Chapter 264 Scandal Exposed
Shen Jingxuan and Xie Lingxiao sat in Yulin Courtyard, watching Lu Changfan doing exercises in the distance.
Ling Qiong and Ling Huan stood behind Shen Jingxuan and told what happened after they left the Prince's Mansion and where the Queen went.
Shen Jingxuan asked: "Did the Queen go to discuss countermeasures with Lu Zhong?"
Xie Lingxiao's words in the Prince's Mansion seemed uncertain about whether they were true or not, but they still made the Queen so nervous.
The seeds of doubt were also left in the hearts of civil and military officials in the court.
Once the seeds of doubt are planted, they will take root and sprout in the heart.
When this matter is brought up again in the future, the seed will have grown into a towering tree. Even if there are still doubts in one's heart, one will strive to seek the truth to resolve them.
Xie Lingxiao said: "They are people with guilty consciences. Even if there is a slight disturbance, they will be ready to go."
"Given Lu Zhong's character, he will either continue to observe and find out whether the news has really been leaked."
"Or you will be fully prepared so that even if things fail, you can still get out of this unscathed."
Lu Zhong is a man who is careful and meticulous in his work and will never let anyone find fault with him no matter what he does.
This is also the reason why, even under the emperor's nose, he has been able to remain rich enough to rival a country without being noticed and remain firmly in the position of prime minister for so many years.
Shen Jingxuan frowned slightly: "Lu Zhong is not the queen. I'm afraid he will be investigating while preparing for the matter to be exposed."
Although the Queen was the ruler of the Imperial Palace, she was far inferior to Lu Zhong in terms of thoughts and strategies.
I think her ability to become the queen was closely related to Lu Zhong's advice.
Xie Lingxiao said: "If the truth is revealed, even if there is no witness, it will not be easy for them to deny it."
There were many people attending Xie Zihan's wedding, including all the civil and military officials in the court. What would it matter even if the queen dispelled their doubts with just a few words?
There will always be people who are not so easily fooled. There will also be censors who are loyal to the emperor and secretly give him advice. It is just a matter of time.
Xie Lingxiao said this simply because he didn't want the emperor to turn his attention to him.
After all, his wedding to Shen Jingxuan is approaching, and no accidents can happen.
Shen Jingxuan said: "Now that the Queen has gone to find Lu Zhong to come up with a plan, and Xie Zihan and Lu Jinxuan have already gotten married, I'm afraid Lu Zhong will do something in the days ahead, right?"
"Perhaps he won't be so anxious. After all, we still don't know whether Lu Jinxuan will give birth to a boy or a girl."
"But Lu Zhongding will make all the necessary preparations in advance, just waiting for Lu Jinxuan to give birth."
Xie Zihan may not care about Lu Jinxuan, but Lu Zhong and the Queen would not. After all, they had been planning carefully for many years just for this moment.
Xie Lingxiao said: "Arrangements will definitely be made in advance, but although Lu Jinxuan is the hope of Lu Zhong and the Queen, she is also the biggest variable."
For a woman, giving birth is like walking through the gates of hell.
Lu Zhong and the Queen placed their hopes on Lu Jinxuan, wondering if she could get through that hurdle safely.
After hearing what Xie Lingxiao said, Shen Jingxuan was stunned for a moment and said, "Lu Jinxuan may not be the biggest variable. For the Prime Minister's Mansion, Lu Zhenyu is the variable."
After she finished speaking, she looked at Xie Lingxiao and raised her eyebrows slightly: "Ah Xiao, what do you think would happen if Lu Zhenyu woke up and found that Lu Jinxuan had already married into the Prince's Mansion?"
Given Lu Zhenyu's obsession with Lu Jinxuan, when he wakes up, will he turn the Prime Minister's Mansion upside down?
And the Lu Zhenyu that Shen Jingxuan mentioned was indeed standing outside Lu Zhong's study and wanted to rush into the study, just as she said.
Several guards blocked his way and refused to let him in no matter what.
Lu Zhenyu stared at the study with red eyes.
He had been to the study before, but it had never been guarded as strictly as it was today.
Today's strangeness made him realize that something was unusual.
Although he was furious about Lu Jinxuan's matter, he became sober at this moment because of everything he saw.
Seeing that the guards outside the door were not going to move aside, Lu Zhenyu turned and left, but returned to the back of the study out of their sight.
He lay under the window, listening quietly to the sounds in the room.
Even though Lu Zhenyu had experienced this countless times, he had never known that a woman's voice could be so gentle and charming.
Curiosity drove him to hide there motionless until no more sound came from the room.
As the sun set, the door of Lu Zhong's study finally opened.
Lu Zhenyu walked lightly to the corner of the study and stared at the woman in front of the study door.
The woman was wearing a cloak with a hood on her head, but even so, Lu Zhenyu recognized her at first sight.
aunt?
Lu Zhenyu looked at everything in front of him in shock. He did not move an inch until Lu Zhong sent the queen out of the Prime Minister's Mansion and returned.
The sound of footsteps in front of him interrupted his thoughts.
Lu Zhenyu walked out slowly. When he saw a figure swaying in front of him, Lu Zhong suddenly stopped.
Seeing Lu Zhenyu approaching, Lu Zhong's face instantly turned gloomy.
He never expected that his secret with the queen would be discovered again.
"Hey, Dad, don't you have anything to say to me?" Lu Zhenyu looked at Lu Zhong.
No wonder his father tried his best to stop him from being with Xuan'er. As smart as he is, how could he not know Lu Zhong's thoughts.
Thinking about the last time my mother laughed crazily, what did she say about committing a sin?
Lu Zhenyu figured it all out in the blink of an eye. He taunted, "Dad, you can be so kind to my aunt, why do you want to separate Xuan'er and me?"
"Pah..." Lu Zhenyu's cheek tilted to the other side.
Not only did he not stop, but he laughed: "Dad is the Prime Minister, but he is secretly having an affair with the current Queen."
"Father, if the emperor knew about this, how many heads would you have left to chop off?"
"What do you think will happen to my aunt? Will she be sent to the cold palace, or be given a cup of poisoned wine, or be given a piece of white silk?"
Seeing Lu Zhong staring at him in shock, Lu Zhenyu laughed until tears came out: "You don't let me be with Xuan'er, but you are having sex with my aunt. How can you control me?"
"Am I not your child? I am like you in this respect."
Lu Zhenyu ignored Lu Zhong's murderous look and continued shouting in front of the study.
Even when Mrs. Lu came rushing over after hearing the noise, he still didn't know.
"By the way, Dad, what do you think Xie Zihan would do if the Emperor knew about this?"
"Depose the crown prince? Demote him to a commoner? Or do you think he is a disgrace to you and want to kill him as soon as possible?"
Lu Zhong's pupils shrank slightly, and he stared at Lu Zhenyu intently.
He knew that Lu Zhenyu had been extremely intelligent since childhood, but he did not expect that he could guess Xie Zihan's identity just by seeing him and the queen once.
Before he could think further, Lu Zhenyu said loudly, "Dad, when I see Xie Zihan in the future, do you think I should call him Prince, or call him Brother to sound more intimate?"
After saying this, Lu Zhenyu stood in front of the study, as if he had discovered a huge joke. He laughed so hard that he couldn't straighten his back, but tears kept flowing down his face.
He hated Lu Zhong.
She hated him for taking Lu Jinxuan away from her, hated him for ignoring everyone in the Prime Minister's Mansion and having an affair with the Queen for many years, and hated him even more for deceiving her mother and having Xie Zihan with her own sister.
When he raised his eyes, he saw Mrs. Lu standing in the distance.
Lu Zhenyu put away his smile and said, "Mother, you have worked hard over the years."
He did not question Mrs. Lu why she knew everything but kept it to herself until now.
The answer was already obvious, just because he and Xuan'er were still young, just because she wanted to be with them, and just because she was a married woman with nowhere to go.
Lu Zhong's eyes moved back and forth between the two of them: "Someone, lock up the eldest master."