Lu Chonghua was somewhat numb. From the moment Steward Lu said he was following Uncle Lu’s orders, her life or death didn’t matter, her shock had already been exhausted. From that point on, no matter what happened, nothing would seem unbelievable to her anymore.

“Only Old Kong has followed by my cousin’s side the longest.” She spoke somewhat numbly, completely unaware that the tea in her cup had already gone cold. She picked it up and drank another sip. “Moreover, he’s also the most suitable.”

According to what Song Chuyi said, wasn’t Old Kong, who managed that residence at the Temple of the Great Yellow Immortal, the one most likely to strike silently without a trace? What’s more, of the major and minor matters around Zhou Weizhao, there should be very few that could be hidden from Old Kong, this intimate confidant.

Qing Ying’s eyes widened and she felt somewhat restless, truly not expecting that the Lu family was actually hiding such a huge secret. No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t understand why the Lu family would do this. What benefit could this possibly bring to the Lu family?

Ye Jingchuan was also asking Song Chuyi the same question. He walked in, glanced at Lu Chonghua, his eyes brewing enormous fury: “Has the Lu family gone mad?”

They haven’t gone mad. Song Chuyi somewhat understood their intentions. Perhaps they felt unhappy living with only the empty title of National Uncle, and wanted to compete with… “What benefits or not, I don’t know.” Song Chuyi shook her head. Watching Ye Jingchuan sit down, she first roughly told them about the recent events in the capital, then said: “It was also when news of Chonghua’s death came back that it suddenly made me think… think that the Lu family in my dream was somewhat wrong. I’ve already asked Elder Brother to investigate, but there’s temporarily no news yet. It’s also no wonder there’s no news. Since Uncle Lu can even bear to sacrifice his daughter and collude with Han Zhengqing, he naturally wouldn’t be an ordinary person.”

Yes, clearly knowing that Han Zhengqing was Lady Fan’s intimate advisor, knowing the relationship between Han Zhengqing and Lady Fan, yet still able to disregard his own younger sister and nephew…

Song Chuyi was somewhat astonished, but in a flash she felt relieved—though Crown Princess Lu didn’t speak of it, Nanny Liang and others had mentioned that back then, the reason Crown Princess Lu married the Crown Prince was entirely because Uncle Lu had forced her.

Since Uncle Lu back then could treat his sister not as a person but as a tool for seeking profit, then after Crown Princess Lu had no ability to give him what he wanted, naturally it was impossible for him to have any expectations for the unfavored Crown Princess Lu and Zhou Weizhao anymore.

It was just that after Zhou Weizhao smoothly returned to the capital, he might have also had a period of wavering, right? Otherwise, why would he personally make the trip to the capital? Come to think of it, if at that time Empress Lu and Crown Princess Lu had agreed to his proposal and helped Zhou Weizhao take Lu Chonghua as Crown Princess, perhaps he might have chosen Zhou Weizhao again.

Of course, these “what ifs” were all just imagination. What mattered was that Uncle Lu truly was the person stabbing them in the back. No matter what his reasons were, this face that betrayed family members as casually as eating a meal was truly disgusting enough.

Lu Chonghua was silent for a moment, pushing aside the disgust and discomfort in her heart. Holding Song Chuyi’s hand, she was somewhat worried: “Then with you doing this, do you have confidence?” She lowered her voice. “Don’t let them truly succeed.”

Ye Jingchuan immediately understood Lu Chonghua’s meaning. Looking at her, he opened his mouth, then turned his face toward Song Chuyi: “You should also be more on guard. Don’t let them truly turn the fake into reality. If they discover His Majesty wasn’t poisoned and have someone tamper with things, what then? This would truly become a dead end. In the end, you would be unable to explain even with a hundred mouths.”

All along this journey he had already heard of many matters. The gazette had never been interrupted, so he knew in his heart about the major and minor events happening in the capital. This return to the capital required utmost caution. Therefore, he hadn’t even notified his family. Only upon reaching Tongzhou did he find the old steward to take word back home.

Now, though he knew the surface chaos was all just an illusion, that Song Chuyi and Zhou Weizhao actually already had countermeasures in place long ago, the worry in his heart hadn’t decreased in the slightest.

Because no one was a fool. The more he grew up, the more he understood this principle. There would always be people more clever and thoughtful than you, just like Song Chuyi—even if she calculated without error, didn’t she still suffer losses from Old Kong and the Lu family and nearly fall into danger?

Now, because of the war, everywhere was in great chaos. All along the journey back, even the coast had been affected. In many places the officials and soldiers didn’t obey orders and had started trouble…

If Emperor Jianzhang couldn’t wake up in time, then even if in the end Zhou Weizhao and the others exposed the conspiracy of Han Zhengqing and these people, it would be of no avail, because the hearts of the people had already scattered.

As if responding to his worry, not long after he finished speaking, outside the curtain Qing Tao quietly requested an audience. After entering, she lowered her voice to report: “Your Highness, today they’ve already determined what poison it is.”

Qing Ying’s eyes widened as she looked over at her, her heart filled with worry.

Ye Jingchuan and Lu Chonghua exchanged glances, both their expressions complex.

“Today Master Taibai thought left and right but still had no clue about what poison His Majesty had been given. Therefore, he wanted to examine the tonics and foods His Majesty usually used. He even made a special trip to the Imperial Kitchen, compared all the prescriptions the imperial physicians had previously written one by one, and afterward discovered the problem appeared in the elixirs presented by the Celestial Master. In the elixirs presented by the Celestial Master, there was deadly poison. Master Taibai, in front of the Elders and Her Majesty the Empress, took a person to experiment on. That person died on the spot. The reason His Majesty could barely hold on, according to Master Taibai, was because he had consumed very little of it.”

Zhang Tianshi refining elixirs for Emperor Jianzhang had already become routine. Every year he would enter the capital specifically to burn auspicious prayers for Emperor Jianzhang’s longevity and present the elixirs exclusively refined by Longhu Mountain to Emperor Jianzhang, which after consumption had the effect of prolonging life and increasing years.

Never had there been a mistake before. Now finally a mistake had occurred.

Song Chuyi seemed to smile yet not smile, her expression very calm. She even had time to smooth her skirt. Seeing Ye Jingchuan and Lu Chonghua both looking toward her, she said softly: “As expected.”

Indeed, it was as expected. The problems Lu Chonghua and Ye Jingchuan worried about, she had naturally thought of long ago. Emperor Jianzhang had taken Zhang Tianshi’s antidote pill in advance, and had Imperial Physician Yan sleeplessly guarding by his side. If others wanted to tamper with things additionally, it would be extremely difficult—they would only be caught red-handed on the spot.

Han Zhengqing was setting a trap for her, while at the same time she had long ago already pulled the net taut with Chief Minister Chang and Grandfather and the others.

Now, finally, it was time to thoroughly close the net.

“You’re right.” Song Chuyi glanced at Ye Jingchuan. “If we drag this out further, even if we win in the end, there will be no benefit, because the war situation can’t be dragged out, because the hearts of the people can’t withstand being stimulated again and again. Fortunately, they’ve already entered the net ahead of time and haven’t produced any other unexpected troubles.”

This was also thanks to their period of withdrawal, which truly made these people think they had succeeded.