My wife has a secret

Chapter 24 The beginning of chaos
Lu Wanhe gently stroked her breasts, calmed herself down, and let her nervous mood subside a little.

The woman surnamed Gao had always said that she was a flower in a greenhouse. Lu Wanhe had pretended not to hear it before, but now it seemed that what she said was true.

He had lived alone in the backyard of the Xu Mansion for too long, avoiding contact with people inside and outside the mansion.

But after so many years, she didn't even know that her husband had been poisoned.

What's the difference between someone who claims to be noble and a crazy or stupid person?

If something really happens to my husband, what will be my fate?
Lu Wanhe is a sentimental person, and after experiencing what happened today, she has a lot of feelings in her heart.

When she looked up again, she had already made her decision.

"Don't worry, my husband. Wan He will keep this matter a secret."

Xu Qing nodded. Lu was a trustworthy person.

This woman devoted herself to studying the books of sages, and developed the character of a gentle, humble and conservative lady from a noble family.

Since she had nothing to do with the poisoning, all I had to do was draw a clear line between myself and her.

But there is one thing that Xu Qing is still a little confused about.

"I have asked all the questions I wanted to ask, but there is one thing that makes me curious... Of course, it's okay if you don't want to answer."

Lu Wanhe said softly, "Husband, you don't have to be so polite."

Xu Qing asked: "Why do you want to return to the Lu Mansion so urgently?"

Lu Wanhe bit her red lips and whispered softly, "My husband is smart and clever, I think he has guessed it... Before I got married, I would teach the children of the Lu Mansion to read and write in my spare time, so those children are familiar with me."

Xu Qing nodded, and after a moment he asked slowly, "Are you just worried about the children?"

Lu Wanhe's whole body trembled, he remained silent, his eyelashes trembling slightly.

She raised her head after a long while and replied stammeringly, "No, I have selfish motives... Husband, do you still remember the old site of the Xu Mansion next door on the way here?"

Xu Qing thought about it for a moment and then remembered Lu Wanhe's strange appearance in the carriage yesterday.

Now that she thought about it, it was after she saw the old site of the Xu Mansion that she became panic-stricken.

"Some impressions."

Lu Wanhe looked so pitiful as she bit her lip and trembled slightly, and it was hard to blame her.

But this time, the look she gave Xu Qing was no longer evasive, but instead contained a hint of inexplicable tenderness.

"There's something hidden under that old locust tree over there."

Xu Qing was slightly stunned when he heard this. From what Lu said, it seemed that she had an old relationship with someone in the Xu Mansion.

But in his impression, the Xu family has been a single-line family for nine generations, and he is the only one who has inherited the family lineage. Where do the cousins ​​come from?
and many more.

Xu Qing raised his head in astonishment and met Lu Wanhe's gaze.

The other person's hands, which were pinching the collar of his clothes, were stretched to a pale blue, and a relieved smile appeared on his face.

"My husband and I were old acquaintances."

……

Jingdong Marquis Mansion.

The green plants in the courtyard are arranged in an orderly manner, and the eaves are hung with palace lanterns, swaying gently in the autumn breeze.

A team of maids appeared one after another from the corner of the corridor, holding trays filled with all kinds of delicacies from land and sea.

They passed through rows of neatly arranged rooms and arrived at the study room at the deepest part of the mansion.

The room was filled with bookshelves made of pear wood, but what was placed on the shelves was not books and bamboo sticks, but bundles of white paper scrolls.

The portrait hanging on the wall was not of Feng's ancestor, but of a young girl with fair skin, graceful features and picturesque features.

"My Lord, it's time to eat."

The person in the study had his hair loose and his back to the door, as if he had not heard the maid's reminder at all.

The leading maid of the Marquis' Mansion paused for a moment and spoke again, "My Lord, it's time to eat..."

"Get out! Get out of here!"

Jingdong Marquis Feng Tuo suddenly turned around, overturned the food that the other party was serving with one hand, and shouted wildly.

"I don't want to eat! I don't want to eat anything!"

The maid was so frightened that she collapsed all over and knelt on the ground, not daring to say a word.

But Feng Tuo's words became more and more excited and fierce, until he became incoherent, like a wild beast out of control.

"No, don't leave... Tell me, what is the difference between me and Xu Qing? Why would the person I care about care about that idiot?"

Jingdong Hou was usually gentle and easy-going, but he had been devastated by what happened the day before.

He felt that it was natural for him to lose the poetry competition to Lu Wanhe. After all, she was the one Feng Tuo loved, so she should be talented and have achieved such success.

But what really surprised him was Miss Lu's answer to him.

She actually said that marrying into the Xu family was not entirely her family's idea, but also her own wish.

"How is this possible? She must be afraid of the Xu family's power and deliberately lied to me... Yes, yes! It must be like this!"

Feng Tuo stumbled two steps and accidentally bumped into a bookshelf.

The shelf collapsed with a loud bang, and the scrolls on it rolled to the ground, revealing their contents.

There is a pair of shrimps swimming on it, and in the lower right line, in beautiful and chaotic handwriting, it says, "Wan He, Essays in the First Year of Zhengde."

"Baby, my baby fell!"

Feng Tuo chuckled twice and quickly squatted down to put the scroll away. The maids kneeling at the door turned pale and looked at each other.

Although they were maids in the Marquis of Jingdong's mansion and the closest servants to the Marquis, they did not know that the Marquis' love for Lu Wanhe had reached such a paranoid level.

From this point of view, the scrolls in this house may all be portraits and paintings of the woman surnamed Lu.

"Brother Feng."

The visitor was a mature and capable middle-aged man. He was wearing a loose cotton and linen robe, and his face showed some traces of time.

His aura was calm and restrained, and there was an extraordinary temperament in his every move.

The maids recognized this person and stepped back a few steps. Even Feng Tuo, who was in a trance, regained some clarity after seeing the other person.

"Prince Kang?"

Feng Tuo couldn't believe his eyes.

Prince Kang is the main person in charge of the lords' faction and a very popular figure in the court. How could he suddenly come to Suzhou and enter his own mansion?

Even though I am also a lord and have met Prince Kang two or three times at banquets in the capital, no matter how I think about it, it doesn't seem like they have a very close relationship.

Prince Kang walked with steady and powerful steps, and he had already stepped into the threshold of the study while chatting and laughing.

He took a quick glance at the situation and layout of the study, and said with a faint smile: "I have heard for a long time that Brother Feng has a noble temperament and has made great achievements in poetry and songs. Today I am really enlightened." The room was filled with portraits of the young lady of the Lu family. These words might sound a bit harsh at first, but with Prince Kang's gentle tone, they did not seem so sarcastic.

Feng Tuo also knew what he looked like now. He took a deep breath, bowed and said, "Prince Kang, please don't laugh at Feng Tuo. I lost my manners. I will go wash up and welcome you."

"I've said it before, we nobles are all brothers of different surnames, so why should we be so distant? Besides, I'm going south to Jiangnan today, and I've been covering up the news all the way, so there's no need for Brother Feng to go to so much trouble."

When Feng Tuo heard this, he vaguely understood something.

With Prince Kang's status and position, he would definitely receive a grand reception from the governors of various states when he traveled south from the capital to Suzhou.

Then I will get the news in advance at home and prepare a welcoming banquet.

But Prince Kang sneaked into his mansion without anyone noticing, and the servants in the mansion didn't have time to inform him, which means he didn't want others to know about his visit.

"All of you go down. Don't mention what happened today to anyone else."

"Yes."

The maids in the room retreated, and the smile on Prince Kang's face became more intense.

"It seems that my lord's faction is really full of talents. It's rare that Brother Feng has such a lively mind at such a young age... I wonder if you are interested in developing yourself in the capital?"

"Your Majesty, you're welcome."

Feng Tuo said polite words, but he was somewhat moved in his heart.

The reason why the Marquis of Jingdong's Mansion was far away from the capital and rooted in Suzhou was actually because his grandfather's power was weakened and he could no longer gain a foothold in the capital, so the whole family moved and chose an important town in the south of the Yangtze River as their home.

Since moving away from the center of power, the Jingdong Marquis Mansion has continued to deteriorate. The surplus grain collected from tenants in recent years can hardly cover the expenses of the mansion.

If he could get in touch with Prince Kang, then he, Marquis Jingdong, would be able to return to the capital and would have a great chance of being recommended for an official position.

"I wonder why the prince came to see me this time?"

Feng Tuo was not stupid. He knew that Prince Kang had arrived at the Marquis of Jingdong's Mansion quietly, and that he must have something important to ask him to do.

Prince Kang found a chair in the room and sat down slowly, his face looking confident and calm.

"I heard that you and Xu Qing from Empress Dowager Xu's family are not getting along?"

Feng Tuo's body shook and he turned his gaze away from Prince Kang.

"That is indeed the case, but Your Majesty should also know that it is normal for the younger generations to have some minor grudges. They are all trivial matters that cannot be brought to light."

"Oh? I heard that you have been coveting Xu Qing's third wife for a long time, to the point where you have lost your appetite."

"My Lord, you can't say that..."

Feng Tuo felt sweat on his back and looked towards Prince Kang again.

He found that Prince Kang had no unusual expression, with a faint smile on his face, as if he was chatting with him about some ordinary family matters.

"A gentleman loves a beautiful woman. It is not shameful to like someone. Why do you have to hide it, Brother Feng? Why do you care so much?"

Feng Tuo was a little confused about Prince Kang's intentions, but he knew in his heart that the lord's faction and the queen mother's faction were like water and fire, so he would not speak for Xu Qing.

"That's what the prince taught you."

"I see that the portraits in your room are all of that woman, which is enough to show that you love her so deeply that you are determined to marry her."

It was indeed difficult to resolve what happened in the study. Anyone who had seen Lu's appearance when he was young would be able to tell who the person in the painting in his room was.

Letting Prince Kang discover this place would be equivalent to handing the other party a handle.

Thinking of this, Feng Tuo no longer concealed it and nodded in acknowledgement: "Your Highness is really a discerning man. Ever since I was saved by him when I was young, I have always remembered him."

Prince Kang raised his lips slightly and said calmly, "I also heard that Xu Qing is uneducated and unskilled, bullying the people in Suzhou City... It's really sad to see such a beautiful woman in the portrait marrying such a jerk. I feel that fate is unfair."

Feng Tuo had already discovered in his heart that Prince Kang's words were always leaning towards the hatred in his heart.

But he really touched the heart of his heart, causing his already resentful mood to become even angrier.

"Your Highness, what you said is exactly what I feel... But what can I do? The Xu family has a nobleman in the capital, who has connections everywhere. I am now just a marquis in name only, and I am of no use at all..."

Prince Kang shook his head, his voice as steady as ever, giving people a sense of reassurance.

"Brother Feng, please don't underestimate yourself. I have also read the poems at the Puyuan Poetry Festival a few days ago... In fact, you and the woman from the Lu family are both outstanding people, and you are the most suitable couple."

He stared at Feng Tuo, and suddenly an unconcealable sharpness flashed in his eyes.

"If you don't want to give up, Brother Feng, you have a golden opportunity right now."

"Chance?"

"Everyone knows that the Queen Mother in the palace interferes in government affairs and monopolizes power. She has become a cancer in Da Qi."

Feng Tuo was horrified. Although everyone knew that Empress Dowager Xu controlled the government, very few people dared to speak out publicly.

After all, everyone is afraid of getting into trouble and ending up with their bodies torn apart.

"Brother Feng, I am speaking so frankly that I regard you as my own... Do you know that Xu Qing is about to marry the Princess of Danyang?"

Feng Tuo thought for a moment and nodded.

"This is actually the woman's conspiracy. She wants the only heir from her natal family to give birth to a child with the Li royal family so that she can establish him as the new crown prince."

"Prince Kang..."

No one in the court is stupid, they can see such an obvious thing.

But this was not something they could decide. The little emperor was only twelve years old and was a puppet carefully selected and supported by the empress dowager.

"Prince Kang, even if everyone knows about this, so what? Who can jump out and object?"

Prince Kang shook his head. "The Great Qi has a strong foundation. Do you really think that Queen Mother Xu can replace the entire court in just three to five years of ruling?"

Feng Tuo heard the deep meaning in Prince Kang's words and asked tentatively, "What does the prince mean?"

"There will be a storm in the capital in the near future. I can help you get rid of Xu."

"what?"

Feng Tuo was stunned, "Your Majesty, this is really..."

"Have you ever thought about what will happen to the Xu family in Suzhou if Queen Mother Xu falls?"

Feng Tuo remained silent.

If something happened to Empress Dowager Xu, the Xu family of Suzhou would become lambs to be slaughtered and their property would be exterminated by the imperial court.

The fate of the Lu family is self-evident; they will be guilty of the same crime.

"Xu Qing is a bully. If you get rid of him, you will not only be ridding the people of harm, but you will also be rewarded."

Prince Kang stretched his arms and stood up.

"I came to Suzhou for other things, but today I am also attracted by your talent, so I want to give you a huge benefit, so that you can work hard for me in the future... It depends on whether you can grasp it."

(End of this chapter)