Hibiscus Tent: The Prime Minister’s palm is reborn

Chapter 632: Old Matter Revisited

"Lu's family?"

Wang Tingyue was stunned for a moment, frowned and looked at Liang Qian to repeat it, then turned his inquiring gaze to Yuwen Jue.

Yuwen Jue raised his eyelashes slightly: "To be exact, it's Lu Mingye."

"Lu Mingye? Lu Xu's son?"

Wang Tingyue couldn't help but frown, sat up straight, and was a little confused for a moment: "Why would A Jiao be with them--"

He stopped talking halfway and looked at the two of them uncertainly.

"Could it be that the fire in Pingtang that day was caused by Lu?"

Yuwen Jue raised his lips, gently lowered his eyelashes, looked at the chess piece in his palm, and nodded slightly: "That's right."

Wang Tingyue took a deep breath and was very confused: "Why?"

Liang Qian pursed her lips and looked at him, not knowing where to start.

It's no wonder that he was so surprised. Everyone knew that General Wang Tingyue was promoted by Shangshu Ling Lu Xu.

Wasn’t it the same for me at the beginning?

She had suspected most of the people in the court, including Gao Huan, Gao Hao, Gao Jun... She even suspected the empress dowager, but she never thought it would be Lu Mingye.

Wang Tingyue suddenly remembered something and stood up to go out. "I'll go ask Ajiao."

"Wait," Liang Qian hurriedly stopped him, "I have already asked her, but she didn't admit it. But——"

As he said this, he placed the small scroll that Liang Jiao had written to Lu on the table.

"Look at this and you'll know if I have wronged her."

Wang Tingyue looked back and did not doubt Liang Qian. He just said, "She must have been forced by someone."

Liang Qian nodded slightly and did not deny: "I know you are worried about her. In fact, before you came to Pingwu, I knew that she was sent by Lu. I suspected that she was coerced, but there was no sign of poisoning on her body. I don't know why she did this. I didn't tell you because I was afraid-"

"I understand." Wang Tingyue was silent for a moment, then sat back down with a frown on his face. "But how did Ajiao fall into their hands?"

Liang Qian looked at him and said, "I have thought about this question. They probably wanted to take advantage of you sleeping at night, but you were not there. So they arrested Liang Jiao and set the fire to force you to show up. Later, you really wanted to rush into the fire to save people. When the assassins fought with you, you were injured and fell into the water. Your life or death is unknown. They couldn't find your body, so they must have suspected that you were not dead. They kept Liang Jiao alive not only to lure you out, but also to deal with me and, of course, him."

Liang Qian glanced at Yuwen Jue beside her and continued, "The fire in the palace's plum forest was caused by Lu. We only found out about it the night before we came to Pingwu."

Wang Tingyue pursed his lips and stared at Liang Qian with a serious expression.

Liang Qian said, "As soon as the news of my being in Pingwu spread, the Lu clan indeed sent someone, but I never expected that it would be Ajiao. By the way, you probably don't know that the concubine of Langya King Gao Shu was from the Lu clan's side branch. It was she who sent Ajiao to me that day."

Wang Tingyue lowered his eyebrows and sighed softly: "It was me who caused her trouble. It's reasonable for her to blame me."

Liang Qian's eyes were dim and unclear. She tilted her head to look at Yuwen Jue, not knowing whether she should continue to say some words.

After a moment of silence, she finally spoke: "You don't like socializing, but Ajiao has always been very close to the women of the official family. As far as I know, in addition to Princess Guangping, she seems to have a good relationship with Lu Mingye's wife."

Wang Tingyue wanted to explain something, but nodded truthfully: "She likes socializing, and she finds it boring to stay in the mansion, so she often goes out for a walk."

Liang Qian didn't say much, and said, "At first, I thought that the Lu family was willing to use you because they simply admired you. After thinking about it carefully, I realized that in fact, your Wang family and the Lu family have a close relationship. If you trace it back, you have to start with your father."

When Wang Su was mentioned, Wang Tingyue raised his head and looked at Liang Qian without saying anything.

It was no secret that his father had always had frequent contacts with important officials in the court, and his relationship with the Lu and Lou families was even closer.

His eldest sister-in-law is Lou Xueru, the daughter of Lou Jing and Lu Ying.

Liang Qian thought of the secret letter from Yuwen Heng. Wang Su had always been loyal to the Queen Mother, and even Wang Yansheng was protected by the Queen Mother. Would the Queen Mother also know about the coinage?

As she thought about this, she said, "The private minting of coins——"

Yuwen Jue's dark eyes were extremely cold. He played with the chess pieces in his hand leisurely and took over the conversation calmly: "The Lu and Lou families were also involved."

Wang Tingyue and Liang Qian looked at Yuwen Jue at the same time with surprise in their eyes.

Liang Qian did not forget that in the Dali Temple prison, Wang Su shouted that he wanted to see Gao Qian, and laughed and mocked Lu Xiu for getting involved in this mess for a woman.

"You--" She stared at Yuwen Jue in a daze, not knowing what to say.

Perhaps this is why the Grand Tutor insisted on letting him marry into the Cao family.

Yuwen Jue pursed his lips slightly, turned his head, and smiled indifferently: "At that time, I only knew something vaguely."

Their eyes met and Liang Qian understood.

He said it so confidently just now, it must be because he was in power in his previous life and only understood it after actually coming into contact with it.

Liang Qian slowly lowered her eyes, thinking that this might be the reason why the Lou family, although they were related by marriage to the Lu family, still wanted to take action against Lu Xiu.

Liang Qian felt mixed emotions and couldn't tell what she felt.

Several people were silent for a moment.

Wang Tingyue frowned: "Then why did Lu Mingye want to kill me?"

Liang Qian looked over and said, "You also know that after the death of the Grand Tutor, the Lu family fell apart. After the deaths of Lu Ying and Gao Yi, the Lu family was not as good as before, but with Lu Xu around, it could still intimidate others. Until Lu Xu was assassinated, the situation of the Lu family really plummeted.

Although Lu Mingye took over the power of the family, he lacked prestige externally and was difficult to convince internally. He must have seen that Gao Yang and I were in a precarious position, so in order to find another way out, he secretly colluded with Gao Hao, who had promised that Lu Wanying's unborn child would inherit the throne...

Of course, there is another point. Gao Hao produced evidence that Gao Huan and I were good friends. You have to know that it was Gao Huan who wrote and acted out a play and assassinated Lu Xu in the street. When Lu Mingye knew the truth, how could he not hate me as well?

As for you, I think he must have seen through my intentions and was afraid that you would come back. When the Zhou army was approaching, General Hulu proposed that you return to Jinye. Although I refused, they would not really feel at ease..."

After Liang Qian finished speaking, she just sighed.

Wang Tingyue finally understood.

Yuwen Jue narrowed his eyes slightly, spoke in a low voice, and his eyes were particularly cold: "You missed the most important point."

Liang Qian was slightly surprised and looked at him doubtfully: "The most important thing?"

There was nothing but coldness in Yuwen Jue's lowered eyes.

But his voice was even colder than his eyes.

"The Lu family never lets traitors go."

Liang Qian was stunned: "Traitor?"

Yuwen Jue lazily put down the chess piece in his hand, turned his head to look at her, the smile on his lips was so faint that it was almost invisible.

"Yes, once you step into the Lu family, you have to work for them for the rest of your life. Otherwise, you will die."

Liang Qian stared at Yuwen Jue in a daze, unable to speak.

So, is he the same?

Looking at Yuwen Jue, Liang Qian suddenly remembered that year when he took her to watch the execution of a female assassin, but she never expected that she fainted from fright at the bloody scene.

It was also that night that Lu Xiu told her that he had seen someone being tortured when he was six years old.

She was very surprised when she heard this and didn't understand why it was so.

Lu Xiu laughed and asked her if she thought all the children of noble families were idle and uneducated?

It was also that time that he told her that no one can always live under the protection of others.

She always kept those words in mind.

Liang Qian took a breath, her eyes and heart aching.

How could she not know about Lu's style?

Liang Qian did not forget the secret letter that the Grand Tutor asked her to pass on to the Queen Mother before his death. It only had four words: abandon the army to save the king.

Looking back now, when the Grand Tutor told her to hand Lu Xiu over to her, it was not just a literal statement.

It is true that the Grand Tutor gave him the Peony Seal and the letter, which seemed to be a way out for Lu Xiu, but it was indeed a dead end.

If she fails to fool the Queen Mother, Gao Qian, Lu, and Lou...she and Lu Xiu will surely die.

It is true that the Grand Tutor loves Lu Xiu, but he will never disregard the entire Lu family.

Think about it again, didn’t Lu Wanying also say that she went to the palace to find the Peony Seal just to exchange for her freedom?

So, even the Queen Mother—

Suddenly, her hands felt warm. Liang Qian raised her eyes and saw Yu Wenjue's dark eyes, looking at her quietly.

A late chapter~I'm going to sleep o(╥﹏╥)o