Chapter 81: It’s Really Her

Zhang Yong sighed with his cane in hand.

“Great Master Chen—”

Chen Dinghuai is the head of the Bailu Academy, and in a sense, Lu Mingzhi is his student.

“Great Master Jiang—”

Jiang Jiuzheng is the head of the Songshan Academy.

Zhang Yong didn’t want to bother with him.

Only Chen Dinghuai nodded slightly.

Jiang Jiuzheng, with a personality that hated evil like an enemy, didn’t even give him a glance.

“My father may have offended many just now, but the concern for the country and the people by the Great Masters is something my father can fully understand.”

Zhang Yong glanced at him, thinking, your father understands, what can your father understand about suppressing talents and eliminating dissidents?

“My father once said that the prosperity of Da Li requires talented individuals, and the court also needs new pillars of talent, all relying on the educational efforts of the Great Masters.” Lu Mingzhi handed over a piece of paper as he spoke, “This is a summary of my father’s reading insights. He found it very reasonable and suitable for inspiring the hearts of the people to progress, and he wishes to encourage the Great Masters with it.”

Zhang Yong looked at the paper handed to him in silence.

Chen Dinghuai didn’t move either.

It was Jiang Jiuzheng, with a quick temper, who was most disdainful of Lu Desheng. He reached out and took the paper, opening it while saying contemptuously, “I want to see what—”

With just one glance, Jiang Jiuzheng was stunned.

Jiang Jiuzheng’s reaction was off, and the two Masters looked at him in confusion.

“Zhang Xiong, Chen Xiong, please take a look…” Jiang Jiuzheng’s hand holding the paper was shaking a bit, even his voice was trembling. His expression, how should I put it, was a mix of amazement, panic, and a sense of being at a loss.

He carefully handed the paper to Zhang Yong and Chen Dinghuai.

“What is this…” After both of them looked at the paper, their eyes widened involuntarily.

As they locked eyes, they both saw a look of shock in each other’s eyes.

“Lu Mingzhi, this is really from your father—” Chen Dinghuai called out to his student, but when he looked to where he had just stood, there was no one there?

Lu Mingzhi had already left. His second sister had instructed him earlier that once one of the three of them received the paper, his task was complete, and he didn’t need to worry about the rest.

Lu Songli held onto the railing with both hands.

Beside her, Mo Bing stood guard, preventing anyone from bumping into her.

Lu Songli looked at the scene of people coming and going downstairs, lost in her thoughts.

When they first came to pay their respects, Emperor Kang Cheng’s complexion was rosy and he seemed quite energetic.

Later, when Emperor Kang Cheng returned to the palace, he looked tired, his rosy complexion faded, revealing a dark color, very similar to the late stages of liver and kidney diseases, such as uremia, where the complexion gradually turns dark and dull.

With just one glance, Lu Songli became increasingly alarmed. This was the sign of poison entering the five internal organs. He must have been taking a lot of those poisonous pills.

Lu Songli didn’t plan to tell her father to persuade the emperor to stop taking the pills. Firstly, it’s difficult to persuade a stubborn person. Secondly, her father didn’t intend to become a famous minister who would be remembered in history, so there was no need to get involved in this mess.

Emperor Kang Cheng was currently like someone drinking poison to quench their thirst, but once he stopped taking the pills, all the problems would erupt at the same time.

Because with current medical technology, it was impossible to cleanse the poison from his blood or completely eliminate the poison from his five internal organs. Moreover, she dared to say that Emperor Kang Cheng’s problem was definitely more complicated than what she saw now.

Her medical skills were relatively good, but she couldn’t solve Emperor Kang Cheng’s problem either.

Besides, she didn’t think the imperial physicians hadn’t noticed the problem. It was their responsibility, and the fact that they remained silent showed the severity of the issue.

This was a bomb, whoever touched it, whoever detonated it, was likely to get hurt. Her father could do little, currently, he just needed to maintain a good relationship with the emperor. As for the rest, she would try her best to arrange it.

If Lu Desheng knew, he would definitely say, “Daughter, you’re thinking too much. Right now, those pills are the emperor’s heart’s desire. Whoever touches them will die. We should avoid confronting them with our fragile little bodies.”

“Miss, Young Master Xie is here!” Mo Bing shouted.

Lu Songli looked up and saw that Mo Bing wanted to stop Xie Zhan, but his people restrained him.

“Young Master Xie, what brings you here?”

“A Li—”

Lu Songli raised her hand to stop him, “Young Master Xie can call me Second Miss Lu or Second Lady Lu, or at the very least, just call me by my name. But calling me A Li is not allowed.” She smiled, but her eyes were cold, and her words carried a hint of warning. This man and Zhao Yutan were a perfect match, both with thick skins and unable to understand human language. One day, she would make them understand, Lu Songli thought fiercely.

Xie Zhan stopped two arms’ length away from them, his eyes fixed on Lu Songli.

Lu Songli raised an eyebrow, something didn’t feel right.

Xie Zhan couldn’t believe that the person he had been searching for all this time, the expert behind Lu Desheng, was actually Lu Songli—his former fiancée.

These days, his people had been tracking Lu Desheng’s whereabouts closely.

There had been no strangers appearing in the Lu Mansion during this period. The biggest change in the Lu family was Lu Songli, her personality had changed drastically, especially her decisiveness and ruthlessness when dealing with Zhao Bin, which actually matched his judgment of the person behind Lu Desheng. But because she was a woman, he subconsciously ruled her out.

But after eliminating all the impossibilities, the only remaining possibility, no matter how unbelievable it was, was the only answer.

Another point was that Lu Desheng’s change in attitude also pointed to his guess.

He still knew Lu Desheng well, someone who flattered superiors, protected his own, was petty, and vengeful!

He had been quite kind to Lu Songli, the younger daughter, before, but that kindness was the kind of protection extended to a weak offspring, not the kind of pride he was exhibiting now. Especially just now, he had actually managed to secure an audience with the emperor for his children. This was impossible before, at most, he would have let Lu Mingzhi go to see the emperor.

Finally, he came to a conclusion: the mastermind behind Lu Desheng was most likely his daughter, Lu Songli!

“We’ve lost this round.” Xie Zhan said.

This round, at least for now, they had lost. He had anticipated this beforehand, and without engaging in a confrontation, he didn’t know the depth of the Lu family. Xie Zhan smiled helplessly, he wouldn’t do this again.

He deliberately came to her to say this? And with such seriousness? Then Lu Songli probably knew something was off about him. Xie Zhan was a very proud person, usually, when the Xie family and the Lu family clashed, whether they won or lost, whether they truly surrendered or feigned weakness, he would never say this to a weak woman like her, he might have told her father.

This attitude of his placed himself in the position of her opponent. He had guessed that she was the one giving her father advice from behind the scenes?

Lu Songli wasn’t surprised that Xie Zhan could guess this far. She didn’t feel the need to deny it, and she couldn’t continue to play dumb. People like Xie Zhan and her, once their suspicions were revealed, it meant they had gone through the stages of bold speculation and careful verification, they had their own judgment and wouldn’t be easily swayed by words.

“Is that so?” Lu Songli calmly looked back at him, playfully asking, “Young Master Xie truly believes that this round was won by our Lu family?”

Both of them knew that wasn’t the case.

Hearing this, Xie Zhan knew his guess was right. It was her! Yes, only she could remain so calm in the face of such a victory.

No, it should be said that he and she could both see the brewing storm beneath this great victory.