Lu Wenru's heart quivered when he was asked this question. He thought quickly and replied, "Master Lu, this lowly one thinks that Your Majesty trusts you."
These words were completely not enough to win Lu Heng's trust. But Lu Heng's heart felt a little better when he heard this.
"Trust? Could it be that Your Majesty doesn't trust Prince Zhongshun? "
Lu Wenru said, "This lowly one doesn't know that much, but Prince Zhongshun's career has been going downhill in recent years. Not to mention that his military power has been seized several times, his family members have all died. With just one look, you can see how many people are afraid of him. Your Majesty says that Prince Zhongshun is his sworn brother, but in fact, there are people who have impeached Prince Zhongshun many times, not to mention those harsh treatment on the surface. "
As Lu Wenru spoke, he observed Lu Heng's expression. Seeing that Lu Heng's expression eased a little, he continued, "Master Lu is different from Prince Zhongshun. Master Lu has a century-old family as his foundation. Your Majesty's downfall was also thanks to the support of the Lu family. Whether it is in terms of economic or social connections, the Lu family and the old families of the former Beiji Country complement each other. Even the complicated relationships in the imperial court can't be avoided without the Lu family's arrangements. So Your Majesty values you very much. This is different from Prince Zhongshun, who has no foundation as a martial artist. "
Every word Lu Wenru said tickled Lu Heng's heart. After saying these words, Lu Heng felt much better.
Lu Heng sighed and said, "Welcoming Utejin Khan and Kedun is already a troublesome matter, let alone escorting them to the capital. Once we leave Huichuan, the matter of the treasure will stagnate. At that time, there will be a lot of unforeseen events. Now, only you, Lu Xiong, and I know where the treasure is. But if I leave Huichuan and leave everything to Tianyi, who can guarantee that Pang Xiao will never find out? I'm in the capital, and I'll be too far away to help when the time comes. I'll only add to your troubles. "
Hearing this, Lu Wenru immediately bowed and said, "Master, I will always be loyal to you. I will keep everything about you a secret and will never reveal anything to anyone."
Seeing his nervous expression, Lu Heng couldn't help but laugh, "Get up quickly, how can I not trust you? I'm not saying this to target you, and I'm not saying that Lu Xiong will leak the secret. He's being watched so strictly. If he can still leak the secret, my subordinates can wash their necks clean and wait. I'm just talking about the will of the heavens. "
Lu Heng's smile gradually faded, and he frowned worriedly. "Heaven's will is a mysterious thing. No one can say for sure whether it really exists or not. In the past, I only thought of myself as a proud son of heaven from an aristocratic family. But as time passed, I realized that even if a person were to reach the limit, there were only so many things that could be done. I'm afraid that the heavens won't allow me to obtain the treasure. "
Lu Wenru lowered his eyes and thought for a moment. He couldn't find the words to respond. After a while, he squeezed out a sentence, "If only the Tatan Khan's group could come later, or if they came, they could stay and enter the capital later."
When Lu Heng heard this, it was as if she was suddenly enlightened.
His thoughts were too chaotic. At this time, he couldn't think as clearly as the wooden Lu Wenru.
"You're usually quiet, but your suggestions at this critical moment are useful." Lu Heng smiled.
Lu Wenru said helplessly, "Master, my knowledge is shallow. You can't take my words seriously."
"No, what you said just now was very correct."
Lu Heng stood up. Her previous irritation was swept away, and she regained her usual calmness and competence. She walked to the bed with her hands behind her back and looked at the small puddle of rainwater outside the half-opened window. There were a few clusters of wilted weeds beside it, and she slowly smiled.
"You're right. We have to think of a way to make them stay for the time being."
Lu Wenru didn't dare to answer. He faintly felt that he had heard something incredible, and deeply lowered his head.
%
Qin Yining thought that since the Empress had come here, even though she had received an edict to pray for the natural disaster to end, she couldn't stay in the temple twenty-four hours a day. She and Bian Ruohan were the only two here who had the right to accompany the Empress. The Empress would naturally find her to speak.
But after waiting for three days, the Empress's personal attendant finally arrived.
"Wang Fei, niangniang has invited you."
Qin Yining immediately responded. He sent someone to inform Pang Xiao. Then he took Ji Yun and Bing Tang on a carriage to the other park that Lu Heng had prepared for the Empress and Concubine Zhuang.
The other park was much more spacious and luxurious than the yamen. There were many guards outside the park and it was heavily guarded. Qin Yining took Ji Yun and Bing Tang before they were ordered off the carriage in front of the porch. A servant woman was called to carefully inspect them. After confirming that they didn't have any weapons or poisons on them, they were allowed to enter.
They followed the servant woman along the porch to the rear compound of the fu. Bing Tang and Ji Yun's expressions turned serious at the same time as they nervously looked at the situation around them.
Bing Tang leaned close to Qin Yining's ear and whispered, "Wang Fei, nubi feels that the atmosphere isn't right. It's a bit like when you first entered the palace … … "
Qin Yining had almost been framed for plotting to kill the imperial heir when she had "stayed" in the palace. Then she had been locked up in the Empress Dowager's Ci An Palace and had almost starved to death. That wasn't a good memory. Thinking about it, her heart felt numb.
Qin Yining shook his head and made a shushing gesture.
Bing Tang immediately understood Qin Yining's meaning and didn't say anything else.
After passing through the Chuihua Gate, Qin Yining saw several eunuchs standing guard. When they saw Qin Yining come with two servant girls, they inspected again.
After confirming that there were no abnormalities, the eunuchs led the way.
"Wang Fei, don't blame us. Nubi was just acting cautiously and didn't mean to disrespect Wang Fei."
Qin Yining smiled and shook his head, "Eunuch, you are too polite. You are just doing your duty. I can understand."
The young eunuch smiled and cupped his hands, "Aiyo, many thanks for your understanding. People often say that Wang Fei is the person who empathizes with servants the most. This is true. "
Qin Yining only smiled when he heard this.
The young eunuch saw that Qin Yining didn't seem to want to say more and tactfully closed his mouth. He smiled and led Qin Yining and the two servant girls to the main room.
"Wang Fei, please wait a moment."
Qin Yining smiled and nodded.
The young eunuch went in to announce. Not long after, the curtain was lifted and Sun mama, the Empress' personal servant, quickly walked out. She curtsied to Qin Yining in the corridor: "Nubi greets Wang Fei."
"No need for formalities, mama. You have served the Empress for a long time, there is no need for this."
Sun mama's eyes curved as she looked at Qin Yining, "Niangniang is waiting for you. Please come with nubi."
Qin Yining said, "Thank you for your trouble." Then he followed Sun mama through the door.
There was a faint fragrance in the room. It smelled like mint, but also like the fragrance of an elegant flower. Because it had been raining for days, the weather still felt damp and cold. To prevent dampness, a heated kang was heated in the room. The bead curtain was lifted to the side room. The fragrance grew stronger. Qin Yining confirmed that the fragrance was coming from the nine-eared peony-patterned incense burner in the middle of the room.
The Empress was wearing a red robe with narrow sleeves and a crossed collar. She had a pomegranate skirt. Her long hair was tied up in a high peony bun with three bird-feathered hairpins intertwined with gold. The phoenix hairpin was worn on the other side, and there was a glowing eastern pearl in the mouth of the phoenix. Even though she was old and had an ordinary appearance, her graceful presence was not hidden.
Qin Yining respectfully knelt and bowed, "Chenfu greets Niangniang."
"No need for formalities." The Empress smiled slightly and raised her hand. Sun mama immediately helped Qin Yining up. Then she turned with a smile and called for the palace servants who came with her. She also called for Bing Tang and Ji Yun to leave.
No matter how worried Bing Tang and Ji Yun were, they could only obey.
Qin Yining saw that there was no one else in the room from the corner of her eyes. She knew that the Empress must have something important to say. She lowered her head and waited for the Empress to speak.
Because of the angle of her head, Qin Yining did not see the complicated expression on the Empress's face.
When she looked at Qin Yining, her eyes were full of judgment and speculation. It was as if she had just met Qin Yining for the first time today. It was no longer the previous closeness and helplessness brought about by the different positions of her husbands.
"Prince Zhongshun, how are you getting used to life in Huichuan?"
Qin Yining felt that something was wrong when she heard the Empress address her. In the past, the Empress would directly address her as Wangfei. Sometimes, they would even address each other as sisters. But today, the way she addressed her made her feel very distant.
Qin Yining knew that something must have happened that caused the Empress's impression of her to change.
Qin Yining cautiously said, "Replying to Your Highness, this subject's wife was not used to living in Huichuan at first. But after that, I slowly got used to it."
"Oh? Is that so? "
Qin Yining nodded and said, "Yes, Wang Ye is sick. When this subject's wife first came here, she had to spend 80% of her energy to find a suitable residence. Then, the weather was bad and this subject's wife caught a cold from the rain. Later, this subject's wife found a residence, but someone broke in and smashed it. A lot of valuable items were taken away. The other party even said that she had her eyes on that residence and wanted to chase me away … In short, the matter was very complicated. It was really tiring."
Qin Yining spoke very slowly, but her mind was moving very quickly. There was no enmity between her and the Empress. Although they both knew that in the future, they would definitely have different standpoints because of their husbands. But before that, they could still be friends who talked about unimportant things.
In addition, when the Empress first came, her attitude towards her was very intimate. There was no reason for this change for no reason.
Therefore, someone must have slandered the Empress and Qian Jin without her knowledge. And in this place, the most likely person to do this was Bian Ruohan. Moreover, the concubine Zhuang that the Empress brought with her was Bian Ruohan's cousin.
With this analysis, Qin Yining was certain that the Empress must have done this because of the matter between her and Bian Ruohan.
The better situation was that the Empress found out about the conflict between her and Bian Ruohan.
If the worse situation was, Bian Ruohan might have made up something about her in front of the Empress.
Sure enough, when the Empress heard Qin Yining's words, she frowned slightly. She did not immediately state her position. Instead, she pretended to be surprised and said, "Is there really such a thing? In Huichuan County, who would dare to steal a residence from Prince Zhongshun? "
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