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Lu Desheng’s eyes lit up after listening to his daughter’s analysis. “Daughter, do you think we can give Xie and Zhao families a push, and connect either Zhao or Xie to the Fourth Prince’s network?”
Lu Songli looked at her father’s eager expression, a little amused. Her father was sharpening his knife towards the sheep. Actually, she was also a little tempted, but after thinking about it, she shook her head and rejected her father’s suggestion.
“Father, we should not move, especially you. Trust His Majesty’s surveillance over the officials. If we use the Emperor as a knife, what if he finds out?” It’s good to use a knife to kill someone, but in the current situation, the risk of taking action is too high. If discovered, it could drag us down with it.
It’s better to wait and see, and see if there are any opportunities to make a follow-up move later.
“Then we don’t need to do anything?”
“In the current Chang’an City, it’s better to be still than to move.” Chang’an City right now is like the eye of a hurricane. Under the Emperor Kang Cheng’s nose, this is a time to be obedient. Being obedient might not earn you rewards, but disobedience will lead to punishment.
Lu Desheng thought about it and realized it was true. He then opened the study door and instructed the servants to call Lu Zhiyuan and Lu Mingzhi.
Lu Songli knew what her father wanted to do. At this time, it was indeed necessary to unify their will.
Not long after, Lu Zhiyuan and Lu Mingzhi arrived in the study.
Lu Desheng told them about the recent situation, and finally warned them, “Recently in Chang’an City, the wind is strong and the waves are high. You all need to keep your tails between your legs and be careful, understand?!”
Lu Songli thought quietly to herself, still the same thought, prepare for the worst and strive for the best. They should prepare for the worst-case scenario of the Crown Prince’s death. If the Crown Prince dies, someone has to be held responsible. His death on the Northern Frontier is a calamity for the Qin family, and they will be the first to be implicated. The Lu family might also be affected.
When that time comes, it will be a game of power between the higher-ups. As pawns, they can only do so much. They can only calculate people’s hearts and use them to their advantage.
Unfortunately, she noticed the conspiracy of the Fourth Prince and others too late. Otherwise, before the Crown Prince went to the Northern Frontier to inspect the army, she could have thwarted it, and there wouldn’t have been these later events.
This thought only flashed through her mind for a moment before she dismissed it. It’s not scary to see a crisis. If there is a crisis, we solve it.
What they need to do now is to prevent others from taking advantage of the situation. To counter this, they need to find and hold onto the enemies’ weaknesses and vital points. If you hold their weaknesses and vital points, how dare they take advantage of you?
They can’t move in Chang’an City, but there’s a place outside of Chang’an City that they can move.
Lu Songli’s gaze fell on the four characters “Li Mountain Villa.” “Zhao Bin, Zhao Bin, it’s time for you to perform. This time, I’m giving you a chance. I hope you’ll be up to it this time.”
In Lu Songli’s eyes, Zhao Bin has always been just a knife. Before, he was a good knife in the hands of the Zhao family. Now, he has become a blade stabbing at the Zhao family. Using him now is just right.
The three Lu family members realized that their daughter/sister/second sister had people placed around Zhao Bin.
As she arranged things, Lu Mingzhi’s mouth moved, and he said softly, “Second Sister, Zhao Bin has been so miserable, why haven’t you let him go yet?”
Lu Zhiyuan: …His little sister is too scary. From now on, he won’t offend anyone, except her! He secretly vowed.
Slap! Lu Desheng gave his younger son a smack on the head. “Do you know how to speak? Your second sister is just being insightful—”
Lu Songli smiled and said, “Mingzhi, are you still worried about him?”
Ugh! Lu Mingzhi, under his father’s watchful eyes, quickly shook his head. He wasn’t worried about Zhao Bin, he just felt sorry for him. Forget it, if he’s not pitiful, then it’s his second sister who is pitiful. Thinking about it this way, Zhao Bin should just stay like that.
Lu Songli continued, “Don’t worry, after this matter is over, I’ll set him free. The grievances between him and me will be settled.”
“Chapter 112 The List of Those to Be Buried with Him (2/5)”
Lu Desheng: Nonsense, you clearly abandoned him like an old shoe because he was no longer of use to you.
Lu Mingzhi: What if I feel even sorrier for him?!
Lu Zhiyuan: Don’t offend your little sister, don’t offend your little sister.
A daughter’s mouth, a liar’s ghost.
Lu Desheng shook his head and walked out of the study with his hands behind his back. Once out, he quickly trotted back to the main courtyard, eager to share his daughter’s cleverness and farsightedness with his wife.
Li Mountain Villa
That day, Zhao Bin woke up from his drunken stupor. He was now being served, his face washed, his hair neatly tied up, and his clothes were luxurious and exquisite. If you didn’t look at his legs, you would think he was back to his former spirited self.
The maid, Jin Chan, approached him with a smile, “Fourth Master, the sun is warm today, how about we go to the plum blossom grove? I’ve had the snow cleared along the way, it’s very convenient to go.”
Zhao Bin looked straight at her, “No need to go through all that trouble. Just tell me, what do you want me to do?”
Jin Chan was taken aback.
“Are you Lu Songli’s person?”
Jin Chan was startled, “Fourth Master, you’re joking.”
Zhao Bin chuckled self-deprecatingly, “I think, at this point in my life, only she would be so meticulous and concerned about me.”
After saying that, he said again, “Tell me, what do you need me to do, I’ll cooperate.”
Jin Chan gritted her teeth and told him her request, then presented him with a pen and paper.
Zhao Bin smiled ambiguously, then readily picked up the pen, dipped it in ink, and began to write quickly.
Seeing this, Jin Chan’s heart sank with relief. It seemed like he was telling the truth.
She was Liu Erxi’s distant cousin, and her family lived on a manor near Li Mountain. Before, her cousin had gone to their house, knowing that she was resourceful and tight-lipped, he privately asked her if she was willing to take care of a cripple and be an inside man by his side.
He also said that if she wasn’t willing, then he wouldn’t mention it. If she was willing, he would take her away, and tell everyone that she was going to work for a wealthy family. But no matter what, she couldn’t tell anyone about it, not even her family.
She was the second daughter in her family, with an older sister above her. Seeing her mother bedridden and her father working hard, along with her thin and bony younger siblings, she gritted her teeth and agreed.
Soon, Zhao’s Li Mountain Villa was recruiting servants. With her neat appearance, she was quickly selected. After a little bribing, she was assigned to serve the Fourth Master, Zhao Bin.
When her cousin sent her here, he only told her to serve diligently and not think too much about anything else, and not to contact her. This was the first time her cousin’s people had contacted her, and possibly the last.
After she came to Zhao’s Li Mountain Villa, her family started to experience good fortune. A good doctor happened to be traveling through their village and cured her mother’s illness. They only spent a little money. Then, her father found a short-term job with good pay and little work. Then, her sister found a good marriage…
She knew that all this happened because of the benefactor behind her cousin, and she was grateful.
Actually, she didn’t know the benefactor’s name, but her cousin mentioned it once, and she remembered it deeply.
“Chapter 112 The List of Those to Be Buried with Him (3/5)”
It took about a quarter of an hour for Zhao Bin to finish writing. He put down his pen and said, “I, Zhao Bin, don’t feel wronged for losing to her. The Xie and Zhao families also don’t feel wronged for losing to her. She has calculated human nature to the extreme.” It’s only right that she wins.
Zhao Bin had no guilt about betraying the Zhao and Xie families. He was now a weakness of the Zhao family. If they didn’t protect him well, they shouldn’t blame others for taking advantage of him.
He had been at Li Mountain Villa for quite a while. His good sister had only sent things over initially, and then there was no news from her.
He could understand that she was busy, as the wedding was approaching.
But wasn’t Lu Songli the same? His enemy, specifically arranging someone to take care of him, showing him kindness and warmth, it was truly ironic.
Jin Chan took the paper, bowed to him, and walked out.
After she left, Zhao Bin picked up a book at random, leaned back, tilted his head back, covered his face with the book, and began to laugh softly. Laughing and laughing, tears streamed down his face.
Imperial Palace
Cough, cough, cough…
Emperor Kang Cheng finally stopped coughing. Wei Zili quickly handed him a hot towel. After he wiped his mouth, he handed him a cup of ginseng tea.
Emperor Kang Cheng took two sips, suppressing the itch in his throat, and leaned back on the soft pillow. He squinted his eyes and asked, “Have there been any letters from the north?”
Wei Zili: “Not yet.”
Emperor Kang Cheng’s face darkened, “Send another secret decree to the Crown Prince to return to Chang’an! Quickly!”
“Yes!” Wei Zili thought to himself, this was the third secret decree, wasn’t it?
“Wait, first go and get the list of those to be buried with me.” Emperor Kang Cheng ordered.
“Yes!”
Wei Zili returned soon after, “Your Majesty, this is the list of those to be buried with you. Please have a look.”
Wei Zili’s head was bowed extremely low.
“Has Lu Desheng made any unusual moves these past few days?”
“No, Lord Lu usually goes straight home from the palace and rarely goes out. The Lu residence is also quiet. Except for the sixth day, when the Qin family went to give their betrothal gifts, the second Miss Lu went to the silver shop once. The eldest Master Lu is being kept busy by Madam Lu, running errands outside. The comings and goings of people are all normal.”
Emperor Kang Cheng pondered for a moment, then picked up his red pen and crossed out Lu Desheng’s name from the list of officials to be buried with him.
Forget it, Lu Desheng has been loyal to him, so let him go this once, to preserve the bond between ruler and minister. Otherwise, he still has a death-free gold token given to him by himself. At that time, he would just use it, and he wouldn’t die anyway. In that case, it would be like farting with your pants down, and his initial gift of the death-free gold token would be meaningless.
Seeing this, Wei Zili was impressed. Lord Lu was truly amazing, he actually managed to change the Emperor’s mind. You know, Lord Lu was the most useful minister in the Emperor’s presence, and even after his death, the Emperor wanted to take him to the underworld to continue using him.
He had known for a long time that Lord Lu was on this list of those to be buried with him. Not only him, but he himself was certainly on the list. Although he wasn’t on this list, Wei Zili felt that he would probably be secretly executed?
Now that Lord Lu had escaped this fate, it was truly enviable.
“Chapter 112 The List of Those to Be Buried with Him (4/5)”
“Wei Zili, after I’m gone, you’ll be free.”
“Your Majesty, this servant wants to stay with you forever.” Wei Zili quickly said.
Emperor Kang Cheng sighed and said, “Then you can guard my tomb.”
Emperor Kang Cheng had said this before, but Wei Zili had never dared to believe it. But today, the Emperor crossed out Lord Lu’s name from the list of those to be buried with him. Perhaps he could believe it?
Later, Wei Zili quietly revealed this to Lu Desheng. If Lord Lu hadn’t sincerely reminded him before, or if the Emperor hadn’t crossed out his name, he wouldn’t have said anything.
This news made Lu Desheng break out in a cold sweat.
Lu Songli hadn’t expected this either. Firstly, she was a person from the future, where funerals were simple, and she hadn’t experienced any funerals, so she didn’t pay attention to this part, which was perfectly normal. Secondly, the Great Li Dynasty had practiced simple burial for several generations, and she hadn’t expected Emperor Kang Cheng to restore human burial. Was it because he hadn’t had enough of being Emperor, so he wanted to take it to the underworld to enjoy?
Moreover, this wasn’t a list of those to be buried with him, it was the Book of Life and Death of the King of Hell, right?
Wait a minute—
Lu Songli suddenly realized that this was a good thing. Since the Emperor had people he wanted to take with him, did the Fourth Prince have people he desperately wanted to get rid of?
They couldn’t get on the ship, but there might be opportunities for cooperation, right?
Lu Songli always believed in the saying, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.
“Your Majesty, there’s a letter from the north!” Wei Zili rushed in.
“Quickly bring it to me!”
Emperor Kang Cheng opened the first letter, only glanced at it twice, then threw it aside.
Then, he opened the last letter, and then, “Pfft—”
Emperor Kang Cheng spat out a mouthful of blood, and the letter paper fluttered to the ground.
“Your Majesty!” Wei Zili was instantly terrified, “Quickly, quickly summon the Imperial Physician!”
After coughing up a mouthful of black blood, Emperor Kang Cheng felt a little better. He leaned against the table, his tiger eyes filled with tears, and he roared, “What is Qin Yue doing?!”
Looking at the war report, Emperor Kang Cheng’s hand was trembling. The Crown Prince, they actually let the Crown Prince die in the hands of the Qiang Hu people!
He received two war reports. The first one was about Qin Yue leading his troops to besiege the Qiang Hu royal court, and the second one was about the Crown Prince’s death.
Wei Zili came over to help Emperor Kang Cheng lie back on the bed. After he lay down, he went to collect the two war reports. When he accidentally caught sight of the content of the letters, his whole body trembled. He wished he could gouge out his own eyes! The Crown Prince actually died in the north?! Something big had happened!
Wei Zili’s mind was buzzing, then he felt a gaze like a sharp blade behind him. He prostrated himself on the ground. It was over, was he supposed to know this? But he couldn’t help but wonder, the sky was about to fall, what would happen next? What would be the fate of all those involved?
“Someone, bring the Fourth Prince to me!” This was Emperor Kang Cheng’s first order.
“Yes!” Wei Zili crawled up from his prostrate position.
Chapter 112 The List of Those to Be Buried with Him (5/5)
But as Wei Zili stepped out the door to give the order, he was called back. “Wait—”
“Your Majesty?” Emperor Kang Cheng took a deep breath, suppressing his anger. “Don’t arrest anyone yet, have someone secretly surround Jingyang Palace.”
“Put Xue Huaimin on the list for me.” Emperor Kang Cheng said with a sneer. His Crown Prince was dead, they had killed his Crown Prince. The Fourth Prince was one of his few sons, and he hadn’t decided how to deal with him yet. But why should people like Xue Huaimin live?!
Wei Zili quickly realized that the Emperor was talking about adding Xue Huaimin to the list of those to be buried with him.
“And the Xie family!” The Xie family, a bunch of sycophants! They had already sided with Song Mo when the Crown Prince’s life was uncertain!
“Your Majesty, the entire Xie family has nearly two hundred people, this—” Wei Zili reminded him softly.