Golden Branch

Mu had just received a letter from her sister, who had married into the Dugu family.

If you think about it carefully, Mu's sister is Dugu Mingyue's "sister-in-law".

"...She's not worthy of it! This lowly person who came from nowhere, just relied on her beauty to seduce Lou Jin. In order to be able to be with her legitimately, Lou Jin begged the Dugu family for help—"

As a relative of the Dugu family, Mu learned about Dugu Mingyue's "background" from her sister.

Outsiders only thought that Dugu Mingyue was the daughter of the Dugu family. Although she was not a legitimate noble lady and might just be a concubine's daughter, she was included in the family tree and recognized by the family.

However, Mu knew that Dugu Mingyue was not a descendant of the Dugu family at all.

She was born in a humble family, but because Lou Jin liked her, Lou Jin even cooperated with the Dugu family for her, which is how she gained a noble status.

As the daughters of a genuine aristocratic family and the legitimate daughters of the family, the Mu sisters simply look down on Dugu Mingyue.

In the correspondence between the sisters, there was a lot of gossip about Madam Dugu.

"I'm just lucky to have met Lou Jin, who is greedy for beauty."

"Although she's beautiful, she's jealous and unkind. As soon as she entered the house, she urged Lou Jin to adopt out all his illegitimate sons!"

"...She is indeed lucky. With her background and such despicable character, she was able to give birth to twins, a boy and a girl."

"The Saint heard about this. When the Lou family twins turned one year old, the Saint and the Queen gave them rewards!"

The two sisters secretly chirped at Dugu Mingyue, mocking her on the surface, but actually envious of her.

They were born into noble families, married into well-matched families, but as the original wives, they did not receive as much "favor" as Dugu Mingyue -

There may not be a illegitimate eldest son in the family, but there are a lot of illegitimate sons and daughters.

The husband did not dare to openly favor his concubine over his wife or promote his illegitimate children, but he always protected them openly or secretly when they were disciplining concubines and illegitimate sons and daughters.

It turned out that Lou Jin loved his wife more. In order to ensure the interests of the legitimate lineage, he directly adopted the annoying illegitimate son away.

In the Lou family, Dugu Mingyue is the real mistress.

It is said that if Lou Jin is not around, Dugu Mingyue, a mere woman, can mobilize the Lou family's followers, secret guards, and even the huge Lou family army.

"No wonder the old general of the Dugu family is willing to 'help' Lou Jin. The old man is so foresighted!"

Mu Shi knew how much Lou Jin valued Dugu Mingyue, and he could understand the brilliance of the Dugu family's plan back then.

Lou Jin led the Lou family army to join the Yang father and son, and initially the main force was indeed Yang Ji.

But later, when Lou Jin was fighting, he was assigned to Yang Chong's army and fought with Yang Chong for several years.

Yang Chong is a natural born king and the wise leader that many powerful people dream of.

If you follow him, you will be impressed by his personal charm.

During the years when Lou Jin followed Yang Chong in battle, he had a tendency to lean towards Yang Chong.

At this moment, Dugu Mingyue appeared.

The Dugu family and the Lou family officially married, and the Dugu family was a staunch supporter of Yang Ji.

As a result, Lou Jin gradually distanced himself from Yang Chong and became the saint's confidant!

"The King of Qi probably didn't expect that General Lou, who was so wise, brave, and decisive on the battlefield, could be controlled by a woman!"

Yang Chong tragically lost his beloved general.

Of course, on the surface, Lou Jin and Yang Chong were still old friends with a comradeship, but they both knew in their hearts that Lou Jin had joined a new master.

"There is no greater disaster than beauty!"

The Mu sisters secretly discussed the gossip about the Dugu family.

In the past, they just talked about it, but as Lu Huaixin was transferred to Hedong and became the local official in Lou Jin's territory, they had some interactions with the Lou family.

For example, Lou Yu, the young master of the Lou family.

"Speaking of which, Lou Yu is an excellent candidate for a husband."

The Mu family has a daughter who is eleven years old this year, so we can meet her in person in advance.

In Hedong, or even in Yizhou, there is no young man with better conditions than Lou Yu.

Although his origin is flawed, he has already been adopted.

The bride has no mother-in-law and can become the mistress as soon as she enters the house.

Although he was adopted, the bloodline cannot be severed, and Lou Jin will definitely help his son make plans.

Today, Lou Jin is a trusted and beloved general who is highly favored by the saint.

When the sage first ascended the throne, many princes had not yet been crowned kings, but Lou Jin and others were first conferred the titles of founding county duke and founding county marquis.

Among the many founding heroes, Lou Jin's title and rewards were in the first tier.

In the capital, Lou Jin's Anguo Mansion is the most outstanding "newcomer"!

With such a father, Lou Yu’s future will definitely not be too bad.

Mu had an idea about Lou Yu, so she discussed it with Lu Huaixin. Finally, the couple decided to send all their children to Dongshan Academy.

A month passed and there seemed to be no progress.

Lou Yu was gentle and kind to his cousin Lu Jialan, just like a spring breeze.

But the problem is, he treats his other cousins ​​and even his neighbor Wang Jiu the same way.

Mu was a little uncertain.

Just at this time, I received a letter from my sister.

In the letter, Da Mu mentioned the sage's regard for the King of Chu and the struggle between the King of Qi and the King of Chu.

The Mu sisters are both top nobles in the North. Even within the inner chamber, they are more sensitive to the direction of government than ordinary people.

It's going to be windy in the capital.

As two dragons competed for the throne, the nobles began to choose sides.

The Dugu clan, to which the Great Mu clan belongs, is the confidant of the saint, so naturally they will only choose the heir that the saint prefers.

The Lu family is different from the Dugu family. They do not have military power, but their family has been civil servants for generations.

The Lu family only supports the emperor and will never easily bet on a prince.

However, it is not easy to be a "pure minister".

Especially in the past hundred years with frequent changes of dynasties, the Lu family has become increasingly distant from the center of power.

Without looking at anything else, just look at Lu Huaixin, the eldest son of the family, who is almost thirty years old, but has only been able to get a seventh-rank official position in a remote small county, and you will know the decline of the Lu family.

From the power of the dragon!

If you want your family to return to its peak, you must be decisive.

A loyal minister? A centrist?

In fact, it is the enemy of all opponents!

Mu and Lu Huaixin were husband and wife, so she naturally understood her husband's reluctance, hesitation, and hidden ambitions.

Which side should the King of Qi and the King of Chu stand on?

And there is Lou Yu, who is her favorite candidate for son-in-law.

Lou Yu is young and has no elders around him. If he is taught badly and goes astray——

The "bad guy" that Mu mentioned was naturally Wang Jiu, who only knew how to eat and play.

Wang Jiu's biological mother is the concubine of King Qi. Lou Yu, as a child, might be influenced by Wang Jiu and turn to King Qi's faction.

……

In the evening, after Mu had finished her chores, she found her husband in the inner study.

She began to tell Lu Huaixin about her worries and speculations.

Before she could finish her words, Lu Huaixin waved his hand and said, "Madam, there's no need to guess. Just yesterday, the Prince of Qi went to the Lou family's fortress with a light pack."

Madam Mu was stunned for a moment. "Prince of Qi? Yang Rui?"

"Yes! It's him! My people discovered him the day after he entered the city!"

"We followed him all the way and found out that he went to Lou's Fortress yesterday—"

Lu Huaixin's face was as gloomy as water, and his tone was a little solemn.

To be honest, although I don’t want to be a centrist anymore, it’s too difficult to make a choice.

If you are not careful and stand on the wrong side, your whole family will be overturned.

He was used to doing nothing, and suddenly he was asked to make a choice with his whole family at stake. He was hesitant, feeling confused and anxious.

Mu thought of her sister's letter and the attitude of the entire Dugu family. She didn't want Lou Yu to be tied to King Qi.

The King of Qi did have outstanding achievements and immense power, but the one sitting on the throne now is a saint.

The son favored by the sage is the King of Chu!

She bit her lower lip lightly, trying to defend Lou Yu: "Prince Qi, maybe it was just a courtesy visit. Or maybe he wanted to win over the Lou family, but was rejected by Young Master Lou!"

The Prince of Qi went to the Lou family's fortress. This was his unilateral wish, but it cannot be determined that Lou Yu sided with the King of Qi.

"..."

Lu Huaixin pursed his lips and glanced at Mu.

My wife is still too naive and wishful thinking.

After a moment of silence, Lu Huaixin slowly said, "When the Prince of Qi left, he took away Lou Yu's 1,000 Lou family soldiers!"

"What? Lou Yu actually lent troops to Yang Rui?"

Mu clutched her handkerchief tightly.

Borrowing troops is no small matter.

Back then, her husband's predecessor, Wang Lin, in order to borrow troops from the Lou family, did not hesitate to marry Cui, and even allowed Cui to drive out the eldest daughter.

A thousand men and horses cannot be borrowed with just a few empty words.

The King of Qi must have promised Lou Yu something, and Lou Yu must have made a choice.

"Lou Yu, he, he——" So confused.

His own father is the confidant of the saint, yet he still chooses to be the King of Qi who goes against the saint?

Of course, choosing the King of Chu was just Mu's own idea.

She was close to her sister, so naturally she wanted her husband's family to be in the same camp as her sister's.

But, she is a wife of the Lu family after all, and the affairs of the Lu family are decided by her elders and husband.

The Mu family has no right to decide which side the Lu family wants to stand on.

She looked at Lu Huaixin, "My husband, has there been any reply from the master?"

The "sir" that Mu was referring to was Lu Huaixin's father, the patriarch of the Lu family.

"Father wants to ask Twelve Lang to marry a girl from the Li family."

Lu Huaixin lowered his voice and spoke slowly in a voice that only the couple could hear.

Mu's eyelids twitched——

Shi Erlang is Lu Huaixin's younger brother.

The Li family that Lu Huaixin mentioned should be the Queen Li’s maiden family and the King of Chu’s maternal family.

After much deliberation, the Lu family chose the King of Chu!

Mu breathed a sigh of relief. It was great that the Lu family did not become enemies with the Dugu family.

She also doesn't need to "kill each other" with her sister.

But soon, Mu thought of——

"Where's Lou Yu?"

Lou Yu chose the King of Qi.

This is the son-in-law she has chosen.

"My lady, forget about the marriage between Jialan and Lou Yu!"

Lu Huaixin is also decisive.

He was indecisive when making a choice.

Now that his family had made their choice, he became more determined.

Even if he would not do anything to a child, he could not marry him.

Moreover, when necessary, killing Lou Yu was also within his consideration.

“…What a pity!”

Seeing her husband's determined eyes, Mu knew that her wish had been dashed and could only sigh softly.

……

"Brother, you have lent all your soldiers to the prince. What about your safety?"

After school, Wang Heng rode in the same carriage with Lou Yu as usual.

In the carriage, Wang Heng asked with some concern.

Lou Yu's borrowing of troops from the Prince of Qi was a semi-secret, and Wang Heng did not tell Wang Mian.

She has a good relationship with Amian, but she is very sensible.

It’s not that Wang Heng doesn’t trust Wang Mian, but given Wang Mian’s identity, there are some things that he’s better not to know.

For her, knowing too much is a burden and a danger!

"My safety?"

When Lou Yu faces Wang Heng, he will take off his gentle disguise.

He raised the corners of his lips and revealed a mischievous smile: "Why? You want to protect me?"

The little fat girl is so delicate that she finds riding a horse tiring, let alone practicing martial arts and archery.

Such a chubby, delicate little girl, who has trouble protecting herself, actually worries about his safety.

Of course, even though she “disdained” him, Lou Yu knew that the fat girl cared about him.

"sure!"

Wang Heng seemed not to hear the joking in Lou Yu's words.

She nodded vigorously and said obediently, "Can I lend you my troops, brother?"

She is indeed useless, but she has someone!

Back then, Wang Lin gave her twenty servants, and before Jiang left Yizhou, he also assigned her twenty young and strong male servants.

In addition, during the past two or three years in Zhuangzi, Wang Heng also recruited and took in some refugees and orphans.

Lou Yu thought Wang Heng was "spoiled" and didn't practice on her own, but Wang Heng didn't neglect her "guards".

She followed Wang Mian's training method and made these people line up, run, ride horses, and shoot arrows every day... The team of less than a hundred people may not be as good as those veterans who have been to the battlefield, but it is better than ordinary troops.

Wang Heng felt that as long as they were not facing a large-scale regular army, but only a few pirates and thieves, her people could still protect Lou Yu.

"Water bandits? Thieves?"

Hearing Wang Heng's soft explanation, a dark glint flashed in Lou Yu's eyes: "Fatty, I'm either in the fort or in the academy every day. How could I have encountered pirates? Thieves?"

His fortress was high and deep, easy to defend but difficult to attack. Not to mention pirates and thieves, even a few thousand regular troops could not easily break through.

Dongshan Academy is an academy on the surface, but it also has many farmhands and guards secretly.

You should know that most of the students in Dongshan Academy are children of powerful people in Yizhou and Hedong.

If there is a security problem, the entire Yizhou will be turned upside down.

"Isn't the prince going to inspect the river?"

Wang Heng tilted her head and asked in a low voice.

"He came to repair the river, so of course he had to inspect it first! But, Fatty, what does Yang Rui have to do with me?"

Lou Yu smiled faintly, but the smile did not reach his eyes.

Lou Yu looked like he was born with a hint of coldness.

"Brother, don't you want to follow the Prince of Qi?"

Wang Heng, however, revealed Lou Yu's thoughts in one sentence.

Lou Yu was stunned and stared at Wang Heng.

Wang Heng continued to tilt her little head back, her big round eyes bright and clear, and Lou Yu could almost see his own reflection.

"laugh!"

Lou Yu reached out and gently tugged at Wang Heng's twin buns. "Fat girl, you're still as smart as ever!"

Outsiders say that Wang Jiu is stupid and only knows how to eat and drink.

Only Lou Yu knew that his fat girl was very smart.

"I'm not as smart as my brother, but I understand him."

Hearing Lou Yu's praise, Wang Heng shook her head.

She was quite stupid, she was just too familiar with Lou Yu - the Prince of Qi was handsome and gentle, exactly the model that her brother needed and desired!