Chapter 300: Perfect Plan
Lu Jiuan couldn't understand his grandfather's intention, and could only tell himself that his grandfather cared about the clan, and such a big act of rebellion must be thought twice before acting. After suppressing the doubts in his heart, it still left traces.
"Jiuan."
Over there, Lu Chongyuan put down his pen.
Lu Jiuan quickly gathered his thoughts and stepped forward: "Grandfather."
Lu Chongyuan placed the pen on the table and handed him what he had written: "Take this letter to Cao's residence and give it to Cao Dejiang."
Cao Dejiang?
Lu Jiuan glanced at what was written on the letter in confusion, then looked up in astonishment: "Grandfather, this..."
Lu Chongyuan sighed, "It's only a matter of time. Rongsheng Academy has been built, and the aristocratic families are in chaos. His Majesty is also interested. This matter cannot be stopped. Since this is the case, it is better to use it to exchange for your father's life. Go, Cao Dejiang will agree to plead for your father after reading this letter."
“But the other ones…”
"They have long since separated from the Lu family, so they don't need this."
He didn't want Qingliu to be satisfied, but he didn't want to sacrifice Lu Qin's life even more.
Lu Chongyuan did put his clan first in his heart, but he was also a human being. He had already sacrificed his eldest son's family to save the Lu family, so how could he sacrifice Lu Qin as well? He knew that it was impossible to keep Lu Qin completely safe, but he could at least save his life.
As long as you are alive, there is still a chance.
…
Cao Dejiang was very surprised when he learned that the Lu family came to see him. He already knew that Emperor An had been attacked. When he learned the purpose of Lu Jiuan's visit and read the contents of the letter, he was quite moved.
After seeing Lu Jiuan off, Cao Dejiang pondered for a moment and then sent someone to drive to Tang Mansion.
Tang Ning didn't seem surprised at all when she saw Cao Dejiang. She simply dismissed the servants outside and personally led Cao Dejiang to the backyard. When she saw the "seriously injured" Xiao Yan, Cao Dejiang's face was a little puzzled: "Master Xiao, you are very brave. Aren't you afraid that I will go to see His Majesty?"
Xiao Yan's smile was pale. "I knew Lord Cao would come looking for me, so I reluctantly met him. What was Lord Cao going to do to see His Majesty?"
Pack!
Cao Dejiang said coldly: "You are scheming like this, aren't you afraid that His Majesty will know?"
"There's no calculation here, it's just a mutual consent..."
cough!
Before Xiao Yan could finish his words, he suddenly started coughing. A flush came to his pale face, and blood flowed from his mouth when he lowered his head to cough.
"Brother!"
Tang Ning, who was standing by, hurried forward with a handkerchief to support him. When Xiao Yan bent over and coughed, the back of his white undergarment seemed to be stained with a large spot of bright red.
Cao Dejiang's expression, which had been cold and angry just now, changed instantly: "Are you really hurt?"
Xiao Yan loosened the handkerchief covering his mouth, revealing a large patch of blood. "Lord Cao, you're joking. If I weren't injured, how could I have concealed this from Your Majesty?"
"You're crazy!"
Cao Dejiang originally thought that Xiao Yan had set up the Lu family tonight, but he never expected that he was actually injured. Just by looking at the bloodstains on his body, he knew that the injury was serious.
He frowned and glared at Xiao Yan, saying, "You want to plot against the Lu family? Setting up a scheme is fine, but how can you gamble with your own life? Are you such a smart person? Don't you know that if you lose your life, you lose everything?!"
Xiao Yan's breathing was a little rapid. Tang Ning supported him with red eyes: "Mr. Cao, my brother is seriously injured, please don't scold him..."
"You're protecting him, don't you know you're risking your life by acting so recklessly?!"
Tang Ning seemed startled by his angry voice.
Seeing the old man's face turn pale, Xiao Yan coughed and said, "It's not Tang Ning's business. The Lu family escaped unscathed in Lu Zhao's case, and the grain tax issue was also suppressed. I wanted to continue investigating secretly, but His Majesty scolded me after he found out, and not only did he not tell me, he also became distant and wary of me. I have to find a way to get myself out of this predicament."
He spoke with a weak breath and his lips were pale.
"Lord Cao knows my situation in the court. If I take a step back, I will be doomed. I cannot lose the favor of His Majesty. Moreover, so many people died in the grain tax case. The Lu family has so many lives stained. I can't let them get away with it. Now that Lu Qin has been deposed, I will only have to lie in bed for more than a month. It is worth it."
"you……"
Listening to Xiao Yan's vindictive words without concealing his motive, Cao Dejiang felt for the first time that this man was really unwilling to admit defeat. Once he was defeated by the Lu family general, he had to get revenge immediately, even if it meant sacrificing his life to bite off a piece of Lu family flesh.
Cao Dejiang stared at Xiao Yan for a long while: "You are really..."
He wanted to scold him, but when the words came to his lips, he looked at Xiao Yan's pale and smiling face and couldn't say them.
After a while, he spat, "You are so stubborn. Sooner or later, you will break it in your own hands!"
Xiao Yan rarely showed an appearance of weakness. His handsome face was covered with a faint smile, and his voice was weak: "No, I know my limits."
Cao Dejiang snorted coldly when he heard this.
Xiao Yan begged for mercy: "Don't be angry, Lord Cao. Although my methods were a bit despicable and I suffered such injuries, I did gain some benefits for you and the court. Please consider those benefits and stop nagging me."
Cao Dejiang glared and walked to the bed and sat down: "Did you know Lu Chongyuan would come to see me?"
"I don't know, but if he doesn't want to lose two sons in a row, he has to find someone to speak for him in the court." Xiao Yan smiled weakly, "Lu Chongyuan is still a human being after all, he has emotions and desires. He can't just send Lu Zhao to death and then watch Lu Qin die with him."
"Although His Majesty has spared the Lu family, he still harbors resentment towards Lu Chongyuan and wishes he could kill Lu Qin to vent his hatred. Lu Chongyuan's plea for mercy is forcing His Majesty to fight to the death. He can only seek help from others. There are only a few people in the court who can persuade His Majesty. After all, Lord Cao is the most suitable."
Cao Dejiang was annoyed: "You have a very careful plan!"
After saying this, he sighed and took out the letter that the Lu family had given him from his sleeve.
"Lu Chongyuan sent a letter to me, saying that if I asked His Majesty to spare Lu Qin's life, he would agree not to hinder the imperial examination. Although the imperial examinations are a matter of time, the aristocratic families have been obstructing them. If the Lu family gave in first, this matter would be much easier."
Although there will still be many difficulties, without the Lu family, the biggest obstacle will be gone.
After seeing Tang Ning take the letter and unfold it for Xiao Yan to read, Cao Dejiang said, "Lu Chongyuan doesn't ask for Lu Qin's innocence, only for his life. He's willing to advise the court to hold an imperial examination. I originally wanted to ask your opinions, to see if I could find a way to persuade you to let him go, but now I see that you've probably already guessed it and are just waiting for me to come."
Xiao Yan said softly, "It's worth using Lu Qin's life to exchange for the world's students' path to success."
"Are you willing to spare Lu Qin's life?"
"I never thought I could kill him. He's just a piece of trash. He's not as important as the imperial examination. Lord Cao, just agree to Lu Chongyuan's request."
Cao Dejiang looked at Xiao Yan's frail but gentle smile, and his heart couldn't help but soften. In the past, he always thought that Xiao Yan was calculating and unscrupulous, but now he thought that if he was a pure and kind person, he would have lost his life long ago.
Compared to the aristocratic families who tyrannically seized the people's wealth and destroyed the foundation of the court, Xiao Yan's actions never crossed the bottom line. He was not a very evil person and he also had a sense of right and wrong.
Cao Dejiang whispered, "All the scholars in the world owe you a favor, and so do I."
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