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Chapter 6 Bloody Smell
Lu Qing did not come back all night, so Zhu Yu slept soundly.

In the next few days, Lu Qing occasionally came back to the palace. When he came back, there was a faint cool fragrance of sandalwood on his body. He didn't stay for long before someone came to invite him again, and he left again.

I wish I have enough food and sleep well every day.

Lu Qing did not interfere with any of her actions in the mansion, and she was happy to go to the study to find books to read when she was bored.

The study in Xiaoyao Palace is very large, with two floors. The books on the first floor are extensive and cover a wide range of topics, from ancient times to the present, including popular vernacular novels in the capital city to classics written by sages from past dynasties.

The second floor is slightly smaller. Most of the items stored on the shelves are music scores, or books on the five elements and divination. There are several ancient zithers hanging on the walls. It is said that they were all made by famous zither makers in ancient and modern times. Because Lu Qing plays the zither very well, the current emperor specially found them and gave them to him as a reward.

In addition, there are some calligraphy works of unknown authors hanging on the wall. The handwriting is vigorous and powerful. At the other end is a large desk with all the four treasures of the study on it, but it is clean and looks like no one has used it.

Zhu Yu would spend some time in the study every day to relax. After a few days, the few servants in the palace all believed that it was because their princess was well-read that she was able to help Prince Xiaoyao and his family survive the disaster by chance on the wedding night.

Two days later, early in the morning before daybreak, Mother Zhao came knocking on the door and said that the carriage and horses were ready and they were ready to set out for the worship.

Zhu Yu got up to change his clothes, but found that Lu Qing had asked Mother Zhao to prepare a set of men's clothes for him. The style was ordinary, but the fabric was much better than the one he borrowed temporarily on the night of his wedding.

Although he didn't know the other party's intention in making such an arrangement, Zhu Yu changed his clothes and tied his hair without hesitation, packed up and went out.

The carriage was parked outside the back door of the palace. The carriage looked simple and spacious, with three tall horses standing obediently in front of it.

Lu Qing was standing beside the car in plain clothes, with two tall and strong guards beside him. Zhu Yu recognized one of them. He was the strong man who helped her blow into the nose of the poisoned person at the wedding banquet that day.

The sturdy man was slightly surprised when he saw Zhu Yu coming over, and was about to speak. Fortunately, another guard next to him elbowed him in time, which enabled him to hold back his words.

"Your Highness." Zhu Yu walked closer and bowed to Lu Qing according to the etiquette of Jin State.

Although it seemed a bit strange for her to perform female etiquette in her current attire, she had just arrived and it was better to be rude than to be lax with the etiquette.

Lu Qing took a look at Zhu Yu's attire and nodded to her, "Madam, there's no need to be so polite. When you go out, it's easier to walk around in men's clothes.

Since you are already dressed like a man, you should behave like a man when you are outside."

The two guards behind him quickly saluted Zhu Yu.

Zhu Yu had learned some information about these two guards from the steward the day before.

In the entire Xiaoyao Palace, only these two guards were not assigned by the emperor to serve after the palace was established, but have been following Lu Qing since childhood.

Lu Qing was raised in the palace until he was eight years old. It happened that there was a severe drought in the world and the people were living in dire straits, so he was sent to a Taoist temple called Shanqing Temple to practice Taoism with his hair uncut and pray for the emperor and the people of the world.

The two brothers were children of famine. Their families had all starved to death. When they were still half alive, they were picked up by Lu Qing, who brought them back to Shanqing Temple and named them Fu Wen and Fu Lu. They lived and ate with him every day.

Less than a month after Lu Qing went to Shanqing Temple to pray for blessings, a sweet rain fell, alleviating the drought. The emperor was very pleased and asked him to continue staying on the mountain and copying scriptures every day. He did so until he was sixteen years old, when he was recalled to the capital and granted the title of king and established his own government.

Lu Qing brought back the runes and talismans from Shanqing Temple and they became his personal guards.

The burly man who helped him at the banquet that day was his younger brother Fu Lu. His elder brother Fu Wen was slightly smaller than him and looked more gentle and clever.

This time they did not bring anyone else with them. The two brothers Fu Wen and Fu Lu drove the carriage, while Lu Qing and Zhu Yu rested in the carriage.

In addition to many objects and offerings for worship, the carriage also had some cakes and tea.

Zhu Yu got up very early and was very hungry, so he didn't act shy in front of Lu Qing and filled his stomach openly.

This person tends to feel sleepy when he is full. After Zhu Yu drank a few cakes and a cup of tea, he felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier, and he fell asleep in a short while. When he was woken up by Lu Qing again, the carriage had already stopped safely.

As soon as he got off the car, Zhu Yu was stunned.

She knew that Lu Qing was adopted by the current emperor from his clan, so when she heard him say yesterday that he wanted to pay homage to his clan, she just thought of it as paying homage to the tombs of the emperor's ancestors.

I didn't expect that there was an ancestral hall in front of me.

There are no less than thirty tombstones of various sizes at a glance.

"Come on, follow me in." When they got here, Lu Qing put aside his usual nonchalant demeanor and looked solemn. He signaled the two brothers Fu Wen and Fu Lu to guard the door, called Zhu Yu, and took the lead in lifting up his robe, stepping over the high threshold and walking in.

Zhu Yu hurried to follow.

The ancestral hall wasn't large, but it was densely packed with memorial tablets. The altar in front held some aged offerings, and the incense burner was thick with ash. It looked like someone had been tending to it, just not with the utmost care. The memorial tablet in the center, front and center, read "My late father, Lord Lu, also known as Lord Wei." Carved from fine mahogany and inscribed with gold lacquer, it reflected the deceased's dignity.

Looking further ahead, Zhu Yu was secretly shocked. From the words on the memorial tablets, it was not difficult to tell that a whole family, from the oldest to the youngest, was enshrined here in an orderly manner. It seemed that everyone was placed here.

Then the Lu family's...

Zhu Yu subconsciously looked at Lu Qing beside him.

Lu Qing seemed not to feel Zhu Yu's gaze. He just silently swept the dust off the tablets, removed the old offerings and replaced them with new ones. He then took out some incense and handed three sticks to Zhu Yu. The two of them respectfully inserted the lit incense into the incense burner.

He didn't say a word the whole time, just remained silent, as if shrouded in an invisible cloud.

Zhu Yu has never been a rash person. Seeing that Lu Qing didn't say anything, he just stayed by his side silently.

After all the sacrifices were completed, the two walked out of the ancestral hall. It was more than an hour later. When they set out in the morning, there was only a thin layer of clouds in the sky, but now it began to drizzle.

Zhu Yu hurriedly got on the carriage and prepared to return to the capital.

The ancestral hall is located in a remote area, with only a narrow country road. It was fine when we came here, but now it is extremely muddy after being wet by the rain. The carriage cannot run fast, and the wheels will get stuck in the mud if we are not careful.

Zhu Yu felt dizzy from being shaken around in the carriage, and he wanted to vomit out the snacks he had eaten in the morning.

Unfortunately, on the way back, the rain was getting heavier and the sky was getting darker. It was obvious that they could not continue on their journey. After asking Lu Qing for his opinion, the driver Fu Lu found a place nearby to temporarily take shelter from the rain.

The carriage stopped. Lu Qing got out first with an umbrella. He stood beside the carriage and held out his hand. Zhu Yu took his hand and jumped out of the carriage.

Fu Wen and Fu Lu drove the car to a mountain temple that was nowhere in sight. The temple looked dilapidated and no one was guarding it. It was pitch black all around.

Seeing that the rain showed no sign of letting up, the surroundings were shrouded in mist and rain, and the sky was dark. It was probably not a good idea to continue walking. This dilapidated temple in the wilderness was their best choice to shelter from the rain.

Fu Wen entered the dilapidated temple first. Although it was in tatters, the roof was not leaking. There was an extinguished torch stuck on the wall. He hurriedly took out a fire starter from his arms and lit it, finally making the dark space a little brighter.

Although this mountain temple is dilapidated, it is quite spacious. There are no cushions or anything like that in the front hall, but there is some straw.

The dilapidated temple probably couldn't accommodate so many gods, so there was only a mountain god statue more than one meter tall sitting on the altar.

No one knew what kind of stone the mountain god statue was carved out of. It looked pitch black, probably because it was too old. There was no glaze on it, and even its eyebrows and eyes were missing. It was covered with dust and cobwebs.

In the light of the torch, the face of the statue was half illuminated and half covered in darkness. As the flames danced, the originally rough carving appeared indescribably weird.

The two brothers Fu Wen and Fu Lu were very skillful. They gathered the straw on the ground and made it thicker, like a cushion, so that Lu Qing and Zhu Yu could sit on it.

Zhu Yu chose a straw pile with his back to a wall and sat down.

She has always been brave and does not believe in ghosts and gods, so naturally she is not afraid of the slightly weird statue. However, being in an unfamiliar place, on the other side of the statue, with everything around it pitch black, still makes her feel a little nervous.

What frightens people is not ghosts and gods, but the unknown that cannot be seen clearly in the darkness.

The four of them sat down in the light of the torches, and remained silent for a while.

Fu Wen was the smarter and more perceptive of the two brothers. Although he was somewhat puzzled as to why the prince asked his wife to go out to worship the ancestors in men's clothing, it was not his place to ask questions about matters between the master and mistress, so he refrained from making any comments.

Fu Lu was a straightforward person. On the night of Lu Qing's wedding, Fu Wen was not there and did not see Zhu Yu who came to the rescue, so naturally he was not surprised.

He was different. He was shocked when he saw Zhu Yu in the morning and had no chance to ask throughout the day.

At this moment, the four people were sitting in this not-so-spacious little temple, which made Talisman very uncomfortable.

I want to ask, but I'm afraid of breaking the rules in front of you.

If he didn't ask, this curiosity would be like a millipede crawling in his heart, which was really uncomfortable.

Just when he was about to lose control of his curiosity and wanted to speak tentatively, Zhu Yu suddenly sniffed and frowned slightly.

"What's wrong?" Lu Qing, who had been dozing with his eyes closed, opened his eyes in the darkness.

Zhu Yu sniffed again: "I seem to smell blood."

(End of this chapter)