Lu Yuan called a servant and had the unconscious Yu Li carried into the mansion.
Wu Ge’er asked, "Grand mander, where to?"
Lu Yuan replied, "Prime Minister’s Mansion."
-
Xun Qi was writing a letter in the study.
Suddenly, a servant came to report, "Seventh Young Master, the Grand mander wishes to see you."
Xun Qi frowned slightly, "I won’t see him."
"Seventh Brother, acting this high and mighty—are you in a hurry to meet your end?"
Acpanied by a lazy, drawling voice, Lu Yuan strode sharply into the study, cloaked in a Silver Fox Cloak.
The two household guards exchanged glances, "Seventh Young Master—"
Xun Qi said coldly, "You may go."
Everyone retreated promptly, leaving only Lu Yuan, Xun Qi, and a Hidden Guard behind the screen in the study.
Acting as if entirely at home, Lu Yuan pulled up a chair across from Xun Qi, drew one hand from his hand warmer, and casually tossed two items to him.
A dagger and a sealed secret letter.
"Your handwriting—after all these years, still no progress."
The sealed letter had been found on Yu Li; it contained a detailed defense layout of the Capital City’s troop deployments.
Lu Yuan sneered, "Trying to fabricate a treasonous crime of colluding with enemy states for the Governor Mansion? Let your Fourth Brother make a guess—which country does that Oiran spy for? Beiliang? The Western Regions? Beiliang? Beiliang’s campaign was mine—I led it. Strip me of my military achievements, and the hard-earned reputation I’ve built among the mon people will vanish like smoke."
"Pathetic. Your schemes are as underwhelming as your penmanship—years without any improvement!"
Xun Qi shot Lu Yuan a cold glare, "Did you e just to mock me?"
"Yes."
Lu Yuan admitted candidly, "You spent ten days or half a month plotting, yet your opponent unraveled it all in less than an hour. If I were you, I’d use the dagger I just gave you to end it out of mortified shame."
Xun Qi snapped, "Why don’t you keep it and use it for yourself!"
Lu Yuan raised a brow, "If you aren’t the one to die, then someone else surely will."
Xun Qi turned his face away, "I’m not in the mood for riddles."
Lu Yuan smirked, "Xun Qi, the Prime Minister’s fall is inevitable—why not face reality?"
"You betrayed our foster father, and now you want me to do the same, so you can feel that your actions weren’t so disgraceful, isn’t that it?"
"Disgraceful?"
Lu Yuan chuckled, as if he’d just heard a grand joke. "Speaking of disgrace, who could rival our foster father? You’re willing to risk your life for him, yet in his eyes—whether it’s you or Xun Liu—you’re nothing but disposable pawns. You may not care about yourself, but do you not care about Sixth Brother either?"
Xun Qi frowned, "Why are you bringing up Sixth Brother out of nowhere?"
Lu Yuan spread his hands, "Because I’ll bring up whatever you care about. He’s been held in the Ministry of Justice for so long without you being called to take the fall—have you deluded yourself into thinking he holds even a shred of fatherly affection for you?"
"Sigh, honestly...I don’t get it. He feeds everyone the same lies, yet why are you and Luo San the only ones too hopelessly naive to see through them?"
Xun Qi growled, "Stop your nonsensical rambling!"
Lu Yuan continued, "Xun Liu’s loyalty isn’t to the Prime Minister—he’s doing it all for you. Everything he does is for your sake."
A sudden sense of foreboding consumed Xun Qi, "What are you trying to say?"
Lu Yuan stood up leisurely, both hands tucked back into the warmth of his hand warmer. "Xun Qi, you’re risking everything to save someone who’s only using you. One day, you’ll regret it."
Xun Qi stared at Lu Yuan’s figure disappearing into the swirling snowstorm and shouted fiercely, "You traitor! You betrayed our foster father, betrayed us! You’re the one who will regret it! You’ll pay the price for your betrayal!"
After yelling, veins bulged at Xun Qi’s temples, his chest heaving violently. Though his body was covered in sweat, an icy chill crawled up his spine, forewarning of something dreadful.
Later that night.
He woke up from a nightmare.
As soon as he opened his eyes, a Hidden Guard rushed in hurriedly, not even bothering to close the door behind him, reporting anxiously, "Seventh Young Master, Sixth Young Master is in trouble!"
Xun Qi bolted upright, tearing open the bed curtains, "What happened to Sixth Brother?!"
The Hidden Guard hesitated before answering, "He returned to the Capital... went straight to the Ministry of Justice... Sixth Young Master... He turned himself in."
Xun Qi couldn’t remember how he got to the Ministry of Justice. He’d even forgotten to put on an outer robe, standing at the solemn, imposing gates of the government office, trembling uncontrollably.
Yet he couldn’t tell whether it was the cold or his terror that made him quake.
"Sixth Brother... My Sixth Brother? Where’s my Sixth Brother?! I need to see him! He’s innocent! Don’t believe him—he’s lying!"
Frenzied, Xun Qi dashed inside.
Though he didn’t know any martial arts, it still took seven or eight burly men to subdue him.
"Seventh Young Master, our apologies!"
The leading government official panted as he spoke.
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