Chapter 392 Insulting Pei Yuan, Protecting Her Father Since She Was Born

Suppressing her inner turmoil, Shen Chu asked Lu Zhong about his experiences over the past ten years.

Lu Zhongdao said, "I suspect that the young master and the third young master Shen were likely taken away by the people who dragged them out of the city."

Most of the people who were evacuated from Liangzhou were settled in various prefectures and cities in the Northwest. Over the past ten years, I have traveled to and from these prefectures and cities.

Wherever I went, I would find a wealthy family to work as a guard, and then inquire about the whereabouts of the prince and his family.

Unfortunately, I searched for ten whole years and still couldn't find them.

Lu Zhong's expression darkened as he finished speaking.

Although he had a full beard and a thin build, Shen Chu saw that his eyes were still firm and bright, and he stood up straight when he spoke to her.

The thick calluses on the web of his exposed hands show that he must have been training continuously for the past ten years without slacking off.

She asked in a low voice, "Uncle Zhong, haven't you thought about asking the Marquis of Anding for help or the Sixth Prince for help all these years?"

Marquis Anding was Zhou Qi, the garrison commander of Dingzhou who led troops to Liangzhou to provide support back then.

Although the city had already been massacred when Zhou Qi arrived in Liangzhou, he led his army to defeat the Northern Rong and recapture Liangzhou.

After the war, Zhou Qi was granted the title of Marquis of Anding by the Emperor for his merits, and his sister, Consort Zhou, was also promoted to Imperial Noble Consort.

Consort Zhou's son, the fourth prince, was also quite favored and was later granted the title of Prince Heng.

Zhou Qi was once Lu Bobo's deputy general and had been trained in Lu's army for several years. Later, Lu Bobo saw his outstanding abilities and recommended him to be the garrison commander of Dingzhou. Only then did he leave Lu's army.

Given this old friendship, and Zhou Qi's willingness to lead his army to support Liangzhou, Shen Chu thought that Lu Zhong would tell Zhou Qi when he discovered that Brother Zhan and Little Brother were still alive.

But Lu Zhong shook his head, his expression somewhat complicated.

"When I first discovered that the Crown Prince and the Third Young Master Shen might still be alive, I wanted to tell Zhou Qi."

But after the war, he was too busy with so many things that I couldn't see him at all, and I didn't dare tell anyone about it.

Later, when he was to go to the capital to receive his title, the Shen family was simultaneously labeled as traitors, so I no longer dared to speak up for the heir and the third young master Shen.

Lu Zhong paused, scratched his beard, and his face showed more anger.

"As for the sixth prince... back then, the Northern Rong besieged Liangzhou for several days."

The Duke led the Lu family army in a desperate fight against the Northern Rong people, preventing them from entering the city until the very last moment.

Fifty thousand Lu family soldiers died in Liangzhou. They never retreated a single step for the people of Wei.

But what about the imperial court? They didn't even posthumously confer any honors after the war, as if they deserved to die for failing to defend against the Northern Rong people.

The Duke guarded the Northwest his whole life, but he died in battle and was only given a hasty burial.

It's one thing if others don't mention it, but the Sixth Prince, oh no, now I should call him His Highness Prince Rui.

He was the Duke's own nephew, commanding the Flying Eagle Guard and enjoying the Emperor's favor, yet he had never uttered a single word for the Lu family army, nor had he ever requested any posthumous honors.

Shen Chu heard half of it and suddenly gasped.

Lu Zhong was interrupted as he asked with concern, "Little Chuchu, what's wrong?"

Shen Chu's expression was somewhat strange as she reached out and touched her stomach.

Suddenly, the baby inside her belly started moving, kicking her belly hard with each kick.

Each kick was harder than the last, making her stomach ache.

"I'm fine, Uncle Zhong, please continue."

Lu Zhong continued, "Just because he hasn't said a single word for the Duke or the Lu family army, I can conclude that Pei Yuan is a heartless and ungrateful wretch."

Bang, bang bang!

Shen Chu was kicked hard in the stomach several more times, this time hitting her stomach, causing her to almost cramp up in pain.

Strange, these two little ones have never kicked her so hard at the same time before, as if they were angry.

"Back then, the Duke doted on him so much, and look at him now—ungrateful, heartless, and treacherous..."

Lu Zhong was a straightforward military general, and he probably used every word he knew to curse.

Bang bang bang, bang bang bang.

The kicks in my stomach got even worse.

Shen Chu suddenly had a strange intuition.

She quickly interrupted Lu Zhong, "Uncle Zhong, actually Prince Rui isn't as bad as you think."

I worked with him for over half a year, and he wasn't the kind of ungrateful or heartless person.

The little one inside my belly kicked a little less.

Lu Zhong was skeptical. "Really? Then why didn't he ask for credit for the Duke and the Lu family army?"

"For no other reason than that the soldiers of Lu's army should at least receive their pensions, right?"

Shen Chu was taken aback. "Didn't the imperial court provide pensions to the families of the soldiers of the Lu family army?"

Lu Zhong gritted his teeth, "What a load of crap about pensions! After that battle, everyone was cheering for Marquis Anding's victory over the Northern Rong."

No one mentioned the Lu family army at all, as if they had never existed.

As Lu Zhong spoke, his eyes welled up with tears again.

"Why should we? We all fought bravely against the enemy, unafraid of death or fatigue, and in the end, we still died on the battlefield."

Why should the living receive a reward, while the dead cannot even receive a pension for their wives and children?

If Pei Yuan were a good person, why couldn't he say a word in support of the Lu family army?

Shen Chu was shocked, but the pain in her stomach brought her back to her senses.

"Perhaps he didn't know about this either. Although I don't know why he didn't speak up for the Lu family army, he is definitely not the kind of person you think he is."

I'll introduce you to him another day. Once you see him, you can ask him yourself.

Lu Zhong snorted, "Fine, when I see him, I'll ask him myself if he still remembers his uncle who doted on him, and his cousin, the Crown Prince."

Finally, they stopped cursing Pei Yuan.

Chen Chu breathed a sigh of relief and found that the baby in her belly had calmed down and stopped kicking her.

She found it somewhat amusing.

Is it a coincidence? Or are the two little ones really speaking out for their father?

He already knew how to protect his father while he was still in his mother's womb?

That's outrageous!

She patted her stomach, both amused and annoyed, and glanced at Lu Zhong's expression.

It was obvious that Uncle Zhong did not trust Pei Yuan and even harbored some resentment towards him.

If Uncle Zhong knew that the child in her belly was Pei Yuan's, I wonder what he would think.

She pulled Lu Zhongdao and said, "Uncle Zhong, you should stay by my side from now on. Let's find Brother Zhan and Little Brother together."

Although we don't know where they are yet, as long as they are alive, we will definitely find them.

Lu Zhong nodded emphatically.

Remembering something, he continued, "I just remembered something. A few days ago I heard that the heir of the Marquis of Anding has a guard who is an orphan that the Marquis of Anding's wife found in Liangzhou."

I found the old nanny who used to serve Marquis Anding. According to her description, the guard's age and appearance were very similar to those of Young Master Shen.

Before we could even verify this matter, news came that you had cleared the name of the Ning'an Marquis's family.

I put it out of my mind, but now that I think about it, it might be a clue.

A thought struck Chen Chu: "The heir apparent of An Ding?"

Lu Zhong nodded. "Little Chuchu, have you seen him before?"