May this scumbag husband, who favored his concubine over his wife, rest in peace.

Lu Chengyuan hummed in agreement: "I overestimated her."

I thought Ah Qing would have to stay inside all night to behave, but I didn't expect that he was already wavering.

That's a bit strange.

Chunhua twitched her lips and said, "Miss, did she take what you said to heart?"

Wen Yuanshu nodded: "Maybe."

Now it was Lu Chengyuan's turn to be curious: "What did you say to her?"

Wen Yuanshu pursed her lips, her eyes somewhat unfocused: "It's nothing."

It wasn't anything nice to say.

Lu Chengyuan became relentless at this point and stepped forward to hug the person in his arms.

Chunhua covered her face and walked away quickly.

Wen Yuanshu was quite annoyed by Lu Chengyuan's shamelessness and could only say, "I just told her that even a dead end is a way out, and told her to think it over carefully."

Lu Chengyuan's eyes brightened slightly, and then he chuckled softly.

He had previously thought that Wen Yuanshu was just keeping people locked up, but he didn't expect that she had already used psychological tactics.

He underestimated Wen Yuanshu.

"Alright," Wen Yuanshu nudged his chest, "Aren't you going to the government office? Go on there."

Lu Chengyuan sighed, then pressed his lips against Wen Yuanshu's for a long while, until he almost annoyed her, before he had no choice but to let her go and leave, looking back every few steps.

-

After leaving the general's mansion, Lu Chengyuan went to the government office to retrieve two items and then headed straight for the palace.

At that time, the emperor had just finished dealing with the day's memorials and sat down by the lake, casting his fishing line, when a eunuch came to report that Lu Chengyuan had arrived and was already in the imperial study.

Looking at the fishing rod in his hand, the emperor fell into deep thought, a rare occurrence for him.

After a long while, a faint sigh echoed from the lakeside.

"Put your things away."

Leaving this instruction, the emperor rose and walked heavily toward the imperial study.

As he walked to the imperial study, the emperor had composed himself and instantly became the composed and unflappable ruler he once was.

Upon entering the imperial study, the emperor raised his hand and said, "No need for formalities, speak."

Lu Chengyuan went straight to the point, saying, "His Majesty previously asked me to investigate the secret guards in the capital, and I have already made some progress."

"Oh?" The emperor's eyebrows twitched. "Have you found out who it was?"

"Upon my investigation, it seems that only the Eldest Princess in the capital possesses such skill."

Upon hearing this, the emperor lowered his gaze slightly and remained silent for a moment.

Although the emperor was in the palace, he was not completely unaware of what was happening in the capital.

For example, he knew that Lu Chengyuan was in love with Wen Yuanshu, and he also knew that Princess Anping and her daughter had a grudge against Wen Yuanshu.

Although the emperor was not entirely distrustful of Lu Chengyuan, he still had to give this matter much thought.

A eunuch brought in hot tea, and the emperor took a small sip before saying, "Continue."

“I found the secret guard station in the Princess’s residence,” Lu Chengyuan said. “The secret guard station still has weapons engraved with the royal secret guard insignia, but it seems that they have not been used for some time.”

The emperor grunted in acknowledgment.

Lu Chengyuan took out two items from his sleeve: "These were found by me in the secret guards of the Princess's residence."

The emperor waved his hand, and Lu Chengyuan stepped forward and placed the items on the table.

One of them was a token, which was engraved with the emblem of the Royal Guard.

Another item was a set of hidden blades, also engraved with the insignia of the Royal Guard.

Although these two items are well-maintained, they are clearly quite old.

Upon seeing these two items, the emperor's doubts vanished: "Announce Anping."

With no state affairs to attend to, the emperor was bored waiting for Princess Anping to enter the palace, so he simply started chatting with Lu Chengyuan.

There was only one topic between the emperor and his minister.

That is Lu Chengyuan's master, Ming Liuyun.

Back then, when the emperor was not yet the emperor, or even the crown prince, he almost died at the hands of his half-brother during an outing, but was saved by Ming Liuyun.

Seeing that he was alone and would probably be eaten by wild animals if left in the wild, Ming Liuyun took him back to his residence.