Chapter 67: The Wedding 2

The imperial palace.

Lu Yaozhu was held back by the crown Prince as soon court ended, like other officials heard about Lu Yaozhu's marriage. Lu Yaozhu had been as elusive as ever, he hadn't been able to get hold of him until now. Zhongshan Ling pulled Lu Yaozhu into an unoccupied palace close to the court room to avoid getting overheard.

He had left the palace as soon as the games ended and were present when Lu Yaozhu and Su Liya were found in a compromising condition. He had been shocked when his guard reported the situation to him. 

Zhongshan Ling gave his guard a sign to watch the door while they chatted. "I heard about what happened.... father Emperor is making a big move. How are you?"

Lu Yaozhu grinned and replied "good, I am getting married. It is happy news, my mother has been worried about my marriage for a while. She can finally relax, I am just a lowly general. Don't forget to give me a big wedding gift".

The crown prince brows furrowed, "why are you acting so happy? It is okay to be sad".

Lu Yaozhu tilted his head "sad? Why would I be sad? The bride is really pretty, she is like a first rank beautiful. I lucked out in wives, don't worry about me." He said patting Zhongshan Ling on the shoulder.

Zhongshan Ling looked at him like he was going mad, he didn't know why Lu Yaozhu was acting this calm but he knew him well. The more he pressed for information, the more exaggerated things, Lu Yaozhu would say.

"Since you want to play it like this, ahh forget it. My spies intercepted a message between Minister Zhu and the crown Prince of Chu state. You were right, the Shi family is making some underground moves. Be careful, I don't think they are done with you yet". Zhongshan Ling said exasperated.

"Aren't I always. Imperial Aunt asked to speak with me, I better get going" Lu Yaozhu left silently.

He didn't have an appointment with the Empress, he just didn't want to spend any more time speaking to her another concerned party. It was enough that he had to deal with his mother's probing as soon as he walked into the house, he didn't want another concerned person. 

He walked in the direction of the Empress's palace, in case Zhongshan Ling put someone in his trail. Brother Ling was relentless when he got something in mind. As he walked through the inner palace garden, he overheard a few maids mention that the Empress visited the new princess at Jing Palace.

He paused at the mention of the Princess at Jing palace, it can only be Su Liya since all the Princesses were either married or out of the palace. He turned to the left and headed to the Empress's Jianxiu Palace. Since he was already close, he might as well check on his aunt.

The Empress laid crooked on the chaise when the little eunuch rush in and reported his arrival. Empress Lu immediately sat up and quickly arranged her appearance before letting him in. She sat on the cushioned seat in the living room, with her two senior court ladies standing behind her.

He stopped a few steps away from her, "Greetings Your Highness".

"Xiao Zhu, I wasn't expecting you!" She said smiling wide. Empress Lu usually had a solemn expression, her days in the palace were cold and exhausting. However, the solemn expression usually disappeared as soon as she saw Lu Yaozhu.

The General always brighten up her mood, everyone noticed the change in her mood every time the general visited. There were a few sinister rumours spread by the other consort's, they accused the Empress and Lu Yaozhu of having an unmentionable relationship.

The rumours got worse the older the general got, but the Empress ignored all those rumours. There was no point in answering such baseless accusations. That would make the tongues wag more, Lu Yaozhu was her favourite nephew. She treated him like her child since he had been born after she had lost her child.

"I am sorry for coming unexpectedly. After what happened..... We haven't spoken.... I wanted to..." 

"Don't worry, this Empress understands. I visited her, she is fine. Although she is a little suspicious, I am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt" she had to watch him grow up, this wasn't a normal visit. Her darling nephew must have heard that she visited his fiance and wanted to inquire about her conditions.

"Many thanks, Your Highness" he replied.

"You must be tired from the court, I won't keep you any longer".

"Goodbye, your highness".

**********

By 10 pm that night.

Su Liya dismissed the maids and sat on the square table. The wooden box from the Empress was placed on the table, her room had been swarmed with maids all day. The number of servants in her Courtyard seemed to have increased when the Empress left.

She suspected that the sudden traffic in her room had a lot to do with the Empress's visit, it was safe to assume that majority of not all the maids were spies pushed in by the major players in the palace. She left the box on the cupboard in her room, carefully keeping an eye on the nosy maids. 

The maids waited till night, they gave up when they failed to get a response out of Su Liya. They gladly escaped to their rooms as soon as she released them. Keeping watch of these unwanted servants was exhausting, she let out a breath of relief when they left.

She picked up the wooden box from the cupboard and moved it to the square-shaped table. She decided to check the content of the box, without anyone breathing down her neck. The Empress maid had given her the key together with the box, she had slipped the key into her sleeves when the maids came in.

Su Liya carefully inserted the key into the key how and twisted the key. There was a "Click" as the box unlocked, the lid slid up. Su Liya pulled the lid higher, an assortment of jewellery was placed at the top of the box.

The jewellery was made from pure gold, she knew it was high-quality gold because she had seen a few of Zhu Fengyin's jewellery. However none was as exquisite as these pieces, it had been unexpected but the empress hasn't spared any expense. There was a hidden compartment at the base, she removed the jewellery to open the compartment.

There were deeds of farmsteads, shops and restaurants all in the capital hidden in the compartment. Su Liya sorted through the deeds carefully, before reading through the account book kept under the deeds. "The Empress left such a nest egg... Why? This is too generous" she thought as she read through the account book.

It was getting late and Su Liya felt her eyes get tired. She returned the contents of the box into the box, locked the box and placed it back on the cupboard. She initially thought of hiding the box somewhere else but after some thoughts decided against it. "The best place to hide things was in plain sight" she muttered as she stepped away from the cupboard.

As she walked to the bed, she was startled by the slight movement by the window. Scared, Su Liya gripped a paper holder from the table as a weapon. It wasn't very big but create damage on anyone. She rose it high above her head, prepared to hit whoever it was, only to see Lu Yaozhu step out from the shadow.

Su Liya took a step back, she dropped the paper holder back on the table and holding her chest, inhaled and exhaled quickly. "Oh my! You scared me!".

"Sorry, the Emperor has his eyes here. I can't get caught" Lu Yaozhu said apologetically.

"Cool, I don't mind. Thanks okay..."

"How are you?"

"I am good, still trying to get used to everything"

"You must get adjusted quickly, we will be getting married soon. I don't care about your past as far as you don't cause trouble. Our Lu Family only recognized talent or skill".

"Yes"

"We will be getting married in a few days me, try to pull yourself".

"Yes"