Wanyan Jin’s eyes narrowed. He was not happy about this, but did not push the subject. He simply said, “Lil Sis, you have to understand that you aren’t the only person on this trip. If anything happens to you, all of us won’t be able to escape from it. Do you understand what this means?”

Wanyan Luosang bit her lip. She felt conflicted.

She knew what was at stake too.

However, she was confident that she would not end up troubling them.

Wanyan Jin continued when he saw her staying silent, “All I hope is that we won’t be blindsided should anything happen. Informing me in advance about what happened would help with working out a plan in case of an emergency. Otherwise, if you end up doing something irretrievable, I can only stand by and watch you get punished for the sake of the Danjue ambassadors who came here with us.”

Wanyan Luosang’s heart sank when she heard the threat in his words.

She had no one to rely on from Great Shang, and even if she was lucky enough to have her wish granted, she would still need to depend on her older brother.

She could not afford to burn bridges with anyone.

At the thought of this, she fell to her knees by his leg and tugged at the corner of his robe. “Big Brother, I… I’ll tell you everything…”

…

Palace.

Long Yang had ordered for a miniature version of the lantern show to be displayed for Lu Liangwei in the imperial garden.

There were all sorts of pretty lanterns hung on the tree branches, all of them stunning.

The Dowager Duchess was not there tonight, but Lu Hetian and Ling Lihua were present.

They had planned to visit the lantern show after the banquet ended, but remembering that Lu Liangwei was pregnant and therefore unable to stroll outside the Palace, they decided to stay back and accompany her to admire lanterns and the moon in the imperial garden.

Even so, it did not take long before Lu Liangwei began to feel tired.

Ling Lihua immediately held her arm when she noticed this. She said, “You must be tired from everything today. You should return early to have some rest.”

Lu Liangwei asked, “What about you and Father?”

A pleased look flickered in Ling Lihua’s eyes before she replied, “Your father and I will head back to the mansion once we leave the Palace. Your grandmother is home alone now, after all.”

Lu Liangwei knew what was going through her mother’s mind, but decided not to say it out loud. “That’s just as well. You and Father should go home early.”

After Lu Hetian and Ling Lihua left, Long Qingzhi bid them goodbye as well while carrying Wanyan Zhi.

Long Xiao looked at Long Yang and Lu Liangwei, and said a little helplessly, “Since everyone has gone, it doesn’t seem right for me to stay on. I would probably end up filled with envy if I have to look at nothing but the two of you.”

Lu Liangwei turned to Long Yang to say, “Your Majesty, you should hurry up and bestow marriage for the Prince of Xiangyang. That way, he won’t be so envious of us.”

“Hmm… I was thinking the exact same thing. I’ll find the time to meet the officials at the Ministry of Rites and see if there are any good matches for you,” Long Yang said with serious consideration.

His words shocked Long Xiao as he quickly waved his hands in refusal, gesturing ‘thanks, but no thanks’.

“I thank you, Royal Brother and Royal Sister-in-law, but…”

He paused for a moment before quickly blurting, “I’m actually not interested in women.”

With that, he quickly made a run for it, as if horrified Long Yang would bestow him a marriage on the spot.

Long Yang and Lu Liangwei looked at each other.

It took Lu Liangwei quite a while to react. She said with astonishment, “The Prince of Xiangyang prefers men?”

Long Yang was deep in thought for a while. His brows furrowed and there was a slightly sympathetic look on his face. “It could possibly be true. That would explain why he has been single for so many years. I guess it’s because of his preference.”

A thought crossed Lu Liangwei’s mind, she smiled and said, “I suddenly realize that you and your brother have some things in common.”

“In which area are we similar?”

“You delayed your marriage because you had a hidden illness while the Prince of Xiangyang did so because of a secret preference. Isn’t that a similarity?”