Chapter 462: Xiao Duzhu beat Liu Tongen
Emperor An's expression wavered when he heard this. He was wary of the Lu family and knew that Lu Chongyuan had some hidden tricks up his sleeve.
Naturally, he was unwilling to let the Lu family go, but what Xiao Yan said made some sense.
The Lu family has been passed down for a hundred years, and they have more than one or two in-laws. If they were to exterminate all nine clans, countless people in the court would be implicated. Leaving those insignificant Lu clan members behind, confiscating their property and sending them into exile, and then giving them almost no "hope" would both keep Lu Jiuan in check and improve their reputation...
Emperor An tapped the table lightly. "I remember that you hated the Lu family so much, how could you actually plead for them?"
Xiao Yan said, "I'm not pleading for the Lu family. Lu Chongyuan has repeatedly framed me, and even nearly killed me several times. If I could kill the Lu family, I would not hold back. However, Lu Jiuan is on the run, so I have to be more concerned."
Emperor An looked at him for a moment and said, "You have some truth in what you said. Okay, let's do as you say."
Xiao Yan lowered his head: "Yes."
After the emperor and his ministers finished discussing their business, Xiao Yan stepped forward to support Emperor An as he stood up.
"How are your injuries?"
"It's okay."
"It's healed so soon?"
Emperor An was helped through the partition at the back, and when he sat down on the couch at the side, he raised his eyes as if he was not paying attention. "Last time, Jiang Ji told me that your injuries were serious and that you needed to rest for a while. You've recovered so quickly. Is it because Jiang Ji's medical skills are not good enough, or are you deceiving the emperor?"
He seemed to be joking, but when he said the light words "deceiving the king", there was a hint of murderous intent in his eyes.
Xiao Yan seemed not to have heard, revealing only a hint of helplessness. "Doctor Jiang's medical skills are naturally excellent. I do have some injuries on my body, but the Lu family has come to my doorstep. I can't just stay lying in Jiyun Lane any longer. Besides, Doctor Jiang has been treating me for nearly half a month now. Even if the injuries are serious, they won't affect my mobility..."
"Oh? That means the injury hasn't healed yet. Let me take a look."
Xiao Yan was stunned. Turning around, he saw that Emperor An looked serious and didn't seem to be joking. He frowned and said, "A few days ago, when I fought with the Lu family, my wounds burst open and looked quite hideous. I was afraid of alarming Your Majesty."
Emperor An said, "It's okay, I'll just take a look."
Seeing Xiao Yan didn't move, he frowned: "Why, can't I watch?"
Xiao Yan's expression changed, as if he noticed that his tone was wrong. He couldn't help but purse the corners of his mouth, and even his eyes became a little colder. Just when Emperor An thought he was unwilling, Xiao Yan suddenly took a few steps back, reached out to untie his waist belt, and pulled down his shirt.
His upper body was still wrapped in white cloth, and there were traces of blood on his lower back.
Without waiting for Emperor An to speak, Xiao Yan turned his back to him and pulled hard. When the white cloth spread out, several wounds that looked like old wounds that had been torn open were revealed. Some of them were bloody and hideous. Under those scars, the skin was covered with new and old scars. There was even a bulging scar on the side of his waist, which looked extremely terrifying.
Xiao Yan turned around with a blank expression: "Your Majesty, do you want to see more?"
He put his hand on his waist and tried to unbutton his coat.
Anditon said: "Alright!"
Seeing Xiao Yan looking up at him with a cold face, Emperor An felt guilty for the first time: "I am just concerned about your health. I am afraid that your injuries are too severe and have damaged your foundation. That's why I asked you to take off your clothes directly..."
Xiao Yan reached out and pulled up his clothes, not paying any attention to the blood that flowed from the wound where the clothes touched him. He simply reached out and fastened his waist belt again before saying, "Your Majesty, I am not afraid of your investigation. However, the Lu family is gone. Who is your Majesty suspecting me of this time?"
Emperor An choked: "How outrageous."
He shouted with a lack of confidence and his eyes were wandering.
Seeing Xiao Yan's dark eyes looking at him, and the white cloth on the ground still stained with blood, Emperor An coughed softly and said, "Alright, since you are injured, take good care of yourself. The Privy Council's affairs are not impossible without you. I will issue an order to those people from the Lu family later. You can leave first."
Xiao Yan glanced at him and said coldly, "I'll take my leave."
After a stiff salute, Xiao Yan turned around and strode out, his back looking fierce.
After a while, Eunuch Feng came trotting in with some snacks, his face full of panic.
"Your Majesty, this is bad."
Emperor An glanced at him while holding the tea. "You're the one who's in trouble. Why are you so anxious?"
Eunuch Feng said anxiously, "Just now, when Governor Xiao left, he asked me if anyone had come to Your Majesty to plead for mercy after the Lu family incident. He said he wanted to see if there were still people in the court who favored the Lu family, and he was also worried that someone would use this to trouble Your Majesty. I didn't think much about it and said no. He said that apart from Commander Liu who came twice in the past two days regarding the fire in the cold palace, no one else had asked for a private audience. Then Governor Xiao left with a murderous look on his face."
"What did you say?!"
Emperor An shook the tea in his hand, and the hot water fell on his hand. He quickly put it aside and said sternly: "You dog slave, who told you to say that?!"
Eunuch Feng knelt on the ground with a plop. "Slave, I only thought that Governor Xiao was instructed by His Majesty to inquire about the Lu family, and that Commander Liu came to the palace because of the fire in the cold palace..."
Emperor An didn't want to hear him say that, so he just asked, "Where did Xiao Yan go?"
"When he left, he gritted his teeth and said he was going to the Forbidden Garden."
The Imperial Guards' assigned Siwei post within the palace was located in the Forbidden Garden. Seeing Emperor An's face turn pale, Eunuch Feng said anxiously, "This servant saw something was wrong and hurried in. Your Majesty, I must have said something wrong. Commander Xiao looked uneasy. How about I go and chase him back?"
Eunuch Feng looked panicked as if he had gotten into great trouble, and wanted to get up with a pale face.
Seeing this, Emperor An said in a deep voice: "Forget it, don't chase him."
Xiao Yan's bad temper was probably because he was angry about the fact that he had just become suspicious and forced him to see his injury.
Feng Lai did not leave the Imperial Dragon Terrace last night. The people who were watching him also said that he did not send any message out of the palace. Xiao Yan did not send anyone out of the house. Liu Tongen took away Doctor Jiang before dawn. I believe that everything that needed to be interrogated that night must have been interrogated clearly.
Xiao Yan had nothing to hide just now, and the injury was indeed an old wound that had ruptured and was extremely serious. Even the scabby areas showed how serious the injury was before it healed.
How could he leave Beijing in this condition?
That old fellow Lu Chongyuan was probably set up by Xiao Yan, who thought that he was misunderstood and plotted against when he left the capital, which is why he ended up like this.
Emperor An felt a headache whenever he thought of Xiao Yan, and he also felt a little guilty because of the misunderstanding. After all, all the injuries he suffered were for saving him.
With Xiao Yan's cleverness, he probably realized from Feng Lai's casual words that it was Liu Tongen who "gave advice" and that was why he aroused suspicion in front of the emperor.
He rushed to the Forbidden Garden just to vent his anger. He couldn't possibly kill the commander of the Imperial Guards directly... right?
Emperor An coughed and picked up the tea again: "Let him be, it will be fine after a little fuss."
Eunuch Feng bowed his head and said, "It's my fault. I shouldn't have been so careless and talkative. I'll go and accept my punishment now."
Emperor An waved his hand. He and Liu Tong'en never kept anyone around when they discussed matters. Feng Lai didn't know why Liu Tong'en entered the palace. Xiao Yan had just gone out and suddenly asked that question, so it wasn't strange that Feng Lai didn't react and casually mentioned Liu Tong'en.
Emperor An said, "I don't blame you. Xiao Yan has always been sensible and won't cause any major trouble."
Half an hour later, Xiao Yan led his men into the forbidden garden and beat Liu Tongen and more than ten guards.
Doctor Jiang, who had suffered some torture, was supported by someone and walked out of the Imperial Guards prison tremblingly, following Xiao Yan with a pale face. Looking at the Imperial Guards lying on the ground beside him, he felt his hands and feet go weak.
Someone told him last night that Governor Xiao would come to rescue him, but he didn't expect it to be this way!
Behind him, Liu Tong'en had a huge bruise on his face and blood at the corner of his mouth. As he limped out of the Imperial Guards' Office, he angrily shouted, "Xiao Yan, you brought people to trespass into the Forbidden Garden, assaulted me, and even injured the palace guards. Do you still have any respect for the law?!"
Xiao Yan raised his eyelids and said, "Everyone knows that I am bolder than the sky."
"You!" Liu Tongen was angry.
Xiao Yan raised his lips and sneered, "If Commander Liu is dissatisfied, go and complain to His Majesty. I will be waiting."
He glanced at Yu Yanfeng who was chasing after Liu Tongen and sneered:
"However, I underestimated you. I thought you were a man of few ambitions, holding an empty title and therefore neglecting the palace's defense. I never imagined that you, who were not guilty of any dereliction of duty by the palace guards, were capable of interfering in the affairs of the Lu family. His Majesty truly regards you with a different eye."
After Xiao Yan finished speaking, he asked the people beside him to help Doctor Jiang leave.
Yu Yanfeng, who had just arrived and was still some distance away, stopped. He looked at Liu Tongen with a stern expression and a cold gaze.
…
"Xiao... Governor Xiao..."
Doctor Jiang was in a panic. Could he leave the Forbidden Garden like this?
Xiao Yan saw through his thoughts and comforted him, "Don't worry and go back. This matter ends here. His Majesty will not pursue you any further. For the next few days, you will stay in the mansion to recuperate under the pretext of being tortured. Don't come to the palace."
Doctor Jiang's heart, which had just settled down, began to rise again: "If I don't go to the palace, will the palace..."
"What happens in the palace has nothing to do with you. Just focus on recovering from your injuries."
Seeing that Imperial Physician Jiang was in a terrible state and had indeed suffered, Xiao Yan turned around and asked Jinyun to personally send Imperial Physician Jiang back home.
When Doctor Jiang returned, he found a brocade box in his bedroom. The box contained a thick stack of banknotes and several bottles of the best healing medicine.
The secret guard who stayed at the Jiang Mansion whispered, "The Governor said that Imperial Physician Jiang was implicated this time. You can keep these things with peace of mind. I will stay at the Jiang Mansion to protect you for the next few days."
Doctor Jiang glanced at the brocade box and felt a little uneasy.
He always felt that there was something wrong with what Xiao Yan had said just now, but after working in the Imperial Medical Bureau for many years, he naturally knew what to ask and what not to ask.
Doctor Jiang closed the brocade box and whispered, "Thank Governor Xiao for me."
…
Xiao Yan beat up Liu Tong'en and threw his coat away in disgust after returning to Heli Hall. Tang Ning had been waiting at Yueli Terrace and hurried forward when he saw him come back.
"Brother, is everything alright in the palace?"
She only found out about what happened last night this morning, and she has been worried since Xiao Yan went to the morning court.
"It's all my fault. I was in such a hurry that I left traces, which is why people noticed..."
Tang Ning was halfway through her words when she saw the blood seeping onto Xiao Yan's light-colored undergarment. Her expression changed slightly, "Why is there so much blood?"
Xiao Yan glanced at it and said, "It's okay. I just wanted to trick Emperor An and fish out Jiang Ji so that it would break on purpose."
"How can it be okay? There's so much blood..."
Tang Ning quickly pulled him aside and sat down, taking out some medicine to stop the bleeding.
After Xiao Yan took off his inner clothes, he looked up at Cang Lang who had followed him in and said:
"Liu Tong'en is stained with the scent of wood butterflies. Once stained, it will last for more than a month. Send someone to keep a close eye on him for this governor. If he leaves the capital, we must find him."
The place Liu Tong'en went to was most likely the hiding place of Emperor An's private army, whose whereabouts could not be found.
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