novelraw Chapter 678 Calamity
Chapter 678 Calamity
Chapter 678 Calamity
Actually, Zhu Yu was a little apprehensive when he wrote this secret letter.
Now, her life has entered a completely new stage. After what happened last time, her only worry, her own mother, Miao, is no longer bullied by Pang Yuzhen in the Prince Shuo's mansion, and she can now live a peaceful life.
For Miao, who had absolutely no ambition, this was already a very satisfactory life, and Zhu Yu knew this very well.
Therefore, as long as Miao Shi, the only person who had been truly good to her before her marriage, could live a peaceful life, Zhu Yu had no other thoughts about the Shuo Wang Mansion, and didn't care whether Zhu Cheng would think highly of her.
However, this time, it involves the need for Shuo Kingdom to send officials and soldiers to assist Lan Di in restoring order. Although Lu Qing asked her to ask Zhu Cheng's second son to personally lead the troops in order to avoid Zhu Cheng's concerns.
However, this wouldn't have been a big problem before, since Lu Qing was the Prince of Xiaoyao. Regardless of whether Zhu Cheng liked or was satisfied with his son-in-law, he would still have to cooperate to some extent for the sake of Emperor Jin.
By now, news of Lu Qing's demotion to commoner status has probably already reached the Shuo Kingdom, and Zhu Cheng must already know about it.
Whether he will still be willing to cooperate... that's anyone's guess.
However, Lu Qing didn't mention whether or not to reveal that the Golden-Faced Censor's waist tag was still there. Zhu Yu thought about it and felt that Lu Qing probably didn't trust Zhu Cheng to that extent. In addition, this matter could also be used to see if Zhu Cheng was farsighted enough.
She carefully wrote the secret letter, sealed it with Lu Qing, and waited for a while to make sure that it was quiet outside and that the guards who had run out of the Lan Prince's mansion had mostly gone to bed. Then she tried to blow the silver whistle by the bedside.
There was no further movement for a long time afterward. Zhu Yu looked at Lu Qing, who smiled at her, indicating that she should remain calm.
Just as Zhu Yu was secretly worried that the stronghold might be so heavily guarded that Lu Qing's secret guards would not be able to get close, a soft sound came from outside the window.
The secret guards have finally arrived.
Lu Qing walked to the window, handed out the secret letters he and Zhu Yu had written, and gave instructions to the guard in a whisper. The guard did not seem to leave immediately, and Lu Qing's outstretched hand paused slightly before withdrawing.
Zhu Yu saw that he had put another ingenious box back into his hand.
In other words, even if she hadn't blown that silver whistle just now, the guard would still have come to find them tonight because he had something to give to Lu Qing.
After closing the window again, Lu Qing pulled Zhu Yu back to the table and sat down. Judging from his expression, it was also unexpected that the secret guards would send a message this time.
Logically, after communicating with Lu Chao beforehand, they shouldn't be receiving any messages from him now, unless there's some unforeseen event.
Zhu Yu's heart was in her throat.
Lu Qing opened the ingenious box and, somewhat surprised, took out a thick stack of papers. The length of the letter clearly indicated that it was not Lu Chao's handwriting. Besides the thick stack, there was another piece of paper with Lu Chao's handwriting on it. It contained only a few words, and the words were written directly on it: "For your brother Zhang's behalf."
The words on the note startled Zhu Yu, who was standing to the side. It seemed that Lu Qing had also not expected to receive a letter from Lu Zhang, which was forwarded by Lu Chao.
After Zhao Bi's downfall, Lu Zhang's glory faded. He was banished from the capital and ordered to guard the border. His maternal grandfather's family, which had already fallen from power, were all wiped out, causing Lu Zhang to fall from the peak to the bottom. From then on, he not only lost power, but now, apart from his father, who was quite dissatisfied with him and didn't want to see him, and a few brothers who were not close to him, he was practically alone in this world.
Lu Qing never expected that Lu Zhang would need to contact her at such a time.
However, after the two of them quickly finished reading the long letter Lu Zhang had written, their doubts were resolved, only to be followed by an even longer silence.
The letter contained many truths that Lu Zhang had pieced together from his maternal grandfather over the years, concerning the tragic massacre of Lu Qing's family.
In his letter, Lu Zhang said that he was unaware of many things in the past, and even if he could guess a little, it was all in a fog and he couldn't see clearly.
Until recently, perhaps because of Zhao Bi's downfall, some topics that people used to be afraid to discuss for fear of getting burned have become less taboo. He has heard some things he didn't know before, and by piecing them together, he has almost reconstructed the cause and effect of the incident in Lu Qing's family.
The later fate of the Lu family was indeed related to Duke Zhao Bi of Yan. The reason why Zhao Bi did this was not entirely because, as outsiders speculated, he wanted to compete for the position of a powerful minister second only to the emperor. Rather, it was because there was an insurmountable chasm between Lu Qing's grandfather and father and Zhao Bi, and there were deep-rooted differences in their positions between the two factions.
In Zhao Bi's mind, only the Kingdom of Jin was the most noble in the world, and therefore the people of Jin were naturally superior. Apart from Jin, all other vassal states were foreign races, and calling them inferior was already an exaggeration. In essence, they were no different from the beasts in the mountains.
Based on this view, he advocated making the best use of everything in the vassal states, including the people there. He believed that anything of value should be utilized, and even those without value could be enslaved and driven. Only by subduing the barbarians of those vassal states could Jin's status as a superior state be consolidated.
Lu Qing's grandfather believed that the most important thing in winning the hearts of the people was the word "heart." Only by winning the hearts and minds of all the vassal states could one secure the position of a superior nation. As the saying goes, "Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it." If one is a wise emperor, the hearts and minds of the people will naturally be won over, and everyone within the four seas will be willing to submit. Whether it is Jin Kingdom or other vassal states, they can all share in a peaceful and prosperous era.
However, if the people of the vassal states are treated as livestock and beasts, either used or enslaved, it will only lead to the loss of popular support and give ambitious people an opportunity to cause trouble. At that time, it will not only be a question of whether the emperor's throne is secure, but the whole world will fall into chaos again.
Therefore, the Lu family advocated that we should be cautious and vigilant against ambitious foreign tribes that intend to invade, but we should respect those who are law-abiding and let them live and work in peace. We should never underestimate or neglect them.
However, at that time the world was still unsettled, and both the Lu family and Zhao Bi were Emperor Jin's most trusted right-hand men. Therefore, Emperor Jin's attitude toward this matter was rather ambiguous, and he did not openly support or oppose either side.
Perhaps Emperor Jin did this initially to avoid internal strife at a crucial moment, but little did he know that it would also sow the seeds of future troubles.