Lu Tu was somewhat stunned to see Zhao Qingyao being so straightforward. He hadn't expected Zhao Qingyao to be so open-minded about him openly using her.
As Zhao Qingyao walked towards the wooden house where Prince Duan was, Xiao Huan comforted her from the side, "Master, please rest assured, Madam is a woman of her word, she will definitely help you fulfill your promise."
Lu Tu nodded and followed. They soon arrived at Prince Duan's room. Zhao Qingyao knocked on the door and went straight in.
At this moment, Prince Duan somehow obtained some wine and started drinking it early in the morning.
Lu Tu asked in bewilderment, "Prince Duan, what's wrong with you? Are you giving up?"
Prince Duan understood the teasing and joking in Lü Tu's words, but upon seeing Zhao Qingyao's neatly styled hair, he sighed softly, "My sister got married, so it's normal for me to be in a bad mood, isn't it?"
Lu Tu was no longer giving Duan Wang any face and directly snatched Duan Wang's wine pot: "When your sister was going to Wuhuan for a political marriage, I didn't see a trace of sadness on your face. Why are you drinking alone now that your sister is marrying me?"
Zhao Qingyao tugged at Lü Tu's arm, signaling with her eyes for her to handle the situation. Lü Tu naturally ignored her and sat down to eat breakfast from the Duanwang table.
"Zhao Xiao, tell me the truth, what exactly happened?"
After glancing at Lü Tu hesitantly, Prince Duan took out a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to Zhao Qingyao.
Upon seeing this, Zhao Qingyao slammed her hand on the table in anger, her small hand turning red: "This is too much! He's only been emperor for a short time, and he's already willing to give up the entire country for a woman?"
Lu Tu could guess what was going on from those words, but he couldn't just look at the contents of the note. So he could only comfort Zhao Qingyao from a husband's perspective: "Honey, don't be angry. Let's ignore those bastards."
Zhao Qingyao didn't mince words and handed the note directly to Lü Tu: "Husband, take a look. It's not that Zhao Xiao and I broke our promise to you, but that the emperor is incompetent!"
Lu Tu unfolded the note and read it; everything became clear.
Previously, Zhao Qingyao had promised Lü Tu at the entrance of the Commandant's Mansion that she would tell the emperor about Lü Tu's achievements in fighting against the Wuhuan and help Lü Tu get an official position.
However, the emperor is currently indulging in nightly revelry and women amidst constant internal peasant uprisings and the ever-present threat of the Wuhuan army marching south. He has not held morning court for many days.
Even the people Zhao Qingyao and Prince Duan sent to offer their advice couldn't get a meeting with the emperor, which meant they couldn't keep their promise to Lü Tu. No wonder Zhao Qingyao was so angry.
Lu Tu remained even calmer than Zhao Qingyao and her brother after reading it. He silently tore the note up: "Is this source reliable?"
Prince Duan nodded: "It's reliable. This is something I asked the Embroidered Uniform Guard to do before, but they have been trapped in Longcheng recently. This was sent by carrier pigeon. I can recognize the handwriting."
Lu Tu looked at Zhao Qingyao and said, "My wife, don't worry. Relying on heaven, earth, or parents is not as good as relying on your own two hands. If we, husband and wife, are of one mind, we can break through anything. I will definitely not let you get hurt."
Prince Duan was somewhat stunned by Lü Tu's words. He hadn't expected that in just one day, the relationship between Lü Tu and Zhao Qingyao would progress so quickly, to the point where they could help and support each other and grow together.
Zhao Qingyao was deeply moved after hearing this. Although the two had only married briefly, their relationship was genuine.
Based on what Zhao Qingyao had asked Lü Tu to do before, she knew that Lü Tu was a man of his word and would not deliberately use nice words to deceive her.
Considering that even her own younger brother didn't care about her and wanted to send her to the Wuhuan as a product of a political marriage, while Lu Tu, a man of humble origins from the borderlands, was always deeply in love with her and was even willing to risk his life for her north of the Great Wall, Zhao Qingyao firmly believed that she had married the right person.
She took Lü Tu's arm affectionately and said sweetly, "Husband, Qingyao believes in you! I love you!"
Lu Tu took Zhao Qingyao's slender hand in his and kissed the back of her hand, saying, "I love you too!"
The sight of this made Prince Duan feel nauseous, and he just wanted to escape as soon as possible, but Zhao Qingyao stopped him directly: "Zhao Xiao, you have to go with me to take care of some important business today, so hurry up and wash up and stop drinking!"
Prince Duan was taken aback: "What important business could I possibly have? What could I possibly be doing?"
Lu Tu couldn't help but chuckle. It seemed that Prince Duan was quite self-aware, knowing that he was a debauched and pleasure-seeking prince.
After Zhao Qingyao came to his ear and explained, Prince Duan said in shock, "This is not a good thing, because when we were imprisoned in the Commandant's Mansion by Ye Qingyu, we never saw any border troops come to rescue us. I'm afraid the Wuchuan border troops were taken away by Ye Qingyu and Yun Tian long ago."
Lu Tu shook his head: "They can't take them away! Wuchuan is a military prefecture, and the border soldiers have to farm in their spare time. Besides, Longcheng in the south is already completely blocked. Where can Yun Tian take them?"
Prince Duan said somewhat timidly, "Then I won't go. After all, no one can say for sure whether the border troops will listen to me."
Upon hearing this, not only Lu Tu, but even Zhao Qingyao, a woman, couldn't stand it anymore and immediately started cursing, "Are you a good-for-nothing Zhao Xiao? You are a prince of the Great Yu Dynasty. The world is in chaos right now, and instead of helping to gather forces to go to the capital to defend the emperor, you are thinking of running away? How could my Zhao family have given birth to such a piece of trash as you!"
Prince Duan's face turned pale and then red as he was scolded. He stood up and mumbled in a low voice, "Second Sister, I'll go, okay? Please stop scolding me."
Lu Tu shook his head, thinking that at least he had some redeeming qualities, since he was obedient.
He stood up abruptly: "Our safety is the top priority on this trip to Wuchuan. Regardless of how many border troops we can muster, we must emerge unscathed!"
Zhao Qingyao nodded: "Then I'll have to trouble you, husband."
Lu Tu shouted from outside the door, "Liu Hu!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"Send 800 elite cavalrymen, fully armed and with all their gear, to come with me to Wuchuan. The rest of you will not train today; you will be responsible for guard duty. There cannot be any accidents!"
"Yes, sir!"
Lu Tu took Zhao Qingyao out the door, but Zhao Qingyao needed to go home to change into a neat set of short clothes, otherwise it would be difficult for her to ride a horse and travel together.
Half an hour later, everything was ready. Lü Tu informed Song Yuxi and the others, and then led 800 elite cavalrymen toward Wuchuan.
This was Lu Tu's first trip to Wuchuan City as the nominal Commandant of Wuchuan. This time, he had to make the most of this position and firmly grasp the legal principles in his hands.
Along the way, Lü Tu discovered that Zhao Qingyao was not as weak as he had imagined; her horsemanship was actually quite good! In less than an hour, Lü Tu led his men to the east gate of Wuchuan.
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