Chapter 489 You'll always be her family.
Upon hearing Marquis Anyuan's voice, Lu Xiaowu could no longer sneak away. He straightened his clothes, lowered his head, and went inside. He first bowed to his grandfather, Marquis Anyuan, then to his father and elder brother, and then stood there with his head down, looking as if he was at their mercy.
Seeing his expression, Lu Shaocheng couldn't help but smile. Marquis Anyuan, however, maintained a serious face, looking at him and asking, "Where did you go?"
Lu Xiaowu looked down at his toes and said in a voice barely above a whisper, "I'm going... to the Lingnan Prince's Mansion to watch the excitement."
These words amused Marquis Anyuan. "You've got some nerve, running off to the Lingnan Prince's residence to watch the excitement."
"My grandson and a few friends happened to be passing by the Lingnan Prince's Mansion when they saw Prince Rui rush in. A little while later, Prince An also went in with his men. We heard the sounds of fighting and thought we'd go see what was going on."
Lu Xiaowu cautiously raised his eyes to look at Marquis Anyuan. Seeing that his expression was relatively calm, he became a little bolder and continued, "After we went in, we saw that the Embroidered Uniform Guards had their swords held to the necks of the guards of the Lingnan Prince's Mansion, and Prince Rui was fighting with the Prince of Lingnan."
However, the Prince of Lingnan was no match for Prince Rui, and was quickly knocked to the ground. Prince Rui was truly two-faced; he appeared refined and gentle, but in battle, his attacks were deadly, overwhelming the Prince of Lingnan, whose face was swollen and bruised.
"I didn't expect Prince Rui to be so skilled in martial arts," Lu Shaocheng said with some surprise after hearing his words.
Lu Xiaowu looked at him in surprise. That wasn't the point, okay? My point was that Prince Rui was two-faced. But his gaze went unnoticed. Marquis Anyuan added, "It's said that Prince Rui put a lot of effort into this when he was young."
Lu Xiaowu: "........."
At this moment, Marquis Anyuan looked at him again and asked, "You just went to watch the fun? What else did you do?"
Lu Xiaowu knew immediately that word had spread about what they had done. But thinking about it, it made sense; with such a big commotion in the capital tonight, the mansion would definitely send people out to gather information.
He no longer concealed anything, raised his head and looked at Marquis Anyuan, saying, "Zhu Junning ruined my cousin's reputation, so naturally I had to avenge her. I brought a few friends into the Lingnan Prince's Mansion and had them say in front of everyone that they had an affair with Zhu Junning."
After saying this, he stiffened his neck, looking like a hero about to die. But even with his neck stiff for a while, he didn't hear any reprimand. He turned to look at Marquis Anyuan, who was sipping tea. Sensing his gaze, Marquis Anyuan said calmly, "Well done."
Lu Xiaowu thought he was hallucinating. He stared wide-eyed at Marquis Anyuan, wanting him to repeat himself. But how could Marquis Anyuan possibly repeat himself? He lowered his eyes and sipped his tea, leaving Lu Xiaowu disappointed.
"Pfft." Lu Shaocheng couldn't help but laugh out loud, then said, "If you have nothing else to do, please sit down."
Lu Xiaowu's face lit up with joy, but his eyes remained fixed on Marquis Anyuan. He only sat down after seeing Marquis Anyuan nod. Lu Shaocheng poured tea and placed it in front of him, then looked at Marquis Anyuan and asked, "Has my cousin passed this test?"
Marquis Anyuan held his teacup in silence for a moment before saying, "She left the palace carrying the Imperial Sword, so her affair with Prince Rui is temporarily over. However..."
Marquis Anyuan frowned, and said thoughtfully, "There should be an even more difficult hurdle for her to overcome next."
Lu Shaocheng's face was solemn when the steward's voice came from outside. Marquis Anyuan had someone enter, and the steward presented a letter with both hands, "Sent from the Duke of Chu's residence."
Marquis Anyuan waved for him to leave, quickly tore open the letter, skimmed its contents, and then solemnly handed it to his heir. The heir then gave it to Lu Shaocheng, and finally to Lu Xiaowu.
After a letter was circulated, a heavy atmosphere filled the room. After a while, Marquis Anyuan's voice rang out, "Although the King of Lingnan is now like a turtle in a jar, he still has the strength to struggle as long as Lingnan remains unconquered. The main army has not yet arrived in Lingnan, and Yu'er needs to mediate with him during this time. With the addition of the Prime Minister and the Crown Prince, things will become even more difficult."
The Marquis of Anyuan's heir and Lu Shaocheng both nodded after hearing this, while Lu Xiaowu looked worried. Then the Marquis of Anyuan said, "However, there is no need to worry too much. The Prince of Lingnan is in the capital, so he can't cause too much trouble. Moreover, Prince Rui's beating of him today must have a deeper meaning."
After listening, Lu Shaocheng frowned and pondered for a while before saying, "Could it be that the Emperor... has something wrong with him?"
The Lian family was raided, and no one from the Prince Rui's mansion was left alive. The usually low-key Prince Rui personally beat up the Prince of Lingnan. Furthermore, Jiang Yu left the palace carrying the Imperial Sword. All of this makes people suspect that something might be wrong with the Emperor.
Marquis Anyuan tightened his grip on the cup. Jiang Yu's letter didn't mention the emperor's health, but it did say that the emperor had entrusted her with the entire task of eliminating the Prince of Lingnan. The Prince of Lingnan had been a major concern for generations of emperors. The fact that such an important matter as eliminating the Prince of Lingnan was entrusted entirely to Jiang Yu—what did that signify?
But what if this is the emperor's scheme?
After a while, he said, "Don't make any rash moves. Just listen to Yu'er's arrangements."
He then turned to Lu Xiaowu and said, "Don't go out during this period, stay at home."
Lu Xiaowu nodded quickly. Although he was playful, he wasn't completely ignorant of reason.
Seeing his obedience, Marquis Anyuan nodded in satisfaction and asked him, "Who accompanied you to the Lingnan Prince's Mansion today?"
Lu Xiaowu obediently told him the names of the people. Marquis Anyuan then said to his son, "Have your wife go to these families and explain what they did to avoid any misunderstandings."
"Yes," the heir apparent of Marquis Anyuan quickly agreed.
Marquis Anyuan grunted and waved for them to leave. The three men got up and went out. Marquis Anyuan went first to the backyard, while the two brothers followed behind.
Lu Xiaowu hesitated for a while before turning to Lu Shaocheng and asking, "Big brother, is my cousin really with Prince Rui...?"
He couldn't continue speaking.
Lu Shaocheng stopped and looked at him seriously, saying, "My cousin is the Duke of Chu. Her marriage is not something that you or I, let alone my grandfather, can interfere with."
Lu Xiaowu pursed his lips and remained silent. Lu Shaocheng sighed, patted his shoulder, and said, "No matter how beautiful a flower in a mirror or the moon in the water may be, it's still an illusion you can't grasp. If you get too caught up in this, it won't do either of you any good. She's your cousin; stick to that relationship as a bottom line, and you'll always be family to her. But if you cross that line..."
He didn't say anything more, but patted Lu Xiaowu on the shoulder again, sighed, and left. This younger brother, though playful, wasn't stupid; on the contrary, he was quite clever. He knew what the consequences would be if he crossed the line.
After he left, Lu Xiaowu stood there for a long time before finally wiping his eyes with his sleeve and striding back to his own courtyard.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
