Chapter 895 Cooperation
The atmosphere in the tent suddenly became tense, and the two sides confronted each other with swords drawn.
Ji Rongqing... no, Lu Zhinian smiled, held the teacup to his lips and took a sip before speaking leisurely.
"Master, you came to me today specifically to ask me to help you recall the past, right?"
Xiahou Ling looked at the person opposite him with a cold expression, and his heart sank a little.
He had clashed with Lu Zhinian many times in the past, with both wins and losses, but no matter what the outcome, Lu Zhinian always acted hypocritically and cautiously.
Before Song Jinxiu turned against them, he had tried to test Lu Zhinian's identity several times. When Lu Zhinian first "married into" the prince consort's mansion under the name of Ji Rongqing and entered the royal court with the help of Wu Ya, he had suffered countless difficulties.
But no matter what means he faced, even when he was forced to be embarrassed in public, Lu Zhinian never showed any trace. Even when he was in a mess, he was still gentle as if he had no temper at all, making it difficult for people to tell his true self from him.
He has never been so outspoken and unconcealed.
Logically speaking, he shouldn't be like this. The fact that he can act like this and not even mind him mentioning the Lu family's affairs can only mean that he feels confident enough that he won't be afraid even if his identity is known.
Xiahou Ling lost his previous probing thoughts and asked directly in a deep voice, "My husband and I have never had any past feelings for each other, so how can we reminisce about the past? I came here today to ask you one question: Where is the Queen of Wei now?"
Lu Zhinian's heart skipped a beat, and he felt that all his previous guesses had come true.
Something had indeed happened to Song Tangning. No wonder the news coming back from Wei was so strange.
Various thoughts were running through his mind, but he didn't show any of them on his face. Instead, he looked as if he had known the inside story and was sure of victory. He raised his eyebrows slightly and said tentatively, "Ming Ke took away the Queen of Wei, and the Imperial Master came to ask me?"
"Why do you have to hide it?"
Xiahou Ling's face was cold. "Ming Ke did take the Queen of Wei away, but when she left the capital through your Lu family's secret passage, she was taken advantage of by Lu Jiuan. Now that the Wei Dynasty has sent people to search for her, Lu Jiuan can't take her away at all."
Upon hearing this, Lu Zhinian simply raised his head calmly: "So what?"
Xiahou Ling's face darkened slightly. "You went to great lengths to infiltrate the Wei capital, and then plotted against Ming Ke to kidnap her. It couldn't have been just for a momentary gratification. If you can't bring the Wei queen back to Beiling, what good would it do you?"
"People from the Wei Dynasty are searching everywhere now, and there are many checkpoints along the way to the northwest. If Lu Jiuan and his group are discovered, they will definitely not be able to escape..."
Lu Zhinian raised his eyelids slightly when he heard this: "So what if I can't escape? At least I can get away with it for a while and enjoy myself."
"It's the Imperial Master who has lost the spy he managed to keep in the Wei Dynasty. The information network he had been operating in the Wei Dynasty for many years has been completely cut off. It will probably take a lot of effort to train another Ming Ke."
Xiahou Ling was stung by his light words and felt angry.
The destruction of Mingke was a huge loss for him, and Lu Zhinian's attitude made him extremely angry. However, holding the thing hidden in his sleeve, Xiahou Ling knew that now was not the time to compete with Lu Zhinian.
He took a deep breath to calm down, and said as calmly as possible: "Why do you have to confront me, Mr. Lu Sanlang? Although we have had grudges in the past, the overall situation is at the forefront. I don't believe you don't know what's going on in Beiling now."
"The two armies have been fighting for over two months. Beiling may seem to be winning, but in reality, it's losing. If the war drags on, Beiling will be doomed."
"I don't know how you managed to sneak into Beiling, but your hatred for the Emperor of Wei and his men is real. You should know that a living Queen of Wei is far more useful than a dead one."
Lu Zhinian played with the teacup in his hand, looked up and said calmly: "So?"
“So I want to work with you.”
"cooperate?"
Lu Zhinian laughed out loud upon hearing this. "Master Imperial Master, do I need to remind you that three days ago you used the war to trick me, causing Zong Yu's army to lose its support and nearly losing the entire vanguard camp?"
"If I hadn't been on guard against you and hadn't left a retreat for Zong Yu's troops, I would have been held accountable by the royal court and the Khan for my command errors."
"You cooperate with me, am I tired of living?"
Xiahou Ling frowned as he listened to his mocking words. "Although I attacked you, you also conspired with the people of the Wanhu tribe to plot against me. Wasn't your secret bribery of the Thirteen Tribes just to find an opportunity to undermine me?"
"You and I have always had a grudge against each other, and we've been calculating against each other, each relying on his own methods. But you just said that interests come first in everything in this world. If it harms our interests, why not cooperate temporarily?"
Seeing that Lu Zhinian was just stroking the teacup and not saying anything, Xiahou Ling's voice became a little deeper.
"Mr. Lu Sanlang, you and I have been on the same boat for a long time. Our life and death, our future, all depend on Beiling."
"If Beiling wins this battle, you and I will be safe. But if Beiling loses, those Rong people can still retreat outside Tianling Mountain. Great Wei doesn't have the ability to wipe them out, but you and I will definitely die without a burial place."
"I know you have a grudge against me, but the matter between you and me can wait until after the war to see how we each handle it. The most important thing right now is to take down Wei, isn't it?"
Although Lu Zhinian didn't say anything, he didn't refute either.
Seeing this, Xiahou Ling did not urge him, but just sat quietly aside waiting for a reply.
The two of them were thinking about how to control each other, how to get more benefits under the existing conditions, and how to fight for more things for themselves, but no one of them thought that there was something wrong with the information they had obtained.
The Great Wei was too far away from Beiling, and due to the war in the northwest, it took many days for the news to reach us.
Xiahou Ling and Lu Zhinian each had their own sources of information, but because the other side deliberately blocked and divided them, the information was incomplete. If they could open up and verify each other without any concealment, they might be able to detect something wrong, but they were both suspicious of each other and had reservations.
After concealing and testing each other, Xiahou Ling thought that the Queen of Wei was in Lu Zhinian's hands. He not only believed the news brought back by his subordinates, but also confirmed that the Dragon Jade Order in his hand was real.
Lu Zhinian also thought that Xiahou Ling had accurate information. Ming Ke captured Song Tangning and fell into Lu Jiuan's hands. As for the lack of news during this period, it was only because Lu Jiuan was worried that the pursuers would reveal traces in order to protect himself.
After a moment, Lu Zhinian finally spoke: "I can cooperate with the Imperial Master and take down Wei before discussing other matters. But what does the Imperial Master want to do now?"
He paused and said:
"The Great Wei State covered up the news of the Queen's disappearance and used it as a cover-up for the preparations for the imperial examinations. If people knew that the Queen was abducted during the abdication, it would indeed cause chaos in the capital of the Great Wei State for a while. However, the Imperial Master should know this."
"The journey to the Great Wei is long, and the capital of the Great Wei is under martial law. Outsiders cannot even enter the capital. If someone wants to cause chaos in the capital and thus affect the border, it will take at least a month to go back and forth. Beiling simply cannot wait."
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