Chapter 593 Consort Zhao's Choice
"Don't you recognize me?"
Emperor Xiaozhao scoffed, "You don't know him? You think you can make Lu Ming listen to him? You don't know him? Would you and Lu Ming cooperate with him?"
"Without him orchestrating this coup, could you and the Crown Prince have done it on your own?"
Consort Zhao's smile froze. Suppressing her unease, she feigned composure and said, "I don't know what His Majesty is talking about. Nor do I know what this matter has to do with the Sixth Prince Consort."
"I instigated the Crown Prince to do this. I orchestrated the entire treason! It has nothing to do with anyone else."
"You orchestrated this?" Emperor Xiaozhao smiled. "Zhao Yan, oh no, I should call you Lu Yan."
Do you think I'll believe you if you say that?
Consort Zhao looked at Emperor Xiaozhao in astonishment, "You know my true identity? When did you find out?"
Emperor Xiaozhao calmly said, "From the moment you entered the palace, I knew you were Lu Shanglin's youngest daughter."
“And Lu Ming is your nephew.”
Consort Zhao asked incredulously, "You knew from the very beginning?"
"Then why did you keep me here?" Consort Zhao asked, her eyes filled with confusion.
Emperor Xiaozhao sighed, "Because I feel guilty towards Lu Shanglin."
Consort Zhao smiled sarcastically, "His Majesty actually feels guilty towards my father?"
"It was the Emperor who promoted him and elevated him to a high position. But in the end, it was also the Emperor who brought him down to earth and caused him to die in depression!"
"When he forced my father to retire from his official post, the Emperor felt no remorse. When he watched my father die of depression, the Emperor felt no remorse. When my Lu family declined and fell into ruin, the Emperor felt no remorse."
"At this moment, His Majesty actually tells me that he feels guilty?"
"Heh, do you think I'd believe that?"
Emperor Xiaozhao didn't pay attention to the sarcasm in Consort Zhao's tone, and simply said, "Whether you believe it or not, the matter of the Marquis of Xuanping's mansion and your father's matter were a scheme orchestrated by Min Ji from the very beginning."
"A scheme to allow him to fake his death, escape, and infiltrate Xixi."
"Your father was just one part of the process that led to this faked death."
"Originally, I planned to wait until Min Ji faked his death and went to Xixi, and then find an excuse to summon your father back to the capital and reinstate him."
"Unfortunately, your father was too proud and couldn't bear the disappointment and slander after falling from a high place. Before Min Ji could fake his death and escape, he tormented himself to death."
Consort Zhao was filled with grief and indignation, and tears welled up in her eyes.
But soon, she wiped away her tears and said with a smile, "Is Your Majesty telling me all this to say that my father's death was all a scheme by Min Ji?"
"Your Majesty, don't waste your energy. I'll say it again: I don't know who Min Ji is, nor do I know where he is now."
Emperor Xiaozhao's face darkened, anger flashed in his eyes, and his tone became stern: "Treason is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family."
"Since you are so stubborn, then let the entire Lu family be buried with you."
After saying that, he turned and left.
All of Consort Zhao's composure and calmness turned to dust at this moment.
"etc!"
She stood up hastily and reached out her hand to the departing Emperor Xiaozhao. "Your Majesty, don't go! I'll tell you everything I know! I only beg Your Majesty to spare the innocent people of the Lu family!"
Emperor Xiaozhao stopped and turned around, looking down at Consort Zhao with disdain. "Don't lie to me. I won't give you a second chance to speak."
Consort Zhao nodded repeatedly, "I'll tell you everything!"
“I do know Min Ji. He contacted me shortly after my father passed away.”
"After that, the Lu family split up and declined. I went to the capital to find Grand Secretary Zhao, and then entered the palace... We did everything according to Min Ji's instructions."
Emperor Xiaozhao asked in confusion, "Shouldn't you hate Min Ji the most after Lu Shanglin's death? Why are you still listening to him?"
Consort Zhao smiled bitterly: "At the beginning, the people we hated the most were indeed him and the Marquis of Xuanping's mansion."
"But after I learned about Min Ji's story, I stopped hating him."
"He is just like our Lu family, an ant under imperial power, struggling only to survive!"
"He's even more pathetic than us!"
"Because we both hate the imperial power and despise you, we quickly joined forces."
Emperor Xiaozhao asked with a solemn expression, "What do you intend to do by joining forces?"
Consort Zhao smiled. "What else can I do? Of course, I'll repay you!"
“I seduced the Crown Prince and alienated him from you. I also secretly trained the Crown Prince to become the kind of person you despise, as instructed by Min Ji.”
"Hahaha, the heir of the Great Yan is ungrateful and immoral, murdered his wife, and unfilial to his parents... Isn't that interesting?"
"Did Your Majesty feel even the slightest bit of pain?"
Emperor Xiaozhao suppressed the urge to snap her neck and slapped her to the ground. "I always thought you were gentle, considerate, understanding, and knew how to behave properly. Since you had no son, I didn't guard against your close relationship with the Crown Prince."
"So this is how you corrupted my son?"
"Hahaha, isn't it His Majesty's doing that I don't have a son?"
Consort Zhao looked at Emperor Xiaozhao with a mocking expression, "If Jingyue hadn't been so resilient, I'm afraid she wouldn't have survived, would she?"
"Hehe, but even if she were born, she would be a princess who was weak and sickly and not favored by the emperor."
"I am a favored concubine, but my daughter has been disliked by the Emperor since birth. Haha, how ridiculous it is to say!"
"Everyone else thought that His Majesty disliked Jingyue's weak and sickly health, but only I know that His Majesty never intended for me to bear any children from the very beginning."
Emperor Xiaozhao looked at Consort Zhao with a gloomy expression. "Lu Shanglin is dead, but his daughter has infiltrated my side under a false identity. Isn't it only natural for me to be wary of her?"
"Your Majesty, do you know?"
Consort Zhao slowly got up from the ground, dusted off non-existent dust from her body, straightened her clothes, and then looked at Emperor Xiaozhao with a smile, saying slowly, "You are really hypocritical!"
"You say you feel guilty towards my father, so you allow me to stay in the palace. But at the same time, you are wary of me and forbid me from bearing the imperial heir."
"You express your regret for my father's death, but at the same time you blame it all on Min Ji."
"You come to see me now and talk so much nonsense, reminiscing about the past and revealing the truth, just to get the whereabouts of Min Ji out of me, right?"
Emperor Xiaozhao could no longer suppress his murderous intent.
At this moment, the way he looked at Consort Zhao was as if he were looking at a dead person.
Consort Zhao said firmly, "As long as you promise me to let Lu Ming go, allow him to marry Jing Yue, and guarantee him a peaceful and prosperous life, I'll tell you!"
"What if I don't agree?" Emperor Xiaozhao's tone was icy, devoid of any warmth.
Consort Zhao said resolutely, "Then I will die with this secret."
"Aren't you afraid I'll wipe out the entire Lu family?"
Consort Zhao's words were laced with sarcasm, "Heh, if I told you, would His Majesty spare the innocent people of the Lu family?"
"No." Emperor Xiaozhao's answer was cold and resolute.
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