However, Lu Xunche even said things like ‘this won’t do,’ and ‘if this continues, Yan Luo will give up on him sooner or later,’ to Jun Yulin.
Which successfully made Jun Yulin’s face go dark.
He did want to lock the little emperor up so no one else could see her, but then he remembered how she had liked him for so long, and how he’d talked about choosing consorts for her, and then thought of Lu Xunche…
And then there were the matters regarding their family, some of which Yan Luo now knew.
In the end, Jun Yulin drove both Lu Xunche and An Bai away with a gloomy face, forcibly suppressing the violent emotions that were about to overflow from his heart, and went back to his previous routine in a disciplined manner.
Attending court, discussing politics, dining with the little emperor, watching the little emperor take her afternoon nap (secretly), strolling with the little emperor through the palace to ease her mind, reviewing memorials together, and watching the little emperor sleep (secretly).
He was clearly following that brat Lu Xunche’s advice to appear more often by the little emperor’s side, letting Yan Luo feel his concern.
But why wouldn’t his little emperor explain a single thing to him about what happened before??
He was furious, aggrieved, and knew it was the mess he had made in the past, so his face got even darker.
And originally Yan Luo was already very afraid of Jun Yulin due to what she knew about his background. Now this person was following her around every day with that dark expression, saying nothing, just coldly staring at her intently. His ‘blackening value’ fluctuated occasionally but stayed more or less the same.
Looking at this Jun Yulin, Yan Luo became even more cowardly.
But things finally changed when Lu Yan forcibly shoved a young gentleman into Yan Luo’s bedchamber, and was promptly thrown out by her.
The longer Yan Luo stayed here, the more she could sense the strangeness in Lu Yan’s behavior.
Lu Yan didn’t truly like her daughter. She appeared very concerned, as she paid attention to every detail of Yan Luo clothing, food, and daily needs. However, there was no warmth in her eyes. It felt like she was just mechanically fulfilling what a mother was supposed to do.
And whether it was Lu Xunche or those noble families’ sons who remained in the palace, they all had deep connections with the Lu family. But Yan Luo later discovered that Lu Yan’s summoning of Lu Xunche or retaining those young nobles was all at the behest of the Lu family head. She simply followed orders.
Lu Yan often looked at Yan Luo with a very complicated expression. Her true thoughts were impossible to read.
Feeling something was off, Yan Luo frowned and waited for Lin Yuan to bring people in to replace the bedding that still held traces of the previous man’s scent. Then they helped her change into a comfortable satin nightgown. Lin Yuan left a candle that almost burned out as usual, then led the attendants out.
Leaning against the bed, Yan Luo still couldn’t figure out what had really happened in this dimension.
She had investigated in secret. The Jun family, over a hundred people, had indeed been killed back then. And as for the death of the previous emperor, it seemed that multiple factions had made a move, but it had been so long that most of the evidence was now impossible to find.
There was also the inexplicably strange Jun Yulin, and Lu Xunche, who seemed to always cause more harm than help. Feeling frustrated, Yan Luo scratched her head and couldn’t help but ask Little Pink:
“Scam Pink, you messed up again this time, didn’t you?”
[Uh…] Little Pink, vaguely aware something was off too, paused slightly before replying cautiously, [Dear Host, you know… because of your abilities, I can’t fully control the difficulty level. I’ve already transmitted all the information I was able to access to you. As for the deeper truth… that’s something only you, Dear Host, can discover for yourself…]