Her attention had been fully occupied by her two children, and she had been so busy taking care of them and playing with them every day that she had not dwelled too much on the lingering doubt in her heart.
However, Lin Qingyuan’s abnormal behavior and reaction today reminded her once more of her suspicion.
She passed her son to Nanny Wang, then got up abruptly and headed outside.
Shocked, the servants quickly chased after her.
“Your Highness, you haven’t fully recovered yet. You can’t expose yourself to a draught…”
The two nannies raced after her.
Lu Liangwei only stood at the doorway and did not go out.
As her gaze swept over the familiar courtyard and servants, she suddenly felt that she must have been imagining things.
Perhaps she was having the baby blues.
She shook her head, smiling wryly.
Just when she was about to wave away the strange thought in her head, Chu Jiu and Zhu Yu dashed over to her as if they had encountered a formidable enemy.
“Your Highness!”
“Miss!”
Both of them stared at her anxiously.
Lu Liangwei paused. “Why are you both looking at me like that?”
Chu Jiu was the first to collect herself. “You can’t go outdoors before the first month is over. His Majesty ordered me to watch over you. If you come out so suddenly and catch a cold, His Majesty won’t forgive us.”
Zhu Yu hurriedly chimed in, “Yes, it’s an absolute command from His Majesty. Miss, I beg you not to make things difficult for us. Please go back inside, will you?”
Lu Liangwei said resignedly, “He was just scaring you. It’s working, apparently.”
Zhu Yu and everyone else laughed humorlessly.
It was not just an empty threat from the Emperor. If anything were to happen to Miss, all of them would not live to see the next day.
“Please go back inside, Miss. If you catch a cold, it could turn into a chronic illness.” Zhu Yu took her arm to lead her back inside.
“All right, all right. I can walk by myself. Just continue doing whatever you’re supposed to do; you don’t have to watch over me all the time.” Lu Liangwei rolled her eyes.
She felt like some kind of fragile item, being treated like this.
After taking a few steps, she thought of something and scanned her surroundings. “By the way, I haven’t seen Manna all this while. Where is she?”
Manna had always been with Zhu Yu and would usually wait on her too.
However, ever since she woke up, she had yet to spot Manna among all the maidservants who had passed by her.
It was just a casual question.
However, the moment it left her mouth, Zhu Yu dropped to her knees in front of her with a loud thud.
Her face was completely pale. “Miss, it’s all my fault. If I hadn’t…”
“What have you done wrong?” Lu Liangwei looked at her in confusion.
“I was the one who wanted Manna to stay. I didn’t know she was hiding evil intentions… I can’t believe she…”
“She’s a spy sent by Wanyan Jin.” Chu Jiu cut her off promptly.
Zhu Yu froze. Only then did she realize that she had almost committed a huge mistake.
Beads of cold sweat slid down her forehead, and her face was completely drained of color.
Lu Liangwei paused. “Manna’s a spy?”
Chu Jiu nodded. “Yes. While you were in labor, and everyone’s attention was on Grand Phoenix Palace, she snuck into the imperial study and stole His Majesty’s confidential letter. Luckily, she was discovered in time, or else the consequences would have been disastrous.”
Lu Liangwei was taken aback. She had never expected Manna to be a spy.
Seeing Zhu Yu’s pale face, she pulled her up with a sigh. “How could I blame you? Nobody wanted this to happen. Besides, didn’t Jiu say that she was discovered in time and failed to steal the letter?”
Zhu Yu clenched her fists, unable to bring herself to meet her gaze.
“It’s all right. I don’t blame you; no need to feel so guilty.” Lu Liangwei comforted her before heading back indoors.
