A total of seven people from the Lu family were sold by the government, including Lu Huaiyi's wife Pang, daughters-in-law Zheng and Liang, daughter Lu Mingxian, youngest son Lu Mingzhuo, and grandsons Lu Wenzhen and Lu Wenbo.
Pang Shi made the decision and asked everyone to follow Yu Zizhen to the Zhenbei Palace to seek refuge. As for the Lu family's side branches and servants, Pang Shi originally wanted them to disperse and pursue their own careers. However, if these people were willing to do so, they would not have run back without hesitation after the Lu family fell into trouble.
No matter what Pang Shi said, everyone just knelt in front of Yu Zizhen and begged her to take them in as well.
Lu Huaiyi's nephews Lu Mingxuan and Lu Mingyuan kowtowed to the ground and said, "Sir, we two brothers are willing to be slaves. We only ask that you keep us by your side and serve us."
Yu Zizhen understood their concerns.
Even if she had shown her utmost goodwill, it was impossible for them to completely let go and hand over their loved ones to Yu Zizhen, who was still a stranger to them, without any worries.
A relationship of trust cannot be established in one go. Before confirming that Yu Zizhen is indeed trustworthy, they would definitely feel more at ease taking care of their relatives themselves.
But they also knew very well that they had no qualifications and no position to ask to follow Pang Shi and others into the palace, so in order to get Yu Zizhen to accept them, they finally chose to sell themselves.
This sacrifice is not small, but it can gain Yu Zizhen's trust to the greatest extent.
Following them, the servants of the Lu family also spoke up, expressing their willingness to sell themselves.
Yu Zizhen: ...
Yu Zizhen seemed to be "forced" to agree, but in fact he was already very happy.
These people are so naive that she doesn't even have to think about how to subtly convince them to pledge their loyalty.
Feng Yuan, who had witnessed the entire incident, was filled with worry. He didn't understand what his son was thinking. Could he recruit the family and servants of a criminal official at will? Wasn't his son afraid of offending the Lu family and bringing trouble to the Zhenbei Palace?
He had a lot of different opinions in his mind, but because he had promised Yu Zizhen that he would not oppose her decision, he had to keep his words in his heart with great difficulty.
Of course, this did not prevent him from sending someone back to inform Mr. Jiang in advance.
So, when Yu Zizhen brought Pang Shi and others back to the Zhenbei Palace, Mr. Jiang immediately asked his errand boy to invite Yu Zizhen over.
Yu Zizhen knew that Mr. Jiang was about to give her a different opinion. She gestured to Yuheng and Yaoguang, "You two take everyone to the third courtyard to settle down. I'll be back soon."
Yuheng looked worried, but Yaoguang didn't think too much about it. They both said yes, and then took Pang Shi and others to the third courtyard.
"Prince." Mr. Jiang's face was not very good, but he was not so polite and tactful as to lose his composure because of such a thing.
He saluted Yu Zizhen, who returned the greeting with a smile, "Mr. Jiang."
Mr. Jiang took a deep breath and asked, "Why did the prince want to take pictures of the Lu family?"
"Because General Lu Huaiyi did not do those things, he was framed by the Lu family."
Mr. Jiang thought to himself, nonsense, how could I not know about this?
He took another deep breath. "Since the prince knows that the Lu family's misfortune is due to the Lu family's troubles, why bother to get involved?"
"Hmm... the enemy of my enemy is a potential ally whose interests align with ours?"
Mr. Jiang took another deep breath. He felt that Yu Zizhen was probably going to make him suffer from a heart attack.
Listening to her obviously questioning tone, it seems that she is just making up an excuse based on his values to fool him?
He tried to sound calm, "But the Lu family has completely collapsed. They are no longer of any value to our Zhenbei Palace."
If the previous Lu Huaiyi was still okay, what can the current Lu Huaiyi do for the Zhenbei Palace?
Yu Zizhen spoke to Mr. Jiang earnestly and in a very adult manner, "Sir, your thinking is extremely short-sighted. As the saying goes, fortunes change. How can you be so sure that the Lu family will never have a chance to turn things around?"
He looked at Mr. Jiang meaningfully and said, "Heroes are made by the times, sir. In today's world, it's hard to say who will rise and who will fall."
The emperor might be dethroned, and the Lu family would never remain so powerful forever. The aristocratic families and the upright clans that are now competing with the Lu family would also fall into trouble one after another in a few years.
The poor little Xiao Shaoke now was a big figure who became the ruler of Later Qi in the original book.
In troubled times, everything is possible, and honor, disgrace, rise and fall are all unpredictable.
Not to mention the fact that she, the outsider who accepted the mission, would interfere with the original storyline. The former cannon fodder would no longer be miserable, and the former winner in life would also taste the bitterness of humiliation.
After dealing with Mr. Jiang, Yu Zizhen walked back to the third courtyard with his hands behind his back.
There were many empty houses in the third courtyard. Yuheng and Yaoguang pointed out a yard far away from Lumingxuan and Yu Zizhen's experimental field to the Lu family, allowing the women and children to choose a place to settle down.
As for the adult men of the Lu family, after settling the women and children of the Lu family, Yuheng and Yaoguang will have someone take them to the entrance of the courtyard.
"Prince." Seeing Yu Zizhen, Pang Shi, who had been paying attention to the movements outside the courtyard, hurried over to greet her.
She was older and had been an official's wife with a lot of social engagements in the past, so she understood people's hearts and nature very well. As soon as Yu Zizhen came back, he was called away by Mr. Jiang, who was said to be the aide of the King of Zhenbei. Pang Shi immediately realized that it must be the arrival of her group that had caused trouble for Yu Zizhen.
She was very worried that Yu Zizhen would be in trouble, and she was also worried that her family would be driven out of the Zhenbei Palace and face the secret murder of the Lu family.
Yu Zizhen smiled and nodded at her, "Don't worry, Madam. Just choose the courtyard you like and settle down."
Pang Shi observed Yu Zizhen's words and expressions, and seeing that he was not unhappy at all, she couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
She thanked Yu Zizhen, and then took the initiative to ask Yu Zizhen and his group what kind of work they were supposed to do.
Yu Zizhen explained with a smile, "For the time being, I don't plan to assign you any work. You've just been through a prison sentence, so I plan to have the doctor in the mansion take care of your health first."
Pang's eyes were slightly red and she thanked him profusely.
Yu Zizhen patted her hands and looked around the yard they had chosen.
The Lu family was very sensible. They did not live in the main house, but instead squeezed into the east wing, west wing and the back house.
Pang lived in the south room of the east wing with her daughter Lu Mingxian, her youngest son Lu Mingzhuo lived in the north room, and her daughters-in-law Zheng and Liang lived in the west wing with their respective children Lu Wenzhen and Lu Wenbo.
Pang's wet nurse, Qin Ma, moved into the back room. She was the oldest among everyone, but fortunately she was in good health. Not only did she not need extra care from the Lu family, she could also help Pang and others and help take care of the three little ones in the family.
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