Su Wenyuan said she wanted to pick him up not to thank him, but to find an opportunity to have a talk with General Lu.

Unexpectedly, they first encountered General Lu's son, named Lu Liang.

Lu Liang is the eldest son of the Lu family. He has been by General Lu's side since childhood, and he was even taken to the battlefield with him.

After returning to the capital, he was the one who picked him up and dropped him off every morning for court sessions. Officials in the court praised him highly, saying that he was filial, skilled in both literature and martial arts, and would surely have a bright future.

He has a burly appearance, but he is quite meticulous.

Seeing Su Wenyuan get off the carriage, he walked straight over.

Seeing his fierce expression, Meng Qi quickly stepped in front of Su Wenyuan, watching him warily.

"Princess Consort Chen is quite the schemer. Now that my sister has been punished and can't come out for a while, are you satisfied?" Lu Liang said in a gruff voice, his tone sarcastic.

Su Wenyuan chuckled and said, "It was your mother who punished her, what does it have to do with me?"

Lu Liang scoffed, "She was careless and fell for your trick. You deliberately leaked the information to her so that she would go to Consort Wan, and then pretended to be magnanimous in front of Su Lin'er so that Su Lin'er would think that my sister was the one who sowed discord between her and Consort Wan."

"If my sister hadn't entered the palace, you would never have let it go. You deliberately plotted against the two of them, causing them to become enemies and lose face. Now fewer people are talking about you, and everyone is talking about the jokes they made. You say it has nothing to do with you?"

Su Wenyuan looked at him in surprise; there was an unexpected bonus.

It's inevitable that the two of them will have a battle of wits; it doesn't matter whether she's there or not.

But it was a pleasant surprise that these two could help her draw the gunfire.

“Young Master Lu, you can’t say that. I just misspoke and said a few extra words. How did she end up going to the palace to find Consort Wan? What does this have to do with her?” Su Wenyuan asked deliberately, trying to embarrass Lu Liang.

Logically speaking, the conflict between her and Consort Wan was none of anyone else's business.

Su Lin'er's meddling was something she could at least explain away by the fact that she and Su Wenyuan were sisters.

From what standpoint did Lu Wanying get involved in this matter?

Lu Liang, enraged, retorted, "She just can't stand your smugness. Your maternal grandfather's family betrayed the country; that's an indisputable fact. How dare you still show your face?"

He said the same thing as Lu Wanying; the two siblings are kindred spirits.

"That's a real shame. You have to watch it whether you want to or not. I'll only be more pleased with myself in the future." Su Wenyuan's smile faded, and she seemed annoyed.

Lu Liang made sarcastic remarks, "It's better not to be too proud of yourself while you're stigmatized. If it weren't for Marquis Anle, my father wouldn't have been defeated."

Su Wenyuan sneered, "If you're not capable, stop making excuses. This isn't the first time your father has fought against Qikong Kingdom. They've figured out his military tactics long ago. If you're not good enough, you're not good enough."

This hit Lu Liang where it hurt.

Bystanders, watching the spectacle, only knew that Marquis Anle had betrayed the country. But since he had studied military strategy since childhood, he certainly knew the real reason for the defeat.

All these years, they've just used treason as an excuse to cover up General Lu's shortcomings.

Unable to refute the argument, Lu Liang was about to leave when he turned around and saw Crown Prince Sheng Yuanhe.

He had just come out of the palace and went straight to Su Wenyuan.

Su Wenyuan looked at him blankly. How long had he been confined to his quarters? And now he was out?

No one told her when it happened.

Is the Emperor biased? Everyone outside says that the Emperor favors Sheng Jingyu, but Su Wenyuan thinks that the Emperor likes Sheng Yuanhe more.

Sheng Yuanhe approached Su Wenyuan provocatively and said, "It's been a while, Princess Consort Chen is still as sharp-tongued as ever."

Su Wenyuan nodded and said, "Yes, but I don't know if His Highness the Crown Prince has learned his lesson."

"You have the nerve to say that you resort to such underhanded tricks and schemes?" Sheng Yuanhe said angrily.

Last time, he was clearly tricked by Su Wenyuan, which also implicated Prefect Wang Changji. Fortunately, he was only demoted and no one else was implicated.

He was only under house arrest, and now that his house arrest has been lifted, he has seen Su Wenyuan.

They also learned about the conflict between Lu Wanying and Su Lin'er.

Su Wenyuan, still sporting an innocent-looking face, said, "How many of Your Highness's affairs can truly be brought to light?"

Everyone is the same; the methods used in the palace will only become more despicable.

Sheng Yuanhe said no more, patted Lu Liang's arm and said, "Let's go."

The two turned and left, stopping beside the Lu family's carriage to talk in hushed tones.

Su Wenyuan beckoned Meng Qi over and asked, "When did the Crown Prince come out? Is the so-called confinement just a formality?"

Meng Qi said, "I don't know either. Judging from the looks of it, it probably came out this morning."

Not long after, Sheng Jingyu also came out, accompanied by General Lu.

Su Wenyuan went up to him and looked him over carefully. General Lu's name was Lu Guanfeng. In his youth, he was full of vigor and once killed an enemy general in a battle, making him famous overnight.

If he had won that battle thirteen years ago, he would be more than just an ordinary general now.

Besides fighting, he also had another remarkable incident involving Lu Wanying's mother.

Lu Wanying's mother came from a brothel, which was not widely known at the time. Lu Guanfeng was already married and had a wife in his household.

But for some reason, he not only welcomed the woman back to his mansion, but also wanted to make her his secondary wife.

His wife was unhappy, so she revealed the woman's background.

It caused quite a stir back then, which was also the reason why his wife disliked Lu Wanying, and even Consort Wan looked down on Lu Wanying's background.

Lu Guanfeng met Su Wenyuan's scrutinizing gaze and said, "The Princess Consort of Chen has also come. Your Highness is truly blessed to have married such a virtuous wife."

The words "virtuous wife" were emphasized, making it sound like a compliment.

Su Wenyuan said with a smile, "The general is much luckier. No one else can compare to your wife's virtue."

His wife was quite fierce; otherwise, she wouldn't have made such a big fuss about the concubine's brothel background.

They would not openly target Lu Wanying, forcing Lu Guanfeng to send her to the countryside to save her life.

Sheng Jingyu couldn't help but laugh out loud. He had a whole host of problems at home, yet he still had the mind to care about others.

Lu Guanfeng's expression changed, and he warned, "Princess Consort Chen is sharp-tongued, and I, a rough man, cannot out-argue you. But I must advise you, Princess Consort, if you harm Wanying..."

"General Lu, are you saying this to me?" Sheng Jingyu raised an eyebrow, his words filled with murderous intent.

If he doesn't do anything outrageous for too long, anyone will dare to jump in front of him.

Lu Guanfeng's expression hardened, and he swallowed back the words he hadn't finished saying.

At this moment, Sheng Yuanhe came over and reassured him, "General Lu, don't worry, no one will dare to bully Wanying again in the future."

Su Wenyuan joked, "His Highness the Crown Prince is too busy taking care of himself to have time to meddle in other people's business."

Sheng Yuanhe said, "These words should be returned to Princess Consort Chen. Instead of wasting time harming others, you should offer incense to the fallen soldiers. Perhaps you can even accumulate some good karma for yourself."