Chapter 115 Want to make me your successor?
Two days after the incident in the palace, Qin Xiaoning finally met Lu Ji.

Even though such a big thing happened, he was calm. If she hadn't known about the troubles in the palace in advance, she wouldn't have noticed anything wrong with Lu Ji.

"Have you found a way to deal with the matter of Concubine Shu in the palace?" Qin Xiaoning knew Lu Ji's methods, but such a disaster still made people feel uneasy.

Lu Ji was eating. Hearing this, he looked at the frowning little woman opposite him and asked, "Are you scared?"

Of course she was afraid. Not only she was afraid, but everyone in the mansion was in a panic.

"If the charges against Concubine Shu are proven, it will be a crime that will lead to the extermination of the entire family." Qin Xiaoning was worried: "Do you have any way to deal with it?"

Lu Ji put down the jade chopsticks, thought for a moment, and replied: "The disaster came suddenly, involving the royal backyard, who can control it?" Then he sighed slightly: "Let it go."

Qin Xiaoning saw that he didn't seem to be joking, and her voice changed in anxiety: "Are you giving up so easily? You are the prince of the mansion, and everyone is counting on you."

Lu Ji looked at her and asked, "Do you regret it?"

Qin Xiaoning didn't understand what he meant and looked suspicious. He continued, "You regret following me. If you don't follow me, you are not considered a member of the Lu family. Even if our family is in great trouble, it will not involve you. Just take the money and run away."

Qin Xiaoning was so angry at his words that her eyes widened with anger: "Is that how you look at me? Do you think I'm a heartless, selfish person?"

do not you?

Lu Ji didn't say it out loud, but looked at her with suspicion.

"That's not who I am."

Qin Xiaoning was very dissatisfied with Lu Ji's look at her. She raised her eyes and rolled her eyes at him fiercely, saying to herself: "Even if I didn't follow you, I was raised by the Lu family. The Lu family has been very kind to me. If the mansion is in trouble, I will naturally not do such an unkind and unjust thing."

Lu Ji was amused and glanced at her: "She is a woman of affection and righteousness."

Then, he darkened his face and said, "Then you must be prepared. If our family really can't get over this, and the whole family is held accountable, you have to accompany me into exile."

"Just go." She said, "I'm not afraid."

Lu Ji looked at her leisurely and said, "The places of exile are very miserable. They are either filled with smoke and miasma or extremely cold. The food and clothes are not good, and you have to do hard labor every day."

As he spoke, he snorted at the little woman, questioning her in his tone, "You are so squeamish. You wanted to be a deserter when I asked you to accompany me to Hexi. If I am exiled, can you bear the hardship with me?"

Seeing him bringing up the past again, Qin Xiaoning was so angry that she put down her chopsticks and retorted, "How can this be compared? When you went to Hexi, I was still young." She gradually lowered her voice, with a shy look on her face, "Besides, although she followed you at that time, it was just a nominal status in the end, and she couldn't be completely considered yours."

Lu Jiwen raised his hand and pulled him over, holding him on his lap, and said with a smile: "So, you didn't want to accompany me at the beginning because you blamed me for not favoring you in time after I married you?"

That's not what I meant.

Qin Xiaoning glared at him and said, "Don't talk nonsense out of context."

The man held her, and his big hands began to get naughty. The little woman struggled to get out of his arms and slid out, saying to him angrily, "It's already this late, and everyone in the mansion is waiting for you to make a decision, but you're still here thinking about this."

Lu Ji smiled evilly: "I haven't been home for two or three days, don't you miss me?"

"You are so serious!" Qin Xiaoning rolled her eyes at him, picked up the jade chopsticks and stuffed them into his hand, and said to him in a commanding tone: "Eat quickly, and eat your fill so that you can think of a solution quickly."

He looked frivolous and asked, "Why are you thinking of retreating?"

"Think of a way to help Concubine Shu escape punishment and save the whole family." She rolled her eyes at him again, "You are the head of the family, don't you have any sense of responsibility?"

Lu Ji took a bite of food and chewed it slowly. He looked at the little woman in front of him with curved eyebrows and a teasing tone: "Little thing, you have really grown up. You love to worry, and you have the demeanor of a mistress of the house." Qin Xiaoning glanced at him: "Why? Do you want to make me your wife?"

“It’s not impossible.”

Lu Ji raised his eyebrows: "But it also depends on your future performance. If you can make this prince completely satisfied, it is not impossible to give you this opportunity."

She snorted in response: "I might not be interested in it."

He smiled: "Why? You like being my mistress?" Then he smiled again: "Yes, being a mistress is easier to be favored."

The two were just talking here when Desheng's voice came from outside the door: "My Lord, it's time to go."

Qin Xiaoning asked hurriedly: "Are you going out tonight?"

Lu Ji took the towel and cleaned his hands, with a lazy look on his face: "Aren't you forcing me to think about evacuating? Even if I stay at home, I can still have peace."

It's already this time and you're still talking nonsense to her.

Desheng was waiting outside, and Qin Xiaoning didn't have time to argue with him. She quickly took his coat and helped him put it on.

Looking at the little woman busy around him, Lu Ji's face was full of satisfaction.

"Don't worry, it's okay, just stay at home, eat when you need to, and sleep when you need to."

Finally said something serious.

Qin Xiaoning knew that he had a way to deal with such a crisis.

He is a capable man.

She helped him tie his belt and whispered to him, "Pay attention to safety."

He nodded in agreement, and when she saw him about to leave, she couldn't help but chase him and ask, "Are you full?"

During the meal just now, he kept bickering with her and didn't eat much.

As she spoke, the little woman put a few snacks on the table and stuffed them into his coat pocket. Lu Ji raised his hand and rubbed her little head, smiling: "It's okay, don't worry."

"I'll wait for you to come back," she said.

Lu Ji nodded and walked out. Qin Xiaoning stood at the door and stared at him until the tall figure gradually disappeared from her sight. Then she looked away.

The mansion has been gloomy lately, and the maids in Qingsong Garden haven't smiled for several days. Today, the prince came back with a normal expression, and everyone felt reassured.

"A Ning, tomorrow is the winter solstice, can the prince come back?"

The Winter Solstice was a big day in the Zhou Dynasty. The royal family would offer sacrifices to the heavens and ancestors on this day in order to pray for the prosperity of the country. The rich and powerful and even the common people would also have reunion dinners on this day.

Qin Xiaoning looked back at Song Zhi and said, "It's hard to say. The situation this year is special and the mansion can't hold this event. Let's keep a low profile and just ask the kitchen to make some sweet dumplings as a token of our appreciation."

She had no mood to celebrate the festival, she just hoped that Lu Ji could survive this disaster and that the family would be safe and sound.

(End of this chapter)