Glory

"Who was ultimately blamed for Shi Shi's death?" Ye Yaming asked.

"Naturally, Princess Consort Zhennan," Lu Guanyi replied. "I had my people bury the clues deep, deliberately leaving superficial evidence pointing to me. When further investigated, the authorities will discover all evidence leads to Princess Consort Zhennan. She doesn't even find this accusation questionable, as she believes Shi Shi was killed by someone she sent, though she thinks the death came too easily."

"How is she now?"

"Dead. She left a suicide note and swallowed gold to end her life."

Knowing women tend to be soft-hearted, Lu Guanyi glanced down at Ye Yaming and explained, "She had long been resolved to die, intending to follow her son in death. I suspect she even wanted to take Prince Zhennan with her, but held back for fear of implicating her maternal family. Death might have been a release for her."

Recalling the stunning woman who had faced the world with impeccable makeup even while enduring the extreme agony of her son's critical condition, Ye Yaming nodded in agreement, feeling a pang of sorrow in her heart.

She was both a pitiable and formidable woman. With her son murdered and her husband failing to seek justice for them, she must have long harbored bitter hatred for Prince Zhennan.

"Regarding Shi Shi's death and Lu Guanyu's injury, does your father suspect you?" Ye Yaming asked again.

Lu Guanyi smiled faintly. "It doesn't matter what he thinks. I had to do this. I couldn't allow venomous snakes to remain lurking, ready to strike you at any moment. Your safety is what matters most."

Some things, even between husband and wife as close as they were, he couldn't share with Ye Yaming. After all, it involved his father's dignity. If his father lost face, he would too in Ye Yaming's eyes.

The father and son had never discussed related matters. But Lu Guanyi suspected Lu Zhongyong's feelings toward Shi Shi and Lu Guanyu were complex.

For a woman like Shi Shi - the legitimate daughter of Duke Wei and the Empress's younger sister - to fall in love with Lu Zhongyong at first sight, willing to marry him and bear his children, must have been a form of validation for Lu Zhongyong, who wasn't highly ranked at the time.

And even if Lu Guanyu wasn't a child born of Lu Zhongyong's expectations, he still carried his blood. Lu Zhongyong certainly wouldn't want to see his son die before marrying.

Yet these two were also symbols of Lu Zhongyong's shame.

A proud man, a first-rank general, forced to submit to Duke Wei's power and yield to a woman who had harmed his first wife, even having children with her. And with the Duke Wei's family involved in treason, though the disaster shouldn't affect married daughters, Shi Shi and Lu Guanyu still carried the Shi family blood - they were aligned with the Duke Wei's household.

Thus, anyone in court could use this to attack Lu Zhongyong, and every accusation would hit its mark. This was something that could drag Lu Zhongyong into hell.

With one dead and the other mentally impaired, it was also a form of release for Lu Zhongyong.

So Lu Guanyi used Princess Consort Zhennan as a pretext to eliminate Shi Shi, then used her death to provoke Lu Guanyu into making the first move against him - with both witnesses and physical evidence present. In the end, he only rendered Lu Guanyu mentally impaired rather than killing him. He felt he had truly gone to great lengths to consider his father's feelings in every aspect.

If not for his father treating him reasonably well, he wouldn't have needed to take such a circuitous approach.

Having achieved this much, he felt he was truly the most filial son imaginable. As for whether his father was happy about it - that was something he genuinely couldn't concern himself with.Ye Yaming glanced at him and changed the subject: "I've given the two children nicknames. The older one is called Pingping, and the younger one is An'an. Though these names may sound common, I hope they'll lead peaceful and smooth lives. As for their formal names, would you like to choose them, or shall we write to your father and ask him to name them?"

"You choose," Lu Guanyi said. "You suffered so much to bring them into this world. No one has more right to name them than you."

"Only the right to name them?" Ye Yaming looked at him, her beautiful eyes blinking.

"What else do you want?" Lu Guanyi lowered his head, gazing at her with only her reflection in his eyes, his voice deep. "Whatever I have, you can take it all if you wish."

Ye Yaming looked at him with utmost seriousness: "They mean to me what Princess Consort Zhennan's son means to her. I won't allow anyone in this world to harm them. Otherwise, they become my mortal enemy." Including you. Though they were currently deeply in love and Lu Guanyi had never done anything to hurt her or the children, she wouldn't say anything that might damage their relationship. But a warning was necessary, especially concerning the children.

"I feel the same," Lu Guanyi understood her unspoken words.

She was afraid he would be like Prince Zhennan or other men who kept mistresses, potentially hurting her and the children for others.

He gently kissed her lips, vowing: "I won't allow anyone to harm you or the children. I would never hurt you myself."

"I'll remember what you said today."

"Mmm."

With Ye Yaming's successful delivery, they needed to send announcements to all who cared about her. With Lu Guanyi present, Ye Yaming entrusted this task entirely to him, allowing herself to peacefully undergo postpartum confinement.

Due to his transfer, Lu Guanyi had one month of leave; combined with another month for recuperation, he had a full two months off.

During the first month, the couple focused on recovery while caring for their babies, enjoying unprecedented peace and leisure.

But once Ye Yaming emerged from her confinement, this leisurely life came to an end.

The final batch of Dark Tea was ready. After personally tasting and inspecting each variety, she needed to deliver this batch to the imperial court for transport to the Great Jin Dynasty.

October first was the delivery date. Chen Zhen arrived in Lin'an two days early. He personally visited Lu Guanyi and presented two golden necklaces for the children.

On the delivery day, Ye Yaming rode in a carriage with Lu Guanyi to the Tea Factory.

The Tea House had storage warehouses, but they were quite small. With the large quantities of Dark Tea transported from Lin'an, Huizhou, and Minzhou, the Ye family had constructed several large warehouses at the Tea Factory to store the Dark Tea, posting guards for security.

In addition to the Ye family's Manor Guards, Ye Yaming specifically hired yamen guards to take shifts. Of course, she provided generous overtime pay, making the guards quite willing to take on this duty.

Knowing the tea's significance to the imperial court, Lin'an tea merchants like Wang Kuan, though green with envy, dared not cause any trouble.

When Ye Yaming arrived, Chen Zhen was already there, conversing with Ye Chongming, Ye Hongchang, and Ye Jiaxing.

Seeing Lu Guanyi and Ye Yaming enter, he stood up and bowed with clasped hands: "Official Lu, Madam Lu."

Chen Zhen, in his fifties, was an extremely capable official. Yet he remained only a fourth-rank official, one rank lower than Lu Guanyi. This inevitably made people reflect on how quickly promotions came in the military.

Of course, this was also related to Lu Guanyi's backing from the Crown Prince and his status as Lu Zhongyong's son."Lord Chen." Ye Yaming followed behind Lu Guanyi and greeted him, "Thank you for the congratulatory gift you sent the day before yesterday, Lord Chen. You are very thoughtful."