I only wished to take up my fiefdom, but my elder brother forced me to rebel.

Lu Cheng raised his hand and threw the name card at the butler's face.

"roll!"

"What kind of nobody dares to come before me, Your Highness?"

The butler bent down to pick up the name card, but just as he stepped back to the door, he stopped again, forcing himself to do so.

"Your Highness, Wu Yu said he has a way to deal with the Ninth Prince."

Lu Cheng's raised wine jug stopped in mid-air.

The aide immediately took the name card, and after seeing the official title on it, whispered a reminder: "This person is the son of Wu En, an assistant minister in the Ministry of Rites, who holds the position of principal officer in the Ministry of Rites."

Lu Cheng threw the wine pot back onto the table.

"Let him in!"

The butler quickly left.

Not long after, Wu Yu straightened his clothes and walked into the main hall.

He glanced at the broken porcelain and overturned chair on the ground before bowing.

"Your humble servant Wu Yu greets Your Highness the Second Prince."

Lu Cheng sat back in his chair, the gauze on his face not yet properly wrapped, his bruised and swollen face completely exposed.

"Stop talking nonsense."

"What methods do you have to deal with Lu Yuan?"

Wu Yu straightened up, but seeing that Lu Cheng did not offer him a seat, he could only continue standing.

"The Ninth Prince has taken a liking to Zhao Mingzhu, the legitimate daughter of the Fuyuan Escort Agency."

Lu Cheng frowned.

"and then?"

"He personally came to the Zhao family today and announced his intention to marry Zhao Mingzhu in front of everyone. Madam Zhao has already agreed, and many people in the capital witnessed it."

Wu Yu took out two marriage certificates from his sleeve and placed them on the table.

"I originally intended to exchange marriage certificates with the Zhao family, but Lu Yuan interfered and snatched Zhao Mingzhu away."

Lu Cheng glanced at the marriage certificate, a hint of sarcasm appearing on his face.

"So you've had your woman stolen, that's why you've come to me for help."

Wu Yu's noodles were hot, but he did not back down.

"This humble official truly cannot swallow this insult."

"But isn't the relationship between Your Highness and the Ninth Prince more like that of brothers?"

"The Fuyuan Escort Agency is the key to dealing with the Ninth Prince."

Lu Cheng narrowed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

"Go on."

Wu Yu pushed the marriage certificate aside and took out a cargo transport route map of Fuyuan Escort Agency.

"The Zhao family will be receiving an assignment from the Ministry of Rites soon."

"After the Northern Liang delegation leaves the capital, the court will send a batch of return gifts to the border. The Ministry of Rites has limited manpower, so in previous years they have entrusted the escort agencies in the capital to escort them."

"This year, the Fuyuan Escort Agency is in charge of this mission."

Lu Cheng scanned the route map but still couldn't figure out the trick.

Wu Yu pointed to a post station on the map.

"As long as we slip crossbows, armor plates, and privately forged weapons into the goods that the Ministry of Rites delivers to the Zhao family, and then have someone take the goods here, the Fuyuan Escort Agency will not be able to escape the crime of smuggling weapons."

Lu Cheng immediately shook his head after hearing this.

"This only works against the Zhao family; what does it have to do with His Highness the Ninth Prince?"

"Zhao Mingzhu is already the woman the Ninth Prince has taken a liking to."

Wu Yu then shared his thoughts.

"If the Zhao family gets into trouble, will the Ninth Prince intervene?"

"If he doesn't intervene, the entire Zhao family will be held accountable, and Zhao Mingzhu will also harbor resentment towards him."

"If he gets involved, it would be tantamount to protecting people who smuggle weapons."

Lu Cheng gradually sat up.

"The prince secretly hoarded weapons, colluded with the escort agency, and secretly prepared armor."

"This is a serious crime of treason."

Lu Cheng, supporting his severed arm, stood up and walked to Wu Yu.

"Why should the Zhao family go after Lu Yuan for you?"

Wu Yu put the route map away.

"General Manager Zhao's head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) is out of town, while the headquarters of Fuyuan镖局 (escort agency) is in the capital."

"Several hundred of the Zhao family's bodyguards and guards were arrested, and Madam Zhao and Zhao Mingzhu will also be imprisoned."

"If we tell Zhao Mingzhu that if she identifies the Ninth Prince, half of the Zhao family can be saved. What will she choose then?"

"What if she doesn't want to?"

"Then let's kill a few bodyguards first."

Wu Yu raised his head, and his tone became calm.

"There are many elderly people in Fuyuan Escort Agency who have followed the Zhao family for more than ten years."

"Zhao Mingzhu can disregard her own life, but she can't just watch them be tortured one after another."

The way the staff looked at Wu Yu changed.

That kid is really ruthless!

Lu Cheng smiled.

Lu Yuan had just left the Zhao family when someone immediately set a trap for him using the Zhao family as a pretext.

Even if Lu Yuan can prove that the weapons had nothing to do with him, the Zhao family's crime of smuggling weapons cannot be cleared.

When Zhao Mingzhu goes to jail and Fuyuan Escort Agency is raided, Lu Yuan will lose another major ally.

"it is good."

Lu Cheng reached out and patted Wu Yu on the shoulder.

"I entrust this matter to you."

A look of joy appeared in Wu Yu's eyes.

"Your Highness, I will certainly take care of it."

Lu Cheng handed him the warrant, saying, "As long as this matter is handled well, once I become the Crown Prince, the position of Minister of Rites will be reserved for you sooner or later."

Wu Yu knelt down and accepted the order with both hands.

"Thank you, Second Prince..."

He paused deliberately, then looked up again.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Lu Cheng's smile grew even wider.

"Go and do it."

"I await your good news."

……

Outside the Ninth Prince's residence, one hundred imperial guards stood on both sides.

As soon as Lu Yuan dismounted, the gate of the mansion was opened from the inside.

Su Yuling was the first to rush out, carrying a long sword in her hand.

Shen Hanqiu followed closely behind, without even fastening his outer robe properly.

Liu Ruyan walked at the back, carrying a medicine box in her arms.

All three of them simultaneously focused their gaze on Lu Yuan's blood-stained robes.

Su Yuling took two steps to stand in front of him, grabbed his arm with one hand, and reached out with the other to lift his sleeve.

"Where is the injury?"

Shen Hanqiu pressed down on Lu Yuan's shoulder and carefully examined the bloodstains on his chest.

"With so much blood, how come only the arm is injured?"

Liu Ruyan opened the medicine box and took out scissors and a clean strip of cloth.

"Let's go back to our room first."

"If the wound reopens, it needs to be re-bandaged."

Lu Yuan looked at the three women surrounding him and pointed to his left arm.

"This is the only injury."

"Most of the blood on my clothes is my uncle's."

Su Yuling stopped what she was doing.

"What happened to Commander He?"

"He took an arrow for me, and it pierced his lung."

Lu Yuan led the three into the mansion and then instructed the Imperial Guards to arrange them to various courtyards.

Shen Hanqiu followed beside him.

"Can the Imperial Medical Academy save him?"

"The arrow has been removed; his life has been saved for now."

Lu Yuan sat down in the front hall and placed his left arm on the table.

Liu Ruyan cut open the blood-stained strips of cloth and bent down to clean his wounds.

Shen Hanqiu took the medicine bottle and reapplied the hemostatic medicine.

Su Yuling stood opposite, sword in hand.

"Whose men are the assassins?"

"Who else could it be?"

Lu Yuan glanced at her. "The other princes have all gone to their fiefdoms and have no chance of becoming the crown prince."

"Kill me, and the only one who will benefit the most is the second-in-command."

"I'm going to kill that bastard Lu Cheng!"

Su Yuling turned and walked out.

Lu Yuan reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"return."

"He first ordered someone to kill you, and then he wanted to kill Commander He. What's the point of keeping him alive?"

Su Yuling turned around and placed the long sword in front of Lu Yuan.

"If I enter the Second Prince's residence tonight, he won't live to see the morning court tomorrow."

Shen Hanqiu picked up a new strip of cloth and wrapped it around Lu Yuan's left arm.

"There is no evidence."

"If you kill the Second Prince, you will only drag His Highness down with you."

Su Yuling looked at her, "Are we just going to let it go like this?"

Lu Yuan moved his left arm to make sure the wound had stopped bleeding before looking at the three of them.

"Tomorrow at the morning court session, my father will officially appoint me as the crown prince."

"You guys should get ready too."

"The titles of the Crown Prince's principal wife, secondary wives, and concubines will all be re-established."

Su Yuling stopped her hand on the sword hilt.

Shen Hanqiu was still holding the remaining strips of cloth, her gaze fixed on Lu Yuan's face.

Liu Ruyan took half a step forward.

"Is what Your Highness said true?"

"My father personally agreed."

Lu Yuan leaned back in his chair.

"The imperial edict will be written tonight."

Su Yuling stared at him for a moment.

"Didn't you always say you didn't want to fight?"

"Someone has a knife to my neck."

Lu Yuan picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of water. "If I don't fight now, the next one to be hit by an arrow might not be my uncle."

Just then, a commotion broke out outside the mansion gate.

Two imperial guards stopped a middle-aged man who was sweating profusely from running.

Shen Hanqiu recognized the man as the steward of the Shen family and immediately stood up.

"Let him in!"

The steward broke free of the imperial guards, grabbed his robes, and rushed into the front hall.

"Miss, Your Highness!"

"The master got into a fight with his superior at the Ministry of Justice!"