The uncle borrowed some merits, and the princess drew the talisman fiercely

Lu Zhaoling was both amused and exasperated.

How did talking about the bell lead to Zhou Shiyue stealing chickens in the past?

"Old Duke..." Lu Zhaoling called out helplessly.

The old Duke responded quickly, saying, "Yes, yes, let's get down to business. Honestly, I always get led astray by Zhou Shiyue whenever I see him."

Lu Zhaoling glared at Zhou Shiyue, signaling him not to speak carelessly anymore.

Zhou Shiyue called the Crown Prince over, and the two stepped back to talk.

The old Duke was telling Lu Zhaoling about his friend.

“I met my friend by chance when I was young while hunting. He said he had no parents but a master who gave him the name Zhihui.”

"Zhihui?" Lu Zhaoling asked after a moment's hesitation, "Does it have a surname?"

"No," the old Duke said. "At that age, I felt that as long as we got along, that was enough. I didn't necessarily have to ask for everything. Brother Zhihui said he was traveling around. He stayed in the capital for half a year, but he was still traveling around. I didn't see him many times."

"Later, he said he was leaving the capital, but then he added that he had calculated that he would probably come back again in a few years."

The old Duke revealed a nostalgic expression.

“I asked him where he was going, and he said he might visit Nanzhao, Qian Kingdom, and the barbarian tribes.”

Looking at the bell in her hand, Lu Zhaoling asked again, "Did he get married and have children?"

"Speaking of which, I later received a letter from him that mentioned his wife and children. However, he said that his relationship with his wife and children was not close, and he was still traveling alone."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhaoling's heart stirred, and she looked up at the old Duke and said, "Old Duke, look at me carefully. Do you think I look a little like your friend?"

Upon hearing Lu Zhaoling's question, Yin Changxing and the others immediately understood what she was guessing.

The old duke looked her over, then shook his head and said, "Doesn't seem like it."

Just as Lu Zhaoling was feeling somewhat disappointed, he changed the subject again, "But it's a bit strange, even though you two don't look alike, the way you were shaking the bell in front of the Emperor's bed just now, your posture and expression, were inexplicably somewhat similar."

He shook his head and chuckled, "I don't know if it's because I'm getting older and starting to miss the old days, but seeing my friend's old things reminds me of his voice and smile."

Hearing this, Lu Zhaoling felt a glimmer of hope return to her heart.

"So he returned to the capital later?"

“He should have come, after many, many years. But I didn’t meet him. We had exchanged letters and made an appointment, but on the day, he sent a message saying that he had left due to an emergency. I haven’t seen him since.”

When was that?

"Well..." the old Duke thought for a moment and said, "More than ten years ago, probably when you were still very young."

Lu Zhaoling was now certain that the bell must have been given to her by Zhihui!

On the street, I saw her when she was still very young and gave her the bell.

But if that was her grandfather, why didn't he acknowledge her? Why didn't he take her with him? Instead, he sent her to the countryside not long after.

Is it because something urgent suddenly happened?

Did he go to the mass grave that time and leave the ring there?

"Oh right, I think I still have the letter he wrote to me, the one inviting me to meet," the old Duke suddenly said.

Lu Zhaoling's eyes lit up.

"Old Duke, to be honest, I suspect that your friend is my grandfather."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yes, because this bell was given to me by an old man on the street back then, around the time you said he returned to the capital and asked to meet you."

"Oh dear," the old Duke clapped his hands in surprise, "that's quite possible. I heard about you and Lu Ming's family before. You're not their biological child! And you've been looking for your real father, haven't you?"

Lu Zhaoling nodded.

Perhaps because she suddenly reconnected with an old friend, the usually conservative and serious old Duke suddenly felt inexplicably close to Lu Zhaoling.

"Are you still busy?" He warmly invited Lu Zhaoling. "If you're not busy, why don't you come back to the Duke's mansion with me? I'll look for it carefully. Besides that letter, there's probably something else that Brother Zhihui gave me back then. See if you can find any clues."

The old Duke said, "It is all about fate between people. I have lived to such an old age and have only met Brother Zhihui a few times. It has been so many years since we last met, but I still miss him very much and have always regarded him as a close friend."

What could be more important than having a clue about her grandfather?

Lu Zhaoling immediately stood up.

"I'm free now, so I'll come and bother you!" She wasn't polite at all.

After saying this, she seemed to remember something and looked towards Zhou Shiyue and the Crown Prince.

Given the current turmoil in the court, is it alright for her, as the Princess Consort of Jin, to go to the Duke's mansion with the old Duke?

Both Zhou Shiyue and the Crown Prince noticed the questioning look in her eyes.

The uncle and nephew both realized that the two had probably finished their conversation, so they came over.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Shiyue asked.

"May I go to the Duke's mansion with the old Duke?" Lu Zhaoling asked softly.

Zhou Shiyue raised an eyebrow. "Do you need me to go with you?"

"no need?"

It's fine if she goes by herself, but wouldn't it be more conspicuous if Zhou Shiyue went with her?

Or is it just a good thing, making everyone else guess that the old Duke has completely sided with the Crown Prince?

The Crown Prince spoke gently, “Aunt, please let your uncle accompany you. After you get to the Duke’s mansion, you can go back to the Prince’s mansion. There are many matters to attend to in the palace, so we will not keep you for dinner.”

Lu Zhaoling remembered that the Duke's Mansion seemed to be very close to the Prince of Jin's Mansion.

“Then let the Prince accompany me,” Lu Zhaoling said, looking at the old Duke.

The old Duke didn't say anything, he just hummed.

They didn't have roast chicken at the Duke's mansion today.

Yin Changxing and his group then bid farewell to the Crown Prince and left the palace together.

When she arrived at the palace gate, Lu Zhaoling saw a carriage just leaving.

“That’s the Qin family’s carriage,” Zhou Shiyue said softly.

"Didn't Miss Qin come to see the Crown Prince just now? What's the matter?" Lu Zhaoling asked.

"Nothing much, just checking to see how A-Ze is doing," Zhou Shiyue said. "I probably said a few comforting words to him; didn't you notice how much better he looked when he came back?"

Lu Zhaoling thought about it for a moment, and it really was true.

"So it seems Miss Qin is quite attentive and caring towards His Highness the Crown Prince."

“She means well.” Zhou Shiyue now had a good impression of Qin Yuerong.

The Crown Prince must have been heartbroken. But men don't often offer comforting words and gentle words, so Qin Yuerong's arrival was just in time.