Chapter 351 Involving the Crown Prince

The main courtyard of the Lu family was in chaos. Jiang Chengye's attendant ran out of the Lu family compound. When he reached the entrance of the alley, he stopped and looked at the two roads on the left and right. One led to the Duke of Chu's mansion, and the other led to the Dali Temple.

The servant hesitated for a moment, then strode towards the Duke of Chu's residence. He figured his master would be alright at the Lu family's place, so he returned to the residence to report the news, which put his mind at ease.

He ran with all his might until he reached the Duke of Chu's mansion, nearly collapsing from exhaustion. The gatekeeper, seeing him in such a state, was terrified and quickly helped him inside. Upon meeting the steward, Li Zhong, the attendant recounted in detail what had happened at the Lu family's residence.

Li Zhong frowned deeply upon hearing this. He had guessed that the Prime Minister would use the Lu family to cause trouble, but he hadn't expected that the Prime Minister would directly kill Lu Peichen, who was an official of the imperial court!

However, he was a man who had weathered many storms, and after a moment of surprise, he made a decision. He instructed someone to file a complaint with the Dali Temple, while he himself went to the Zhongshu Sheng government office to report to Jiang Yu.

...

First, let's talk about the Dali Temple. The guards at the gate were on tenterhooks when they saw the people from the Duke of Chu's mansion. Their master was feigning illness because he didn't want to hear Lou Qingyao's case. What were the people from the Duke of Chu's mansion doing here? Were they here to urge their master to hear the case?

If that's the case, their master's "illness" must be cured, no matter what. Otherwise, what if the Duke of Chu mentions to the Emperor that his master has missed official duties due to illness, and the Emperor decides to make his master rest for an extended period?

Despite their thoughts, the yamen runners still greeted the people from the Duke of Chu's mansion with smiles. However, upon hearing the purpose of their visit, the two runners were so shocked they nearly knelt down. A fifth-rank official of the imperial court had been angered to death by the cousin of the Earl of Qingshan.

This case sounds very strange.

But this wasn't something these two lowly yamen runners should worry about. All they could do was hurry and inform the sick adult in the family; this year was truly a troublesome one!

Two constables rode at breakneck speed to the residence of Tong Taichuan, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. Upon seeing him, they recounted the events. Tong Taichuan was stunned for a moment before speaking, "You mean, the Duke of Chu's mansion reported that your cousin, the Earl of Qingshan, angered Lu Peichen, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, to death?"

It wasn't that Tong Taichuan hadn't heard the yamen runner's report clearly, but rather that he couldn't believe that in just one day, the struggle between the Duke of Chu and the Prime Minister had resulted in the death of a fifth-rank official, and he wanted to confirm it again.

Upon seeing the two constables nod, Tong Taichuan, who was not sick at all, felt dizzy and collapsed onto the bed.

"My lord." Two constables rushed forward to help him up, but Tong Taichuan waved his hand and said, "You go back first and tell the people from the Duke of Chu's mansion that I will be there soon."

He couldn't pretend to be sick any longer. With such a serious incident, if he continued to be ill, the Emperor would definitely appoint someone to replace him. Even if he was genuinely feeling unwell, he had to push through the case.

........

Meanwhile, the steward Li Zhong also rushed to the Zhongshu Province office. After meeting Jiang Yu, he recounted the whole story in detail. After listening, Jiang Yu was silent for a moment and then asked, "Is it true that the master did not say a word after meeting Lu Peichen?"

"Yes, that's what the servant said." Li Zhong reported truthfully, "The servant also said that after the master met Ren Guanfei and Xiang Xinping, he decided to bring the two of them along on a whim."

"Hmm, he was quite clever this time." Jiang Yu said, standing up. "Let's go to the Lu family to pick up the master and take him home."

As she walked out, Li Zhong silently breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she didn't seem anxious. His heart had been in his throat the whole time. Although on the surface Lu Peichen's death had nothing to do with Jiang Chengye, once he understood the whole story, he would know that Ren Guanfei had been used by Jiang Chengye.

Moreover, Lu Peichen was a fifth-rank official in the imperial court. If his death were to be linked to Jiang Chengye, things would become complicated.

Jiang Yu sat in the carriage, ordered the driver to speed up, and leaned against the carriage wall, pondering what to do next. She knew without a doubt that the Prime Minister wanted to pin Lu Peichen's death on her father, thus implicating him in murder, which would allow them to negotiate.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yu sneered. The Prime Minister never expected that Jiang Chengye, whom he had schemed against so many times, would actually use his brain this time. Not only did he not fall into his trap, but he also turned the tables on him. Ren Guanfei was the cousin of the Earl of Qingshan, and the Prime Minister and the Earl of Qingshan were in cahoots.

However, it's quite possible that the Prime Minister won't leave any clues regarding Lu Peichen's death. Otherwise, this could be used to cause the Prime Minister an even bigger disaster.

However, with Ren Guanfei as a scapegoat, the Crown Prince could be brought down. This way, the newly appointed Crown Prince could finally have some peace and quiet.

"Lord Duke, we have arrived at the Lu residence."

The steward's voice came from outside. Jiang Yu lifted the curtain, stepped onto the stool, and got off the carriage. Just as she stood still, she saw Tong Taichuan, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, get off another carriage.

Their eyes met, and Tong Taichuan quickly came over and bowed, "This humble official greets the Duke of Chu."

"Lord Tong, please don't stand on ceremony," Jiang Yu asked him with concern. "I heard you weren't feeling well before, are you feeling better now?"

"Ah...almost...almost done." Tong Taichuan's face showed a moment of embarrassment, but he quickly regained his composure and asked Jiang Yu, "What brings the Duke of Chu here?"

“I heard that my father met my cousin, Uncle Qingshan, when he went out today. My father was invited to come to the Lu family with him, but who knew that something unexpected would happen.” Jiang Yu said with a worried look on his face. “Fortunately, Lord Lu’s death has nothing to do with my father.”

Tong Taichuan: "Hehehe..."

He could only manage a forced laugh; everyone knew the real situation.

Jiang Yu naturally didn't care what he thought; her goal was to remove Jiang Chengye from the picture and then drag the Crown Prince into it. She stepped inside, saying, "Lord Tong, let's go in and take a look."

"The Duke of Chu requests permission."

Tong Taichuan gestured for them to enter and followed Jiang Yu inside. Once inside, they found the Lu family in complete chaos; the maids and servants all looked panicked, and not a single one offered to guide them.

However, the main hall was easy to find, and soon the group arrived outside the Lu family's main hall. They could hear weeping in the distance, and then someone finally came to lead the way.

Jiang Yu and Tong Taichuan entered the hall. The Lu family members, who were crying, stopped and looked at them cautiously. Jiang Chengye, as if seeing a savior, walked up to Jiang Yu and said, "Yu'er, you've finally come."

"Father," Jiang Yu bowed to him, then said, "I heard you were invited to the Lu residence and something happened, so I came to check on you. This has nothing to do with you, does it?"

“It has nothing to do with me, it has absolutely nothing to do with me,” Jiang Chengye said immediately.