After His Majesty was reborn, the poor little girl in his previous life was spoiled to death

At five quarters past the hour of Yin, the faint morning light had not yet dispelled the dark night, and the sounds of bells and drums rang out, echoing over the sky above the imperial city.

The palace gates were opened.

Lu Kui had not slept all night. His figure was like a ghost, stumbling to the outside of Yuchen Palace and going straight into the palace.

When Wei Dexi saw this, his long face suddenly became even longer. He came forward with an "ouch", muttering, "My Lord Lu, you can't go in. The emperor hasn't woken up yet."

Lu Kui ignored this person without even looking at him, walked around him and went straight to the back bedroom.

Wei Dexi was anxious, and didn't care about Lu Kui's temper for a moment, and stretched out his hand to block his way: "Master Lu, please stay!"

Lu Kui's eyes moved, but he was not angry. He looked at him lifelessly and uttered two words: "Get out of the way."

Wei Dexi was already afraid of this madman, and seeing him like this, he couldn't help but be even more frightened. He gritted his teeth and said, "Please wait a moment. I will go and report to Manager Wu."

Lu Kui pretended not to hear and just repeated: "Get out of the way."

Wei Dexi didn't dare to let him go, but he really had no other way to deal with this gentleman, so the two of them were deadlocked for a while.

Lu Kui's patience was running out quickly. He was anxious to see the emperor and had no time to argue with a eunuch. He simply pushed him aside, cleared the way, and went in on his own.

Wei De was so excited that he fell backwards. After all, he was also a well-known eunuch in front of the emperor. Although he was not as powerful as his master, he would be called "Eunuch Wei" wherever he went. How could he be like a little eunuch, being chased around and even beaten?

"How can we allow foreign ministers to act so recklessly in Yuchen Palace?" His voice became sharp, and he scolded the eunuchs on his left and right: "What are you all standing there for? Stop them!"

Seeing that the palace servants did not move, Wei Dexi became even more annoyed. He was about to curse again when he suddenly felt a pain on his head and was hit.

He covered his head and turned around, just in time to see his master holding a whisk in his hand, looking at him gloomily, and whispered, "What are you arguing about so early in the morning? Where have you learned any rules?"

Wei Dexi's anger suddenly vanished, and he put down his hand awkwardly: "Master, what do you think we should do?"

Wu Shilu walked up to Lu Kui, saw that his eyes were red and dark blue under his eyes, and said with a wry smile: "Lord Lu, the emperor has ordered, please follow me."

Lu Kui entered the bedroom, knelt on the ground in despair, and said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty...you knew it a long time ago, right?"

Emperor Zhao Yuan's voice was indistinguishable from his emotions, and he ordered calmly, "Everyone go down."

The palace servants in the hall hurriedly bowed, put down their work, and retreated quietly.

Emperor Zhao Yuan looked at Lu Kui who was kneeling on the ground and said, "Get up."

Lu Kui's eyes were burning with two clusters of fire. He raised his head and murmured, "Marquis Xinyuan is Miss Ning's father..." He looked at the emperor stubbornly and asked again, "You knew it a long time ago, didn't you?"

Emperor Zhao Yuan looked him straight in the eyes without dodging or avoiding. He stood up and walked to his side: "Yes, I knew it a long time ago."

After getting this expected answer, Lu Kui opened his mouth and asked even more blankly: "Why?"

Since Your Majesty knew, why didn't you tell Ning'er her true life experience? Why did you allow the Shen family to fabricate a fictitious background for her? Why didn't you restore her identity and let her become the lady of Xinyuan Marquis' Mansion openly?

Emperor Zhaoyuan lowered his head and looked down at this trusted minister whom he had cultivated: "Wenbi, what do you think of Marquis Xinyuan?"

The emperor called him by his courtesy name, which was chosen for him by Emperor Zhaoyuan himself when he was crowned the year of his coming of age.

Lu Kui whispered, "Shen Chongyan is good at military affairs and skilled in the use of troops. He has never committed crimes, been corrupt, or committed adultery. He has a wife and two concubines, a son and a daughter, and a concubine's son who died young."

Emperor Zhaoyuan nodded slightly and asked pointedly, "Do you think he knows about this?"

Lu Kui looked at His Majesty in a daze: "Your humble servant... doesn't know." He had not even thought about this question before, but if Shen Chongyan didn't know, how could Ning'er appear in the Xinyuan Marquis' Mansion?

But if he knew, the problem would be back to square one. Why didn't he choose to reveal Ning'er's identity?

Is he ashamed of being Ning'er's illegitimate daughter?

Emperor Zhaoyuan spoke slowly: "Based on your understanding of Shen Chongyan, is he a person who cares about dignity to the point of abandoning his wife and children?"

Lu Kui shook his head hesitantly: "If that's the case, he doesn't need to take the risk to bring Ning'er back to the Marquis' Mansion. Besides, the Shen family has few descendants, and Old Madam Shen is very worried about the issue of Marquis Shen's offspring. If she can have another daughter, I'm afraid she will be too happy to wait."

Emperor Zhaoyuan's robe sleeves fell to the ground, with fine gold threads inlaid one by one to form an exquisite dragon pattern. He turned and walked to the window and said to Lu Kui, "If I tell you that Ning'er will die because of Shen Chongyan, what will you do?"

At that moment, Lu Kui's pupils suddenly contracted, and a cold and violent look appeared in his eyes. He lowered his eyes and said without hesitation: "Of course I will strike first to eliminate future troubles."

Emperor Zhaoyuan said coldly: "It's not that difficult to kill a Xinyuan Marquis. But how are you going to explain to Ning'er's biological father when you kill her?"

Lu Kui's eyes showed a struggle, and he was torn between his conscience and his desires. He said with difficulty: "I will do it myself. After the matter is accomplished, please let your majesty execute Lu Kui to appease the girl for killing her father."

Chu Huan looked at him quietly: "You have only known her for one day, yet you don't care about your life and are willing to die."

Lu Kui knelt on the ground and kowtowed. Thinking of this, his face was calm instead: "Kui is a coward, why should I fear death? On the day my parents died, if it weren't for Your Majesty, I would have been a handful of yellow earth. It is a great blessing to be protected by Your Majesty and survive until now. I have no regrets if I can die for you."

Chu Huan waved his sleeves and sat down: "I will spare your life for now. I can't bear to kill you for the time being."

Lu Kui looked at him in astonishment: "But Your Majesty..."

Chu Huan raised his hand to interrupt him: "Shen Chongyan knew about this matter, but he was too indecisive and hesitant, which led to his current situation."

Emperor Zhao Yuan sneered, "He thought that by hiding Ning'er's background, he could have the best of both worlds, protecting Ning'er from harm while preserving the father-daughter relationship. Unfortunately, Ning'er looks weak, but her character is as strong as fire. She now deeply resents her father, but also respects Lord Shen. Once she finds out that these two people are actually the same person, I'm afraid she won't recognize this father at all."

"You don't know how much she has suffered."

Chu Huan looked at him deeply and said, "Lu Kui, remember this. You must protect Ning'er at all costs, even at the cost of your own life. Even if one day you have to choose between my safety and hers, you must not hesitate at all."

With a clang, a jade ring was thrown to the ground, rolled twice, and stopped right in front of him: "Take this as proof."

"This is the highest order I have given you."