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Chapter 732

“He won’t.” Lu Qing was quite confident about this, his tone very certain. “If he wanted to kill his father and usurp the throne directly, he wouldn’t need to go to such lengths to block the capital’s outskirts under the guise of ‘serving the emperor.’”

All this trouble is simply because he wants to plot something nefarious while also seeking a so-called legitimate reason. So what he wants now is to pressure others into taking the blame for him.

After Lu Qing said that, Zhu Yu understood: "So he's putting the outsiders in a dilemma now."

If we ignore this and allow him to besiege the capital, we are afraid that he might take the opportunity to harm the emperor.

But if we were to break through, it might be tantamount to handing a knife to Lu Ze, and in the end, we'd be branded as traitors colluding with foreign enemies.

"This plan, I must say, does have some cleverness in it." Lu Qing lowered her eyes and chuckled, her fingers tapping lightly on the table. "However, Lu Ze doesn't seem like someone with such a brain."

As he spoke, he looked up at Lu Chao and asked, "You just said you came via Runzhou? What are your plans?"

“I’ve placed all the troops I can mobilize in Runzhou,” Lu Chao replied. “You specifically mentioned Zhao Xin of Runzhou Prefecture to me before. This Lord Zhao is indeed intelligent and insightful. He can assess the situation and choose the right place to stand. At times like these, he is someone we can rely on.”

Zhu Yu and Lu Qing exchanged a glance. When they went with Cao Tianbao to escort Princess Yan Shu, they heard Cao Tianbao mention that there had been unusual activity in various places recently. There were some unknown people in Congzhou and Runzhou, and they were not even under the command of the state government.

At the time, they were still speculating about who these forces were related to, but now the answer is clear—the ones from Congzhou are puppet soldiers and imperial guards who are nominally under Lu Ze's command, while those from Runzhou are naturally from the Lu Dynasty.

"What are your plans?" Lu Qing asked.

"Surround it." Lu Chao already had a clear plan. "If Lu Ze hadn't surrounded the capital and given me inspiration, I might not have been able to make such a decisive decision."

Since Lu Ze has besieged the capital, I will besiege Congzhou from Runzhou.

The food shortage in the state has not been completely resolved, and food has still had to be transported from Runzhou and other places.

By occupying Runzhou, I've cut off the supply lines from the prefecture. I don't believe those puppet soldiers can survive without food and water. When they're starving and thirsty, it'll be easier to negotiate terms."

"The puppet soldiers we encountered on our way here should have just missed you. What would have happened if they had passed through Runzhou and wanted to go to Congzhou?" Zhu Yu asked curiously.

Lu Chao smiled and said, "I gave instructions before I left: as long as the Imperial Guards from outside the prefecture do not make the first move, do not disturb them. Just let them pass through, but do not let them out."

The more of them there are, the sooner they'll lose their composure.

Zhu Yu glanced at Lu Chao, then at Lu Qing beside him, and couldn't help but sigh, "Actually, you two are more like brothers, aren't you? Even your methods are so similar."

Lu Qing smiled upon hearing this.

Lu Chao nodded seriously: "Lu Qing is indeed no different from my own brother. From the past to the present, if it weren't for him as my support, and his willingness to be a live target to help me divert attention, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to live peacefully until now."

"Stop." Lu Qing waved his hand, stopping the conversation, and teased, "Now is not the time to say such mushy things, it's too unlucky. Originally, this village was occupied by a group of bandits that the High Priest of the Brahma Kingdom, Ishaen, deliberately allowed. He probably wanted to give Lu Ze an excuse to transfer troops from elsewhere to the area closer to the capital."

Unexpectedly, when we left Beijing, their people, in an attempt to make our deaths seem plausible, inadvertently wiped out all the bandits in the area ahead of time.

Now that General Bian Yong and his troops are stationed here, and you have the advantage of occupying Runzhou's terrain, this mountain stronghold can serve as a convenient link between the past and the future.

"With General Situ's deputy general helping to guard this place, it is indeed much more reassuring," Lu Chao sighed sincerely. "Fortunately, you persuaded Situ Jing first; otherwise, given General Situ's temperament, he probably wouldn't have easily agreed to assist us."

"By the way," Lu Qing didn't intend to take credit at this time, so he waved his hand dismissively and turned to ask about another matter he was very concerned about, "I asked you to keep an eye on the Brahma King's nephew and his party before, what happened then?"

“I secretly sent people to follow them, and sure enough, on the way, someone tried to secretly kill the Brahma King’s nephew and his party.”

Fortunately, you warned us beforehand, so our men rescued those people from the knife just as the other side was about to strike.

Brahma's useless nephew was so frightened that he could hardly walk. It was only with great difficulty that they managed to take him away and hide him.

He had initially thought he had fulfilled the other party's instructions, and even if he hadn't beheaded you, he had done a decent job and should be able to pass the test. Afterwards, he could return to Vatican City and inherit his uncle's throne. He never imagined that the other party wouldn't even consider making him a puppet, let alone leave him alive.

Zhu Yu felt furious at the thought of that Brahma King's nephew, who was both cowardly and stupid, yet still wanted to do bad things like others. If it weren't for the fact that this guy was actually useful to them, she would have loved for them to be killed by assassins on their way home.

That was the ending they deserved.

"Is his current hiding place secure enough?" Lu Qing asked.

Lu Chao smiled and said, "Of course. People like this are the most afraid of death. After realizing that they can't survive without our protection, they immediately agreed to act as witnesses for us in the future."

Don't worry, he's hiding in a safe place now, and no one will want to kill him.

However, this is something only you and I know; he himself is unaware of it.

I thought that if I let him hide too comfortably, he might develop other ideas and perhaps even betray me at the last minute. It would be better to keep him constantly aware of potential dangers.

“That’s excellent.” Lu Qing smiled after hearing Lu Chao’s words. “He should also experience the suffering we’ve endured because of him. That would be fair.”

"What are your plans next?" Lu Chao asked.

"You two don't need to make any plans recently." Before Lu Qing could speak, Zhu Yu answered Lu Chao's question first, "When the wounds have healed and the bone injuries have recovered, then you can leave this village."

Lu Chao looked at Lu Qing, who had just opened his mouth but then swallowed his words back, and slowly sighed: "Brother, you finally have a family now."

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