He Is Simply a Madman.
After the evening meal, Lu Duoyu was sent over to Jiang Ni’s place. Only at noon on the third day did His Highness Prince Li, looking pleased and thoroughly sated, go over and bring him back.
“Ya! A-ya! Puh-puh!” The moment Lu Duoyu saw him, he furiously waved his short little arms. Reproachful babbling spilled from his mouth in bursts of yiya-yiya sounds, and at the same time he did not forget to blow spit-puffs toward his father’s face.
Though he was only five or six months old, he was clever to a remarkable degree. He knew that the reason he had not seen his dada for two whole days had to be because of the bad father before him.
Lu Ronghuai tapped the tip of his little nose in warning. “Lu Duoyu, behave yourself.”
Lu Duoyu opened his mouth, where four little milk teeth had already grown in, and tried to bite his finger.
Lu Ronghuai withdrew his hand and flashed him a smug smile. “You want to bite me? Wait until all your teeth have grown in before you speak of it.”
Lu Duoyu: “...”
“What is the matter?” Chu Yuan was arranging the little bundle’s clothes. When the one large and one small came into the room, he lifted his eyes and at once saw Lu Duoyu’s flushed little face.
He thought the little fellow had gotten too warm, so he hurriedly washed a cloth and went over to wipe his face.
The instant Lu Duoyu saw Chu Yuan, he immediately pursed his lips in grievance, looking as though he were about to cry. He twisted and struggled without cease in Lu Ronghuai’s arms, reaching out toward Chu Yuan to be held.
Chu Yuan gathered him into his arms. The little fellow at once buried his head in the hollow of his neck and cried out with a “wa.”
“Did you bully him again?” While patiently patting his back, Chu Yuan lifted his head and questioned Lu Ronghuai.
What did he mean by “again”? He spoke as though he often bullied this boy.
Lu Ronghuai glanced at Lu Duoyu, who was putting on a pitiful act in his wife’s arms, and let out a cold laugh. “He wanted to bite me. He failed to bite me, yet he was the one who turned aggrieved first.”
Chu Yuan looked helpless. At times, he truly could not tell which of these two was the more childish one.
“Be good, little one. Do not cry, do not cry.” Chu Yuan sat on the chair, holding Lu Duoyu as he coaxed him in a soft voice. He even took out the little toy he liked most in ordinary times to tease him with it.
Lu Ronghuai stood at the side with a darkened face. He was tall, and he could see very clearly.
This boy Lu Duoyu was all thunder and no rain. He cried loudly enough, yet not a drop of moisture on his face, not even a drop of sweat.
He was purely pretending to be pitiful.
If this were spoken aloud, likely no one would believe it. A child only half a year old actually had this many little schemes.
He was so angry he nearly laughed.
After Lu Duoyu finished his false show of crying, Chu Yuan wiped his face and hands for him, then changed him into a pretty little outfit. The two of them then carried the child out and went to the dining hall for the meal.
They had not come early. Nie Chouwen and the others had already arrived first.
“Little Fish, come here to Great-Grandfather.” Nie Chouwen patted his own leg.
Chu Yuan handed the child over to him.
“Oh, he has grown a little heavier again. Our Little Fish is truly splendid.” Nie Chouwen’s gaze was full of grandfatherly affection. If the officials of Ye Jing had seen this, their jaws would likely have dropped in shock.
Their stern and rigid Prime Minister Nie actually had such a kind and amiable side in private.
Jiang Ni tugged Chu Yuan down to sit. The two sat together and spoke in low voices. “I just received a letter from Siran. He actually went to Yan Cheng again.”
Chu Yuan was not the least surprised by this. After Lu Duoyu’s hundred-day banquet ended in the latter part of the fourth month, Nie Siran had left Sang Cheng.
Everyone had thought he was going off to wander, so no one asked where he meant to go. They only told him to send one letter home each month to report that he was safe.
Jiang Ni said, “I do not know what is the matter with that child. He keeps going to trouble Xiao Su. Only Xiao Su has a good temper. Had it been me, I would long since have driven him out.”
Chu Yuan only smiled and said nothing.
Jiang Ni detected a trace of something amiss from his smile. “Yuanyuan, do you know something?”
All the dishes had already been set upon the table. Le Shu brought over a basin for washing hands. Chu Yuan cleansed his hands, then replied with a smile, “Ah-Die should ask Elder Brother himself.”
“Very well, I shall write and ask him.” Jiang Ni placed a great deal of meat into his bowl, then said with meaningful emphasis, “Eat a little more. These two days have been hard on you.”
Chu Yuan: “...”
Prince Li’s consort, though married for a year and a half, was still thin-skinned. He flushed such a deep red that his whole face burned.
“Third Brother, why did the Kingdom of Shi suddenly send troops this time?” Lu Rongshen held up his rice bowl and voiced the question everyone was concerned about.
Now that Min Chao was in Lu Cheng, Bai Yi had directly handed the work over to him and happily returned to Sang Cheng to enjoy his leisure.
Apart from Nie Siran, everyone else was present.
Under everyone’s gaze, Lu Ronghuai still calmly picked up food. Unhurried, he said, “The Kingdom of Shi was incited by the Kingdom of Yu.”
Lu Rongshen blinked, curious as a little child, and his questions came one after another.
“Why would the Kingdom of Yu incite the Kingdom of Shi to strike us?”
Lu Ronghuai placed food into Chu Yuan’s bowl. His eyelids lifted lazily, and a faint trace of mockery lay at the bottom of his eyes. “The current lord of Yu Kingdom dotes on Lu Lingshuang to an extraordinary degree. Lu Lingshuang, in turn, harbors a deep and bitter hatred for me and for Imperial Father.”
Lu Rongshen’s mouth fell open in a round shape, and the grains of rice in it nearly dropped out.
Bai Qingyu helplessly drew out a brocade handkerchief and wiped his mouth for him. “Eat properly. Do not ask any more for now.”
Bai Yi said, “No wonder. I was wondering how they suddenly came attacking for no reason at all. So the Kingdom of Shi was being used as a target by the Kingdom of Yu. The ruler of the Kingdom of Shi must have lost his wits as well.”
Nie Xuxing shook his head and sighed. “The Third Princess deliberately stirred conflict between two kingdoms and regarded the lives of the common people as ants. She truly is unfit to be a princess of a kingdom.”
Lu Rongshen said, “She has always been like this. She has never cared about anyone but herself. Whoever makes her unhappy, she wants to repay them back twofold. When Third Sister-in-law entered the palace for the first time, she saw that Third Sister-in-law was good-looking, and in a fit of jealousy she nearly pushed him into the icy pool.”
Jiang Ni’s face turned ugly. He drew in a deep breath, and a rare chill appeared upon his usually gentle features.
“The Third Princess’s conduct has already harmed the people of two kingdoms and affected the originally friendly diplomatic ties between the Kingdom of Lu and the Six Kingdoms. I believe it is necessary to let everyone clearly see the Third Princess’s true face.”
Nie Xuxing said, “I support Xiao Ni’s proposal.”
Bai Yi said, “Twenty thousand soldiers died in this war. I am still aching over it. This must be spoken of.”
Lu Rongshen said, “It should be so. I have long since found her displeasing to the eye.”
Lu Ronghuai casually beckoned Xian Feng over and instructed him to spread word of Lu Lingshuang’s incitement of the Kingdom of Shi, especially in Ye Jing. The people of the entire city had to know of this matter.
Xian Feng accepted the order and departed.
Nie Chouwen’s beard was in Lu Duoyu’s grasp and being played with. While listening to everyone’s discussion, he lightly raised his eyes. “Relying on the Third Princess alone, I fear she does not have such great influence.”
Jiang Ni said, “Father means someone has been helping her from the shadows?”
Nie Chouwen nodded. This was only his conjecture.
In his memory, the Third Princess was arrogant, spoiled, hasty, and willful. If no one were helping her, with her temperament, it would have been impossible for her to endure until now.
“Lu Rongze.”
Lu Ronghuai’s voice drew everyone’s thoughts back, and what followed was an even longer stretch of silence.
This time Lu Rongshen could not even eat. He only felt a headache coming on. “Third Brother, you mean that the one helping Lu Lingshuang in secret is Fourth Imperial Brother?”
“Mm.”
Nie Xuxing and Jiang Ni exchanged a glance, and both let out a heavy sigh.
“At present, Prince Rui and Noble Consort Xu control the government, while His Majesty... ah.”
Whenever they brought up Emperor Hongjia, they could not help but sigh with regret.
When Emperor Hongjia was young, he had still been somewhat decent. He had also been fairly diligent in handling state affairs each day. Yet ever since he entered middle age, or perhaps because power had steeped into him more and more deeply, he had grown increasingly unwilling to part with the imperial throne. He always thought of attaining immortality, as though in that way the Emperor would forever still be him.
Now his health had collapsed, and his power was gradually being hollowed out by Prince Rui and Noble Consort Xu. Yet his mind was consumed entirely with his own survival, to the point of the depravity of drinking human blood.
Jiang Ni said, “Prince Rui and the Third Princess must have formed their alliance at the Wanchao Hui. The Third Princess seeks revenge, but as for Prince Rui... why exactly is he helping her?”
A cold smile tugged at Lu Ronghuai’s lips. For the first time before everyone, he made no attempt to hide his disgust for Lu Rongze.
“He is simply a madman.”
After he said this, he suddenly felt the fingers of his right hand lightly hooked beneath the table.
The hostility in Lu Ronghuai’s eyes vanished in an instant. He gave a low laugh, then clasped that warm, soft hand in return and interlocked their fingers.
Bai Yi suddenly said, “Earlier today, I had a brief conversation with Min Chao. He said that the marriage of Grand Tutor Xu’s youngest granddaughter has already been arranged.”
When Chu Yuan had previously stayed at the Nie residence in Ye Jing, he had heard that Grand Tutor Xu had privately gone to see Prince Rui. Leaving aside the uncle and nephew relationship between the two, he guessed it had been for Xu Zhizhi’s marriage.
“Is Miss Xu to marry Prince Rui?” Chu Yuan asked curiously.
Bai Yi shook his head.
“Not Prince Rui. The Seventh Prince.”
“Seventh Imperial Brother?” Lu Rongshen was stunned. In a raised voice, he said, “How could it be him? Father, are you certain you did not hear wrongly?”
Bai Yi shook his head. “That is what Min Chao said. I suppose it may be because Prince Rui is in poor health, so... he did not plan to let his granddaughter marry him.”
Chu Yuan said, “It may also be that Prince Rui does not wish to marry.”
Lu Rongshen could not make sense of it. “My Seventh Imperial Brother’s birth mother died in difficult labor when she gave birth to him. On top of that, his mother’s family is not from Ye Jing. These past years in the palace, he has had no one to rely on. His temperament is very withdrawn, and he never played together with us.”
“Moreover, he...”
“Grand Tutor Xu is so shrewd, so how could he marry Xu Zhizhi to him?”
“Choosing him would be worse than choosing Sixth Imperial Brother.”
After Lu Rongshen finished his string of words, only Lu Duoyu cooperatively let out an “ah.”
Lu Rongshen was soothed at once. He happily swayed about. “Little Fish understands me best.”
“Let us set Ye Jing’s matters aside for the time being. Your Highness now has half a military tally in hand. What plans do you have for what comes later?” Nie Chouwen asked.
Lu Ronghuai’s brows and eyes were at ease. “Zhao Lu and Fu Qing have already arrived in the Kingdom of Yu.”
These two were now both deputy generals at his side. Since he had sent deputy generals to infiltrate the Kingdom of Yu, it seemed he had long since formed the plan of attacking the Kingdom of Yu.
Nie Chouwen nodded. He lowered his head to look at the little fellow in his arms, whose smile was sweet and warm. His gaze softened, and after thinking for a moment, he still reminded him.
“Sang Cheng lies only half an hour from Lu Cheng. Since Your Highness has chosen this road, you must make every preparation. Your wife and child are both here. Do not let them fall into danger.”
Lu Ronghuai’s gaze was firm. “Grandfather, rest assured. I will certainly protect all of you.”
Chu Yuan’s hand was still firmly held in his. He turned his head to look at the man’s high-bridged nose and softly asked, “Is Your Highness going out to war again?”
“Mm.”
Chu Yuan said, “When?”
“Within a month at the latest.” He tilted his head and gave Chu Yuan a frivolous wink with his right eye. “When I conquer the Kingdom of Yu, I shall present it to Ah-Yuan as his betrothal gift.”
✧ A Word from the Author ✧
Lu Dog is rubbing his fists and palms, preparing the betrothal gift...
The Six Kingdoms: trembling all over.
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