Chapter 684: Chapter 683: A Risky Gambit
Liao Yu smiled and nodded repeatedly, "Thanks to General Situ’s recognition, who named me to be taken along back then. Now I’m serving as a General under his command."
"With General Liao leading the soldiers here to support us, I feel much more at ease," Lu Qing smiled and nodded, very satisfied with Situ Jing’s arrangements, "Everyone arrived in just a few days, which must have been a journey day and night.
Let’s rest here for a couple of days, and then we’ll set off."
"Yes." Liao Yu responded respectfully, "Before departure, the General instructed that I must follow your orders and ensure the tasks are completed well.
These brothers are all top-notch, selected carefully by the General. To take on a hundred single-handedly is boasting, but taking on ten is easily manageable.
You can command us as you wish, we are all at your service."
Lu Qing nodded in thanks, and Lin Kun quickly found a place for the soldiers under Situ Family’s command to rest.
Another day passed, and a letter arrived from Shuo Land. Holding it with some anxiety, Zhu Yu quickly read through the contents under Lu Qing’s encouraging gaze, and then breathed a huge sigh of relief.
The saying goes, "A scholar who has been away for three days must be looked at with new eyes," which seems to be true indeed.
Her father, who used to be completely absorbed in forging weapons and was clueless at times, turned out to be quite smart once he came to his senses and reflected deep enough.
The letter was personally replied to by Zhu Cheng, who first informed Zhu Yu and Lu Qing that he had dispatched his second son, Zhu Feng, to personally lead troops to the frontier between Shuo Lan for defense. He also mentioned to Lu Qing that the Jie Land has been unsettled lately, continuously gathering at the border with Jin Country, showing a desire to try, but Jin Country doesn’t seem to be actively launching defenses.
Zhu Cheng thus feels uneasy and is arranging artisans to urgently forge a batch of Black Iron Arrows, leaving them for Lu Qing and his men, should there be a need.
At the end of the letter, he even specifically emphasized that he and the Miao Family were all well, asking Zhu Yu not to worry about them, and told Zhu Yu and Lu Qing to take good care of themselves.
With the reply from Zhu Cheng, Lu Qing and his party no longer need to delay and can prepare to set off.
Lu Qing divided the people sent by Situ Jing into three groups: one to go with them to the Prince Lan Mansion, one to stay in the capital to coordinate, and one to be ready to support outside the capital at any time.
Chang Yu divided the guards who were originally with him into two groups, staying with the people inside and outside the city respectively.
After all, these people had escaped from Prince Lan Mansion, even though a decade had passed, the senior members of the mansion could still recognize them, increasing the risk of their identity being exposed.
The guards had no objections to this arrangement.
However, Lu Qing’s subsequent arrangement stirred Lin Kun and others into an uproar.
"No way! I absolutely disagree!" Lin Kun, who had been very courteous to Zhu Yu and Lu Qing in recent days, couldn’t help but widen his eyes, his big beard quivering with excitement, waving his palm in the air like a large fan, "The Young Master was protected by us through numerous hardships, and now you plan to take him to the Prince Lan Mansion with you?!
Although that place used to be the Young Master’s home, after the upheaval more than ten years ago, it’s nothing short of a lion’s den and tiger’s lair now!
Even if we want the Young Master to go back to the mansion to take charge, it should be after all obstacles and dangers are cleared!
If you just brazenly take the Young Master back, we definitely won’t agree!"
Chang Yu himself didn’t mind taking calculated risks. Although he didn’t want Lin Kun and the others to have excessive protective instincts towards him, he understood their concern and loyalty were for his own good. Therefore, he could only pace around, hesitating to speak up against them fearing it might hurt their feelings, not knowing what to do for a moment.
Lu Qing didn’t seem offended or annoyed by Lin Kun’s agitation and opposition.
He calmly glanced at Lin Kun and asked, "In these past ten years, aside from those like you who escaped, are the remaining guards at the Prince Lan Mansion all wicked-hearted, willing to stay and collude with those impostors?"
Lin Kun thought Lu Qing would reason about why taking Chang Yu wasn’t risky, but he didn’t expect this question, which stunned him. He then instinctively shook his head, "Not really.
We were the bold and quick-witted ones who saw something amiss, even though we couldn’t pinpoint exactly how, we felt we couldn’t sit idle and had to preserve the Young Master’s last lineage no matter what.
There are also some loyal ones, but their loyalty borders on blind loyalty. They would carry out any of the Prince’s orders without question, regardless of right or wrong.
So we didn’t dare to alert them initially, fearing they would view us as traitors and ruin our plan.
To our knowledge, they’re still in service at the mansion, some passed away over the years, but most remain there.
There are undoubtedly guards now at Prince Lan Mansion colluding with the impostors, but not all, they vary..."
"So, you’re also aware that the situation at Prince Lan Mansion is now precarious, with both blindly loyal ones and genuine collaborators.
Waiting until the situation is settled to distinguish them would indeed be difficult, as even the ill-intentioned would disguise their loyalty to save themselves.
Therefore, identifying the loyal and treacherous before the situation is settled is crucial. We must expose the impostors while making it clear that the true Lan Royal Family lineage is on our side, then the blindly loyal would naturally come to us, while the stubborn resisters are true traitors.
Only this way can we resolve the risks upfront and not leave behind future troubles."
"That, that makes sense, but..." Lin Kun conceded the point in Lu Qing’s reasoning, but still felt the move carried considerable risk.
As he was torn, his gaze fell on Zhu Yu, brightening with a thought: "Come to think of it, Chief Historian Yu is not much older than our Young Master, and looks fair and handsome, very much like a young noble.
In these intervening years, none could recognize exactly what our Young Master looks like, so why not... have Chief Historian Yu pretend to be our Young Master and go to the Prince Lan Mansion instead..."
Chang Yu shook his head quickly upon hearing this suggestion, feeling it was inappropriate.
Lu Qing’s mouth lightly curved into a smile devoid of warmth, "So, Guard Lin means your Lan Country’s Young Master seeks to reclaim lost power, yet wants my people to take on the risk?"
[Time’s running out, any thoughts for the extra Chapter?]
