CHAPTER 159: CHAPTER 158: ODDS OF VICTORY

Zhu Yu was momentarily stunned, but then understood what Lu Qing meant by "good."

If it wasn’t due to the cut on his outer garment by a personal soldier, inadvertently revealing his golden silk armor underneath that caught Situ Jing’s attention, Lu Qing’s true identity as the "Golden-faced Imperial Censor" would have remained a mystery to this day.

For Lu Qing, he naturally didn’t want others to easily know that he was the mysterious "Golden-faced Imperial Censor," but if the other person was Situ Jing, it was the complete opposite.

Not to mention Situ Jing came from a family of generals, with his father and brothers being unwaveringly loyal and courageous military heroes. There’s no doubt about their loyalty or bravery, so there’s no worry that he would scheme upon discovering this.

The purpose of Lu Qing’s journey besides following the imperial decree to handle the various mysteries of the Li State encampment, was also to recruit the Situ family into the Lu Chao faction, to eventually be of use to Lu Chao.

In this scenario, revealing his identity was clearly inappropriate, in case Lu Qing intended to recruit and Situ Jing was unwilling to accept, revealing his identity would only hand his faults over to the other party.

However, if Lu Qing’s identity remained well-hidden, and he wanted to recruit talents, he must let the talents know who they are committing to.

Otherwise, after all the planning, it might all end up benefiting someone else unexpectedly.

"But even so, if Situ Jing keeps avoiding you, how will you persuade him?" Zhu Yu asked.

"If he avoids me entirely, making it clear with his actions, then there’s no need for persuasion," Lu Qing waved his hand. "Now is not the time to get anxious. My injuries haven’t healed properly yet, so I can’t set out. Let’s give him some time to think it over.

Over the years, General Situ never entered the Capital, not even his two sons left their posts outside the city. Apart from needing someone to deter the ever-aggressive Jie King, what other reason do you think there is?"

With Lu Qing’s hint, Zhu Yu immediately thought of General Cao Tianbao, to whom he owed a great favor, and came to a realization: "It seems General Situ doesn’t want to get involved in the court’s factional disputes and has chosen to stay away at the borders?"

"General Situ’s father followed the late Emperor, proving his utmost loyalty. Therefore, during the late Emperor’s weakening and the princes jockeying for power, General Situ’s father remained loyal solely to the late Emperor.

It wasn’t until the current Holy Emperor ascended the throne that General Situ received the order to campaign against Jie Country.

Although General Situ did not directly support the current Holy Emperor like General Cao did, once the Emperor took the throne, he campaigned against Jie Country, achieving great merit and devoting himself entirely.

As a result, the Holy Emperor never held his previous stance against him but instead greatly praised the Situ family’s loyalty to the throne." Lu Qing explained the past unknown to Zhu Yu.

"The Situ family has adhered to a principle of loyalty without forming parties for generations, never deviating from it.

Once Duke Yan’s faction clearly supported Lu Zhang, General Situ no longer allowed his sons to step foot into the Capital."

Zhu Yu understood that the Situ family’s loyalty was only to the person in power, or rather, to the throne itself. Thus, no one could win them over before sitting on that throne.

Over the years, Duke Yan, Zhao Bi, perhaps attempted to win over the Situ family, but their strong influence and refusal to align with any faction left Duke Yan helpless.

But could someone as rigidly non-partisan as the Situ family, who wouldn’t give face from the late Emperor to the current ruler, really be persuaded by Lu Qing?

Even if the Situ family finally abandoned their past insistence and decided to take sides, why would Lu Qing presume they’d choose the currently weak and unsupported Lu Chao?

With this thought, Zhu Yu couldn’t help but question Lu Qing, "Is this really a risky plan where you gamble with your life?

If Situ Jing owes you a big enough favor, will it increase the odds of persuading the Situ family?"

"Madam overthinks it," Lu Qing chuckled, "I admit, I often scheme, but not to the point of wagering my life.

This injury was truly accidental. A mere inch more would’ve cost me my life. I scheme to ensure a peaceful future. If I were slain in Li State, that would really be a total loss."

Zhu Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She admired Lu Qing’s meticulous planning and foresight, but if he were a reckless daredevil risking his life, that would be entirely different.

Her goal was also to secure a good future. If Lu Qing failed and lost everything, she would fail too.

So, five or six more days passed, with Lu Qing’s injury rapidly improving under Yan Daoxin’s treatment, looking as good as new.

With recovery in sight, preparations for the journey couldn’t be neglected. Lu Qing instructed Rune and Fu Lu to purchase necessities for the journey, disguising themselves as attendants to the Golden-faced Imperial Censor.

Over these days, Zhu Yu waited anxiously without seeing Situ Jing, feeling uneasy. Now, seeing Lu Qing nonchalantly instructing Rune and Fu Lu to purchase daily supplies, seemingly not preparing for a long journey, she couldn’t quite discern the fox’s plans.

However, seeing the silk materials bought under Lu Qing’s instructions, she had a faint guess.

Apparently, Zhu Yu wasn’t the only one picking up on clues from Lu Qing’s purchases.

Though someone hadn’t shown up in these days, they had been watching their every move.

That night, after drinking medicine, Lu Qing received a report that a visitor had arrived at the post station.

Soon, a cloaked figure stood outside his room door.

Lu Qing appeared calm, as if everything was expected. He took the golden mask from the side and put it on. Zhu Yu, having stepped outside the post station from time to time these days, quickly placed her mask too.

The door was gently pushed open by Rune, who gestured for Situ Jing to enter, his expression awkward.