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On the way to the front yard of the Lu family, Qin Heng unconsciously fell two steps behind Qin Sheng, his gaze resting on his tall figure. His A Sheng, handsome as ever, stood like a tall and graceful poplar tree.
When Qin Heng slowed down, Qin Sheng immediately noticed and stopped as well, turning back in confusion, “Big brother?”
Qin Heng patted Qin Sheng’s shoulder, “A Sheng, thank you.”
Thank you for working hard to improve yourself, becoming exceptional, which eventually led Lu Songli to recognize you and be willing to extend a helping hand to the Qin family. Her warning, whether it proves useful or not, is still better than being completely unaware as they were before.
Qin Sheng was baffled, unable to understand what his brother was thanking him for. After all, he hadn’t done anything.
Qin Heng smiled; his younger brother was truly blessed with good fortune despite his simplicity.
The trouble for the Qin family was right in front of them. If not for Lu Songli’s recognition of him, she could have easily kept quiet today and secretly asked her father to request Emperor Kang Cheng to annul the engagement between the two families. Given Lu Songli’s favored position with Lu Desheng, he likely wouldn’t refuse her request.
What does it matter if the Empress Dowager issued the decree for the marriage? The Lu family possesses an imperial pardon, and Lu Desheng also has influence with Emperor Kang Cheng. If the Lu family is willing to use the imperial pardon, coupled with their influence, it wouldn’t be impossible to dissolve this marriage, even if it comes at a cost.
For Qin Sheng, if something doesn’t make sense, he just won’t think about it. After all, his elder brother wouldn’t harm him. He was more concerned about how his big brother planned to protect the Crown Prince, who had already headed north.
His brother’s question made Qin Heng ponder. He believed they should quickly inform Silang about the possibility of the Crown Prince encountering danger in the northern region and see if he could catch up with the Crown Prince’s entourage. Then, Qin Heng would send a message via carrier pigeon to his father, asking him to send someone to provide backup for the Crown Prince. As long as nothing happened to the Crown Prince en route, things would stabilize afterward.
However, the problem arose: how to get the message to Silang? Carrier pigeons wouldn’t work because Silang was constantly on the move, requiring a fixed route and resting point for the pigeons.
Silang and his group had set off yesterday, and given his urgency to return, they had likely traveled far. Moreover, there were multiple routes to the northern region. Sending someone to catch up might not be easy, as ordinary soldiers might not be able to reach them in time.
“Big brother, let me go!” Qin Sheng volunteered.
Silang had already been on the road for a day and a half, and with his pace, he wouldn’t be slow. Ordinary people wouldn’t be able to catch up to him, but Qin Sheng could!
“Alright, you go,” Qin Heng agreed after a brief consideration. “Once you’ve delivered the message to him, head back immediately, understood?”
If the person chasing after Silang was A Sheng, then the issues he previously deemed difficult for ordinary people would be no problem. Silang’s group was not riding the best horses, so covering 600 li in a day would be impressive; A Sheng could cover 800 li in a day. As for tracking which route they took, A Sheng was skilled at this, so there’d be no issue.
He calculated the travel time and estimated that A Sheng should be able to return within fifteen days.
******
After the banquet, Lu Zhiyuan and Lu Mingzhi accompanied Lu Desheng to see the Qin family off.
Once the guests had left, Lu Songli invited Lu Desheng into the study.
Seeing their mother sitting by the door with a small stool, the Lu brothers immediately recognized that an important discussion was about to take place.
“Big brother, I’m heading back to the Garden. Are you coming, or are you going to the study to listen in?” Lu Mingzhi asked. On major issues, the brothers had no say, but as family members, they could still listen in. Today’s matter seemed significant and highly confidential. As for him, he preferred to avoid it if possible.
Lu Zhiyuan shook his head, looking pained. He couldn’t keep up with their thinking and didn’t want to embarrass himself. Otherwise, he’d end up doubting if he was even their real sibling. After all, why was there such a vast difference between the children of the same parents?
Lu Family Study
Lu Songli personally poured a cup of tea for her father and offered it with both hands.
Earlier, Lu Songli had already informed her father, Lu Desheng, about her conversation with Qin Heng, and the two of them had briefly discussed the situation. After seeing off the Qin family, she recounted the entire conversation to him once again.
Actually, if they had just held a joint meeting, she wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble. But it was necessary—she had two identities, one as the future daughter-in-law of the Qin family. The key issue was that she hadn’t married into the Qin family yet and hadn’t fully integrated with them. If she had forcibly involved her father, it would have made things uncomfortable for both sides. Although it was a bit troublesome, everything went smoothly in the end.
In the study, Lu Songli shared her deductions with her father. She then reconfirmed the true state of the Emperor’s health, which was the basis of her deduction.
When his daughter asked, Lu Desheng didn’t hide anything, “The Emperor’s health is indeed not very good.” Although the Emperor always appeared radiant and energetic during their meetings or when summoning other ministers, Lu Desheng knew this was due to the stimulative effects of the elixirs the Emperor was taking. He had noticed that the Emperor was now taking these medicines quite frequently.
“Father, I received a piece of information that someone has been secretly inquiring about the Emperor’s current health from Wei Zili.”
“You mean someone is trying to find out the true state of the Emperor’s health?”
“Yes.”
Lu Desheng was puzzled: Why wasn’t he aware of this? What he was really thinking was, why hadn’t that person come to him for information?
It could be said that besides Wei Zili, Lu Desheng was the minister who had the most contact with Emperor Kang Cheng in recent days. The fact that someone discreetly approached Wei Zili while deliberately avoiding him was perplexing. Why? What made Wei Zili more appealing than him?
Lu Songli thought it was perfectly normal that no one sought out her father for information. After all, her father currently carried a strong label as a loyalist to the Emperor. “If those people really came to you, they’d have to worry about you turning around and selling them out to the Emperor.” Moreover, with the Qin family soon to be in-laws with the Lu family, if the other side had factored the Qin family into their plans, they wouldn’t risk their scheme being exposed by approaching her father for information.
Lu Desheng thought about it and realized that he probably would do just that. No matter how much these people might offer, it wouldn’t be as much as what Emperor Kang Cheng could provide. Besides, he didn’t dare sell out the Emperor’s secrets—he feared that if Emperor Kang Cheng found out, he would be doomed.
“Wait a moment. The people behind this are extremely cautious and discreet in their approach to Wei Zili for information. With such caution, how did you find out?” Lu Desheng asked the question that had been on his mind.
After all, because he was favored by the Emperor, the palace maids and eunuchs were happy to get on his good side, and they often shared information with him. If even he didn’t know about this, how did his daughter find out? When did she become so well-connected that she had contacts within the palace?
“Never mind, you don’t have to tell me,” Lu Desheng said, deciding that it was fine if his daughter had her own sources of influence.
Lu Songli felt there was no harm in explaining. Recently, after gaining her father’s approval, she had extended some of the Lu family’s influence and resources to develop a network of her own.
The person who provided her with this information wasn’t a stranger—it was Xiao Li, the eunuch who had guided her during her last visit to see the Empress Dowager.
As the saying goes, “Fate brings people together.” After she returned from the palace that day, she made a small investment in Eunuch Xiao Li through her father’s network.
Eunuch Xiao Li had proven himself capable; it hadn’t been long, and he had already advanced from a mere guide to a position serving in the Yuqian Palace.
The information about someone approaching Wei Zili had come from him.
Honestly, she had invested casually, not expecting to receive such a valuable return.