Chapter 725 Collaboration - Stealing the Painting
The emperor received a satisfactory answer and was too lazy to pursue the matter of Lu Hexuan's absence from court.
After all, if a man is beaten like this by the woman in his own home, he probably wouldn't dare to go out!
"Go back and rest for two days. Come to court again when your injuries have healed!"
The emperor, in his great mercy, granted Lu Hexuan two days off, to which Lu Hexuan, of course, expressed his gratitude once again.
After Lu Hexuan left, the emperor turned to the young eunuch and asked, "What was the situation like when you went to the Prince Xian's residence?"
The eunuch, of course, dared not deceive the emperor and immediately told him about the Princess Consort's crying.
The emperor was finally relieved to see that things had gone exactly as planned.
'As long as the Ninth Prince isn't deliberately avoiding it, that's fine. Otherwise, he wouldn't mind teaching him a lesson. As for the Wei princess's jealousy, the Empress can talk some sense into her!'
Thinking this, the emperor immediately gave the order that he would dine in the empress's palace that evening.
Having once again escaped this ordeal using this method, Lu Hexuan exuded an aura of unapproachability as soon as he returned to his residence.
"My lord, did His Majesty say something?"
Princess Chuxia, seeing Lu Hexuan's unpleasant expression, cautiously leaned closer and asked.
Lu Hexuan was initially in a bad mood because he had almost angered the emperor due to his lack of foresight. However, seeing Princess Chuxia's concerned gaze, Lu Hexuan suddenly felt that none of this was a big deal.
"He didn't say anything. Are you hungry? Let's go eat!"
After Lu Hexuan finished speaking, he pulled Princess Chuxia back to the main courtyard.
Upon returning to the Yun residence, Wuyin immediately reported the situation at the Prince's mansion to Gu Shuyan.
"Madam is incredibly insightful. After returning to the palace last night, Prince Xian was completely dejected. If I hadn't prepared the disguise beforehand, His Majesty would never have been able to keep it a secret."
The day before yesterday, Gu Shuyan learned from Yun Yichen that Ji Wenjin went to see Lu Hexuan in the middle of the night, and Gu Shuyan guessed that there must be some kind of agreement between Lu Hexuan and Ji Wenjin.
In order to bring Lu Hexuan into their camp, Gu Shuyan deliberately took advantage of Ji Wenjin's curiosity yesterday and tricked him into revealing Gu Renjie's identity.
After Ji Wenjin lost her composure and left, Gu Shuyan had Wuyin follow her, in order to confirm whether Ji Wenjin would tell Lu Hexuan such a private and secret matter.
As it turned out, the relationship between Ji Wenjin and Lu Hexuan was far more complex than Gu Shuyan had anticipated.
Ji Wenjin almost went to see Lu Hexuan during the day. Gu Shuyan boldly guessed that Lu Hexuan might have been stimulated by knowing Gu Renjie's background and therefore did not attend the morning court.
Ultimately, it turned out that Gu Shuyan's guess was correct; Lu Hexuan was indeed greatly shocked and skipped the morning court session.
"In any case, the Wise Prince owes us a favor today!"
As for how and when to use this favor, Gu Shuyan naturally had her own plans.
"Madam, your son-in-law wants to see you!"
Yu Fei came in from outside and spoke to Gu Shuyan.
Upon learning that it was Yun Yichen who was looking for her, Gu Shuyan immediately got up and let the two of them help her to the front yard.
In Yun Yichen's study, besides Yun Yichen himself, there was a man who looked to be in his forties.
Gu Shuyan didn't recognize him, but judging from his solemn appearance, she knew that he must also be one of Yun Yichen's men.
"You may leave now! My wife and I have important matters to discuss."
Yun Yichen usually wouldn't keep anything important from Gu Shuyan and the other maids, but today he actually sent them away. Gu Shuyan had a feeling that what Yun Yichen wanted to say must be something important.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing the man's expressionless face and Yun Yichen's serious expression, Gu Shuyan couldn't help but ask.
Seeing this, Yun Yichen pulled her in front of him, gave him a worried look, and then said, "There's something you might need to prepare yourself for."
Gu Shuyan wasn't initially that nervous, but his words made her a little apprehensive.
"What is it?" Gu Shuyan suppressed her rapidly beating heart and looked at Yun Yichen.
Yun Yichen did not speak directly, but instead spread out the scroll that the man, Shadow, had brought back in front of Gu Shuyan.
"Do you think this person looks similar?"
At first glance, Gu Shuyan almost mistook the figure for a portrait of Gu Renjie, but upon closer inspection, the appearance was not quite the same.
Even so, Gu Shuyan was so surprised that she covered her mouth.
"This, this person is the late emperor's son?" Gu Shuyan said.
Yun Yichen was clearly surprised by Gu Shuyan's attentiveness; even he had to look twice before noticing that the man was wearing a dragon-patterned jade pendant at his waist. Gu Shuyan, however, guessed his identity after only one glance.
“The painting was hidden in a secret compartment by the wise king. When it was opened, it was already covered in a layer of dust. Moreover, the wise king was muttering to himself, saying that he finally dared to see him. So I took the opportunity to steal the painting.”
Shadow explained the origin of the painting to Gu Shuyan, who nodded in agreement.
"Since these words were kept hidden, it proves that the person in the painting is a special person to the Wise King. I just wonder, which son of the late Emperor is this person?"
Gu Shuyan raised the most crucial question, which Yun Yichen had also been pondering: who exactly was depicted in the painting?
As far as he knew, although the late emperor had nine sons, each of them was born to a different concubine, which led to each son vying to become emperor.
For so many years, Lu Hexuan has secretly kept this person's portrait under the emperor's very nose. What unknown connection exists between the two?
"Perhaps, I can help take a look!"
Shadow was an extremely dutiful bodyguard; he hadn't given the painting a second glance since it was brought back.
Seeing that both masters were pondering who the person in the portrait was, he couldn't help but suggest it.
Hearing Shadow's words, Yun Yichen couldn't help but slap his forehead, "How could I forget? Uncle Shadow also met all the princes back then."
When Yun Yichen addressed him as "Uncle Ying," An Ying immediately felt embarrassed. "Your subordinate is just your subordinate. Young Master, please don't address me as such anymore."
When he was a child, Yun Yichen had also taught him to call him Uncle Ying, but after being strictly instructed by Dark Shadow when he was young, he stopped calling him Uncle.
In his excitement today, Yun Yichen forgot about this matter. Little did he expect that Shadow would be much more amiable than before.
He handed the scroll to Shadow, who glanced at it at first, and then began to examine it carefully.
Because the portrait was partially burned, although it was later repaired, it still differs somewhat from the original appearance.
Even so, Shadow quickly recognized the person in the painting.
"If I remember correctly, the figure in the painting should be His Highness the Seventh Prince from back then," Shadow said.
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