Chapter 655: Seeds of Suspicion
Princess Anyue walked into the hall.
The emperor sat on the dragon throne, his face tired. He looked at Princess Anyue with a gentle expression: "What's wrong? Your eyes are red. Did you suffer injustice in the Lu family?"
Princess Anyue was not the emperor's biological sister, and they were not very close, but they were not distant either. During festivals, the emperor would still think of his sister and give her some rewards.
"Royal brother, please save Xuan'er." Princess Anyue knelt down and tearfully recounted the entire story. "Royal brother, Xuan'er taught that servant a lesson because he was angry. I never thought the Wu family would report this to the authorities and sentence him to a year and a half in prison. He's weak, how could he endure such a long sentence?"
"This is all for a servant, not to mention that this servant is not dead yet, but Xuan'er is asked to pay with his life. This is too unfair. Is Xuan'er's life not worth the life of a servant?"
"Xuan'er...Xuan'er has royal blood flowing through his veins after all. Besides, he's already been punished. He was beaten and lashed with twenty sticks by the Wu family's youngest daughter. An Yue wants to plead with the emperor to let the prison sentence go, right?"
Princess An Yue lied with red eyes, but couldn't help but speak ill of Tang Li: "An Yue feels that Madam Wu is not really venting her anger on her behalf, but is taking this opportunity to target the Lu family. I don't know how the Lu family offended the Wu family."
"Madam Wu is the daughter of General Gu, the sister of the Supreme Court Minister, and the wife of the Minister of Justice. Although I am a princess, I am nothing in front of her. How dare I offend her?"
The emperor listened to Princess Anyue's words and suddenly asked, "Was this case judged by the Dali Temple?"
"...It's the Dali Temple Secretary, but doesn't the Dali Temple Secretary have to listen to the Dali Temple Minister?" Princess Anyue said.
"I will send someone to verify this case and see if it complies with the laws of the Great Zhou." said the emperor.
Rather than whether his nephew, whom he had never met, was sentenced to prison, the emperor was more concerned about whether the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple had disregarded the law.
What he hated most was forming cliques for personal gain and bending the law for personal gain.
Especially the Gu and Wu families who are at the peak of their power...
Princess Anyue wanted to speak again, but the emperor stopped her: "Anyue, everything must be done according to the laws of the Great Zhou. No favoritism is allowed. The same applies to the royal family."
An Yue had no choice but to retreat.
The emperor sent someone to verify the matter.
The next day, after the morning court session, the person sent came back to report the matter.
Mr. Lu happened to be here.
The emperor did not ask him to recuse himself and asked the man to report the case in front of him.
The case of Lu Xuan was indeed tried in accordance with the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and there was no favoritism or revenge.
The emperor's expression improved a little and he ordered his men to leave.
Elder Lu knew it was time to express his opinion, so he said, "Under the management of Lord Gu, the Dali Temple has always been fair and strict, with few unjust cases. Lu Xuan...it's all the Lu family's fault for not exercising strict discipline, and he deserves it."
The emperor was very satisfied with Lu Ge Lao's clear-headed attitude.
"That day, An Yue said that Madam Wu relied on many people and she didn't dare to offend her..." The emperor suddenly mentioned something.
Elder Lu's eyes flickered, and he said casually, "As for the Wu family, not only do we not dare to offend them, but many people want to make friends with them."
Lord Lu is a shrewd man, and is the best at guessing the emperor's intentions.
The emperor's biggest fear is someone who is more successful than him.
The Wu family and the Gu family seem to be prosperous, but it is lonely at the top. If they were any higher, they might collapse and be smashed to pieces.
Therefore, the Wu family and the Gu family are not afraid of being stepped on, but are most afraid of being praised.
As soon as the emperor asked, he became a little wary.
The emperor already had the seeds of fear in his heart, and his words just watered the seeds.
He waited for the day when the seeds would break through the soil.
…
Even though Princess Anyue went to beg the emperor, Lu Xuan's sentence remained unchanged.
Princess Anyue had no choice but to spend a lot of money, hoping that her son would have a better life in prison.
Wu family.
When Sanbao told Wangyou that Lu Xuan was sentenced to one and a half years in prison, Wangyou looked surprised.
"Mother went to the Dali Temple to sue Lu Xuan. The Dali Temple ruled that he deserved it!"
"In my opinion, this punishment is still too light. You were injured like this, and he only sentenced you to one and a half years. You should be beaten with a hundred or eighty sticks and imprisoned for five or six years!" Sanbao snorted.
Sanbao has been studying the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty for some time and has discovered how obvious the different classes of people are.
If Wangyou and Lu Xuan's identities were switched, Wangyou was a noble and Lu Xuan was a slave, and Lu Xuan did such a thing to Wangyou, according to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he would be sentenced to death by beheading.
But my mother said that this is the way the times are, and it is difficult for one person to change an era.
Sanbao then realized that there were things in this world that his mother could not do.
Wangyou found it unbelievable that Lu Xuan was actually punished and judged for hurting himself?!
This was something I never dared to think about before.
After all, I am like an ant. Who would be punished for stepping on an ant to death?
This made him realize more clearly that he was a human being.
It was the master and his wife who were protecting him and helping him vent his anger.
Wangyou opened his big black eyes and looked at Sanbao: "Master and Madam are so kind."
At this time, the sun was shining brightly. Wangyou was sitting in the yard. The sunlight fell on his hair, shining brightly. His eyes were wet, and he tilted his head back to look at Sanbao, like a big dog.
Sanbao thought he was very cute and couldn't help but reach out and touch his head.
Sanbao suddenly thought that Wangyou was a man, and it was not nice to touch a man's head like this. Just as she was about to withdraw her hand, she felt Wangyou's head rubbing against her palm, and then he showed an innocent and dependent smile.
So cute.
Time passes.
The yellow autumn leaves are falling all over the ground, and there is a chill in the air. All this indicates that late autumn is coming.
This late autumn, the Wu family had a very important event: the first birthday of their two babies.
Tangbao and Mubao were born in the autumn of last year, and they are already one year old.
This first birthday party must be held well.
The first birthday party was not a grand one, as only some familiar people were invited, but it was held with great care, and all the food was prepared by Tangli himself.
In a blink of an eye, it was the day before the first birthday party.
Ministry of Justice.
Wei Qing called several capable subordinates into the room.
"I'll take a day off tomorrow." Wei Qing said.
"Got it. If there's anything, send someone to report to you at Wu Mansion." The subordinates said with a smile.
"Don't come to me if you don't have anything to say." Wei Qing said.
Their master has always been loyal to his duties, and there is only one thing more important than official duties, and that is his wife.
Looking at the gentle expression of the master, the subordinates immediately understood.
"Sir, you have to accompany your wife. We understand."
"Yeah, my baby daughter and son are celebrating their first birthday tomorrow." Wei Qing said.
"Congratulations, sir."
"Your Excellency is very lucky."
"Sir, please stay at home and accompany the Madam, the young master, and the young lady tomorrow. We will all bear the brunt of the fall." Everyone said happily.
Wei Qing left the Ministry of Justice amid the congratulations of everyone.
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