Lu Zheng followed Rong Zhen back to the guest house of the Prince of Chu's mansion in a daze, and let Rong Zhen wipe the rain off his hair and face in a daze. During this time, he only said one sentence to Rong Zhen, which was to ask him to bring out the willow branch.

Rong Zhen agreed and comforted him: "You should have a good rest."

Lu Zheng nodded, his expression very calm.

Rong Zhen walked out of the guest house, and his face immediately became solemn. He came to the reception room, and Jian Yu stood up immediately when he saw him: "How is he?"

Rong Zhen shook his head.

Jian Yu's face changed: "I want to see him."

"Let him rest for a night." Rong Zhen said, "I'm afraid he doesn't want to see anyone right now."

Jian Yu was silent for a long time, then asked: "Did Your Highness know about it a long time ago?"

Rong Zhen nodded.

"Does he know that Master Le Chen was going to tell Lady Yingguo the truth, but you stopped him?" Jian Yu questioned.

Rong Zhen's expression did not change at all, but he asked back: "When did you know?"

"It's not important!" Jian Yu said angrily, "What's important is that he trusted you so much! And this is how you repay him?"

Rong Zhen chuckled: "You underestimate him too much, he sees it more clearly than any of us."

Jian Yu was stunned: "What do you mean?"

"Even if the Duke of England knew the truth, what would happen?" Rong Zhen asked, "What about Lu Zheng who has lived in the Duke of England's mansion for fifteen years? What about this? Haven't you thought about this problem? How?"

Jian Yu's face turned pale, and he clenched his fists and then unclenched them.

Rong Zhen walked to the main seat and sat down: "They are two people, it's always a black or white choice, you can't have it both ways."

"But you shouldn't make this decision for him!"

Rong Zhen raised his head and said lightly: "But he suddenly came here, who made the decision for him?" His tone was neither hurried nor slow, and he said, "This king admits that he needs a Lu Zheng who has no ties with any force, but that is the current Lu Zheng. This king knows what he wants. In my eyes, he is far more valuable than a British duke. Besides, in what capacity are you questioning this king?"

His admission was so frank that Jian Yu was a little evasive when he saw his gaze.

Rong Zhen did not say anything more, but asked: "You came to see me, not just for Lu Zheng, right?"

"Thanks to your kindness, I have decided not to go to Northern Frontier." Jian Yu replied in a muffled voice.

Rong Zhen was not surprised at all, but asked: "Why?"

"The eldest prince and the fourth prince are not easy to get along with, but what about your highness? Don't you have any ambition for that position?" Jian Yu asked.

Rong Zhen did not expect Jian Yu to be so sharp. I am afraid that no one in the court can see his ambition. Even if they can see it, I am afraid that no one dares to question him in person. Now, I don't know whether to say that Jian Yu is bold or reckless.

Jian Yu stared at Rong Zhen's expression and said without hesitation: "Your Highness's previous invitation was not sincere, right? You were just taking the opportunity to test me."

"No, I do admire you." Rong Zhen gave the opposite answer, "Whether it is your ability to stand firm in the Red Armor Guard without any support, or your courage to give up, you have the capital worthy of my efforts to attract you."

Jian Yu's expression relaxed, and he admitted his mistake neatly: "That was my petty mind."

"I just want to know what made you suddenly change your mind." Rong Zhen said lightly, "Your previous performance was not fake, you really don't want to stay in Yanjing."

Jian Yu paused, then said: "I do have reasons why I can't leave Yanjing, but it's not convenient to tell Your Highness."

Rong Zhen seemed to understand and didn't ask any more questions. Jian Yu

hesitated for a moment, but still asked: "Then Lu Zheng...what does Your Highness decide to do?"

Rong Zhen seemed to have thought of something and smiled slightly: "If he is willing, he can go to the Northern Frontier with me."

"The war in the Northern Frontier has already started, Your Highness, don't you have any plans?" Jian Yu frowned, "Lu Zheng is not good at martial arts, even if he goes to the Northern Frontier, I'm afraid he will become a burden to Your Highness."

A cold color flashed in Rong Zhen's eyes: "Then in your opinion, what should we do?"

"He is a man, he should decide what choice to make." Jian Yu did not give in.

At this moment, a man came over in a nonchalant manner, waving a gilded fan: "What are you arguing about? You two are both heroes of the time, and your jealous faces are no different from others!"

Jian Yu and Rong Zhen looked away at the same time. Jian Yu bowed and said: "Since Lu Zheng does not want to see anyone at the moment, I will come to see you again tomorrow. Bye." After saying that, he left.

After Jian Yu left, Rong Zhen looked at Song Zhiyi unhappily: "What are you doing here?"

Song Zhiyi chuckled with ill intention: "Cousin, don't take it out on me when you're in a bad mood, okay?"

Rong Zhen raised his eyebrows: "You have so many resources in your hands, and a mere princess's mansion has not been investigated for so long. Don't you think I shouldn't be angry?"

"Ahem..." Song Zhiyi coughed twice. Lu Zheng actually found out about Ge Hui's affairs first. This was indeed his shame. Seeing that Rong Zhen was going to stab him in the sore spot, he quickly begged for mercy, "Cousin, I was wrong. I just came to you to report the matter of the Princess of Shanyang."

"Back then, Princess Shanyang was extremely loved by the late Empress Dowager, who often summoned her to the palace to accompany her, even when she was pregnant. But later, the child was born prematurely, and she gradually kept a low profile. I found out that the day she gave birth prematurely was the day my aunt was killed." Song Zhiyi's expression became serious. "Princess Shanyang would go to Fengguo Temple to worship Buddha at the beginning of every year. I secretly checked. It was nominally worshiping Buddha, but actually it was for the salvation of souls."

Rong Zhen's face tightened: "For whom is it for the salvation of souls?"

Song Zhiyi shook his head: "It's a tablet without words, I can't guess."

"If mother's death is really related to Shanyang, why did she do this? Mother was not favored in the palace back then, and she was a gentle and non-confrontational person. The two of them didn't even have any intersection. How could it be possible..."

"But no matter what, maybe the Princess of Shanyang knows some inside information."

Rong Zhen nodded: "That's right, I'm afraid I should ask my good sister."

In the princess's mansion, the Princess of Shanyang sat in the bedroom. The maid took off her makeup, combed her hair, and changed her into casual clothes. Then she asked: "Has anything happened in the mansion these days?" Behind

the screen was the guard commander kneeling on the ground. He quickly replied: "The mansion has been relatively peaceful these days, but one day there was a scoundrel who peeped in and was... beaten by the young master and ran away..."

There was a sound of something falling from behind the screen, and Princess Shanyang stumbled out with a pale face. She grabbed the arm of the guard commander and said, "What did you say?!"

"Your subordinate... Your subordinate is guilty!" The guard commander lowered his head in shame.

Shanyang frowned and was about to go out. The maid beside her ran over with a cloak in her arms: "Your Highness, it's cold outside, please put on your clothes first."

Shanyang put on the cloak and was not so anxious anymore. She glanced at the guard commander: "Did you see those people's faces clearly?"

The guard commander shook his head: "That day... the young master drove everyone out. I remembered your Highness's instructions and didn't dare to get close, so..."

Shanyang's fingers were tightly grasping the edge of the table. At this time, she saw the head maid and a little maid with an embarrassed look whispering outside the door. Her face sank: "What happened?"

The head maid walked in and whispered: "Your Highness, His Royal Highness the King of Chu is here to visit."

Shanyang leaned forward.

"Your Highness!"

The head maid hurriedly supported her and asked anxiously, "Your Highness, what happened?"

Shanyang looked at the nanny on the other side. She also had a sad look on her face. She grabbed Shanyang's hand tightly and shook her head gently.

The head maid was still asking, "Let me ask the prince consort to come back..."

"No... no need." Shanyang stopped reluctantly, closed her eyes, and said softly, "Please do my makeup for me. Your Highness the Prince of Chu, please wait in the reception hall."

When Shanyang came to the reception hall, she saw Rong Zhen sitting on a chair with his eyes closed, resting. The spring sunlight shone through the window panes onto his profile, as if drawing a layer of gold on his contours. His long and thick eyelashes covered his eyelids, outlining the shape of his eyes along the slightly raised tails of his eyes. His lips were slightly thin, but his lower lip was particularly full. If he smiled, I'm afraid he would be exactly like the woman in Shanyang's memory.

Shanyang looked at his profile in a trance. She thought she had gradually forgotten it over the years, but when this day really came, she realized that she had never forgotten it.

Rong Zhen suddenly opened his eyes, looked at Shanyang and said, "Sister Shanyang, why are you absent-minded when looking at my face?"

Shanyang came back to her senses and forced a smile, "I was just thinking that with your status and appearance, I wonder which girl can match you."

Rong Zhen smiled lightly, but did not expose her lie.

Shanyang asked someone to change the tea, then sat opposite Rong Zhen and said, "I wonder what the nineteenth brother wants to see me for?"

Rong Zhen lowered his eyes, but did not speak.

Shanyang and he stood in a stalemate, but finally couldn't hold back and asked, "Nineteenth brother?"

Rong Zhen then said slowly, "I heard that sister Shanyang just came back from Fengguo Temple to worship Buddha. She has never stopped for so many years. Sister is really pious."

Shanyang clenched her hands in her sleeves suddenly, "Nineteenth brother, you are joking. As a woman like me, I have to do something to pass the time."

"Like praying for your son who unfortunately died?" Rong Zhen said lightly, but his eyes were fixed on Shanyang.

Shanyang stood up angrily: "Rongzhen! What do you mean?"

Rongzhen said calmly: "Sister Shanyang, why are you so excited? But in my opinion, there is no need to pray. After all, isn't my nephew still alive in his brother's body?" As soon as

he said this, it was as if all the energy in Shanyang was suddenly drained. Shanyang sat down dejectedly, as if she had aged ten years. She said tiredly: "What do you want to say?"

"I don't mean any harm." Although he said this, Rongzhen didn't mean to pity Shanyang at all. "I only have one question, I hope Sister Shanyang can answer it."

"You say."

"What happened in the palace 20 years ago?"