Prime Minister Li paused, then warned again, "Don’t think just because you are now a disciple of the Changsheng Princess, you can act even more recklessly than before. The Princess is the Princess, and you are you; you still need to look after your head more carefully."
Li Wuyu, still all smiles and jests, replied, "Don’t worry, Dad, I’ll take good care of my head. I’ll never die before you, sparing you the grief of the white-haired sending off the black-haired!"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk!" Prime Minister Li spat three times, "What’s all this talk of death, how inauspicious! From now on, you are not allowed to mention death in front of me, do you hear?"
Seeing her father truly getting upset, Li Wuyu quickly answered like a good child, "I hear you, Dad."
As soon as Linghe left the Prime Minister’s residence, she returned to the Pingjun Prince’s Mansion. The moment she arrived back in her room, she furiously slapped her personal maid several times.
Unable to take her anger out on Li Wuyu, she naturally had to vent on someone else, but even after swelling the maid’s face with slaps, her anger was not appeased. So, she began smashing things in the room.
Just as Linghe was enjoying her rampage, the Pingjun Princess arrived. Seeing Linghe smashing things, she frowned disapprovingly and scolded, "Linghe, what sort of behavior is this! You look nothing like a Commandery Princess!"
Upon seeing her mother, Linghe immediately stopped smashing things and ran crying into her arms, appearing aggrieved.
"There, there, I’ve heard what happened. I know you’re upset," the Pingjun Princess comforted, gently patting Linghe’s back. "I came to make you feel better."
At that, Linghe stopped crying immediately, "Mother means...?"
The Pingjun Princess didn’t answer right away but asked, "I have just one question for you, do you still want to marry the King of Eternal Victory?"
Linghe instantly nodded vigorously, "Yes! Of course, Linghe wants to! Linghe dreams of it! If Linghe could give birth to a son for the King of Eternal Victory, then in the future, that son would also be the King of Eternal Victory! By then, Linghe’s glory will be a hundred, no, a thousand times greater than it is now!"
"At least you’re clear about that. It’s good you’re not confused," the Pingjun Princess nodded in satisfaction. Then continued, "Your father and I have discussed it. On the Emperor’s birthday feast, you’ll pretend to be so sick with longing for the King of Eternal Victory that you can’t attend the banquet. Your father will report your condition to the Emperor. Meanwhile, we will have your aunt Consort Yu add fuel to the fire, and the Emperor should then assign you to the King of Eternal Victory as his consort."
Obviously, Linghe was delighted at the thought of being the King of Eternal Victory’s consort, but hesitated, "Mother, to feign sickness out of longing is a deceit; I won’t really be sick. If found out, that’s deceiving the sovereign, a crime that could cost me my head..."
The Pingjun Princess said, "Just soak in ice-cold water for a couple of days, and you’ll actually get sick, won’t you?"
Understanding her mother’s meaning instantly, Linghe realized that if she truly fell ill, even if the Imperial Physician sent by the Emperor diagnosed her with catching a cold, she could still claim that her illness was compounded by her longing for the King of Eternal Victory. For example, she could say she had sat alone and melancholic in the pavilion, thus catching the cold.
Linghe truly admired this plan, yet she was reluctant to genuinely fall ill. However, for the chance to marry Xiao Changyi, she steeled herself and agreed, "Then I’ll have to trouble Mother to visit the palace. When the time comes, please put in a few good words for Linghe with Auntie."
The Pingjun Princess replied, "I will enter the palace tomorrow. Don’t worry about your aunt, she’s still on our side. And if, in the future, you bear the King of Eternal Victory’s heir, she will also share in the glory."