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Chapter 733 Runzhou Camp
"Don't say that. Lu Qing has always considered you family." Zhu Yu knew what Lu Chao was referring to and said to him.

“I know.” Lu Chao smiled faintly, then sighed. “Lu Qing and I have known each other since childhood, and our relationship is indeed no different from that of brothers. But he should have told you about the situation back then. In order to protect ourselves, we both had to put on a cold and distant appearance as if we were not familiar with each other when we were out in public.”

We have always been carefully avoiding all the deadly traps, struggling to grow while secretly offering each other a little support.

Yesterday I saw that you were exhausted, but you still gritted your teeth and chased after Lu Qing in the direction he went, completely disregarding the dangers that might lie ahead.

I was thinking then, from childhood to adulthood, no one had ever dared to run towards Lu Qing so resolutely. We all had too many reservations, but perhaps what he longed for most deep down was this kind of unwavering mutual support.

It was clear that Lu Chao was quite moved when he said these words. Although his expression was still calm, there was an indescribable sense of melancholy in his eyes.

“This is indeed what I desire most, isn’t it the same for you?” Lu Qing took Zhu Yu’s hand under the table, cupped it in her own palms, and teased her in a lighthearted tone, seemingly not wanting the topic to suddenly become so heavy.

“That’s what I’ve been longing for the most.” Lu Chao nodded frankly. “You’re lucky you’ve already gotten it. As for me… I’m afraid I’ll have to rely on my brother and sister-in-law for more care in the future.”

Zhu Yu felt that Lu Chao's words were a bit pessimistic. But then he thought about it and realized that the ultimate goal of all the trouble he and Lu Qing had gone to in dealing with and planning this was to make Lu Chao the one to inherit the throne.

Once he sits on that dragon throne, becoming the supreme ruler of the world means he will lose many things that ordinary people can easily obtain.

The marriages of emperors have never been about love or not; they are merely another political game that moves from the main hall to the inner palace. In each palace, there are no people who love or are loved, only people who are needed or not. Behind every word of concern lies another subtext.

Having witnessed and experienced the coldness of kinship within the imperial family since childhood, he was destined to follow in his father's footsteps, possessing supreme power, yet finding it even harder to see the true intentions behind everyone who treated him with utmost respect.

This victory was both joyful and sorrowful.

Zhu Yu was at a loss for words.

Fortunately, Lu Qing was used to Lu Chao's occasional moments of melancholy. He laughed and replied, "Then you must remember to issue us a waist tag that allows us to enter and exit the palace at any time. Remember to make it even more exquisite than Lu Ze's."

Lu Chao could tell that Lu Qing was joking, so he laughed along: "It's a deal. I'll definitely have a waist pendant specially made for you, fully inlaid with gemstones. Don't be shy about taking it out then, brother."

Despite the jokes and laughter, given that both Lu Qing and Lu Chao were injured and needed to recuperate, they could only stay in the village temporarily. Every day, besides watching Bian Yong train his men, they would get together to discuss what to do next.

Under Zhu Yu's supervision and care, not only Lu Qing's wound, but also Lu Chao's ankle recovered faster and better than expected. After staying here for about half a month, they felt that the time was right and they should set off for Runzhou.

"General Bian, I'm entrusting this place to you. Please hold it firmly. If you discover any more traces of puppet soldiers, kill the sensible junior officials who lead them first. Without orders, the others will easily collapse." Lu Qing instructed Bian Yong before leaving. "If anything happens, send a message to Runzhou. Once Situ Jing makes a move, some rebels from the prefecture might try to bypass Runzhou's defenses and escape. I'll have to entrust these matters to General Bian."

"General, there's no need for such formalities. Loyalty to the emperor and the country is what we should do," Bian Yong said, clasping his hands in a fist salute. "When we went to help Prince Xu earlier, we suffered a loss because we didn't know what those puppet soldiers were all about. We will certainly not be so careless again in the future, so please rest assured, General."

The general and His Highness Prince Xu took great care on their journey.

When we meet again, I doubt I can still address you as 'General'.

Lu Qing understood Bian Yong's meaning and smiled: "The form of address is not important, but this world must not fall into the hands of that vicious villain."

"General Bian, take care. We'll meet again."

Bian Yong sent men to escort them a long way, and it wasn't until Lu Qing and Lu Chao insisted that the men finally agreed not to continue seeing them off.

The rest of the journey consisted of Lu Qing, Zhu Yu, and the other three, along with Lu Chao and his two or three guards.

The group disguised themselves as merchants and traveled along the way, changing horses or carriages from time to time.

Whether it was because Lu Qing had given the order and Bian Yong and his men had held the "gate" behind them tightly, or because there just hadn't been any puppet soldiers mobilized recently, they had a smooth journey except for encountering a group of clueless petty thieves, and eventually arrived in Runzhou territory.

Lu Chao brought Lu Qing and Zhu Yu to the Runzhou camp, which was originally where Situ Jing was stationed. Although he took his confidants with him when he was transferred to Lizhou, the imperial guards here still retained the discipline they had been trained in back then, and they looked exceptionally energetic.

Lu Chao summoned the deputy generals and captains who were currently in charge of the imperial guards in the camp, introduced them to Lu Qing, instructed them to obey Lu Qing's orders, and inquired about the situation here.

For convenience, Zhu Yu remained Lu Qing's "Chief Secretary Yu," standing behind Lu Qing and gaining a clear understanding of what had happened here.

The reason why the Lizhou camp was under the command of the deputy general was that the commander here had previously been outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant. On the surface, he had submitted to Lu Chao and obeyed his orders, but in reality, before Zhao Bi had completely fallen from power, he wanted to be a fence-sitter, seeing which side had the upper hand and then attaching himself to that side, ready to defect at any time.

But at that time, not to mention Zhao Bi, even Zhao Boce's unauthorized recruitment of soldiers and hoarding of weapons had already given people a bad feeling. How could those upright and loyal imperial guards under Situ Jing's command not see Zhao Jiacun's intentions?

So, in order to prevent that fickle commander from leading the entire camp astray due to his own selfish desires, they took advantage of the night to tie him up and sent a message to Lord Zhao Xin of the prefecture. Zhao Xin was already on Lu Chao's side, so the Runzhou camp naturally became Lu Chao's men.