Shen Liyue nodded, but still felt uneasy.
However, Lu Xingzhou had already reported the news to Emperor Jingkang. After all, this matter involved the crown prince, and Lu Xingzhou had no power to deal with it privately.
Emperor Jingkang was furious after receiving the secret report from Lu Xingzhou. He was not unaware of the open and secret struggles among his sons in Wangjing City, but he did not expect that Lu Yu'an would be so bold as to collude with the Jin people.
Lu Xingzhou sent more people to follow Shi Nan, hoping to find out the identity of the person behind him.
But since Shi Nan returned that night, he has been very honest. He has never left the Fahua Temple and has never had any contact with anyone.
On the other hand, Lu Xingzhou pretended to have a falling out with He Zan, but he still kept in touch with him privately through the secret guards.
But a few days later, the Jin emperor sent another team of envoys to the northern border.
As soon as the envoys arrived, they asked to see Lu Xingzhou.
Lu Xingzhou was surprised to learn that the Kingdom of Jin had sent another envoy.
He had thought that even if the Chu and Jin states would postpone their actions due to the previous incident, he had not expected them to be so impatient. He realized that there must be something fishy about the Jin envoy's arrival this time.
Lu Xingzhou decided to hold his ground and wait and see what the Jin envoy's intentions were. He ordered his men to closely monitor the envoy's every move. He also prepared for any eventuality.
A few days later, the Jin envoy finally requested an audience with Lu Xingzhou. After a brief exchange of greetings, the envoy revealed his identity.
He is the eldest prince of the Jin Dynasty, Prince Gebu.
The Jin Dynasty, like the Chu Dynasty, established the eldest son as the heir.
Although the eldest prince of the Jin Dynasty was the eldest son of the Jin Emperor, his biological mother was not of high status. She was just a concubine of the Jin Emperor when he was in his prime. After the Jin Emperor ascended the throne, he made this concubine a noble concubine. The emperor loved her very much, but because her birth was too low, he could not make her the queen.
The current queen of the Jin Dynasty was the eldest daughter of Duke Qi of the Jin Dynasty. With the support of Duke Qi, she successfully ascended to the throne.
Because the Qi family had many influences in the court, the Jin emperor appointed Hezan, the legitimate son of Queen Qi, as the crown prince.
As soon as Gebu opened his mouth, Lu Xingzhou and Wang Wentian exchanged glances.
The voice of Gebu was almost exactly the same as the voice of the man in black who had a secret conversation with Shi Nan that night!
After a little thought, Lu Xingzhou was almost certain that the real master behind Shi Nan was the Prince Gebu in front of him.
"Your Highness Prince Yi, this prince came here this time to cooperate with your country." Gebu said straight to the point.
"Cooperation?" Lu Xingzhou was shocked, but remained calm. "I wonder how Your Highness intends to cooperate?"
Gebu smiled and said, "Your Highness Prince Yi, why are you asking such a question when you already know the answer? As long as Your Highness helps me ascend the throne, my Kingdom of Jin is willing to form an eternal alliance with Great Chu."
Lu Xingzhou was silent for a moment, then said, "Your Highness, you are joking. This matter is of great importance. I must report this to His Majesty, who will make the final decision."
"Alright." Gebu nodded, "However, this prince hopes that King Yi can give me a reply as soon as possible. Otherwise..."
"What else?" Lu Xingzhou narrowed his eyes, a hint of danger flashing in his eyes.
"Otherwise, our Jin Kingdom will have to look for other partners." Gebu said lightly.
Lu Xingzhou chuckled. What he feared least was being threatened.
If he had to cooperate with someone, Lu Xingzhou would prefer to cooperate with He Zan rather than the eldest prince of the Jin Dynasty in front of him.
At least Hezan is sincere and generous. Even if he is the crown prince, he will not be as aggressive as Gebu in front of him.
Gebu continued, "I heard that the Crown Prince was assassinated in the Kingdom of Jin. My father was very angry and wanted to sever the cooperation between the Kingdom of Jin and Great Chu. It was only after I persuaded my father that he changed his mind and decided to continue cooperation with Great Chu."
Lu Xingzhou pulled up a smile at the corner of his mouth, but the smile did not reach his eyes.
"In that case, I have to thank Prince Gebu very much." Lu Xingzhou said with a faint smile.
Gebu's eyes gleamed, "This king is not just doing this for the sake of Great Chu. I heard that He Zan and Your Highness have become enemies. Why don't you cooperate with me? I will do my best to promote cooperation between Great Chu and the Kingdom of Jin. I also hope that Your Highness Prince Yi can form an alliance with me and lend me a helping hand."
Prince Gebu's words were very clear. His words carried weight in front of the Jin Emperor. He could facilitate an alliance between the two countries, and he also hoped that Lu Xingzhou would ally with him and bring He Zan down.
Lu Xingzhou did not refuse, "In that case, then I will consider it." Lu Xingzhou smiled slightly.
"Wait for good news." Gebu said.
After seeing off Prince Gebu, Lu Xingzhou immediately called Wang Wentian to discuss matters.
"It seems that the situation in the Jin Kingdom is more complicated than we imagined." Lu Xingzhou said in a deep voice.
"That's right, the eldest prince Gebu is obviously an ambitious man. The fight between him and Hezan is probably not just a fight for the throne." Wang Wentian analyzed.
"Then how should we respond?" Lu Xingzhou asked.
"We might as well observe for a while and see what Prince Gebu will do next. At the same time, we must also step up intelligence gathering to understand the internal situation of the Jin Dynasty." Wang Wentian said.
"Well, that makes sense." Lu Xingzhou nodded in agreement.
Lu Xingzhou felt very disappointed. Although the two princes of the Jin Dynasty were competing with each other, they always hoped that the Jin Dynasty could cooperate with the Great Chu. However, Lu Yu'an was very stupid and was being used without knowing it.
It would be fine if he was just stupid, but he was also harming the interests of the Great Chu, which Lu Xingzhou could not tolerate.
At the same time, Hezan, who was far away in the Jin Kingdom, also received the news that Prince Gebu was coming to the northern border.
"Damn it! How dare this Gebu collude with Lu Xingzhou behind my back!" He Zan slammed the table in anger.
"Your Highness, please calm down. We must find a way to deal with it now." Hezan's adviser advised.
"Hmph! I will never let Gebu succeed!" He Zan said gritting his teeth.
While giving the order, "Please ask His Royal Highness Prince Yi to come over."
"Yes." The counselor took the order and passed the message to Lu Xingzhou through the secret guard.
Lu Xingzhou received the news and ordered the secret guard to pass on the message to He Zan that he would come over at midnight tonight.
At night, Lu Xingzhou indeed put on a nightgown and sneaked into He Zan's room.
He Zan didn't sleep, he was waiting for Lu Xingzhou.
When Lu Xingzhou saw He Zan, he apologized, "I'm sorry for meeting the prince in this way."
He Zan waved his hand and said, "Don't talk about these things at this time. I am not the kind of person who cares about these trivial matters."
Lu Xingzhou nodded, and He Zan got straight to the point: "I heard that Gebu came to see Prince Yi."
He Zan used a declarative tone, so Lu Xingzhou answered truthfully: "Yes."
He Zan asked, "What does His Royal Highness Prince Yi think of Gebu?"
Lu Xingzhou shook his head. "I haven't had much contact with His Highness Gebu, so I don't know what kind of person he is."
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