When Zhou Ling returned, it was already late at night.
The huge Prince An's Mansion seemed to have been emptied out, and he couldn't even find a boy holding a lantern to light his way.
He walked all the way and finally came to the door of the main room, only to see that Gu Zizhen and others had their hands and feet tied and were thrown under the wall.
They twisted their bodies one by one with difficulty, trying to make a sound for him to warn him, but their mouths were blocked and they could not speak, so it was still a step too late.
Zhao Lin's people surrounded the courtyard, and the fire ignited, piercing Zhou Ling's eyes red.
He sneered and his mood hit rock bottom.
Zhao Lin walked out of the main room and asked coldly: "Forget it about Lu Yunhong's departure from Beijing. It's a done deal. It's useless to say more."
"But what you did today was really unscrupulous. Why, do you think I don't dare to kill you?"
Zhou Ling was angry, but he didn't want to argue with Zhao Lin.
This was a trap set by Gu Yan for him. Only if he could stand up to Zhao Lin's doubts and questions, would he be able to establish himself in the capital in the future.
On the contrary, if he can't stay in the capital, and he doesn't want to bear the misunderstandings and insults, he will naturally embark on a road of no return.
But in fact, is that really a point of no return?
Zhou Ling threw the scroll he brought to Zhao Lin, and then went back to the main room without saying a word.
Zhao Lin held the scroll and asked puzzledly: "What is this?"
Zhou Ling didn't answer. Zhao Lin thought of something in a daze and felt his palms getting hot.
After hesitating for a moment, he dismissed everyone, even the guards around Zhou Ling were dragged away, and the courtyard returned to its silent appearance.
Soon, he walked into the room holding the scroll.
…
Lu Mansion.
Wang Xiu woke up after a long sleep and saw the eldest princess teasing her daughter. It was late at night and Lu Yunhong had not come back yet.
Or maybe he's back, but it's not convenient to show up because the eldest princess is here.
Seeing Wang Xiu wake up, the eldest princess quickly asked someone to get hot water to wipe her face, and also brought the soup that had been prepared long ago.
She ate some with Wang Xiu and said, "Pei Shan told me everything today. Zhou Ling is simply not a human being."
Wang Xiu shook his head and said, "I don't think it's him."
The eldest princess asked in surprise: "Why do you always speak for him?"
Wang Xiu smiled bitterly and quickly explained: "That's not the case, because Zhou Ling is still in the capital. If he is determined to do anything to the prince, it will never be in front of the Lu Mansion."
"What's more, it also involves Pei Shan's grandfather."
The eldest princess sneered: "Even if he didn't do it himself, he must have given instructions behind it."
Wang Xiu smiled slightly and did not refute.
She recalled that in her previous life, Zhao Jinghuan ascended the throne and Lu Yunhong assisted in government. King An died completely, so it was impossible for Zhou Ling to borrow his identity.
In other words, if Zhou Ling wanted to compete for the throne in his previous life, Zhao Jinghuan would never be able to compete with him.
The most important point is that if Lu Yunhong found out that Zhou Ling just wanted to use Zhao Jinghuan as a puppet, he would not let it go.
But these two people had never met in the previous life. In other words, Zhou Ling didn't want people to know his existence, so even Zhao Jinghuan probably didn't know that he still had a biological uncle who was still alive, right?
It's just that Wang Xiu couldn't tell the eldest princess all the secrets, but she still said to the eldest princess: "The truth will eventually come out, and if not now, it will come out soon."
The eldest princess thought she meant that Lu Yunhong would go out to the capital to investigate and would know everything soon, so she nodded in agreement.
Outside the door, Pei Shan, who heard their voices, left quickly.
…
Early the next morning, the courtiers made a lot of excuses about the shooting of cold arrows outside the gate of Lu Mansion and the kidnapping of Pei Shan's grandfather, and punished several Beijing officials.
But the matter did not subside. Many people implied that several princes should not continue to stay in the capital, especially Prince An.
He was disrespectful to the late emperor, which made him disgusted. His conduct was corrupt and he should be demoted to a commoner.
However, all these discounts have fallen into disfavor.
At this time, news came from Yangzhou that Lu Yunhong successfully rescued his father, Lu Shouchang. However, the father and son encountered water bandits on their way back to Beijing by boat. Lu Yunhong lost his footing and fell into the water. His life or death is unknown.
The courtiers were all excited at this moment, and many of them were even more worried about themselves. They thought that even officials with strong backgrounds like Lu Yunhong had suffered, and they wondered what would happen to them when it was their turn in the future.
As a result, all the ministers jointly submitted a petition to expel King An from the capital.
As for the fiefdom, it is even more unthinkable, because the ministers do not want to raise tigers to cause trouble.
And this time, the new emperor did not disappoint them and agreed.
When all the ministers saw that the plan had succeeded, they all breathed a sigh of relief, but a new question arose. Where could King An go?
Someone tentatively asked the emperor, but the emperor gave him a knife and angrily said: "King An is not guilty. He is not a prisoner. Where can he go?"
So, they began to discuss again, it would be better to give King An a piece of land.
The fief cannot be too far from the capital, but it cannot be too close either.
Finally, they settled King An's fiefdom in Pingyang Mansion.
However, before the new emperor's decree was issued, King An left the capital and his whereabouts are unknown.
In the Lu Mansion, Wang Xiu, who had just given birth, finished washing up and saw Lu Yunhong coming back, carrying two smoke cages.
She asked in surprise: "How did you know I was taking a shower just now?"
Lu Yunhong put down the smoke cage, took a look at her wet hair, stretched out his hand to pull her over and sat beside the smoke cage. Then he took the handkerchief from her hand and wiped her hair carefully.
Wang Xiu was suspicious in his heart, why didn't this guy speak?
Lu Yunhong seemed to see her doubts and said: "Prince An is out of the capital, you know that, right?"
Wang Xiu nodded and said seriously: "Is there anyone who doesn't know about this now?"
Lu Yunhong said again: "Axiu, but I still can't hear your voice."
Wang Xiu was stunned and didn't understand for a while. But she noticed something was wrong, pushed Lu Yunhong away, and asked solemnly: "What are you talking about?"
Lu Yunhong sighed softly, held her hand and said, "If Zhou Ling really leaves, I can hear your heartfelt voice."
"But now, I can't hear. Can't I hear what you are thinking?"
Wang Xiu was stunned, and his expression changed drastically after a moment.
But Lu Yunhong held her hand tightly, hugged her into his arms and said, "Don't panic, at least we know the truth."
Wang Xiu curled up in Lu Yunhong's arms, her body trembling involuntarily, and the fear in her eyes flashed away.
If what Lu Yunhong said was true, then this incident was too shocking. How could she not panic?
This also means that the high-ranking person in the palace now is Zhou Ling!