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Chapter 367 Outsiders
"So as long as the hilt of the sword is in our own hands, and the blade is pointing outwards, then bad things can turn into good things." Zhu Yu now completely understood what Lu Qing meant.

"So rather than waiting for others to lead him astray, I'd rather seize the opportunity myself." Lu Qing sighed slowly. "For both public and private reasons, I don't want Lu Yan to become a tool in someone else's hands to seize power."

Regardless of the circumstances, he is first and foremost a descendant of the Lu family. If he were instigated by outsiders and ended up causing brothers to turn against each other and fight amongst themselves, it would inevitably provoke the Emperor's wrath. Both he and the party fighting against him would have violated the Emperor's greatest taboo.

Given Lu Yan's personality, if someone tries to use him, it will inevitably result in a lose-lose situation. What I want is harmony—a brother who is not so ambitious, but brave and good at fighting and able to defend the border is naturally better than an outsider.

This is precisely what Lu Chao urgently needs.

Zhu Yu deeply agreed with Lu Qing's point of view. He turned his head to look at Lu Qing, who was frowning slightly and had a serious expression, and suddenly laughed: "That's right. A brother like you, who is meticulous, smart, good at planning, but also has no ambition, is exactly what Lu Chao needs most."

Lu Qing was taken aback, feeling both amused and exasperated by Zhu Yu's teasing. One arm was draped over her waist, preventing her from escaping, while the other hand reached out to tickle Zhu Yu's waist.

Zhu Yu almost burst out laughing, and quickly punched him on the shoulder.

Lu Qing then stopped and chuckled softly, "What you said is both right and wrong."

Lu Chao himself may not have had a strong desire for that high position. Like me, he simply hoped for peace in the world and for himself to be at peace.

However, since I was adopted, I still have a good excuse to shirk responsibility and make myself an 'outsider'.

Lu Chao, however, could not be, because he was the biological son.

He only had two paths ahead of him: either someone else would gain power, or he would die.

He either takes power himself to maintain peace, or he has no other choice.

In fact, Zhu Yu could more or less imagine Lu Chao's situation, but when she heard Lu Qing say "be an outsider," she felt a pang of indescribable bitterness in her heart.

Although Zhu Cheng and Miao Shi could be considered her family, even setting aside the fact that she was born out of wedlock and was not favored, the lingering feeling of being an "outsider" made her extra cautious and low-key from time to time, and occasionally she would feel a little sad.

He was constantly targeted and almost always in the eye of the storm, yet he had no choice but to wear a golden mask that left deep marks on his face and do some difficult tasks for Emperor Jin that he couldn't openly interfere with.

In addition to this, he also carries the mystery of his family's massacre...

One can imagine Lu Qing's situation and feelings as an "outsider".

Thinking of this, Zhu Yu couldn't help but wrap her arms around Lu Qing's neck and bury her face in his shoulder.

With a soft, fragrant body in his arms, the scene and atmosphere should have been tender and romantic, but Lu Qing only paused for a moment before understanding why Zhu Yu had reacted this way.

"Don't feel sorry for me," he tightened his arms around him, a warm current seeming to flow into his chest from Zhu Yu's silent embrace. "If I hadn't had my past experiences, I wouldn't be who I am today. If I had been pampered and spoiled since childhood, I might have become a different Lu Zhang today."

Then you, the woman betrothed by the emperor, are in for a terrible time.

Although the last teasing remark carried a hint of self-praise, it still made Zhu Yu laugh: "Not necessarily. If you were a prince who had been pampered since childhood, that person might not necessarily bestow me, the unloved illegitimate daughter of the Prince of Shuo, upon you in marriage."

Lu Qing's brows relaxed, and the corners of her lips lifted slightly: "So all that has happened in the past, isn't it all worth it?"

"Anyway, from now on, you have me and I have you, so we're all family." Zhu Yu nodded solemnly.

And so it wasn't until lunchtime that Lu Qing took Zhu Yu downstairs again.

As expected, the reactions of the others were exactly as he had anticipated. Lu Yan, who was usually energetic and outgoing, was unusually quiet and reserved today.

Normally, Lu Zhang would have noticed this anomaly long ago, but they were currently planning to outsmart the Immortal Fortress, which made him extremely nervous, so much so that he didn't have the extra energy to pay attention to Lu Yan's side.

Lunch was delivered as usual by those zombie-like servants; everything was normal.

After lunch, Yan Daoxin handed over the packet of medicine powder he had prepared for the substitution to the talismans and gave them a small bag, instructing them to carefully pack the contents of the sachet back into the bag.

The group huddled together and discussed for a while. When the servants came to deliver dinner in the evening, Fuwen and Luan didn't eat. They waited until the servants cleared away the tableware and left in a daze before quietly leaving.

The rest of the people stayed in the courtyard to wait. About an hour later, Fuwen Fulu returned with a cloth bag hanging from his waist. It seemed that everything had gone smoothly.

Yan Daoxin was overjoyed and took it aside to study it.

“Master, they don’t burn that kind of incense that makes people feel lost on the paths outside at night, but they probably burn something similar inside each household’s house. They built the walls so high not only to prevent people from escaping, but also to prevent the smoke from spreading out and knocking down the guards patrolling outside at night.” Fu Lu told Lu Qing what he and Fu Wen had confirmed along the way. “They don’t know yet that Chief Steward Yu has made the flowers in the courtyard not bloom at night, so they are all very lax.”

Rune nodded in agreement, saying, "When we came back, we ran into a patrol of guards. Some of them had secretly bought some wine from outside and were planning to find a place to hide and have some fun drinking and rolling dice."

"You two go and investigate later. See if those people who went into the tunnel to take care of the seedlings are the same group of guards who patrolled at night, and whether they have any other people with them," Lu Qing instructed.

"Master, actually, with those guards so lax, we might be able to take care of those night patrolmen tonight!" Fu Lu had been quite annoyed by those arrogant bastards during the day, and now he just felt an itch to punch them.

"Don't make such a big commotion. That mysterious lord is the big fish we're after. The big fish hasn't returned yet, and our 'net' isn't ready."

Although you can handle the guards in this fortress, you don't know what will happen if the villagers who have been knocked out by the sleeping potion suddenly wake up, nor do you know if there are other guards outside the Fairy Fortress.

"They outnumber us, so it's best to play it safe." Lu Qing disagreed. "Besides, we need to test the efficacy of the ingredients in the sachets you brought back during the day."