Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

How can this story of the prince being replaced by a cat be written so that it is flawless and can fool everyone?

Who has the ability to pull off this switcheroo?

And who are the people who have the motive to do this?

Lu Chen began his deduction based on the premise that the real "Lu Chen" was born to the Wang family, whom the King of Xingxian had favored.

If someone really wanted to switch "Lu Chen" and keep him elsewhere back then, they could have done it!

The easiest one to do is naturally Lu Song.

When Lu Chen was born in August of the fourteenth year of Zhengde, Lu Song was an important minister of the Prince Xing's Mansion and the commander of the Prince's guards.

If he wanted to, it wouldn't be difficult at all to find a baby of the same age to switch with the baby Wang had just given birth to.

This estate belongs to the Lu family, and the people living there are all servants of the Lu family.

As the head of the Lu family, it would be easy for him to keep this matter a secret from outsiders, and Wang Shi and Lu Kun would certainly cooperate.

Lu Song is also the most capable of properly arranging the real "Lu Chen" who was switched out elsewhere.

As for why he did this, it could be because he was worried that his wife would find out that Wang had given birth to his illegitimate child, which would be detrimental to the child.

It's also possible that they knew the baby was King Heunghyeon's offspring and were afraid of getting themselves into trouble.

Of course, Lu Song didn't actually do that, but since there's no way to prove it now that he's dead, as long as he had the ability to do it and the motive to do it, that's fine.

Besides Lu Song, Lu Kun could also do it.

Although Lu Kun was just a servant back then, he was still the manager of this estate and had some influence here.

As Lu Chen's nominal father, he didn't even need to do this when Wang Shi had just given birth; he could do it anytime during Lu Chen's entire infancy.

What do babies look like in their swaddling clothes? Apart from their parents, how can outsiders remember clearly?

Did Lu Kun have a motive to switch the baby?

Of course!

The matter concerning Prince Xingxian is of great importance; a single misstep could lead to disaster. Neither Lu Song nor Lady Wang could possibly inform Lu Kun about it.

In Lu Kun's mind, "Lu Chen" could only be Lu Song's illegitimate son.

His actions can only be deduced based on this premise.

When the mistress bestowed the beautiful maid Wang upon him as a concubine, Lu Kun must have been overjoyed. At that time, he had no idea that Wang was already pregnant with Lu Song's child.

Wang gave birth to Lu Chen in the tenth month after marrying Lu Kun as a concubine.

Lu Chen felt that back then, Lu Song wasn't sure if Wang Shi was pregnant either; he just thought it was possible because he had already favored the maid.

There were possibly two scenarios at the time.

If Lu Song had learned of this the moment his wife gave Wang to Lu Kun as a concubine, although he couldn't stop his wife's actions, he could have directly confronted Lu Kun and ordered him not to consummate the marriage with Wang.

As a servant, Lu Kun naturally dared not disobey the patriarch's orders.

But this does not mean that he harbors no resentment.

At this point, Lu Kun naturally understood the real reason why his mistress had given Wang Shi to him as a concubine.

As Wang's belly grew bigger day by day, Lu Kun knew very well that the child in Wang's belly must be Lu Song's, since he had never consummated his marriage with Wang. His resentment would only grow deeper and deeper.

He wouldn't dare to openly oppose Lu Song, but secretly resorting to underhanded tactics to retaliate was a different matter.

Never underestimate the dark side of human nature.

Secretly switching the child would be a great way to get revenge and completely dispel Lu Kun's resentment.

Another possibility is that Lu Song's wife gave Wang Shi to Lu Kun as a concubine, deliberately choosing a time when Lu Song was unavailable or even away on official business.

By the time Lu Song discovered this, Wang Shi and Lu Kun had already consummated their marriage.

At this point, since the deed is already done, Lu Song might not immediately go to find Lu Kun.

But he would still keep a close eye on the matter in secret, and as Wang's belly grew bigger day by day, Lu Song would also begin to wonder if it was his child.

However, he was not confident about this and would most likely remain silent until Wang gave birth to the child.

Lu Kun is extremely ugly; if that child were his, it would surely be a deformed and ugly creature.

Whether it's Lu Kun's child or not is obvious at a glance. If it is, Lu Song will completely let go of the matter and stop paying attention to it.

However, the baby boy born to Wang in August of the fourteenth year of Zhengde was a baby with regular features.

At this moment, Lu Song was certain that the child was not Lu Kun's; it could only be his own.

Similarly, Lu Kun's first thought upon seeing the child was that it wasn't his.

However, as the child's father, he would most likely still harbor a sliver of fantasy, actively hypnotizing himself, such as that Ms. Wang was a beautiful woman and that the child resembled the mother.

However, after Lu Song found him and told him the truth, this last bit of hope was shattered.

the more you hope, the harder you fall.

If that's the case, Lu Kun's resentment towards Lu Song would probably be even deeper than if he had been told from the beginning.

The greater motive for secretly retaliating against Lu Song was to secretly switch the children!

Of course, to achieve this, the cooperation of Lu Chen's birth mother, Wang, is required.

Did Wang have a motive to cooperate with Lu Kun in switching the children?

Yes, there are!

Moreover, regardless of whether "Lu Chen" is Lu Song's child or the child of Prince Xingxian, she has this motive!

Based on what actually happened back then, whether it was Wang who actively seduced Lu Song in order to become the head of the family's concubine, or Lu Song who took a fancy to Wang, the beautiful maidservant beside his wife, and took her body.

Wang was punished by the mistress and given to Lu Kun, an ugly steward, as a concubine. This was all inextricably linked to Lu Song.

Wang must have once harbored illusions about Lu Song, hoping that this head of the Lu family would come to save her.

Unfortunately, she didn't live to see that day; Lu Song didn't dare to clash with his wife for her sake.

All Lu Song cared about was the child in her womb.

It can be terrifying when a woman becomes completely disillusioned with a man she once placed high hopes on and turns to the dark side.

Wang's desire to take revenge on Lu Song might be even stronger than Lu Kun's!

The more Lu Song cared about something, the more she wanted to destroy it!

Let alone cooperating with Lu Kun to switch the children, even if Lu Kun hadn't thought of this, she might have brought it up herself!

Even if Lu Kun had no such intention, she would still have the opportunity to accomplish this on her own!

In April of the sixteenth year of the Zhengde reign, after Lu Song and Lu Kun accompanied Zhu Houcong, the heir apparent of the Prince of Xing, to the capital to inherit the throne, only Wang Shi was left to live alone with her child in Chengtian Prefecture.

Lu Chen was only a little over one year old at the time.

Lu Chen glanced at the old steward beside him.

According to this person, Wang and Lu Chen always lived a secluded life and rarely interacted with others. Every year, Lu Kun would send some silver back to them to cover their living expenses.

Even a child who is just over one year old is not yet capable of going out on his own and interacting with other people in the village.

Apart from Wang herself, not many people actually remember what the young "Lu Chen" looked like.