The day of Lu Jingyan's execution soon arrived.
He was taken to the execution ground.
Through the crowd of onlookers, he spotted Wu Miaoqing hidden among them.
The woman, dressed in plain clothes and wearing a white flower in her hair, looked at him with teary eyes, gently placing one hand on her abdomen, silently telling him, "All is well."
His eyes welled up with tears as well.
Besides the fear of facing impending death, there was also a sense of relief that he had protected his family, and a reluctance to not be able to witness the birth of his child.
At that moment, he realized how absurd he had been.
He could have lived a peaceful life under the protection of the Duke of Lu's family, but he was still insatiable. Even though he already had a virtuous wife by his side, he still wanted to have affairs with other women.
As he was pressed onto the execution platform, he could only silently say "I'm sorry" to the woman he had wronged for the rest of his life from a great distance.
Wu Miaoqing closed her eyes, unable to bear watching any longer, but the next second her body felt light, and before she could react, she gradually lost consciousness.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself lying on a bed in a room.
The interior is luxuriously decorated, with carved beams and painted rafters, adorned with famous paintings and precious vases, and filled with a subtle and pleasant fragrance.
"Is this...the royal palace?"
"You're awake." Suddenly, a soft and melodious female voice came.
She looked up and saw a hand push aside the beaded chain, and a woman dressed in a light blue silk dress walked in.
She quickly got off the bed and bowed, saying, "This humble woman greets Your Highness, the Noble Consort."
"No need for such formalities," Qingying said, helping her up.
"Why has Your Majesty invited this humble woman here?" She emphasized the word "invited".
How could Qingying not understand her meaning? To drug someone and bring them here was such a unique way to invite them.
She smiled helplessly, "I really had no other choice. There are too many people and eyes in the palace, and now there are too many eyes watching the Lu family. I had no choice but to resort to this tactic to bring you to me quietly."
What is the reason for Your Majesty's action?
"Naturally, I was entrusted by someone."
Wu Miaoqing was stunned for a moment, and almost immediately thought of Lu Jingyan. Her eyes instantly reddened. "Does he... have something he wants you to convey?"
Qingying sighed and said, "You can't go back to the Duke of Lu's mansion. I will arrange for someone to send you out of the capital and have the Lu family announce that you died of a sudden illness."
Wu Miaoqing wasn't stupid; she quickly understood what she meant, tears welling up in her eyes as she choked out, "Is the Duke of Lu's mansion... truly beyond saving?"
Qingying supported her swaying body and said helplessly, "If the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die."
"Will my family be implicated because of this?"
"As long as Wudu Division is not involved in the case of selling smuggled salt, it can naturally remain unscathed."
"Really?"
Seeing the doubt in her eyes, Qingying had no choice but to continue, "The Wu family still has value."
The Liu family is now the most powerful family in the court. Although the Wu family is not as powerful, it can be used to balance the power in the court. Wei Huaixu is not foolish enough to make a move against the Wu family now.
Wu Miaoqing breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her eyes, "This humble woman will obey Your Majesty's arrangements in everything."
Although doing so might seem like she was cowardly, the Lu family still needed to have an heir.
Although she still harbored some resentment towards Qingying, she knew very well that only Qingying herself could escape this calamity now.
...
That night, Wu Miaoqing sat in a carriage leaving the capital.
A month later, the entire Lu State Duke's mansion was massacred overnight, from an eighty-year-old woman to the guard dog; no one was spared.
Qingying had considered countless possible punishments for the Lu family, but she never expected the outcome to be so simple, brutal, and bloody.
She slumped into the chair, her fingertips trembling slightly as she gripped the armrest.
"My guess was right... He didn't die, he crawled back from hell to claim his life..."
Seeing her like this, Tongxia was filled with worry: "Your Majesty, what are you saying? Who is not dead?"
Qingying didn't answer, but closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down.
After a long while, he took Tongxia's hand and asked, "Has there been any movement from Wei Yinqiu lately?"
"The princess is about to give birth, and Lord Jin has already gone to Yunshan Temple to keep watch over her."
That's right. Wei Yinqiu went to Yunshan Temple for a period of quiet meditation and found out she was pregnant. The child she was carrying was naturally Jin Heng's, and she kept it a secret from the outside world.
Jin Heng initially wanted to marry her as soon as possible, but due to the Song family incident, he had to postpone it for a year. As a result, the child came at such an inopportune time. In order to avoid suspicion and for the sake of Wei Yinqiu's reputation, they only met once during that year.
Now that his child is about to be born, which he has been looking forward to for a long time, he has no choice but to go and be there to watch over him.
"So, he might not know about the Lu family's affairs..." she thought to herself.
Still feeling uneasy, she asked Wei Huaixu for permission to leave the palace.
Ostensibly, they went to Yunshan Temple to pray for blessings, but in reality, they went to visit Wei Yinqiu.
Knowing that she had a good relationship with Wei Yinqiu, Wei Huaixu agreed without suspicion, only sending more guards to accompany and protect her.
When Qingying arrived at Yunshan Temple, it was still drizzling. Fortunately, there was a mountain path leading directly to the temple entrance; otherwise, she would have had to walk a long way like at Chongfu Temple, which would have been quite a hassle.
Tongxia carefully tied the belt of her fox fur coat and instructed her, "Your Highness must take care of your health."
Her frail body was prone to catching a cold on rainy days, not to mention the heavy dew on the mountain, so Tongxia couldn't help but worry.
Qingying patted her hand reassuringly and said, "It's okay, I know it myself."
After Yu Yue left, Tong Xia became more and more composed.
The abbot personally came to welcome them into the temple.
On a rainy day, the temple was deserted, with only a few incense sticks emitting wisps of smoke.
Qingying offered incense in the main hall and asked Tongxia to add some money for incense oil. Afterwards, she had the little nun take her to the courtyard where Wei Yinqiu lived.
There were heavy guards outside the gate, but once inside, the courtyard was full of flowers. Even though it was late autumn, there were still many fragrant flowers in bloom. There was a swing under the big tree in the courtyard, and a ginkgo tree with fallen yellow leaves was standing by the wall.
The scenery is delightful.
This was her first thought upon entering.
Wei Yinqiu's days of "quiet cultivation" in this temple were truly delightful.
She walked to the front of the house, and Jin Hengxu, having received the news, opened the door to greet her.
"How has Your Highness been lately?" A handsome man stood under the eaves and bowed to her gracefully.
Qingying looked at him, "What does Lord Jin think?"
"I am already aware of the matter concerning Yu Yue, and it seems to involve a wide range of people."
Are you aware of the massacre of the Lu family?
"Know."
"Did you handle any of these matters?"
"No."
Qingying gazed at him quietly, as if trying to discern something from his calm face.
But he was too calm, and it was all in vain.
At this moment, a woman's gentle voice came from inside the room: "The Imperial Concubine has arrived, why don't you come inside?"
Without saying a word, she walked inside.
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