57 Determination
◎ He will never let go of Yuan Le again in this life.◎
The two books were hidden deep in a corner of the bookshelf by His Royal Highness Prince Zhao, and he never mentioned them to anyone.
Pressed down by several thick layers of books, Lu Jing specifically instructed the maid who entered the study to clean not to go near this bookshelf.
"Yes, Your Highness." The maids obeyed the order respectfully.
Lu Jing was still worried, so he asked Sun Jing to have fewer people enter the study to clean up.
"I understand. Your Highness, you have scheduled a meeting with Prince Zhen and the other two at 3:00 PM. Will you still choose to hold it in the study?"
"Well, go down."
Sun Jing saluted and stepped back to prepare tea for later.
Lu Jing reviewed two unimportant memorials. Somehow, when his eyes accidentally looked at the hidden corner of the bookcase, he always felt it was conspicuous.
It was clearly a pile of books, but Lu Jing clearly remembered where the two new books were.
After thinking it over, Lu Jing simply stood up and turned the Pisces bottle to reveal the secret room.
He dug out the two volumes of secret opera illustrations from a corner of the bookshelf, intending to hide them in a secret room. However, the bookshelves were filled with secret reports from the imperial court, and there was a possibility that they would be read at any time.
If someone accidentally discovers...
With this in mind, Lu Jing walked to the east bookcase in the secret room. From the top to the bottom, he found the third row, and from the left to the right, the fifth and seventh books. Lu Jing removed the books, and two inconspicuous mechanisms appeared in the empty spaces. Pressing them one by one, a gap slowly opened in the center of the north bookcase, and the bookcase swung sideways, revealing a door wide enough for two people to pass through.
There is a connected room at the back, which is not very large, but has a bed and a desk for daily living.
The night-shining pearl on the entrance wall is covered with silk cloth. During the day, light shines through the small window on the roof, so there is no need for night-shining pearls for lighting.
If it weren't hidden behind a secret room, this room would be no different from an ordinary bedroom.
Lu Jing opened a secret compartment in the corner of the room and threw the two secret play pictures into it.
He left the room, restored the mechanism, and put the removed books back in their original places.
The north bookcase closed again, showing no signs of abnormality. Lu Jing left the secret room and spun the Pisces bottle to close the door.
With so many precautions, he felt a little relieved.
"Your Highness."
The secret guard returned in the afternoon and presented a half-new volume of "The Collected Works of Mr. Hedong" to Prince Zhao's desk. Lu Jing glanced through it and found nothing missing. This was the second volume, which the palace's secret guards had spent two days searching for in a bookshop in the south of the city.
Lu Jing ordered his men to reward the secret guards on duty and wanted to send the book directly to Yuan Le. However, he changed his mind.
He temporarily put "The Collected Works of Mr. Hedong" on his bookshelf.
After reading the remaining reports, Sun Jing went inside and reported, "Your Highness, Marquis Wu'an and his men have arrived."
Lu Jing nodded: "Let them in."
The imperial court's reinforcements have already set out for Hebei, and no new military reports have been received yet.
Xu Lang was brave and good at fighting, and some of Zhao Jianan's former subordinates in Hebei Province also rose up in response to him.
The situation was still under control, and Prince Zhao's palace was still not allowed to interfere in Hebei's military affairs.
Lu Jing put the frontline affairs aside for the moment. Xie Qian said, "Yesterday, the steward of Prince Huai's Mansion came to my house and delivered a generous gift on behalf of Prince Huai."
He was at home at the time, and of course he brought people to decline, but to no avail.
Prince Huai was very generous. Xie Qian ordered a cart of gifts to be placed in the side room and not put into the treasury.
Lu Jing knew about this, and the other two people present also heard the news to some extent.
Xie Qian spoke frankly, and when he spread his hands, he showed no joy at the generous gift, only dissatisfaction: "It seems that among the three of us, the Crown Prince and the Prince of Huai are going to attack me first."
Isn't this because they saw that he was the last one to submit to His Royal Highness Prince Zhao and was the easiest to alienate him?
Qin Yu said, "January 25th is your birthday, so the Huai Palace has a legitimate reason to do so."
"Twenty-seven, twenty-seven," Xie Qian said unhappily, "Why do you always forget my birthday?"
Qin Yu smiled sheepishly: "I'm sorry, it's hard to correct once you make a mistake."
Zhen Yuan looked towards His Royal Highness Prince Zhao, his tone revealing worry: "I think the birthday ceremony is just the beginning. The Huai Palace must have a backup plan."
Xie Qian agreed: "Yeah, I'll block it for you for a while, why don't you thank me."
Although these were light-hearted words, they all had a vague premonition in their hearts that His Royal Highness Prince Zhao and they would have a more difficult time in the future.
Given Your Highness's military achievements and popularity, not only the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace feels threatened, but also Your Majesty on the Dragon Throne.
"Everyone, be alert." Lu Jing spoke briefly and calmly as always.
"Your Highness understands."
Following His Royal Highness Prince Zhao, they have braved many dangers and dangers on the battlefield, so naturally they are not afraid.
However, the attacks in Kyoto really tied their hands and feet.
…
At dusk, Gu Ningxi, who was on duty, got on his carriage and asked the driver to go to Prince Zhao's Mansion first.
In the afternoon, Prince Zhao sent someone to bring her a message, saying that they had found the second volume of the book she wanted, and asked her to go to the palace to get it that evening.
Gu Ningxi was quite surprised. Her sister's birthday was approaching and His Royal Highness Prince Zhao had helped her.
When Lord Gu came to visit, Sun Jing's eyes lit up.
He personally led Lord Gu to the study and reminded him that dinner had been prepared in the palace and asked him to have dinner before leaving.
Gu Ningxi hesitated, and Sun Jing pleaded in a low voice, "Your Highness has had a poor appetite these past few days. Since Lord Gu is on good terms with Your Highness, why not keep Him company?"
It is better to eat together than alone.
Sun Jing knew that things had been going badly for the court recently, and that His Highness, as the lord, had many concerns, but he kept them to himself, so as not to unsettle the people in Prince Zhao's residence. This was especially true with His Majesty, who had not visited the palace to pay his respects in several days.
If there is any conflict between the Crown Prince or His Royal Highness the Prince of Huai and Your Majesty, there is still Empress Yao to mediate.
But his Highness… The Princess Consort passed away early, leaving him unprotected in the palace. Even though His Majesty loved Prince Zhao, he couldn't handle the weight of the Empress and the other two Highnesses.
The royal family's father and son are first the ruler and the subject, and then in terms of their closeness, it is much more difficult to deal with than that of ordinary families.
Sun Jing could see that His Highness would only be slightly happier when something happened to Lord Gu.
Just like the day before yesterday when Lord Gu invited His Highness for a drink, His Highness felt much more energetic after coming back.
Also, when the princess passed away, it was Lord Gu who accompanied His Highness.
Manager Sun spoke sincerely, and Gu Ningxi agreed: "Okay."
Sun Jing breathed a sigh of relief, watched Lord Gu go into the study with a smile, and then went to the kitchen to make some arrangements.
Having not been here for a long time, Gu Ningxi first saw a wheelbarrow on the desk, which was carefully kept by the owner.
She smiled and saluted, "Your Highness."
Lu Jing was in no hurry to give the book to Yuan Le. He mentioned the official document from the Ministry of Works and asked first, "Are you going to Renzhi Palace?"
"Yes, I will go and supervise the construction."
Gu Ningxi is already a fifth-rank doctor in the Ministry of Works and is qualified to work independently.
Lu Jing thought that it was all right now. With the court in turmoil, he wasn't sure he could fully protect Yuan Le. Being able to get away for a while and avoid the chaos was perfect for Yuan Le.
"When are you going to leave?"
"January 25th." Gu Ningxi answered with a smile, not hiding anything. "January 25th is my sister's birthday. I'll have lunch with her and then leave."
Gu Ningxi thought for a moment and then said, "The construction period will probably be two to three months."
Because money and grain were diverted for the previous war in Hebei, the construction of Renzhi Palace was delayed.
"Will you go spring hunting midway?"
Gu Ningxi nodded, remembering that they had not been to the hunting ground together for a long time since His Royal Highness Prince Zhao left the capital.
Lu Jing calculated the days and found that the spring hunt would be in early March, so they would be separated for about a month.
Gu Ningxi said, "There is one more thing. Your Highness, please pass it to Marquis Wu'an on my behalf."
She couldn't make it to Marquis Wu'an's birthday, so she prepared a birthday gift in advance.
Eight mighty little soldiers, two of them are charging, two are riding horses, and four are guarding, each with different expressions, and lifelike.
Previously, when Gu Ningxi celebrated her birthday, Marquis Wu'an gave her a piece of jade as a gift.
It is said that Marquis Wu'an was also a wonderful person. Whenever he interacted with people, he would give a large piece of jade to those who were close to him, and a small piece of jade to those who were distant from him. It seemed that the jade materials in the storehouse of the marquis' mansion would never run out.
Gu Ningxi smiled and said, "These little soldiers should be just the right size for Marquis Wu'an's wooden chariot."
Needless to say, Lu Jing guessed Huai Cheng would like it. If Yuan Le was willing to please him, he would definitely be able to coax him into submission.
Lu Jing looked at the wooden soldier in the box and knew at a glance that it was made by Yuan Le himself.
He couldn't help but compare it with his own wheelbarrow on the desk. Although the wooden figures were not as sophisticated as the wheelbarrow, there were eight of them after all!
"You only carved it for him?"
"It's Marquis Wu'an's birthday..." Gu Ningxi stroked his forehead and said with a smile, "Then I will carve whatever Your Highness wishes for you."
She went to Renzhi Palace to do business, away from the court, so she should have some free time.
An answer emerged in His Royal Highness Prince Zhao's mind, but unfortunately he couldn't speak it out.
Gu Ningxi had an idea, but he kept it a secret for now: "I'll give it to Your Highness when I return."
"Okay." There was a smile in Lu Jing's eyes.
He put away Huaicheng's birthday gift. Sun Jing said at the right moment, "Your Highness, dinner is ready. Would you like to have dinner with Lord Gu?"
Lu Jing felt that this was very much to his liking and nodded, "Go ahead."
Sun Jing cheerfully ordered people to serve the dishes. Tonight, they prepared dishes that His Royal Highness Prince Zhao and Lord Gu liked.
During dinner, Gu Ningxi tried to find something lighthearted to talk about, avoiding the court situation. Last year, Prince Zhao's first return to the capital was a triumphant victory, having captured two princes and pacified the Central Plains. Your Majesty hadn't seen Prince Zhao for three years, so naturally, he missed him deeply.
However, over time, the old rule of being too successful and threatening the master will apply to even the emperor's own sons.
His Royal Highness Prince Zhao's growing reputation in the local area may be due to the Eastern Palace's instigation.
There is only one throne and only one crown prince.
As soon as His Royal Highness Prince Zhao showed his ambition to seize the throne, the court immediately became turbulent.
Just like ten years ago, His Majesty chose the eldest son and tacitly allowed the Eastern Palace and the Huai Palace to check and balance His Royal Highness Prince Zhao.
Gu Ningxi didn't know how to comfort her, and seemed to have ulterior motives in everything she said.
But when it comes to the relationship between father and son, Your Majesty still cares about His Royal Highness Prince Zhao very much in his heart.
If they wanted to fight for the throne... Gu Ningxi said what Sun Jing dared not to say: "If Your Highness has free time on weekdays, you may as well come to the palace more often to accompany His Majesty."
She knew that her words had crossed the line, but fortunately, His Royal Highness Prince Zhao did not take it to heart.
The late queen died young, leaving only His Majesty as his closest relative. As for his royal brothers, it's better not to mention them.
Fortunately, Your Highness still has friends to comfort you. Marquis Wu'an and others are your friends for life and death.
Gu Ningxi lowered her eyes, thinking that after she left, she would probably not be able to talk to His Royal Highness Prince Zhao for a long time.
She could only comfort herself that His Royal Highness Prince Zhao had countless friends around him, so it shouldn't matter if she was missing.
…
After dinner, Gu Ningxi took the book and said goodbye.
Lu Jing just let her look for it on the bookshelf by herself, and if there were other books she liked, she could take them away as well, which would be just enough to kill time in Renzhi Palace.
Gu Ningxi thanked him. Lu Jingben, who was watching her choose books from behind, suddenly realized something: "Wait a minute—"
"What's wrong?"
Lu Jingcai then remembered that the two books of secret play pictures had been stuffed into the secret room by him and were no longer on the shelf.
He was relieved: "...This book only has the second volume, the first volume is still missing."
Gu Ningxi was already satisfied with finding two volumes. She smiled at His Royal Highness Prince Zhao and prepared other ancient books as a birthday gift for her sister.
The moon was above the willows, and Lu Jing used the excuse of relaxing to send Yuan Le out of the house.
The moonlight was cold, casting the figures of the two people together.
The carriage from the Marquis of Xuanping's mansion was approaching, and Gu Ningxi said goodbye to His Royal Highness Prince Zhao.
"Your Highness, see you at the hunting ground." She smiled brightly, her eyes clear, and made a promise.
Lu Jing looked into her eyes and nodded gently to her: "Okay."
The carriage gradually drove away, but His Royal Highness Prince Zhao remained where he was.
Forget it, he thought at the moment when the evening breeze blew away the clouds.
He admitted it.
As for the situation in the court, he would probably be able to accept it in a year or two, once the battle for the throne was settled.
If my royal brother and his men press on step by step, it may not take more than one or two years.
No matter what, he would never let go of Yuan Le in this life.
If you want to achieve a better result, you can only pray for the next life.
【Author’s words】
Ahem, the hunting dungeon is about to open——
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