break
Jingwan only learned the next day that Bojun had gone north to return to the capital the night before. The fact that he was in such a hurry, without even having time to say goodbye, showed that the situation was urgent and that he had not come to visit her.
Seeing her dejected, Lu Chang put his arm around her slender waist and strolled with her around the house, comforting her that they would meet again.
Jingwan stopped and looked at Lu Chang, her eyes filled with worry: "Cousin, will you go to Pingdu?"
This time, Lu Chang didn't give a firm answer. Instead, he asked her, "Should I go back?"
She no longer looked into Lu Chang's eyes, but instead lowered her head and casually played with the jade pendant at his waist.
Lu Chang remained silent, waiting for her. After Jing Wan had pondered for a while, she looked at him firmly and said, "We must go back, but not like this!"
She was ignorant of politics, but she knew of the Lu family's predicament. Once the war was over, the general who held great power would be the first to be cut down by the blade of imperial power. The emperor had finally uprooted this towering tree, how could he allow it to take root and sprout elsewhere? If Lu Chang left, his fate would be uncertain.
Lu Chang smiled, gently stroking her face with one hand. Beneath his palm lay a smooth, delicate flower, which he found irresistible.
"Then how should we reply?"
Jingwan actually thought about it seriously and replied solemnly, "At least you should reply as if you were the master!"
Lu Chang was stunned. He rarely lost his composure, but now he wondered if he had misheard. Looking at Jing Wan's serious face, his smile deepened, and he couldn't help but flick her forehead: "You really dare to speak your mind!"
She never discussed politics with him. She was only literate and loved reading picture books. She didn't understand the greater good of the country or the proper relationship between ruler and subject. She only cared about the interests of ordinary people. Her world was so small that it consisted only of her house in Jinning City and Lu Chang beside her.
Looking at her cousin now, Jingwan thought of his father, Lu Zhi, the former general of the Northwest.
If one's achievements are so great that they threaten the emperor's authority, why not seize power and replace him? Is the Li family the only family capable of ruling as emperors?
If the general had raised the Lu family banner and led his iron cavalry to Pingdu more than a decade ago, the fate of the Lu family and the Northwest would have been rewritten. Could the person standing in front of her have another identity?
Seeing that she seemed hesitant to speak, Lu Chang gave a soft "hmm" and bowed slightly to listen to her.
The words rolled around on her tongue like beads before she swallowed them back. Jingwan tiptoed and gently kissed his ear.
"I don't care anymore, I'll go wherever my cousin goes," she said, hugging Lu Chang's waist. "I'll stay with my cousin, and we'll never be apart again."
She was usually reserved, but when she spoke sweet words, even Lu Chang couldn't compare. He was willing to be enveloped in her sweet talk and become intoxicated by it.
Lu Chang was moved and lowered his head to kiss her. When his lips reached her ear, he deliberately bit her lightly: "Good Jingwan, don't lie to your cousin."
For several mornings, Jingwan could feel Lu Chang's warm chest as she woke up. He had been staying home for days, which even Jingwan found strange. He was extremely busy with official duties, even more so in recent years, rarely spending time at the government office. He was usually either at the military camp or the harbor. It was quite unusual for him to be staying home for several days at a time like this.
She sat on his lap, clutching the back of his shirt, tilting her head slightly as Lu Chang drew her eyebrows.
My cousin is a skilled painter, and lately he's had some free time to draw her eyebrows every day.
"Isn't Cousin busy with official business?" Jingwan felt a slight chill between her brows and opened her eyes in confusion, only to see a touch of bright red on the tip of Lu Chang's paintbrush.
Lu Chang stared intently at the red mark between her brows, and when she asked him a question, he casually replied, "I cannot leave until I have seen the distinguished guest."
Before she could ask who the distinguished guest was, Lu Chang first smiled and said, "Take a look, do you like it?"
She looked into the bronze mirror and saw a woman with a red dot between her eyebrows reflected in it.
Already possessing unparalleled beauty, the touch of bright red accentuated her allure, making her appear even more radiant. She couldn't help but admire herself, quite pleased with herself.
Jingwan soon found out who the distinguished guest her cousin was talking about was. A few days after Bojun left, she returned from Chunlai's house and heard from the housekeeper that someone had come to visit.
Jingwan didn't disturb him and returned to the small building first. Even after nightfall and the glass lamps were lit, Lu Chang still hadn't returned.
Feeling hungry, and finding the cakes and biscuits on the table bitter and hard to swallow, Fangjuan advised her to have some hot food first. After thinking about it, she went downstairs to eat in the side hall.
After exiting the alley and crossing the covered bridge, she met the old lady in the crowd, whom she had never thought she would see again after leaving the Gao family for so long.
Bo Jun was standing next to her. When he saw her again, he looked exhausted, but he still smiled at her reassuringly.
Jingwan felt more fear than affection for this old woman.
Back in the Gao family, he would kneel and kowtow whenever he saw her. But tonight, upon seeing her, he almost knelt down as usual.
Fortunately, Fangjuan was standing nearby, and she quickly reached out her hand to help her.
This is Lingnan, not Pingdu. This is her and her cousin's home; she is the true owner.
Why should a host be afraid of his own guests?
Be more generous...be more generous...she murmured to herself, slightly curtsied, and smiled somewhat timidly: "Greetings, Madam."
I wanted to call her "Grandmother," but then I suddenly remembered that when Gao Yun drove me away, she said that she had nothing to do with the Gao family anymore.
The old lady was clearly surprised to see this illegitimate daughter, who had been driven away by the Gao family, appear here. Her previously cold and aloof face, which had been frozen in her failed negotiations with Lu Chang, almost cracked open.
Seeing her expression, Jingwan became even more timid.
The old lady was the kindest to the eldest branch of the Gao family, while the second branch was never favored by her. She was also cold towards Jingwan, but now her coldness was not enough; she was furious.
So the distinguished guest my cousin was talking about was the old lady!
I wonder what they were talking about, and why the old lady's face looked so unpleasant.
Jingwan was feeling uneasy and was about to straighten her back and be more assertive when Lu Chang arrived.
He made no attempt to hide it, and in front of the old lady, he put his arm around Jingwan's waist, letting her lean tightly against him.
Jingwan was not shy at all; she moved closer to Lu Chang, burying half of her face in his chest.
She had no intention of provoking anyone, but was merely intimidated by his authority. However, in the old lady's eyes, this immediately caused her to feel a surge of anger, and she stormed out of the mansion.
Bo Jun quickly caught up with his grandmother, helped her up, and left with her.
Jingwan let out a long sigh, touched her cousin's stomach, and without asking a single question, took his hand and went to the side hall for dinner.
Overwhelmed by passion, the two were lost in their desire. When it was over, Jingwan leaned against Lu Chang's chest, breathing heavily.
Even after the initial excitement subsided, she was still wide awake. Having been a lazy bum for so long, she slept a lot during the day, making it harder to fall asleep at night.
Lu Chang lifted her up and changed her position, using his arm as a pillow, so she could lie comfortably.
He couldn't sleep either. His conversation with his grandmother had exhausted him. Even if he tried to be more ruthless in private, he hadn't suffered any mistreatment during his time at the Gao family home, and he was grateful to his grandmother for taking care of him.
Even if she had ulterior motives, even if in her eyes she was nothing more than a pawn to protect the Gao family's wealth and status.
As he was leaving the house, his grandmother asked him if he really wanted to break with the Gao family.
He never considered a complete break; it was simply that everyone's interests differed from the beginning.
The father died on the battlefield, military power fell into other hands, the mother was forced to commit suicide for love, leaving behind a young son, and the loyal Lu family was buried alive in the old land. Every step of this was realized according to the late emperor's wishes.
The emperor absolved himself of all responsibility, and to the world, his hands appeared spotless.
Leaving behind the young child was also to appease the people of the Northwest, but where to place the young child was also a concern for the late emperor.
It wasn't until the Gao family petitioned the emperor to bring Lu Chang back to Pingdu that things finally came to a head. The Gao family was Lu Chang's maternal grandparents' family, so it was perfectly reasonable for them to take their orphan back.
Lu Chang felt only gratitude, for when everyone else had abandoned him, only his grandmother was willing to take him in.
He always regarded it as a favor.
On his way back to Pingdu, he suddenly fell ill with a strange disease. The tendons in his hands and feet were severed, leaving him a cripple.
From the time he could walk, his father would take him on horseback, and by the age of seven, he had his own weapon.
His strong physique, honed through daily martial arts training, was ruined in just a few days. How could he not break down? The doctor said he would never recover.
If I'm going to live the rest of my life like this, I might as well die now.
Before the carriage entered Pingdu, it stopped in Tancheng.
His eyes were open, but he showed no signs of life.
Li Muyun entered like this—she still had a particular fondness for climbing through windows.
She didn't say anything, but squatted down by the bed and interrogated him from beginning to end.
“Don’t be afraid, I will save you. When you get to Pingdu, go to Huaguang Temple.” She drooped her eyelids and said, “Be careful of your grandmother. She is not as kind as she seems. Someone from the palace sent a letter saying that the Emperor has given her a secret decree.”
Having traveled a long way to catch up, she only said this one sentence before climbing out the window and leaving again.
"Remember, go to Huaguang Temple!"
Upon arriving in Pingdu, his maternal grandmother personally came to fetch him. Seeing Lu Chang sitting in the carriage, unable to use his hands or feet, she wept with heartache.
Lu Chang should have comforted her, but remembering what Mu Yun had said, he couldn't say a word.
"I want to go to Huaguang Temple." After staying at the Gao family's house for a while, he made this request.
The old lady didn't think much of it and sent him to stay at the temple for a few days.
Huaguang Temple is small and not very popular, with few worshippers. He stayed in the quiet back mountain for half a month, wondering why Li Muyun had asked him to come here.
Until that day, when he was sitting in a daze on the back mountain, a monk dressed in tattered clothes came over, unfurled the scroll, looked at him, and then looked at the painting.
The monk had a scraggly beard, his mouth was not clean and was covered with a layer of oil, he wore straw sandals, and his clothes were patched, red and white, and because of his disheveled clothes, his chest was covered with black mud.
He put away the scroll and looked him up and down: "You're Lu Chang? So young?"
As soon as he nodded, the monk pulled his hand over to take his pulse and then carefully examined his two drooping ankles.
"It's alright. The medicine hasn't penetrated to the bone yet, so there's still some chance of recovery."
After the monk healed him and restored the strength to his wrist, the monk laughed and said, "Be careful with your food; there's a special seasoning in it!"
He suddenly realized that Pingdu was a big cage, and the Gao family was a small cage.
The title of Duke should not have been passed on to Bo Jun, but the old lady was willing to take good care of her grandson for the emperor, so the emperor promised her fame and fortune in return.
He was merely the most valuable item in this transaction.
She may have felt sorry for herself, after all, they were family, but the interests of the Gao family always came first. Now that Yang Fujin was willing to offer her fame and fortune, the old lady was naturally willing to do more for the Gao family.
From Bo Jun, Lu Chang learned that Shi Jun had been betrothed to Qin Gang. The Gao and Qin families formed a marriage alliance, as did the Qin and Li families. His maternal grandmother, failing to grasp the political situation, was doing this so that once Yang Fujin and Li Ling turned against each other, the Gao family would be the first to be put in a difficult position.
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