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Chapter 215 Come prepared
Zhu Yu was pulled by Lu Qing back to the main house of Liyuan. He watched him close the door and take out a soft small package wrapped in satin from the luggage he brought and handed it to him. He was still a little confused.

When I took it and opened it, I found that there was a brand new dress inside.

"You brought this with you this time?" Zhu Yu was a little surprised.

She did recognize this skirt. It was from when Lu Qing asked a famous tailor in the capital to come to his house to take measurements. At that time, the tailor said that he needed to make a skirt that was most sought after by the noble ladies in the capital.

When Zhu Yu heard that the style was beautiful, but extremely complicated, it would look beautiful on her but would also be a bit tiring, so she refused it outright, thinking that it would be of no use if she stayed in the mansion, and would be an even more of a burden if she went out with Lu Qing.

Unfortunately, the tailor said that King Xiaoyao had specifically instructed that this set of clothes must be made. If the princess couldn't choose the material she liked, he would decide for her based on his experience.

Zhu Yu was already tired by then and didn't want to waste words with him anymore, so she just agreed casually. Afterwards, she only had a superficial impression of the dress and never touched it once.

I didn't expect to be brought here.

"You couldn't have... anticipated that I would be discovered by Zhu Ning and my identity would be exposed after I returned to Shuo Country, right?" She looked at the clothes with some suspicion and asked.

Lu Qing laughed when he heard this: "I'm not a god who can predict the future, so how can I have everything under control?

It's just a precaution. After all, if I can't hide my identity once I get to your parents' house, it's better to be open and presentable."

Zhu Yu thought about it and felt that this was the right thing to do, so she took her clothes to change. After a while, she came out from behind the screen. She was wearing her skirt, but her hair was still loose.

Zhu Yu sat in front of the bronze mirror and used his best skills to comb his hair into a simple bun, which was only slightly more complicated than the Taoist bun he had worn before.

She looked left and right in the bronze mirror, then turned and asked Lu Qing, who was sitting behind her, "Does this dress not match my outfit?"

"Clothes have always been there to match people, there is no such thing as someone not being worthy of clothes." Lu Qing shook his head, his eyes fell on Zhu Yu's unmade-up face, and suddenly he laughed, "It seems that I should be more respectful to my father-in-law in the future.

Originally I just thought I was lucky and blessed by God, and I accidentally married a lady who is hard to find in the world.

After meeting your elder sister today, I realized that my father-in-law treated me very well and even married his best daughter to me.

Fortunately, there is no skilled maidservant here to serve. If she were to comb Madam's hair into a beautiful and complicated bun, I'm afraid all the women in Prince Shuo's mansion would lose their composure."

Zhu Yu was also amused. Although she was a rather modest person most of the time, Lu Qing was right. The reason why his father-in-law "treated him well" was indeed because of God's blessing.

Putting aside the appearance, if Zhu Cheng had not favored Zhu Ning and had not taken advantage of the loophole that the imperial edict did not specify the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children with Pang Yuzhen, Lu Qing would probably have a terrible headache right now.

"When are we going there?" she asked Lu Qing. He was sitting there steadily and didn't look like he was planning to go back anytime soon.

"No rush." ​​Lu Qing picked up the teapot on the table and poured two cups of tea. The tea had just been served before dinner, so it was still warm and perfect for drinking. "The first one to arrive is the host, and the last one to arrive is the guest. Although you are the daughter of the Zhu family, you are married after all. It would be inappropriate for us to take over the host's place now, right?"

Zhu Yu nodded and glanced outside the door. It was obvious that Fu Lu had followed him in and was now guarding the door.

So she felt relieved and said to Lu Qing, "I was originally a concubine of this family and spent most of my time in my own courtyard. I have a vague understanding of how Pangshi and my father get along, as well as the various servants in the family.

As an outsider today, I see that the only ones in the palace who are totally loyal to my father are probably the steward and a few elderly servants.

Although the other servants were not considered Pang's men, they had already seen that my father was strong on the outside but weak on the inside, and was not the one who really made the decisions in the mansion, so they all became fence-sitters, and would lean to whichever side's wind was stronger.

It was obvious that the steward was well aware of this, so when my father didn't want others to know that we had returned, the old servants he arranged were all reliable.

The question now is, since Pang has essentially taken control of Prince Shuo's mansion, is she aware of what her family is doing behind the scenes? If so, to what extent is she aware?

"Has your father decided on a candidate for the crown prince among the sons he and Pang had?" Lu Qing asked.

Zhu Yu immediately shook her head. She was very sure about this matter: "When my father came to power, he decided who would be the crown prince, but he never submitted a letter to the court to finalize the matter.

Among the sons he had with Pang Shi, there are two who are now of the right age, in their twenties, and in the prime of life. One is my eldest brother Zhu Jie, and the other is my second brother Zhu Feng. They are only less than two years apart in age, but their personalities are quite different.

Originally, Pang wanted to follow the old rules and let her father appoint the eldest son as the crown prince to inherit his throne as King Shuo in the future. However, her father felt that this was inappropriate. If the crown prince was determined too early, all his sons would lose their ambition, which would not be conducive to cultivating a qualified new prince.

So he wanted to wait and see for a few more years and give his sons more opportunities to gain experience, so that he could see what each person's talents were.

Because all the sons in the family were born to Pang, it would not affect her no matter who the throne was passed to in the future, so Pang had no objection to this matter, and the matter of establishing the crown prince had been dragged on for all these years.

However, although every son has a chance, except for the eldest and second brothers, the others are still young. The third brother is only fifteen years old this year, not to mention the rest.

So in the final analysis, I think we will choose a more suitable candidate from between the eldest brother and the second brother."

Lu Qing rubbed his smooth chin, looking thoughtful, and said: "Hmm... It seems that I need to find an opportunity to deal with your two brothers."

As he was speaking, someone seemed to be coming from outside. Fu Lu took a step forward and asked in a muffled voice, "What's the matter?"

"The prince said that all the family members are here, except you two. He asked me to invite the second young lady and the son-in-law over." A servant's voice came from outside.

Lu Qing nodded with satisfaction and stood up leisurely: "Madam, let's go."