278, who is it?
278, who is it?
They didn't come out of the palace until dark.
After kneeling in the palace for a whole day, Lu Mingfei almost had to be supported by someone when he got on the carriage.
Zhang Lingxuan didn't get on his own carriage, but followed Lu Mingfei's carriage. Seeing Lu Mingfei sitting there as if in a trance, motionless, he asked with some concern, "Are you okay?"
"...I'm not going to die yet." Lu Mingfei reached out to lift the curtain and said to the driver in front: "Let's go to the store."
The horse guard outside responded "yes" and reminded the masters in the carriage to sit properly, then grabbed the reins and spanked the horse's butt.
The horse pulled the carriage along the road, heading towards the other end of the highway.
Behind them was the Zhang family's carriage, but it was empty. Their young master had boarded another family's carriage, and the driver drove his carriage behind Master Lu's.
Only after getting on the carriage did Zhang Lingxuan dare to ask what was really in his heart, "What do you think of what happened today?"
"The victor becomes the king and the loser becomes the bandit. Whoever can sit on that throne will be the emperor. It's that simple." However, Lu Mingfei thought of Hu Bing who appeared in Kyoto Prefecture this time, and wondered if he had anything to do with the new emperor who sat on the throne?
If it is related to the new emperor, letting a traitor become emperor will be a disaster for the entire Dayan.
However, these were just speculations, without any evidence, so Lu Mingfei didn't say anything out loud, otherwise it would become a rumor. But he felt that things couldn't be so coincidental. Even if it wasn't the emperor, it must have been an official in the court.
It seems Zhao Lang and the others were right to leave the capital early, lest they be given away as gifts. Lu Mingfei thought of Zhao Lang and the other princes' departures from the capital, and felt that they all chose to leave the capital at this time because they sensed danger. Zhao Lang, the son of Prince Ding, was especially dangerous if he stayed in Kyoto.
Zhang Lingxuan wasn't stupid. He'd considered that what happened yesterday couldn't possibly be completely unrelated to what happened today. Otherwise, Hu Bing wouldn't have been able to enter Dayan unimpeded and even invade Kyoto Prefecture before they learned of this.
Now that the late emperor has passed away, the third prince has become the emperor.
Of the princes, the eldest prince was dead, the youngest, the fifth prince, was also dead, and the second prince was imprisoned in the Sky Prison, likely doomed to die. The only one who was safe was His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince.
Among the ministers in the court, the most powerful one, Prime Minister Wan, had been arrested, and Prime Minister Wan's faction was no longer a threat. As for those ministers who had previously supported the other princes, they were afraid that after the new emperor ascended the throne, a round of reckoning would begin.
Thinking of this, Zhang Lingxuan expressed his concerns, "After the new emperor ascends the throne, he will definitely punish a group of people. We used to be close to the Second Prince, and I wonder if the new emperor will suspect that we are his followers."
Lu Mingfei looked at Zhang Lingxuan, and their eyes met. For a moment, no one spoke.
Because they knew that if the Third Prince was a petty person, he might really find a reason to punish him just because they had been close to the Second Prince not long ago.
Touching his chin, Lu Mingfei thought of something. He lowered his voice and asked Zhang Lingxuan, "Who do you think Fu Lianxin belongs to?"
"You mean?" Zhang Lingxuan immediately understood what Lu Mingfei meant.
"Hmm." Knowing that Zhang Lingxuan had guessed it, Lu Mingfei told Zhang Lingxuan about how the Second Prince had recently invited him to dinner and how Fu Lianxin had brought the Prince of Dingyuan to help out. "So, I'm a little suspicious. Fu Lianxin's rescue was fake. The real reason is that he doesn't want me to get too close to the Second Prince."
"In this case, with Fu Lianxin as a witness, it can at least be proved that you are not the second prince's man?" Zhang Lingxuan thought of this.
Lu Mingfei nodded and said, "When I asked Fu Lianxin to go, I also wanted to have one more person present in case anything went wrong in the future. I also wanted to have a witness present. I didn't expect that this witness would actually come in handy."
"Hey, wasn't Old Tutor Fu killed along with the late emperor by Hu Bing? Do you think that the late emperor, Old Tutor Fu and others were really killed by Hu Bing?" Zhang Lingxuan was very skeptical about this.
Lu Mingfei remained silent. They all shared a common understanding: the Third Prince's claim that the late Emperor, Old Master Fu, and the Fifth Prince were killed by Hu Bing was a lie spread by the Third Prince. As for the truth, perhaps only the Third Prince and the deceased Emperor knew.
In fact, they all suspected that the late emperor, the fifth prince, and his men, as well as the now dead eldest prince and queen, were all killed by the third prince's men, not the so-called Hu soldiers.
However, some things are now beyond proof. Even if there are witnesses, they are usually the Third Prince's confidants. Unless the Hu people still have evidence, one day they can get it from them to prove that all these things are related to the Third Prince, the new emperor who now sits on the throne.
If the Third Prince colluded with the Hu people and plotted to usurp the throne, then wouldn't the death of Old Tutor Fu be related to the Third Prince?
Could it be that Fu Lianxin would kill his own grandfather? If Fu Lianxin didn't know that the Third Prince was colluding with the Hu people, would he become an enemy of the Third Prince if he found out later?
Or maybe, Fu Lianxin knew it, but he just acquiesced to everything happening?
However, they both felt that the latter possibility was unlikely. Even though their relationship with Fu Lianxin was not particularly close, they knew Fu Lianxin's character and personality, and he would definitely not do something to kill his own grandfather.
Or maybe Fu Lianxin didn't know what the third prince had done?
Then this possibility doesn't seem very likely.
The two of them talked about these things for a while that day, but they didn't come to a conclusion.
The two carriages stopped halfway, and Zhang Lingxuan returned to his own carriage and took it home.
Lu Mingfei sat in his own carriage and continued driving, asking the horse guard to take him to the store.
***
When he arrived at the store, Lu Mingfei learned from his mother that something happened in their village last night. His father took people back to the village at noon today and has not returned to the city yet.
"I heard people say today that those barbarians killed a lot of people outside the city. People in many villages were killed by those barbarians. I'm afraid..." Liu Sanniang didn't finish the rest of the words, but the fear in her heart was already written on her face.
Although their family had a rift with the people in the old Lu family house due to some things in the past, they still had good relations with some neighbors in the village. Although they had not returned to the village much in recent years, their family often received things brought by Lu Chunping from some people in the village, and they would also ask Lu Chunping to bring some things back to the village for others.
Despite this back and forth, the friendship is still there.
So Liu Sanniang didn't want anything to happen in their village.
"Don't worry, mother. Everything will be fine. We have a wall around our village," Lu Mingfei reassured his mother. But he knew in his heart that the wall around their village could hold back ordinary refugees, but it wouldn't be able to stop those ferocious Hu soldiers.
However, some of their village residents were in the mountains. Since the year before last, they had sent people to reclaim the land and build houses there. Many of the village's young people and children were already there, leaving only the elderly and those who didn't want to go up the mountain. However, if they were to encounter the merciless Hu soldiers, those who remained in the village would be in danger.
Lu Mingfei knew that what he could think of, his mother must have thought of it in her heart. However, he still comforted his mother and told her not to think too much.
Later, he asked about the store's losses. After learning that the damage wasn't too serious, he comforted his mother: "As long as we're okay, we can just find someone to fix the door."
"The late emperor passed away. I have to go to the palace every day to keep vigil for him. I'm afraid you won't be able to find me during the day. If there's something wrong at home, you can send someone to the palace gate and give the guards some silver. Then they can go in and look for me. They should be able to find me."
"I'm afraid things are not going to be peaceful in Kyoto right now, so we'll have to close the shop for a while. You and Mingrui should go back to the courtyard and live there instead of here. Go find someone to ask my stepmother if they want to bring Mingcong with them and move to Chunxi Road to live with us."
"Well, I'll go ask your stepmother and the others tomorrow." Liu Sanniang also knew that they lived on this side of the store, which was close to the city gate. If something really happened, they wouldn't even have time to react.
If the eldest son hadn't sent someone to pick them up last night, they would have been in trouble.
At this moment, both mother and son were very grateful that Hu Bing did not come in from the south gate. If Hu Bing had come in from the south gate, no one in their yard would have survived that night.
Later, Lu Mingfei chatted with his mother for a few more words, ate something in the store, and then took a carriage back to the courtyard on Chunxi Road.
It was not until he returned to the yard, took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and sat on the chair in the study to relax that he had time to think about the person who left Beijing.
Looking at the bright moon outside the window, Lu Mingfei murmured, "I don't know where you are now." Was the journey smooth? Did he meet Hu Bing?
I wonder if the new emperor will hold you accountable after everything in Kyoto is settled.
Also, will General Wei, who helped you leave the capital, be implicated...
Also, who is actually collaborating with the enemy and selling out the country?! Thinking of the last question, Lu Mingfei's mind sank for a moment. The water in the court was probably deeper than he imagined. Author's words: Thank you Bole 9492239 (9492239) for your support. Kisses! To know more exciting content, please leave me a message on Liancheng Reading.
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