CH 134.2

Chapter 134.2 – Magnanimous

By the time she returned from the Lu Mansion, Lu Qipei still didn’t fully understand what Qi Bo was thinking.

It was clearly noy a coincidence that Qi Bo died at this time, but when she asked the servants in the mansion, they all said that Qi Bo died a natural death – he was not murdered by anyone, so if he did not die naturally, then it must’ve been suicide.

Did he commit suicide after successfully carrying out an assassination attempt on the Emperor and the Crown Prince? Was it because he didn’t have anymore regret after getting revenge, or did he commit suicide because he didn’t want to get implicated anymore? Lu Qipei couldn’t figure it out, and she felt so suffocated that              she fell into a daze.

Even when she returned to the princess’s mansion, she didn’t take a rest and sat in front of the window the whole night.

The next morning, Qi Yang woke up and couldn’t feel that familiar warmth beside her. She was still a bit dazed after falling into a deep sleep, and she subconsciously sat up and began searching for Lu Qipei. It wasn’t until she saw her sitting in front of the window that her frown eased.

After the night, maybe her mood had calmed down a lot, or maybe it was just impossible for her to set up a barrier between herself and the person in front of her. Qi Yang got up and walked over, asking, “Why did you get up so early?”

Upon hearing this, Lu Qipei turned around and looked at her. Seeing her barefooted in the cold weather, she instinctively carried her in her arms first. But then, she remembered Qi Yang’s coldness last night, and her whole body froze. She glanced at Qi Yang’s expression, and saw that there was no feeling of disgust or rejection in the latter’s eyes. Only then did her tense body relaxed slightly, and she carried Qi Yang back to the bed.

Qi Yang brushed her fingertips under Lu Qipei’s eyes and frowned, “Why is it so dark under your eyes? She touched the other half of the bed and found that it was cold. “Did you not sleep last night!?”

Lu Qipei lowered her eyes and didn’t know how to answer. It took her a while to say, “Qi Bo died yesterday.”

Hearing this, Qi Yang was just as stunned and couldn’t react for a while. She even blurted out naively, “Could this have nothing to do with him?” As soon as she said that, she knew that it was impossible. How could such a coincidence happen?

Qi Bo died, but it was exactly his death that confirmed that this matter was related to him.

The two were somewhat silent, and the atmosphere that had just improved this morning seemed to have returned back to the freezing point. Finally, Lu Qipei mustered the courage to speak again and said, “Last night, I went back to the Lu Mansion and had people investigate. No one from the Lu family was involved in this matter.”

Hearing this, Qi Yang took at look at her and saw Lu Qipei’s honest and uneasy eyes, her heart filled with a mixed feeling. Of course, she believed Lu Qipei. She was the one who knew Lu Qipei the best. But in this situation, it was really too hard to not feel any resentment.

After a long time, Qi Yang looked away and said, “So what you’re saying is that Xie Yuan had another force hidden in the dark?”

Lu Qipei shook her head when she heard that. When it came to talking about business, her expression also calmed down a lot. “There shouldn’t be. In my opinion, this Chaoyang Tower incident is a desperate act of revenge. The forces hidden in the palace should be Xie Yuan’s last trump card, but now they’ve all been dismantled by Head Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Unless they still have a way to mobilize the army and disrupt the situation in the capital, it should be the dead end for them.”

It was impossible to mobilize the army, and the Emperor was not an incompetent ruler. Whether it was the royal guards inside the palace, the cavalry battalion outside the palace, or the army garrisoned outside the city, all the officers in charge were the Emperor’s trusted men. Unless they had the Emperor’s Tiger Token, no one else would be able to mobilize them!

Qi Yang looked at Lu Qipei, who was temporarily stunned before it dawned on her. She quickly took out the royal guard token from her chest and handed it over to Qi Yang.

Lu Qipei’s movements were natural, and there was no hint of grievance or reluctance in her expression. She looked so honest that others would feel ashamed.

In the end, Qi Yang didn’t take the token. She turned her head away and stood up, saying, “You should get some rest. If there’s any changes in the palace, you could be summoned at any time. You also need to take over the royal guards as soon as possible. You won’t have any more time to rest in the future.”

After saying this, Qi Yang got up and left the bed, and this time she remembered to put on her shoes.

Lu Qipei withdrew her hand, her eyebrows softened as she replied in a low voice. “Alright.”

Author notes:

Qi Bo (happy): It’s finally over. The lunchbox is quite delicious.

Crown Prince (flipping the table): If it’s delicious, then eat it yourself, why are you dragging me with you!?