For so many years, the Eldest Princess never once believed that Princess Consort Lu had truly died.
When the Lu family wanted to set up a memorial tablet for Lu Mingan and a grave for their child, Lu Jintang, she had forcefully rejected them all.
She completely refused to acknowledge the deaths of Lu Mingan and Lu Jintang and persistently resisted any such notion.
Her resistance, coupled with Emperor Yongchang’s genuine guilt toward his sister, allowed the matter to be left unresolved for years.
But even though she remained outwardly firm, as time slowly passed, her heart had long given up hope.
After all this time, if Lu Mingan were still alive, even if he had to crawl, he should have made it back to the capital by now.
Who would have thought that just when she had abandoned all hope—Lu Mingan actually came back!
The prayer beads in her hand snapped apart with a sharp crack, scattering and rolling all over the floor.
Immediately, she shot to her feet, her mind a complete mess. In her haste, she banged into the corner of the table but still rushed outside in a panic.
She had to see her child! The child she had yearned for all these years.
Back then, to help Emperor Yongchang forge ties with the royal clan in advance and to win the Empress Dowager’s trust, she left her child in Princess Consort Lu’s care and entered the capital with the Emperor ahead of time.
Who knew that the news waiting for her would be that Princess Consort Lu, while escorting Liu Wangfei to the capital, was attacked by bandits.
Since then, she had hardly known a peaceful night’s sleep.
Every time she closed her eyes, she would dream of Lu Jintang’s little voice calling her “Mother.”
Her Jintang had only been five years old at the time! Just a child!
Xiao Yunting hurried to block her: “Great-Aunt, the Emperor has not yet given the order to summon you. You…”
But the Eldest Princess, completely dazed, could no longer hear what Xiao Yunting was saying.
It wasn’t until she had rushed out past the mountain gates and was hit by the cold wind that she finally snapped back to her senses when she saw Qi Yuan on horseback.
Xiao Yunting also saw Qi Yuan and immediately let out a sigh of relief. He quickly stepped forward to take Qi Yuan’s reins. Seeing her nimbly dismount, he asked anxiously, “Where did you just go? I thought you came here to see Great-Aunt.”
Qi Yuan didn’t waste words and said as she walked, “I went to Liu Wangfei’s maternal family, the Jiang family. Things are a bit beyond what we expected—I’m afraid Liu Wangfei won’t be able to do anything to Duke Chu’s household.”
Xiao Yunting’s expression immediately changed: “What do you mean?”
The Eldest Princess, having calmed down upon seeing Qi Yuan, also frowned thoughtfully when she heard this.
Once inside the temple courtyard, Jiang Mama quickly went to prepare tea.
Qi Yuan then explained her suspicions and told them about the Jiang family member being taken to the palace.
She didn’t hide anything and said bluntly: “Duke Chu’s recent inactivity is actually a little too excessive. It’s not like him or Qi Wang’s faction. So I thought about it carefully—most likely, they plan to smear Liu Wangfei to clear their own names.”
This way, they wouldn’t have to worry about Liu Wangfei’s return posing any threat.
The Eldest Princess, burning with anxiety, quickly asked: “What about Lu Mingan and Jintang? How are they?”
Since it was Qi Zhen who brought them back, Qi Yuan was naturally the most reliable.
Sure enough, Qi Yuan knew everything and answered steadily: “Princess Consort Lu is actually fine. It’s just that he’s been repeatedly hunted over the years, and the forces pursuing him have never stopped, so he never had the chance nor the courage to enter the capital. As for Lu Jintang—thankfully, unharmed.”
The Eldest Princess clutched her wildly pounding heart and shivered instinctively.
Xiao Yunting frowned tightly: “If this is Duke Chu’s plan, then things will get complicated. The former Duchess Chu is already deceased, so there’s no one left to testify. The Jiang family, for the sake of profit, is now siding with Duke Chu’s household. They’ll obviously say whatever Duke Chu wants.”
The Eldest Princess hated the Liu family to the core.
She gnashed her teeth and let out a cold laugh: “Truly devoted, isn’t he? For the sake of his concubine, he framed and murdered his legal wife and legitimate daughter. Now he even wants to slander his legitimate daughter, refusing to acknowledge his own flesh and blood—what a beast!”
If he had the guts, he shouldn’t have married Madam Jiang in the first place.
But of course, he married her for the Jiang family’s influence at the time.
And now that the Jiang family has declined, this is how he treats his original wife.
He’s trash!
But aside from cursing him, she had no solution in sight.
Qi Yuan, however, tapped the table and said in a low voice: “Is whatever they say automatically true? If that’s the case, then I could just say I’m the Jade Emperor, and they’d have to kneel before me in worship, wouldn’t they?”
…
The conversation had been serious up to this point, but suddenly Qi Yuan blurted out something like this, and despite her grief, the Eldest Princess couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, half scolding: “How dare you be so disrespectful to the gods?”
Qi Yuan raised her brows and smirked: “I have an idea.”
Both Xiao Yunting and the Eldest Princess immediately turned to look at her.
Xiao Yunting was especially quick to react: “Let’s hear it.”
The Eldest Princess also asked: “How can we prove that Liu Wangfei is truly Duke Chu’s biological daughter? Since the Jiang family is willing to testify for Duke Chu, they’ve obviously already been bought off.”
Qi Yuan smiled: “Why waste our efforts proving such a pointless question? Instead of proving that Liu Wangfei is his biological daughter, why not prove that the ones who tried to assassinate Liu Wangfei and Princess Consort Lu back then were Duke Chu’s people?”
What’s the point of arguing over whether she’s biologically his?
In fact, it would be even better if she wasn’t.
If she’s not his biological daughter but it’s proven that Duke Chu tried to kill her and Princess Consort Lu back then, then her revenge would have no obstacles. Since they aren’t blood-related, wouldn’t it be perfectly reasonable for her to seek vengeance?
Xiao Yunting couldn’t help but laugh.
Exactly!
He immediately understood Qi Yuan’s meaning: “How do we prove it? Didn’t your father say that Princess Consort Lu had amnesia? Then… should we help him recover his memory?”
Qi Yuan asked in return: “Exactly. If the Eldest Princess goes to visit Princess Consort Lu, and in her excitement, he suddenly recalls the truth and remembers key evidence from the past—then requests to see the Emperor—what do you think those people will do?”
What choice would they have left?
The Eldest Princess and Xiao Yunting exchanged glances and immediately nodded.
They discussed the finer details a while longer before Qi Yuan and Xiao Yunting went down the mountain to return to the capital.
On the way, Xiao Yunting said seriously: “They’ll surely retaliate desperately to kill Princess Consort Lu…”
Qi Yuan responded with a calm “Mm”.
“Yes. But the ones who’ll die will only be them.”
Xiao Yunting paused briefly and glanced at Qi Yuan: “Who do you think will be the first to make a move this time?”
He coughed and rephrased: “Who are we going to kill this time?”
Qi Yuan smirked: “Back then, there’s no way Duke Chu personally carried out the assassination of Liu Wangfei. He definitely had accomplices—otherwise, he wouldn’t have known her whereabouts so precisely, nor would they have been able to pursue her all these years in Min territory with such persistent forces. So…”
Qi Yuan raised her brows: “Whoever rushes to see Princess Consort Lu first—that’s the one.”
Aside from the Eldest Princess, whoever can’t wait to meet Princess Consort Lu—that’s the one.
Qi Yuan glanced at Xiao Yunting: “I’ll go wait in the suburbs of the capital first.”
