Chapter 268 Let Tang Ning be the concubine of the Fourth Prince
Xiao Yan's palms suddenly tightened, and Jinzhi beside him was also shocked.
Even Empress Lu, when she brought up the matter again, felt that Emperor An, who looked so weak at the time, was so cruel.
It wasn't just one or two people, it was nearly ten thousand people, and they were all burned to death, leaving no one alive.
Queen Lu swallowed, suppressed the palpitations she had felt when she first learned about this, and continued talking to Xiao Yan.
"After the Rong River fire, in order to destroy all traces of the fire, Lu Chongyuan ordered his men to break the water valve upstream of the Rong River. The flood poured into the city, completely washing away all traces of the fire."
"This blood letter was left by the Rongjiang County Magistrate before his death. It details all the evil deeds of Lu Chongyuan, who ordered the burning of the city. He hid it in a secret place in the government office before his death. It was accidentally found by Yue Hongchang, the former Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who had accompanied Your Majesty in the disaster relief efforts."
"As for that letter, I think Governor Xiao should recognize the handwriting. It was written by He Wenzhuo after Crown Prince Li left. He realized that the shipwreck was related to the Fifth Prince. He ordered people to inspect the recovered shipwreck and the bodies of the officers and soldiers. After finding something unusual, they discovered that the officers and soldiers had all died before falling into the water. So he wrote this letter to the head of the He family."
"He Wenzhuo had the He family's head tell Crown Prince Li to search the Ministry of Revenue's granary, the money transfer ledgers, and the details of the 127 officers and soldiers. He also had Crown Prince Li send someone to investigate the coroners who performed the autopsies."
Xiao Yan looked at the dried blood on it and felt extremely heavy: "How could these things fall into the hands of the Queen?"
Queen Lu was silent for a moment. The letter was intercepted by the seventh prince Xie Tianyu at that time. She happened to be there that day, so she used some means to trick it into her hands. Xie Tianyu was so stupid that he didn't even know what these were.
As for the blood letter, Yue Hongchang originally wanted to use it to control the Lu family and rise to prominence, but it was accidentally discovered by Lu Chongyuan. Before Yue Hongchang was killed, she used the secret guard in Xie Tianyu's hand to exchange the blood letter.
But none of this can be told to Xiao Yan.
Empress Lu only said vaguely: "I must leave myself a way out."
Xiao Yan paused after hearing this and didn't ask any more questions.
The hall was extremely quiet for a moment, and no one spoke. After a while, Xiao Yan neatly put away the blood letter and the letter and put them back into his sleeve.
Xiao Yan said, "This blood letter can indeed bring down the Lu family. At best, it can seek justice for my third uncle's unjust death. But it is of little use to me. The Empress should know what I want."
When Empress Lu heard him call He Wenzhuo his third uncle, she thought that Xiao Yan might be the son of the first or second branch of the He family. The son of the first branch of the He family was nearly twenty years old when he died, so it naturally couldn't be him. Instead, one of the two legitimate sons of the second branch of the He family was about the same age as Xiao Yan.
She was guessing Xiao Yan's specific identity in her heart, but she didn't show any sign on her face.
"I know that Governor Xiao wants to clear the name of the He family, but the He family's affairs involve Crown Prince Li's treason. You should know that the case was decided by the late emperor, and many people are implicated. There is absolutely no possibility of overturning the verdict..."
Xiao Yan looked at her coldly, "If you didn't know how difficult it would be, Queen, do you think I would be standing here?"
Queen Lu: “…”
She frowned and said, "Master Xiao, if you want to overturn the He family's case, you will inevitably involve Crown Prince Li."
Xiao Yan said indifferently, "All I want is for the He family to be vindicated. Over a thousand members of the He family died for the Crown Prince, repaying the bond between the monarch and his subjects long ago. I only want to restore the He family's former glory so that everyone in the He family can rest in peace. As for those shameful deeds of the royal family..."
He sneered, "The Queen is helping me like this, so she can't ask for nothing."
"Your Majesty is already old, having lost the support of the aristocratic families and the hearts of the court officials. He is like a tiger without claws and fangs. If the verdict of the past can be overturned, it will be a disgrace to the late emperor and your majesty. All the faults will also be the late emperor and your majesty's."
"The world is not at peace right now. The princes of all regions have their own agendas. Once the past events are exposed and the court is in turmoil, Your Majesty will have no choice but to abdicate and hand over the throne to a new ruler who has no involvement in the past events and is clean and honest if you want to preserve the Xie family's imperial power."
Empress Lu's heart moved when she heard Xiao Yan's words, and ambition flashed in her eyes: "What does Governor Xiao mean?"
Xiao Yan said, "This Governor only wants the truth."
Empress Lu was dissatisfied when she heard this: "The Fourth Prince has a defect..."
Xiao Yan looked at her. "So what? The previous emperor looked like a demon, and his stature was so short that it was not even as tall as a horse. But who dares to say he wasn't wise? It's the brains that are used to expand territory, not the looks."
Queen Lu felt relieved. What she wanted was what Xiao Yan said. However, the He family's affairs were a bit tricky. The He family's biggest crime was that they colluded with Prince Li to commit treason. To overturn the verdict for the He family was equivalent to overturning the verdict for Prince Li. No one knew the danger better than Queen Lu.
But she was too tempted by what Xiao Yan promised her. Now the Fourth Prince was "useless" and his future was ruined. If he did not take this path, he would be doomed to have no chance of becoming emperor. Moreover, the Lu family had murderous intentions towards her and her son. Once they were reduced to the edge, they would probably not even know how they died.
Queen Lu would never let herself fall to that state.
Seeing Empress Lu deep in thought, Xiao Yan didn't rush her. He just said, "Your Majesty, please take your time to think about it. Once you've figured it out, come and consult me."
Seeing Xiao Yan turning around and trying to leave, Empress Lu suddenly said, "Superintendent Xiao is leaving just like that?"
Xiao Yan turned around.
Empress Lu said in a deep voice, "I have given almost all my trump cards to Governor Xiao, but Governor Xiao has not left anything for me. If Governor Xiao goes back on his word..."
Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow and looked at her for a moment, then suddenly laughed, "If this Governor really wanted to go back on his word, even if I left something behind, what could the Empress do to me?"
He glanced at Empress Lu's unpleasant expression with a half-smile, "I would like to leave something for Her Majesty, but Her Majesty's Fengxi Palace has been thoroughly penetrated. I'm afraid that as soon as I leave something for her, it will fall into the hands of the Lu family."
"The Queen is tired of living, but this Governor is not."
Queen Lu was a little choked, but she had no way to refute.
Xiao Yan raised his lips and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I am not a good person at anything except that I value my promises. I can swear on the people of the He family who died unjustly. As long as Your Majesty can help the He family clear their names and help me take down the Lu family, I will definitely send the Fourth Prince to sit in that position."
When Empress Lu saw him swear on the He family, her expression relaxed: "Okay, I believe in Governor Xiao."
When Xiao Yan came out of Fengxi Palace, Canglang was waiting beside him.
Deshun stood quietly in front of the palace gate. When he saw him come out, he bowed his head respectfully and stepped aside.
Xiao Yan glanced at him and led Cang Lang out.
Cang Lang couldn't help but whisper, "Master, are you really going to help the Fourth Prince ascend to the throne?"
Xiao Yan touched the blood-written letter and the envelope in his sleeve, squinting slightly in the glaring sunlight: "So what if I helped him?"
The country can have a new emperor every day, but it is just a dragon throne. If he is willing to help him to take it, it also depends on whether he can sit on it firmly.
One day, it was sitting.
Go up and then come down, it's also sitting.
He only said that he would help the Fourth Prince ascend the throne, but he did not say that he would keep him on the throne.
…
Queen Lu had no idea what Xiao Yan was thinking. She only knew that she had reached an agreement with Xiao Yan. The two knew each other's secrets and became "allies". The pressure she originally felt due to the Lu family's sudden assassination suddenly disappeared. With Xiao Yan's support, what could happen even without the Lu family?
Queen Lu walked around to the back hall and looked at the Fourth Prince who was unconscious on the bed. With Xiao Yan's support, the Fourth Prince would definitely be able to ascend to that position after the Lu family was abolished. However, the relationship between them and Xiao Yan was not stable enough. She had to think of another way, at least to force Xiao Yan to help the prince.
The Queen frowned slightly as she lowered her eyes. Back then, when the He family's daughter married the Crown Prince, the He clan had rallied to support him. It was also because of her marriage to Emperor An that the Lu clan assisted him in ascending the throne. But Xiao Yan, the He family's son, had no sisters...
She paused, feeling that this was not right.
Queen Lu suddenly thought of Song Tangning, whom she had not seen for a long time.
"Jinzhi, how does Xiao Yan treat Song Tangning?" Queen Lu suddenly asked.
Jinzhi was a little puzzled, but she still said truthfully, "He treats her like his own sister. I originally thought that Governor Xiao was treating Miss Song like a weapon, but later she broke with the Lu family and cut ties with the Song family. Governor Xiao still treated her very well. It is said that even the academy in the south of the city is under the personal supervision of Governor Xiao."
If the academy were to be run normally, it would take at least half a year, but now it has only been a month and it is almost completed.
"Superintendent Xiao is extremely protective of her. The few times he attacked her were all because of Miss Song..." Jinzhi paused, remembering that Song Tangning was no longer a member of the Song family and should be called the Yiyang County Lady. "Anyway, in my opinion, the two of them are no different from real siblings."
Queen Lu's heart moved. Xiao Yan cared so much about Song Tangning. If she could follow the Fourth Prince, wouldn't it bring Xiao Yan closer to them?
The Fourth Prince's wife cannot be moved for the time being. Her mother's family has military power and can help the Fourth Prince at critical moments. But if she is the Fourth Prince's concubine, I think it would be enough.
Empress Lu was intrigued. "When will the Rongguo Lady hold the banquet?"
"The day after tomorrow."
"Pick some things for me and send them to Madam Rongguo and Tang Ning."
Jinzhi just thought that the queen wanted to show her goodwill to Song Tangning and Rong Yue, so she quickly nodded and agreed.
"Go and ask the Fourth Prince's wife to come into the palace."
"yes."
…
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