Lu Wuxie knelt on the ground, silent, waiting for the man on the dragon throne to speak.
"You said you would vouch for Zhong Li?" Lu Jing'an asked after a long silence.
Lu Wuxie nodded, "Your Majesty, I brought Lord Zhong to the Dali Temple. She could have been uninvolved in all of this, living a carefree life in An Ding County. Now that she is in danger, how can I stand by?"
"Is that all?" Lu Jing'an raised an eyebrow and inquired.
Lu Wuxie's throat bobbed. After a long moment, he said, "This subject also likes her."
Upon hearing this, Lu Jing'an slowly closed his eyes.
"Mo Cang, I watched you grow up! As long as you don't go too far, I mostly turn a blind eye. Do you know why?"
Lu Wuxie's eyes flickered. After a long silence, he slowly said, "It is because this realm should have belonged to my father."
"Crash!"
As soon as Lu Wuxie finished speaking, a teacup was flung to the ground.
"Your... Your Majesty!" Eunuch Hua trembled, his knees buckling as he knelt on the ground.
Lu Wuxie lowered his gaze to the shattered teacup before him, his expression unchanged as he met the man opposite him, whose chest heaved with anger, and said, "Imperial Uncle."
Lu Jing'an's hand, which held the memorial, twitched slightly.
"Imperial Uncle, Mo Cang is not here to question your past deeds. Those old matters should have long rotted away, shouldn't they?" Lu Wuxie asked.
"Mo Cang!" Lu Jing'an's hand trembled as he looked at the man opposite him, who bore some resemblance to him. "Do you believe I won't let you leave this imperial study tonight?"
"Imperial Uncle," Lu Wuxie bowed deeply. "I came to you today precisely to clarify things. Otherwise... even if I leave here today, you will not let the entire Prince Xian's mansion off the hook."
"What exactly do you want to say?"
"Imperial Uncle, when did you first conceive the idea of moving against Prince Xian's mansion? Was it when my mother consort met a tragic end at Ling Shan Temple, or when you tacitly allowed Xie Yunxi to administer Qiatuo grass to my father?" Lu Wuxie asked again.
"You... what are you saying?" Lu Jing'an was completely flustered by Lu Wuxie's rapid-fire questions. He clenched the object in his hand tightly, his fingertips turning slightly white.
Lu Wuxie let out a self-mocking laugh. "Ever since my father established his own residence outside the capital, you have had spies embedded in Prince Xian's mansion, haven't you? You know every move of Prince Xian's mansion better than I do. Now that it has come to this, what else do you intend to conceal, Your Majesty?"
As he spoke, his gaze subtly fell upon a memorial hidden at the bottom by Eunuch Hua, through which he could faintly discern a few tea stains tinged with crimson seeping out.
"Your Majesty, you're spitting blood, aren't you?"
"Lu Wuxie!" Lu Jing'an could no longer hold back and overturned the table before him.
Instantly, memorials scattered all over the floor.
Lu Wuxie took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping past the window not far away. Seeing that the full moon had risen above the treetops, he sighed, "Imperial Uncle, you still don't know? Your enemies have never been me, or Prince Xian's mansion. If my father or I truly had designs on the seat you occupy, do you think you would still be alive and well today?"
"You..." Lu Jing'an was furious, extending his hand to point at the man opposite him.
"Think about it, should you have died in the civil unrest twenty years ago, or during the riots of the Divine Maiden Sect ten years ago, or perhaps most recently at Qing Liang Hall?" Lu Wuxie ignored Lu Jing'an's outstretched hand and continued to voice his thoughts.
"Lu Wuxie!"
"Your Majesty!" As Lu Jing'an was about to speak, Lu Wuxie had already let out a roar so loud that even the Imperial Guards stationed outside the imperial study could hear it.
Lu Jing'an was also startled by Lu Wuxie's imposing manner and was at a loss for words for a moment.
Lu Wuxie kowtowed three times to Lu Jing'an. "Your Majesty, whether you believe it or not, for Prince Xian's mansion, as long as the throne is occupied by a member of the Lu family, it doesn't matter who it is. Does Your Majesty recall the matter of Qing Liang Hall?"
Lu Jing'an nodded. How could he forget? It was around that time that he began to feel some trust towards Lu Wuxie, and for a time, he started to question if his years of vigilance towards Prince Xian's mansion, and his intention to eliminate Lu Wuxie after he came of age, had been the right choice.
"Fei Yuan Pavilion is the culmination of my life's work and my only trump card. During the battle at Qing Liang Hall, Fei Yuan Pavilion suffered heavy losses. I believe it would take at least five to six years, if not more than a decade, to reorganize Fei Yuan Pavilion. Imperial Uncle, do you know why I did this?" Lu Wuxie asked Lu Jing'an.
Lu Jing'an swallowed several times. The answer seemed to be on the tip of his tongue, but after so many years in power, accustomed to solitude, and having experienced court conspiracies, he had almost forgotten the bonds of kinship.
Seeing him like this, Lu Wuxie's expression remained placid, as if he was not surprised by his reaction at all. He sighed and slowly took something out of his embrace, presenting it in his hand.
"Imperial Uncle, Fei Yuan Pavilion is the intelligence network of Southern Yue Kingdom. It holds all the secrets of Southern Yue Kingdom, both known and unknown to you. This is the token of the Pavilion Master of Fei Yuan Pavilion. Today, I shall hand it over to Your Majesty."
Lu Jing'an glanced at Eunuch Hua. Eunuch Hua, understanding, hurried to Lu Wuxie's side and passed the token to Lu Jing'an.
Lu Wuxie continued, "Fei Yuan Pavilion currently has a hundred masters. Since I am handing it over to Your Majesty, these hundred masters will henceforth also obey Your Majesty's commands."
"Mo Cang." After a long while, Lu Jing'an finally came to his senses. He looked at Lu Wuxie with confusion, unable to believe he would so readily hand over his life's work. "What do you want?" he asked.
Lu Wuxie smiled faintly. "What I want, didn't I tell Your Majesty as soon as I entered this imperial study?"
"Mo Cang, you are doing all this for a woman?" Lu Jing'an frowned, finding Lu Wuxie's actions rather absurd.
Lu Wuxie shook his head. "Your Majesty is not me, so you cannot understand what I want."
"I can release Zhong Li..."
"No!" Lu Wuxie shook his head. "Your Majesty does not need to release her directly. Li'er is implicated with Qiatuo grass, and Qiatuo grass concerns the vital pulse of the entire Southern Yue Kingdom. If Your Majesty acts so openly, it will invite questioning from other court officials. Your Majesty is already being sidelined by Minister Fu, and acting like this will only lead you further into darkness."
"Then your intention is..."
"Your Majesty only needs to do as I say. I will vouch for myself to exchange for Li'er's release." Lu Wuxie said.
"Do you know what you are saying?" Lu Jing'an asked.
Lu Wuxie nodded. "Please grant my request, Your Majesty."
Lu Jing'an gazed at Lu Wuxie for a long time. After pondering for a while, he said to Eunuch Hua, "Go, fetch my imperial decree." Eunuch Hua nodded and returned with an item. After writing swiftly, Lu Jing'an handed the decree to Lu Wuxie. Upon receiving the decree, Lu Wuxie said no more, bowed, and departed.
As the door of the imperial study was closed, and only Lu Jing'an and Eunuch Hua, who had served him for half his life, remained in the grand hall, he raised his hand and looked at the token of the Fei Yuan Pavilion Master in his hand. After a long period of contemplation, he said, "Eunuch Hua, take this token to Fei Yuan Pavilion. I want to know all of Fei Yuan Pavilion's secrets."