Jiuxi

Chapter 702【Ask you a question】

Ruyin City.

Outside the main gate of the Governor's Mansion, Lu Chen, who had hurried over, looked at the five spacious carriages in front of him and Lu Tong who was being helped down. He couldn't help but ask curiously, "Father, why didn't you let someone know in advance so I could go outside the city to meet him?"

"I am not a sickly person, what do I need you to do?"

Lu Tong said with a smile, and then said: "Since I received your message, I immediately led people to set out. I hurried all the way because I was afraid of wasting time. If I asked you to go outside the city to meet us, wouldn't it be a waste of time?"

Lu Chen laughed and said, "Is it necessary to be so urgent?"

"What do you know!"

Lu Tong glared at him and said to the butler Lu Wu behind him, "The four carriages behind us should go through the side door, and have the people in the back house carry the things down."

Lu Chen quickly asked: "What is it?"

Lu Tong waved his hand and said, "It has nothing to do with you, don't meddle in it."

Lu Chen looked helpless.

Qin Zilong and several trusted aides standing nearby suppressed their laughter and stepped forward one after another to greet Lu Tong.

Lu Tong nodded to everyone and then waved to a place not far away. Several women in their thirties came over.

He brought these women to Lu Chen and said with a smile, "These are the midwives I specially invited from Huaizhou. They are skilled and experienced. With them here, everything will be safe. Although Xue Zhong is an excellent doctor, he is a foreigner after all. He can't live in your governor's mansion. I can rest assured when they take care of my two daughters-in-law."

Several women bowed in unison and said, "Greetings, sir."

"No need to be polite."

Lu Chen was quite polite to them. He then pulled Lu Tong's sleeve, took him aside and said softly, "Dad, isn't this a bit too much of a fuss? Besides, they are due to give birth in the second half of the year. Why do we need the midwife to come so early?"

"I keep praising you for being smart."

Lu Tong said angrily: "Do you think a midwife can only deliver babies? She can also cure diseases! She can also help pregnant women regulate their bodies! If something happens to your two daughters-in-law, can you afford it?"

"Yes, yes, Dad is wise."

Lu Chen quickly gave in, otherwise the old man would be angry.

About an incense stick later, the father and son came to the main room in the backyard. Lin Xi and Wang Chulong had already known about it, so they stepped forward side by side and saluted, saying, "Hello, Dad."

Lu Tong's old face was as happy as a flower, except that it had more wrinkles. He said with relief and joy, "No need to be polite. Come on, sit down and talk."

The two girls looked at each other and saw a bit of shyness in each other's eyes, but they could understand why Lu Tong was so excited.

The Lu family has been a single-line family for two generations. Although Lu Tong himself has many brothers, they are separated by a layer. He only has Lu Chen as his son, so all his wishes for expanding the family are placed on Lu Chen.

Especially now that Lu Chen is in a high position and has great power, he is the foundation of a prominent family, and having many sons and grandsons is the most basic requirement.

Lu Tong coughed lightly and said kindly, "Lu Chen has a rough personality and is busy with endless things, so it is inevitable that he may not be able to take good care of you. Please don't mind it."

Lu Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but for the sake of the old man's face, he didn't say anything to refute.

Wang Chulong was obedient and kept silent, while Lin Xi smiled and said, "Daddy, you are worrying too much. My husband is considerate and thoughtful, and there is nothing wrong with him."

"That's good. If he has done anything wrong, send someone to tell me and I will teach him a lesson."

Lu Tong was well versed in the ways of dealing with people. He said this in front of his two daughters-in-law not to belittle Lu Chen, but to help Lu Chen gain a better impression. He then changed the subject and said, "This time when I went north to Ruyin, in addition to sending a midwife, I also brought four carts of things you can use, including food, clothing and daily necessities. Some of them I asked people to go to Jiangnan to buy in advance. They are all top-quality. I hope you like them."

The two girls said in unison: "Thank you, Daddy."

Lu Tong smiled from the bottom of his heart, and then said: "By the way, I know you all have your own things on hand, but now you are all pregnant, why don't you let Lu Chen hand it over to someone else?"

He had good intentions and was afraid that his two daughters-in-law would suffer.

At this time, Lu Chen interrupted and said, "Father, it's not good for them to sit bored all day. Doing something will help them feel better. I will make sure they don't get tired. Don't worry about this matter."

This time, Lu Tong did not refute, and continued to praise King Lin and the other two, almost exhausting all his life's learning.

Until Lu Chen took the old man away in the name of letting them rest.

Arriving in the study, Lu Chen personally poured tea for Lu Tong, and then asked: "Dad came here in a hurry this time, I guess there must be something else?"

"I still can't hide it from you."

Lu Tong put away his smile, sat on the armchair, sighed, and said slowly: "Do you still remember the incident I mentioned before, that someone from the north came to visit?"

Lu Chen narrowed his eyes slightly and asked calmly, "Again?"

"This time, the visitor did not deliberately hide his true identity and asked me to pass this letter to you."

Lu Tong took out an envelope with intact sealing wax from his sleeve and handed it to Lu Chen.

Lu Chen opened it and couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Seeing this, Lu Tong asked, "A handwritten letter from Qing Yugong?"

Lu Chen shook his head and said, "No, it should be Qing Yu Huaijin."

He turned the thin piece of letter paper towards Lu Tong, and saw only one line of words on it: Do you still remember the promise we made that year?

Lu Tong was slightly startled, and then said meaningfully: "This little princess of Jing country is quite interesting."

Lu Mo remained silent.

This secret letter, which only contained one sentence, had no beginning or end. Even if Emperor Jing saw it with his own eyes, he would not be able to understand it, let alone associate it with Lu Chen. After all, this sentence was indeed somewhat ambiguous.

After a moment, Lu Chen said expressionlessly: "Nice handwriting."

"It's really good."

Lu Tong smiled and nodded, then asked, "When did you make the agreement?"

Lu Chen said calmly, "After I captured her in Heluo City, I deliberately exaggerated the conflict between Emperor Jing and her father in order to plant a seed of discord in her heart, and told her that as long as Qing Yugong was willing to surrender, I would leave them a way out. Dad, didn't I tell you about this before?"

"Look at my memory. I forgot."

Lu Tong laughed, then put away his teasing thoughts and said calmly: "Based on your understanding of Qing Yu Huaijin, how credible is the hidden meaning of this sentence?"

learn?

Lu Chen thought hard and finally dug out some fragments from his dusty memories.

The fight outside the gate of Heluo City, the temptations and confrontations during the imprisonment, the instigation and calculations between each other, in the end, only a picture was left.

Before letting her go back north, she told him earnestly and firmly that if they met again in the future, she would never show mercy.

Qing Yu Huaijin was indeed proud and arrogant. As Qing Yugong's most beloved daughter, she had the capital to do so. A proud girl like her would not easily give in. This was far more difficult to accept than killing her. And from this letter, it can be seen that she did feel a strong sense of crisis, and even a little bit of madness, reckless and desperate.

After all, Lu Chen's words were meant to win over the hearts and minds of the people. He never thought that Qing Yugong would bring hundreds of thousands of elite troops to surrender to Da Qi. He thought that Qing Yugong would not be so stupid as to do that.

To Da Qi, Qing Yugong was always a foreigner, and one whose hands were stained with the blood of Da Qi people. Unless he was willing to go to the south with only his blood relatives, the Da Qi court could absolutely control him and thereby strike a blow to the morale of the people of Jing State.

But how could Qing Yugong take the initiative to enter a situation where he is at the mercy of others?

After a long while, Lu Chen slowly said: "Qing Yu Huaijin cannot represent Qing Yugong."

This sentence has two meanings. The first is that this letter was written by Qing Yuhuaijin on his own initiative, and Qing Yugong was completely unaware of it. The second is that although Qing Yugong knew about it, the real thoughts of this old fox and Qing Yuhuaijin were completely different.

Lu Tong pondered and said, "From the Battle of Yongqiu to now, there are traces of Emperor Jing's suppression of Qing Yugong. Regardless of whether Qing Yugong participated in the murder of the Crown Prince of Jing, it is an indisputable fact that Emperor Jing has been constantly weakening his power. If this monarch and minister are simply setting up a scheme, how can they guarantee that the people below will not be at odds with each other? You have to know that it is very difficult for any interest group to change direction. Two individuals can become friends because of interests, but it is difficult for two groups to make peace."

"It's half a setup, and half the truth."

Lu Chen finally gave his judgment, and said slowly: "For Emperor Jing and Qing Yugong, Da Qi is their common enemy, and it is reasonable for them to plot against them in any way. At the same time, the contradiction between the monarch and his subjects also exists objectively, and fighting within a limited scope should be their consensus."

"This... is difficult, right? If you're not careful, it will escalate the conflict."

Lu Tong frowned slightly and said, "Are the monarch and his subjects really so confident? With one hand facing the outside and the other facing the inside, can they still reach a consensus in the struggle?"

Lu Chen said calmly: "It is indeed difficult, but not impossible. Has father forgotten the experiences of our late emperor over the past ten years?"

"That's true."

Lu Tong nodded and asked, "How are you going to reply to Qing Yu Huaijin? Han Zhongjie has already led tens of thousands of Beijing troops to the north. He and Liu Shouguang will definitely implement the emperor's strategy unswervingly. The war on the western front is imminent. I know you have a heavy burden on your shoulders, and you are caught in the middle by those people in the court. Perhaps this letter from the little princess of Jingguo is your way out."

This time Lu Chen thought about it for a long time.

He was not optimistic that the war on the Western Front could be won, but he could not stop it. On the contrary, he might even have to help them clean up the mess.

As for the solution...

He looked at the letter in his hand, his eyes fixed on those eight short words.

How to break the game?

Lu Chen stood up and walked to the desk, picking up the pen but hesitated.

He suddenly turned his head to look at his father and said thoughtfully: "Dad, how much damage do you think a woman of such noble status as Qing Yu Huaijin would cause if she went crazy?"

Lu Tong seemed to understand his thoughts and said simply: "It's hard to estimate."

A complicated smile appeared on Lu Chen's face, and he wrote down a paragraph, which was as incomplete as the secret letter.

He handed the letter to Lu Tong and said calmly, "I hope so."

(End of this chapter)