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Chapter 578 wasn't enough.

After finishing their meal, Lu Qing suddenly asked Zhu Yu, "How about I take you out to see some fun things in a few days?"

"The Duchess of Yan's birthday banquet?" Zhu Yu guessed what he was referring to, but was still very surprised. "Could it be that you have a way to sneak in?"

"Do you know why the person who knows you best is always your enemy?" Lu Qing smiled. "Because you need to spend a lot of time watching them, looking for their weaknesses and vulnerabilities."

Duke Yan did indeed spend a lot of time keeping an eye on me in the early years, whether it was when I was at Shanqing Temple or when I had just returned to the capital and was granted the title of King.

However, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I was all alone at that time. After he stared at me for a while, he didn't find much of a clue. After that, he just kept an eye on me and shifted his attention elsewhere.

The simpler a person is, the harder it is for others to find any flaws in them. On the contrary, people like the Duke of Yan, with his large family and numerous branches, are indeed powerful and influential, but they also have so many loopholes that they are like sieves.

Therefore, compared to him, the Duke of Yan was actually making a losing deal. I know him much better than he knows me.

He had a relative who held a nominal position in the border army under the guise of the Duke of Yan. He had no real duties and received a monthly stipend from the court, which was neither a lot nor a little.

Zhao Bi also found it troublesome, so he gave the order that the position would only benefit that relative, and when that relative passed away, the salary would be stopped, and the descendants would not be allowed to take over the position.

That relative had fallen seriously ill a few years ago and died; he has long since passed away.

His descendants were reluctant to cut off the free money they had received so early, so they secretly buried the man in their backyard and kept it a secret from everyone, pretending that the man was still alive and well in order to continue to swindle money from him.

That person held a nominal position, requiring no official duties or tasks, so over the years, he remained undetected. Because the matter couldn't be known to outsiders, his family dared not make a fuss, much less come to the capital to offer birthday greetings.

"Then why don't we, on behalf of this family, present some gifts to this outstanding member of the clan and ask for a drink?"

"Are you sure there are no problems?" Zhu Yu asked.

“Confirmed. Our people are very well-informed. That family isn’t well-liked among their relatives and has almost no contact with others. The Zhao family is a large clan with many branches. It’s impossible for Zhao Bi to recognize them all.” Lu Qing nodded.

“Alright, let’s go and see just how grand the Duchess’s birthday banquet is.” Zhu Yu felt reassured after hearing his words, but then another question came to mind: “Should I dress up as a woman that day? Otherwise, the male guests probably won’t have much of a chance to see the Duchess’s dress, right?”

Lu Qing smiled and shook his head: "Has Madam forgotten? That Lady of Yan State is not a young woman whose beauty has not faded. She is not young and has already passed seventy years old. According to custom, noblewomen over seventy years old do not have to be bound by these rules and can sit with guests at banquets."

"Think about it, if the old lady could only stay in the backyard and couldn't come to the front, and only the ladies could see her dress, wouldn't all the effort put into the play be wasted?" "I forgot about the age of the Duchess of Yan!" Zhu Yu laughed when he heard this. "That's great! I was worried that if I had to sit with the ladies by myself, I would probably be bored to death, and I was also afraid that I might accidentally reveal something."

After all, my father had never hosted a banquet before, so I simply didn't have any experience in that area.

“It’s alright. We’ll both be insignificant by then. We’ll just spend some money on gifts, like paying for drinks, and then we can just wait and watch the show,” Lu Qing comforted her. “I just hope the other party lives up to expectations and doesn’t overestimate us, or we’ll end up disappointed.”

The hot pot dinner that night was very enjoyable. With the banquet on her mind, Zhu Yu was in a state of mixed tension and excitement all night. She got up early the next day and went out shopping with Lu Qing, wearing fake skin. After careful selection, she chose a jade carving about the size of two palms. The jade material was ordinary, nothing special, but the exquisite carving made it stand out.

Then the two of them bought a very exquisite and beautiful brocade box and put the jade carving inside, and that was it.

After all, it would be inappropriate for the two of them to impersonate others and bring overly exquisite and expensive gifts, which would attract attention.

If they were too stingy, and since they were impersonating some distant relative of Zhao Bi, who wasn't actually related, giving a meager gift would be somewhat humiliating.

As the saying goes, "If you don't visit for three years, you're no longer a relative." What's more, they were originally from distant lands. If they really don't give us face and won't even let us in the door, then all our efforts will have been in vain.

Therefore, we need to show enough sincerity without being ostentatious, and it would be good enough if we could give them a place on the sidelines.

Another ten days or so passed. During this time, He Min's injuries had fully healed, and he began to teach the young servants and maids in Yunyin Pavilion to read with great enthusiasm. He was very serious and strict, but because he was knowledgeable about astronomy and geography and could quote classical texts, he could always explain things in a way that was easy for people to understand, making it very interesting to listen to.

Initially, Liu Yueyao did not take the initiative to arrange for the musicians and dancers to learn from Mr. He. However, after a few days, they went to Liu Yueyao on their own, expressing that they also wanted to learn to read.

During this process, He Min gradually heard from the young shop assistants and musicians that the reason why the Tze-Leg Shop was the best in the capital and had a great reputation was largely due to the frequent interactions between the shop and the Duke of Yan's Mansion. It was rumored that the Duke of Yan's Mansion was the secret owner behind the Tze-Leg Shop.

Because he had heard from Lu Qing and the others that Zelufang was involved in many things, and that they could not be alerted if they were to be eradicated, He Min did not show much excitement or anger after hearing this, and he controlled his emotions.

Finally, the day of Lady Yan's birthday arrived. Zhu Yu and Lu Qing got up very early, changed into clothes that were not particularly magnificent but certainly not shabby, still had fake skin on their faces, and went out with the brocade box that had already been packed.

Zhu Yu's current identity is Lu Qing's youngest brother, and he had already learned about the family's information from Lu Qing.

When Zhu Yu arrived at the gate of the Duke of Yan's mansion, she was somewhat surprised. Although she had previously accompanied Lu Qing to General Cao's mansion to offer birthday greetings, she had already felt that the pomp and circumstance was quite extraordinary.

Looking at the scene in front of the Duke of Yan's mansion today, the previous excitement of General Cao seems rather lackluster.