Back at the Su Mansion, the two naturally went their separate ways at the fork in the road.
Although the forces in the capital had cut off Shang Mozheng's right - hand men, they couldn't afford to be careless. After all, he had painstakingly managed his influence in the court for over a decade. It was always better to be cautious.
So Shang Luoshu still had no time to spare. He had to analyze the information sent from the capital and other places to make further arrangements.
As for Lu Yinxi, she was also very busy.
Her most important task now was to continue her martial arts training to improve her strength. She didn't dare to say that she would become a top - notch martial artist in the future, but at least she didn't want to be a burden.
Most importantly, she must rely less on the Spiritual Word.
Lu Yinxi had learned from Hongmei that Shang Luoshu's blood could relieve the pain caused by the side - effects of the Spiritual Word. To be honest, she was quite shocked when she first heard about it, as it was the first time she'd heard of such a thing.
But then worry set in.
Just as she wanted to protect him, Lu Yinxi knew that Shang Luoshu must feel the same way. She would bet her life that if she used the Spiritual Word again, that man would surely offer his blood to her without hesitation.
That was exactly why she couldn't use the Spiritual Word casually anymore!
Entering the small courtyard, everything was as usual. The maids were sweeping the yard, and Hongmei and Hongrui were nowhere to be seen. Presumably, they had gone to decoct medicine and cook medicinal food.
The doctor had visited the Su Mansion a couple of days ago. After diagnosing Shang Luoshu's pulse, he said that Shang Luoshu's injury was improving, and a new prescription was needed to nourish his body. The two maids should have been busy with this.
For Lu Yinxi, as long as these two maids didn't 'tattle' on her to Shang Luoshu, she always trusted them when they were doing things. So after a brief concern, she put the matter out of her mind.
Walking to the usual martial - arts training spot, she closed her eyes and recalled what Hongrui had taught her. Then she slowly began to practice under the tree.
Today, because she had seen Lin Zihan off out of the city, she had wasted a lot of time. But Lu Yinxi still practiced for a full two hours, just like on normal days, before deciding to take a break.
She retracted her moves and stepped towards the house.
However, just as she stepped onto the steps, she felt something was off around her. She couldn't tell exactly what was wrong, but it just felt different from normal days.
The young girl stood in front of the door, lost in thought. No one in the yard dared to speak, and it was so quiet that one could almost hear the sound of a leaf falling.
Suddenly, something flashed through her mind!
Yes, it was just too quiet!
Lu Yinxi considered herself kind to the servants, and the maids in the yard were very respectful to her. On normal days, when she came back from outside, they would greet her or at least bow to her.
But today, there was nothing! These people didn't even dare to look at her.
No, it wasn't that they didn't dare to look!
When she turned around, she could still feel intense gazes behind her. So what had happened in the yard while she was away?
Thinking like this, Lu Yinxi had an idea. She deliberately pretended to push the door. The moment she reached out her hand, she immediately noticed that the breathing of several people behind her caught.
So, was there something wrong with this door?
Without hesitation, the young girl kicked the door. Immediately afterwards, something crashed down from the door.
In the Capital
After the heads of the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and Zheng Dai were executed, Shang Mozheng started to stay at home, claiming to be ill and not going to court. Shang Luoze was naturally happy about this. He even took the opportunity to clean up the court.
He found excuses to dismiss all of Shang Mozheng's men from their official positions and then replaced them with his own people. For a while, the entire court was in a panic. Every day, there were people who wanted to see the Regent - King and begged him to go to court, but Shang Mozheng refused to see anyone.
This loss had shaken the foundation he had built over the years!
The Ministry of Revenue had always been a lucrative department. As long as he had control over it, the Regent - King didn't have to worry about money and could have enough supplies to feed his army.
But now, this money - making 'treasure basin' had been uprooted by the young emperor in cooperation with Lu Wenhan. There was also no news from the army outside the city.
Shang Mozheng had a premonition that they were probably gone.
This meant that in this confrontation with them, he had lost a source of income and over a hundred thousand soldiers!
This didn't even count the fifteen secret guards who had been sent to assassinate Shang Luoshu before, let alone how many of his men the young emperor had purged from the court.
The loss was extremely heavy!
At present, there was really only one way left for Shang Mozheng. He had to rise up in rebellion and use violent means to drive Shang Luoze off the throne!
However, if he did this, whether he succeeded or not, he would become a sinner in history books.
No, it couldn't be completely said like this!
History was always written by the victors. As long as he could ascend the throne, the sinner in the history books would be Shang Luoze!
"Yang Li, bring me the writing brush and ink!"
In the Imperial Study, Lu Wenhan had angered the young emperor for the fifth time.
"Your Majesty, if we really do this, how are we any different from the Regent - King and his ilk? I'm afraid I can't follow your order!"
"Lu Wenhan, are you going to resist the imperial edict?"
Shang Luoze stood behind the imperial desk, looking down at Prime Minister Lu below. His words and actions already had the aura of an emperor, but there was a hint of madness between his eyebrows.
In fact, the young emperor had been acting a bit strangely these days.
Perhaps because he had finally managed to defeat Shang Mozheng so embarrassedly for the first time without his elder brother's help, he wanted to take this opportunity to completely get rid of his former cowardly self.
So he crazily suppressed the ministers. As long as they had ever had the slightest contact with the Regent - King, they were all dismissed from their official positions and would never be employed again.
No matter how much Prime Minister Lu tried to persuade him, it was of no use. Now, he even wanted to frame Shang Mozheng for treason by forging evidence and completely throw him into prison!
Seeing that Prime Minister Lu still knelt upright on the ground, Shang Luoze suppressed the rising anger in his heart and tried to control his emotions. He said gently,
"Prime Minister Lu, both of us know that Shang Mozheng wants my throne. It's just that we lack evidence. If we..."
"Your Majesty!"
Lu Wenhan cut him off without hesitation. "If there's no evidence, I'm willing to lead people to investigate, but not to forge it!"
"Lu Wenhan, do you really think I dare not kill you?"
In Longxi
"So what do you want to do, Xi'er? I'll help you!"
Putting a basin full of water on the door to play a prank was such an old - fashioned method that Lu Yinxi hadn't seen it for a long time. As for the person who had set up this 'trap', the servants in the yard had already given her the answer.
It must be her second cousin!
During dinner, she casually told Shang Luoshu about this.
The man immediately put down his chopsticks and squinted his eyes, looking like he was about to plot revenge.
"You're not allowed to interfere!"
The young girl playfully slapped his shoulder and said seriously, "Anyway, he's my second cousin. Moreover, he's not worthy of you taking action."
The second half of her words successfully pleased Shang Luoshu, so he didn't insist anymore.
As for Lu Yinxi, she was already planning in her mind how to return the favor in kind.
Second cousin, just wait and see!