As for who would lead the operation of stopping the coup, no decision had been made at that moment.
Grand Phoenix Palace.
When it was time for lunch, Lu Liangwei walked idly around the palace doors, waiting for Long Yang to arrive for the meal.
Soon, Long Yang came. There was a young man around twenty following behind him.
Lu Liangwei was astonished when she saw the young man’s face.
His face looked a little familiar and when he came closer, she was sure that she had seen that face before.
The young man noticed Lu Liangwei scrutinizing him and gave her a warm smile. “Your Highness.”
Lu Liangwei blinked. “You are…”
Long Yang blocked her from looking at him, but his words were directed at the young man. “Shouldn’t you be greeting your aunt?”
The man smiled and gave Lu Liangwei a formal fist and palm salute. “Greetings to you, Royal Aunt. I’m Long Xuan.”
Lu Liangwei looked curiously at Long Yang. “Who is he? Why is he calling me ‘Aunt’?”
“He’s our nephew, of course.” A small smile appeared on Long Yang’s lips. He paused and explained. “He is actually Long Chi’s older brother. He’s the eldest son of Crown Prince Jianzhang, albeit from a secondary wife. Crown Prince Jianzhang was once saved by a village woman when he encountered danger outside the Palace. Both of them developed feelings for each other and the village woman gave birth to his son. However, Crown Prince Jianzhang had not been aware of this. Long Chi’s mother, who was the late Crown Princess, knew of their existence and attempted to have them assassinated, but I saved them.”
Lu Liangwei was a little astonished when she heard the story. She gave a start and quickly gave Long Yang an odd look.
It was not very nice to be saying such things in front of Long Xuan, was it?
Long Yang was not bothered by this. “This rascal has thick skin. This won’t bother him at all.”
Long Xuan said exasperatedly, “Royal Uncle, how could you say this about your nephew? To be honest, I’m not as thick-skinned as you think. It’s quite embarrassing for me to be introduced to Royal Aunt this way.”
Long Yang smiled at Lu Liangwei. “Did you hear that? This rascal is a sweet-talker. Don’t be fooled by his honest-looking face.”
Lu Liangwei looked at Long Xuan, who did not really have that honest a face, and her lips twitched.
His Majesty was pretty good at lying through his teeth.
Long Xuan had bright and flirtatious eyes. He did not look like an honest and straightforward man at all.
However, it was rare to see His Majesty chat with someone in such a relaxed manner.
It looked like he was quite fond of Long Xuan.
This surprised her quite a bit.
She had not expected Crown Prince Jianzhang to have another son aside from Long Chi.
No wonder she had found his face familiar. Besides the pair of flirtatious eyes, the outline of Long Xuan’s jaw did look quite similar to Long Chi’s.
However, they had completely different personalities.
Long Chi was quite somber while Long Xuan had a bright personality.
Long Xuan winked at her when she looked over at him. He said innocently, “Don’t listen to Royal Uncle’s nonsense, Royal Aunt. This nephew of yours is an honest and straightforward person.”
Lu Liangwei burst out laughing.
It was one thing to be greeted as ‘Royal Aunt’ by someone a few years older than she was, but when he acknowledged himself as her nephew so earnestly, it did make her slightly awkward.
“Lunch is ready. Come in and enjoy the meal.” Lu Liangwei stopped laughing and invited the men in.
“Thank you for the trouble,” Long Xuan said with a smile.
Long Yang darted a look at him. “Wipe off that cheeky grin.”
Long Xuan immediately stopped smiling and put on a stoic expression.
Lu Liangwei smirked and shook her head.
During lunch, Lu Liangwei found out that Long Chi had started a military coup at Xuyang and he had already taken over a few cities.
Long Yang was planning to send Long Xuan to Xuyang to take care of this.
“Royal Uncle, the time has come to send out the soldier you had trained for so long. You have helped me and my mother so much, and have given me so much care and nurturing. It’s time for me to repay you,” Long Xuan said earnestly and with great sincerity.
