"This girl looks familiar, like I've seen her somewhere before?"
"Tap tap...tap tap..."
Just then, the sound of urgent hoofbeats broke the old man's thoughts.
No sooner had Yi Shangyun left than Xuan Yuanhan and his servant Cheng Liang rode their horses along another road and arrived at the entrance of Xi Qin Academy, covered in dust.
Looking at the person who had just arrived, who exuded an air of nobility and extraordinary bearing, the old man muttered to himself in a deep voice, "King Xuanyuan Han of Qin! What is he doing here?"
Just as I was about to follow and investigate, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind: "Uncle Shou..."
The old man stopped abruptly, turned around, and exclaimed in surprise, "Young Master, what brings you here?"
The two then walked a long way together to the same pavilion where they had met last time, confirming that the surrounding area was indeed safe and that they would not be discovered.
Long En carefully took out a scroll and slowly unfurled it on the stone table in front of the two of them, asking, "I came here today to ask Uncle Shou, are you sure this portrait is truly that of the guardian of Western Qin? Why can't I find any trace of this person at all?"
The old man examined the scroll carefully again and said with absolute certainty, "This is indeed the portrait of the guardian of Western Qin that was restored by Lu Xian himself and sent by someone from the palace. It is absolutely true!"
Looking at the woman in the painting, Long En said in a puzzled tone, "Although the woman in this portrait is quite beautiful, she lacks a certain air about her! I've heard that the descendants of the guardians of Western Qin possess an extraordinary and otherworldly air, almost like they're not born of this world. Could it be that there's something wrong with the portrait itself?"
Hearing what Long En said, the old man then turned his gaze to the woman's face in the painting and began to examine her closely.
However you look at it, this woman's eyes seem somewhat like those of Lu Xian's daughter, Lu Tianjiao.
"This is impossible!" the old man thought to himself.
He had come to know the Lu family quite well over the years.
As the two looked at each other, Long En suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Between the eyebrows and eyes..." he muttered to himself as he reached out a hand to cover the eyes of the woman in the portrait.
Just then, Shoubo suddenly remembered hearing someone in the palace say that the guardian possessed a pair of phoenix eyes that were the most beautiful in the world.
He was startled, and even he himself could hardly believe it: "It's her!"
Long En shifted his gaze, looking at the old man's face in surprise, and said, "Uncle Shou, could it be that you recognize him...?"
The old man could hardly believe his eyes, muttering to himself, "Could it be that young lady? This painting... it must have been tampered with before it was sent to the palace..."
Thinking back to Xuanyuan Han's sudden arrival here, and considering the situation in the court...
The old man seemed increasingly certain of his judgment, and then hurriedly moved away from the pavilion, saying as he walked, "I know where she is now... Young Master, hurry and come with me, or it may be too late!"
Long En hurriedly put away the scroll and followed the old man out of the pavilion.
The old man took a quick step, momentarily forgetting that he was actually injured, and reached out to pull at his leg in pain.
Long En then noticed something was wrong with him, so he went over to help him up and asked, "Uncle Shou, what happened to your leg..."
The old man said, "It's alright, it's alright."
The two then hurriedly chased after Yi Shangyun in the direction she had just left.
Upon hearing the news that Xuanyuan Han had arrived.
Lu Xian and his son Lu Tianlin hurried towards the front hall to pay their respects.
As soon as they stepped across the threshold, they saw a figure with his hands behind his back, facing away from them. It was a familiar, innate, noble, and imposing figure. The two of them immediately looked at each other in surprise.
They hurriedly went up to him, bowed and knelt down, and said in unison, "Greetings, Your Highness Prince Qin! Long live the King! Long live the King! Long live the King!"
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan turned around and said in his usual cold voice, "Get up, all of you."
At this moment, Cheng Liang asked, "Your Highness, you rushed over as soon as you received Dean Lu's letter. Has the matter you've been investigating for so many years finally yielded any results?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Xian and his son suddenly knelt down again: "I am guilty. I failed to properly educate my daughter, causing her to commit a heinous crime. Please punish me, Your Highness. But please spare my daughter's life, considering her young age and the fact that she was inadvertently taken advantage of."
Lu Tianlin also bowed his head and said, "Please forgive my sister, Your Highness. I am willing to bear all the blame for her!"
"Dean Lu? This is... Miss Tianjiao? What happened to her?" Cheng Liang asked in surprise as he looked at the two of them.
Xuan Yuanhan also looked puzzled, his brows furrowed as he asked Lu Xian, "Lu Xian, what exactly is going on?"
Lu Xian lay prostrate on the ground, almost touching the cold floor, not daring to lift his head even slightly, and said, "Your Highness, the incident in which the Imperial Concubine was set on fire in the City God Temple in the south of the city in the middle of the night was also related to Tianjiao."
If Lu Tianjiao hadn't brought Mei Xiyuan, who had been expelled from the Qin Prince's Mansion, to the West Qin Academy, and if Lu Xian hadn't overheard their conversation, he would never have known that his daughter's twisted infatuation with Xuan Yuanhan had gone to such an extreme, turning her into this state.
Before Xuan Yuanhan could speak, Lu Tianlin continued, "Tianjiao was taken advantage of by the Empress Dowager because she had been infatuated with Your Highness since childhood. Although we know her sins are grave, we still hope Your Highness can forgive her and spare her life."
After those words, the room fell silent, a silence that was frightening.
Even Cheng Liang stood aside, silent and not daring to say a word.
Unexpectedly, Xuanyuan Han spoke up, saying, "I already know all of this..."
Upon hearing this, the father and son exchanged bewildered glances and said, "We...we know...Your Highness already knows."
Seeing the puzzled looks on their faces, Xuan Yuanhan continued, "These things are all in the past. Fortunately, my mother was rescued and is unharmed. Moreover, you and your son have been loyal to me for many years, so I will let bygones be bygones and pretend that nothing ever happened. But I hope that you will keep a good eye on Tianjiao in the future and not let him act recklessly again, so as not to make any more serious mistakes."
Upon hearing this, the two knelt down again in unison, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness, for sparing our lives! We will do everything in our power to assist you."
At this moment, Cheng Liangfang finally dared to speak: "No way, Dean Lu, His Highness and I have been busy for most of the day, and the horse was almost exhausted. You didn't mean to mention this in your letter, did you?"
Lu Xian thought for a moment and said, "There's one more thing..."
Seeing that his master's expression was already somewhat displeased, Cheng Liang pretended to be a little angry and raised his voice, saying, "Then why don't you stand up and talk!"
Finally, the two stood up.
Lu Xianxian spoke first: "After the incident at the City God Temple that year, Tianjiao brought someone back on his way back to the academy. At the time, he said that the person was a refugee who had fled famine. He was alone, had no relatives or friends, and had no home. So he stayed at the academy and did some odd jobs on a daily basis."
He paused, recalled for a moment, and then continued, "About half a year ago, I was taking a walk one night when I discovered someone having a secret rendezvous with outsiders. I went to investigate and found that a servant from the academy had a hidden collection of aged wines reserved for the royal family."
At this moment, Lu Tianlin continued, "Everyone in the academy calls this man... Uncle Shou. He has difficulty walking. But my father personally took his pulse and confirmed that his leg injury was a result of him sealing his acupoints to create an illusion and gain people's sympathy. It is likely that the Empress Dowager deliberately planted spies in the academy at that time. Tianjiao was still young then, with shallow medical skills and no knowledge of martial arts, so it is possible that he could not diagnose this trick."
At this moment, Xuanyuan Han said, "Get to the point..."
The father and son exchanged a glance, and Lu Xian said, "This Uncle Shou has probably already leaked the portrait of the guardian!"
Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan immediately shot him a pair of cold, sharp eyes: "What kind of work is this?"
Lu Tianlin hurriedly explained, "No, it's not what Your Highness thinks. The Guardian's portrait is of great importance, and my father is naturally extremely careful. It wasn't leaked from the academy, but from the palace..."
"You suspect that the Empress Dowager is also helping your brother search..."
Before Xuanyuan Han could finish speaking, Lu Xian suddenly interjected, "I'm afraid the Empress Dowager isn't searching for the Emperor's guardian, but rather for her own son..."
As everyone knows, the Empress Dowager has only one son, who is now the supreme emperor of the Western Qin Kingdom... Emperor Jing.
Both master and servant were clearly confused. Cheng Liang said impatiently, "What are you talking about? The Empress Dowager's only son is none other than the current Emperor."
With a "thump".
Suddenly, Lu Xian and his son knelt heavily before Xuan Yuanhan once again.
Lu Xian said with utmost solemnity, "No, the true Son of Heaven of Western Qin is His Highness the King of Qin!"
"Lu Xian, are you crazy? How can you talk such nonsense?" Xuan Yuanhan said in shock.
Lu Tianlin said, "The current emperor is the result of the Empress Dowager's substitution of the crown prince; he is not the Empress Dowager's son. Before entering the palace, the Empress Dowager was named Huiniang, and she had only one son with a scholar from the countryside."
"What did you say?" Upon hearing this, Xuan Yuanhan was stunned.
Lu Tianlin added, "Your Highness, you are the true Son of Heaven of the Western Qin Kingdom!"
After a long while, Xuan Yuanhan finally came to his senses and asked, "What exactly happened?"
Lu Xian then recounted everything he had discovered over the years to him in detail…
"That Hui Niang, in order to seek justice for her husband, went to the government office to reason with them. Unexpectedly, the county magistrate took a liking to her beauty and devised a scheme, saying that he could help her regain her husband's official rank and let her stay at the government office for a while. But when she returned home, her husband had already passed away and her son was nowhere to be found. In order to survive and to see her poor child again one day, she agreed to enter the palace as the county magistrate's daughter. She bribed the palace maids who examined her and was thus presented to the emperor."
Cheng Liang said, "I have heard that after the Empress Dowager entered the palace, she won the favor of the late Emperor, and it is only a matter of time before she has an heir."
Lu Xian said sadly, "No, when Hui Niang gave birth to Shu Sheng's child, the baby was in an abnormal position and she suffered severe bleeding. It was already difficult enough for her to survive at that time. Duan could not possibly have the ability to have children again."
The room was silent.
No one expected that the truth would come out like this.
After a long while, Xuan Yuanhan suddenly spoke, breaking the suffocating silence: "So, where is that child now?"
Lu Xian said, "This person's whereabouts are mysterious, but since the palace instructed Shoubo to give him the portrait of the guardian, he must have gone to find the person in the painting, given the vastness of the world."
"Oh no!" Cheng Liang exclaimed in alarm upon hearing this...
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