After the sacrifice, everyone in the courtyard was immediately divided into several groups.
Lu Anran stood behind the clusters of bright red double-happiness vines and saw Lu Jianyu blending in among the ladies from the royal capital with ease and without any pressure at all.
She thought that with a character like Lu Jianyu's, she was a qualified young lady from an aristocratic family. No wonder the Lu family's mistress valued her.
The blue color of the lake flashed in her eyes, and Meng Zhi was walking by the lake in a graceful and graceful manner. As a concubine, she couldn't get in the conversation. Even though she was on the outside, she still refused to leave the circle centered on Princess Ding'an and the eldest princess.
Someone approached from the side, and Lu Anran turned sideways to face a cold and arrogant face, with slightly hooked red lips, and a hint of hatred in his expression, "It's really up to the task."
Lu Anran couldn't interrupt other people's sisters' affairs, so she nodded politely: "Ms. Meng."
"Traveling together?" Meng Shizhao raised an eyebrow, his tone was tough, his posture was a little arrogant, and he could easily come across as domineering.
But when Lu Anran saw her, she looked happy and behaved openly, so she was straightforward but not annoying to her.
The same rice feeds a hundred kinds of people. They are both born in the Meng family. The two sisters Meng Shizhao and Meng Zhi are not only polar opposites in personality, but also worlds apart in their behavior.
Although they were traveling together, Meng Shizhao walked briskly and walked without stopping. He was not talking about anything like Lu Anran. Lu Anran was wondering why she was talking about this, and Meng Shizhao suddenly stopped.
There is a large lakeside outside the bald cypress, and two people are standing on the opposite bank. Their shadows are reflected on the lake water, and the ripples sway as if they are entangled.
Lu Anran took advantage of the cover of the trees and looked at Meng Shizhao doubtfully. She intuitively felt that the man was deliberately leading the way.
"Su Xiangxiang is very talented, so he is always willing to show his face in front of his peers." Meng Shizhao said calmly: "He is also a person with a heart higher than the sky."
This was the second time Lu Anran accidentally spied on the second prince and Su Xiangxiang's "private meeting". Compared with the previous time, the two seemed to be closer, and there was a hint of love between a man and his concubine.
"Su Xiangxiang is older than the second prince."
Meng Shizhao raised her red lips, not mocking but seeming to be mocking, "People don't often say that female juniors hold gold bricks."
Lu Anran thought it was a bit weird for two people to discuss other people's love lives in this situation.
Meng Shizhao looked at her and said, "Su Xiangxiang came to you just now. He must be asking about the Wangdu City case."
Lu Anran was surprised by such a sure tone, as if Meng Shizhao had just listened to Qiang Gen next to him.
Meng Shizhao said disdainfully, "I don't have a hobby of eavesdropping."
Lu Anran shook his head, "Miss Meng misunderstood, but I'm just curious how Miss Meng knew?"
"The children of our aristocratic family have been involved in power struggles since they were born. What they learned is not the needlework of ordinary people, but how to play with people's hearts. If someone grows up in such an environment, do you think she will do useless things?"
Lu Anran lowered his eyes, thinking that when the case of the man's corpse at the bottom of the lake first came out, the second prince had asked the emperor to reprimand him, and Concubine Shu's words just now hinted that she would bite the Gu family out, so it was not Su Xiangxiang who wanted to know, but the second prince and Concubine Shu. .
"Also, she must have tried her best to find out about your relationship with Prince Yun, right?" Meng Shizhao said again.
Lu Anran frowned. Nowadays, the princes and princesses are gradually growing up. On the surface, they are brothers and sisters, and there has been no unpleasantness. But in the center of imperial power, how can there be no lack of secret infighting.
The second prince is the daughter of Concubine Shu. Although the eldest princess's biological mother is a deceased concubine, she was raised by the queen since she was a child. Unless the second prince and the third prince have any other thoughts in the future, they can only wait for the prince to succeed to the throne and be their prince. , as long as you have some ideas, there will be chaos and bloodshed. Where can real peaceful coexistence come from?
As for the prince, everything is possible before it is a foregone conclusion.
Therefore, Su Xiangxiang's choice to keep the second prince and be close to the eldest princess seemed a bit unwise.
"Su Xiangxiang wants to play both sides of the fence between the second prince and the eldest princess to pave the way for the future." Meng Shizhao smiled lightly, "She thinks that the chess game is really a world game, and she can play with the palace with just a little bit of ability."
"Miss Su is married." Even Lu Anran felt that this was a bit false.
Meng Shizhao raised his eyebrows: "It's a pity that she has poor eyesight."
Who dares to say that it is not a good idea to abandon the fourth-grade ginseng leader and embrace the second prince, but only Meng Shizhao.
"I really think princes, princes and ministers are better than ordinary people."
Lu Anran did not deny the idea of people climbing to higher places, but doing so under the premise of being engaged was too frivolous.
Lu Anran was puzzled, "Why did Miss Meng come here to remind me today?"
Meng Shizhao was taller than Lu Anran. As soon as his eyelids dropped, he looked down at people, "I just can't stand some people pretending." After saying that, he left without saying any polite words.
Lu Anran admired her greatly. It was the first time she had seen Meng Shizhao, a woman who behaved so freely and openly.
—
Lu Anran wondered what day it was and why everyone came to see her.
The moment she left the palace, she asked the people around Liu Xiangzhi to invite her over.
"Prime Minister Liu." Lu Anran saluted inside Zhanfu Tower.
It was obviously a restaurant, but Liu Xiangzhi had arranged a set of tea sets. The aroma of tea was already lingering, making people's mouths itch.
Liu Xiangzhi poured a cup of tea for Lu Anran. After Lu Anran drank it, she suddenly understood the reason for the invitation.
The bottom of the leaves is uniform, the taste is mellow and sweet, and the taste is fresh and refreshing. The tea soup is clear and slightly yellow, like nectar. It is called Mengding nectar and is produced in the southwest.
"Mr. Liu is looking for me, is it because of what happened the day before yesterday?" After thinking clearly, Lu Anran asked directly.
Liu Xiangzhi put down the teapot and smiled softly, "The old cat disappeared. Why are you sure he took Qian Mo to the southwest?"
Lu Anran looked down at the tea leaves floating in the tea soup, thought for a moment, and said cautiously: "Since he let someone disguise his identity and sneak into the southwest, there must be a reason for him."
"But you don't know yet, and you intend to deceive Yuan Fang."
"I just said what I know. As for what Mr. Yuan thinks, I can't guess."
Liu Sangzhi wrote lightly: "Including the fake banknotes in your hand?"
Lu Anran pursed her lower lip, "I'm hiding this from Prime Minister Liu, I hope Prime Minister Liu doesn't mind."
Liu Xiangzhi didn't say whether he believed it or not. He brought the tea cup to his lips and took a sip. After a while, he said something irrelevant: "You are nothing like Lu Xun."
The familiarity in his tone was beyond Lu Anran's expectations, "Father will not be as reckless as me."
Liu Xiangzhi said with a chuckle, "You are wrong, he is much more cunning than you."
Lu Anran's eyes were full of surprise, but it was a pity that Liu Xiangzhi didn't go into details anymore, and said: "The situation in the southwest is complicated, and it is even more mixed now. It would be better for you to try to persuade him, maybe it's for the sake of Prince Yun's house."
Lu Anran felt a little uncomfortable when he was suddenly told something central. "Prime Minister Liu is aware of everything and must know that someone is doing something secretly. I just don't want to bring crisis to others."
"What you said..." Liu Xiangzhi smiled and said, "Are you trying to blame me for sitting idly by?"
Lu Anran lowered her eyebrows: "I don't dare."
"I just said that there are some complications in this, but I am not trying to shirk it. The bandits are causing chaos, and the people behind the scenes are very involved. The key point is that there are also old officials from the previous dynasty involved."
Lu Anran already knew from the conversation with Lao Mao that some unwilling remnants of the previous dynasty were trying to cause trouble, but now that Liu Xiangzhi said it, she was confused again.
"Is it inappropriate for me to listen to what Prime Minister Liu said?"
Liu Xiangzhi looked at her, "You know it's wrong, but you still want to interfere?"
Lu Anran's long eyelashes trembled, covering most of her eyes.
"You are right to say you are reckless." Liu Xiangzhi rubbed the bottom of the tea cup with his thumb and thought several times in his eyes, "It's not that the emperor doesn't want to attack Southwest, but the timing is not right."
Lu Anran was dissatisfied, "What is the timing?"
"Catch them all in one fell swoop without losing any blood."
Lu Anran took a breath and slowly let it out, "If you find Qian Mo, you should take the opportunity to follow the clues, right?"
Whether Qi Shang and Yun Qi are in danger is outside the overall picture.
"Did you know," Liu Xiangzhi relaxed his back and a gleam of wisdom flashed through his eyes, "long before you went to Jingzhao Mansion to beat drums and voice your grievances, the emperor had secretly sent Nangong Zhi to the southwest with the Ten Dragon Guards."
Lu Anran raised his eyes, some kind of speculation flashed through his mind.
Liu Xiangzhi said leisurely: "Long Wuwei has the right to temporarily deploy garrison troops."
After her guess was confirmed, Lu Anran's mind was a little confused. She was planning everything, but it was all in vain.
"But it's not all a bad thing that you made a scene. At least it attracted some attention. Those who want to be behind the scenes are probably still waiting to see what's going on in the imperial city."
Lu Anran tightened his grip and said, "Deploy the Longwu Guards to mobilize the southwest garrison. There will be chaos in Ping County."
"More than that, I'm afraid there will be trouble in several nearby counties."
Counterfeit banknotes are rampant in the southwest, food prices are skyrocketing, making people's lives miserable, bandits are rising, and there are people with malicious intentions causing trouble, it's hard to think of big troubles.
"He's from the previous dynasty."
Liu Xiangzhi's fingertips swam along the dark lines on the cup, all of which were controlled calmly and calmly, "One of them is named Xiao Conglong, who was originally a cousin of Princess Rongjing. He was still young at the time. Xu was hiding in a country house. He can be seen in Fan's lavish purchases of grain and weapons."
Cousins are maternal cousins, and only cousins have the same surname. Since this Xiao Conglong is Princess Rongjing's cousin, he should not bear the surname Xiao.
Perhaps seeing Lu Anran's doubts, Liu Xiangzhi explained: "He took the initiative to become the stepson of the former emperor, and Xiao Conglong later changed his name privately."
Conglong means riding a dragon to heaven.
Lu Anran couldn't help but shake his head, with such a loud tone.
"You should have thought about it now. The emperor did not publicize this matter in a big way, but secretly sent Nangong Zhi and Long Wuwei there. The main reason is because of the prince."
The crown prince Sang Jin is the son of Princess Rongjing and the current emperor.
There are rumors that the new emperor immediately appointed his son Sang Jin as the crown prince after he ascended the throne because he was deeply in love with Princess Rongjing, but he had no choice but to be separated forever.
Lu Anran believes in another theory——
The dynasty was first established, and the old and new dynasties alternated. The entire Daning Dynasty was vast, and the emperor could not and did not have so many people of his own. Therefore, the establishment of a prince was just a means of maintaining stability and balancing the dynasty.
The wind blew slowly, causing Lu Anran's black hair to float, and her slightly messy eyes were particularly dark and clear, "What Mr. Liu said today is to warn me not to be too smart and cause more trouble."
