Discuss with you

Chapter 364 Subcontracting
Zhu Yu's eyes were on Lu Zhang, but her mind was on Lu Chao, who was somewhere else at the moment.

Despite being princes and the biological sons of Emperor Jin, Lu Chao and Lu Zhang were worlds apart.

Although Lu Chao was born to Emperor Jin and Empress Wang, he did not receive much favoritism or care because of this. He was usually aloof and low-key. The ministers in the court were respectful to him, but did not value him.

At first glance, apart from Lu Qing, who is a "like-minded person," Lu Chao seems to have little connection with the court and has always been on the fringes.

But in reality, she knew exactly what to do and when, and how to secretly plan and strategize. She handled everything with Lu Qing in a proper and orderly manner.

In contrast, Lu Zhang is a completely different type.

In the imperial court and the capital, he was a man of immense influence, with officials vying to curry favor with him and showering him with praise. It was no exaggeration to say that he was "unrivaled in popularity."

However, this prince, who was so prominent in public, was actually completely indecisive in private. He was not meticulous enough in his actions and lacked shrewdness, which was completely inconsistent with his high position.

Clearly, compared to Prince Xu, Lu Chao, who proceeded step by step and quietly accomplished great things, Prince Yi, Lu Zhang, who was described as "shrewd and capable," seemed to be all bark and no bite, and was not worthy of his reputation.

Or rather, who do those powerful officials in the court fawn over and respect—Lu Zhang, who is at the forefront, or the Duke of Yan, who stands behind him?
If one day Lu Zhang disagrees with his domineering maternal grandfather, Zhu Yu can clearly understand what stance those who originally supported him will take.

She didn't believe that Lu Zhang himself was truly unaware of the hidden dangers involved.

Perhaps he was unwilling to face it, or perhaps he was afraid to.

Thinking about it this way, putting aside their seemingly glamorous appearances, how different are Lu Zhang and Lu Qing really?
They were both thrust into the limelight, forced to move forward step by step against their will.

However, Lu Qing's carefree and unrestrained behavior in public is fake; his calm, wise, and meticulous nature in private is real.

However, beneath Lu Zhang's outwardly triumphant facade, he is actually outwardly strong but inwardly weak and indecisive.

Thinking about this, Zhu Yu's feelings towards Lu Zhang were quite different from before. In the past, she felt indignant for Lu Qing, but now she only felt pity.

Lu Zhang was focused on avoiding conflict with Lu Yan while also avoiding taking responsibility. With a quick wit, he handed the initiative to Lu Qing, and it seemed that this was exactly what Lu Qing had been waiting for.

He sighed slowly and said, "Last night we explored the underground chamber and discovered their secret. Judging from the situation just now, they have become suspicious. The longer we delay, the more disadvantageous it may be for us. So let's follow Chief Secretary Yu's plan and switch the sachets of the guards. If they are indeed the antidote for the sleeping potion, then we can take the opportunity to temporarily control the situation in the fortress and wait for reinforcements to arrive before making further arrangements."

"Fine, as long as I can fight, I'll obey your orders, brother!" Lu Yan gritted his teeth, clenching his fists. "If they dare touch my men, I'll make those idiots learn the consequences of daring to mess with me! If I make sure they die a quick and easy death, from now on, I'll write the character 'Lu' backwards!"

"Don't be foolish!" Lu Zhang rebuked him, "Don't drag the Lu family ancestors into your nonsense!"

Lu Yan rolled his eyes and ignored him.

Lu Zhang was at a loss with Lu Yan and wanted Lu Qing to uphold justice, but when he turned around, he saw that Lu Qing and Zhu Yu had already gone to discuss with Yan Daoxin what to use to replace the original contents of the sachet. He could only sit awkwardly to the side, sulking. Lu Yan was too lazy to pay attention to him and went over to hear what was going on, afraid that he would be excluded from the next step of the plan.

Yan Daoxin had just been questioned by that burly guard. He had a very keen sense of smell, especially for things like medicinal herbs and spices. So when Lu Qing asked him if he could prepare some herbs or spices with similar smells so that the talisman could be used to switch them out, he quickly came up with an idea and readily agreed.

"One condition: leave me a pinch of the antidote to the switched-off sleeping potion. I'll study it later." After agreeing, he also made his own request.

“That’s no problem at all.” Lu Qing nodded.

"Alright, then you can wait here." Yan Daoxin immediately prepared to prepare the medicinal herbs after seeing that Lu Qing had agreed, but before she could take a step, Lu Qing stopped her. "Is there anything else?"

"Add some sleeping potion as well, and make sure it's strong enough," Lu Qing instructed.

Yan Daoxin grinned: "I'm very good at this."

After saying that, he swaggered upstairs to his room, closed the door, and then remained silent.

"Brother, what about me? What should I do?" Lu Yan asked Lu Qing.

Seeing his anxious expression, Lu Qing smiled helplessly and beckoned to him, "I do have something very important to entrust to you."

"Alright! Just give the order, brother!" Lu Yan became even more excited upon hearing this and nodded without saying another word.

After a while——

"Brother, the important thing you mentioned is playing chess?!" Lu Yan sat at one end of the stone table with a shocked expression, glaring at Lu Qing who was leisurely setting up the chessboard opposite him, his voice full of displeasure.

"Third brother, do you know why, despite always being the first to charge into battle and being the most valiant among your brothers, you never received recognition? Instead, you often fought bravely only to be reprimanded and punished?" Lu Qing could sense Lu Yan's dissatisfaction, but showed no sign of annoyance. When he responded, his tone was calm and his expression was exceptionally indifferent.

Because of their time in the Immortal Fortress, Lu Qing no longer addressed Lu Zhang and Lu Yan as "Second Prince" and "Third Prince" as politely as before. Therefore, his words seemed particularly sincere because of the change in address.

Lu Yan paused for a moment, glanced at Lu Qing, and his expression softened slightly.

In the past, he was always scolded by Emperor Jin for being brainless and having a fiery temper that would only cause trouble. Others treated him the same way, as if he were a monster. When dealing with him, they either treated him like a firecracker, afraid that they might accidentally set him on fire and cause him to explode, or they spared no effort to push all the responsibility onto him and make him take the blame for his bad temper. In the end, he could only defend himself.

No one has ever used complimentary terms like "brave and skilled in battle" or "leading from the front" to describe him.

Lu Yan's tense facial muscles relaxed slightly, and his tone softened involuntarily: "Please enlighten me, elder brother."