"And after that, it became even more obvious. In order to unsettle you and deepen your resentment towards Emperor Jin, seeing that his repeated provocations failed to elicit the desired effect, he couldn’t resist staging a scenario where someone supposedly wanted to poison you, and he heroically intervened to save the day.

The effect... naturally, as Yan Daoxin said, it’s laughable that someone in the palace would use a poison detectable by a silver needle.

Moreover, it was broad daylight at the time, and we were locked inside, which was nerve-wracking enough for the prison guards. If something truly was amiss, it would have been easy to fetch the Imperial Physician for an examination.

If they really intended to poison you, there are far more secretive and foolproof methods.

Lu Ze basically orchestrated the whole thing himself, eager to stir conflict between you and Emperor Jin, yet he ended up shooting himself in the foot."

"So, what do you think? How did Princess Consort Duan get wind of this matter? In your opinion, is the Holy Emperor really someone who talks in his sleep, spilling all his secrets?" Lu Qing asked.

"I wouldn’t know. I’m not one of the night’s eunuchs in the palace..." Zhu Yu mumbled, "But judging by his suspicious nature, it shouldn’t be that far-fetched, right?"

Lu Qing smiled and nodded, "Indeed, the Holy Emperor is extremely cautious. Perhaps some unorthodox tricks are unfamiliar to him and hard to guard against, but the basic cunning and stratagems likely won’t escape his notice.

So, if there are matters he doesn’t want others to know, then others naturally cannot find out.

Conversely, if he intends for you to know, even your little tricks will always work."

"So... did he intentionally let this information slip to Princess Consort Duan to... test her?" Zhu Yu seemed to understand, "Did he reveal different information to different people and judge their positions based on their reactions?

Is that why he always summons you to the South Study Room, because that’s where Princess Consort Duan’s eavesdroppers are? Did he deliberately want her to know the trajectory of certain matters, allowing the news to spread, thereby verifying his judgments?"

Lu Qing nodded, Zhu Yu had already articulated the conclusion clearly enough that he didn’t need to add much more.

However, after he finished speaking, he noticed that Zhu Yu’s brows not only didn’t relax but furrowed even more tightly.

"What else don’t you understand?" he asked somewhat puzzled.

"Nothing," Zhu Yu shook her head, her brows knit, "I just feel angry.

He goes around probing other people’s positions and purposes, but what about you?

He never considered that by doing so, he might be putting you in a dangerous position or what consequences it might bring you!"

"In the house of an emperor, there’s no place for the useless. Such things aren’t surprising." Lu Qing smiled faintly, as if he had come to terms with these matters, "Those matters are all in the past; you need not worry about something that has completely become history.

Fu Lu managed to buy back some snacks for you; eat them while they’re fresh, and don’t waste his good intentions.

We still have some preparations to make in the next few days, then you will have to endure the hardships with me again."

"That’s exactly what I want. Always hiding in the courtyard isn’t a solution. I am now eager to do what we must, to strive for stability in the second half of our lives!"

Saying this, she picked up a piece of pastry from the ones in front of her, holding it up like a toast: "To a better tomorrow!"

Lu Qing mimicked her, raising a piece in a toast-like manner: "To tomorrow!"

In the following days, everyone was busy preparing for the journey.

For convenience of movement, Lu Qing had Liu Yueyao acquire some fine horses in advance, raising them strong and robust in the backyard of Yunyin Pavilion.

Regarding what needs attention in the Capital afterward, Lu Qing instructed them one by one.

About two or three days later, suddenly over a dozen guests moved into Yunyin Pavilion.

As one of the hottest spots in the Capital, whether for drinking or lodging, Yunyin Pavilion never lacks guests, so a mere dozen people wouldn’t be noteworthy.

But in reality, Zhu Yu found it hard not to notice them.

The reason was simple: those people were just too... similar to them!

Zhu Yu counted; there were sixteen people in total who moved in, four of whom were particularly tall and strong, while another four were much shorter and skinnier.

Ironically, those four burly men were about the same size as Fu Lu, while the four slender men matched Zhu Yu.

And when looking at the remaining eight, they corresponded with Lu Qing and the rune.

"Did you have Liu Yueyao find these people from outside?" Zhu Yu roughly guessed why these people were here, so she secretly asked Lu Qing.

Lu Qing shook his head, "I don’t have military power. Not only am I now a civilian, but even when I bore the title of Prince Xiaoyao, I never raised government soldiers so as not to provoke the Holy Emperor. Now, even if I sent Liu Yueyao to find people similar in physique to us four to follow orders, it would be difficult to achieve."

"Then where did these people come from?" Listening to this, Zhu Yu felt it made sense but also couldn’t help but be puzzled.

"Don’t you think their demeanor and mannerisms are more like military people than regular government officers?" Lu Qing reminded Zhu Yu, reaching for his waist as he spoke.

After hearing this, Zhu Yu pondered, no longer pressing for answers, but when she encountered those people outside again, she secretly observed their waists.

After several instances, she spotted one of the men with something resembling a waist card tucked under his robe.

The look of the waist card felt very familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere, a vague familiarity mixed with a hint of strangeness.

After racking her brain for a while, Zhu Yu finally remembered she might not have seen an identical waist card but had definitely seen something similar.

"Are those people from Situ Jing?" she asked Lu Qing softly after blowing out the lamp at night, "When you were injured and Situ Jing came to see you, I saw his waist card, it looked like that, but because I didn’t pay much attention at the time, my impression is now vague and ambiguous."

"It indeed looks much like Situ Jing’s, though not exactly the same." Lu Qing pointed out, and then reached out to tuck the quilt around Zhu Yu, "Sleep tight.

If you wander in your thoughts before sleep, I might end up wandering in mine too."