Chapter 39 A mere servant's rank is too low; he is unworthy of a woman.
"Are you stupid... The principal husband hasn't even entered the household yet. Lu Shifu is just a lowly concubine. What qualifications does he have to be the biological father of His Highness's eldest daughter?" the male servant said with a sneer.
Lu Lingyue remained standing, her expression indifferent. Hearing the servant's words, Hengwu immediately looked at her mistress with concern.
Although Lu Lingyue didn't say anything, Hengwu knew that these words must have entered her master's heart.
Thinking of how Lu Shifu had monopolized His Highness's attention these past few days, the male servant could no longer suppress his pent-up desires and couldn't help but continue speaking.
"This man was once Her Highness's fiancé, but now he's fallen to such a state. I wonder if he regrets it."
"In my opinion, once His Highness returns with his new husband, Lu Shifu's good days will be over..."
Seeing that the male servant was going too far, Hengwu couldn't stand it any longer and stepped forward, unable to contain her anger.
"You two are quite bold, daring to gossip about His Highness and his servants here."
“Lu…Lu Shifu.”
The male servant who had been talking so enthusiastically turned around upon hearing this and saw Lu Lingyue and Hengwu behind him. He was so frightened that his soul almost left his body, and he immediately knelt down on the ground.
"Please spare my life, my husband! Please spare my life, my husband..."
The first male servant, seeing that his slander against his master had been discovered on the spot by Lu Shifu, instantly lost all his arrogance.
The male servant knew that if the head eunuch found out about his disrespectful behavior, he would be severely punished. Not only would he lose his job, but he might also be expelled from the palace, facing a miserable end…
He kowtowed desperately in an attempt to beg Lu Lingyue for mercy.
"You barbarians deserve to die! What you just said was all nonsense, utter rubbish, and should not be taken seriously... Please, my servant, have mercy and forgive us this time! We will never dare to do it again!"
The servant wept bitterly, and another person beside him also pleaded for enlightenment.
Lu Lingyue stared at them, her eyes cold and her lips slightly pursed.
At this moment, his heart felt as if it were weighed down by an iceberg, heavy and deep, concealing the eerie flames beneath.
But Lu Lingyue also knew that the servant was telling the truth. His relationship with Yuan Yan, whether between the two of them or in the eyes of others, had reached such a precarious point.
"If everyone spoke as recklessly as you, what rules would there be left in the Prince's mansion?"
Hengwu, however, was furious that her young master had been made a fool of, and angrily interrupted Lu Lingyue's emotions.
He was unaware that Yuan Yan had given Lu Lingyue a contraceptive soup the night before, and thought that the two male servants were making it up, which made him furious.
"Hengwu, summon the steward and hand them over to him for disposal."
As a son of a prominent family, Lu Lingyue had learned household management from a young age and was very clear on how to handle such matters. Seeing the two pleading for mercy, he did not show leniency or punish them privately, but instead spoke expressionlessly.
"Yes, young master." Hengwu said and ordered someone to do it, leaving the two regretful and frightened servants slumped on the ground.
After the two male servants were taken away, Hengwu returned to Lu Lingyue's side.
“Young Master, those two were incredibly audacious. They dared to discuss your relationship with His Highness and even fabricated some contraceptive soup... How bizarre! What is your status, Young Master? Even if you become a concubine, you are still a member of the Lu family. How could His Highness possibly give you contraceptive soup?”
Faced with her personal attendant's indignation, Lu Lingyue remained silent.
He didn't want to tell Hengwu what had happened last night. If Hengwu heard about the contraceptive soup, it would be the same as his parents finding out. If the Lu family tried to interfere then, his situation in the Prince's mansion would only become more difficult.
Moreover, Lu Lingyue always believed that this was a matter between him and Yuan Yan, and had nothing to do with anyone else; the Lu family had no right to interfere.
The reason for this situation is none other than the growing distance between him and Yuan Yan.
Yuan Yan was always troubled by the matter of breaking off the engagement, and he also found it difficult to open up to his mother's family. Although the two of them already had each other, they could never go back to the intimacy they used to have... Isn't this a kind of mutual torment?
Lu Lingyue lowered her eyes, her heart filled with indescribable emotions, a heavy feeling that she could not shake off.
...
Yuan Yan followed the imperial physician's advice and rested obediently in the palace for several days, during which time male servants from the palace applied medicine and changed her dressings every day.
Under the careful care of the imperial physicians and servants, the scars on Yuan Yan's body gradually faded, and looked much more pleasing to the eye than their original deep and winding appearance.
The next day.
The men Yuan Yan sent to investigate the assassination have returned.
"Your Highness is incredibly insightful. According to my investigation, the Third Princess did indeed keep a group of assassins outside, but by the time we arrived there, all of them had already been moved and disposed of."
"Your subordinate is incompetent and has failed to obtain any evidence. I beg Your Highness's forgiveness," the subordinate reported, bowing his head.
Yuan Yan was not surprised to hear this. After all, so many days had passed, and Yuan Xiao must have already cleaned up and covered up any traces that needed to be cleared up. It was impossible for them to be openly displayed for her to investigate.
The system sounded somewhat disappointed: "Without evidence, what should we do, host...?"
"Don't worry about these things. If we can find out, Dali Temple can definitely find out too."
"So the most crucial issue now is not verification, but how to convince the Empress that this was done by my dear sister."
Yuan Yan was clear-headed and knew that the Dali Temple was in charge of investigating the case. All she needed to do was to push things along and make the Dali Temple focus its attention on the Third Princess.
Just then, a servant came to report.
"Your Highness, Minister Chen of the Court of Judicial Review requests an audience."
This is exactly what they mean by "speak of the devil, and he appears"... What a coincidence! She was also looking forward to meeting this Lord Chen.
Yuan Yan smiled inwardly.
"Please come in, Lord Chen," she said.
Since His Majesty entrusted the case of the assassination of the King of Yue to the Court of Judicial Review, Chen Fang, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, has not had a good night's sleep for many days.
The assassin was Prince Yue, who was returning to the capital after inspecting grain supplies.
At first, many officials of the Dali Temple, including her, thought that the King of Yue had discovered the embezzlement of grain by local officials in Chuzhou, so they dared to ambush the King of Yue and his party to cover up the evidence.
However, after the Chuzhou officials were escorted to the capital, they were subjected to severe torture and forced to cry out for their mothers and fathers, confessing to everything they were asked, but still failed to reveal any clues related to the assassination.
Based on Chen Fang's extensive experience in solving cases, he could determine that the Chuzhou officials were not lying and that the ambush of the King of Yue was indeed unrelated to them.
Not only that, but those assassins were all highly skilled in martial arts, capable of killing so many elite guards of the Prince's mansion. Their clothing and weapons were all specially made and unmarked... They were not the kind of assassins that ordinary officials could keep. There must be a powerful figure behind this.
With this in mind, Chen Fang could easily guess that this was not a case of an official assassinating a prince, but rather that he had been dragged into the power struggle for the throne.
"This case is difficult to handle. If we can't find any results, it will be hard to explain to His Majesty. If we do find some results, it will probably make us even more hated," the Dali Chancellor sighed.
"Investigating the case is His Majesty's decree. As his subjects, we only need to be loyal to His Majesty and not worry about other complicated matters," Chen Fang said solemnly.
With the deadline set by His Majesty fast approaching, and the clues obtained by the Dali Temple being limited, they had no choice but to come and seek an audience with the King of Yue, who was recuperating from his injuries.
"Lord Chen, His Highness requests your presence." The servant's voice interrupted Chen Fang's thoughts.
Chen Fang, accompanied by his entourage and servants, arrived at the main hall of the Prince's mansion.
At this moment, Yuan Yan was already seated high in the hall, waiting for them.
Chen Fang bowed and said, "Your subject, Chen Fang, Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, pays respects to Your Highness, the King of Yue."
"Lord Chen, there's no need for such formalities," Yuan Yan said, looking at Chen Fang with a polite tone.
"This assassination attempt on me has caused the Dali Temple to work tirelessly, which I find deeply unsettling."
"Your Highness is too kind. This is my duty, how could I dare to complain?" Chen Fang said.
"Your Highness, I have come here today to ask you this question... I wonder if Your Highness has any suspicions about the mastermind behind the assassination? If there are any clues, we can investigate further."
"This case involves too much, and I, the king, am involved, so I dare not speak recklessly." Yuan Yan shook his head, appearing unwilling to say more.
Seeing this, Chen Fang thought for a moment and changed the way he asked the question.
"If that's the case, Your Highness, I would like to ask if you have had any disagreements or disputes with anyone in the past month?"
"I have never made enemies with anyone, except for the conflict with my eldest sister over the Lu family matter. But at that time, the Empress Dowager had already reprimanded both my eldest sister and me, and the matter was over. Given my eldest sister's personality, she should not bring it up again." Yuan Yan pretended to recall.
Upon hearing this, Chen Fang knew that Yuan Yan was referring to the widely discussed incident of a bride kidnapping a few days ago.
She was aware of the matter, and it was indeed as Yuan Yan had said. Currently, the investigation into the assassination attempt has not yielded many clues to prove that the assassination was related to the Prince of Qi.
Chen Fang continued, "Your Highness, please think carefully. Is there anything else?"
"...Lord Chen's words have indeed reminded me."
“I suddenly remembered that I had a quarrel with my third sister in the palace earlier. At that time, my third sister was very angry and said some unpleasant things... I wonder if Lord Chen’s words can be considered as such?” Yuan Yan said.
Chen Fang seemed to be deep in thought upon hearing this. Given the Third Princess's domineering and brainless nature, it wasn't hard to guess what she would say.
"However, Lord Chen is probably overthinking it. The assassins who tried to kill me were all elite warriors. If this was truly the work of the Third Princess, then where did so many elite warriors come from..."
As Yuan Yan spoke, he shook his head, feigning disbelief, which only fueled Chen Fang's thoughts.
She talked with Yuan Yan for a while longer, until she could no longer find any new clues, before leaving.
[Host, is what you're saying going to do any good...? Can a few vague words of guidance really help them find the Third Princess?] The system watched the whole thing and wasn't too sure.
“Every action leaves a trace. It seems my sister was not clever enough and left some clues.”
"The Dali Temple may have found something these days, but the scope is too broad to pinpoint the target, and there's no solid evidence. For now, follow my advice, grasp one lead, and continue the investigation. Who knows, we might be able to catch Yuan Xiao."
Yuan Yan took a sip of tea and said calmly.
The system nervously replied: [Hopefully, things will go as smoothly as the host predicted, and we can eliminate the mastermind in one fell swoop.]
...
Yuan Yan is right.
Following the clues about the Third Princess, the Dali Temple made a new discovery.
"What should I do, Father? These people from the Court of Judicial Review have now traced their investigation back to me."
Yuan Xiao received the news. The previously arrogant girl finally panicked and hurriedly sought help from her father, Qing.
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