Chapter 92 Museum Free Purchase
Lu Jinlan smiled and teased him deliberately, "If you really care about me, then don't promote me to a concubine. Leave the concubine position for Xiao Heng."
Yu Mian panicked for a moment and hurriedly said, "He...he is, after all, the young master of Qu Kingdom. Wouldn't it be a disservice to him to be a concubine? I think this position is more suitable for me. Besides, you just agreed. A promise is a promise. Your wife is not allowed to go back on her word."
Lu Jinlan smiled slightly, "I won't go back on my word. I will never take back the reward I gave you."
*
The next day, Yu Mian took Huai Xing to wash ink, along with several cartloads of local specialties from the border, and returned to the capital.
Lu Jinlan summoned Xiang Ruzhen and Yan Wuxin and began to discuss the route to Shangdu.
"When I went there, I entered the Jiang Kingdom from Yezhou, traveled by water through Fancheng, and arrived at Shangdu in about four days."
Xiang Ruzhen said worriedly, "It's easy for you to go, but I'm afraid you might encounter an unexpected situation in the palace. I'd better go with you, at least we can look after each other."
Lu Jinlan laughed and said, "You still don't trust me? I can handle any unexpected situations. I'll be gone for ten to fifteen days this time. Without me in the army, these 400,000 men can't be leaderless. I can only feel at ease if you and Wuxin stay here."
Seeing her insistence, Yan Wuxin had no choice but to agree, "Alright, then hurry back. If you can't find the evidence, don't worry about it. We'll think of another way when you get back. Although forging evidence is not a good thing, it's a matter of expediency. If you don't want to do it, then leave it to me."
Lu Jinlan smiled and said, "It's not that difficult. It's just stealing something from the palace. It's just being a thief, right? You don't need to be so nervous. I've already thought it through. The worst outcome is that I cause a huge uproar and get chased all the way back. I've already planned my escape route."
Lu Jinlan pointed to a triangular area on the map that was uncontrolled. "This is a desolate mountain forest, located between the Jiang and Qu kingdoms. Neither country has stationed troops here. If they discover me, Yezhou City will definitely close its gates and search for me everywhere."
"When I came back, I didn't go into Yezhou at all. I left Fancheng and took a small path. I walked out of this forest and that's where our Hua Kingdom is."
Xiang Ruzhen carefully examined the map. "The desolate mountains and forests are far outside the city walls. There might be many wild beasts there, which is too unsafe. Besides, the forest is so vast. Even if you walk fast, it will take you a whole day and night to walk. However, it is true that you don't have to worry about pursuers, so it is a viable option."
“Alright then, the full moon will be in twelve days, and your round trip will take about the same amount of time. If you haven’t arrived by the full moon, we’ll go into the forest to meet you. No matter what happens to you, once you’re in the forest, don’t worry, we will definitely find you.”
Lu Jinlan: "Okay, let's do it that way."
After the three of them agreed, Lu Jinlan packed a light bundle, disguised himself in coarse linen clothes and a bamboo hat, and secretly entered Yezhou City and then the territory of Jiang Kingdom.
Only the banner bearing the character "Lu" on the banner of the prisoner of dragons remained, to mislead spies from neighboring countries.
A few days later, following the original route, she arrived at Shangdu smoothly. That night, she put on her night clothes and sneaked into the Jiang Kingdom's palace.
The palace blueprints the spy gave her were simplified drawings based on the descriptions of elderly palace maids who had already left the palace; they depicted what the palace looked like twenty or thirty years ago.
The royal palace of the Jiang Kingdom has undergone some renovations, and there are some discrepancies between it and the original blueprints.
Lu Jinlan couldn't find the emperor's bedroom, but she followed the scent to the imperial kitchen. Taking advantage of her agility and the fatigue from days of travel, she slipped in and had a big meal.
After eating my fill, I thought, "Maybe I should just call it a day. I'll find a room to rest first, and tomorrow I'll grab a servant and question him properly."
She wandered aimlessly through the Jiang Kingdom's palace, turning this way and that, when suddenly she saw a building with many guards standing watch outside.
Could this be where the emperor lived?
It was so dark that Lu Jinlan couldn't see the signboard, so he simply went around to the back and jumped silently up to the second floor.
The room was filled with boxes, cabinets, and chests of all sizes. Curious, Lu Jinlan pried one open with a dagger and found a luminous pearl the size of a goose egg inside, which shone brightly in her palm.
Lu Jinlan was quite surprised. Although her family was wealthy, there were many things that money couldn't buy.
Especially some rare and precious items had to be presented as tribute to the imperial family. What the imperial family wanted, an individual couldn't keep even if they wanted to.
Lu Jinlan pried open several more boxes, which were filled with rare and precious treasures.
It seems this is the treasure vault of the Jiang Kingdom.
Lu Jinlan curled the corners of her lips and said, "Then I won't be polite."
She looked around and found a double-sided embroidery on a shelf that was more than two meters long, with lifelike flowers, birds, fish and insects on it.
Lu Jinlan had no time to admire it; she had her eye on the cloth. She immediately cut it off with her dagger, spread it on the ground, and used it as a bundle.
She didn't care about ordinary gold, silver and jade artifacts; she only put in rare, exquisite and unparalleled items.
She put all sorts of things into her bag: jade carvings, jade discs, gemstone crowns, jadeite bracelets, gold hairpins inlaid with jewels, golden goblets of eternal stability, and gold bowls with mandarin duck and lotus petal patterns.
This is practically a free museum purchase; in modern times, taking even one of these items would be a criminal offense. Now, she can take as much as she can.
As Lu Jinlan picked through the items, she mentally planned: "This hairpin is pretty; I'll wear it when I'm no longer fighting. This longevity cup is exquisite and beautiful; I'll give it to my mother later. These are for the children to play with, and the other toys can be divided among the husbands when they get home."
This wine bottle is for Wuxin, as a birthday gift for her this year. What should I give Ruzhen?
She turned around, then looked up suddenly and saw a long spear gleaming coldly on a high shelf.
Lu Jinlan's eyes lit up, and he quickly took it down. The gun was made of fine steel and was incredibly sturdy; it felt quite heavy in his hand. This gun, placed here, must be a treasure, and it must have something extraordinary about it.
Lu Jinlan thought: Ruzhen loves using guns the most, but unfortunately she hasn't found a weapon that suits her perfectly. This gun is the right length and weight for Ruzhen, so I might as well take it back to her.
Lu Jinlan lavishly collected a huge pile of treasures, packing almost everything she had her eye on.
The bundle weighed at least forty or fifty pounds, but she had recently taken two permanent strength pills from the Motherhood Gift Pack, which greatly increased her strength. The weight was about the same as carrying a few pieces of clothing, so she didn't feel the weight at all.
She securely tied the bundle to her back, picked up her steel gun, and before leaving, patted the shoulder of the life-sized jade Buddha, saying, "It's a pity you're too big. Next time I have the chance, I'll definitely take you with me."
As she left the Treasure Pavilion, she was so happy she wanted to burst into song. She even started convincing herself: "Why not just leave it at that? This trip has been very fruitful. I'll go back and write a letter in Ling Zhijing's handwriting. After all, the accusation of treason is true, and it's not like I'm being framed."
As she was pondering this, she passed by a magnificent palace, with many palace servants attending to her in the courtyard. She couldn't help but wonder again: Could this be the emperor's bedroom?
Lu Jinlan lay on the roof and peered through the window. There was no one in the spacious hall, but the bedding on the bed was a bright yellow color reserved for the emperor and his consort.
Lu Jinlan was overjoyed: This must be it.
As she was looking for a place to go down, she glimpsed an astonishing scene in the side hall through the skylight.
It was a small, cramped room with all the doors and windows tightly shut. Incense was burning on the table, but it was empty; there were no gods or Buddhas worshipped there.
The ground was covered with damp black soil, and a man dressed in white lay there, it was unclear whether he had fainted or was dead.
As she was thinking this, the man suddenly moved, turning from his side to lying on his back, his face facing the skylight, his eyes still closed.
Lu Jinlan held her breath and looked at it carefully with curiosity.
This man was extremely handsome; he was the kind of face that would catch your eye in a crowd and make you want to look back at him again and again.
His skin was very fair, and his features were perfectly proportioned, even more striking than a sculpted stone statue. Dressed in white, with such noble and refined appearance, he seemed like a celestial being descended to earth. Though lying in the dust, he possessed an otherworldly and transcendent quality.
Lu Jinlan couldn't help but look again and again, unintentionally completing the system's basic gaze task, and the system was silently adding points to her score.
Lu Jinlan was both amused and exasperated. Ever since her comprehension improved, she hadn't been subjected to the system's iron fist for some time.
She, on the other hand, has mastered the art and enjoys the pleasures of the female-dominated world, often even staying one step ahead of the male-oriented system. Tasks don't even need to be assigned; she answers them herself.
She secretly felt it was a pity that the system didn't give her any extra tasks for such an incredibly handsome man.
She guessed that this person must be one of the legendary Meizu people, who had done something wrong and was being punished by being locked up in this small house.
Why don't I take him with me after I get the letter?
Just as Lu Jinlan was about to leave the skylight for the main hall, she suddenly caught sight of a poisonous scorpion crawling onto the man's clothes.
Her eyes widened immediately, and upon closer inspection, she realized it wasn't just a scorpion! There was also a venomous snake coiled around her feet.
Lu Jinlan thought that saving lives was the priority, so she quickly lowered her voice and whispered, "Hey, wake up! Wake up!"
The man opened his eyes groggily, and was immediately startled when he caught sight of Lu Jinlan on the sunroof. "Who are you?"
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