Lu Qing smiled and shook his head: "Each person’s nature is different, and their courage varies as well. Not everyone can possess the sa sense of justice and bravery as the Third Prince, so the Third Prince should not be too demanding or overly critical of others."
Although this statent seed to be speaking on behalf of Lu Zhang at first glance, it actually praised Lu Yan.
Lu Yan certainly appreciated hearing this, but he humbly replied: "Brother, such praise is truly undeserved, I am quite ashad!
Indeed, I am quite bold, and consider myself just, but perhaps a bit lacking in intellect.
Back then, my mother said to , she didn’t hope for any nobility for , only that I could live safely among those shrewd individuals to old age, and that would be a blessing from heaven!
She wasn’t afraid of anything else, just worried that I might do sothing foolish in a rash mont. Sotis, I wish I had a little less courage and a bit more caution, but when I get anxious, I can’t control my temper!"
"People do progress," Lu Qing nodded with a smile. "If it were in the past, I probably couldn’t have stopped you yesterday, and by now, that Immortal Castle might already be gone."
Lu Yan grinned: "When you put it that way, it does seem reasonable. Over the past two years, I’ve indeed beco much more restrained compared to before, not so impulsive."
"Speaking of which, does the Third Prince know what that Immortal Castle is all about?" Lu Qing followed up with another question, steering the conversation back to the main topic.
"Actually, I’m not particularly clear on this," Lu Yan, who was expected to know more about the Immortal Castle, looked equally puzzled. "In the past, I didn’t even know about that place. It was during this flower and grass tax collection that my people started disappearing one after another, and after investigations, we found that they all vanished after passing through the Immortal Castle area. There’s no trace of them, living or dead.
My people told that the Immortal Castle is famous in the region for its harmony. The people in the castle rarely interact with outsiders. They have extensive land for planting floras for fuel, so vegetables and grain, and even mulberry trees for raising silkworms, so they seldom deal with outside rchants and farrs.
People outside only know that there was once a large estate there owned by the Fortress Lord, who gradually annexed surrounding lands to build a castle, gathering the farrs originally from the estate, and enclosing it with high walls. During the day everyone goes out to work, returning to their residences at night to rest.
It’s said the flowers and plants there are cultivated exceptionally well, producing high-quality dyes.
The silk from there is also highly sought after by silk rchants in the surrounding areas.
Most importantly, it’s rumored that the people of the Immortal Castle always seem cheerful and full of energy, and even when dealing with outside matters, they never conflict with outsiders.
So, the people around think the Immortal Castle is wonderful, making them envious and longing, but no one can exactly say why it’s so good, because outsiders are not easily allowed to approach there."
The more Lu Yan spoke, the more suspicious he felt, furrowing his brows again: "I suspect sothing fishy is going on here!
They say it’s hard to please everyone, how could such a large castle have everyone constantly happy, and what kind of good place would be inexplicably guarded against outsiders!
The last ti my n were seen, they were on the road to the Immortal Castle, and after that, no one saw them again.
The Immortal Castle is known for its floras for fuel and silk, yet I’ve never heard of anyone collecting silkworm and flower taxes from them.
Brother, don’t you find this exceedingly strange?"
"Does the Third Prince know the identity of the Fortress Lord?" Lu Qing asked.
Lu Yan shook his head again: "No idea, no one outside seems to have seen their Fortress Lord, very mysterious."
"From this perspective, it seems outsiders find it challenging to inquire about the matters inside their castle, so the only people who could interact with them are the rchants purchasing dye and silk." Lu Qing wasn’t surprised by the explanation Lu Yan provided, as they had already noticed sothing unusual from the responses of the farrs the previous day. "In that case, I intend to disguise myself as a rchant to see if I can find a way into the Immortal Castle to uncover what’s odd inside.
Would the Third Prince be willing to join us?"
"Of course! If it wasn’t for your advice, I would have dared to uproot the Immortal Castle directly, let alone dare not go in disguise to investigate!
Brother, don’t mistake for a coward like Lu Zhang.
Among us, if anyone hesitates, afraid of encountering danger, it can only be Prince Yi!"
Lu Qing smiled without responding imdiately, then after a while, roughly discussed with Lu Yan how to proceed.
After breakfast, Lu Yan went to prepare, and Lu Qing asked Rune to invite Lu Zhang over and explained the plan to infiltrate the Immortal Castle.
Though Lu Yan often mocked and ridiculed Lu Zhang, there’s a degree of truth to it.
When Lu Zhang heard Lu Qing intended to infiltrate the rather strange Immortal Castle, he showed so concern.
"Does Prince Yi find this unwise?" Lu Qing asked.
Lu Zhang looked sowhat awkward, unwilling to admit the cowardice rising in his heart, so he found an excuse: "Earlier, I was thinking, although Lu Yan is unaware of our situation, Brother and I are fully aware.
Even if we decide to take the risk to investigate, shouldn’t we let Sister-in-law and Yan Shu stay back at the camp? That seems more prudent, doesn’t it?
Having them accompany us is ultimately not a wise choice.
What do you say, Brother?"
Lu Qing smiled: "My Chief Historian Yu, I must keep her by my side. If anything does happen, having her with makes feel at ease and can be crucial at key monts.
I actually don’t think leaving them in the camp is a safer choice. The people the Third Prince sent vanished mysteriously in this region, which is certainly not a re coincidence.
Without understanding the other party’s background and thods, leaving them behind poses a hidden danger."
Zhu Yu remained silent as Lu Qing’s words aligned with her own thoughts, leaving no need for her to reiterate.
However, Yan Shu, having listened to both Lu Zhang and Lu Qing, already had her brows furrowed. She glanced at Lu Zhang, then directly addressed Lu Qing: "My riding skills are second to none, even better than all of you.
I’m also an excellent archer, capable of hitting a willow leaf at a hundred paces.
I can even use a whip, which all of you have seen with your own eyes.
I believe that having with you won’t be a hindrance and I can even be of help.
If anyone is to be left behind, it should be the most useless coward, and that certainly isn’t ."
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