Chapter 508: Chapter 475: A Pleasant Partnership (2nd Update)

After leaving the tea house, Su Yu remained distracted, even upon arriving at the Duke Mansion, her mind was still wandering.

“Miss, did Sixth Miss say something to you?” Amber asked her.

“It’s nothing, you may go.” Now that there were more spies from her legitimate mother in the courtyard, Su Yu dared not utter a word about the previous conversation at the tea house. Observing everyone was busy, she took the excuse to go to Aunt Qiu.

Aunt Qiu knew well that Su Yu wouldn’t seek her out without reason, so she deliberately stood up to close the door, but when she turned back, she saw that Su Yu’s face had turned pale.

She sat down, poured a cup of hot tea for Su Yu, and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Su Yu stared blankly for a long time before she finally said, “I just went to see someone.”

“Who?”

“Su Dai.”

Aunt Qiu signaled her to continue.

Su Yu said, “She wants me to give her the Duke Mansion’s defense map, saying if I hand it over, she will overlook the past incident of framing Third Aunt, or else she will expose my deceit on Little Four using the self-inflicted wound stratagem.”

Aunt Qiu’s emotions didn’t fluctuate much, she only asked, “What did you say?”

Su Yu said troubled, “She has threatened me, I want to survive, so of course, I have to agree, but mother, the Duke Mansion is so big, with both open and covert defenses, how can I draw it for her?”

Aunt Qiu did not respond.

Su Dai’s demand for the defense map clearly indicated she was fully prepared to act against the Duke Mansion. She had been at the Su Family for years; despite going out at night to scout numerous times, she still couldn’t fully map all the guards and Hidden Guards’ distribution, especially at the main courtyard and ancestral shrine which had too strict defense that often changed, making it impossible for her to approach.

Su Yu was right, the Duke Mansion is too big, with numerous visible guards, let alone the unseen Hidden Guards; a slight misstep could easily result in a disaster.

Su Dai’s plot was not just to kill one person, she aimed to make the entire Su family pay for her birth mother’s burial.

Regardless of whether this originally pure-hearted young girl had her mind twisted by hatred, her plan was not something that could be accomplished alone, there surely must be support from Lu Pingzhou behind it.

The Lu family’s second son, Lu Xingzhou is skilled in military tactics, Lu Pingzhou excels in planning.

With Lu Pingzhou involved, the chances of success would likely be much higher.

It seems it’s time to cooperate with this Lu family lord.

“Mother, do you have a copy of the Duke Mansion’s defense map?”

Su Yu’s voice brought Aunt Qiu back to reality.

Shaking her head, Aunt Qiu said, “Not at the moment.”

“Then if we can’t draw it, why don’t we steal it?”

“Don’t waste your effort, the Duke doesn’t have a defense map in hand.”

“How could it not exist?” Su Yu said incredulously.

Aunt Qiu said, “The defense of the entire mansion is managed by Eldest Young Master Su Hongqi alone, his memory is extraordinary, to prevent the map from leaking out, he memorizes it all in his head. If you want the map, you have to capture the Eldest Young Master and force him to draw it manually.”

Su Yu was taken aback.

Having never dealt with these matters before, she always thought the Duke Mansion was just that, given Duke Su’s shamelessness as the head of the family, improper family discipline was normal, being the subject of gossip was not a new thing.

As she touched upon higher level matters, Su Yu suddenly realized she had always underestimated Duke Su, his shamelessness stemmed from having power, otherwise, who would dare to stand at the Song family’s gate and curse?

He equally feared neither public criticism nor the Emperor’s anger, his behavior was arrogant and reckless, even more than when he was Prime Minister.

“Mother, what should we do?” Su Yu was worried as she had already agreed to Su Dai’s request.

Aunt Qiu asked, “Did she mention when she wants it?”

“She didn’t say, but one can assume the sooner the better.”

Aunt Qiu shook her head, “Other matters could be rushed, but this one cannot be hurried.”

She knew hypnosis, but not everyone could be hypnotized. For someone like Su Yu, who woke up one day to find herself sold to a brothel by her birth mother, her mental breakdown and dissipated will made it easy for Aunt Qiu to succeed.

But Eldest Young Master Su Hongqi was different; he was Duke Su’s most trusted son, serious and resilient in nature. Hypnotizing him would fail nine out of ten times, and the remaining one time would be mere luck.

Aunt Qiu had tried before, but even when Su Hongqi was drunk, she couldn’t hypnotize him into drawing the defense map, which showed how rigorous Duke Su’s training of him had been, almost like the complete opposite of Su Yaoqi.

Su Hongqi was extremely vigilant, and Aunt Qiu wouldn’t risk another hypnosis attempt on him. To obtain the defense map, it still needed to be drawn manually.

Although the timing required a negotiation with the Lu family.

…

Keenly aware of Lu Pingzhou’s schedule, Aunt Qiu took the opportunity to leave the mansion, disguised and stopped his horse halfway, where they met.

Knowing Lu Pingzhou didn’t like the Empress Dowager, Aunt Qiu didn’t reveal who she was, only saying she was a concubine from the Su family, who wanted revenge on Duke Su for various reasons and was willing to collaborate with him.

Lu Pingzhou smiled slightly, “Just you?”

His eyes reflected more disdain.

This Lord of the Lu family had spent decades feigning illness and playing the pig to eat the tiger, with brilliant strategic skills, his schemes had a very high success rate, and if he wasn’t confident, he would certainly not take risky steps; hence he didn’t actually need any helpers.

Aunt Qiu knew he was a formidable figure, dared not underestimate him, nor was angered, “Let me guess, once you get the defense map, what you’ll do next is identify the defense loopholes and seize an opportunity; the simplest method is to set fire to the Duke Mansion. However, the mansion is huge, occupying an entire street, and is very close to the Fire Prevention Tower. If a fire occurs, the Fire Prevention Team can arrive immediately, making it impossible to burn the entire mansion down quickly.

Since arson isn’t possible, hiring assassins to massacre the Su family is even less feasible, given the Lord’s people are not amateurs; with so many Bright Guards and Hidden Guards, even the best assassins would encounter setbacks. Since neither murder nor arson is plausible, there is only one path left.”

Aunt Qiu paused for a moment here.

Lu Pingzhou, surprised at her meticulous analysis, looked sideways, “What path?”

Aunt Qiu smiled, “I once lived in the Western Regions, and know something called Thunder Shock; for a small sized one, three could level the Duke Mansion instantly. A large one would suffice alone, but it might affect neighboring residences, resulting in heavy casualties. Whether large or small, you need someone to plant the explosives, so you need the defense map, not just to understand the mansion’s distribution of Hidden Guards, but also to find the best places to plant the explosives. Suppose I tell you I know, would you consider collaboration with me?”

Thunder Shock is a banned item, only used by the military in extreme situations due to its immense damage possibility; Lu Pingzhou possessed it through his own research, and no one else knew.

He was utterly surprised when his intentions were guessed so thoroughly by the woman in front of him, knowing her understanding was astonishingly sharp, anyone observing could swear she knew him better than his own close aides.

Such a perceptive and intelligent woman could hardly be an overlooked concubine in the Duke Mansion’s back courtyard. Furthermore, she had spent time in the Western Regions.

“Who exactly are you?”

Lu Pingzhou asked his inner question.

Aunt Qiu curled her lips in a smile, “Since it’s a trade, let’s adhere to trading rules, cooperate as needed without probing into each other’s depths.”

Lu Pingzhou chuckled, “Interesting.”

Aunt Qiu’s smile deepened, “Well then, I wish us a pleasant collaboration in advance.”

…

Knowing Aunt Qiu had gone out, Su Yu waited anxiously in the courtyard for updates. Upon hearing she had returned, she hurried to inquire about the outcome.

Aunt Qiu glanced around, closed the door, and returned to whisper to her, “We’ve successfully negotiated with the Lu family; the defense map needs to be accurate, so there’s some leeway in the timeline.”

Su Yu looked at her with a mix of awe and fear, “Even connecting with the Lu family lord, mother you’re incredible!”

Aunt Qiu replied perfunctorily, “Perhaps it’s the result of my years of keeping a low profile.”

Indeed, keeping a low profile over the years had minimized her presence, so her actions rarely aroused suspicion; every time the Duke saw her crying face, he felt like giving her a slap, and avoided her instantly, let alone would he suspect her for anything.

This fact offered her significant convenience.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep