Water was still dripping from Xiao Feng's hair, and he was very damp from bathing.
There was no candle lit in the inner room yet, but the light from the outer room allowed one to roughly see what was inside.
Xiao Feng paused when he entered the room, and only relaxed when he saw that it was her.
Wan Jinlan picked up a cloth and braided his hair, while whispering about Old Man Lu's family affairs.
After wringing out his hair, Wan Jinlan said, "I want to take a shower too."
Xiao Feng put on his coat and went to make arrangements. Half an hour later, it was time for Wan Jinlan to take a shower, dry his hair, and get on the couch.
On the large bed, the two of them snuggled together, Wan Jinlan felt at ease, and Xiao Feng quietly moved his body away. They were both in mourning now, so he was naturally cautious.
Wan Jinlan had already fallen asleep, so naturally he didn't know his torment.
The next morning, when Wan Jinlan got up, it was still dark. Xiao Feng came in and said that he wanted to go with them.
Lu Yuan claimed to be his uncle, so he had to find out what was going on, right?
Wan Jinlan left the house through the back door and bought some dragon claw pollen at the pharmacy in the city. She could never have too much of this stuff, and it was definitely a good thing to use to harm people.
After leaving the city gate, Xiao Feng was already waiting at the agreed place, but Old Man Lu had not arrived yet.
A quarter of an hour after the hour of Mao, Lu Yuan's slightly hunched figure appeared at the end of the narrow path.
Lu Yuan wiped the sweat off his face and came closer. He was carrying a bag on his back and looked like an ordinary farmer. When he saw Xiao Feng, he nodded slightly.
"Uncle, can I have breakfast?" Wan Jinlan helped him sit on the mound beside him.
Lu Yuan seemed not to have heard and looked at Xiao Feng, "Do you want to ask about the relationship between your mother and me?"
Xiao Feng said bluntly, "My mother's family is in Kyoto, and her surname is Song, not Lu. Why do you say he is my uncle?"
The Song family used to have a lukewarm relationship with the empress dowager. Xiao Feng knew that it was because his mother did not promote the Song family members after she came to power. But when his mother took Emperor Jian'an to Tanzhou for refuge, the Song family did not lend a helping hand either.
Xiao Feng had once believed that his mother's lack of closeness with the Song family was due to past events. After his downfall, he hadn't even dreamed of the Song family offering him any help. After all, Emperor Jian'an was nominally the son of a Song woman, and helping him without his knowledge was out of the question. Because he had no expectations, he wasn't disappointed.
Next, Lu Yuan told a story. The deceased old lady of the Song family once went to Tanzhou and was trapped in a mountain temple for several days during a thunderstorm. She gave birth at the same time as Lu Yuan's mother, but the baby was taken away by the wrong mother.
It was when Lu Yuan's parents came to Kyoto to visit relatives that they discovered the baby was taken away by mistake.
Because of the fate of giving birth in the temple in the past, Mrs. Song invited the Lu family to visit. As a result, the appearance of the two girls attracted the attention of both families.
Lu Yuan spoke of his mother with a hint of melancholy. "Mother loves my younger sister very much and doesn't want her to return to the Song family. Besides, my younger sister already has a beloved man, whose family is from Tanzhou. The daughter of the Song family has also been betrothed to the crown prince. Everything is not going back to normal."
"But Madam Song was determined to reclaim her daughter and would never agree to the marriage the Lu family had arranged for my younger sister. My younger sister, worried and foolish, eloped with that man. Something happened along the way, and after she was found, she committed suicide."
When talking about his sister who had no blood relationship with him, Lu Yuan sighed.
Wan Jinlan's tone was a little cold, "So after the real Song family girl died, Madam Song and Madam Lu both resented the Queen Mother."
Lu Yuan remained silent and did not object.
"When the two families learned that the child had been mistakenly taken away, because the Song family girl had already been granted the title of Crown Princess, everything was done in private and not made public. Few people knew about it."
"The Song family feared the crime of deceiving the emperor, and they also sternly warned the Lu family not to reveal even a single word about the mistaken child being taken away. Few people in my Lu family knew about this, and since Song Yan entered the palace, the Lu family has had almost no contact with her."
"It wasn't until she fled to Tanzhou with the Emperor, then Prince Ping, that she started interacting with the Lu family again."
That day in the mountains, he recognized the hairpin on Wan Jinlan's head at a glance, and also recognized that Xiao Feng had some similarities with the young empress dowager. He couldn't help but think more about it, so he showed the two of them a way at that time.
Wan Jinlan asked, "The Emperor shouldn't be aware of the relationship between the Lu family and the Queen Mother, right?"
If she knew, the Queen Mother would not reveal Lu Yan's name to her.
Lu Yuan nodded, "As far as I know, I don't know."
Xiao Feng's expression was dazed. Thinking back on his mother's life, it seemed she hadn't had any close relatives. Her eldest son was murdered by a traitorous slave, her adopted son was a heartless and ruthless man, and he, because of his past resentment towards her, had never been willing to get close. Her life seemed to be pushed forward, giving so much but receiving so little.
Xiao Feng felt a bitter taste in his stomach, his fists clenched, and hatred surged.
Wan Jinlan was about to ask about the firearms when she looked up and saw Xiao Feng in a state of reverie. She grabbed his hand and called out, "Husband."
In front of outsiders, she always called him husband.
Her soft call brought him back to his senses. Feeling the warmth of her palm, he opened his hand and shook hers again, his voice hoarse, "I'm fine." But he suddenly felt a little sorry for his mother.
Lu Yuan also sighed deeply, "I haven't asked yet why you and your wife have ended up in this situation?"
Wan Jinlan recounted the entire story from beginning to end, and added at the end: "If my uncle is afraid of the emperor, he doesn't have to leave with me today. Let's just pretend we haven't met, and I won't implicate you in the future."
"If my uncle leaves with me today, my husband and I will have to rely on him in the future."
Wan Jinlan made it clear.
She felt that even if Lu Yuan didn't want to be involved with the two of them, he would at least not betray them, after all, they had helped each other in the past.
Lu Yuan stood up and brushed off the dust on his clothes. "Let's go. The sun is high in the sky."
Wan Jinlan smiled and turned to look at Xiao Feng. He saw that his eyes were dark and calm, and he was looking into the distance.
She shook his hand and said, "I'll leave Anxi with you. I also need you to take the trouble to find some reliable blacksmiths."
"If you really feel uncomfortable, just take your musket and assassinate him." Wan Jinlan said in a rebellious manner.
Xiao Feng regained consciousness and looked at her with his eyes lowered. "Killing him would be too easy for him."
He wanted to make Emperor Jian'an experience all kinds of pain before he died. Fear, anxiety, and the true disappointment of not having his wish fulfilled!
Now that Prince Su has rebelled, Emperor Jian'an has already been in a state of panic. If Li Wei rebels again, other forces, big and small, will also be ready to move. Now all it takes is a fire to ignite it.
The string of morality in Xiao Feng's heart was stretched very tight and was at risk of breaking at any time.
"Could you two please stop dawdling? I haven't had breakfast yet!" Lu Yuan touched his rumbling stomach.
An Xi, who had been as stiff as a wooden stake, took out a scallion pancake from her bag and handed it to him, blocking his mouth.
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