The Prodigal Son

After much deliberation, Qin Yu finally finished writing a letter.

It took Qin Yu nearly half an hour to finish writing just a few hundred words.

After writing it, Qin Yu not only affixed his personal seal to the letter, but also the official seals of the Attendant Gentleman and the Grand Admiral of the Navy.

"Lu Si, come here!"

Qin Yu raised his hand and beckoned Lü Si over.

"What are you doing?"

Lu Si looked at Qin Yu, puzzled.

Qin Yu pointed to the letter and said seriously, "Write down your name and put your fingerprint on it!"

"what?"

Lu Si frowned. "What's going on? It looks like you're signing a document or putting your fingerprint on it."

"That's roughly the idea!"

Qin Yu nodded slightly, "Although we now have evidence to confirm my guess, we can't be 100% certain that there's a necessary connection between these two things! If we're wrong, we'll both be punished! If we guess right and find out the truth, you'll get some credit too!"

"You son of a bitch..."

Lu Si's face darkened, and he couldn't help but curse in his heart.

That son of a bitch!

That's fucking despicable!

"Hurry up!"

Qin Yu urged impatiently, grinning, "We're sharing both good times and bad!"

"Thank you so much!"

Lu Si felt a surge of displeasure, and his lips moved slightly.

Although he didn't say anything, you could tell he wasn't saying anything nice.

Urged by Qin Yu, Lü Si finally signed the document and pressed his fingerprint on it.

After doing all this, Qin Yu sealed the letter with sealing wax and then solemnly handed it to Pei Du: "You must personally deliver this letter to His Majesty! Also, this matter must be kept absolutely secret; the fewer people who know about it, the better!"

Pei Du lowered his head and said, "I'll stay here and continue the investigation! You send others..."

"You have to go there yourself!"

Qin Yu interrupted Pei Du, "Due to space limitations, there are some things I can't explain clearly in a letter. When you return to the capital, you can explain them to the Empress Dowager and His Majesty in person."

Pei Du opened his mouth slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then accepted the task.

"Get some rest tonight, and set off quietly first thing tomorrow morning!"

Qin Yu gave another explanation.

"good!"

Pei Du nodded emphatically.

Afterwards, the three chatted in the room for a while before leaving.

When they came out of the room, Jiang Ci and Xuan Cailing had already left.

"Lord Qin, what has happened?"

"Why have you been talking for so long?"

Ruan Zhi and Nan Que'er hurriedly found and inquired, their eyes revealing their worry.

It's obvious that something serious has happened.

Otherwise, Qin Yu wouldn't be so busy until so late.

"Don't ask any more questions."

Qin Yuchong and the two women smiled. "It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that we agreed that the fewer people who know about this at this stage, the better! I was the one who suggested it, so I can't break the rules."

Hearing Qin Yu's words, the two women couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment.

What on earth is going on?

"Alright, it's getting late, everyone should get some rest!"

Qin Yu didn't say much to Ruan Zhi and took Nan Que'er back to their room.

Upon entering the room, Qin Yu hastily took off his shoes, lay down on the bed, and closed his eyes to rest.

However, the moment he closes his eyes, all sorts of random guesses pop into his mind.

These speculations are baseless and purely speculative.

He knew that his state of mind was wrong, and he tried hard to control himself from overthinking, but he just couldn't do it.

Seeing Qin Yu's furrowed brows, Nan Que'er couldn't help but worry. She slowly walked over and sat down beside him, taking his hand in hers. "If you encounter any difficulties, don't fret. Get a good night's sleep, and maybe you'll find a solution when you wake up tomorrow."

Qin Yu opened his eyes and gently patted Nan Que'er's hand. "Don't worry! This isn't anything particularly difficult, just a bit complicated. We need to sort it out carefully! By the way, how did your talk with Jiang Ci go?"

"Not very good."

Nan Que'er gently shook her head. "I originally wanted to get her drunk, but she kept making excuses that she had important matters to attend to. I was afraid of arousing her suspicion, so I didn't force her! Do you really think Jiang Ci is acting a bit strange?"

"I just felt that when I killed Ge Songtao, she was deliberately feigning fear."

Qin Yu lowered his eyes. "Perhaps I'm overthinking it. Anyway, let's be more careful! There are too many people watching me now, people whose backgrounds we don't know. Let's all be careful, for our own good and for the good of others!"

"Um."

Nan Que'er nodded and rested her head on Qin Yu's chest...

……

Two days later, in the imperial city.

late at night.

Zhao Luan, who had just finished a busy day, was about to rest when Yun Ying, who was on night duty, strode in.

"Your Majesty, Pei Du urgently requests an audience!"

Pei Du?

Zhao Luan suddenly jolted awake and sat up abruptly.

Wasn't Pei Du serving under Qin Yu?

Why did you run back to the capital so late at night?

What happened to Qin Yu?

Even if something happens, Pei Du shouldn't need to make a trip in person, right?

Got it!

Something terrible has probably happened!

Only in this way would Pei Du need to personally run back to the capital!

Could it be that Qin Yu has encountered some danger?

I've given him so much power, how could he possibly be in danger?

Zhao Luan grew increasingly worried and quickly ordered someone to help her dress. She then asked Yun Ying, "Did Pei Du say what happened?"

"No!"

Yun Ying gently shook her head. "Your Majesty has already gone to bed and told him to speak directly to me if he has anything to say, but he said it is of great importance and he must see Your Majesty in person to report it!"

Hearing Yun Ying's words, Zhao Luan felt even more uneasy.

What a big deal!

Something really bad must have happened!

"Alright, that's enough, leave it like this! Summon Pei Du immediately!"

Before the palace maids could finish dressing her, Zhao Luan dismissed them, grabbed a cloak from her bedchamber, and hurriedly walked towards the outer hall of the bedchamber.

When Zhao Luan arrived outside, Yun Ying had already brought in Pei Du, who looked travel-worn.

Pei Du looked somewhat disheveled, clearly from rushing all the way.

"Your humble servant Pei Du pays his respects..."

"Enough!" Zhao Luan stopped Pei Du, who was about to bow, and said sternly, "Get to the point!"

However, Pei Du did not speak, but simply looked around.

Zhao Luan's pupils constricted sharply, and she commanded in a stern voice, "Everyone, stand back!"

"yes!"

Everyone withdrew.

Only after all irrelevant people had left did Pei Du respectfully present a letter to Zhao Luan.

Zhao Luan took the letter and quickly opened it.

Upon seeing the contents of the letter, Zhao Luan's body trembled violently, her reddened eyes fixed on the letter in her hand.

Confirming that she hadn't misread it, Zhao Luan's anger suddenly surged, and her murderous aura was so strong that even Pei Du involuntarily took a step back.

"Is this... really true?"

Zhao Luan raised her head with difficulty, her face terribly cold, and she practically squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth.

Pei Du's voice was deep: "This was discovered personally by my men. Considering that Sun Min's entire family was wiped out, it should be pretty much a done deal!"

Hearing Pei Du's words, Zhao Luan's body trembled violently, her eyes turning a terrifying red, like a ferocious beast ready to devour its prey.

Although Pei Du did not give a definite answer, the fact that he said "it's almost certainly true" meant it was basically the answer!

Zhao Luan suddenly gripped the letter in her hand, and roared menacingly towards the outside, "Prepare the carriage for Cining Palace!"