Chapter 656: Chapter 655: Fishing for a Big Catch

Listening to her words, Lu Qing’s expression also became slightly more grave.

Although from previous discoveries, they also realized that over the years, the other party has repeatedly made adjustments, gaining experience from the unlucky King Fan, and reduced the toxicity of the spices used on the nobles of Jin Country to very low to ensure that the effects wouldn’t be too obvious, thus arousing suspicion and prematurely exposing the plan.

But, as the saying goes, accumulation of earth becomes a mountain, accumulation of water becomes a deep pool; the quick and direct effects on this rabbit will one day become the accumulated outcome for those nobles of Jin Country.

When that time comes, perhaps no one will be able to reverse the situation.

Lu Qing glanced at the lively rabbit and said to Mu Hong, "Let’s observe for another two days. If this rabbit remains normal, then follow that recipe and prepare as much as you can.

We’ll take some with us before departing, and leave the rest to my people, who will handle it properly."

Mu Hong quickly responded, after these few days of interaction, he went from fearing Lu Qing and the others as strangers to gradually developing a subtle trust, it felt wonderful to be alive again, no longer hiding in the dark.

Not to mention that since he was caught by them, he no longer suffered the uncertainty of hunger.

Who could refuse such a reassuring feeling of being able to sleep peacefully at night without hunger?

Zhu Yu actually noticed Mu Hong’s change as well, each time she saw his expression like a drowning man finally grasping a life-saving log, her mind became quite complex.

As a famous fragrance family originally from Lan Country, both Mu Hong and the entire Mu Family Manor should have had a stable and peaceful life, everything ought to have been smooth.

Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but sigh inwardly again; there are always those extremely selfish and ambitious persons who, due to their personal desires, drag countless innocent people into a fire. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

It’s truly detestable.

So, they stayed here for a few more days, and after confirming that the rabbit wearing the antidote was unaffected, Mu Hong was diligent without being urged, and soon prepared enough sachets for the four of them.

"You’d better keep these sachets well until needed, otherwise if the effect disperses, that would be unfortunate." He reminded Lu Qing and Zhu Yu, who were ready to set off, with some concern.

Zhu Yu felt his reminder was quite reliable and asked Fu Lu to take a small wooden box from the bag to carefully store the sachets inside.

Lu Qing called the little mustache person aside, instructing him that when providing raw materials to Mu Hong and delivering the finished sachets to Mr. Mo, he must ensure discretion and safety in his actions.

The little mustache man, being a diligent person, solemnly agreed.

The four of them arranged everything here before setting off again.

This time, they took a completely different route from before.

The four initially traveled hurriedly until they reached a relatively bustling county, where they stayed for a short rest.

Lu Qing asked Fu Wen to buy a small cart and several wooden boxes of various sizes.

He himself took Zhu Yu to a cloth shop to buy a few pieces of brightly colored silk to wrap the boxes.

With this elaborate packaging, even if one had no idea what’s inside the boxes, the appearance itself already looked ostentatious.

Not only were the boxes wrapped luxuriously, but he also bought some fine clothes for the four of them to change into before continuing the journey.

The earlier journey, whether on foot or horseback, was quite tiring for Zhu Yu, with wind, rain, and sun unavoidable.

Now sitting in the cart, although it was the most spacious one they could buy, still seemed narrow and coarse compared to the one they rode around the Capital belonging to Prince Xiaoyao’s mansion. Yet this was the most comfortable travel she had experienced in recent times.

Seated on the cushion that Lu Qing had specially instructed Fu Wen to add, Zhu Yu’s gaze shifted from the various lavishly wrapped boxes to Lu Qing’s face.

"What kind of ’fish’ are we preparing to ’catch’?" Zhu Yu raised her eyebrows at Lu Qing.

"Big fish." Lu Qing smiled calmly, picked up a teapot to pour Zhu Yu a cup of tea, "Let me tell you about something from the past that you might not know.

The current Prince Lan originally had four sons.

The eldest was exceptionally intelligent by the age of ten, studying articles with a teacher at home and having a master to teach him horseback riding and archery, showcasing talents in both arts and martial skills, starting to show his sharpness at a young age.

Thus, Prince Lan was particularly fond and affectionate towards him, and once he turned ten, he promptly petitioned the Holy Emperor, seeking to establish him as the Princely Heir.

Eventually, the court bestowed upon him the gold scroll and treasure, solidifying Prince Lan’s eldest son as the Princely Heir.

Despite subsequent turbulence within the court and the ruling of a new wise emperor, there was no objection to the previously granted gold scroll by the current Holy Emperor."

Zhu Yu listened silently, without interrupting, already forming a hypothesis in her mind—that the talented Princely Heir must have encountered some misfortune later; otherwise, Lan Country might be different today.

Sure enough, Lu Qing continued, "Besides that exceptionally intelligent Princely Heir, Prince Lan had three other sons. Although not as well-rounded in arts and martial skills as their elder brother, they were all steady personalities, friendly brotherhood ensured harmonious inner mansion.

However, over a decade ago, a series of major incidents occurred in Prince Lan Mansion, all four sons died unexpected deaths, whether sooner or later, earlier or later.

The second son drowned while supervising dam construction for Prince Lan.

The third son went out on a rainy night and was struck by lightning.

The fourth son died of an illness at less than ten years old.

And the Princely Heir, most favored and nurtured by Prince Lan, died while hunting, falling off the horse and getting trampled to death by the frightened horse."

Zhu Yu thought something must have been amiss, but didn’t expect not only the Princely Heir was involved, even the others, including the youngest less than ten years old, weren’t spared.

"Are there any other children in Prince Lan’s family?" she attempted to ask.

"There are several daughters, all safe and sound, but later married far away, leaving the mansion." Lu Qing lifted the curtain to look outside, "Before the Princely Heir’s incident, he was already married. When the accident occurred, Lan King’s legitimate grandson was about five or six years old.

After the Princely Heir’s incident, the Heir’s Consort immediately left Prince Lan Mansion with the legitimate grandson, planning to stay with her parents temporarily, especially after such consecutive incidents in the mansion.

However, halfway, they encountered mountain bandits, the Heir’s Consort died under the chaos of knives, and Lan King’s legitimate grandson was kidnapped, his fate remains unknown to this day."