Chapter 161 Contract
Dingyuan Hou narrowed his cloudy eyes and asked, "Are you serious?"

"Of course." Ye Wanqing replied.

Marquis Dingyuan stared at her closely, as if trying to determine how credible her words were.

Dusk is approaching.

Dingyuan Hou finally spoke: "If you want to accomplish great things, you must pay a great price. Princess, please state your conditions first."

"I don't ask for much." Ye Wanqing said slowly: "First, please swear to keep this matter a secret. Second, no matter whether you or Lu Jilian is the head of the family, the Lu family will never touch Prince Dun's Mansion and Chu Anlan. Third, do your best to protect more innocent people."

Protect innocent people?
Marquis Dingyuan's eyes changed slightly.

My heart is boiling with anger.

He tightened his grip on the cane a little: "Okay, I promise, Princess."

"A verbal promise is not valid." Ye Wanqing said calmly, "I want the Marquis to sign a document and put his fingerprints on it."

Dingyuan Hou's old eyes widened a little: "How can the princess guarantee that she will not use this thing to defeat me?"

"Is there anything on the Marquis that is worth coveting by me?" Ye Wanqing asked back.

Dingyuan Hou turned around and ordered the attendant standing in the distance: "Bring the pen, ink, paper, inkstone and ink pad."

Upon hearing this, the servant trotted away.

Before night fell, the servant hurried over with writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone, placed a lamp in the middle of the stone table, and quietly retreated to a distance.

Ye Wanqing picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, carefully wrote down the terms on the paper, and copied it twice.

After writing, she handed the pen to Ding Yuanhou: "Please."

Marquis Dingyuan looked at her with his cloudy eyes, wrote his name at the end and pressed his fingerprints on it.

Afterwards, Ye Wanqing also wrote her name neatly and pressed her fingerprints.

She handed one of the contracts to Marquis Dingyuan: "Your Majesty and I will each keep one copy. I will send the other copy to Rongguang Temple for safekeeping. Next, I will tell you what I know, and after returning to the capital, I will also give you evidence one by one. Please swear to heaven and earth to abide by the agreement."

Dingyuan Hou put down his cane and headed back toward the lake: "Lu Qifeng swears here today that if he violates his promise to the princess, he will be struck by lightning and die a miserable death."

"If the Marquis breaks his oath, the Lu family's century-long glory will come to an end, and the Lu family will turn against each other and fall apart." Ye Wanqing added.

"You..." Marquis Dingyuan's eyes darkened a little, but he gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, if I break my oath, the Lu family will turn against each other and ruin the family business."

Ye Wanqing put away the contract that belonged to her.

Dingyuan Hou stood up slowly and sat on the stone bench: "This is the first time I have knelt down and sworn an oath in my life. What the princess wants to say had better be something of great importance."

Ye Wanqing concentrated her expression and lowered her voice: "Someone in Prince Duan's Mansion has been plotting for years, intending to rebel. Recently, they are even more restless. With such a good opportunity in front of us, with Lu Jilian's ability, he will definitely handle this matter beautifully. However, the prerequisite is to save Chu Xiaoyan and Liao Fuyu, and remove those who have nothing to do with this matter, such as Chu Shaozhen, Chu Shengxi, the Lu family..."

The word "treason" struck Marquis Dingyuan's heart so hard that he was unable to react for a long time.

No wonder Ye Wanqing asked him to swear on the Lu family, which he cared about most.

In the darkness of the night, Dingyuan Hou's cloudy eyes reflected the candlelight: "This involves treason, which is a serious matter. We must be extremely cautious."

"My Lord, do you regret this?" Ye Wanqing held the contract in her hand.

Dingyuan Hou lowered his old and slightly hoarse voice: "I have signed a contract with the princess and sworn an oath to heaven and earth, so I will not regret it. However, this matter needs to be considered carefully."

Ye Wanqing supported herself on the stone table and tried to stand up: "If that's the case, then there's nothing more to talk about."

"Wait a minute." Marquis Dingyuan looked up at her and said, "I am willing to be used as a pawn by the princess. Won't the princess give me some time?"

"I'm not using Lord Marquis and Lord Lu as pawns." Ye Wanqing replied, "I just think Lord Lu is more capable of handling this matter than I am. What I want to do is to protect those innocent people. Even without Lord Marquis and Lord Lu, I can still accomplish this matter, but it will be slower and more troublesome."

After a while, Marquis Dingyuan said slowly: "Tomorrow, give me the evidence of Prince Duan's rebellion. I also promise the princess that I will not let Ji Lian interfere with the princess and Chu Anlan again."

"In that case, thank you very much, My Lord." Ye Wanqing stood up.

In the darkness of the night, Marquis Dingyuan looked up at her and said, "After returning to the capital, I will immediately arrange a marriage for Ji Lian. I wonder if the princess has any noble women to recommend?"

what?
Marquis Dingyuan actually asked her to recommend a noblewoman for Lu Jilian to marry?
Ye Wanqing turned around and said, "My Lord is such a funny person. I dare to recommend someone, but do you dare to arrange it for Lord Lu? My Lord, you might as well guess, if Lord Lu knew that my Lord asked me to recommend a noblewoman for him to marry, would he be more disappointed with me or me?"

Dingyuan Hou coughed dryly and said with a straight face: "What I said just now was just to test the princess. The princess is indeed a very smart woman. So, I feel relieved."

Ye Wanqing smiled faintly, and said politely and distantly: "It's getting late, I should go back, please do as you please, Lord."

Dingyuan Hou nodded and said, "Princess, please take care."

Ye Wanqing bent down and picked up the little pomegranate that was sleeping at her feet after playing tired, and left in the night.

The next evening, Ye Wanqing came to the lake again and handed some of the evidence he had collected to Marquis Dingyuan: "Please keep your word, Marquis. Later, more evidence will be delivered to you."

Marquis Dingyuan flipped through the booklet. The light of the lake was reflected in his turbid eyes, which were a cold and excited green, just like a hungry wolf seeing its prey.

He put the book close to his body and said, "Don't worry, Princess."

Ye Wanqing nodded.

For several days in a row, the two avoided everyone and plotted secretly.

……

After Chu Anlan had been recuperating in the palace for ten days, the imperial physician heaved a sigh of relief after examining him, and said with a smile, "The prince has recovered very well, and you can return to the capital to recuperate on a certain day."

Prince Dun, leaning on a cane and lifting his lame leg, asked, "You've been traveling so hard, the wound won't be disturbed, will it?"

"Don't worry, Your Majesty." The doctor said, "Your Highness is young and has a strong body recovery ability. The wound has begun to scab over. As long as you don't do strenuous activities, the wound will not split open."

Prince Duan heaved a sigh of relief and tapped his son's good leg with his cane: "You must keep the doctor's words in mind. Do you hear me?"

Chu Anlan said absentmindedly: "I heard it."

The imperial physician smiled and said, "The prince will be getting married in a month. He really needs to take good care of himself before the wedding. Otherwise, I'm afraid his wedding night will be delayed."

"What?" Chu Anlan sat up suddenly.

As he moved, he took a breath of cold air, and it was unclear whether it was because of the pain or something else, but his jade-like face turned red.

Prince Dun's heart almost jumped out of his chest with fear: "What are you doing?! Did you ignore the words of the imperial physician?"

Chu Anlan lay back with a grin on his face: "I... am fine..."

Prince Dun was so angry that he hit him on the head with his cane again: "Just lie still, or I'll break your legs!"

"Okay, go ahead and knock." Chu Anlan said, "But if mother wants to break your other leg later, I won't stand on your side."

"You are really my good son." Prince Dun gritted his teeth.

"Oh, good father."

For several days in a row, the father and son were bickering.

On May 16, the group was finally able to return to Beijing.