"Such a good excuse of 'we have no choice'!" As soon as Lu Yan returned to the mansion, he was so angry that he swung his sword and cut down a tree as thick as a wrist at the entrance. He shouted, "Xu Ruhui!"
Xu Ruhui, who was standing at the door with his hands tucked in his sleeves, teasing Yu Shuang so much that she wished to stab him with a knife, was startled. His whole body trembled violently. "Hey! I'm here."
"Give me the stuff!" Lu Yan directly stretched out his hand towards Xu Ruhui.
Xu Ruhui understood. He rummaged in his bosom and took out a stack of papers.
Lu Yan took them, glanced down, and after confirming they were correct, he handed them to Shen Qingfeng. "Qingfeng, take a look at this."
Shen Qingfeng took the stack of papers and looked down. Suddenly he smiled. "You've already investigated him?"
"To know your enemy and yourself is to win a hundred battles. I never fight a battle without preparation." Lu Yan said, "That Xia Yonglin is so arrogant only because the people in the court who support him occupy important positions. I've already asked Xu Ruhui to investigate those who have contact with the Qi family. With this information, I can impeach him in court at any time."
"Governor Xing has left his post without permission... General Li Yanqing of the military flag is suspected of corruption..." Shen Qingfeng walked while flipping through the papers in his hand. The two entered the room. Shen Qingfeng closed the door behind him, then took out a piece of paper from the stack and said with a smile, "Xu Ruhui is really good. He even managed to find out which brothel Gu Mingde often goes to."
Lu Yan cleared his throat. "It's just that Xu Ruhui has spent a lot of time in that brothel and just bumped into Gu Mingde there."
Hearing this, Shen Qingfeng burst out laughing, clutching his stomach. As a reborn person, he naturally knew a lot of things. Moreover, after he founded the Listening Wind Pavilion, he was actually well aware of all the strange quirks of the ministers and the frequent embezzlement of the palace servants. But now, Lu Yan, who had always been far away from the core of the Lixia regime, had, within a very short time after coming to Lige City, keenly sensed the clues within this already corrupt dynasty.
Shen Qingfeng knew that it was impossible for Xu Ruhui to complete these investigations alone. As an executor, without Lu Yan's precise guidance, Xu Ruhui couldn't have investigated so much in such a short time. This kind of keen sense came from the instinct of years of galloping on the battlefield. No wonder after his death in the previous life, Lu Yan had only taken a few days to march from the Northern Kingdom all the way into Lige City, as if there was no one to stop him.
However, Xu Ruhui was only one person, and his investigation ability was limited. Back then, after Shen Qingfeng discovered Gu Mingde's quirk through the Listening Wind Pavilion, he even continued to find Gu Mingde's illegitimate son and used this to bring Gu Mingde down and throw him into prison, thus turning the Siku Building directly to his side. But now, it was obvious that he couldn't follow the old path.
Shen Qingfeng nodded. "This information we've investigated is beneficial to us, but my elder brother and A Li are still locked up inside. If we fall out with Xia Yonglin, neither side will end up well."
Lu Yan looked at Shen Qingfeng. Although he very much agreed with Shen Qingfeng's view, Shen Qingfeng's repeated mention of "A Li" made Lu Yan feel annoyed. "He won't help us persuade King Jie."
Shen Qingfeng nodded. "Yes, but at least he'll stand on our side for now."
Lu Yan took a deep breath, pulled a stool and sat down at the table. "I know. He's eyeing my military power. So after he found out about our relationship, he was going to use this to tie me down."
Shen Qingfeng nodded, affirming Lu Yan's words. After all, before, everyone had thought that Shen Qingfeng and Lu Yan didn't get along. Xia Yonglin had tried to win over Shen Qingfeng only to cultivate him into a pawn under Xia Chuli's nose. But now, things were different. He and Lu Yan were in love. As long as he tied Shen Qingfeng down, it was equivalent to having Lu Yan's military power. So Xia Yonglin didn't hesitate at all. He directly tore off his previous disguise and resorted to a ruthless move.
Shen Qingfeng bent down to pour a cup of tea for Lu Yan. He sat down beside Lu Yan and said, "Actually, before, most people in the court didn't dare to violate the ancestral precepts. And with the Prime Minister's Mansion as the leader, they supported the crown prince. But Qi Shuhuan, as the assistant to the current emperor, not only sent his own daughter to be the king's concubine but also secretly planted his connections everywhere. He even colluded with the eunuch faction led by Chen Qi. Now, although most of the civil officials still support the crown prince, the eunuch faction, the military flag, and the Siku Building have all started to support Xia Yonglin. Although the military flag and the Siku Building don't have much political power, both Chen Qi and Queen Qi are in the king's favor. Influenced by them, King Jie naturally lost interest in A Li. It's just because of the ancestral precepts that King Jie has never clearly stated his attitude."
"So this incident actually means that my elder brother has started to make a choice?" Lu Yan frowned.
Shen Qingfeng nodded. "Yes. Gu Mingde, the chief clerk of the Siku Building, belongs to King Cheng's faction. The king can't not know this. Since he handed this matter over to Gu Mingde, it means that if this matter isn't resolved, A Li's position as the crown prince will surely be in jeopardy, and the Shen family may also be implicated."
"What are you going to do then?" Lu Yan asked.
Shen Qingfeng stood up. "I'm going to investigate on the Three Saints Mountain now. Since he pulled the strings, there must be some clues left behind."
Finding evidence to prove that the two of them weren't involved in this matter - this was really the only way to save Xia Chuli and Shen Yu. No matter what, Shen Qingfeng had to give it a try.
Lu Yan said in a deep voice, "When we left, the Golden Top Temple had already been surrounded by the people from the Siku Building."
Shen Qingfeng smiled. He leaned closer to Lu Yan and pinched his face. "You used to climb over my family's gate so smoothly. Will you help me this time too?"
Lu Yan paused. Shen Qingfeng's slightly cold hand was tightly pressed against his cheek, but Lu Yan surprisingly didn't move.
Shen Qingfeng sensed something was wrong. "… Lu Yan?"
"Kiss me." Lu Yan's voice was a bit stiff.
Shen Qingfeng was stunned. Before he could react, Lu Yan suddenly clicked his tongue. He suddenly stood up, grabbed Shen Qingfeng into his arms, and lowered his head to kiss Shen Qingfeng's lips fiercely!
Shen Qingfeng had never seen Lu Yan act so domineeringly. His kiss was strong and dangerous, biting Shen Qingfeng's lips and causing a stabbing pain.
"Um... Lu... Lu Yan!" Shen Qingfeng was a bit out of breath, but Lu Yan's hands were like shackles, tightly locking Shen Qingfeng in his arms, making it impossible for him to struggle free no matter how hard he tried.
What was wrong with him?! Shen Qingfeng opened his eyes wide. His lips were in great pain, and he said incoherently, "Um... Lu... You're biting me too hard!"
Lu Yan suddenly let him go, but his hands still tightly grasped Shen Qingfeng's shoulders.
Under the dim light, Shen Qingfeng couldn't see Lu Yan's expression clearly for a moment.
Shen Qingfeng didn't know what Lu Yan was thinking, but it was obviously not a good sign. Ignoring the pain on his lips, he held Lu Yan's face with both hands and said, "Lu Yan, what's wrong with you?"
"Don't..."
Shen Qingfeng didn't hear clearly. "What?"
Lu Yan suddenly raised his head and looked at Shen Qingfeng. His eyes were full of hurt. "Then promise me that you won't call him A Li in front of me."
Shen Qingfeng was suddenly shocked!
Right. He had gotten along with Xia Chuli for so long that he had already gotten used to calling him that. Naturally, he himself didn't notice these things. But Lu Yan was different. He had always been carefully guarding him. In that case, would those words he had said inadvertently hurt Lu Yan?
"A Yan..." Shen Qingfeng held Lu Yan's face, looked deeply into his eyes, then stood on tiptoe and kissed Lu Yan's lips. "I'm sorry. I won't call him that anymore."
Lu Yan stood there stiffly. Shen Qingfeng kissed his lips. Seeing that he didn't move, he stuck out his tongue and licked them. "A Yan, don't be angry, okay?"
Lu Yan took a deep breath, reached out and pulled Shen Qingfeng into his arms again, resting his head on Shen Qingfeng's shoulder.
The cold wind blew into the room from some corner, raising the intertwined hair of the two.
"I'll take you there." Lu Yan said. It seemed that he had made some decision. "I'll return to the Bian Palace before going to court and see if I can buy you some time in the court."
Buying time meant that he would directly confront King Xia Jie as the Marquis of Dingbei. It also meant that the Northern Kingdom, which had always insisted on not taking sides, finally had to start choosing a side. Although this decision went against what Lu Jiang had always warned him, Lu Yan knew that even if he didn't make a decision now, this kind of thing would happen sooner or later. He was just advancing the time.
As a prince, his decision represented the fate of the entire Northern Kingdom. As long as he made his stance clear in the court, it was equivalent to tying the entire Northern Kingdom to Xia Chuli and standing on the opposite side of King Xia Jie.
A man like Lu Yan was naturally not willing to be threatened by Xia Yonglin. Even if Xia Yonglin wanted to expose their relationship, he also had the handle on Xia Yonglin's faction. With Shen Shiqiu's help in the court, it would be enough to cut off Xia Yonglin's right-hand men. Moreover, he didn't want to support a cunning emperor like Xia Yonglin. More importantly, it was his own selfish desire.
Although he was very annoyed by Xia Chuli, this love rival, and although he wished that Xia Chuli would stay far away from Shen Qingfeng, since Shen Qingfeng wanted to protect Xia Chuli, he would definitely do it.
He had already sworn an oath, hadn't he? Lu Yan thought that no matter what, he would do anything for Shen Qingfeng.