Chapter 27 Adam's apple. This is your good brother.
Lu Songyuan remained silent.
His gaze slid down and landed on Lianzhu's hands, which were clasped behind her back.
He was holding a brocade food bag in his hand.
Lian Zhu turned to look at him, then handed the food bag forward and asked, "Is the general looking at this?"
Lu Songyuan tilted his head slightly, his eyelashes fluttering as he looked at him.
"General, you have a good eye. This is a food bag from your residence."
Lian Zhu raised the corner of her lips and said to herself, "This morning I went to the general's mansion to deliver something to the princess, and her servant gave it to me."
Lu Songyuan snorted softly, turned to look ahead, and said quietly, "General, you have quite the refined taste. You've been busy looking for Azhu since early morning."
When he left, Jing Hui was still unconscious, and the young man went to the general's mansion just like that.
No matter how close they were as childhood sweethearts, Jing Hui is now a married woman.
Childhood sweethearts...
snort.
"I have long heard that the Prime Minister's family has a clean and upright style and strict family discipline. After observing the General of the Household today, I can see that the rumors are not true."
Lianzhu paused, her face full of confusion.
From the first meeting, this person exuded a subtle malice towards him. What had he done to offend him?
Lian Zhu was a little tyrant in the capital since childhood. Although he has become more restrained now that he is an official, he still cannot tolerate the inexplicable use of gunpowder.
"The general's fame is known throughout the land. He is known for his ability to quell foreign aggression and bring peace to the region. Rumors say that the general has an iron-fisted approach to governance, but no one would have thought that his words could outwit an old woman from the marketplace."
At the end of the corridor, Lu Qingyue and Yuan Wei, whom he hadn't seen for many days, were walking towards them. Lu Songyuan glanced at Lian Zhu and said, "If you're envious, come and train under my command another day."
As soon as he finished speaking, the two men walked up to them. After exchanging greetings, Lu Qingyue pushed Lu Songyuan directly into the back room.
After they left, Lianzhu realized that this person had been being sarcastic and sarcastic so early in the morning. Who was he trying to insult?
Did he provoke him?
Lianzhu stared at Lu Songyuan's back and suddenly realized that this person might be because he had just said he was going to find Jing Hui.
What is he doing...?
Ah Zhu is in danger!
Meanwhile, Lu Qingyue pushed Lu Songyuan and Yuan Wei together toward the resting place behind the Dali Temple.
Walking along the stone path and past the green bamboo, the innermost house was Yuan Wei's temporary resting place at Dali Temple.
After cleaning the mud off their feet in the corridor, the group entered Yuan Wei's house.
Lu Qingyue looked at the four large characters hanging on the wall directly opposite the entrance and read aloud: "Escape from the world, enter the world."
Lu Songyuan looked up upon hearing the sound.
The characters were vigorous and powerful, each bend and twist reflecting the writer's deepest conviction. As the saying goes, one's handwriting reflects one's character. Lu Songyuan raised his eyebrows and looked at Yuan Wei, who was also looking up at the characters beside him.
Noticing his gaze, Yuan Wei lowered his head, smiled, and said, "I was young and impetuous; please forgive my rudeness, General."
Lu Songyuan smiled as well.
"General, this way please."
"Um."
This morning, before Lu Qingyue had returned to the manor, Yuan Wei hurriedly sent someone to deliver a message, saying that he had something important to report.
After dismissing Jing Ao, who had come to the mansion to argue with him earlier that morning, Lu Songyuan came over.
The two sat down at the table, and Yuan Wei took out a confession and placed it in front of Lu Songyuan, saying, "This is the hunter's confession, which has not yet been given to anyone. General, take a look, is there anything that needs to be changed?"
After these words were spoken, the room quieted down a bit.
Lu Songyuan paused, holding his teacup, glancing at the thick stack of testimonies in front of him, then at Yuan Wei.
"oh?"
The two looked at each other, their expressions unreadable.
"Please forgive me, General."
In the end, Yuan Wei couldn't hold back any longer. He looked at the confession and said frankly, "This matter was not my responsibility, but something went wrong, so I had to ask the general to come. Please forgive me."
Indeed, the explosion at the gunpowder depot in the deep mountains was arranged by Lu Songyuan, and the hunter was also someone Lu Songyuan had prepared to frame Jing Ao for. He did this to test these people in the court.
But no one knew about this plan except his close friends and family; Yuan Wei was testing him.
Lu Songyuan knew that his methods were insidious and that he used his dirty tricks on others. Therefore, he was very wary and had two faces. He hated those with impure intentions who approached him.
Yuan Wei had made several attempts to curry favor, and Lu Songyuan had initially lowered his guard a little. However, he never expected that this man would reveal his true colors so quickly.
He tapped the wheelchair handle with his fingertips. "Qingyue, let's go back to the manor."
Lu Qingyue inherited Lu Songyuan's bad temper, and upon hearing this, she pushed Lu Songyuan out with a dark face.
"General, please wait!"
Yuan Wei quickly stood up, stepped in front of Lu Songyuan, bowed deeply, and said, "General, please forgive me."
Lu Qingyue looked at Yuan Wei and said, "Get out of the way."
"Please hear me out, General!"
Yuan Wei was afraid that Lu Songyuan would leave directly, so he quickly said, "When the hunter confessed yesterday, he said that this whole thing was planned by Her Highness the Princess, and that he was ordered by the Princess to do everything. He has framed the Princess for everything."
"oh?"
"General, please take a look."
Yuan Wei pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. The paper was covered with tiny, extremely ugly characters.
Lu Songyuan took it and looked at it. Indeed, as Yuan Wei had said, all the blame had been placed on Jing Hui.
"This was written by the hunter himself."
Yuan Wei wiped his forehead and said, "The Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices ordered me to send someone to interrogate him. I sent my trusted confidant, but as soon as he entered the prison, that person took out this item and told them to go and hand it over directly."
Someone wanted to use the people of the Dali Temple to harm Jing Hui.
"My trusted aide sensed something was wrong and quickly went to fetch me."
Yuan Wei glanced at Lu Songyuan and said, "It's not that I'm arrogant, or that I'm guessing what the general is thinking. After several rounds of torture, he confessed."
Yuan Wei picked up the confession on the table and handed it to Lu Songyuan, saying, "I don't know how much of this confession is true, which is why I asked the general to come."
Lu Qingyue had handled this matter. Lu Songyuan glanced at Lu Qingyue, who took the confession, glanced at it briefly, and nodded to Lu Songyuan.
Lu Songyuan looked at Yuan Wei with a dark expression.
Yuan Wei said, "What I said is absolutely true, and my confidants can attest to it."
Lu Songyuan said, "Thank you."
"The general's caution is a good thing."
Lu Songyuan chuckled and rested his elbows on the armrests of his wheelchair. "In that case, there is one more thing I need to trouble Lord Yuan with."
"Don't worry, General, I've taken care of it."
No sooner had the words been spoken than a young man, barely thirty years old, rushed in and bowed to the two men, saying, "Reporting to the general and the lord, after the hunter revealed the person behind him, he felt deeply ashamed and committed suicide in prison."
Lu Songyuan slightly raised his eyelids, reached out and burned the confession in his hand that the hunter had used to slander Jing Hui on the table, then took the confession from Lu Qingyue and handed it to Yuan Wei.
"This general dislikes people who are scheming and cunning. Lord Yuan, please speak frankly next time you have something to say."
Yuan Wei paused, breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled, "Yes, thank you, General."
"Lord Yuan still has things to attend to here, so I will take my leave now."
Yuan Wei said, "Respectfully seeing off the general."
Lu Qingyue pushed Lu Songyuan towards the door, saying, "Please wait, sir."
"good."
Stepping out of the bamboo grove, Lu Qingyue looked down at Lu Songyuan and asked, "Does the general trust him?"
"Um."
Lu Songyuan responded softly, "For now, it can be considered believable."
"Yes, I understand."
As they approached the carriage, the area in front of the Dali Temple was already bustling with activity. Lu Qingyue looked around and asked, "Shall we return to the manor?"
"No."
As Lu Songyuan got into the carriage, he looked at the maidservant beside the carriage. Her face was both familiar and unfamiliar, as if she were someone from Jing Hui's side.
Seeing him looking at her, the maidservant bowed to him with neither servility nor arrogance.
Lu Songyuan chuckled and raised the corners of his lips. He was pushed into the carriage, the curtain covering half of his face. His voice came out softly, "To the Second Prince's residence."
"What? You went again?"
Jing Hui was sitting at the large desk in the study, reviewing the trivial memorials sent to her by the Empress Dowager, while pondering how to get Lu Songyuan to help Jing Ning.
Upon hearing Ah Yu's report, she looked up and asked, "Didn't he see the person I sent?"
“I heard from someone that I saw it,” Ayu said.
That would be intentional.
Jing Hui stood up and paced back and forth across the table twice. Suddenly, she saw the jasmine bathed in sunlight on the table and froze.
A strange feeling welled up inside her. Besides being angry that Lu Songyuan went to see Jing Ao because he was afraid the two of them were plotting something, she also seemed to be a little angry.
She was angry that Lu Songyuan didn't take her words to heart.
What is she doing? Why does she care so much about him!
Something is absolutely wrong.
The most important thing right now is Jingning. As long as Lu Songyuan helps Jingning, nothing else matters.
Jing Hui sighed deeply, plopped back into his chair, picked up his vermilion brush, and wrote as he said, "Let him be, and bring the people back."
Despite her doubts, Ah Yu replied, "Yes."
As she walked out, Ayu ran into Lianzhu, who was looking for Jinghui. "This servant greets the General."
Lianzhu hurried along and asked, "Where's Azhu?"
Ah Yu quickly stepped aside, "The princess is reviewing memorials inside."
Upon hearing this, Lianzhu strode into the study. Jing didn't even look back and said, "I heard your voice from afar. What happened?"
Lian Zhu stated bluntly, "The hunter is dead."
"Dead?"
Jing Hui suddenly raised his head and asked, "Did you give any instructions before you died?"
"He confessed."
Lian Zhu handed over the testimony in his hand and said briefly, "Before he died, he confessed that everything was done at the behest of the Second Prince. He also said that the Second Prince accepted gold and silver from the Tuofeng people and sold information about our Great Liang to them."
Jing Hui picked up the testimony and carefully read it several times.
The events described in the letter were too coincidental, and the details were remembered too clearly. She shook her head, put down the testimony, and looked at Lian Zhu, saying, "Jing Ao may be stupid, but he would never betray his country."
Lian Zhu wholeheartedly agreed, "Exactly."
Jing Hui flipped through the testimony. "The hunter is dead. What a clever move."
"Once a person dies, that's a done deal."
Lian Zhu took the confession from Jing Hui and said, "This matter must be reported directly to the Emperor."
Jing Hui nodded, pondered for a moment, and said, "Keep the testimony here. I will personally take it to the palace to see my father tomorrow."
"Alright. I'll report this to my father when I get back tonight."
This matter has dragged on for too long, and people inside and outside the court are already in a state of panic. Now that the hunter is dead, no matter what, once this testimony is submitted, the matter will be closed.
Lian Zhu breathed a sigh of relief, took out a bag of roasted chestnuts from her bosom and placed it on the table in front of Jing Hui, then sat down on a chair and took a sip of water. "The situation in the capital is becoming more and more complicated."
"yes."
So much has happened in the past six months.
Jing Hui picked up a shelled chestnut, took a bite, and sighed softly, remembering that it was Jing Ning's favorite.
Lian Zhu glanced at her and knew immediately what Jing Hui was troubled about.
He walked over and leaned against the table, raised his chin and said, "So, has your husband agreed?"
Jing Hui glanced at Lian Zhu with annoyance, "Didn't you already guess? How could it be so fast?"
He burst into laughter several times, the laughter even chasing away the birds in the big tree outside Jing Hui's study.
"Hey, I say, why don't you just use your beauty to your advantage? Bewitch him until he's completely disoriented, coax him into signing a secret letter, and you'll have succeeded."
"It's not as easy as you make it out to be."
Apart from his injured leg, Lu Songyuan was strong in every other part of his body; she couldn't possibly knock him down.
"Then I'll tell you another trick, let me see what he..."
Lianzhu touched a few chestnuts, and was about to say something in a cheeky tone when the sound of a wheelchair rolling came from outside.
“Ah Zhu”.
Before seeing them, they heard their voices. Lu Songyuan, who was pushed in, saw the two people in the room, looked them over, and asked, "What are you talking about?"
Jing Hui looked up, not wanting to pay him any attention, but then she saw that Lu Songyuan also had an oil paper bag on his lap.
She tilted her head in confusion, glancing at the beads placed on the table and then at the beads on Lu Songyuan's lap.
Um?
They look exactly the same?
The two followed Jing Hui's gaze back and forth. When Lu Songyuan saw the paper bag on the table, he narrowed his eyes.
He glanced at Lianzhu and said, "The Lieutenant General is quite idle, coming to the General's Mansion twice a day."
The familiar smell of gunpowder is coming your way.
In the past, Lian Zhu would have confronted him long ago, but now, he wants to test Lu Songyuan.
"no way."
Lianzhu clapped his hands, straightened up and said, "If Azhu has something to do, as her older brother, I will naturally do my best to help."
"Yeah?"
Lu Songyuan said casually, "This morning I said that the demeanor of the Lieutenant General was nothing like that of the son of the Prime Minister's mansion, and now I am even more certain of that."
Jing Hui noticed the awkwardness between the two. She frowned, stood up, walked between them, looked around, and then said to Lu Songyuan, "In the capital, no one is more self-disciplined and respectful of etiquette than the Prime Minister. Under his strict tutelage, Lian Zhu is one of the most outstanding young noblemen in the capital. Why are you speaking like this?"
Lu Songyuan looked up and saw Lian Zhu leaning against the table with a grin on her face, while Jing Hui stood in front of him, speaking up for him with righteous indignation.
Lu Songyuan had seen this scene countless times from different people, and it was always just as glaring.
"Then you two are a perfect match."
Suddenly, a surge of anger rose in his chest. He sneered, grabbed the oil paper bag from his lap, shoved it into Jing Hui's hand, and ordered the servants behind him, "Push me out."
"you?"
What is he saying?
Seeing that he was about to leave, Jing Hui blurted out, "Lu Songyuan, you stop right there!"
Lu Songyuan raised his head and looked at Jing Hui without saying a word.
His face was gloomy, and Jing Hui felt a lump in his throat, falling silent for a moment.
Now it was Lianzhu's turn to gloat. He looked around and thought to himself that his goal had been achieved; those two fools.
Lian Zhu suppressed a laugh, took two steps forward, then stepped back, picked up the oil paper bag he had brought and slung it over his shoulder, saying to the two of them, "I have other matters to attend to, so I won't disturb you any longer. I'll take my leave now."
Jing Hui turned to look at Lian Zhu, who raised the corner of her lips slightly in response.
As he passed by the two, he lightly bumped Jing Hui's back with his elbow, then, judging the angle, he gave him a sharp shove. Jing Hui was caught off guard and stumbled forward a few steps, crashing heavily into Lu Songyuan.
"Hmm—"
Jing Hui's nose bumped against Lu Songyuan's Adam's apple, and in her panic, she grabbed his collar.
After Lu Songyuan returned to the manor, he wore thinner clothes, and the collar couldn't withstand her tugging, so it came undone, revealing a large area of his chest.
Seeing that he was about to slide down, Jing Hui quickly loosened his collar and slipped his hands inside the loose fabric of his clothes, tightly wrapping them around Lu Songyuan's waist.
At the same time, her lips pressed against his shoulder.
Meanwhile, Lianzhui, always eager for drama, chimed in, "You're welcome."
He slipped away as fast as lightning, shouting, "See you later!"
Then the room fell completely silent.
Jing Hui leaned against Lu Songyuan's chest, panting heavily. After she had recovered a little, she realized that she was pressed tightly against Lu Songyuan's body, and she froze on the spot.
“Ah Zhu”.
Lu Songyuan called out to Jing Hui, then grabbed her waist with one hand and pulled her up, while his other hand reached out and pinched her chin, forcing her to look up at him.
"This is your good brother?"
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