Chapter 436

For example, the slight twitch of the mouth, the rapid blinking of the eyes, and the tight furrowing of the brow, and so on.

He even deliberately paused in thought for a moment, leaving the crowd room to imagine.

Only then did he "reluctantly" open his mouth and agree: "Since it's like this, I can't very well stop Brother Lu. Brother Lu, please go ahead."

Lu Hong and the others, who had been watching Su Qiao's emotions the whole time, did not spot any flaw.

He felt this round was in the bag! Three.

290, Lu Hong's scheme!

So he nodded and told a servant nearby to go in and search.

Just as that person was about to go in, Lu Hong even specially offered a word of advice: "Be careful!"

After saying that, he hurriedly put on a smiling face for Su Qiao: "Lord Su, please bear with me!"

How perfectly that line cushioned things!

Putting himself so low, it was simply too servile.

Don't look at how it is now—wait until the person is found in a moment, and it will completely flip around.

Even if Lu Hong turned hostile on the spot, no one could say he was in the wrong at that point.

Su Qiao, this imperial inspector, would also lose face.

In truth, it was all just a routine trick!

"Patriarch Lu, the way you're acting makes it seem as if I'm some bandit or local tyrant. Since you were always going to be like this, why did I even come? If I'd known it would be like this, I wouldn't have come to the banquet at all. Earlier it was said that I came in a private capacity, yet you insist on putting on this little show. Heh heh…"

This time Su Qiao didn't indulge him, and directly tore it open for everyone to "see" together.

At first, the crowd didn't think much of it.

But tonight Lu Hong's attitude really did seem off.

He had never been so fawning, so bootlicking before!

Why had he suddenly become like this?

Could there be something else going on in between?

But anyone standing here was no fool.

Lu Hong hadn't expected Su Qiao to still remain clear-headed even now, and even to speak up and alert the others.

If Su Qiao hadn't said anything, the crowd wouldn't have noticed.

Now that things had come to this, he found it awkward to keep up his act.

Lu Hong said darkly in his heart: Hmph, truly a tough one to deal with. But in a moment, let's see if you still have that fresh mind of yours!

……

"Found her! Miss Suyun has been found!"

At this moment, the maidservants and servants who had gone into the courtyard to search for Suyun happily shouted out.

Suyun, her clothes somewhat disheveled, was led out.

Swoosh!

Everyone immediately felt the trip hadn't been wasted.

They'd really gotten a juicy piece of gossip!

Originally, they'd figured they were just coming to offer some condolences, to show their face in front of Su Qiao, this imperial inspector, to leave a stronger impression so he'd remember them later.

Who could have known they'd actually get to see this!

"Does Lord Su not intend to give this humble one an explanation?"

Seeing Suyun appear, Lu Hong began to make things difficult.

Although he noticed that Suyun was wearing the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Flying Fish uniform, which was somewhat unexpected.

But the disheveled state of her clothes looked as if she'd thrown them on in a panic.

Mm, this was still within the plan; no slip-ups had occurred.

Hearing this, Su Qiao's voice turned cold: "An explanation? Explain what?"

"Of course it's about Suyun. A lone man and a lone woman alone in one room… Does the Lu family still want its reputation?"

At the end, Lu Hong's voice dropped very low.

Yet everyone present felt it was like a clap of thunder.

Earlier, the others had been standing by listening with the intention of enjoying the gossip.

Now they realized Lu Hong's words were a threat against Su Qiao, a threat against the imperial inspector.

They all regretted it.

If only they'd known, they wouldn't have come. Listening to this gossip, they'd even heard the patriarch of the Lu family threatening the imperial inspector.

This was courting death!

It wouldn't drag them in too, would it?

They were all small fry; please don't let them get implicated.

Earlier, each of them had been craning their necks, eyes bright with curiosity; now each of them was like an ostrich, only wanting to bury themselves in the ground so no one would notice them.

Su Qiao narrowed his eyes slightly and locked gazes with Lu Hong for a while.

Finally, Su Qiao spoke: "Suyun doesn't seem to be a member of the Lu family's main line, does she?"

"She is my sworn sister!"

"I rather like Suyun. Would Patriarch Lu be willing to part with her?"

"That depends on what the betrothal gifts are!"

"The betrothal gifts will be sent afterward!"

……

Lu Hong turned and left with his men.

After Lu Hong departed, Sun Yaoqing, the head of the Sun family, along with the head of the Wang family and others, remained behind, pretending to smooth things over and restore the atmosphere.

The others took their leave one by one.

Su Qiao did not take Suyun with him; instead, he bowed to Sun Youxu and returned to the courtyard.

He said not a word, his mind racing as he pondered Lu Hong's purpose in staging all this.

Just then, Suyun suddenly spoke to Su Qiao: "My lord, just now, the head of the Lu family had a servant deliver a letter to me, instructing me to follow the orders within it."

"Oh?"

Su Qiao paused in surprise, then saw Suyun hand him a letter.

He took it, opened it, and quickly read the contents by the light of a nearby candle.

The letter contained only two orders: first, for Suyun to drug Su Qiao with a sleeping powder and knock him unconscious.

The second order was to create some commotion in the room that would not attract the attention of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Su Qiao stared at the orders, lost in thought.

Why do this? What is the goal of doing this...

Drugging him certainly meant they intended to act against him.

How would they act?

There were many guards of the Embroidered Uniform Guard outside, highly vigilant; it would not be easy for them to make a move.

Since acting from the outside was impossible, it could only be from within.

If from within, unless they could teleport through space, there must be a secret mechanism or hidden passage in this room allowing people to emerge directly from it.

Yet activating such a mechanism would make noise, especially in the silence of the night.

That was why they needed Suyun to create a disturbance.

Once he was drugged and unconscious, he would be smuggled out through the secret passage, replaced by a fake person wearing a skin mask made to look like him.

Even if there were minor flaws, with Suyun by his side, no one would expose the deception.

After all, everyone saw tonight that Su Qiao favored that woman, Suyun.

Suyun was indeed beautiful enough.

Afterwards, Su Qiao himself would be transported away without anyone knowing.

By then, the Lu family and the other families would be safely cleared of any involvement in this matter.

As for the remaining flaws, figures like Suyun and Liu Ru would be too easy to deal with.

Within roughly half an hour, Su Qiao had figured out the entire plan of Lu Hong and the others!

Truly perfect!