Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!-Chapter 98 - 97: The Butcher and the Fish

Lu Qing heard Liu Yueyao’s words and didn’t even pause with the chopsticks in his hand.

But Zhu Yu, subconsciously looked towards the doorway. Seeing the person who entered, her chopsticks froze mid-air.

Earlier, she heard Lu Qing ask Liu Yueyao if "Mr. Mo" had arrived. She didn’t know whom he was inquiring about and didn’t probe further. Now seeing the person coming in, he indeed wore black garments and had a black veil over his face, which he removed as he entered.

The veil revealed none other than the face of the Eldest Prince, Lu Chao of Prince Xu.

Even if one didn’t recognize his face, his aura, as though above worldly matters, was enough for Zhu Yu to identify him at a glance.

Just as Zhu Yu didn’t expect to see Lu Chao here, clearly Lu Chao didn’t anticipate encountering anyone other than Lu Qing here either. He halted mid-step, momentarily dazed.

Lu Qing waved him over, gestured to the seat opposite him, and teasingly said to Lu Chao, "Come over and eat! You’re already here, don’t stand on ceremony—the dishes will get cold if you wait longer."

Lu Chao narrowed his eyes at Lu Qing without real anger, stepped forward, sat down opposite him, and reached for a bowl and chopsticks while saying, "Does your senior brother have any plans to come to the Capital soon?"

"Yan Daoxin?" Lu Qing raised an eyebrow, "He’s more like my junior rather than senior brother. Why are you asking about him?"

"I want to check when he’ll next arrive and get some elixirs from him to poison you mute." Lu Chao picked up some food, glancing at Zhu Yu beside him, "And who might this be?"

"Tsk, I thought you were a more composed man, but you start inquiring as soon as you sit down." Lu Qing seemed a bit disdainful as he looked at Lu Chao, then suddenly laughed, lightly placing a hand on Zhu Yu’s back, and said to Lu Chao, "She is my wife."

Lu Chao looked at Zhu Yu flatly, then at Lu Qing: "I didn’t expect you to develop this kind of taste. I’m quite surprised."

Zhu Yu didn’t expect that by day they would act as if they didn’t know each other, and yet here they were chatting as if they were the closest of friends.

Even more unexpectedly, she found herself caught in their banter.

She understood Lu Chao’s implication, was momentarily taken aback, unable to swallow or spit out her food, and ended up coughing.

Lu Qing, with a caring demeanor, gently patted her back while softly whispering in Zhu Yu’s ear, "Lu Chao is just a paper tiger, empty posturing, no need to be nervous in front of him."

His intimate action made Zhu Yu’s ears heat up, and the blush slowly spread to her cheeks.

It was probably this blush that betrayed her feminine demeanor, causing Lu Chao to pause as he realized, "Are you the daughter married off from Zhu Chengjia?"

"Yes." Zhu Yu had not quite grasped the relationship between Lu Chao and Lu Qing but seeing their familiar and close interaction, not as cold and distant as they pretended to outsiders during the day, she reckoned they must be quite close, so she skipped formal greetings with Lu Chao to avoid awkwardness.

"I hadn’t imagined Zhu Cheng’s daughter to have such courage and skill." Lu Chao had accompanied them to the corpse room earlier that day and had witnessed Zhu Yu’s capabilities, though he hadn’t returned to the embroidery tower afterward.

"Envious?" Lu Qing raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "As far as I know, Zhu Chengjia still has many daughters, and the most precious legitimate daughter hasn’t yet been married off.

If you’re interested, you could petition Your Majesty. Even Lu Zhang has been granted a marriage; it wouldn’t make sense if you’re left out, so perhaps His Majesty could grant you Zhu Cheng’s legitimate daughter in marriage, making us both brothers and in-laws. If all Zhu Cheng’s daughters are so skilled, you wouldn’t have to envy me anymore!"

Lu Chao didn’t reply, merely looked at Zhu Yu with sympathetic eyes, sighed softly, and then silently resumed eating.

Zhu Yu found their way of communicating quite amusing and couldn’t help but stifle her laughter, so she focused on her food to shift her attention.

After Lu Chao joined, Lu Qing seemed more animated than before, finished his remaining food in just a few bites, and, putting down his chopsticks, asked seriously, "To get back to the point, has His Majesty really not mentioned anything about granting marriages?"

Lu Chao ate slowly and elegantly, shook his head unhurriedly: "Indeed, he hasn’t."

"That’s strange." Lu Qing frowned slightly, "I thought the Jie King’s eldest legitimate daughter would be married off to you since you’re just a bit older than me. Logically, the next marriage should be yours, not Lu Zhang’s.

What is His Majesty planning?"

"I don’t know." Lu Chao shook his head, "That might be for the best. On the day the marriage is granted, all intentions will be laid bare, eliminating any illusions."

"What do you think about today’s occurrences? Whom do you suspect?" Lu Qing asked straightforwardly.

Lu Chao shrugged, "Not you, not me, then it must be someone else."

"I didn’t expect that even within Duke Yan’s steadfast faction, there would be someone daring enough to act against them. The undercurrents below the surface might be far more than we anticipated." Lu Qing spoke meaningfully to Lu Chao, his teasing and humorous tone replaced with a serious and earnest expression: "I know you have no desire to vie for anything, and neither do I, wishing only to conduct myself with integrity.

However, given the current circumstances, chaos is inevitable. By then, it won’t just be a war consuming the land, with displaced people and untold suffering, even our safety isn’t guaranteed.

Ultimately, who will be the snipe, the clam, or the fisherman remains unknown."

Lu Chao paused his chopsticks, slowly placing them on the table, and sighed silently.

Lu Qing’s words had resonated with him. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Lu Qing ignored his silence, continued, "Like today, everyone knows I’ve never gotten along with Duke Yan’s faction. If we hadn’t stepped in to clear Cao Tianbao’s nephew, the mastermind plotting this setup, regardless of whether it was me or not, someone would have pinned the blame on me.

So instead of being passively framed, I might as well step out myself as the fisherman.

The same goes for you now. Today someone ploys against Duke Yan and Lu Zhang and frames me, tomorrow it could be your turn to be the unexpected villain.

You have no choice but to be either the butcher or the meat."