I just want to be a princess, no, you want to be a queen

Chapter 105: Ambition for Fatherhood

Lu Mingyuan smiled and poked his sister's forehead: "What are you doing?"

She noticed that her sister had been getting more and more aggressive with her recently, but she actually liked it.

Lu Mingyang held her tightly and said depressedly, "I was wondering, we are both born of the same mother, why is my elder sister so beautiful and I am so ugly."

"No, you just grew up in the countryside and weren't well taken care of. You'll become more and more beautiful in the future."

"That's right!" Qin Xin echoed her own daughter, "What are you afraid of, Fourth Miss? Your eyes and eyebrows are much prettier than Miss Qin's."

Lu Mingyang's ears turned red with embarrassment: "Who can compare with her?"

Lu Mingyuan suddenly understood and chuckled, "I was wondering why my sister, who has never been particular about small details, suddenly started caring about her appearance."

"I'm not trying to compare myself with anyone." She swore that she just thought her elder sister was pretty and she really didn't expect Qin Miao. But obviously, the two people in the carriage didn't believe it.

Lu Mingyang decided to give up struggling and get down to business: "Eldest sister, the emperor has ordered a replacement!"

"I already know."

Lu Mingyuan nodded, but her face didn't show joy. Yes, they had no say in whether the next person would pledge allegiance to Concubine Song. All they could do was hope for luck.

The carriage stopped on the rugged yellow land. The early spring breeze blew open the door, and Lu Mingyang helped his elder sister get off the carriage.

"Why did you bring me here?"

Seeing her father's tombstone, Lu Mingyuan panicked and covered her face. How could she be qualified to pay her respects to her father?

"Eldest sister, come over!"

Lu Mingyang took the cushion from Qin Xin's hand and placed it in front of her elder sister, but she did not kneel. After her elder sister kowtowed, she slowly said, "Eldest sister, you know in your heart that the mother of the future emperor is very likely to turn to Concubine Song even if His Majesty chooses someone else to inherit his father's title, right?"

"Yes!" Lu Mingyuan's hands were shaking and he didn't dare to look up.

Lu Mingyang continued to ask, "Eldest sister, you have only achieved this. Are you worthy of our father's kindness in raising you?"

"..."

Lu Mingyuan's teeth were chattering and he couldn't speak at all. He kowtowed again, buried his head deep in the ground, and his back trembled.

"Fourth Miss, what are you doing!" Qin Xin hurried forward to help her own girl.

Lu Mingyang held her back and asked loudly, "Lu Mingyuan, you are now like this, you have completely failed your father's kindness in raising you. Do you admit it?"

"recognize!"

That simple word weighed heavily on her heart, like a mountain. It was the guilt she hadn't dared to face for days. Her delicate, pale hands sunk deep into the ground, stained with dirt.

Lu Mingyang knelt down, took his elder sister's hand, and commanded with a hint of coaxing: "Then let's take the title."

"Snatch it?"

Lu Mingyuan looked up in confusion, his forehead covered with dirt, like a pearl stained with dust.

Lu Mingyang imitated how she had comforted herself before, gently helped her wipe it off, and gave her earnest advice.

"Father has been loyal to the emperor and the people his entire life. We must not allow them to exploit his achievements and title as a tool for power and profit."

"With your martial arts skills, will you be any worse than those self-proclaimed men when you put on armor and go into battle someday?"

"Father lost outside Yanmen Pass, and a loss is a loss. Even if my eldest sister submits a petition to His Majesty to seek justice for father, all the world sees is that father lost, that he is incompetent. No one cares about the truth."

"Eldest sister is my father's bloodline, and all my martial arts skills were passed down from him. Only by winning it back for him can I truly defend his honor."

"Eldest sister, believe me, Jin Yiluo is full of ambition and will definitely make a comeback within three years. When that happens, I just need to win for father. Without saying anything, the world will re-examine the battle of Yanmen Pass and vindicate father."

These were the words Lu Mingyang had prepared for a long time, hoping to arouse his elder sister's desire to survive.

Lu Mingyuan stared at his sister in front of him, his voice weak: "Can I?"

"Why not?" Lu Mingyang asked, "Grandmother and mother were both able to fight in battle, so why can't my eldest sister?"

"But they all went to war with their husbands. There is no precedent in our dynasty for women leading troops alone, let alone inheriting a title."

Lu Mingyuan was a little bewildered. She didn't know why her sister had such an unconventional idea. But this idea really made her heart beat.

Seeing the hope in his elder sister's eyes, Lu Mingyang became more determined: "Let's start with you. As a son, don't you want to fight for your father even for this little thing?"

"Of course I'm willing! But..." Lu Mingyuan shook his head sadly, "Doctor Leng said that my health has deteriorated significantly, and I'm afraid I won't make it past midsummer this year."

"Who said that? Leng Lingfeng told me that as long as you take good care of yourself, there's still a 10% chance. Isn't that 10% chance greater than the chance of inheriting the title?"

After saying that, Lu Mingyang took out the dagger that he had prepared in his arms, cut his palm, and swore an oath in front of the tombstone.

"Although I wasn't raised by your father, everything I have now is thanks to his kindness and support. Today, I, Lu Mingyang, swear by blood that I will fight for your eternal fame throughout my life."

After saying this, he bowed and kowtowed.

Lu Mingyuan picked up the dagger and cut his palm to swear an oath.

Amidst the barren mountains, wastelands, dark clouds, and cold wind, in the vast expanse of heaven and earth, two frail women knelt before a grave, swearing solemn vows that reached into the sky.

At that moment, the mountains and rivers were overwhelmed.

In the carriage back to the city, Lu Mingyang leaned in his elder sister's arms and snuggled with her in a cloak.

Lu Mingyuan smiled and pinched her red cheeks, complaining dissatisfiedly: "Hey, don't you have a cloak yourself?"

As he said this, he was about to push her away.

Lu Mingyang held onto her and refused to let go, puffing up his cheeks and acting coquettishly: "Yours is warm."

Lu Mingyuan smiled and hugged his sister, asking, "Yang'er, have you thought of a way to get rid of your father's title?"

Lu Mingyang felt guilty. She came up with this idea just to give her elder sister hope of survival, but she really didn't know how to do it specifically.

Everyone knows that this is an extremely difficult task, and she is not a god.

But she still nodded with absolute certainty: "Of course, there isn't one in this dynasty, but there was one in the dynasty before that. I've read the history books. When Emperor Hui of Qi was alive, the King of Huai'an had no male heir, so the throne was inherited by his daughter. However, it can't be passed down."

"It's okay if we can't pass on the throne, but why would the current emperor respect the precedent of the old dynasty?" Lu Mingyuan began to worry.

"His Majesty has issued an imperial decree. As long as they cannot inherit the title, we can easily capture them with a few tricks." Lu Mingyang spoke vaguely. If she spoke more clearly, she would be exposed.

So, she held her eldest sister's hand and said coquettishly: "I will be the princess in a few days. I am very powerful. How can such a thing be difficult for me? It is just that His Majesty asked us to be cautious. After I get married, we can slowly plan it."

"Okay!" Lu Mingyuan touched her sister's hair lovingly. "On your wedding day, I'll do your makeup for you, okay?" "I'll make you the most beautiful bride in the capital."

Lu Mingyang smiled with her eyebrows curved: "If my elder sister does my makeup, I will definitely be the most beautiful bride in the whole capital."