The capital is in turmoil, with disturbances erupting across various districts and the imperial court descending into chaos. In stark contrast, the interior of the Lu residence remains eerily calm.
Lu Chongyuan has aged considerably; his hair is streaked with gray, and his once straight posture has become hunched. His appearance no longer reflects the vigor he had as the former Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. Dressed in inner garments, he sits on the bed, occasionally coughing lightly.
Lu Jiu’an reaches out to adjust his posture. As he looks up, he is met with a familiar face beneath a nearly identical figure.
“Master, spies have infiltrated the residence again.”
“Who are they targeting?”
“It’s likely aimed at Second Young Master. I’ve been pretending to serve you during your illness, leaving early and returning late, sometimes even staying overnight at Qingpu Courtyard. However, the eyes in Second Young Master’s courtyard have never left. If I weren’t familiar with his mannerisms and appearance, I might have been exposed by now.”
Lu Chongyuan’s coughing subsides, but his complexion worsens. He takes the handkerchief offered and wipes his mouth, his voice hoarse as he speaks:
“Xiao Yan, that eunuch, truly holds grudges. Despite my concessions and withdrawal from court affairs, he continues to monitor the Lu family. And Jiuwan, that day, you merely revealed a slight hint in his presence, and he clung to it like a mad dog.”
He despises Xiao Yan but also fears his sharpness, likening him to a mad dog that can bite at the slightest mistake.
Lu Chongyuan recalls his deceased eldest son, the exiled second son, and the current decline of the Lu family. The itch in his throat returns as he suppresses his emotions.
He coughs heavily, bending deeper.
“Master!”
Xilin, was impersonating Lu Jiu’an, is a family-born servant of the Lu family. He has been under Lu Chongyuan’s tutelage for years, operating in the shadows. He quickly rises to summon the family doctor but is stopped by Lu Chongyuan’s outstretched hand. When the coughing ceases, the once clean handkerchief now bears a crimson stain.
“Master, you…”
Lu Chongyuan gazes at the glaring red in his hand, his expression calm:
“What’s the point of this act? I won’t die anytime soon.”
He wipes the blood from his mouth, rolls the handkerchief, and tosses it aside.
“Xiao Yan is cunning. Since he’s targeting Jiu’an, it’s unlikely we can hide it from him for long. Has Jiuwan replied? What’s the situation?”
Xilin quickly responds:
“Second Young Master has sent word that he has contacted people from the clan and reactivated the connections you provided. Many of the vassal kings are dissatisfied with the Emperor’s ascension. Second Young Master has chosen King Pingshan.”
Lu Chongyuan murmurs:
“King Pingshan holds military power, is rough and arrogant, yet ambitious…”
Lu Jiu’an desires the throne. With the Lu family’s current state, achieving this is challenging. The aristocratic families are fragmented, and Cui Lin and others have chosen the second prince. If the Lu family reveals its intentions, they will become targets. They need to present a scapegoat.
Compared to other overly astute or deep-thinking vassal kings, King Pingshan, though domineering and shallow, is indeed the best choice.
“However, there’s something strange.” Xilin continues.
Lu Chongyuan is taken aback:
“Strange?”
“Yes. When Second Young Master traveled south to contact the old allies, he discovered that two had met with accidents.”
Lu Chongyuan frowns:
“Accidents?”
“Yes. One is Lou Yong’an, the Sima of Shezhou. About a month and a half ago, he traveled out of the city with his family and encountered mountain bandits. The entire family fell off a cliff and died. The other is Zhou Jungui, the Chief Clerk of the Shezhou Governor’s Office. Over half a month ago, after drinking with someone, he accidentally fell into the water and drowned.”
Xilin lowers his voice:
“Both held modest official positions and died in accidents. After the local government confirmed there were no issues, they reported it to the court and replaced them with new officials. If they hadn’t been on the list you provided to Second Young Master, the capital might never have known about their mishaps.”
Lu Chongyuan’s brows furrow deeply. Since Lu Jiu’an revealed his ambitions and even persuaded him to vie for the position, he entrusted all the Lu family’s connections cultivated over the years to him.
Anyone whose name was recorded and preserved was someone loyal to the Lu family and crucial to its interests. Now, two have suddenly died, and nearly simultaneously, Lu Chongyuan instinctively senses something amiss.
Lou Yong’an.
Zhou Jungui…
He thinks carefully about their identities. He signals Xilin to assist him up and walks directly to the back of the bed, where there’s a compartment set apart from the wall.
Lu Chongyuan feels along the wall for a moment, and with a “click,” the front wall pops open, revealing a hidden chamber.
There were many booklets, boxes and other things in the secret room.
Xilin stepped aside and lowered his eyes, not daring to look any further.
Lu Chongyuan reached in and rummaged around for a long time before taking out a booklet, searching for the names of Lou Yongan and the other man.
When he found them after a while, Lu Chongyuan's heart skipped a beat when he saw the tiny handwriting on them.
These two people were actually the ones who surrendered to the Lu family during the flood in the south twenty years ago?
Lu Chongyuan's palms trembled. How could it be such a coincidence? !
He stroked the names on the paper and looked at the notations behind the two names. Lou Yongan was the magistrate of Changxin County under the jurisdiction of Shezhou at that time. When Prince Li was riding an official ship to escort relief grain and fodder to the south, the ship suddenly sank when passing through the mouth of Changxin River. The people brought by Lou Yongan were responsible for salvaging and autopsy.
As for the other one named Zhou Jungui, he was a military general of Shezhou Prefecture. He was responsible for clearing out the "rebels" in the south and helping Emperor An, who was then the fifth prince, to quell the chaos in the south. He gained fame for doing so. After the rebellion was quelled, he was promoted several ranks and entered the Governor's Office.
After the disaster relief that year, in addition to those who openly surrendered to Emperor An and later rose to prominence, some people who secretly surrendered to the Lu family also gained a lot of benefits. Although Lu Chongyuan seldom contacted these people and rarely used them to ensure that no one would mention what happened that year again, they were indeed people on the Lu family's ship.
But now both of them have had accidents one after another...
Lu Chongyuan's face looked a little ugly. If it was a coincidence, it would be fine, but if it was not, it meant that someone was interested in the old case from twenty years ago.
“Xilin, send a message to Jiuan immediately and have him secretly send someone to keep an eye on these people."
Lu Chongyuan quickly mentioned a few names, all of whom were people like Lou Yongan and the other two, who were related to the flood relief case twenty years ago. After he finished speaking, he gave his instructions in a deep voice.
"Tell Jiuan to be careful and not expose himself. Just pay attention to whether there is anything unusual around these people. Also, ask him to check whether there are people from the capital who have been to Rongjiang, which is under the jurisdiction of Shezhou, recently, especially some unfamiliar faces who are close to the government office. Ask him to reply as soon as possible!"
Xilin had never seen Lu Chongyuan speak so sternly before, so he didn't dare to ask more questions and quickly agreed.
Lu Chongyuan was holding the booklet in his hand with uneasiness, hoping that he had guessed wrong, otherwise he would be in big trouble.
…
The Lu family has been powerful for many years and has its own foundation. Even though Tang Ning had people guarding the family tightly and even keeping an eye on everyone in the Lu family, the news about Lu Chongyuan was still sent out away from anyone's eyes.
After the news spread out of the capital, Lu Chongyuan, who had been bedridden, forced himself to pay attention to the situation in the capital. When he took a look, he suddenly found something wrong.
The court was in chaos, with princes and court officials attacking each other. The Fourth Prince's reputation was ruined, and the Second Prince was also disliked by Emperor An. Cui Lin and others wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to fight for power. However, the person who should have been in the vortex was quietly hiding in Jiyun Lane.
The capital is in a state of chaos, but the people in Jiyun Lane seem to be isolated from the world.
Lu Chongyuan was holding the news that was sent back from below. The more he read, the more he felt something was wrong. He paid close attention to Jiyun Lane and found that everything was too normal. When the news from Lu Jiuan was urgently sent back to the capital seven or eight days later, Lu Chongyuan listened to what Xilin said and suddenly threw the thing in his hand onto the table.
"What a great Xiao Yan, what a great Governor Xiao!!"
It turned out that he stirred up trouble in the capital just to divert attention.
He was actually investigating Rong Jiang's affairs.
How could he know those secrets from twenty years ago? !
Lu Chongyuan's palms were shaking with anger, his eyes were filled with fear and rage. It was obvious that what happened back then had long been buried in the dust, and no one knew about the past. Those who knew about it would never dare to speak out. So how did that mad dog Xiao Yan know about it?
Lu Chongyuan pinched his palms hard. If the incident at Lingyun Temple was a setup to muddy the waters in the capital and make people pay no attention to the outside world, then on the day when Rongsheng Academy opened, when Xiao Yan and Song Tangning humiliated him and angered Lu Qin, wasn't that also a setup they had set up long ago?
They deliberately provoked Lu Qin to start a fight, and then kept Emperor An in Song Tangning's carriage.
During that time, Emperor An let the Lu family go for once because of old ties, and also because the Lu family treated Xiao Yan coldly, Xiao Yan deliberately set up such a plan, which not only earned him the credit of saving the emperor, but also made Emperor An feel guilty about him. But considering that the eunuch Xiao Yan was always smart, would he really be seriously injured and dying?
The more Lu Chongyuan thought about it, the angrier he became, and he swung his hand and knocked over the things in front of him.
"How dare you, arrogant boy, plot against the Lu family like this!!"
He was so angry that his blood boiled and his face turned red, and his body shook and trembled.
Xilin stepped forward quickly: "Lord!"
Lu Chongyuan was panting, dizzy, and finally managed to steady himself with the help of the person beside him. He pinched his palm tightly and said coldly, "He used his serious injury to deceive the emperor, plotted against Qin'er, and sent people to Jiangnan to investigate those old things without authorization. Does he really think he can cover up everything in the capital?"
"I want to see how many lives this eunuch has!”
The accident came unexpectedly. It was the beginning of August, the day of the monthly exam of Rongsheng Academy. Tang Ning had just come out of the dormitory after finishing his papers and was talking to Mr. Tong who was waiting outside when he saw Yue Jian rushing over.
When he got closer, Tang Ning smiled and said, "Aju hasn't finished answering yet. We have to wait a while before we can go back home..."
"Girl, something happened!"
Tang Ning was stunned.
"The Fourth Prince's wife is dead, and the Second Lady Bai was also murdered and fell off the corridor. She is now unconscious. The Zhao family is now in front of the Privy Council, saying that they want the Fourth Prince to pay with his life, and the Second Prince's wife has also entered the palace."
It's a complete mess.====================
You can read ahead to chapterr 470 (100+ extra chapters) here
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