accomplice

In the meeting hall of the imperial palace, the emperor dismissed all servants, including the eunuch who had always been by his side, leaving only Lu Ruonan, the head of the Wuzhu Hall, in the room to discuss matters.

Lu Ruonan looked to be in his thirties or forties, with a handsome appearance and a peaceful expression in his eyes, exactly the image of someone ordinary people would envision as someone who could pray for a change in fate. However, there was something strangely distant about his eyes. Looking closely, they seemed menacing, but if you looked closer, it seemed like she was simply dazzled.

Lu Ruonan's voice echoed in the spacious conference hall: "Your Majesty, I have found out that the rumors were not spread spontaneously by the people. In fact, someone is secretly manipulating and fanning the flames."

Zhao Ruihua didn't say anything, but just looked at Lu Ruonan quietly.

They were not surprised by this result. Zhao Ruihua could guess it even without Lu Ruonan's investigation. It must have been the work of the third prince who was not completely dead.

If anyone told him that Zhao Zejin was not involved in this matter, Zhao Ruihua would only think that this person was either a waste or someone on Zhao Zejin's side, and there would be no reason for him to stay in front of him.

But what he wanted was concrete evidence, evidence that could put Zhao Zejin in jail and kill him. At the very least, he wanted to know who was involved in this matter.

Zhao Ruihua wanted to know how much power Zhao Zejin could mobilize.

"Is this all you've found out during this period?" Zhao Ruihua lost interest and looked away, no longer looking at Lu Ruonan.

Although Lu Ruonan made great contributions to his obtaining the throne, if he spent so much time investigating only this, there would be no need for him to support Lu Ruonan in taking power.

He didn't need this kind of useless trash. He just wanted him to stay in the witch doctor's house and come out from time to time to deceive the people.

"I'm incompetent and haven't been able to find the mastermind behind this." Lu Ruonan remained expressionless as he respectfully replied to Zhao Ruihua, "I've only found out who helped the mastermind spread these rumors against Your Majesty."

"Oh?" Zhao Ruihua became interested and looked at Lu Ruonan again.

Lu Ruonan didn't dare to keep it a secret and directly told the answer: "It's Yu Tongan from the Yu family."

"Yu Tongan?" Zhao Ruihua pondered for a moment and finally found the name in his mind. "Yu Pengji's grandson?"

"Yes." Lu Ruonan bowed deeply, then stood up and continued, "Yu Pengji had always trained Yu Tongan to be his heir. After his death, it was Yu Tongan who became the head of the Yu family and took over."

Zhao Ruihua asked back, "Do you mean that Yu Tongan spread the rumor according to Yu Pengji's instructions?"

"I am just guessing."

Seeing that Zhao Ruihua didn't say anything, Lu Ruonan continued to report what he had investigated.

"According to reports from people in Sulou County, when Gu Bei went to Sulou County, she wasn't alone. She was also accompanied by several men and a woman. After questioning, it was confirmed that the men looked very similar to Yu Tongan."

Zhao Ruihua's face was gloomy: "Go on."

"Although the Yu family claimed that Yu Tongan was away on business during that time, I later learned that Yu Tongan did not join any of the business trips away from the Yu family. Instead, it was the Yu family's second son, Yu Boyan, who participated. After Yu Tongan returned, rumors spread even more widely."

Lu Ruonan loudly stated another piece of evidence: "The appearance time of the 'literate teacher' hired by the Yu family also completely matches Mingyu's whereabouts. After Mingyu died as 'Gu Bei', the teacher never appeared again."

Zhao Ruihua remained silent, his expression becoming ferocious due to mixed anger.

In the blink of an eye, the atmosphere became extremely oppressive, and finally Zhao Ruihua slowly opened his mouth.

"The Yu family does have this strength. No wonder that old man Yu Pengji refused to return to the court regardless of suppression or the temptation of interests. It turns out he has already taken sides."

The more he talked, the angrier Zhao Ruihua became.

He even had the nerve to invite his brother's help and the person who once looked down on him to return to the court, little did he know how the other party was mocking him behind his back!

Zhao Ruihua slammed the table suddenly, and the sound was so loud that the eunuchs guarding outside the door trembled inwardly, and they all looked at each other in panic.

Knowing the reason, Lu Ruonan knelt on the ground waiting for the emperor's instructions.

"How dare you do anything against me and become Zhao Zejin's lackey! I'll show them who their master is!" Zhao Ruihua's eyes were filled with resentment as he ordered Lu Ruonan, "Go, throw Yu Tongan in jail. I want the Yu family to be confiscated and exiled."

"Your Majesty, please think twice." Lu Ruonan stood up and bent at the waist, trying to attract the attention of the angry Zhao Ruihua. "Yu Pengji has just passed away, and many people are still paying attention to the Yu family. We don't know how many of Yu Pengji's connections Yu Tongan has inherited. If we rashly attack the Yu family now, it might just play into the Third Prince's hands."

Taking action against Yu Pengji's orphan might push other on-the-side forces to Zhao Zejin's side.

Zhao Ruihua pushed all the things on the table out, and many of them hit Lu Ruonan, who had to endure it silently.

"Are you trying to persuade me to let them go?" Zhao Ruihua was clearly furious, but he actually laughed. "Lv Ruonan, are you relying on your merits and reputation among the people to dare to disobey me?"

"I dare not." Ignoring the pain in his body, Lu Ruonan pressed his head to the ground. "It's just that Your Majesty, I don't have solid evidence. Although I have witnesses, it's not enough to convince the people."

"So what do you say we should do?"

Without looking up, Lu Ruonan could feel Zhao Ruihua staring at him, making him sweat. If he didn't come up with a satisfactory solution, he would not be able to escape punishment.

"Your Majesty, do you remember that Your Majesty wanted to bring Yu Tongan's half-sister Yu Tongxin into the palace?"

Zhao Ruihua wanted to see what ideas he could come up with.

"Why are you bringing this up now? My dear, you don't want me to take this criminal in now, do you?"

"I dare not." Lu Ruonan's voice was as upright as ever. "It's just that the journey is long. It's not surprising that Yu Tongan accompanied his sister to the capital. And it wouldn't be surprising if something unexpected happened during the journey."

An assassination in Huanzhou would make too much noise and would easily arouse suspicion. Using poison is also not realistic. If Yu Tongan had already been to Sulou County, he would definitely have obtained the antidote.

It can only be solved quietly on the road.

"Even if Yu Tongan is dealt with, what about the rest of the Yu family?" Zhao Ruihua didn't want to let anyone go.

"The remaining members of the Yu family are not worth anything. If Yu Pengji's son was useful, Yu Pengji would not train his grandson to be the head of the family. And the second son, Yu Boyan, is far inferior to Yu Tongan. Without the heir trained by Yu Pengji, the Yu family would be easy to control."

Zhao Ruihua gradually calmed down, sat back in his chair, thought for a while, and finally agreed.

"I'll leave this matter to you, but," Zhao Ruihua emphasized, "I don't want to have anything to do with this matter. Do you understand, my dear?"

"yes."

After leaving the conference room, Lu Ruonan wiped the sweat from his head and chuckled softly twice.

After this incident, the emperor will rely on him more. In time, he will be able to break free from the restrictions of the Witch Hall and truly participate in the court. Then it will be much more convenient for him to do anything he wants.

…

"Is the girl here?"

The voice came from outside the door. Mingyu was very familiar with it. There was a time before when the three of them discussed some unimportant things together.

"She is changing clothes. Is there anything wrong?" Wu Ren answered Mu Mian.

"It's the Third Prince who wants to find a girl for something."

During this period, Mingyu was even busier than when she was working in the palace. She inexplicably became one of the third prince's staff, and she didn't get paid.

But she didn't dare to ask for it, and Mingyu sighed for her cowardice.

"I'm fine." Mingyu opened the door and saw Muqian as expected.

This was the first time Mu Mian came to see her. Mu Mian was the personal maid of the third prince and rarely had free time.

"Go and rest."

Mingyu said something to Wu Ren, but neither of them was in a hurry to leave. They stood there and watched Wu Ren leave Mingyu's residence, looking back every few steps.

Mumian was the first to speak: "Girls are always very perceptive."

Mu Man doesn't usually come to deliver messages, but this time she came here specifically to say something to Ming Yu.

Mingyu walked back into the house, and Muman followed him in.

"When I was at the Yu family, I felt that the girl could guess the whole message from just a few words, so I always kept Xueliu from speaking."

Mingyu paused. Ever since she saw Muman at the Third Prince's place, she avoided being alone with Muman and never mentioned Xueliu, as if she was avoiding something.

But it was useless in the end.

"When did you know?" When did Xueliu know about the dead kapok tree?

"I knew it a long time ago, probably when the girl returned to Huanzhou."

Mingyu didn’t know what she wanted to say. She didn’t even know whether Muman and Xueliu had a good relationship, but she felt inexplicably guilty.

"Have you been the Third Prince's man from the beginning?"

"Yes." Mumian admitted directly, "But the story I told you back then was not a lie. It's true that no one in my family was left because of the famine."

Mingyu looked directly at Muqian for the first time after arriving at the Third Prince's place.

"The Third Prince traveled extensively, dealt with local officials, and saved my life, so I ended up following him. Later, the Third Prince was poisoned and was saved by Master Yu. I followed him to the capital to report to the Emperor, but the Emperor passed away before I even got there."

What happened next is what Mingyu knew.

Mingyu breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt a little hypocritical.

"To be honest, I didn't expect us to get along so well. I'm sad about Xueliu's death, but there's no need for you to hide from me." Mumian was quite open-minded and comforted Mingyu, "Miss, you understand too, this matter is a life-or-death struggle."

They were a group of people plotting to seize the throne, and the consequence of making a mistake was death. Mingyu was someone who had experienced this firsthand.

"But Xueliu..."

"Miss, you tried your best, didn't you?" Mu Mian interrupted Mingyu. "Although I can't represent anything, you are also trying your best to save more people, even risking your own life. If you succeed, it will be revenge for her."

"But I have selfish motives."

"Me too. I just want His Royal Highness the Third Prince to survive. Should I be blamed for that?"

Kapok smiled, her eyebrows and eyes curved, very beautiful.

"The girl has too high a sense of morality. She needs to be a little selfish."