The silver-masked secret agents used to do "dirty and tiring work," so what kind of world had they not seen before? It wasn't difficult for them to bring someone in without alerting anyone else.
Qin Yining had already put on his usual honey-colored robe and went to the outer room to wake Qiu Lu up in case someone came in and woke her up. It would be bad if she screamed out loud.
Qiu Lu had an ashamed expression on her face. She took out a hair band and carefully tied Qin Yining's half-dry hair into a loose bun. She then took out a white fox fur coat and draped it over her shoulders.
"It's all this servant's fault. This servant should have been the one to go to bed, but this servant was so asleep that I didn't even know what happened. It's really my fault." Qiu Lu lowered her voice and hurriedly apologized, but she was also afraid that Chief Steward Cheng's men would overhear her.
"What are you saying? Don't think too much about it." Qin Yining patted the back of Qiu Lu's hand. "Jing Zhe secretly told me. Think about his status. If he deliberately didn't want anyone to find out, but you found out, wouldn't he be hurt?"
Qiu Lu couldn't help but smile when she heard this. She felt a bit better. Qin Yining had always treated people like them with leniency and never fussed over small matters. However, the more lenient their master was, the more they shouldn't neglect him.
Qiu Lu inwardly made up her mind. She handed over a hand warmer that was just right for him and chose an inconspicuous corner to stand in.
At this moment, there was a rustling sound outside the window. Qiu Lu hurriedly went to open the window. Jing Zhe brought Lu Heng inside. They landed soundlessly.
Jing Zhe turned around to close the window. He was careful not to make the slightest sound. He immediately hid in the corner and didn't plan on leaving. It was obvious that he was afraid that the two weak women in the room would be in danger.
Lu Heng shook off the snow on his rat fur cloak and looked up at Qin Yining with a smile.
Under the warm orange light, half of Qin Yining's palm-sized face was hidden in the white fox fur collar. Her skin was as lustrous as jade, and her long hair hung softly behind her back, loosely tied up with a hair band. Her slender and fair hands were holding a small, delicate heater the size of an apple. She just stood there without saying a word, like a painting, which made people's hearts melt.
Lu Heng's smile deepened. He lowered his voice and said, "Long time no see."
Qin Yining also laughed softly and said, "Long time no see. Second Master Lu seems to be doing well. "
Hearing that she didn't call him Zhong Yibo, but called him Second Master Lu like how she did in the desert, Lu Heng felt warmth spread from his heart to his fingertips. Even the blood flowing through his veins was heating up. Originally, he had some hesitation and regret when he came in the middle of the night, but now he didn't have the slightest bit of regret.
"I'm still the same. You look pretty good too. I heard that you have two sons now? "
"Yes." When she left the capital, she was pregnant. Now, the two babies were almost one year old.
Qin Yining's smile became even gentler. He reached out his hand and invited her, "Let's sit down and talk."
"Okay."
Qin Yining and Lu Heng went inside and sat down.
Jing Zhe turned off the lights to the dimmest and covered the windows with curtains to prevent people outside from seeing the shadows in the room.
Qin Yining and Lu Heng lowered their voices and talked with ease.
"I heard that you and Wang Ye's life in the south wasn't very smooth."
"It was okay. I just took care of the children. I didn't need to do anything. Wang Ye took care of the important matters. "Qin Yining avoided the important matters.
Lu Heng knew that she wouldn't tell him about the things around Pang Xiao, so he tactfully avoided the topic and straightforwardly stated the purpose of his visit. "When I heard that you were about to return to the capital as the wedding ambassador, I arranged for people to keep an eye on the news of your return."
Qin Yining nodded.
"I asked around. Princess Tana, who came for the political marriage this time, is A Nari Khan's biological sister. Although she is born of a concubine, she has a good relationship with A Nari Khan. She has always been very dependent on her sister. When A Nari Khan passed away, Princess Tana cried until her eyes were almost blind. I'm worried that you will be killed if you become the wedding ambassador. "
Qin Yining smiled bitterly, "How could I not know the danger? But Your Majesty's decree is as such. I have no other choice but to accept the decree. Fortunately, this is the capital of Da Zhou, not Tatan. Princess Tana came for the political marriage. She should also prioritize peace, right? I don't think she will do anything to me. "
Lu Heng shook his head, "If she really wants to harm someone, there are many ways. You are too naive. The methods of the women in the palace are more vicious than the men. Tana is not so easy to deal with. "
"Thank you very much." Qin Yining's eyes curved with a smile. "I got it. I'll be careful."
She never wanted to let down the sincere concern of others. Pang Xiao and Lu Heng's positions were becoming more and more different, but after all, they were friends who had gone through thick and thin together.
Lu Heng felt as if he had been patted by the soft paw of a cat, which made him want to hold the kitten and spoil her. In his eyes, Qin Yining was a beautiful and delicate kitten.
Lu Heng's eyes became particularly soft, and his low voice became more gentle, "I will help you think of a way."
Qin Yining felt that the atmosphere was thick and ambiguous. She was vigilant and nodded uncomfortably, her smile fading a little, "Thank you for your kindness, but there is no need. There is no need for you to get involved in this muddy water because of me. Your situation is not easy. "
She was naturally talking about the Qiu family.
Seeing that Qin Yining seemed to be vigilant, Lu Heng's affection for her increased.
She was in danger, but she was still loyal to her husband. She didn't need to use the charming methods of many women to achieve her goals. He always knew that her character was excellent.
After all, many women flocked to him when they saw him because he was the head of the Lu family, Your Majesty's favorite, and also had the title of Zhong Yibo. He had a promising future.
But Qin Yining had never been like this. It seemed that no matter how much fame he had, in her eyes, he was just him.
The more loyal Qin Yining was to Pang Xiao and was unmoved by his goodwill, the more difficult it was for him to give up and the more he liked her. What's more, she also cared about him and knew that he was in a tense situation.
"You and I are friends in adversity. In Da Zhou's territory, there are still many things that I can do. You don't need to be polite with me. As for my matters … How can the other families not suppress and envy the Lu family? I am already used to it. "Lu Heng smiled bitterly.
Qin Yining was also speechless for a while.
When she had first come to the capital with her father, even a girl from a side branch of the Lu family could be so domineering. In addition, the Lu family had once provided Li Qitian with a large sum of money and had a close relationship with the imperial family. For her, that little girl was like a mountain that was difficult to shake.
Step by step, the Lu family was still so large. If she didn't know that there was the Qiu family behind them, as well as a hidden family trying to get close to the court, she might have thought that the Lu family really was the head of all the large families.
Did Lu Heng know about the hidden and prominent families?
Was it only the Qiu family that passed down the family teachings, or did the Lu family also have them?
Questions circled around in her mind, but she couldn't ask them without knowing the situation.
Qin Yining could only try to ask, "Is the situation in the court different from before?"
Lu Heng liked Qin Yining a lot. Moreover, there wasn't anyone who could talk to him about these things. He naturally nodded and said, "It is indeed different. Let me say something that you might not like to hear. In the past, the most influential person in the court was Prince Zhongshun. Among the civil officials, Your Majesty trusted your father the most. But now the situation is very different. "
"This is understandable. Now the most favored person should be Prince Consort Ji." Qin Yining deliberately didn't comment on the civil officials.
"Yes." Lu Heng nodded and said with emotion, "Prince Consort Ji insisted on saving the Tatan at Mount Chongshan, which was a meritorious service. In addition, Prince Consort Ji defeated the Tatan and made Your Majesty bow down to him, which solved a big problem for Your Majesty. He is also a relative of the imperial family, so naturally he is the most trusted by Your Majesty. As for the status of the Lu family, it is also different from before."
Lu Heng took the initiative to talk about his own affairs. "Perhaps the Lu family has been in the limelight for too many years, so a tall tree attracts the wind. Many old officials in Beiji don't like the Lu family now, and even those who are on good terms with the Lu family will be excluded.
"You also know how to use people. For example, if you can't always protect the people around you, they will also have opinions."
Qin Yining nodded, and then Lu Heng sighed softly. In her heart, she was shocked by the information revealed in Lu Heng's words.
Originally, the two sides didn't interfere with each other, but now one side suddenly targeted the Lu family. It was obvious that someone was behind this. Combined with what she knew, the Qiu family was very likely to be involved with the old officials in Beiji.
And Lu Heng didn't seem to know about the Qiu family's existence. He seemed to attribute all the crux of the problem to the conflict between the aristocratic family and the old officials.
This was very scary.
The Lu family was an aristocratic family with more than a hundred years of history. It had enormous power and complicated relationships, so it couldn't be weak. However, such a family with such a deep foundation, after showing signs of falling out with the old officials in Beiji, didn't know that the Empress Mother had other people behind this!
Qin Yining wanted to ask Lu Heng if he knew about the relationship between the reclusive and prominent families, but she couldn't ask about this.
She couldn't help but guess. Could it be that only the "reclusive" family knew about the alternation between the prominent and reclusive families, and the "prominent" family didn't know about it?
Qin Yining's eyes showed that she was deep in thought.
In Lu Heng's eyes, she looked like she was worried about him.
Thinking about it, even if she didn't have any romantic feelings for him, she really cared about him and treated him as a friend.
Lu Heng felt like he was soaking in a hot spring, and his whole body felt warm and comfortable in the winter. If it weren't for his rationality, he would have gone up to Qin Yining and hugged her.
At this moment, a series of knocks on the door suddenly rang out. In the silence of the night, the few people who had their own thoughts were all startled.
Qin Yining suddenly stood up and looked at the door cautiously. Then she immediately took off her cloak, rolled over, and covered herself with the quilt.
Jing Zhe also jumped and hid in the shadow of the cabinet.
Lu Heng's face darkened slightly. He clenched his fists and his whole body tensed up. He tiptoed behind the curtain in the corner.
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