Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!-Chapter 262 - 261: Utter Humiliation

After saying this, Lu Qing stood up and walked out, instructing the Fu Lu waiting outside to help Zhu Yu heat up the meals.

Zhu Yu’s gaze fell on the coded letter. Although she couldn’t decipher such a message written in musical notation, the event alone was enough to astonish her.

When Lu Qing returned, she hurriedly pulled him to sit down: "Being transferred from Li State as you wished is one thing, but... turning from a Commander to a Capital City Captain... was that part of your original plan?"

"Such details are naturally not part of my plan. If I could predict even such minor things, your husband wouldn’t be a mere mortal, but ready to ascend to immortality!" Lu Qing laughed, "Just half a rank; whether Commander or Capital City Captain, ultimately they’re still military roles. If there’s any real impact, it doesn’t account for much, except perhaps for the Situ Family, whose promising son’s demotion might be a bit of a blow to their pride."

"You once wanted to ally with the Situ family at all costs, but now, although Situ Jing has been transferred, he’s lost half a rank, and the Situ family’s face is tarnished..."

Zhu Yu naturally knew that Lu Qing had previously sent a secret report via the Chifu Guard back to the Capital, reporting the situation of the Li State camp to Emperor Jin.

She also clearly remembered how Lu Qing had intentionally set a trap at the Li State camp, but even so, with General Situ’s reputation, she thought Emperor Jin might at most transfer Situ Jing to a less ’lucrative’ position due to his ’ineffective management,’ while considering the Situ family’s prestige.

This way, Lu Qing’s wishes could be fulfilled, and the Situ family’s dignity wouldn’t suffer too much.

But unexpectedly, Emperor Jin directly demoted Situ Jing...

Even though it’s just half a rank, Situ Jing was originally only at Secondary Fifth Rank, which makes this a serious blow.

"Isn’t this just right?" Lu Qing’s face showed a smile, looking extremely calm. This calmness wasn’t to hide inner anxiety; it rather seemed to disguise his inner pride, to not let his true emotions show, "I’ve mentioned the greatest taboo of the Situ family to you before."

"I know, they are only loyal to the monarch and resolutely refuse to join any faction, showing favor to any prince before he officially ascends the throne," Zhu Yu nodded, indicating she hadn’t forgotten what Lu Qing previously told her, "But avoiding making enemies is also important... uh... oh..."

As she was speaking, she suddenly realized, and her expression changed from puzzled to enlightened, looking at Lu Qing with surprise in her eyes: "This is exactly what you wanted! You knew that to give Duke Yan enough face, aside from his faction, anyone who doesn’t side with Duke Yan wouldn’t be spared, so for Situ Jing, it would certainly be handled bureaucratically!

But no matter how bureaucratically it’s handled, given General Situ’s power, there would still have to be some face-saving measures, so a demotion is for public appearance, while subsequent arrangements would still consider the Situ family’s influence.

In this way, because of the Golden-faced Imperial Censor’s secret report, everyone in the court knows about Situ Jing’s demotion, symbolizing a conflict between the Situ family and the Golden-faced Imperial Censor, dismissing any rumors of private dealings between them!"

"No one understands me better than you do, my lady." Lu Qing smiled, nodding in acknowledgment of Zhu Yu’s guess.

"So this Qinzhou... where is it?" Zhu Yu asked.

"Neighboring Xinzhou." Lu Qing dipped his fingers in the tea water in a cup beside him and sketched a few lines on the table, "Xinzhou is Lu Jun’s fief."

Zhu Yu raised an eyebrow, looking at the watermarks on the table.

Indeed, Situ Jing’s demotion is quite a blessing in disguise, moving him away from the Shuo Land, not yet cleared of suspicion, and closer to Lu Chao, lingering in the fief of the Fourth Prince, Lu Jun.

"Do you want to know what else is in this letter?" After letting Zhu Yu digest the information for a moment, Lu Qing asked.

Zhu Yu nodded eagerly.

Who was he kidding, of course she wanted to know: "Is there anything related to us or, should I say, Shuo Country? 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Did Lu Zhang return to the Capital? Has the incident of Yan Shu slipping away not been discovered yet?"

"Nothing of what you mentioned is in the letter." Lu Qing smiled and shook his head, noticing Zhu Yu’s expression slightly disappointed, "The lack of news is precisely what we hope for right now.

No news means that person isn’t yet aware, because whether it’s us at Shuo Land, or Princess Yan Shu disappearing, these are major events.

However, though not mentioned, there is something else in the letter concerning Duke Yan."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yu immediately sat up straighter.

Apart from things closely related to them, she was most interested in news concerning Duke Yan’s faction.

"A few days ago, a court inspector, unable to endure it any longer, risked his life to advise that Duke Yan was fostering his faction, forming cliques for private purposes, and excluding dissidents. If unchecked, it might eventually disrupt the governance of Da Jin, harming the imperial foundation."

Zhu Yu was genuinely shocked to hear this. That inspector dared to submit such an unreserved memorial against Duke Yan, suggesting a willingness to risk his life.

"So... what happened?" she probed.

"Not a single civilian or military official present dared to echo his sentiment openly. The Holy Emperor was furious, rebuking the inspector for spreading alarming rumors, had him beaten with twenty strokes, and banished him from the Capital straight away, not allowing him time to recover before leaving."

Zhu Yu blinked, her brows furrowed.

She knew this incident seemed like Emperor Jin once again shielding and supporting Duke Yan, effectively giving his faction more confidence.

No one dared openly respond to the inspector’s advice in the court, which wasn’t unexpected.

But she felt this matter was not as straightforward as it appeared.

"Where was that inspector banished to?" She identified a core issue.

Lu Qing shook his head, "I don’t know."

"Do we not know, or does no one know?"

"No one knows," Lu Qing replied.

Zhu Yu raised an eyebrow slightly, a look of understanding passing over her face.

"And where is our Mr. Mo currently? Still in Xinzhou?" Zhu Yu asked, having thought through some of these things, she had more insights about the current situation, naturally easing her demeanor.

Lu Qing wasn’t surprised by her insight. After Fu Lu brought in the dishes and placed them on the table, then left and closed the door, he was helping Zhu Yu with soup while saying, "He’s visiting various academies and local schools to see if there have been any talented but impoverished students emerging over the years."