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Lu Shiqing didn't know that Shaohe was in Hanliang Palace, otherwise he wouldn't have chosen to come here. Now he had no choice but to follow her inside.
Shao He waved away the palace servants and walked very quickly in front until he reached the inner hall. Then he turned around and asked quickly, "What does Minister Lu need?"
Seeing that she had obviously seen through his reluctance to speak out, Lu Shiqing said nothing more, and continued standing, "Scissors, gauze, clean water, and a towel." After a pause, he said, "Thank you."
Shao He nodded, and without risking calling anyone, he went to find the things himself. After handing them over to him, he hesitated and asked, "Can you do it alone?"
Lu Shiqing leaned against the door, his face pale, beads of sweat dripping down his temples. In order to stay conscious, he grasped the door frame with such force that his hands almost cramped. Hearing this, he gritted his teeth and said, "Please keep an eye on the outside for me, my lord."
The implication is that her help is no longer needed.
Shao He was silent for a moment, then left without saying anything. He instructed a maid waiting outside, "Pretend you didn't see anything that happened in Hanliang Palace today. Tell them to keep their mouths shut."
The maid nodded and said, "My Lord, I just got the news that the Lady of Lancang County is coming to Hanliang Palace. Do you think Minister Lu has concealed this matter from her as well?"
Shao He frowned and shook her head to indicate that she didn't know either. She glanced at the inner hall where Lu Shiqing was and said, "Let's keep it a secret for now. Come with me and take a look."
After she finished speaking, she went to the outer hall, squatted down beside Zheng Hong who was playing dice, and touched his head: "Hong'er, I'm going to go out for a while. If someone comes to look for Minister Lu later, you can say that he came earlier but left quickly, okay?"
Zheng Hong fiddled with the dice, waved his hand and said, "I understand. Go ahead, sister."
*
Shao He went out all the way, and when she reached the gate of Hanliang Palace, she saw Yuan Cixian coming in a sedan chair from afar. She was about to go forward, but she saw another sedan chair suddenly turn out from the fork in the palace road ahead, blocking Yuan Cixian's way.
She stopped in her tracks, frowning.
Yuan Cixian also stopped the sedan chair and glanced at the person coming from the opposite direction.
The man was wearing a purple silk robe with large flowers, which symbolized power, and a gold and jade belt around his waist. He was tall and thin. He was in his thirties, but he looked very young. His beard also made him look elegant and clean. It was King Ping, Zheng Ze.
There was a moment of indifference in Yuan Cixian's eyes. This man, who did not show any hostility on the outside, had helped the Prince of Nanzhao to abduct her, killed all her trusted guards, and nearly killed Xu Shan twice.
But she soon started to laugh, got off the sedan chair, bowed and greeted him, then said jokingly: "When two people meet on a narrow road, the one with higher rank wins. Your Highness, please go first."
Prince Ping sat in the sedan chair and said with a smile: "After all, the princess and I have played chess together for a few times in Shuzhou. Your words are too unfamiliar. Why bother to decide who wins when we meet on a narrow road? Why not go together?"
Yuan Cixian glanced in the direction of Hanliang Palace, her eyes fell on Shao He who was standing at the threshold, then turned her eyes back and said, "I went to find Minister Lu to talk about love, could it be that Your Highness did the same?"
He chuckled, "That's not the case. I will return to Huainan tomorrow to say goodbye to my Thirteenth Brother." Then he said with a slightly playful look, "The county lady and Minister Lu are a talented man and a beautiful woman, a match made in heaven. I just don't know what the relationship between Minister Lu and Cai Siqing is like."
Yuan Cixian was stunned when he heard this, then blinked and asked, "Why is it that Minister Lu is secretly having an affair with Cai Siqing behind my back?"
Prince Ping had seen the wound on Cai He's right palm in Xuanzheng Hall and suspected that he was Xu Shan. He came here to block him in order to test Yuan Cixian. But now he couldn't help laughing. He didn't know if she really didn't know or was just playing dumb. He said silently, "I didn't say that."
Yuan Cixian looked at him suspiciously and said, "If you know the inside story, please tell me. After all, we have played chess together for a few times."
King Ping did not expect to be framed and questioned. He waved his hands and smiled helplessly: "I don't know."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shao He, who had been standing in front of the hall for a while, arrived and said to the two of them indifferently, "Why are the third brother and the county lady standing here chatting?"
Yuan Cixian bowed to her and asked with a smile, "I heard that Minister Lu came to Hanliang Palace after leaving the court. Is he in there?"
Shao He shook his head: "It's unfortunate for the county lady, Minister Lu just left not long ago."
She uttered a low "ah" and glanced at Prince Ping: "In that case, Your Highness and Your Majesty, can you allow me to go first?"
They both nodded.
After she left, Shao He looked at King Ping again: "Third brother, are you here to visit Thirteenth brother? You came at the right time. I don't know where this kid got this bad habit from, but he actually loves playing dice. I can't control him, so I asked you to come and teach him a lesson." As he said this, he was about to welcome him in.
Prince Ping smiled faintly: "Isn't Minister Lu here? If you can fool her with your lies, how can you fool your third brother?"
Shao He's expression froze, and he said awkwardly: "Don't misunderstand, Third Brother, I don't want to ruin the marriage between the county lady and Minister Lu, but it's rare for him to come to Hanliang Palace, I..."
King Ping shook his head helplessly: "Okay, no need to explain so much to Third Brother, go back. I still have things to do, so I won't go to see Thirteenth Brother." After that, he turned and left.
Shao He watched him leave, turned around and walked back to the palace, secretly relieved. She was not sure who Lu Shiqing wanted to hide his injury from, so for the sake of safety, it was better not to tell anyone. And Prince Ping had spies in the palace, so he must have known that he had only been in and out. She could only admit that she was deceiving Yuan Cixian and pretend that she wanted to be alone with Lu Shiqing out of selfishness to avoid his suspicion.
She hurried to the inner hall to see how badly Lu Shiqing was injured. She pushed the door open and found it was empty. Even the scissors and gauze had been cleared away. Her heart tightened and she went back to the outer hall to ask Zheng Hong, but he replied, "Minister Lu left me after changing his clothes. Didn't you run into him?"
*
Lu Shiqing was in a carriage outside the palace. As soon as Shaohe left, Zheng Zhuo's secret sentry sneaked into Hanliang Palace without being seen by Prince Ping and took him out through a side door. Judging from the time, he left the area even earlier than Yuan Cixian.
He treated his wounds and changed his clothes in the carriage. Just as he recovered, he heard the sound of wheels clanging behind him, as if someone was desperately chasing him.
Cao An, who was driving outside, looked back and said in shock, "Sir, this is the county lady's carriage. Have you packed it?"
Lu Shiqing's face changed drastically. He hurriedly took out a box of powder that he had stolen from Lu Shuangyu and put it on his face, saying, "Not yet."
Cao An looked back again and thought that Shi Cui was driving very fast, so he raised the whip in a hurry.
Shi Cui behind him seemed to have received instructions from Yuan Cixian, and shouted to him from a distance: "Brother Cao, please stop for a moment."
Hearing this, he asked anxiously, "My dear, what should we do?"
Lu Shiqing quickly closed the powder box, tidied it up in no time, and then said, "Stop."
Cao An quickly pulled the reins, and at the same time, Yuan Cixian's carriage arrived.
Lu Shiqing rubbed his chest, lifted her curtain, leaned over and asked, "What's wrong?"
She stuck her head out and said angrily, "You already knew it was me, why didn't you stop the car and made me chase you all the way? Is there something shameful in your car?"
Yuan Cihan was skeptical about Shao He's words in front of Hanliang Palace, thinking that she and Lu Shiqing seemed to have some unspeakable secret. But as soon as she walked out of the palace gate, she saw his carriage from afar. She dispelled her doubts and thought she was overthinking. Unexpectedly, Lu Shiqing acted as if he had seen a ghost and refused to let her catch up.
Lu Shiqing explained seriously: "I was not wearing any clothes just now."
Yuan Cixian then noticed that he was indeed not wearing an official robe, but an ordinary suit, and asked suspiciously, "Why did you change your clothes for no reason? Did you do something to offend me?"
"… "
Lu Shiqing stepped into her carriage and went inside to explain: "I accidentally fell in Hanliang Palace and my clothes got dirty."
Yuan Cixian was shocked. Could this be the truth behind her intuition
Her momentum faded a bit, and she asked, "Where did it fall? Let me see."
Lu Shiqing looked embarrassed for a moment: "Are you sure?"
She nodded.
He really fell, so he could naturally produce evidence to reassure her. He sighed, hesitated for a moment, loosened his belt, then rolled up his trouser legs and pointed to his bruised knee to show her. Because he was eager to prove it, his actions and expression looked a bit like a child asking for a reward.
Yuan Cixian let out an "Ah" when she saw this.
She wanted to check the injury just now, actually to dispel her doubts. Now she really believed it. When she saw the horrifying bruise, she was completely convinced by him: "It's okay for you to catch a cold every few days, but how can you fall down when you walk!" After saying that, she felt a little guilty for doubting him just now, so she reached out and touched it and asked, "Does it hurt?"
Lu Shiqing hissed.
It wasn't that it hurt, but when she touched his skin, some part of him was almost harder than his knee.
Yuan Cixian really thought he was in pain, and sighed, "Take my carriage and come home with me. I'll apply some medicine on you."
This was exactly what Lu Shiqing wanted. His carriage was filled with the smell of blood, so he couldn't let Yuan Cixian get in, so he came here just now.
But he still had to stick to his guns as usual and said, "No, I'm in a hurry to get back to work." Then he reached out and straightened his messy robe.
Yuan Cixian's attitude became even tougher, and he ordered outside: "Shi Cui, tell Brother Cao to go back first."
*
Lu Shiqing endured his injury and sat in Yuan's house for a while. After enjoying Yuan Cixian's warm greetings on his knees, he returned to Yongxingfang on the pretext of official business. When he arrived at the study, he saw Zheng Zhuo pacing back and forth anxiously. Seeing that he had finally arrived, he seemed to be relieved and asked, "Where did you go when you were so seriously injured?"
Lu Shiqing choked, then said honestly: "Yuan Mansion."
Zheng Zhuo looked as if he was about to be pissed off by him. He paced back and forth again. After a while, he pointed at him with his index finger and said, "Your life will belong to her sooner or later."
Lu Shiqing sat down beside him, holding his chest. He thought it was a long time ago, but he didn't admit it. He changed the subject and asked, "What are your plans for Cai Siqing's matter?"
Seeing that he was talking about serious matters, Zheng Zhuo stopped talking about other matters and sat down opposite him. He frowned and said, "Let's fight back. Third brother won't have a chance to take action for the time being. When he returns to Huainan tomorrow, the situation in Chang'an will be relieved, and we can take a breath."
Lu Shiqing really didn't agree to drag Cai He into this. But Zheng Zhuo did this for him, so he couldn't say anything ungrateful. He shook his head and said, "I asked the Saint to promote him not only because he was your secret agent, but also because he has great talent and can be used in a great way. It's just that he is too straightforward and not smooth enough in dealing with things, so he has never been promoted. But even if he doesn't have to worry about his life now, he will definitely be suppressed by the people of Prince Ping in the court. It will be difficult for him to keep his position as the Minister of the Dali Temple."
Zheng Zhuo was not without regrets, and he frowned as he explained, "In terms of age, he is also in his early thirties. In terms of background, his parents died early, and the time he entered the government is also very consistent. There is really no one under my command who is more suitable than him to replace 'Xu Shan'."
"I know." Lu Shiqing sighed, "Don't worry about this for now. I will find a way to protect him. Have you arranged the assassination of the King of Southern Yunnan?"
Zheng Zhuo nodded: "We can take action tonight."
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