Chapter 222 3/3

Even if they knew… the mole on Li Qingzhi’s back couldn’t just appear because someone wanted it to.

“Is the mole real?” Lu Qingxi asked.

“Absolutely.”

It was too coincidental, but also too good to be true!

Lu Qingxi pondered for a while, clutching his teacup, then said, “I want to see for myself… take this ointment and say you need to apply it on him. Make sure he lies down.”

After giving his instructions, Lu Qingxi’s subordinate went to find Li Qingzhi again.

And so… Li Qingzhi was informed that he could have another application of ointment.

Li Qingzhi wasn’t particularly interested in the ointment, but it was clear that their intention was something else… so he lay down again.

As soon as he lay down, someone pushed the door open and came in.

Li Qingzhi turned his head and saw it was Lu Qingxi.

Lu Qingxi didn’t look at Li Qingzhi directly; his gaze landed on Li Qingzhi’s back. After seeing what he needed to see, he said, “Sorry, wrong room.”

With that, he left without hesitation.

Li Qingzhi thought, “…” Lu Qingxi certainly acted swiftly!

The steward of the village thought, “…” What was Eunuch Lu up to?

Lu Qingxi didn’t care what others thought. After confirming what he needed, he left immediately, planning to expedite the process so the emperor and Li Qingzhi could reunite before the New Year.

It had to be done quickly!

Speaking of which, if the emperor acknowledged Li Qingzhi as his son… the court officials would surely support Li Qingzhi!

What was Prince Jin? What was Prince Yan?

Compared to Li Qingzhi, those two were nothing!

Li Qingzhi had an exceptional memory and understood the hardships of the common people. He would definitely make a good emperor!

Having such a child would surely make the emperor happy!

Lu Qingxi even considered acknowledging Li Qingzhi as his godson!

The more Lu Qingxi thought about it, the more satisfied he became. He decided to immediately help Li Qingzhi gain fame upon returning.

The greater Li Qingzhi’s fame, the more the court officials would value and approve of him!

Li Qingzhi’s previous writings could be printed, and the textbooks he compiled could be promoted.

But before all that, Li Qingzhi had to “reunite” with the emperor.

Lu Qingxi didn’t stay long at the hot spring village and returned to the capital that evening to start the next steps.

Although Lu Qingxi tried to keep his trip discreet, not everyone was unaware. Prince Yan knew about it immediately.

“So, Lu Qingxi took some scholars to his hot spring village?” Prince Yan frowned. “That doesn’t seem like something Lu Qingxi would do.”

“He must have an agenda,” said Prince Yan’s advisor.

Prince Yan agreed, “Is he trying to win over those scholars?”

“Possibly. One of the scholars, Li Qingzhi, has been hard for me to reach… Has Lu Qingxi also set his sights on him? Even if Li Qingzhi has some abilities, Lu Qingxi isn’t one to honor the virtuous…” Prince Yan couldn’t understand.

“Investigate Li Qingzhi. This person might not be simple,” suggested the advisor.

Prince Yan suddenly thought of something. “Li Qingzhi is from Jiang’an Province, specifically from Hexing Prefecture. The official there, surnamed Gou, is associated with Governor Zhang, who in turn is linked to Lu Qingxi… Has Li Qingzhi been aligned with Lu Qingxi from the beginning?”

“Highly likely!” said the advisor.

With this suspicion, they immediately ordered an investigation into Li Qingzhi.

After giving these instructions, Prince Yan said, “That old dog Lu Qingxi is truly detestable!”

Recently, Prince Yan had been exasperated!

He had opened two shops and just started making some money when Lu Qingxi suddenly opened new shops next to his, causing his business to plummet.

Moreover, after great effort, he had finally connected with Wei Dongzheng, one of the highest-ranking officials on his side.

He had given Wei Dongzheng many gifts and conveniences, only for Wei Dongzheng to fall out of favor!

Everything he did lately seemed to go wrong, leaving him feeling completely frustrated.

He had invested all his money into expanding the business through Qian Fugui, but now the business was struggling!

His money had all been turned into jewelry and cosmetics… When he needed cash yesterday, Qian Fugui had none, just jewelry and cosmetics in the warehouse!

He couldn’t just melt down the carefully crafted jewelry to spend!

Prince Yan was very upset, while Prince Jin was having a different experience.

Recently, Lu Mingshan’s fame had soared! Prince Jin’s only thought now was to find Lu Mingshan and get his fortune told to see how he could ascend the throne.

Such a capable Taoist might even know some mystical spells to help him curse Prince Yan and the emperor, making the throne his.

But Lu Mingshan was elusive, and he hadn’t been able to find him…

Prince Jin scolded his subordinates, calling them useless.

Lu Qingxi returned to the capital that night, and the next morning, he sent a letter to Concubine Liu.

Concubine Liu, upon seeing the letter and learning that Lu Qingxi had chosen Li Qingzhi, breathed a sigh of relief.

She didn’t want a completely unknown son; if it was Li Qingzhi, it would be perfect.

Concubine Liu hugged Qi An. “An’an, you will be just fine in the future…”

With this decision made, they could start their plan.

Li Qingzhi’s identity needed to be arranged, and someone had to be sent to train Lu Mingshan…

In about ten days, everything would be ready!

Concubine Liu was in a good mood because things were going well.

Emperor Qi Jun, who had been with Concubine Liu for decades, noticed her happiness and asked, “Aman, are you happy?”

“Your health has been good recently, so of course, I’m happy,” Concubine Liu smiled.

“My health has indeed been better,” the emperor said, thinking of how he felt refreshed after his last outing. He suggested to Concubine Liu, “Aman, how about we go to Qingyun Restaurant for a meal tomorrow?”

He felt his appetite improved when he dined on the second floor of Qingyun Restaurant.

“Sure,” Concubine Liu agreed immediately.