"Um."

I miss you so much.

“Me too.” Su Wanwan’s fingers gently stroked his eyebrows and eyes.

The man brought his face to her palm and gently rubbed it.

Suddenly she said, "Don't leave me."

"Please."

My hands were covered in moisture.

Su Wanwan took a handkerchief from beside the pillow and wiped the corner of his eyes, pretending to be angry.

"You still have children to take care of, so you can't slack off."

Lu Xingjian took off a necklace covered in runes from around her neck and put it on her.

"This was specially prayed for you, to ensure your safety and long life."

Su Wanwan looked at him with complicated emotions.

When human power is exhausted, one can only rely on such faith in gods and Buddhas.

...

In the past six months, Lu Xingjian has been absent from his post, and Su Wanwan has fallen ill and been unable to manage affairs, resulting in significant personnel changes in the capital.

Zhang Yong focused his energy on maintaining the safety of the palace, and for a time things were calm.

The leaders of the military camps have also changed.

Lu Xingjian ignored these matters and instead appointed a group of his adopted sons, who had been granted the surname Lu, as commanders of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and garrison commanders. He then sent the appointments to the Ministry of War for backup.

These people, along with their own men, went around arresting all the men, women, and children of the Wang family's nine clans.

They were subjected to direct torture.

If they couldn't reveal anything useful, they wouldn't be allowed a quick death. Instead, a doctor would be called to treat them, and they would be subjected to torture day and night.

If they can provide something useful, they can choose one of the three vacant royal titles in the future.

From a tortured criminal suffering a fate worse than death to a nobleman above all others, the difference between these two extremes naturally leads to a weighing of the pros and cons.

Finally, useful clues were extracted from one of the adopted sons of Chongshan Earl Wang Qing.