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Chapter 239 Lan Wang
"Are there any other 'flowers'?" Zhu Yu asked.

"You may not have experienced or understood things from before, but since you married into the family, you have witnessed quite a few things."

By this time, quite a few 'flowers' had bloomed, including the fake cinnabar Dou Dajiang encountered, the evil spirits causing trouble in the Lizhou camp, and the strong men from Shuo Kingdom who may have already turned into bones.

If these things are not contained in time, it will inevitably cause panic everywhere. Then, all it takes is one final provocation to plunge the world into chaos. Lu Qing sighed softly. "The tree may wish to be still, but the wind will not cease. Even those who originally had no ambition are forced to scheme for the sake of peace for all people."

Zhu Yuxin's feelings were also quite subtle.

Before marrying Lu Qing, she lived a simple and boring life in Shuo Kingdom. She originally thought that it was a peaceful and prosperous era. Although Shuo Kingdom was not a wealthy vassal state, it was stable and peaceful.

It wasn't until she became this carefree princess who couldn't enjoy life at all that she realized that beneath the calm surface of the water, there might be countless deadly undercurrents.

"What a pity." She was silent for a while, then suddenly said, "On the day of the wedding, we still have no way of finding out what kind of poison the guard next to Lu Zhang was poisoned with."

"So what if we can find out?" Lu Qingzhu Yu didn't seem too surprised when she suddenly brought up that incident from that day; she just asked casually.

"You just mentioned Dou Dajiang, who secretly orchestrated those things at the Ghost Immortal Temple. The tragedy in his family was all because he bought Fiery Jade disguised as Cinnabar."

You told me before that Chiyu is something that comes from the Lan Kingdom.

On our way to Qingshui County, we saw that the farmland had been abandoned, and you told me about the Ten-Color Brocade.

In order to earn more money, those farmers abandoned their own farmland and went to plant dye flowers and herbs in the southern part of Jin Kingdom, which is also adjacent to Lan Kingdom.

Previously, there were bandits from the Jie Kingdom who occupied the mountains and became kings, using weapons made by the Shuo Kingdom to burn, kill, and plunder in the Lan Kingdom.

Today, before those bones were discovered, I was helping to pick out stones and listening to the elderly people chatting. One of them mentioned that the Pang family had entertained some distinguished guests from the Lan Kingdom at their secluded villa in the area, which they rarely visited in a long time. They brought all the rarest and most precious ingredients they could get their hands on, which showed how much they valued the place.

The Sanwei Shouyuan Ointment that Pang Yuzhen presented earlier was produced in Lan Kingdom.

So I was just thinking that the so-called "evil spirits" in the Lizhou camp were deliberately done to divert trouble to the Shuo and Jie states, and cannot be counted.

The other times seemed to have some connection with the Lan Kingdom.

That's why I couldn't help but feel curious, wondering who that guard on my wedding day really was, and whether he had any connection to the Lan Kingdom.”

After listening to her words, Lu Qing remained silent for a while before saying, "Among the four vassal kings, only the Prince of Lan is related to His Majesty by blood."

In fact, His Majesty's grandfather, my great-grandfather, and the father of the current Prince Lan were all brothers, sharing the same parents.

Zhu Yu was a little surprised, as she hadn't known this before. From Lu Qing's words, she gleaned another piece of information: "So the current Prince Lan is already quite old?"

"Yes, he is quite long-lived; he should be in his eighties by now."

"At such an advanced age, do you still have no intention of abdicating and making way for a more capable person?" Lu Qing couldn't help but laugh when he heard her question: "It's fortunate that you are not a prince by the Emperor's side, otherwise, based on what you just said, I would have sent you to guard the border tomorrow and take over the position of the third or fourth prince."

Zhu Yu paused for a moment, then realized that what he had said was something no one in power would want to hear, and laughed: "I just think that retiring at the height of one's career is not necessarily a bad thing."

While you still have enough control and your mind is still clear, choose a suitable successor, test them, help them get started, and then give them a boost. This is the safest approach.

If one insists on clinging to that position until their eyesight fails and their mind becomes rusty, then not only will they be unable to discern who the more suitable successor is, but this long wait is also truly agonizing, prone to unforeseen changes, and detrimental to both themselves and others.

“Help someone mount their horse, and then see them off for a while…that’s an interesting saying.” Lu Qing repeated Zhu Yu’s words, then suddenly laughed, “I might use that to take advantage of Lu Chao in the future.”

Zhu Yu smiled upon hearing this.

Lu Qing and Lu Chao are not entirely in the same situation, and their personalities are also significantly different. Neither of them has a powerful backer to rely on. However, in such a treacherous environment, they secretly look after each other and become each other's allies.

Thinking of the crisscrossing scars on Lu Qing's body, Zhu Yu sighed silently, finding it hard to imagine how Lu Qing had endured all those years.

Just imagining it made her feel a tightness in her chest, as if she were about to suffocate.

Consort Zhao, a woman who already held a high position in the harem, would never be so cruel to Emperor Jin's adopted son without a reason, and would look for every opportunity to put a young child to death.

She risked being blamed by Emperor Jin for not taking good care of Lu Qing, and she also wanted to find an opportunity to take Lu Qing's life. It is clear that Lu Qing's life was unacceptable to her, or rather to her family.

On the day of the wedding, even though he was unsure who had sent the guard, Duke Yan still wanted to take advantage of the situation to solidify Lu Qing's guilt.

In terms of being eager for quick success and instant benefits, this father and daughter are truly of the same ilk.

What kind of grudge did Zhao Bi have with Lu Qing's ancestors that made him not even spare this only orphan...?

Emperor Jin seemed to be extremely tolerant and forgiving towards the Yan family. Consort Zhao almost "took care" of Lu Qing's life, but Emperor Jin did not punish her. He simply sent Lu Qing to Shanqing Temple.

On the day of Lu Qing's wedding, the Duke of Yan made a big fuss about accusing him of poisoning the imperial heir. In the end, when the truth came out, Emperor Jin did not intervene and let the matter drop.

Later, when Luo Yushu, the Minister of Personnel from Zhao Bi's faction, was implicated in the corruption and inaction of the government in Huazhou, Emperor Jin again dealt with him lightly, only punishing a few minor officials and then never mentioning him again.

The favor shown to the Duke of Yan's faction was unparalleled...

Well……

Zhu Yu's eyes, which had just been closed, suddenly opened again—

Initially, she felt resentful thinking about the honors and privileges bestowed upon the Duke of Yan's faction, but as she pondered this, she seemed to suddenly understand something...

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