Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!

Chapter 546 - 545: The Key

Zhu Yu was momentarily taken aback when she heard Lu Qing’s words.

She was a very pragmatic person, and in fact, before asking Lu Qing, she had already made her plans in mind.

Without the title of Prince Xiaoyao, the silk and satin in the Prince Mansion would lose all significance. A prince reduced to commoner status wearing silk would be a subject of gossip, not to mention they didn’t know where they would go next. Once Lu Qing recovered, the likelihood was that they would have to leave the Capital.

At that time, wearing such eye-catching attire wouldn’t be a good thing. Walking around so ostentatiously would attract trouble.

Even if the talisman skills were excellent, and even if Lu Qing himself possessed great martial arts, without the Imperial Family background, without the waist card symbolizing power and the title, they had to consider the reality that a lone tiger couldn’t contend with a pack of wolves.

As for those ornamental jewels, they were even less useful.

Lu Qing never really cared about gold, silver, or jewels. Aside from various musical scores at home, the truly valuable items were mostly previous gifts from Emperor Jin.

Regardless of whether the imperial gifts could be taken out and sold casually, even if they could, the high-priced gold, stone, and jade would either meet someone who didn’t recognize their value and couldn’t be sold, or someone who did understand and knew their origin and therefore maliciously devalued them.

So instead of carrying treasures that might not be useful in critical moments and might not be treated fairly, it was better to directly carry some cash. As long as it was carefully kept, it could be used anywhere to buy clothes and horses, to exchange for food and drink.

Unexpectedly, Lu Qing planned to leave everything intact in the mansion.

This left Zhu Yu momentarily dumbfounded, staring blankly at Lu Qing, not knowing what to say for a time.

Lu Qing turned his head and saw her expression of stupor, couldn’t help but laugh, but the laughter shook his chest, affecting the wound on his back; it hurt him into gasping, freezing the smile on his face.

"Madam, haven’t you guessed yet where we are going to settle afterward?" He softly asked Zhu Yu.

Zhu Yu knew that Lu Qing’s injuries wouldn’t heal in just a few days. They absolutely couldn’t leave the Capital at present. If they couldn’t live in the Prince Xiaoyao Mansion, and if they needed to find a stable place in the Capital where they needn’t worry about malicious people seizing the opportunity...

She suddenly understood, nodded knowingly, and reminded Lu Qing not to move around, lest the wound burst and her hard work would be wasted. Then she followed his previous orders and went out to find Mrs. Zhao and the few servants still in the mansion, carefully relaying Lu Qing’s instructions to them, asking them to remember well.

Hearing that their prince had been demoted to commoner status startled Mrs. Zhao and the others, causing a few of the older nannies to burst into tears. However, after listening to Lu Qing’s instructions, they earnestly agreed to follow them.

Since marrying in, even though much of the time she was outside with Lu Qing, Zhu Yu still interacted a lot with these servants during their days in the mansion.

These people had been in the Prince Mansion for so many years, already proven by Lu Qing to have no ulterior motives, and worked diligently day-to-day, so there was no concern of insubordination.

Sure enough, in less than half an hour, Mrs. Zhao returned to find Zhu Yu so she could inspect. Zhu Yu went to inspect and found that, following Lu Qing’s instructions, they had gathered and stored all the mansion’s valuables, sealing many large trunks after her inspection.

In the end, under Zhu Yu’s watchful eye, they locked up the rooms storing precious items with large copper locks.

"Madam, keep these keys safely." The steward respectfully handed the keys to Zhu Yu, "Our prince always treated us well; we know better what kind of man he is than those outside.

Though we don’t know why the Holy Emperor is so angry with the prince this time, but only sending people to seal our Prince Xiaoyao Mansion might hint at a possible turnaround.

So, please keep these keys safely. When the turmoil passes and you return with the prince, you must personally check these items.

If anyone comes later with an imperial order to check, and if their abilities are so great, these few locks will hardly stop them, let them go ahead and break them."

It was evident that the steward’s words were spoken with some resentment.

The details of Lu Qing’s matter weren’t entirely unknown among the confidantes in the Prince Xiaoyao Mansion, though neither were they fully aware as the talisman might be, but through small encounters over the years, and knowing the kind of person Lu Qing was, the steward had a grasp.

They had heard the rumors outside these days, but no one in the Prince Xiaoyao Mansion believed them; they all outright believed it to be King Fan’s nephew speaking maliciously with an agenda.

After all, the reputation of Fan Country within the Four Seas wasn’t favorable, and such sordid matters seemed plausible for them; this, the steward and his companions had no doubt about.

Thus, it was a shock to them that Emperor Jin had demoted Lu Qing over this matter. Inside, the steward felt the urge to defend his master, but knowing his own limitations, he dared not speak too bluntly, only subtly voicing his grievances.

After arranging everything, Zhu Yu told the talisman to prepare the carriage.

Though Lu Qing instructed not to bring anything, Zhu Yu packed some medicinal herbs from the Prince Xiaoyao Mansion along with her personal belongings.

These medicines weren’t guaranteed to be found for purchase elsewhere, even with money.

If Yan Daoxin were around, Zhu Yu wouldn’t worry, but since Yan Daoxin was in prison and couldn’t save himself, Zhu Yu was proficient at identifying dead from the living but not at healing.

If Lu Qing’s injuries remained mere external wounds, she could handle them, but for anything else, she wasn’t confident in her abilities.

As such, it was prudent to have precious medicines on hand.

Matters of pride were for gold and jewels; medicine was crucial for survival, and on this, she wouldn’t adhere to Lu Qing’s earlier instructions.

As dusk began to fall, the talisman came to inform Zhu Yu that the carriage was ready. Zhu Yu placed the two simple bundles she had packed onto the carriage, then, with the two brothers, gently placed the currently slumbering Lu Qing onto the carriage.