Chapter Thirty: Volunteering

  The King of Guangping slammed the teacup, his furious face staring at Lu Yunpeng, while Guard Commander Fan Benchang stood by with a poker face.

  Lu Yunpeng knelt down, but in his heart he was not convinced and felt very wronged. He snapped the stone and broke the white flag, pretending that Zhao Lao Gong had shown his spirit to scare Zhao Jiong. Indeed, he took a bit of risk, but he had confidence in his own skills, and no one would uncover him. Zhao Jiong was indeed scared, and even Madam Zhao and the Zhao family members deeply believed it without doubt. What's wrong with that? Why did Your Highness get so angry?

  The King of Guangping saw his discontented look and became angry: "Do you think you're very clever? Do you think I scolded you wrongly? Let me ask you, if you hadn't come up with this move, wouldn't Madam Zhao have been unable to deal with the Marquis of Jianan? Wouldn't others have thought that Madam Zhao had wronged him?"

  Lu Yunpeng hesitated: "That's not it... It's just that Jian Nan Hou will continue to quibble and won't give up." If he hadn't thought that Old Master Zhao had really appeared, he wouldn't have panicked and run away, nor would he have fallen off his horse in the wilderness. When he returned to the old Zhao residence, if he met with Madame Zhao privately without outsiders or clansmen intervening, who knows what kind of quarrel they would get into? Perhaps another vicious hand would be played.

  The King of Guangping sneered and asked, "Since you didn't take the initiative, Madam Zhao could have handled the Duke of Jianan herself. With General Fan and your protection by her side, even if the Duke of Jianan had the audacity to try something, he wouldn't be able to do anything to Madam Zhao. So why did you need to intervene? You felt relieved at the time, but didn't you think about what would happen if people believed it was really the spirit of Old Master Zhao that appeared, and then he never appears again? What if someone discovers your trick and uses it against Madam Zhao, putting her in an awkward situation? What will you do then?! Don't tell me that by then you'll have already returned to the capital with me and won't be able to care about this anymore!"

  Lu Yunpeng suddenly realized, and after careful consideration, he couldn't help but sweat on his forehead. He really hadn't thought about it that much, although he was confident that no one would discover any traces, but if Zhao Lao Gong had shown his spirit once, twice, there would naturally be a third time, a fourth time... If not, what would others think? Although Madam Zhao, Little Miss Zhao and Autumn Leaf all said that Old Master Zhao had indeed shown his spirit, who else besides Little Miss Zhao had seen it? If others didn't believe them, saying they were just making it up, the originally good situation might be turned upside down!

  He finally realized that his approach was inappropriate and sincerely bowed to the King of Guangping: "It's because I didn't think it through, I know I'm wrong."

  The King of Guangping slightly calmed down, but his tone was still unpleasant: "You are someone by my side. Now that I am just a prince, your rough and careless attitude is tolerable, and the troubles you cause are limited. But if I were to enter the court in the future and take on greater responsibilities, and you remain this way, how can I trust you? Even when I entrust you with small tasks, I worry that you will act arbitrarily and bring me great disaster!"

  Lu Yunpeng felt ashamed and deeply realized that he had disappointed King Guangping.

  The King of Guangping saw that he had indeed realized his mistake, and only then did he slow down his tone: "Forget it, since you've realized your mistake, think about how to make amends! Now, Old Lady Zhao is convinced that the white flag at the city gate breaking off means that Old Duke Zhao is showing his spirit, deeply believing that the old duke is protecting her. How are you going to tell her the truth?"

  Lu Yunpeng lowered his head and said in a low voice: "I beg your highness for guidance, I... really don't dare to tell her."

  The King of Guangping snorted and turned his head away, ignoring him.

  At this time, Fan Ben Zhang stepped forward: "Little Lu, things are not that simple. If Old Lady Zhao knew the truth, she would be heartbroken at most, and it would pass after a while. But the trouble is not so easy to eliminate, do you know?"

  Lu Yunpeng was stunned: "Is there any other trouble?" He solemnly assured his superior: "Really, at that time, only one person saw the movement of the subordinate, it was the maid sister beside Mrs. Zhao, except for her, no one else knew, and that sister also promised not to tell anyone. She is so loyal to Mrs. Zhao, she will never be a trouble. After the old duke enters the ground, even if he doesn't show up again, it's not unreasonable."

  Fan Ben Zhang shook his head: "This is not just a matter of whether the spirit appears or not. Because you let Zhao Lao Fu Ren believe that it was indeed Zhao Lao Jun Gong's spirit, and also think that Zhao Jiong's fall from the horse only left him paralyzed but not dead, it means that Jun Gong Ye has intentionally spared his son's life. So they don't plan to push Zhao Jiong's branch to desperation again, but instead ask if you can help with the succession of the title, and transfer the title of Jian Nan Hou to young Master Zhao Wei. But Jian Nan Hou is willing to kill his mother and brother for the title, so how could he be willing to give it up if he knows that the second branch is plotting against him? Although he's paralyzed, he still has a wife, children, and loyal servants. For now, there are people protecting Zhao Lao Fu Ren, so he can't do anything, but what about later? Zhao Wei is the only male in the second branch, if something happens to him, the title will have to go back to Zhao Jiong's descendants. What will you do then? Can you stop them from resorting to underhanded tactics?"

  Lu Yunpeng was consumed by regret, never having imagined that his momentary impulse would lead to such severe consequences. If Old Lady Zhao had not intentionally tried to drive Xiao Changfang to desperation, but Xiao Changfang had deliberately sought to bring about her downfall and the demise of her descendants, what could be done? Could he stay by Old Lady Zhao's side forever, protecting her and her descendants? He was a guard in the Guangping Prince's mansion, with a sixth-rank military position, and would eventually have to return to the capital...

  After some thought, he gritted his teeth and said seriously to the King of Guangping: "Your Highness, this matter is all due to my own lack of consideration, leaving behind such a great hidden danger. If Madam Zhao and her grandson are harmed because of it, I will not be able to rest easy in this life! I want to stay by their side and protect them from harm, please grant me permission!"

  He bowed deeply and didn't notice that both Guangping King and Fan Ben Zhang had a satisfied smile on their faces.

  Lu Yunpeng was misled by Fan Benchang's words and forgot that if Zhao Lao Furen knew the truth about Zhao Lao Gong's spirit, she would not think that Zhao Jiong's fall from his horse was a sign of the old duke wanting to save his son's life. She would no longer have any reservations and would be willing to eliminate her enemies completely. On the other hand, if the younger generation of the Zhao family wanted to harm Zhao Lao Furen and her grandson in order to keep their title, whether or not there was a spirit appearing would make no difference in the outcome. This was not something that Lu Yunpeng could take responsibility for on his own initiative.

  The King of Guangping and Fan Ben spent so much effort, just for him to voluntarily offer to stay behind and protect the Zhao family's ancestors and descendants. After all, they needed someone reliable and skilled to protect them, especially since there were elderly people, women, and children around. However, the guards by the King of Guangping's side all had official positions and it wouldn't be convenient for them to stay behind. Even if the King of Guangping gave the order, these guards might not be willing to leave their families behind. There was only one person, Lu Yunpeng, who was an orphan with no family or burdens. He used to be a small servant in the King of Guangping's mansion but became a long-term guard due to his good martial arts skills. Before leaving the capital this time, he had just been appointed to a military position for convenience and hadn't been formally assigned an official post yet. Even if he stayed outside for a few years, it wouldn't be a problem. However, things like this still require him to be willing himself. Otherwise, staying by the Zhao family's ancestors and descendants with resentment in his heart and not putting his mind to the task would not be good.

  So the King of Guangping pretended to consider for a while, and then "reluctantly" agreed: "Well, if you insist on this, I won't stop you either. But what identity will you stay with? If you supplement a military position in the local garrison, it's afraid that you will not be able to enter and exit conveniently, and there is no way to protect the ancestors of the Zhao family well. But if you make up for the lack in the county government office, you can't lower your rank, and you can't let you be a housekeeper, right?"

  Lu Yunpeng is a straightforward person, who would have thought so much: "Being a steward or a housekeeper is not bad at all. It's just that the subordinate did something wrong and should be punished. The subordinate was originally a small servant in the Wangfu, and thanks to the kindness of the palace, he was promoted to a military position. In fact, he is not used to official affairs at all. Now it's just returning to his original identity."

  "In that case, you can temporarily stay by the side of Old Lady Zhao and her grandson as a housekeeper." The King of Guangping thought for a moment, "But after all, you are someone from this royal residence, it's impossible for you to be a slave for your whole life. At most five years, at least three years, you can come back then. By that time, the young master of the Zhao family should have given up his thoughts."

  Lu Yunpeng was so moved that he repeatedly kowtowed to him. The King of Guangping also instructed him: "Later, you will escort the young lady of the Zhao family back to Fengxian with the people from the Zhao family. Don't delay on the way. When you arrive at the old residence of the Zhao family, tell Old Lady Zhao that after I finish inspecting the sea wall, I will personally visit her and discuss the matter she mentioned in her letter with her. Go to the queen's place and see if she has packed the luggage for the young lady of the Zhao family. If it's ready, you can set off."

  Lu Yunpeng hastily responded and respectfully retreated.

  Fan Ben Zhang watched him leave, and asked Guang Ping Wang in a low voice: "Is this okay? Xiao Lu is very skilled with his hands, but he's not very smart, and he can't tolerate things, I'm afraid he'll cause some trouble here and make it difficult for Old Lady Zhao."

  Guangping Wang sighed: "In a place like Fengxian, even if he makes more trouble, what kind of disaster can he cause? Madam Zhao is shrewd and has the imperial edict from the Duchess in hand. Who among the common people can make things difficult for her? I'm also afraid that Lu Yunpeng's character is too straightforward, it's easy to get into trouble in the capital city, and if he gets into trouble there, I may not be able to protect him either. It's better to let him stay in Fengxian. Don't worry, after three to five years, my position will be secure, and when he returns, it won't matter."

  Lu Yunpeng did not expect that his superiors would still be so concerned about him, and he obediently went to see the Princess of Guangping. As soon as he entered the door, he saw her directing the maids to pack up Zhao's luggage. Originally, Zhao had come with nothing, but after staying with the three members of the Prince of Guangping's family for several days, she had used many things, including tableware, tea sets, new clothes, hair accessories, books and stationery, and even the bedding was newly purchased, all of which were high-quality goods. The princess told her to take all these things with her, anyway, no one would use them after she left.

  Zhaoyi didn't care much about this, what's the big deal with Wangye and Wangfei, still worrying about such a small thing? She was just a bit depressed because she heard from Guangping Wangfei Zhongshi that they didn't plan to wait for Gaoshan to return before letting her leave. Gaoshan went with his parents to pay respects to a certain high-ranking member of the imperial family who was left in charge of Jiading yesterday, and the old lady liked him so much that she kept him there to play, originally saying he would be sent back before nightfall today, but now he's still nowhere to be seen.

  After all, we've been together for many days as buddies, although he's a bit of a know-it-all. But to part ways without even saying goodbye, isn't that a bit unkind?

  She was thinking about this matter, when she heard the Princess of Guangping instruct Lu Yunpeng: "There is a shop in Songjiang Prefecture where the prince has a place, and the people there are all trustworthy. If you have anything to tell Beijing while at the Zhao's house, just send someone to deliver the letter to the shop, and the staff there will quickly send it to Beijing. Be careful, the prince's orders must be carried out." Lu Yunpeng hastily agreed.

  Zhao? I don't understand, is this guard brother going to stay at her house?