"Yes, Your Majesty, our family also thought that this matter would just pass. But unexpectedly, a few days later, someone sent assassins to kill Fu Niu'er!"
Li Lao Er spoke up, startling both the Emperor and Chief Eunuch Yi, who both frowned.
"Death squad?" The Emperor was somewhat incredulous. "Are you sure they're death squads?"
"Your Majesty, that day was my grandson's one-month celebration. Two assassins came. One poisoned the baby and caused chaos, while the other tried to kidnap Fu Niu'er."
"After their failure, they bit their fangs, coughed up black blood, and died. That's when our family guessed they were suicide soldiers. After all, ordinary people aren't that ruthless!"
"Luckily, we were discovered in time, otherwise our whole family would be dead by now!"
Li Lao Er still gritted his teeth in hatred when he recalled the danger of that day, "Your Majesty, we don't know where our family offended anyone, that we were subjected to such a vicious attack."
"We don't know what they want to do with Fu Niu'er, so we can only keep her at home and not let her out."
"But yesterday, Fu Niu'er was naughty. She dressed up as a servant and went to the shop with the boys in the house. As a result, she was attacked by assassins."
"Fortunately, Prince Lu Zong was traveling with us and brought his guards with him. We managed to capture the three assassins. The two men who were responsible for tipping them off, the shop assistant and the manager, were also caught."
"Have you found out who is behind this?" the Emperor urged.
At this point, his curiosity outweighed his anger, and he also wanted to know which family in Xindu was raising assassins.
Li Lao Er hesitated for a moment, but still said, "Everyone confessed that they obeyed... the Wu family of the Jiangning Marquis's Mansion!"
"What? Impossible!"
The emperor's expression immediately changed, and his eyes showed an indescribable shock.
Neither Li Lao Er nor Jia Yin could see anything was wrong.
As a result, it was Chief Steward Yi who stepped forward to cover for the Emperor and whispered to comfort him, "Your Majesty, Lord Li must have some basis for saying this. Please calm down and listen to what Lord Li has to say."
The Emperor regained his senses and said in a deep voice, "My dear minister, please continue. No matter who it is, I will definitely stand up for you."
Li Lao Er suppressed his doubts and quickly said, "Your Majesty, neither I nor my family can believe it."
"Because our Li family has never had any connection or grudge with the Marquis of Jiangning's mansion! Why would the Marquis's mansion target our family, especially this child, Fu Niu'er?"
He took a breath and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. In order to find out the truth about this matter, I sent my family's veterans to inquire around the Marquis's residence."
"It just so happened that Madam Wu's personal maid came out of the mansion, so I had her tied up and questioned her. Finally, I found out what had happened."
"It turns out that Madam Wu heard from an old Taoist priest that my Fu Niu'er is blessed. If the Empress could drink a bowl of Fu Niu'er's heart's blood, she would borrow good fortune and immediately conceive a prince..."
"Nonsense!"
The Emperor could no longer contain himself. He slammed his hand on the table and roared, "Have the Wu family members lost their minds? How could they believe such nonsense?!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Li Lao Er's eyes turned red with hatred. "Anyone who heard this would know it was false, but the Wu family believed it!"
"They repeatedly sent assassins to kill Fu Niu'er, wanting to tear out her heart!"
“Our family doesn’t want to cause the Emperor any trouble. We don’t want him to have to deal with such a troublesome matter in addition to his duties in the court.”
"But Your Majesty, everyone in my family with any ability is serving the country loyally outside."
"I'm the only good-for-nothing left in the family, struggling to support the elderly and children. I'm utterly incapable of protecting Fu Niu'er! I beg Your Majesty to grant justice for our family and save Fu Niu'er's life!"
“My fourth son dotes on his daughter. He’s out in the north, braving the wind and snow to kill barbarians, while his daughter has had her heart and liver ripped out at home. As her older brother, I can’t face this!”
As Li Lao Er spoke, he kowtowed repeatedly, sobbing loudly, which saddened everyone who heard it.
The Emperor was so ashamed that he was utterly embarrassed!
Every single one of the civil and military officials, and all the powerful and influential figures in Xindu, was content with their secluded corner, indulging in a life of pleasure and decadence.
Only the Li family, with titles and fiefdoms, refused to slack off in the slightest.
Those in the family who could fight went to the front to kill the enemy, those who could sail went out to find new seeds, and even the boys were killing Japanese pirates and going on missions to foreign lands!
The remaining elderly, weak, women, and children would painstakingly grow some vegetables and fruits, and happily send them to the palace to give him a change of pace.
This family was so loyal to the country, so diligent and sincere, yet he, as the emperor, didn't reward them much and instead made them suffer such injustice. He truly felt ashamed.
Especially those who bullied the Li family were those good-for-nothings from the Marquis of Jiangning's mansion!
No wonder the Empress fell ill last night. She must have known that her family had plotted against her and that the plan had failed. She was trying to avoid punishment by feigning illness!
For so many years, he only thought his wife was stupid, never expecting that she and her family had hidden themselves so deeply.
Maybe back then...
He grew angrier the more he thought about it, grabbed the teacup and smashed it to pieces, then shouted: "By imperial decree, the Marquis of Jiangning's family has betrayed the Emperor's grace and committed heinous crimes! The entire family is hereby demoted to commoners and imprisoned to await further judgment!"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Chief Steward Yi quickly replied.
The imperial edict was drafted quickly and then placed on the desk. The emperor personally picked up the jade seal and stamped it heavily...
The midday sun in winter cast a warm glow on the palace gates and the city walls on either side.
This was also the guards' favorite moment; they could openly slack off for a while, bask in the sun, rub their frostbitten hands, and stomp their numb feet...
At this moment, a group of people suddenly came out of the palace gate, and the one leading them was none other than Chief Eunuch Yi, who was by the Emperor's side.
All the guards immediately stood up straight, no longer daring to slack off.
Chief Eunuch Yi directed the young eunuchs to deliver everything they were carrying to the Li family's carriage before bowing and saying, "My lord, please take care, Princess. This old servant still has to go to the Jiangning Marquis's residence, so I will have to keep you company for a while."
Li Lao Er quickly returned the greeting with a cupped hand and said with a smile, "Thank you for your trouble, Steward."
After saying that, he hesitated for a moment, and then said in a low voice as if it were a casual remark, "This matter has really caused trouble for His Majesty today!"
"You said Madam Wu was perfectly fine at home, why did she suddenly want to go to Qingcheng Temple on such a cold day? And if she went, how did she end up running into an old immortal?"
"Her Majesty the Empress is also like this. She's unwilling to discuss such important matters with the Emperor. Why isn't anyone around her trying to persuade her? Why is everyone just letting her act more and more recklessly..."
After saying that, he seemed to realize that he had overstepped his bounds, so he quickly stopped talking and gave a dry laugh and bowed.
Manager Yi's eyes flashed, and he made up his mind, but he still smiled and pretended not to understand.
After exchanging a few more casual words, Li Lao Er led the dejected Jia Yin onto the carriage.
The carriage quickly drove away until the palace walls were no longer visible, at which point Jiayin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The same applies to Li Lao Er.
The father and son exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Something's not right!"
Two updates delivered~~
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