Chapter 399 Long term plan
"Why do you always bring up that boring woman?" Lu Ji interrupted Qin Xiaoning's topic and changed the subject: "I still want to settle accounts with you."

Glancing at his young wife's confused look, the man leered at her and asked, "Let me ask you, why were you so unwilling to give me face when I met Brother Gu today?"

"How dare you scold me in public." The man gritted his teeth, his tone containing three parts of ferocity and seven parts of grievance.

When this was mentioned, Qin Xiaoning rolled her eyes at him and said, "If you hadn't given me no face in public, why would I have scolded you?"

As she spoke, she raised her hand and pinched the man's ear, causing him to grimace in pain. The little woman scolded him, "Remember this, don't act like a fool in public, or I'll show you how I'll deal with you."

Lu Ji took her hand away, then covered his ears, tilted his head and glared at the little woman: "How could you be so cruel!"

The little woman rolled her eyes at him, then snorted and turned her head away.

After a while, Lu Ji came closer again, put his face close to her temples, and said in a slow tone: "Okay, okay, it was indeed my fault first, but didn't you also scold me in front of outsiders? Let's make it even, okay?"

Seeing that the little woman ignored him, Lu Ji stretched out his arms and hugged her: "Are you really angry with me?"

Qin Xiaoning turned around and replied, "Anyway, we have agreed to respect and love each other and treat each other equally. From now on, if you don't respect me anymore, I won't give you face."

The little woman had a wooden face and looked very serious.

Lu Ji nodded hurriedly and said, "I know. I suddenly met my old friend today and I was confused for a moment."

"Good Ning, don't blame me." He coaxed her.

How could Qin Xiaoning not know his temper?

This man has always been unruly, and it would take time to tame him, so she smiled at him and said, "I know you love me in your heart, but you just got carried away today."

It's because he was too proud of himself, but it's also because of his machismo. He always wants to show off his power in front of outsiders.

Qin Xiaoning said this, and Lu Ji nodded and replied: "I did something wrong."

He admitted his mistake to her, like a wild horse that was docile under the caress of its owner, with no temper and unusual docility.

Qin Xiaoning held his handsome face, and he slowly closed his eyes, waiting for her to kiss him. The little woman did as she was rewarding him, but it was just a light kiss. The man then opened his eyes, and a hint of dissatisfaction and grievance appeared in his deep eyes.

He held her hand and was about to say something sweet, but she changed the subject first: "Mrs. Zhang said she would invite us to her house some other day."

He didn't know if it was because of the wine he drank at the palace banquet and the warmth of the carriage that made him drunk or what, but Lu Ji felt a little dizzy. It took him a while to realize who the 'Mrs. Zhang' that Qin Xiaoning was referring to was.

"I saw Zhang talking to you enthusiastically at the palace banquet. Didn't she mention Brother Gu's cousin?" Lu Ji asked.

Qin Xiaoning asked back: "Are you talking about Sun Mengli?"

Seeing Lu Ji nod, Qin Xiaoning said, "You can't even remember the surname of Marquis Gu's wife, but it's rare that you still remember Sun Mengli."

Lu Ji smiled and said, "It's different."

Glancing at the little woman's eyes that seemed to understand, Lu Ji explained, "When the Gu family was in trouble, the daughter-in-law they had chosen was originally the daughter of the Sun family. Unfortunately, when the old lady of the Gu family saw that the Gu family had become prosperous, she looked down on the Sun family. It was the daughter of the Sun family who was loyal to Brother Gu and was willing to condescend to be Brother Gu's concubine. In my heart, I always felt that the daughter of the Sun family deserved the position of the main wife."

Qin Xiaoning always felt a little guilty when she heard this.

She simply kept silent, just squinting her eyes and pretending to sleep against the wall of the car. Lu Ji talked to himself for a long time, but his wife never said a word: "Why are you silent?"

Qin Xiaoning replied vaguely: "Maybe I've been busy today, I'm a little sleepy now."

Lu Ji looked at her, smacked his lips, and then he understood.

She was full of energy just now when someone found her fault, but now that her weakness has been touched upon, she pretended to be stupid and fell asleep.

He is so cunning and sly, even more sly than a little fox.

Looking at his wife pretending to sleep seriously, Lu Ji couldn't help but laugh.

"Even if you want to sleep, just lean on me." Faced with her cunningness, the man was always magnanimous and tolerant. Seeing that she was leaning against the wall of the car shyly and refused to come over, he raised his hand and held her in his arms.

The little woman nestled in his arms, still squinting her eyes and pretending to be asleep. He did not expose her, but just hugged her and let her lean on his warm arms.

Perhaps it was because the man's arms were too comfortable, Qin Xiaoning was pretending to doze off, but after a while, she really fell asleep.

She had no idea until they arrived at the mansion and Lu Ji carried her back to Qingsong Garden.

Lu Ji tucked his little wife into the fluffy quilt. Looking at her peacefully sleeping face, he moved closer and wanted to kiss her, but he held back in the end.

She was sleeping so soundly that he was afraid he would wake her.

Lu Ji half-knelt beside the bed, staring at the sleeping woman with curved eyebrows for a long time, then he stood up, left the room, and went straight to the study.

Several confidants were already waiting in the study. When they saw Lu Ji, they went straight to the point.

"Your Highness, Chen Xiuyuan appears to be on good terms with you, but he is secretly collecting evidence of your rebellion. Not only Chen Xiuyuan, but also the Zhao clan members headed by Prince Xian, all want to bring you down."

Lu Ji smiled faintly when he heard this and asked, "How many people are involved?"

The Minister of Personnel Sun Qi replied: "According to what I know, there are about thirty court officials involved. Most of them are students of Chen Xiuyuan, and a few are relatives of the Zhao family."

Without waiting for Lu Ji to reply, Huo Lang, the commander of the Patrol City Division, said, "Your Highness, these people are obviously instigated by the emperor. What are we waiting for? Why don't we take the initiative and rebel now?"

Lu Ji smiled and said, "It's not the right time yet."

"Your Highness, I know you are thinking about the Queen Mother and the Empress, but you have to think about it. If you fall, and the Lu family falls, what will be the way out for the Queen Mother and the Empress?"

Lu Ji nodded upon hearing this: "Of course I know all this."

"It's just that it's not the right time yet."

As he said this, he instructed Sun Qi and several trusted officials, "Pretend that you don't know what Chen Xiuyuan and others are doing behind the scenes, and don't alert them."

It was sunny and windy during the day, but without knowing when, it started snowing outside. The snowflakes fell down, making rustling sounds.

The man stood up and walked to the window. He looked up at the bottomless night sky and said calmly, "We need to think about this matter carefully."