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Chapter 646 Internal Response
Zhu Yu realized that the conspiracy they were now facing seemed to have started much earlier than they had originally thought.

Originally, in her mind, the most suspicious person was Lu Ze.

This Prince Shu, who seemed like an innocent and naive young man, could have been hiding his true nature very well, without leaving any trace. If he hadn't been so eager to set a trap for others in front of Lu Qing, he wouldn't have revealed any flaws, leading people to connect his actions to his previous ones.

As the only son of Consort Duan, who is currently the most favored concubine in the palace, Lu Ze already enjoys many special privileges that other princes do not have. Under such circumstances, if he develops ambitions and wants to overthrow the Duke of Yan, who is the most threatening person in front of him, and clear the way for his future succession to the throne, it is understandable that Emperor Jin would tacitly approve of all of this, out of consideration for also dealing with the Duke of Yan's faction.

But now it seems that this is clearly wrong.

Based on Mu Hong's account, it can be roughly deduced that the man who was suspected to be a former servant of the Lu family started doing these things in Landi a few years after the incident involving Lu Qing's family, as a confidant of the Prince of Lan.

Items like Chang'e's Wine are extremely rare at any time and not so easy to come by. Similarly, getting close to Lan Wang, gaining his trust, and starting to arrange all of this also requires a certain amount of time to make connections and infiltrate.

So, to make a bold guess, it seems quite plausible to assume that the plot had already begun shortly after the massacre of Lu Qing's family.

At that time, not only Lu Ze, but even Lu Chao and Lu Zhang had not yet been born.

No one could have predicted that, not long after, Consort Zhao would suddenly die.

No one could have predicted that after Consort Zhao's death, Zhao Bi would, for his own ambition, present a beautiful woman of foreign descent to the palace.

What no one could have predicted was that the beauty would later not only be highly favored and granted the title of Consort Duan, but would also give birth to a prince, who would be the one favored by Emperor Jin.

None of these are fixed, and it is impossible to predict the future.

To say that all of this was paving the way for Lu Ze would be a bit too far-fetched.

If Duke Yan hadn't already lost power, Zhu Yu might still be wondering if these were still his doing.

But by this time, the Duke of Yan had already completely fallen from power, and even Lu Zhang had been implicated by his maternal grandfather, so such speculation was naturally untenable.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yu suddenly felt a little confused.

The Duke of Yan is clearly the best choice. Just as I just thought, if he hadn't fallen from power, then all the blame would naturally fall on him, making him the biggest target in everyone's sight.

But ironically, he was brought down...

Zhu Yu's thoughts drifted back to the night she married Lu Qing, to that unexpected incident that forced her to reveal her skills.

I did suspect that the poisoned guard was sent by the Duke of Yan to frame Lu Qing at his wedding banquet.

But Lu Qing clearly didn't think so. Instead, he was more inclined to believe that someone wanted to kill two birds with one stone: to cause trouble for the Prince of Xiaoyao's mansion and, incidentally, to make Zhao Bi a target of their attention as well.

Looking back, although Zhao Bi was ruthless, his methods were not like that. He was focused on expanding his own power, waiting for the right moment to seize control. Therefore, he preferred peace and quiet rather than rash actions that could backfire and cause trouble. So, as Lu Qing suspected, the incident might indeed have involved guards planted by the other side, who deliberately framed Lu Zhang at the banquet while he was drinking wine, causing chaos among the Prince Yi's residence, the Duke of Yan's residence, and the Prince Xiaoyao's residence.

If that plan had succeeded, one of the Prince Xiaoyao's Mansion or the Prince Yi's Mansion would have inevitably gotten into trouble. This would have naturally drawn the attention of the outside world, and in the end, at least one of them would have suffered heavy losses.

Unfortunately, this happened right under Zhu Yu's nose, and he actually managed to save the dying guard. In addition, Duke Yan was a cunning old fox, and he immediately guessed that since it was not a matter of the Xiaoyao Prince's Mansion, then someone else must be trying to put on a show. So he hurriedly took the guard away.

The scheme that someone in the shadows had been plotting ultimately failed.

It turns out that from that time onwards, the large net hidden in the shadows had already begun to slowly tighten.

If it weren't for the death of the Brahma King, which put them in a "death trap," Lu Qing would likely have been the next biggest target after the downfall of the Duke of Yan.

However, it seems that Duke Yan is inextricably linked to the Lu family's affairs back then. So for many years, both he and the deceased Consort Zhao have been plotting to get rid of Lu Qing. The reason for this is probably easy to guess.

The only reason that the forces in the shadows wanted to eliminate Lu Qing was probably because of his identity as the "Golden-Masked Censor." With Lu Qing wearing the golden mask outside, acting as Emperor Jin's eyes, ears, and fist, it would interfere with the implementation of many of their plans.

For example, the Ghost Temple case in Qingshui County led to the abandonment of large amounts of farmland in Congzhou, with farmers flocking to the border areas to plant flowers and grass.

If that matter hadn't caught the attention of Emperor Jin, it wouldn't have been long before a major disaster could have easily occurred, especially if it happened during a year of famine.

However, Lu Qing's intervention eliminated this potential danger. Even though Lu Zhang ultimately took all the credit, those who had been watching everything from behind the scenes naturally knew who the real hero was.

Thinking about this, Zhu Yu suddenly understood why the person hiding in the shadows would choose Lu Ze instead of the Duke of Yan.

Duke Yan is by no means an easy character to manipulate. He may be a target to attract attention, but he is certainly not a "handy" puppet.

More importantly, he and Lu Qing were irreconcilable enemies, a fact that seemed to be common knowledge both inside and outside the court.

For this very reason, Lu Qing had no chance to find out much about things that happened behind the scenes.

In comparison, the younger Lu Ze became a better choice.

On the one hand, there was Consort Duan, an inside agent in the harem. On the other hand, Lu Ze was granted the privilege of freely entering and leaving the palace every day without having to submit an extra token. This made it easier for Lu Ze and Consort Duan to find out many things that Duke Yan and others could not know.

Lu Ze's age also makes it easier for others to lower their guard.

On the other hand, and most importantly, neither Lu Ze nor Duan Fei has any greater power to rely on. Therefore, once they reach a win-win agreement, they are more likely to depend on each other.

(End of this chapter)