Chapter 248 Provocation!
The Fourth Prince stared at Xiao Yan intently: "Does Mother really know?"
Xiao Yan frowned: "Do you doubt me?"
After meeting the Fourth Prince, Tang Ning vaguely knew what her brother was going to show her today. She said, "Brother, there's no need to lie to His Highness. A month ago, the Empress gave me a phoenix hairpin and helped me with the Lu family's affairs. She has also taken good care of me over the years. I begged you not to spread this matter for now."
"Prince Cheng had an affair with a woman from the Lu family and exchanged my aunt's child. My brother told the Queen about this so that she could quickly find a way to distance herself from the Lu family. Otherwise, if this matter were to become known, the Lu family's reputation would be ruined, and the Queen's reputation would also be implicated. Even Your Highness..."
She frowned slightly, her face full of confusion: "But why didn't the Queen tell His Highness?"
Seeing that his little girl had made the Fourth Prince's face even paler with just a few words, Xiao Yan's suspicion in his eyes turned into anger. He raised the corners of his eyes slightly, a hint of a subtle smile flashed across his face, and then he looked at the Fourth Prince.
"I was trying to repay a favor by deceiving Your Majesty and secretly alerting the Queen, allowing you to escape early. But who could have known..." Xiao Yan feigned displeasure. "The Lu family has offended many people, and I simply couldn't suppress the news. Today, someone with inside information brought the news to the palace, saying that Your Highness had visited the Lu family yesterday. Your Majesty was furious."
The Fourth Prince stood there with an extremely ugly look on his face. His mother had never mentioned this matter to him.
After the Lu family got into trouble, he wanted to cut off contact with the Lu family, but his mother said that the Lu family had more than that, and that his grandfather Lu Chongyuan had always been resourceful, and he might still have a way to turn things around, so he should not rush to draw a clear line with the Lu family.
He followed his mother's wishes and interacted with the Lu family as usual, but he did not interfere with his uncle Lu Zhao's imprisonment and the grain tax case. But who knew that the Lu family had such a huge scandal? He had just entered the palace the day before, and even saw his mother talk to her about the Lu family, but his mother did not tell him a single word.
Why did the Queen Mother hide it from him?
Why didn't she cut ties with the Lu family as soon as possible and not mention it to him at all, allowing him to now anger his father?!
Xiao Yan watched the change in the Fourth Prince's expression, frowned, and said, "You, the Fourth Prince, should be well aware of His Majesty's temper. The Empress is truly foolish this time. If it weren't for the fact that she once protected Tang Ning, I would definitely not intercede for you before His Majesty."
Hope flashed in the Fourth Prince's eyes: "Superintendent Xiao pleaded for me and my mother?"
Xiao Yan's face turned grim. "I've already said that Tang Ning owes the Queen a favor. The Lu family's affairs have nothing to do with you. His Majesty is furious because he thinks you knew about it and are covering up for Prince Cheng and the Lu family. I've told His Majesty that Your Highness is definitely not that kind of person, and the Queen will not tolerate such a shameless woman from the Lu family."
"Then the Emperor..." The Fourth Prince asked hopefully, "What did the Emperor say?"
"Your Majesty naturally doesn't believe it. Your Highness has Lu family blood in his veins, and Your Majesty always feels that Your Highness will be partial to the Lu family. I persuaded Your Majesty in every possible way, and finally made Your Majesty temporarily trust the Fourth Prince. However, Your Majesty proposed to hand over the matter of Prince Cheng and the Lu family to the Fourth Prince for investigation."
The Fourth Prince was stunned: "Let me check?"
Xiao Yan's expression turned cold: "Why, Your Highness doesn't want to?"
His brows suddenly darkened, as if he was showing impatience. "This Governor has tried his best to intercede for you. It is not easy to ask His Majesty to consider the father-son relationship and give you the opportunity to personally investigate the Lu family. If Your Highness is unwilling, then this Governor will report to His Majesty..."
"No!" The Fourth Prince said hurriedly, "It's not that I don't want to, but I've never been involved in Prince Cheng's case, and I was completely unaware of his affair with the Lu family. Now that the matter has been handed to me, I really don't know where to start."
Seeing that he wasn't unwilling, Xiao Yan's expression relaxed a little. "Since she's a member of the Lu family and can act as a liaison between Prince Cheng and the Ministry of War, she must be someone of high status within the Lu family. Your Highness frequently visits the Lu family, so he should know more about their talents than I do."
"I can allow you to meet with Prince Cheng and ask him a few questions. As for the Lu family, it will be up to Your Highness to handle it yourself."
Seeing the Fourth Prince's hesitation, Xiao Yan said, "Your Highness should know how much His Majesty hates the Lu family. It's already difficult for him to hand this matter over to Your Highness for investigation. If it weren't for the lingering affection between father and son, this case would have been exposed to everyone in the court by now."
"It's not that I can't investigate this matter. I can just bring the Black Armored Guards to search the Lu family and interrogate the women. It wouldn't be difficult to find the woman who had an affair with Prince Cheng. However, the reputation of His Highness and the Queen would be ruined, and some people in the court wouldn't miss the opportunity to take advantage of their misfortune."
Tang Ning watched the Fourth Prince's changing expression and helped administer the strong medicine: "Just now outside, I saw the Second Prince and His Highness clashing. The people the Second Prince protected also seemed to have mentioned His Highness's situation in the court."
"Although I don't understand the affairs of the court, I also know that the emperor's mind is unpredictable. Your Highness may have the blood of the Lu family flowing in your veins, but you are also the grandson of the emperor's son."
"If you don't want a future and are content with a life of mediocrity, then you can naturally ignore this matter and let my brother take over the investigation. But if Your Highness still wants a future, do you want to lose His Majesty's favor by relying on a family destined to be disgraced?"
Her voice was slow and soft, yet it pierced the Fourth Prince's heart.
The Fourth Prince naturally understood what she meant. If the Lu family was at its peak, he would certainly not care about other things. With the support of the aristocratic families, even if his father did not like it, he would have to consider the hidden dangers of the aristocratic families if he wanted to establish a crown prince. But now the Lu family is far weaker than before, and there are rifts within the aristocratic families and they are "torn apart". If he wants the throne and wants to become the crown prince, he must not lose his father's heart.
His father taught him to do this, obviously wanting to test whether he had any selfish motives towards the Lu family.
If he could do a good job and find out who was colluding with Prince Cheng, his father would certainly be very happy, and he would also be able to earn a reputation for being fair and selfless.
But the Lu family...
The Fourth Prince hesitated. That was his maternal family. If he personally investigated the matter and brought disgrace to the Lu family, there would be no room for reconciliation between him and the Lu family.
He would also completely lose the support of the Lu family, and he did not trust Xiao Yan.
Seeing that he was hesitant, Xiao Yan said directly, "No matter what your Highness chooses, I have brought you your Majesty's words. Please consider it for yourself."
"Lord Xiao..."
The Fourth Prince originally wanted to say a few more words to Xiao Yan, taking advantage of the rare opportunity when Xiao Yan took the initiative to "show goodwill" to see if he could win him over. Unfortunately, after that layer of warm skin was shed.
Governor Xiao became as unapproachable as before, and unceremoniously served tea to "send the guest away".
"This Governor and Tang Ning have an appointment here, so we won't be seeing the Fourth Prince off."
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