Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

So that's what happened!

Sun Dexiu felt that he had already glimpsed the truth of what happened back then.

Lu Chen's face undoubtedly shows a very close blood relationship with the Emperor.

However, Lu Chen is only twelve years younger than the Emperor, so the possibility of them being father and son can be basically ruled out.

Since they're not father and son, they can only be brothers!

Lu Chen's birth mother was a maidservant of the wet nurse of the Prince of Xing, so it was entirely possible for her to have come into contact with His Highness the Prince of Xing.

In October or November of the thirteenth year of the Zhengde reign, he had sex with a beautiful maidservant who served Lady Fan, and she became pregnant.

It wasn't Lu Song at all, nor was it the eleven-year-old Prince Xing's heir; it was Prince Xing himself.

That is, the biological father of the current emperor, the late Emperor Xian.

Back then, Lu Song was a close advisor who accompanied Prince Xing to his fiefdom, and his loyalty to the prince was beyond question.

It's nothing unusual for His Highness Prince Xing to have sex with his wife's maid.

As a prince, he naturally had no need to hide such a thing from Lu Song.

In other words, Lu Song himself must have known about this.

Under normal circumstances, Lu Song should have taken the initiative to send Wang Shi to the Prince of Xing's residence afterward and presented her to His Highness.

But why didn't Lu Song do that back then?

Sun Dexiu couldn't help but frown.

Perhaps after Prince Xing favored Lady Wang, he didn't take her too seriously and didn't instruct Lu Song to immediately send her to Prince Xing's residence.

Even if His Highness Prince Kexing doesn't mention it, Lu Song himself can't afford to take it lightly, can he?

Yes, there's only one reason why Lu Song didn't do that!

That is, before His Highness Prince Xing slept with Lady Wang, she was no longer a virgin.

Lu Song himself also favored this beautiful maid!

Moreover, the time interval was very short.

Royal bloodlines must not be defiled, not even by princes!

If Lu Songzhen were to send Wang Shi to the Xingwang Mansion, and it were discovered that she was pregnant, it could potentially bring about the extermination of the Lu family!

His Highness Prince Xing has few children, with only two sons and one daughter, and his eldest son has already died young.

If anything were to happen to the heir before he could have children, the Xingwang Mansion would face extinction and the end of the kingdom.

If Lady Wang gives birth to a son, the Prince of Xing's mansion will surely cherish him as a treasure.

But is this child His Highness Prince Xing's child, or Lu Song's child?

I'm afraid even Lu Song and Wang themselves have no confidence!

Children grow up day by day, and if they look like Prince Xing and the Crown Prince, then everyone will be happy.

But if you're unlucky and the child grows to look more and more like Lu Song, that would be a huge disaster!

It's not uncommon for children and their fathers to not resemble each other very much.

But if she starts to look more and more like her father's guard commander, then she'll never be able to clear her name!

The Xingwang Mansion will surely believe that Lu Song offered the Wang family to His Highness the Xingwang in order to emulate Lü Buwei and commit the heinous act of usurping someone else's place!

If things really develop to this point, the Lu family will definitely not escape the fate of being exterminated along with their entire clan!

Did Lu Song's wife, Lady Fan, who was the wet nurse of the Prince of Xing back then, know about this?

Sun Dexiu's heart began to pound. This woman, now known as "Lady Yousheng," probably knew about it!

Since it concerned the life and death of the Lu family, and even her own family, she naturally put aside the trivial matter of jealousy and rivalry.

The story of Fan giving her maid Wang to Lu Kun as a concubine was actually a play orchestrated by Lu Song and his wife!

It was made for His Highness Prince Xing to see!

Before Lu Song could send Wang to the Prince of Xing's residence, Fan pretended not to know that the Prince of Xing had slept with her, but instead "discovered" that her husband was having an affair with her maid, and became extremely jealous.

Taking advantage of Lu Song's absence from the manor, in a fit of anger, he bestowed Wang Shi upon Lu Kun, the ugly steward of his estate, as a concubine.

By the time Lu Song returned to the mansion, Lady Wang had already consummated her marriage with Lu Kun.

Since things have come to this point, Wang Shi could no longer be sent to the Prince's residence to serve Prince Xing. Lu Song could only take his wife and go to Prince Xing to apologize.

Lu Song is a trusted minister of Prince Xing, and Lady Fan is the wet nurse of the crown prince. How could Prince Xing really punish the couple for the sake of a maid?

Naturally, this matter could only be left unresolved.

The Lu family also averted a potential catastrophe.

The more Sun Dexiu thought about it, the closer he felt he was to the truth.

If what happened back then was truly the case, were Wang and Lu Kun aware of it?

Well, Lu Kun probably only knows half of it!

Lu Song and the Fan family couldn't tell him the whole truth, but they also couldn't leave him completely ignorant.

The most likely scenario is that Fan will play the bad cop and Lu Song will play the good cop.

In front of Lu Kun, Madam Fan played the role of a jealous woman to the very end, making him firmly believe that Madam Wang was given to him as a concubine by the madam because she seduced the head of the family or was favored by the head of the family.

But Lu Song turned around and privately approached Lu Kun, telling him that he had favored Wang Shi and that she might be pregnant, and ordered Lu Kun to take care of her as his concubine.

If the child is born, Lu Kun will raise it as his own.

Of course, in return, Lu Song should have promised Lu Kun some compensation.

This may explain why Lu Kun was able to rise from a manager at a manor to the hereditary seventh-rank commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The fact that His Highness Prince Xing had also slept with Lady Wang was something that naturally neither needed nor could be told to Lu Kun.

Of course, Wang himself was certainly aware of it.

However, Lu Song and Madam Fan must have explained the advantages and disadvantages to her, and may have even made some promises.

For example, guaranteeing her a life of comfort and security, and if she does give birth to a child, ensuring the child a bright future.

As for giving Lu Kun, that ugly steward, as a concubine, it was just a cover-up.

Judging from the fact that Wang Shi and her son Lu Chen never went to the capital with Lu Kun, but instead stayed in their hometown of Chengtian Prefecture as Lu Kun's concubine and illegitimate son, this is very likely the truth!

The Lu Song couple likely kept this matter a secret from their sons, Lu Bing and Lu Wei, until Lu Song finally told his sons just before he passed away.

No, there's still something that doesn't make sense!

Those who have never seen the Emperor's true face would naturally not find anything wrong with Lu Chen's face!

However, Lu Song's family were close advisors to the emperor; one could even say they watched the emperor grow up.

How could they not see that Lu Chen looked remarkably like the Emperor?

Lu Song, Fan Shi, and Lu Chen's birth mother, Wang Shi, were originally just unsure whether the child was Prince Xing or Lu Song's.

The child bears such a striking resemblance to the Crown Prince of Xing that he is undoubtedly the son of His Highness the Prince of Xing.

If that's the case, why would they need to secretly raise this child in their hometown of Chengtian Prefecture as Lu Kun's illegitimate son?

The line of Prince Xing had few descendants. The Emperor entered the capital at the age of thirteen to inherit the throne. In fact, like the late Emperor Wuzong, he was an only child.

If he fails to produce an heir in time, the lineage of King Heung could also end up extinct, just like the lineage of King Hyojong.

If such a thing were to happen, the court would have no choice but to select a collateral branch of Emperor Xianzong's descendants to inherit the throne once again.

If Emperor Xian had another son besides his father who was still alive, and who had even grown up.

For the Xingwang lineage, this is definitely something to celebrate!