Glory

Lu Guanyi nodded, "That incident did happen. At the time, Chu Zonghua was eleven, Chu Yuhua was nine, and Chu Yuehua was only five. During a banquet at Zhennan Wangfu, Chu Yuhua, who was staying in the backyard due to a cold and hadn't gone to the front, saw the one-year-old son of Princess Consort Zhennan playing in the garden with his wet nurse. Using the excuse of playing with his younger brother, he took the child and left."

"The wet nurse was terrified and immediately sent her maid to inform Princess Consort Zhennan. Chu Yuhua became furious and ordered his page to drag her outside. He then carried the child back to his room and forced him to drink the medicine he was supposed to take."

"Princess Consort Zhennan came from a humble background, and the three Chu siblings had the backing of their maternal grandfather. She had always been timid, but seeing her son being forcibly fed medicine and crying so hard he nearly fainted, she erupted in anger on the spot. Since the banquet was underway and the backyard was filled with women from various households, the incident quickly became widely known. Later, it was said that her son fell ill that very night, remained sick for a long time, and never fully recovered."

Recalling her encounter with Princess Consort Zhennan earlier that day, Ye Yaming remarked, "She must harbor deep hatred for those three siblings, right?"

Lu Guanyi nodded, "How could she not? But now all three are adults, and Chu Zonghua has long been named the heir. Prince Zhennan is the type to muddle through life, seeking only peace and stability. As long as matters don't reach him or disrupt his indulgent lifestyle, he can't be bothered to intervene."

At this point, he turned to Ye Yaming, "Are you thinking of..."

He left the sentence unfinished, but both understood what he meant to say.

Ye Yaming asked, "Is it feasible?" Her gaze held a flicker of pity as she looked at Lu Guanyi.

Though the pity vanished in an instant, Lu Guanyi still caught it.

He tightly grasped Ye Yaming's hand and sighed, "We can set the stage. But unless absolutely necessary, I advise against taking action."

With Lu Guanyi's cunning and methods, he had never feared those three siblings back then. Unfortunately, Duke Wei's household was powerful at the time, and the Chu siblings were of royal bloodline. Shi Shi had been eagerly looking for an excuse to incriminate him and had people watching his every move. Had he acted, Shi Shi would have seized the opportunity to make a big issue out of it. For the sake of Lu Zhongyong's grand plans, he had no choice but to endure, even retreating to Lin'an.

Though the three siblings bullied him, it was limited to verbal humiliation, trying to provoke him into physical retaliation so Shi Shi could use it against him and strip him of his eligibility to become the heir. They never resorted to violence, causing him no tangible harm.

Princess Consort Zhennan's son became chronically ill, and though she later conceived again, it's unclear whether due to her poor health or foul play—she miscarried at two months and never conceived afterward. Moreover, during Shi Shi's lifetime, Zhennan Wangfu had no illegitimate children. After remarrying the current princess consort, only one illegitimate daughter was born, but no sons.

Thus, even after Duke Wei's household fell from power and Prince Zhennan worried that the emperor might disapprove of Shi Shi's grandson and consider replacing Chu Zonghua as the heir, there was no suitable alternative.

Everyone is biased toward their own. Prince Zhennan might not favor these three children, but if anyone tried to harm them, he would likely be the first to object.

Harming members of the royal bloodline is a grave crime punishable by execution of the entire family. That's why Lu Guanyi had never moved against these three.Lu Guanyi analyzed these details for Ye Yaming, saying, "If Chu Yuehua doesn't do anything, we won't act either. But once she intends to harm you, don't hold back. However, this requires careful planning. Let's discuss it thoroughly after we return."

The verbal humiliation from years ago, for the sake of the court and his father, he could endure. But he couldn't bear to see Ye Yaming suffer even the slightest grievance.

The three Chu siblings grew up in an abnormal environment. They never acted according to reason, charging ahead recklessly without considering consequences, and they held grudges over the smallest matters. Worse, there were no elders above them who could keep them in check. The scions of noble families in the capital dared not provoke them.

If Chu Yuehua were to resent Ye Yaming because of today's incident and take action against her, Lu Guanyi couldn't bear the consequences of Ye Yaming being hurt or humiliated.

He understood the unspoken meaning in Ye Yaming's earlier words—she wanted to use Princess Consort Zhennan as a weapon to eliminate the Chu siblings. But Princess Consort Zhennan's intentions were still unclear. If this weapon wasn't wielded properly, it might not only fail to kill the enemy but could also backfire and harm themselves.

Therefore, this matter required careful discussion.

Ye Yaming brought up another matter: "Why didn't we see the Third Princess today?"

At Kang Wang's banquet, almost all the imperial family members had attended, except for those who had passed away, were out of town, or were ill. Ye Yaming had thought she might encounter the Third Princess, who also harbored hostility toward her, but she hadn't appeared today.

"Oh, the Imperial Consort has been keeping a mistress, and there's been a commotion at home."

Ye Yaming: "..."

These days, is it fashionable for Imperial Consorts to keep mistresses?

Lu Guanyi added nonchalantly, "I had someone expose that mistress."

Ye Yaming: "..."

Seeing Ye Yaming's beautiful eyes widen in surprise, Lu Guanyi couldn't resist pinching her cheek, only to have his hand swatted away by her.

By the time the carriage returned to the residence, it was already late. Neither of them had eaten much at the banquet, so they had the kitchen prepare some noodle soup. After finishing their meal and bathing, they lay down in their room and began discussing the matter of Chu Yuehua in detail.

"Ah Yi..." Ye Yaming pushed away Lu Guanyi's mischievous hand, signaling him to keep his distance. "Have you ever considered that Shi Shi, Lu Guanyu, and the three Chu siblings are actually a united front? Why does Chu Yuehua dislike me? It's because of Lu Guanyu. And as for Shi Shi, do you really think she's content to stay in her rural hometown, allowing her son to be suppressed forever without any chance of rising?"

Lu Guanyi, styled Zi Mo. His teachers and peers addressed him as Zi Mo. But this style name was chosen after he began his studies. Close elders had called him "Yi'er" since childhood.

When Ye Yaming referred to him as "Zi Mo," Lu Guanyi felt it created distance between them. Only outsiders called him Zi Mo. The two had discussed the issue of address multiple times after moments of intimacy. Ye Yaming firmly declined using terms like "Yi gege" (Brother Yi) or "husband," and they eventually settled on "Ah Yi," which satisfied both parties.

Lu Guanyi smiled wryly, "How could I not have thought about it?"

Over the years, most of his suffering had come from these people.

Lu Guanyu, protected by his birth mother and with the three Chu siblings acting as his enforcers, managed to appear as pure as a white lotus, never having directly done anything to his elder brother Lu Guanyi. Yet, he was the root of all these troubles.

As long as he existed, and as long as Shi Shi and the Chu siblings were alive, Lu Guanyi and Ye Yaming would never be able to live in peace—there would always be turmoil.However, the Chu siblings are of royal blood, and Lu Guanyu is the son of Lu Zhongyong. If anything were to happen to them, Lu Guanyi would ultimately benefit. It is difficult to harm them without leaving any consequences.

He said, "Over the years, I haven't been idle. I have planted spies around Shi Shi, Lu Guanyu, and the Chu siblings."