PDLP Chapter 365: Just Self-Protection
Chapter 365: Just Self-Protection
The queen didn't say anything, and the maid didn't dare to move.
Luo Yu then stood up and helped the senior palace maid up.
His attitude and tone were very gentle.
"I know you want to test whether I am the real Lady Ying. Perhaps, you want to test whether I have any skills, right?"
After saying that, he looked at the secret guards and asked, "You won't say anything too much, right?"
The secret guard remained silent.
Luo Yu smiled and sat back in her seat, asking the head palace maid to continue serving her tea.
It's a mistake, just correct it.
After the head maid left, the queen's eyes became even colder.
"What does this mean, Miss Luo Yu?"
"I am me, and Lady Ying is Lady Ying. You don't have to threaten me with the little prince."
"In that case, why do you still come here?"
"I'm just here to inquire about some things, about how the Emperor was poisoned. Since the Emperor is alive now, the Empress must be on my side, Qin Luosheng, right?"
"The emperor's poisoning has nothing to do with me."
"I know, but do you know anything about when and why the Emperor started taking elixirs?"
"This……"
Long story.
After Luo Yu finished his inquiries, before leaving, he suddenly asked the Queen: "Why did you want to kill Concubine Ying? Couldn't you have spared her life and treated her well?"
The queen was stunned by her question.
In this harem filled with layers of coldness and ruthlessness, there is no such thing as kindness.
But now, the queen suddenly understood the meaning of this sentence.
If the emperor who came to power didn't treat them and their child well, they would either die or flee. But where could they flee to?
Seeing that the queen didn't say anything, Luo Yu didn't bother to stay any longer. But the little guy Zhu Yixiang came out from nowhere and waved goodbye to her: "Auntie, are you leaving? Will you come tomorrow?"
"Yes, but not tomorrow."
Another maidservant beside the Queen escorted her out of Ciyuan Hall before returning to the Queen's side and whispering, "Your Majesty, I've discovered that she really doesn't look like the original Concubine Ying."
"Her identity is strange. When she first entered the palace, she dared to deceive me by using the identity of Jiang Qiuning. Later, the Empress Dowager found out the eunuch who recruited her into the palace and said that her original name was Helian Naling. Now, she calls herself Qin Luoqi. Who is this woman?"
"I suspect she must have used some kind of sorcery to possess Concubine Ying. At the time, I heard the midwife say that Concubine Ying had a severe postpartum hemorrhage and would hardly survive more than three days. I didn't expect her to be so lucky. I'm afraid..."
"So what if it is, so what if it isn't. Now, she is the only one who can protect us mother and son."
Luo Yu analyzed carefully along the way and found out that it was the empress dowager who recommended the emperor to take the elixir. After the empress dowager took the elixir, her health improved day by day. Perhaps there was only one possibility, that the elixir taken by the empress dowager was not the same as the one taken by the emperor.
As for the Taoist priest who has passed away, he must have been very familiar with the medicinal properties of these compounds.
So why did the Taoist priest change the ingredients in the elixir? Was it the Queen Mother's order? How could the Queen Mother understand this? Wasn't she afraid she might take the wrong elixir herself?
When Luo Yu thought of this, he immediately thought of someone.
Zhu Jinyou, besides him, probably no one would dare recommend a Taoist alchemist to the Empress Dowager. So how did he formulate this step-by-step plan? Perhaps he used the Empress Dowager, or did the Empress Dowager conspire with him?
While she was lost in thought, she bumped into a man's arms.
The man made a silent gesture with his index finger, and the secret guard behind him cooperated very well.
Luo Yu rubbed his forehead, raised his eyes and saw Zhu Jinyou, and took a step back in fright.
Zhu Jinyou's mouth curled up slightly: "Why, seeing me is like seeing a ghost?"
When Luo Yu saw him smile now, she always felt that this man was hiding too much with his smile. Even though she had known him for a year, she did not understand him.
Thinking about it again, she herself is actually living like this. Zhu Jinyou is really similar to her.
"Why did you suddenly appear in the palace? Have you been following me?"
"No, I'm just waiting for you here."
He knew that she didn't like being followed while doing things, and he knew exactly what she was going to do without asking.
Luo Yu followed him into the pavilion next to them. They hadn't seen each other for several days since the day the emperor had the accident. She now vaguely remembered that night, when he looked at her with a look of confusion and puzzlement in his eyes.
He should have known that she would no longer stand by him unconditionally.
The two of them sat in the pavilion, looking at a pond of thriving lotus flowers. The blooming lotus flowers looked like fairies dancing, pure and elegant, and beautiful beyond words.
Zhu Jinyou looked at the lotus, then at Qin Luoyu, and said with a smile in the corner of his eyes: "You really look like a lotus, blooming alone."
Luo Yu smiled back generously.
"Are you trying to say that I don't intend to live by relying on anyone?"
She turned her eyes to him, still clear and fresh, she had never changed a thing.
Zhu Jinyou's eyes moved slightly, and he slowly said: "Are you still doubting me, so you went to the Queen to question me? With your intelligence, you should have figured it all out!"
Luo Yu shook his head, his smile undiminished: "No, I'm not questioning you, I just want to confirm what my decision should be."
"So, have you decided yet?"
Luo Yu looked around. Aside from the four secret guards following her, the area was completely empty, devoid of other people. She had several of the secret guards wait at the entrances and exits of the various roads, to prevent them from overhearing anything unpleasant.
Only after everyone left did she breathe a sigh of relief.
Zhu Jinyou suddenly grabbed her hands and looked at her with a loving and pitiful look.
"Luo Yu, did you miss me?"
Luo Yu almost fell for his affectionate gaze. This guy was really good at making trouble. She had to stay calm at all times.
"I, how should I put it, I think I might not marry you."
Zhu Jinyou's smile suddenly stopped.
"Why? Is it because of the Seventh Prince?"
Luo Yu shook his head, thought for a moment, and nodded: "It's more or less! You know, he's still young, and he's the legitimate heir to the throne."
His voice was low, but every word pierced the heart: "If I make the affairs of the Queen and the Duke of Anguo's Mansion public, do you think the high officials in the court will still support her and the Seventh Prince?"
Luo Yu was not particularly surprised.
"So, you were afraid that I wouldn't admit that the child was Noble Lady Ying, and that I would side with the Seventh Prince, so you deliberately stopped the people on the side of Duke Anguo from killing the Second Branch of the Bai Family? You wanted the Second Branch of the Bai Family to confess their evil deeds, so as to intimidate the Queen and make the court officials recognize the Queen's character and choose sides, right?"
"Young lady, you've read too many storybooks." Zhu Jinyou laughed dumbly. "But the Queen is quite powerful, isn't she? She used the money given to her by the Bai family to cultivate the power of the Yu Family Army. If it weren't for you using the identity of Bai Fengchu, the eldest daughter of the Bai family, do you think the Bai family's eldest wife would have been able to complain? I'm afraid Fang, Bai Lingyi, and the entire Fang family don't know when their bodies will be separated."
"The Queen is powerful, but aren't you also powerful? You must have been planning this elaborate scheme for a long time, right?"
His eyes grew darker and darker, and the light they emitted grew colder and more indifferent. Luo Yu's words struck directly into his deepest darkness. He had clearly hidden it very well, but after being seen through by her, he felt extremely uncomfortable.
"I never thought of taking this position. I was just protecting myself, just like Miss Luo Yu is doing now."