Lu Li was the first goddaughter adopted by Jing Wenmao and his wife.

When Jing Wenmao was young, he went on a business trip. On his way back to the capital, the two passed by Kunlun Mirror, one of the four major sects. They happened to meet Lu Li, who had started practicing martial arts at the age of five. Madam Jing felt that she got along very well with Lu Li and asked Lu Li's master to take her in as his goddaughter.

However, because Lu Li was a disciple of Kunlun Mirror, even though she became the adopted daughter of the Jing couple, she still spent most of the year in Kunlun Mirror, only going to Jingzhou during festivals to stay with the Jing family for a short period of time.

In the sixtieth year of the Da'an era, during a severe winter.

That winter was exceptionally cold. Jing Wenmao went on a long trip and did not return for a long time. Only Madam Jing, her three-year-old son Jing Zhe, and her six older sisters were at home.

At that time, Su Muyu, the third prince, came to the gate of the Jing residence after getting drunk. Seeing that Madam Jing was alone at home, he had evil thoughts and wanted to harass her. When the two were struggling, Lu Li, who was visiting his family, happened to see them.

That year, Lu Li was eight years old.

She was exceptionally talented and had practiced martial arts since childhood. By the age of eight, she already possessed remarkable skills. When she saw someone bullying her godmother, she naturally couldn't stand it and stepped forward to stop them.

Seeing that he was stopped by a young girl, and with the alcohol in his stomach, Su Muyu was not about to swallow his anger.

So they grabbed stools and other objects to attack, but Lu Li, being young, was fearless and drew her dagger to meet them.

Su Muyu was lucky; Lu Li stabbed him in the thigh, causing him to lose too much blood and faint. Madam Jing was still relatively clear-headed and, without saying a word, kicked Lu Li out and then notified the authorities.

Since it concerned the royal family's reputation, Su Muyu naturally dared not tell the truth, and Madam Jing also insisted that she did not know Lu Li. So this became a case of unsolved injustice. Everyone in the Jing family tacitly kept quiet about the matter and no one ever discussed Lu Li again.

For her safety, and for everyone's safety.

That's why Jing Zhe had never heard of Lu Li.

Moreover, when the Jing couple left Jingzhou to return to Pengzhou, they did their best to send their six daughters away. They have had little contact with them over the years, probably because they were afraid of implicating them.

This series of events can explain many things.

...

After hearing this explanation, Jing Zhe finally understood.

He then asked, "So, Father's demotion to Pengzhou wasn't because he offended anyone in court, but because of this Third Prince, Su Muyu, right?"

Lu Li and Liu Jinghong nodded at the same time.

"So, what is he now...?"

"He has now become the Prince of Jin."

Hearing this answer, Jing Zhe breathed a sigh of relief.

He was terrified that this prince would become the emperor. Just imagine, his family had a grudge against the emperor, how could he possibly get along in the future?

However, he then realized that he was overthinking things. He was only the third prince, not the crown prince, so how could he become the emperor?

She smiled and looked at Lu Li, saying, "Big sister, you've been trying to stop me from going to Jingzhou. Were you afraid I'd seek revenge?"

Lu Li smiled and shook her head: "Actually, he was the one who suffered the most back then. My knife wound left him with a limp to this day. As for Father being demoted to Pengzhou, although it's far away, it's better than having to scheme against those people in the court. How can we talk about revenge?"

Liu Jinghong chimed in, "Yes, if we were really afraid of your revenge, we wouldn't have told you about this in the first place."

"Then tell me why?" Jing Zhe asked, puzzled.

"I'm telling you to be careful when you go to Jingzhou. Although the Prince of Jin has gone to Jinxi now, I heard that the Prince of Jin's heir has a close relationship with the Crown Prince and often stays in the Eastern Palace. You need to be careful."

Liu Jinghong explained.

Jing Zhe understood and nodded.

He originally planned to go to Jingzhou to curry favor with his eldest sister—no, now he should be called his second sister—and if possible, get an official position while he was at it, using his second sister's name to live a comfortable life as a second-generation official.

But it seems that's not possible now.

The Jing family had a grudge against the Prince of Jin, who should be well aware of the backgrounds of his six older sisters. Perhaps these adopted daughters who were not related to Jing Wenmao by blood were not worth his attention, but his own son was another matter entirely.

If this Prince of Jin is magnanimous, that's fine; but if he's petty and narrow-minded—he'll be in great danger once his identity is exposed!

Seeing Jing Zhe frown, Liu Jinghong laughed and said, "That Prince Jin is very vengeful. He caused me trouble several times in court back then. Fortunately, I have been guarding Liangzhou for many years, and His Majesty values ​​me highly, so he couldn't do anything to me. As for you, tsk tsk..."

Whether it was intentional or not to scare him, Liu Jinghong simply smiled and remained silent at the end.

She didn't forget to persuade him: "Now you think Jingzhou is too dangerous and not a good place, right? Why don't you come with me to Liangzhou! There the emperor is far away there, you can do whatever you want, and if anything happens, your fifth sister will protect you!"

Liu Jinghong patted his bulging chest, speaking as if he were a local tyrant.

Don't break this!

Jing Zhe's attention was entirely focused on Liu Jinghong's hands, while he wondered to himself: Why are both of these martial arts-practicing sisters so big? There must be a lot of resistance when they fight, it doesn't make sense!

But he still shook his head: "No, I've already decided to go to Jingzhou, and I'm not afraid of danger. Father sent me to Jingzhou before he died, and he must have had his reasons. Oh, and Father also gave me a letter, saying that I should give it to my second sister when I see her in Jingzhou."

As he spoke, Jing Zhe took out the letter he had been hiding on his person and handed it to Lu Li: "I haven't opened it yet—but since both of you are here, is it alright to open it and take a look?"

He was actually quite curious about what was written in the letter, and also why his second sister had to read it first. It would be nice if the two of them opened it and read it to him.

Lu Li took the letter but did not open it.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Since this was given to my second sister by Father, he must have his reasons. It's not appropriate for me to open it. You keep it and give it to your second sister when you see her!"

"oh."

Jing Zhe agreed and took the letter back.

Liu Jinghong patted him on the shoulder with a smile: "Go on, that's what a real man of the Jing family is like! Fifth Sister was just joking with you!"

Though she said those words, a flicker of disappointment flashed in her eyes when no one noticed, but it quickly disappeared...

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