Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot
Chapter 174 - 162: Holding Hands, Taking You Home_2

Chapter 174: Chapter 162: Holding Hands, Taking You Home_2

"Forget it if you don’t want to eat."

"I’ll eat!"

Climbing the mountain too fast left her dying of thirst.

Meng Qianqian washed her hands and hurriedly grabbed the peach as if hesitating would make him regret giving it.

She took a bite.

Mmm, so sweet!

Lu Yuan picked up a white cloth and wiped his dagger.

Meng Qianqian glanced around. "Why did you come to the temple? And why is there no one with you?"

"To see someone."

He answered Meng Qianqian’s first question.

Meng Qianqian held the peach in her hands. "Did you see them?"

Lu Yuan replied, "I did."

Meng Qianqian didn’t ask whom he had seen because if he wanted to say, he would’ve said it already.

Meng Qianqian then asked, "Is Prime Minister Xun really your adoptive father?"

Lu Yuan frowned. "So Steward Cen even told you about this?"

Meng Qianqian nodded earnestly.

Lu Yuan muttered coldly, "Traitor."

Meng Qianqian seemed to ask casually, "Over these years, you’ve been working for your adoptive father, haven’t you?"

Lu Yuan responded indifferently, "Naturally, I have ambitions of my own."

Meng Qianqian paused. "To claim the throne?"

Lu Yuan said nothing.

Meng Qianqian continued, "Is power really more important than being alive?"

Lu Yuan replied coldly, "Rather than living a mediocre life, I’d prefer a glorious death. Well done, you’ve finally seen my true nature. Do you regret marrying me now?"

Meng Qianqian shook her head. "No regrets."

"Aren’t you afraid I’ll lose?"

"I’ll help you win."

"I might lose everything soon. That’s fine by you too?"

"No problem, I’ll support you." Meng Qianqian thought for a moment. "Turns out... I’m pretty good at earning money."

Lu Yuan’s gaze rippled slightly, and he turned away. "Hmph."

Meng Qianqian finished the peach, wiped her hands with a cloth, and said to Lu Yuan, "Let’s go down the mountain!"

Lu Yuan said, "I’m not leaving. You go back by yourself."

Meng Qianqian asked, "Why?"

She quickly found out why.

Suddenly, the temple was flooded with Imperial Guards, encircling the courtyard layer upon layer.

Meng Qianqian, trying to figure out what was happening, saw the door of the Zen chamber next door slowly open.

An elderly monk, supported by another monk, emerged.

Meng Qianqian recognized the second monk — he was none other than Eunuch Fu, who had delivered a royal decree to the Liu Family regarding her and Lu Lingxiao.

The Imperial Guards knelt in unison and saluted, "Greetings to the Supreme Emperor. Long live His Majesty! Long live His Majesty! Long live His Majesty!"

Meng Qianqian’s eyes flashed with surprise.

Wasn’t the Supreme Emperor supposed to be confined to the summer palace due to illness? Could it be he’d been at the temple all along?

So Lu Yuan had come to see...the Supreme Emperor?

Lu Yuan didn’t move.

Meng Qianqian walked to the doorway of the Zen chamber and bowed to the Supreme Emperor. "Greetings to Your Majesty."

The Supreme Emperor looked her over. "You are Meng Qianqian?"

"I am."

The Supreme Emperor knew her? How strange.

The Supreme Emperor remarked, "This matter doesn’t concern you. Leave now."

Meng Qianqian said, "Your servant wishes to leave together with her husband."

The Emperor replied, "His crimes are grave. I won’t execute him only out of respect for the Prime Minister. From now on, he is to recite scriptures and pray within the temple, to live out the rest—"

Before he finished, a loud cry came from outside the courtyard, "Grandson-in-law! Grandson-in-law, where are you?"

The Supreme Emperor’s expression stiffened.

"Make way! Make way! You all, move aside!"

Madam Lu struggled to push through the ranks of Imperial Guards. "I can’t squeeze through!"

"Move aside!"

Tan’er shoved an Imperial Guard.

The guards immediately moved to retaliate.

"Stop! Stop right now!"

Eunuch Fu quickly rushed toward the guards.

Unwilling to impede him, the guards instinctively made way.

Madam Lu’s eyes lit up upon seeing Eunuch Fu. "Little Fuzi, it’s you!"

Eunuch Fu forced an awkward smile and supported her. "Madam Lu, how come you’ve climbed the mountain?"

Madam Lu looked distraught and asked him, "My grandson-in-law is missing. Have you seen him?"

Eunuch Fu wore a troubled expression. "This servant—"

"Sister!"

Tan’er spotted Meng Qianqian and excitedly ran toward her.

Madam Lu called out, "Qianqian!"

She immediately freed herself from Eunuch Fu and flew to Meng Qianqian’s side with surprising speed. "Qianqian! You’re also looking for my grandson-in-law? Did you find him? Tan’er and I have searched everywhere. Why hasn’t he come home? I’m starving!"

Meng Qianqian’s gaze swept over Eunuch Fu, who looked bitterly at the Supreme Emperor.

In a split second, she thought of the decree nullifying her marriage to Lu Lingxiao.

Could it be...her great-grandmother had begged for it?

She remembered hearing Lu Family members mention that Lu Old Master had fought alongside the Supreme Emperor during eastern campaigns and was a founding supporter. When Lu Old Master passed away, the Supreme Emperor had personally attended his wake as a junior.

Madam Lu continued to enjoy provisions from the Household Affairs Office; she’d asked Mrs. Wang about it, and other elderly matrons didn’t have this privilege.

"Qianqian, why aren’t you saying anything?"

Madam Lu looked slightly aggrieved. "Where exactly is my grandson-in-law? Has someone bullied him, leaving him afraid to come home?"

The Supreme Emperor stood beside Meng Qianqian, yet Madam Lu’s eyes completely ignored his presence.

Meng Qianqian suddenly had a bold idea. She said to Madam Lu, "Lu Yuan is in the Zen chamber."

"Wonderful! I knew Qianqian was the best; she found grandson-in-law!"

Madam Lu exuberantly entered the Zen chamber. "Grandson-in-law, let’s go home!"

Lu Yuan looked at the Supreme Emperor outside the doorway.

The Supreme Emperor gazed sternly at Lu Yuan.

Lowering his eyes, Lu Yuan slowly rose under everyone’s gaze, walking toward the Zen chamber’s door alongside Madam Lu.

"Going home! Going home!"

Madam Lu joyfully stepped over the threshold.

Lu Yuan hesitated briefly before lifting his foot.

He heard the bowstrings of archers on the roof being drawn taut.

"Hurry up! Hurry up! I’m starving!" Madam Lu urged.

Lu Yuan’s eyes sharpened, stepping past the threshold.

The arrows did not release.

He raised his other hand and grabbed Meng Qianqian’s, who then pulled Tan’er along.

"Off we go! Make way! Make way!"

Madam Lu impatiently pushed past the guards. "You’re blocking my way! Little Fuzi, tell them to move aside!"

The Imperial Guards collectively turned to Eunuch Fu.

Eunuch Fu glanced at the silent Supreme Emperor and reluctantly waved them aside.

And thus, Madam Lu led a chain of young souls, resembling a string of candied hawthorns, out of the perilous courtyard.

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