AUBTN -Chapter 276 Surveillance

Lu Yan’s eyes widened in anger, as if he had suffered a great insult.

“You’re simply twisting facts!”

“The rules of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the laws of Great Wei—how can they be tainted by such obscene and vulgar words!”

Shen Jue sneered, his gaze full of contempt.

“This is my place, not your Northern Administration Office.”

“If Lord Lu can’t stand the smoke and fire of this mortal world, then please turn left at the door. Don’t see yourself out.”

“Shen Jue!” Lu Yan’s rage flared as he suddenly gripped the hilt of his blade.

“Afraid of you?” Shen Jue snapped his folding fan open sideways, killing intent instantly surging.

Su Hewan and Yu Qing on the side were completely stunned.

Just moments ago, these two high-ranking court officials had been calculating and unfathomable—how did they suddenly start bickering like elementary school kids?

Yu Qing leaned toward Su Hewan’s ear and whispered fearlessly,

“Wanwan… why do I feel like they’re secretly jealous of each other?”

Su Hewan’s mouth twitched violently as she grabbed Yu Qing.

“I think, for the sake of our lives, you’d better shut up right now!”

“Enough! The two of you are old enough to be their fathers combined—why are you still acting like toddlers fighting over toys!”

Su Hewan finally couldn’t take it anymore and stepped firmly between them, forcibly interrupting the childish argument between Shen Jue and Lu Yan.

“Peace! Peace!”

Hiding behind Su Hewan, Yu Qing poked her head out and stuck her tongue out at Lu Yan.

“Hmph, I won’t argue with you today for the sake of business.”

He coldly tossed out a sentence, then turned and walked to the table, picking up a cup of cold tea and drinking it in one gulp.

Shen Jue, meanwhile, slowly closed his folding fan.

He lowered his gaze slightly, a faint indulgent smile flashing in his eyes.

“By now, Xia Dong should have already met Zhou Wenhai.”

Su Hewan’s expression turned serious, her tone returning to calm and clarity.

The night wind rose, and dark clouds swallowed the last trace of moonlight.

Compared to the liveliness inside the secret chamber, the Zhou residence at this moment was suffocatingly tense.

“What did you say? The Empress needs the Nine-Leaf Blood Lotus?”

Zhou Wenhai suddenly stood up from his grand teacher’s chair.

Xia Dong, kneeling below, trembled all over.

“R… reporting to my lord, the young lady said… said that Miss Su brought Imperial Physician Li to take her pulse, and also inspected the residue of the prenatal medicine…”

Xia Dong exaggerated the events in the palace, yet still followed Su Hewan’s arranged logic and recounted everything step by step.

“The young lady’s fetal energy was already… already unstable. If the Nine-Leaf Blood Lotus is not used to forcibly sustain that last breath, the truth of the fake pregnancy will be exposed immediately!”

“You useless trash! A bunch of incompetent failures!”

Zhou Wenhai kicked over the brazier in front of him. Burning charcoal scattered across the floor, sending sparks flying everywhere.

His once-false, gentle face was now twisted with ferocity.

“I spent so much money, pulled so many strings, and carefully built this heaven-defying fake pregnancy scheme!”

“And now you’re telling me it might collapse because of a few little girls checking medicine residue?!”

“My lord, please calm down! The young lady was also out of options. Shen Jue and Lu Yan are like two wolves that smell blood—they are refusing to let go of the Phoenix Palace!”

Zhou Wenhai’s eyes flashed with a sinister light.

He paced back and forth in the study, agitation evident in every step.

Years of political maneuvering had given him an unusually sharp sense of danger.

“Something’s not right…”

He muttered to himself.

“Why would Shen Jue and that executioner Lu Yan suddenly care so much about the Empress’s pregnancy medicine?”

“And how did Su Hewan suddenly gain such overwhelming ability?”

Zhou Wenhai stopped abruptly and turned to stare at Xia Dong.

Could this… be a trap?

He gritted his teeth and said:

“No, that’s not it. They know I have the Nine-Leaf Blood Lotus. They’re forcing me to hand it over!”

Xia Dong raised her head, her face full of fear.

“Then… then Master, what should we do? The young lady is still waiting in the palace!”

Zhou Wenhai fell into a long silence.

If he handed it over, he would be personally delivering a handle straight into the hands of the Eastern Depot and the Jinyiwei. Once the medicinal properties were found to be wrong, it would be considered a crime of deceiving the emperor!

If he didn’t hand it over, the Empress’s fake pregnancy would be exposed by tomorrow.

Everything the Zhou family had planned for years would collapse in an instant, and it could even bring about the extermination of their entire household!

It was a dead end!

Zhou Wenhai’s expression shifted repeatedly, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Finally, he clenched his teeth hard.

“To enter the tiger’s den is the only way to catch the tiger!”

As long as the Empress could successfully “give birth” to that “child” in a legitimate way, he would become the future imperial father-in-law.

Even the Empress Dowager would have to look at his face!

He walked to the multi-treasure cabinet and turned a hidden mechanism.

A secret door split open in the wall.

Zhou Wenhai took out a wooden box from the hidden compartment.

He turned and handed it to his most trusted steward, Zhou Fu.

“Fu Bo, take a few death warriors personally and deliver this Nine-Leaf Blood Lotus to the palace overnight. Give it to the Empress!”

Zhou Fu accepted the box with both hands, his expression solemn.

“Master, rest assured. Even if this old servant has to give up his life, I will deliver it!”

Zhou Wenhai narrowed his eyes, his gaze cold and sinister.

“Remember, take the secret route. Avoid the Eastern Depot and the Jinyiwei’s surveillance. If anyone blocks you—kill without mercy!”

“Yes!”

Zhou Fu obeyed and quickly left the study with Xia Dong.

But what he didn’t know was that above their heads, on the black glazed tiles of the roof, two figures were lying in wait, blending perfectly into the night.

Raindrops fell quietly.

A Jinyiwei undercover agent hung upside down beneath the eaves, rapidly recording everything with a charcoal brush on waterproof paper smeared with animal fat.

“Damn it, this old fox almost slipped away from us.”

Another agent spat in a low voice.

“Enough talk. Write down every word Zhou Wenhai said!”

“This is the ironclad evidence the Commander specifically wants!”

After finishing the record, the two exchanged a subtle hand signal.

Like an unnoticed night breeze, they vanished into the darkness, heading straight for the imperial capital.

Half an hour later.

Inside the secret chamber.

Lu Yan held the secret report just delivered by carrier pigeon. The hard line of his lips finally curved slightly.

He casually slapped the report onto the table.

“Zhou Wenhai has already handed the Nine-Leaf Blood Lotus to his trusted aide Zhou Fu, who is now delivering it to Chaofeng Palace overnight.”

Yu Qing spun around excitedly.

“Perfect! That old fox still couldn’t bear to give up his nearly-won throne—he’s walked right into our trap!”

In her mind, she was cheering wildly.

【Wanwan is basically a living female strategist! This chain of schemes is executed so cleanly!】

Hearing this inner voice, Lu Yan looked at Su Hewan with a hint of admiration in his eyes.

Su Hewan picked up the report and scanned it quickly. Her beautiful face showed no trace of pride—only growing calm.

“This is the weakness of human nature.”

She put the report down.

“Zhou Wenhai is too greedy. He thinks he can control everything. But he forgets—when his desire exceeds his ability, that is the beginning of his own destruction.”