The two listened outside the window for a while, and only after Lu Xingjian saw that she had seen it clearly did he pull her away.

Her voice was indifferent: "Do you still suspect me?"

Su Wanwan braced herself and asked, "Who is that man?"

"Lu Qijun".

Su Wanwan was silent for a while before finally speaking: "Where is Liu Qi?"

Lu Xingjian chuckled softly, his slender fingers pinching her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes.

"My lady had Ma Ji kidnapped to see if I would pay the ransom?"

Su Wanwan looked embarrassed.

He actually found out.

He lowered his head, his hot breath blowing into her ear, his voice ambiguous and deep.

"You don't trust me at all?"

There was no sense of blame.

Su Wanwan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She wasn't afraid of him getting angry, but she was afraid he would take it out on Liu Qi.

"Yes," she readily admitted.

Lu Xingjian chuckled and pecked her lips: "Seeing is believing, so do you believe it now?"

"Um."

Lu Xingjian pulled her into his arms, a hint of teasing in his voice:

"This trip to Taiyuan has truly been a complete success; my grievances have finally been cleared."

Su Wanwan thought his mental fortitude was incredibly strong.

He remained unmoved as Maggie slept with other men, and even took her along to watch with great interest.

If you put her in that situation, she wouldn't be able to do it.

After days of traveling and staying up late, the two were exhausted and took a good shower before going to sleep.

I was woken up early the next morning by someone; Lu Xingjian was sleeping right next to me.

Someone outside reported: "Madam Ma has committed suicide!"

Su Wanwan was taken aback and looked at Lu Xingjian.

He had just opened his eyes, his face still sleepy, and frowned as he looked at Su Wanwan.

Su Wanwan paused for a moment, then asked, "Is the person dead?"

"No, she was rescued and is now demanding to see the Emperor."

Lu Xingjian snorted coldly, got up, put on his clothes, and said to Su Wanwan:

"I need to speak with Gu Ziyu. You can handle the rest."

Su Wanwan sat up. "Aren't you going to see her?"

Lu Xingjian paused in his dressing, then bent down and pinched her cheek.

"If I see her again, will you still be able to appease this jealous person?"

"They're gone."

Su Wanwan watched him leave in a hurry, stood there in a daze for a while before getting dressed and going to see Ma Ji.

Maggie sat disheveled in the messy room, her forehead bruised and swollen, as if she had bumped into something somewhere.

What kind of suicide is this?

Hearing footsteps, Maggie got up hopefully and walked towards the door. When she saw Su Wanwan appear, the light in her eyes instantly went out, and she looked behind Su Wanwan unwillingly.

A look of despair flashed across his face.

He then sneered repeatedly, his eyes filled with malice as he looked at Su Wanwan.

"You bitch, you're the one who ruined me! It must be you who ruined me!"

Su Wanwan ignored her and focused her gaze on the man lounging on the bed with his legs crossed.

During the day, the man's eyes were frivolous and unfocused, his behavior reckless, and his eyes were stained with the dark circles of excessive indulgence.

They don't seem to have much in common with Lu Xingjian.

Su Wanwan glanced at the little eunuch behind her.

The young eunuch stepped forward and shouted, "A distinguished guest has arrived! Why don't you kneel and pay your respects?!"

Maggie continued to shout, "I want to see the Emperor! I want to see the Emperor!"

The man on the bed got off, lazily bowed, and sneered at Maggie:

"I'm right here, what are you wailing about? You were having such a wild night last night, and now you're turning your back on me as soon as it's light."

Maggie picked up a shard of broken porcelain from the ground and threw it at him: "You bastard, you drugged and raped me!"

She pointed at Su Wanwan again, her voice sharp and fierce, "It was you, you bitch, who arranged this! It must have been you!"

The man scoffed, "Last year you clung to me every night in the palace, it was unbearable, and now you're accusing me of drugging and raping you, all because of your own words."

Maggie's body trembled violently.

All the doubts in my heart were answered.

She hugged her arms tightly, muttering in a daze, "Impossible! This can't be!"

How could she accept that the man she slept with wasn't the emperor, but this disgusting man in front of her?

"I, Lu Qijun, am of royal blood. Do you think I'm being treated unfairly?"

Seeing her disdain, the man became furious. He spoke in a very harsh tone, grabbed Maggie's hand aggressively, and slapped her across the face.

He was nothing more than a pawn being used, and at best, he would be imprisoned for life. With nowhere to vent his anger, he naturally turned to others to unleash his fury.

How noble could Maggie be, given that he could manipulate her so many times?

Now they're actually complaining?!

Su Wanwan had no interest in staying there any longer and turned to leave.

Maggie pointed at her and shouted, "Stop!"

"I want to see the Emperor! I must see the Emperor! I need to explain myself to him!"

Su Wanwan didn't care, "Whatever."

She went back to her room to have some breakfast, but Lu Xingjian returned with a serious expression.

"Can you hold on? If you can, set off for Beijing immediately."

Su Wanwan's heart skipped a beat. "Something happened in the capital?"

Lu Xingjian nodded. "It's a bit troublesome."

“Let’s go then.” Su Wanwan agreed decisively, then paused and added, “Maggie insists on seeing you.”

Lu Xingjian pursed his lips, glanced at her, and frowned. "Could you please not mention her again in the future?"

Where is Liu Qi?

"Let it go."

Su Wanwan didn't say anything more and hurriedly embarked on her journey back to Beijing with Lu Xingjian.

The troubles in the capital are no small matter.

Because the emperor and empress had not appeared for a long time, rumors spread that the emperor had died suddenly.

Empress Dowager Wang and Empress Dowager Zhang announced to the public that they had a young prince and sent messages to the cabinet and the Directorate of Ceremonial, saying that the young prince should be supported to ascend the throne.

The cabinet split into two factions. One faction, led by Chief Minister Li, refused to acknowledge the emperor's death and refused to carry out the imperial edict.

Another group, led by Jiao Fang, supported the ascension of the young prince to the throne.

Liu Jin of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs has not yet made a clear statement, choosing to sit back and watch the two sides fight.

Among the six ministries, Liu Yu, the Minister of Personnel, strongly opposed the young prince's ascension to the throne.

Minister of War Cao Yuan remained silent, while Minister of Rites Zhou Jing said that in urgent situations, one should act expediently, which meant he supported the proposal of the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager.

Lu Xingjian's lips curled into a sneer as he handed a secret report to Su Wanwan.

"Do you know that Cao Yuanxu's beautiful wife is Zhou Jing's illegitimate daughter?"

Su Wanwan's expression hardened.

Is this true?

"The internal operations factory was only recently discovered; they managed to cover it up very well." A cold glint flashed in Lu Xingjian's eyes.

Given the Minister of Rites' attitude, it can be basically concluded that Liu Jin also supports the young prince's ascension to the throne.

So whether they will encounter a large-scale assassination attempt on their way back to Beijing is anyone's guess.

Su Wanwan took his hand and patted it gently, then smiled and said:

"As long as the Beijing garrison remains stable, there's not much to worry about."

Lu Xingjian remained noncommittal, but inwardly he was on tenterhooks.

The current commander of the Divine Machine Battalion is Marquis Huaining, Sun Yingjue, who is considered a relative of the Zhang family by marriage.

The original intention was to get them to support Su Wanwan as Empress.

Now that the Zhang and Wang families are colluding, it's hard to say whether Sun Yingjue will side with the Wang family.