On the day she entered the palace to pay respects, my mother also saw her. I met her outside the Yi Hua Palace and greeted her kindly, but she ignored me completely and left with a swish of her sleeves.”

   “No, it doesn’t count as ignoring me. She gave me a stern look. She looked like she was going to kill someone. I was in a cold sweat at the time.”

   Li Hao took a deep look at Li Chang: “You have never seen her before. Why was she not kind to you?”

  Li Chang was full of grievances: “I don’t know what happened.”

   Neither mother nor brother had ever seen her.

   She hated them deeply.

   What kind of secret it was, he didn’t know yet. But it didn’t matter, one day, he will know.

  …

  Li Hao was silent for a moment, then changed the subject: “I’m going to Yihua Palace now, do you want to go with me?”

  Li Chang nodded again and again with a smile: “Of course, I will go. Today, the Royal Father gave you a marriage, and my mother must be delighted. There will be a palace banquet in the palace tonight. I thought I will accompany my mother to dinner at noon.”

   Although the fifth brother was a bit duller, he also had his own advantages. He was filial to his mother and obeyed his elder brother.

   Li Hao’s eyes softened a little, and he reached out and patted Li Chang’s shoulder. The two brothers went to Yihua Palace together.

  Su Zhaorong was very happy to see the two sons coming together, and hurriedly stepped forward to greet them: “I was thinking of sending someone to call you here.”

   You, of course, were talking about Li Hao.

  Li Chang, like in the past, was naturally ignored.

  Li Hao looked at his mother who was full of joy, and his thoughts were tumbling back and forth, but what he said was: “These days, the son did not listen to the mother’s words and let my mother worry, it is really unfilial.”

Su Zhaorong has not heard such warm and thoughtful words for a long time, her heart is hot and her eyes are red: “Ah Hao, in my mother’s heart, I only hope that you will marry a good wife and live your life well. We are mother and son. If there are some misunderstandings, I have never blamed you.”

Li Hao whispered: “Mother’s heart, my son understands. Mother, don’t worry, I have already thought about it clearly. In the future, I will not mention Lu Mingyu again. She is my future second shǎo, and my future wife is the daughter of the Meng family. .”

Great!

  The stubborn son finally managed to pull himself together.

  Su Zhaorong was overjoyed, she quickly wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, and said with a smile, “Don’t talk about this on a happy day. I’ll let people start the meal.”

  Li Hao smiled and nodded.

  Su Zhaorong lovingly took Li Hao’s arm and walked in.

  Li Chang silently followed behind.

  …

   At this time, the Second Prince was in the hall of Jiaofang, dining with Empress Qiao.

  The dust settled, and Empress Qiao felt at ease. She tried her best not to think about Lu Mingyu’s lousy temper and terrifying supernatural power, she thought of everything was for the best.

   “Ah Jing, after a while, I will have someone send a betrothal gift to the Lu Mansion, pass on the betrothal letter, and set a wedding date earlier.”

Empress Qiao said with a smile: “Your father is going to conquer Yan and Chu, and he is not sure when he will leave Beijing. I will arrange your marriage earlier and bring in your wife. I will completely let go of this important matter in my heart already.”

   There was a happy light in the eyes of the Second Prince: “What the Empress said.” He took the initiative to serve a bowl of soup for Empress Qiao: “The mother has worked hard, drink more soup to nourish the body.”

  The son was joyful and gentle, and Empress Qiao couldn’t help laughing: “Okay, the soup served by my son must be extra delicious. I want to drink more.”

   If we were to be a little harsher, one might say something like, “Since you’re not satisfied with anything, you always wear a long face. Only when things go your way do you bother to speak kindly!”

   Empress Qiao loves her children the most. No matter whether it was her son or daughter, she has pampered them since they were children. Where are you willing to say half a word?

  Empress Qiao happily drank the soup served by his son.

  The Second Prince diligently served Empress Qiao’s meal in person. When Empress Qiao was full, he whispered a few words.

   Empress Qiao was stunned and frowned slightly: “Tonight there is a banquet in the palace to celebrate your engagement as well as that of the Third and Fourth princes. It will be highly inappropriate if you don’t attend!”

  The Second Prince helped Empress Qiao to get up, went to sit down in the inner room, brought a cup of tea in person, and put it into the hands of the Empress.

   As soon as the fragrant tea entered, Empress Qiao’s heart softened a little.

   The Second Prince pleaded softly, “Mother, you also went through youth, and I believe you can understand the passion in my heart.”

   Empress Qiao’s heart softened a bit, and hesitantly said, “I’m fine, I’m afraid your father will not be happy.”

   The Second Prince stretched his brows and said with a smile: “My father is very broad-minded and will not be angry with me for such a trivial matter. I’m just afraid that my mother will not be happy.”

   Empress Qiao was amused and smiled: “When did you learn to be so eloquent? Well, if you really want to go, go! If your father asks, I will cover up with a few words for you.”

  The Second Prince relaxed and smiled: “Thank you, Mother.”