webnovelfull Chapter 80: People in the light don’t tell the hidden story
Chapter 80: People in the light don’t tell the hidden story
"Perhaps you are not Nie Qing, and neither am I. Perhaps we are not enemies."
An Linqing and Lu He remained silent, so quiet that even the sounds of birds had disappeared.
Finally, An Linqing seemed to have pondered for a long time, but he did not let his guard down: "No matter what you are thinking, you can't find any fault with me."
“If I wanted to find something on you, wouldn’t it be better to just admit that I’m Nie Qing? Now it’s just the two of us here, why would I deny it?” Lu He shrugged, continuing to think of ways to dispel her concerns.
“I know you are An Linqing, but I am not Nie Qing.” Lu He’s tone was serious, and her gaze was honest. “I have no feelings for the Nie family. I can even help you take revenge.”
"Oh?" An Linqing's eyes darted around, a subtle light flickering within them. "You mean, you know I want to bring down Minister Nie?"
"Of course, I know your goal is to find out who harmed your An family and to clear your father An Daohe's name, isn't it?" Lu He said this easily, without any intention of hiding anything: "Nie Sheng was the one who instructed the Ministry of Justice to fabricate evidence, but he wasn't the only one. Above him was Chao Ying, the Prime Minister Chao."
"What?" An Linqing was shocked. The clues she had painstakingly investigated only led to suspicion of Nie Sheng, but she had not yet confirmed them, let alone knew that the Prime Minister was also involved.
"Your father, An Daohe, is a man of Grand Tutor Gao. Did you know that?" When Lu He saw that the female lead's expression suddenly became blank, she knew that she probably hadn't figured out anything yet. Indeed, she only gradually found out many things after marrying Chao Huaiyuan, with the help of the Imperial City Guard.
The female protagonist, An Linqing, shook her head. Grand Tutor Gao was an ally of her father? She didn't know about this, but if it was true, it meant that her father ultimately served the Crown Prince! That would explain why her father was harmed; he was probably a victim of the power struggle among the princes.
"You don't know this?" Lu He was now in a dilemma. The female lead didn't have an omniscient perspective, so she really didn't know anything. From her perspective, there was only her father being framed, her entire family being harmed, and then she wanted revenge. It was just that simple storyline.
Then let's go all the way and go all the way.
Lu He's mind raced, and an idea came to him: "To be honest, I'm a Taoist priest who can predict fate. As for the Nie Qing you know, she's probably dead, otherwise I wouldn't be able to use this body. You understand what I mean, right?"
"Ah? You? Are you human or demon? Possessed?" An Linqing's expression changed drastically, and she covered her mouth.
"No, no! It's a deity descending to earth, who just randomly found the body of a dying person. Can you understand that?" Lu He continued to deceive.
An Linqing nodded as if she understood, but she was still just a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl. Even if she had experienced some changes and was filled with a desire for revenge, she was still easy to fool.
However, Lu He was too confident and failed to notice the cunning glint in An Linqing's eyes beneath his innocent and bewildered expression.
"So marrying Chao Huaiyuan is not the best course of action for you. He is just a mere Lieutenant General, while you will be fighting against the Prime Minister, no, in the end, probably the Third Prince!" Lu He had just figured out this idea as well: "That's right! It's the Third Prince. Think about it, Prime Minister Chao is part of the Third Prince's faction. What use would it be for you to go there? You should actually marry the Crown Prince!"
After Lu He finished speaking, he was smug and thought to himself how clever he was. This was a win-win situation. As long as the female lead stood on the side of the Crown Prince, she would definitely fight against the Third Prince. Wouldn't the Eldest Princess's faction then reap the benefits?
"Then, may I ask how I can marry the Crown Prince?" An Linqing's lips curled into an ambitious smile.
Meanwhile, Chao Ying, who had been summoned to the palace, was still kneeling outside the emperor's bedchamber, and had been kneeling there for a long time.
Inside the room, the emperor was repeatedly rubbing the note delivered by the sentry in his hand. He sighed. His third son, Li Yun, had indeed become too arrogant lately. His soft heart had turned into indulgence. Chao Ying and Nie Sheng were also quite audacious, trying to use marriage alliances to form cliques and pursue their own interests.
Now, the sons of the Chao family and the Nie family are all serving as officials in the court, and they don't know how to restrain themselves at all.
On the contrary, the Crown Prince has recently been keeping a low profile and behaving very well, which has made the Emperor quite pleased.
It's time to give the third son a warning...
The emperor sighed: "Bring Chao Ying in."
Chao Ying had just strode forward when he suddenly knelt on the ground with a thud: "Your Majesty, please forgive me! This old minister deserves to die!"