Chapter 468 The Truth
Feng Lai's expression changed, and then he heard Xiao Yan say, "Although the past events have been erased, there are still traces left. The person who was able to conceal it from both the late emperor and Emperor An, and who also kept Lu Chongyuan from suspicion, must be someone they trust."
"This Governor once met an old servant of the Grand Empress Dowager. She told me that after the fire in the Eastern Palace, the Grand Empress Dowager and the late Emperor had a dispute. At one point, her hysteria provoked the late Emperor to murder her. However, she later contracted an acute illness and became weak. Furthermore, the late Emperor passed away and the new Emperor ascended the throne. Someone intervened to keep the Grand Empress Dowager confined to her own palace."
"Since the new emperor ascended the throne, someone has been secretly watching over the Empress Dowager, ensuring her safety."
A crazy Empress Dowager who was not favored by the emperor. All the servants around her died and only an old woman was left who was barely alive.
If there was no one secretly watching over her, the Empress Dowager would have died before Xiao Yan could even return to the palace.
After Xiao Yan finished speaking, he stood up and said, "This Governor should thank Lord Feng for his great kindness."
Eunuch Feng, Eunuch Feng.
A difference of one word can make a world of difference in meaning.
Tang Ning beside him was also hearing these secrets for the first time. But when she thought about it carefully, it was indeed as Xiao Yan said. If someone had not intervened, he would not have been able to escape the ambush in the palace, nor would he have been able to leave the capital safely. She also stood up and saluted Feng Lai.
"Thank you, Mr. Feng."
Xiao Yan raised his eyes to Feng Lai and said seriously, "If I want to clear the name of the He family, I must go before the Emperor. This matter cannot be circumvented by Lord Feng. Although I have deceived you and used tricks to force you to act with me, I have never hurt your heart. If the situation is truly impossible, I will also find a way to fake your death and let you leave the palace so that you can be reunited with your two grandchildren."
"I have no choice but to not tell you the truth. I hope Mr. Feng will forgive me."
Feng Lai's face froze, the original fear dissipated a little, and the panic in his eyes calmed down. He just bowed to Xiao Yan and the other two.
He hesitated and struggled for a moment, but finally told the truth.
"The body that was sent to the fire scene that year was not the work of the Zajia family."
Xiao Yan was stunned.
Feng Lai whispered, "There's a eunuch named Xu in the Eastern Palace. Does Governor Xiao still remember him?"
Xiao Yan stared for a moment, and a figure appeared in his mind, and then he heard Feng say:
"During the fire in the Eastern Palace, not only was a child's body missing, but an eunuch who was supposed to be on duty was also missing. When the bodies were counted in the palace afterwards, all the people from the Eastern Palace were present, not one missing."
"That day, Lord Cao and Imperial Tutor Rong both entered the palace. Imperial Tutor Rong had an argument with the late emperor over a plot to treason in the Eastern Palace. The two men nearly overturned the Imperial Palace during their heated argument. Furthermore, the Grand Empress Dowager went berserk, claiming the Crown Prince had been murdered and that the late emperor had allowed the killing to happen. This caused widespread unrest, and everyone in the palace was focused on them."
"Lord Cao, wanting to protect himself and not be implicated in the conspiracy, left quietly without even entering the palace. However, I have seen the records of his entry and exit, and I see he stayed in the palace for the better part of an hour. He injured his leg when he left, and was escorted out by a eunuch."
"I recognize that eunuch."
Feng Lai was still serving the late emperor at that time, but his master, Eunuch Sun, was the person the late emperor trusted the most. When Taifu Rong was arguing with the late emperor, Feng Lai did not enter the palace to serve. Instead, he was sent by Eunuch Sun to keep an eye on the Eastern Palace. On the way, he met Cao Dejiang who had broken his leg.
Feng Lai was a man of keen observation. He noticed something was wrong and secretly went to the Inner Court. He found in the records of the inner court servants that there was an extra young eunuch who had died of illness and a runaway slave.
Coincidentally, he just arrived and met someone who had also gone to the Inner Court. Feng Lai simply turned a blind eye and did not reveal the matter. He also helped to cover it up and postponed the time Cao Dejiang entered and left the Forbidden Palace by half an hour.
Feng Lai pursed his lips. He knew that if he falsely claimed the life-saving grace, Xiao Yan would definitely not make things difficult for him. He might even make him extremely rich. However, some things cannot be hidden.
Since Xiao Yan has revealed his identity today, he is likely to make some big moves.
Although Taifu Rong is dead, Cao Dejiang is still alive, and the Empress Dowager is still alive. If they talk about this matter in the future and find out that he has claimed the credit of others, then the favor he had, which was not much back then, will be completely exhausted, and he will not even know how he died.
Feng Lai moved sideways to avoid the two people's greetings, with a trace of guilt on his face.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince once saved my life, but I was unable to do much for him. As for the Empress Dowager, the Cao family has been secretly channeling money to help look after her. All I did was not investigate the inner court thoroughly and punish the palace maids without being too harsh."
He was originally a eunuch, relying on the dignity of his master to survive.
After following Emperor An, he naturally did not dare to show too much favor to the people he disliked. The only one with a conscience was that he knew the actions of the Cao family and turned a blind eye to cover up for them.
He didn't dare to do anything else.
Xiao Yan's expression changed when he heard Feng Lai's words. He didn't expect that there were other people who escaped from the Eastern Palace that year, and he also didn't expect Feng Lai to explain it to him so frankly.
After he took over the Twelve Supervisors of the Inner Court, he only found out that there was always someone taking care of the Empress Dowager in her palace. Feng Lai, who was in charge of the Inner Court before him, had never treated the Empress Dowager harshly. She was even able to survive several times when she was seriously ill thanks to Feng Lai. In addition, someone covered up for him and Aunt Xue, and the records of the Inner Court were incomplete, so neither Emperor An nor the late emperor noticed it.
Xiao Yan concluded that someone was behind this, and Feng Lai, who was a powerful eunuch and later favored by Emperor An, was the most likely person. However, he did not expect that Cao Dejiang was also involved.
Seeing Feng Lai's face was gloomy and seemed to be worried, Xiao Yan still bowed solemnly to Feng Lai.
Feng Lai was startled: "Master Xiao, what are you doing..."
Xiao Yan said solemnly, "Although it's not all your credit, without your intervention and your cover-up, this matter would have been impossible to complete."
"I will remember Lord Cao's kindness, and so will Eunuch Feng."
Feng Lai saw that he didn't seem to be lying and his eyes were open and sincere. His tense heart finally relaxed completely. He was even more pleased that he had made the right bet by being honest. For someone like Xiao Yan who had experienced hatred since childhood and had waded through blood step by step, it would be a bad idea to play tricks on him.
The atmosphere at Yuelitai eased up. After everything was talked out, Feng Lai's expression relaxed a little. After sitting down again, he looked at Xiao Yan's face and felt a little guilty and emotional.
"I was just hoping for a lucky break back then, but I never thought the young master would actually survive."
Xiao Yan said calmly, "Perhaps the injustice was too great, and even Heaven could not bear to see it. After I escaped from the palace, I needed the help of a noble person to save my life. It took me many years of planning to finally return to the capital."
Feng Lai hesitated after hearing this: "Then Governor Xiao wants to..."
Xiao Yan: "Of course, it's to clear my grandfather's name and the He family's name."
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