Chapter 550

Chapter 550 – Detoxification

Lu Lingzhi had indeed been detoxified, but the process of detoxification was a torture he did not want to remember in his life.

He had rushed back to the capital immediately after the detoxification, thinking that he would be able to see his little cousin, whom he had been longing to see for so long now. But upon his return, he realized that Yaoyao was still missing. What’s more, even Huangfu Chen was nowhere to be found, and the subordinates he had sent to find the little girl came with no news.

“Marquis, the Marquis of Jing Ning is here,” Leng Mei, who was dressed in black clothes, came in from outside the study and said in a low voice to Lu Lingzhi, who was standing by the window.

“Invite him in,” he said, smiling lightly.  It seemed word of his return had swiftly made it to his friend.

Tang Zhen walked in with large strides, and upon seeing Lu Lingzhi who looked much better than before, exclaimed with great joy, “Lingzhi, you seem to be looking good, where have you been?”

“I went to the western border,” Lu Lingzhi said with a smile, gesturing for his friend to sit on the other side of the coffee table, “I met a western border poison master by chance and asked him to purge the Qitiantong*.”

(*literally means seven-day pain)

“Really?” Tang Zhen was delighted. “In that case, you no longer have any residual poison in your body?”

Lu Lingzhi smiled and nodded, what he didn’t say was that although he was free from the torment of Qitiantong, his body was not as good as before, and he still needed to work a hundred times harder to recover his martial arts skills.

“Nothing happened while I was away, right?” he asked naturally about the affairs of the capital and the imperial palace. In fact, he wanted to know more about the situation in the palace now that he had sent Ye Yaoyao to Mo Rongzhan.

Would Mo Rongzhan spoil her like he had spoiled Shuang’er at first? If in doing so he forgets about Yaoyao, my purpose will be achieved.

“Oh, it’s nothing. His Majesty should be back in a few days,” Tang Zhen apprised in a low voice. “Should bring back Yaoyao too.”

Lu Lingzhi’s face changed slightly as he said, “Yaoyao?”

Tang Zhen said in a low voice, “Yes, you don’t know about this. Yaoyao and Mr. Huangfu went to Zhao Jia Island together. A while ago, Zhao Mingxiao of Zhao Jia Island declared sovereignty, establishing the island as a country and himself as the ruler. It so happened that His Majesty had gone to find Yaoyao and thus went to Zhao Jia Island. It may take a few days for the rebel island to be subdued, but now Yaoyao should be with His Majesty.”

“Zhao Jia Island?” Lu Lingzhi squeezed the teacup in his hand. His Majesty and Yaoyao are together… With the emperor’s determination towards Yaoyao, would he still let her go along the way?

As he thought that his little cousin would become Mo Rongzhan’s woman, killing intent surged within Lu Lingzhi.

Oblivious to his friend’s roiling heart, Tang Zhen continued to fill him in. “—You would know that the biological mother of Emperor Wu of the previous dynasty was placed under house arrest on Zhao Jia Island. The island is besieged by stone arrays, and not just anyone can waltz in and out of the place. Yaoyao followed the Island Lord when he entered the island. His Majesty really cares about Yaoyao, otherwise, he would not go to her in person.”

Lu Lingzhi had naturally heard of Zhao Jia Island, and knew that the owner of Zhao Jia Island was not a simple person… But… This isn’t right!! How can the emperor still have the heart to care about Yaoyao, then what about Ye Yaoyao? Ye Yaoyao is his savior, the one he has been looking for desperately… So, does this mean the woman the emperor most cares about is not the savior from before…

“His Majesty went to find Yaoyao in person?” Lu Lingzhi asked again in disbelief.

“Yeah, so don’t worry that Yaoyao will fall out of favor in the future.” Tang Zhen smiled reluctantly, he could only comfort himself like this. Watching his beloved being spoiled by other men, was not a good feeling.

Lu Lingzhi put down the teacup gently, and it took a while to suppress the shock and rage in his heart. “How could His Majesty set aside the matters in the capital and go to Yaoyao—”

“That’s what His Majesty did,” Tang Zhen said.

“——” Lu Lingzhi was silent for a long time… It seems like Yaoyao is more important to the emperor than I imagined.

Tang Zhen patted Lu Lingzhi’s shoulder and said, “Now that you’re back it’s good that you can share a lot of things with me. The Eastern Qing Dynasty will soon send an emissary, there will be a lot of things to do again.”

“What about Ye Yaoyao?” Lu Lingzhi asked in a low voice. He remembered that Mo Rongzhan had already sent Ye Yaoyao into the palace. Didn’t he make her his concubine?

“If it weren’t for this Ye Yaoyao, Yaoyao wouldn’t have gone to Zhao Jia Island,” Tang Zhen said helplessly. “Yaoyao thought that His Majesty wanted to make her a concubine, and went to Zhao Jia Island in a fit of anger… His Majesty has sent Ye Yaoyao out of the palace, but the empress dowager lets her into the palace from time to time to keep her company.”

It was less than two days since Lu Lingzhi had returned. He had deliberately not inquired about Ye Yaoyao, because he thought she had become Mo Rongzhan’s concubine. He didn’t want Mo Rongzhan to know that he was paying attention to Ye Yaoyao, but he didn’t expect to have missed such an important piece of news.

“Ye Yaoyao… lives outside the palace?” Lu Lingzhi’s brow wrinkled, was she even bestowed a title?

Tang Zhen smiled and said, “That woman is not important. The most important thing is that Yaoyao is about to return to the capital. Perhaps the day she returns will be the day of her wedding with His Majesty.”

Lu Lingzhi’s eyes sank, he would never marry Yaoyao to the emperor. He had already lost once and didn’t want to lose a second time.

After seeing Tang Zhen off, Lu Lingzhi remained in the study hesitating for a long time before finally deciding to find Lu Shiming.

Ever since Lu Wushuang had been deposed, the status of the Lu family in the capital had been somewhat delicate. They were not a prestigious clan, to begin with. They had gradually risen by virtue of the title accorded to them for the role they had played in aiding the emperor in ascending the throne and because of the fact that Lu Wushuang was favored by the emperor back then. However, the good times did not last for long. There were many who looked down upon them, and there were also those who kicked them when they were down. Thus, with Lu Lingzhi’s departure and Lu Yaoyao’s disappearance, the Lu family had been laying low in the capital.

Fortunately, Old Madam Lu was a calm and farsighted being. She had strictly ordered everyone in the family to be cautious about their behavior and minimize socializing. This would save them from being the butt of ridicule and avert all the trouble that could ensue.

Right now, Lu Shiming was in conversation with his mother in the upper hall. He had just received word about his daughter and had immediately come to the matriarch so she would not worry about her granddaughter day in and day out.

“I did say Yaoyao and Mr. Huangfu will not be in danger when they are together,” Old Madam Lu said with a smile.

If there was no danger would His Majesty have gone to her in person? Although that was what Lu Shiming thought, he did not dare voice it as he was afraid of worrying his mother. As such, he had also withheld most of the other information. Besides, it was a secret that the emperor had gone to find Yaoyao. No one else in the court knew about it. If it were not for the fact that Yaoyao was his daughter, the emperor would certainly have not revealed it to him.

“They will be back in a few days. Now that Lingzhi has also returned, it feels like our trying times are over and things will get better sooner.” Lu Shiming comforted his mother. The Lu family had been living on pins and needles these past few days. And he had felt responsible even though he had done his best to put everyone at ease. However, since Lu Lingzhi wasn’t around, it still felt like something was missing.

Old Madam Lu nodded with a smile. She no longer wished for prosperity and wealth, as long as her children and grandchildren were safe and sound she was content. As for whether Yaoyao could become the empress in the future, she would just leave it to fate, there was no need to force it.

Just as the mother and son were talking, in walked Lu Lingzhi.

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