The burly man standing in the center of the lower seat, around thirty years old, knelt on one knee, his voice booming:
"According to a secret report from a spy, the eldest prince of the Northern Yuan was murdered by the second prince."
"The Northern Yuan royal court is likely to make a big move. Now is the perfect opportunity to return to the grasslands. We can take advantage of the chaos while those White Lotus sect members are fleeing to the grasslands!"
"This humble general is willing to serve you like a dog or a horse!"
The man was Ma Ji's brother, Ma Ang, the current deputy commander of Datong who was guarding Dushikou Camp.
Perhaps as a way to intimidate them, Ma Ang was not given a seat at the banquet.
He could only stand below, looking at the person sitting high above with trepidation and respect.
He felt a surge of pride as he glanced at Maggie out of the corner of his eye.
The emperor is so good to this younger sister, taking her to such a private banquet involving diplomacy and preparing such luxurious and beautiful clothes and jewelry for her.
If handled properly, the Ma family could very well rise to become one of the top families in the Liang Dynasty.
Now, he has to curry favor with the emperor and wait for his sister's child to be born safely.
Balsbolot was young and had deep feelings for the Northern Yuan. Hearing that the Great Liang was going to send people to the Northern Yuan to cause trouble, he felt somewhat uncomfortable.
He frowned, unwilling to hear about Bei Yuan's upsetting affairs, so he stood up and walked to the window to look out at the scenery.
No matter what, the Northern Yuan was still his country.
To form an alliance with Daliang was a last resort, a deal he was forced to make with a tiger, and he wasn't in a good mood.
Barsbolot looked into the distance, bored.
His gaze wandered aimlessly.
However, after turning around, it slid back.
After a long silence, he gave a silent sneer.
He said to the girl next to him, "Someone's house is on fire, and they don't even know it."
After saying that, he turned around and looked at Lu Xingjian, who was sitting in the upper seat, with a mocking expression.
Su Wanwan left a very deep impression on him.
Both times I suffered losses, it was because of this woman.
So even if she turned to ashes, he would still recognize her.
Besides, it's just a woman dressed as a man.
Later, when he heard that she had become the Empress of the Liang Dynasty despite being a widow, he felt much better.
This woman is truly cunning; it's not a disgrace to fall into her hands.
But now, it is the Emperor of Liang who is disgraced.
He's showing off his power here with his beautiful concubine, while his own empress is embracing and kissing another man.
Tsk tsk.
That's quite a huge green hat.
Barsbolot looked at the scene opposite him again and felt that the man holding Su Wanwan looked somewhat familiar.
Lu Xingjian noticed Balsbolot's blatant mockery, narrowed his eyes slightly, and a cold glint flashed in his long, narrow eyes.
He merely glanced at Guo Xun, the heir apparent of the Marquis of Wuding, who was standing beside him.
Guo Xun understood immediately, went out for a short while, and soon came back to quietly report a few words.
Lu Xingjian's face instantly turned cold.
He slammed his wine glass down on the table, stood up, and stormed off.
Maggie stood up in a panic, wanting to ask something, but was almost knocked over by the wind he created by walking.
Everyone in the room looked at each other, casting questioning glances at Maggie.
Maggie swallowed hard and followed him out.
...
Lu Xingjian walked faster and faster, angrily kicking open the door to the private room.
Su Wanwan sat upright at the tea table, her eyes red and swollen, looking at him calmly.
Lu Xingjian searched every corner of the private room but didn't see anyone.
He suppressed his raging anger and sat down opposite Su Wanwan:
Where are they?
"I'm leaving," Su Wanwan said indifferently.
"Su Wanwan!" Lu Xingjian gritted his teeth, "Do you even know you're married?!"
"Can't you at least have some sense of womanly virtue?!"
Su Wanwan looked behind him.
Maggie was standing at the entrance of the private room, dressed in an extremely gorgeous outfit.
The dress was beautiful, adorned with sparkling pearls, rubies, and emeralds.
Su Wanwan found it particularly irritating.
The clothes that Lu Xingjian had the needlework bureau send to her were similar to the ones Ma Ji was wearing.
He probably sensed she was jealous, so he took two pieces from the new clothes he made for Maggie to appease her.
Her tone was calm: "Is she your reason for attacking the Su family?"
Lu Xingjian paused, narrowed his eyes, and his anger reached a breaking point:
Do you know what you're saying?
"The child in her belly, isn't it actually yours?"
Su Wanwan spoke in a very light tone, as if she were mentioning something insignificant.
Lu Xingjian glanced back at Ma Ji, his face icy cold, his cheeks taut, before finally letting out a sneer.
Even if that's the case, so what?
Su Wanwan remained calm. "Yes, what can I do?"
"Who you like, who you pamper, and who you want to get pregnant is your freedom."
"But why did they have to go and harm the Su family?"
"Are you afraid the Su family will harm her?"
Lu Xingjian stared intently at her, his eyes icy cold, veins bulging on his forehead.
Su Wanwan didn't know if he was angry and embarrassed after being exposed to his face.
After all, she had never considered this possibility before.
At the time when she loved and trusted him the most, she sent people to wipe out the Su family.
There was no way she could suspect him.
It wasn't until just now that she came to her senses and thought about it more deeply.
Those chief eunuchs were all his trusted confidants.
After the Su family was destroyed, she, the empress, became a general without any powerful family to rely on.
They can no longer threaten imperial power like the Wang and Zhang families.
This is something a cold and rational emperor could do.
Didn't he use the same method to wipe out the Xia family before?
As for Lu Qijun, whom he mentioned, he only knew him from other people's stories.
Whether this person even exists is debatable.
It would be incredibly easy for him to deceive her.
It's understandable that no clues have been found about the fire at the Su family's residence.
Zhang Zhong, whom she sent to investigate the matter, was also someone arranged by Lu Xingjian. What did he find out?
On the contrary, he was not as capable as Liu Qi, who came from humble origins.
Of course, she didn't necessarily believe everything Liu Qi said.
But since Xiao Bin just said that he actually helped her find out about Liu Qi, she had no choice but to believe him.
The atmosphere in the private room was unusually tense.
The maid at the door asked timidly, "Your Majesty, my brothers are still waiting for you..."
Su Wanwan smiled gently.
Lu Xingjian found that smile extremely ironic.
He was furious and picked up the teacup on the table, about to smash it.
As he raised the teacup halfway up the mountain, he caught a glimpse of Su Wanwan instinctively protecting her stomach out of the corner of his eye.
His movements stopped.
He slowly set down his teacup, his face ashen, yet he still suppressed his anger, squeezing out a few words through clenched teeth:
"This is utterly absurd!"
He turned and left.
Maggie followed Lu Xingjian.
Before leaving, he gave Su Wanwan a provocative smile.
Su Wanwan watched them leave quietly, her expression as calm as ever, her eyes lowered as if lost in thought.
Liu Qi, who was in the next private room, happened to come out and saw them leaving. He raised an eyebrow thoughtfully.
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