Chang'an is good

Chapter 588: Sending a Letter
Having said this, the woman signaled her trusted maid to go outside and guard the door.

"Sit down and talk first..." The woman pulled her son to sit down beside the table, shook her head, and whispered, "We haven't found anything... There shouldn't be any, at least not in Jiannan Road."

"The prince is cautious in his actions. He is unlikely to trust anyone easily and will not easily leave any weakness for others..." The woman said to her son, "I will continue to have people keep an eye on this matter. You can rest assured for now."

Li Cong didn't say anything for a while. After a moment, he curled the corners of his mouth sarcastically.

So he was too suspicious, and now he should put his suspicion aside, right?
But he didn't feel at ease at all.

Perhaps from the moment he began to doubt, what he really doubted was not whether his father had other sons, but whether his position in his father's heart was really as important as his father showed...

Once suspicion takes root, it is difficult to remove.

These days he couldn't help but repeatedly recall the time he spent with his father, and his father's action today of asking him to stay... were constantly watering the tree of suspicion in his heart.

He said to himself: "Even if there is nothing now, it doesn't mean there won't be anything in the future..."

His father was in his prime, and in the past, he had Li Lu and his two sons, one bright and one dark, to guard against unexpected events, which was enough. But now, there were fewer and fewer "unexpected events" ahead, and his father was getting closer and closer to the throne...

Li Cong clenched his fists, his eyes suppressed: "Father will have many sons in the future. They must have decent backgrounds and have various forces behind them to support them..."

But the uncle he could rely on is no longer around, so what is he going to use to fight with those people?

In terms of family background and power, he is no match, but in terms of seniority, there is still Li Lu above him...

He had never considered that sickly guy as an opponent before, because he had the confidence given by his father and uncle, but now...

After my father entered the capital, in order to reassure the people, he would most likely make Li Lu the crown prince first. Soon after, other princes would surely be born one after another, and he would be stuck in the middle. Even if Li Lu died one day, the little princes behind him would surely have risen to power by then!

Therefore, Li Lu can no longer live...

The sickly brother whom he had never regarded as an opponent was now a well-deserved stumbling block.

He wants to get rid of Li Lu before his father succeeds!
In this way, he would be able to take the position of the eldest son, and his father would have to temporarily appoint him as the crown prince...

Only if he seizes this opportunity and stands firm ahead of others early on can he resist those who come later!
Seeing the murderous aura surging from his body, the woman saw through his thoughts at a glance, nervously grabbed one of his wrists, and said, "At this critical moment, we can't take risks!"

"Mother, are you willing to watch others take over the throne?" Li Cong's eyes were filled with resentment. "My son has endured for many years, and has gone through fire and water for my father. He doesn't even have a surname, and my mother has never appeared in public... My uncle also died because of my father's cause! Am I going to make wedding clothes for others in the end?"

Thinking of her brother's death, the woman's grip on her son's wrist tightened unconsciously. She looked at the flickering candlelight with red eyes and said, "Mother is not trying to stop you, but this matter needs careful planning. You have to know that Li Lu has been a hostage in the capital for many years. We don't know much about him, but he was able to return to Yizhou alive. I'm afraid he may not be as indifferent and simple as he seems."

"The attack on the Bian army cannot be completed in three to five months. We still have time. Don't be impulsive. Listen to mother and take a long-term view..."

Under the candlelight, the woman's voice became lower and lower.

In the Prince's Courtyard at Prince Rong's Mansion, Lan Ying was rubbing Ma Wan's back after she had just retched, and asked in a low voice, "Girl, have you really made up your mind... to follow the Prince and the army to the capital?"

Ma Wan, whose face turned a little yellow, closed her eyes and nodded slightly.

"Can your body handle it?" Lan Ying said in a low voice, "Besides, your pregnancy will soon be untraceable..."

The girl is four months pregnant. She has lost weight due to poor appetite, and her pregnancy is not noticeable yet because of her skirt.

The Prince of Rong was already weak, and seeing that he had no hope of having children, he gradually lost interest in that aspect. In addition, the affairs of the Prince of Rong's mansion were busy, so matters of bed could be ignored, so he had not noticed anything unusual about the girl.

But I heard that after a woman is five months pregnant, her belly will grow rapidly and her gait will also change, so it will be impossible to hide it by then.

The march will inevitably be bumpy. Can the girl really bear it?
But Ma Wan was firm: "We can't hide it if we stay in Yizhou, and there is no chance for you and me to leave this Rongwang Mansion."

"Okay, then I'll listen to you..." Lan Ying quickly made up her mind and said, "Girl, when I find an opportunity, we can escape midway!"

"If you want to keep the child, then stay. Even if you don't go back to the Ma family, I can support you and the child by doing laundry, embroidering and chopping firewood!" Lan Ying's eyes turned red when she said this.

Before the capital was captured by the Bian army, the prime minister managed to send a secret letter to the girl, asking her to assassinate Prince Rong...

At that moment, Lan Ying even thought that the Prime Minister had gone crazy. What could a girl use to assassinate Prince Rong?

But seeing the girl's silent expression, Lan Ying suddenly realized that the Prime Minister was clearly forcing the girl to commit suicide in disguise!

At that time, Lan Ying was so angry that she cried out loud. How could the Prime Minister do this?

Because the existence of the girl has become a barrier between the empress and the prime minister's mansion? The prime minister wants the girl to assassinate Prince Rong to show her loyalty to the Ma family? Or, the prime minister wants to completely sever the connection with Prince Rong's mansion, not to embarrass the emperor, and not to leave any future troubles, and the girl's life will be cut off here, right?

In despair, the girl thought about obeying the prime minister's instructions, but before they had a chance to meet Prince Rong, a huge change happened in the capital, and the empress fled to Luoyang...

The sudden change in the situation prevented the girl from reaching that step, but Lan Ying still felt resentful when she thought of the letter from Ma Xiang.

Sensing Lan Ying's emotions, Ma Wan shook her head and said slowly, "Lan Ying, grandfather is not to blame for this."

"My grandfather didn't force me to marry into the Rong Palace. He told me the pros and cons early on. It was me who insisted on marrying and concealed my selfish motives from him..."

She was too naive at that time. She had a place in the boudoir and thought she had read some books. She fantasized about having the best of both worlds and ignorantly underestimated the dangers of politics.

Thinking about it now, becoming a political victim was her inescapable fate from the moment she knelt down and begged her grandfather to let her marry Li Lu.

Since it was her own choice, she should bear all the consequences.

And now she just wanted to know whether the man she insisted on marrying had deceived her from the beginning and had only been using her from beginning to end -

"Girl, we don't care about those fights..." Lan Ying was firm and clear in her attitude: "Let's leave, stay away!"

She was different from others. She had only one idea, which was to keep the girl alive.

The girl saved her life, taught her to read and write and made her sensible, and her kindness to her was greater than the sky. The prime minister was loyal to the emperor, but she was only loyal to her girl.

"Okay, let's leave..." Ma Wan forced a smile to Lan Ying and asked her to pack her things. She specifically asked her to take the golden locket left by Princess Rong with her.

After Lan Ying left, Ma Wan suddenly couldn't help dry-heaving again.

At this time, the sound of greetings came from outside. Li Lu, who had been busy outside recently, came back.

Ma Wan suppressed the urge to vomit, wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, straightened herself up and stood up.

But Li Lu still noticed that something was wrong with her, so he stepped forward to hold her hand and asked with concern, "Is Wan'er sick?"

As he spoke, he noticed Ma Wan's overly thin wrist, his expression changed slightly, and he turned around and asked someone to call a doctor. "No need!" Ma Wan hurriedly stopped him.

Li Lu looked at her: "Wan'er..."

"Lan Ying has already gotten the medicine..." Ma Wan said as calmly as possible, "I'm just too worried about my grandfather and the others..."

Li Lu noticed that the corners of her eyes were slightly red, as if she had been crying.

Ma Wan held Li Lu's hand and continued the topic: "I have something I want to discuss with the prince. I hope you can agree."

"I want to go to the capital with you, my prince..." Ma Wan's eyes became redder, and her thin face lost its former elegance and calmness. She looked helpless and pitiful, like a drowning person. "My prince, I don't want to stay in Yizhou alone."

Sensing his wife's helpless dependence, Li Lu raised his hand and half-embraced her in his arms.

"I was worried that you would suffer from the long march, so I wanted you to stay in Yizhou and wait." His voice was gentle and intimate, and he showed the utmost respect and protection: "But since Wan'er doesn't want to, then come with me."

Hearing this tone, Ma Wan's tears fell uncontrollably.

She wished that all this was true. Even if she was doomed to be unable to escape unscathed from this political struggle, at least her sincerity was not a joke, and she would not regret it...

"It's just that I'm busy with military affairs. I'm afraid I can't always be by your side. You have to take care of yourself." Li Lu whispered to comfort him, "Also, you have to remember what I said. No matter what, I will do my best to protect the Ma family..."

He gently patted his wife's shoulder and said to her, "Wan'er, don't be afraid, I'm here."

Ma Wanru was in the fog, tears falling, and she responded with a hoarse voice, "Okay."

Now that suspicion has arisen, I should be able to tell what is true and what is false. I will go to the capital and see what he does, and then I will know the answer.

If it was fake, then there should be an end between her and him.

It was dark outside, the wind was blowing silently, and inside the room, Li Lu was still comforting her softly.

On the day of the military action, Li Lu personally helped Ma Wan, who was wearing a cloak, onto the carriage.

Li Cong, who was seeing Ma Wan off, looked at the scene of the loving and harmonious couple, and thought of the Ma family behind Ma Wan, and sneered in his heart.

His mother was right. His elder brother might not be as simple as he seemed. He must learn more about him before taking any action.

The carriages and horses moved slowly, and in the front of the team, the big flags with the word "Li" and "Rong" fluttered in the wind as they headed eastward.

In the middle of the convoy, Li Lu was sitting cross-legged in a spacious carriage. There were two other scribes in the carriage, helping Li Lu deal with official documents.

Li Lu raised his hand to spread the paper and asked casually, "Did Li Cong and his mother find out anything?"

These two scholars have become Li Lu's confidants. One of them has been in the Prince Rong's Mansion for many years and has his own foundation and means.

The scholar said at this time: "My Lord, we haven't found anyone over there."

"Oh?" Li Lu was a little surprised, and then a little enlightened: "With Li Cong as the knife, I thought my father had another cherished youngest son, but it turns out that he doesn't have one."

It seems that his father did not show his fatherly kindness to others in private.

His father, the king, probably didn't have the so-called kind fatherly heart.

So, it’s not that it was not given to him, but that it was not given to him at all.

Li Lu found it a bit ironic, but couldn't help but smile.

To his father, everything was just empty talk before he ascended the throne. Having two sons as pawns was enough. It would be more worry-free and cost-effective to cultivate the rest after he ascended the throne.

"Your Highness has used Li Cong to find out the truth, so you can kill two birds with one stone." The scholar also smiled and said, "Li Cong's mother thinks she is very clever and subtle, but she is just a woman after all."

Li Lu dipped his pen into the ink and replied nonchalantly, "It has nothing to do with whether it is a woman or a man. There are also women who have achieved great things. Sir, you should not look down on women..."

The scholar smiled and nodded "yes".

Li Lu picked up his pen and wrote: "As a man, Li Cong, like his mother, also doesn't know the real reason why he was left behind."

His mother was looking for other children, and their father had seen it. But their father was respectable and ruthless, and he abandoned them without making any noise, so that people had no way of knowing that they had been abandoned.

He is of no use in the first place, yet he is so ignorant of the situation and refuses to abide by the law. How can he not be annoying?

This was the result that Li Lu had foreseen long ago, and all this was due only to the "reminder" he gave to Li Cong.

"What can a person who only knows how to kill people do?" The scholar said, "Li Cong has been abandoned. From now on, the prince just needs to look forward."

"Yes, we need to look forward." Li Lu said with a smile in his eyes.

The road ahead is difficult, but fortunately he still has his wife. As long as he and Ma Wan are still husband and wife, he will have a great chance to win over the Ma family and the literary forces behind the Ma family.

But this one path alone is not enough to give people peace of mind.

He was unwilling to have to fight for food under his father's command... He knew that this broken body, which he didn't know how long it could survive, was given by his father.

He wanted to try another path, another option.

So he was writing letters, letters to the "women who can also accomplish great things" as he put it.

She never replied to his letters, but he had patience and thick skin. These two things were very cost-effective and did not require any effort, but if you persisted, you would often reap unexpected rewards.

At the same time, a fast horse entered Luoyang, passed the city gate, and went straight to the Luoyang government office.

This government office had long been occupied by Chang Suining's people to handle government affairs.

The horses were stopped, and as the soldiers dismounted, they shouted, "The envoy has delivered the letter!"

The guards were cheered up and quickly let them pass. One of them followed the soldiers and quickly walked inside.

"The envoy sent a letter——!"

Loud shouts were heard one after another into the palace. Officials along the way all made way for them, their eyes filled with eagerness - the envoy's message had finally arrived, and they wondered what the message would be.

See you tomorrow~