Lu Zhang’s face turned visibly pale upon hearing the news.
This ti, as he took orders to patrol the borders, on one hand, he had heard so unsettling rumors, so he followed his grandfather’s arrangent, proactively requested permission from the emperor, and set the right posture to avoid leaving hidden dangers for the future.
On the other hand, he also thought that if there was really sothing amiss, if he could be the first to discover it, he should snuff it out if possible; if not, he still needed to plan ahead and definitely couldn’t remain oblivious, falling into a passive position.
Recently, while patrolling the Jie Country border, he hadn’t found anything unusual. Just when he let go of his worrying thoughts, Lu Qing suddenly told him that soone in the Li State camp had been poisoned by a toxin unique to Jie Country...
This was nothing short of a bolt from the blue for him.
"I was thinking, you were tasked with patrolling the border and had no idea where you were, wanting to send you a letter and remind you, but didn’t know where to send it.
I didn’t expect to et you here today, proving that this must be the will of heaven!"
"Brother, do you know what kind of poison afflicted the imperial guard in the Li State camp?" Lu Zhang asked Lu Qing quietly, feeling a bit panicked.
Although there were many of his grandfather’s faction among those with him, his grandfather had always told him that, apart from his grandfather, who sincerely wanted him to ascend the throne for his benefit, others had varied intentions and could not be fully trusted.
If only his grandfather were by his side now, perhaps he wouldn’t feel so flustered, as his grandfather always helped him with decisions.
But now, with his grandfather far away in the Capital, and unable to fully trust those around him, suddenly hearing about the unique poison from Jie Country appearing in the imperial guard camp, this was indeed a major event, leaving Lu Zhang feeling at a loss.
Lu Qing spread his hands helplessly and sighed: "I only heard about this incident while passing through Li State.
I only know that indeed this matter has thrown the Li State imperial guard camp into considerable trouble. The rumors about it have been spreading everywhere in Li State, even the farrs in the fields chat about it idly.
However, what exactly it is, the people in the imperial guard wouldn’t simply tell outsiders. I tried to inquire a bit, but could not get a definite answer, only confirming that the strange poison ca from Jie Country, nothing more."
Lu Zhang’s expression beca even more conflicted. If he were clear about the situation in Li State camp, he might feel a bit better, but now he only had a partial picture, unclear and vague, with no one to consult with.
For the first ti in his life, Lu Zhang felt so helpless, and suddenly realized that he seed to have never been independent in handling any matter from beginning to end.
However, knowing sothing partially is better than being completely kept in the dark. Without Lu Qing’s reminder, he might be in a particularly passive situation.
Thinking of this, when Lu Zhang looked at Lu Qing, he couldn’t help showing more gratitude.
Zhu Yu watched coldly from the side, becoming more certain of his previous judgnt — Lu Zhang was rely a puppet, always controlled by Duke Yan.
Maybe he wasn’t inherently a bad person, but he certainly didn’t have much wisdom.
It seed that without Duke Yan’s constant reminders, plus Lu Qing just telling him such an important thing made him feel sowhat guilty, Lu Zhang hesitated for a mont before making up his mind.
"Since brother’s master told you to travel and recuperate, I suggest you spend more ti outside." He said to Lu Qing.
Lu Qing waved his hand with a smile: "I would like to, but when I left ho, my wife was still ill, and I don’t know if she has gotten better.
If I stay away for too long, it wouldn’t be appropriate either emotionally or ethically."
Lu Zhang hadn’t expected that Lu Qing, usually a perceptive person, didn’t catch his hint despite his clear wording, so he simply spoke more directly: "That is for the best.
You might not be aware, but my taking orders to patrol the borders was not a decision made by the emperor casually.
Recently, Shuo Country seems to be showing signs of restlessness, which has caught the emperor’s attention.
Your wife is a concubine’s daughter of Prince Shuo, and in such tis, it’s best to distance yourself from that concubine’s daughter while out, and wait until things have been clarified before making any decisions, to be on the safe side."
Yan Daoxin glanced silently at Zhu Yu.
Zhu Yu, supposed to be the disregarded concubine’s daughter of Prince Shuo in the Capital’s Prince Mansion, remained expressionless, as if the person Lu Zhang just ntioned wasn’t her, maintaining a calm deanor completely.
Earlier, Lu Qing had intentionally not ntioned that the strange poison in Li State camp also contained an ingredient from Shuo Country, so Lu Zhang had no way of knowing.
However, for Zhu Yu, when she was in Li State, Situ Jing had already inford them about the batch of Black Iron weapons not recorded by the Ministry of War, and she had long known Shuo Country was being used as a scapegoat.
Hearing Lu Zhang’s reminder now, her heart was already as calm as still water, without any ripples.
Lu Qing hesitated, looking a bit conflicted: "This... might not be appropriate...
My marriage with the concubine’s daughter of Prince Shuo was sealed by an imperial decree. If the rebellion claims are re unfounded rumors and such negligence of the bestowed marriage by leaving her unattended at ho amounts to disrespect towards the Holy Emperor.
Isn’t it that you requested the order just to separate from the Commandery Princess of Jie?"
"Indeed, that is the case." Lu Zhang this ti was quite frank, "Since it’s co to this point, I might as well be even clearer with brother.
Previously, a gang of bandits from Jie Country infiltrated Lan Country and caused trouble."
"Jie Country? Lan Country?" Lu Qing looked puzzled, "Could they have taken the route through Shuo Country?"
"This matter hasn’t been confird, but taking the route through Shuo Country indeed makes the most sense." Lu Zhang nodded, "That gang of Jie Country bandits not only plundered, murdered, and ravaged the people of Lan Country after infiltrating, but also set themselves up as kings in the mountains, recruiting more n, seemingly planning a pincer attack on Da Jin with their accomplices from Jie Country."
"This group of rogues is truly audacious?" Lu Qing looked surprised, "Could they be instigated by soone, pretending to be ordinary bandits?"
"That’s what my grandfather thinks as well." Lu Zhang, who seed to have had this issue stuck in his chest for a long ti, couldn’t stop his words once he started sharing with Lu Qing to reciprocate the favor, "I heard the weapons seized from those bandits were all made with the unique forging technique of Shuo Country.
Unfortunately, the one tasked with eradicating the bandits this ti is my third royal brother, and you know what kind of temperant he has..."
Saying this, he stopped, sighed long and hard, shaking his head.
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