Chapter 303: Xiao Yan's calloused hands caressed the little girl's palms
The little girl's hands were white and soft. Her previously injured nails had grown back and were neatly trimmed, with a healthy and lustrous luster. He had been practicing martial arts and wielding a sword for many years, killing countless people, and calluses had already formed on his hands.
At this moment, when the fingers with thin calluses were stroking the little girl's palm, there was a hint of itch. Tang Ning's fingertips dodged and were hooked back by Xiao Yan.
"I plan to leave Beijing the day after tomorrow." Xiao Yan said in a low voice.
Tang Ning was stunned: "So fast?"
Xiao Yan hummed, "I was supposed to leave tomorrow, but I'm afraid the noble family will send someone to investigate my injuries. I'll leave the capital after the Imperial Medical Bureau arrives tomorrow. I want to leave early and return early, while the Lu family is too exhausted to take care of other things, so as to avoid any mistakes."
Although Tang Ning was reluctant to let Xiao Yan leave, she also knew that he was going there for an important matter. She whispered, "Then your injuries..."
Xiao Yan smiled and said, "It's not that serious. I'll keep it a secret for two days before leaving the capital. I'll take a carriage and rest for a while. It won't be a problem when I ride my horse again once we're far away from the capital."
"Can the people from the Imperial Hospital be kept in the dark?"
"The wound is in a vital part. Just ignore it. Tomorrow I'll have Madam Qin do something for me. Plus, Doctor Sun will be here soon, so it'll be fine."
Tang Ning felt relieved after hearing this.
The two leaned against each other, without the previous ambiguity, but still warm.
…
Lu Qin attempted to assassinate the emperor, and Xiao Yan was seriously injured and dying while protecting him. Emperor An was furious and ordered people to capture Lu Qin directly. The news spread throughout the capital before midnight. Not only did the court officials of the Qingliu faction almost drop their jaws in shock, even the aristocratic families were full of disbelief.
Is Lu Qin crazy?!
Cui Lin immediately found Feng Qiuli, and the Second Prince also ordered people to inquire about the news. Queen Lu in the palace was also shocked and ordered people to inquire, but someone in the Imperial Guards had already issued a gag order, and no one knew what had happened. After asking around, they even suspected that it was just a rumor.
But at the morning court the next day, Emperor An angrily denounced Lu Qin for the assassination attempt in public, and even accused the Lu family of plotting rebellion. Lu Chongyuan knelt down to report, and after the Privy Council interrogated him overnight, they learned that Lu Qin had intended to murder Song Tangning, the Princess of Yi Yang, but by accident he almost harmed the emperor. Only then did those people in the court know what had happened.
Although Lu Qin had no intention of harming Emperor An, it was a fact that Emperor An almost died because of him, and Xiao Yan was seriously injured and dying while trying to save him. Moreover, it was appalling that Lu Qin dared to order someone to commit murder in front of the emperor. In addition, Emperor An already hated the Lu family's previous threats, so he wanted to order Lu Qin to be executed.
Later, it was Cao Dejiang and Grand Tutor Liang who stepped in to ask Emperor An to spare Lu Qin's life, but it was a fact that he almost harmed the emperor and murdered the Princess of Yi Yang.
Emperor An finally sentenced him to eighty lashes and exiled him to a remote place, following the example of the Song family.
It would have been fine if Lu Qin had just been held accountable, but the most shocking thing was that Lu Chongyuan was also dismissed from his post as the Minister of the Central Secretariat by the furious Emperor An because of his poor parenting and the successive incidents of Lu Zhao and Lu Qin in the Lu family. He was demoted to the position of Assistant Minister of the Central Secretariat.
"This time, I'm giving you a small punishment but a big warning. It's to warn the people in the court to restrain the people in the government and take Lu Zhao and Lu Qin as warnings. I'm demoting you to the position of Zhongshu Shilang. Are you dissatisfied, Mr. Lu?" Emperor An lowered his eyes and looked at Lu Chongyuan.
Lu Chongyuan knelt in the Imperial Hall and felt that all the eyes in the court were on him.
Don’t think that he was just demoted from the Minister of the Secretariat to the Minister of the Secretariat, which only lowered his rank by one level. This one level difference became an insurmountable gap.
There is only one Zhongshu Ling, but there are several Zhongshu Shilang. One is the head of the Zhongshu Province and can enter the cabinet and be in charge of the ruling power, while the other is just an adjutant and whether he has real power depends entirely on the will of his superiors.
Emperor An seemed merciful and said that it was just a minor punishment, but in fact, he brought down Lu Chongyuan, who had been high and mighty for a long time.
Lu Chongyuan knew very well that Emperor An was taking advantage of the situation to blame him in public for Lu Qin's incident and force him to give in, but he could not refute it, and he couldn't refute it. Assassinating the emperor and injuring the dragon's body would be a disaster that would lead to the extermination of the entire clan if the matter was really investigated, but Emperor An "only" demoted him by one level.
Be more merciful and take care of the old minister's face...
"Is Lu Qing unwilling?" Emperor An seemed certain that he dared not say unwillingly.
Lu Chongyuan's eyes were gloomy and his face was pale. He pursed his lips and was extremely angry, but he still lowered his head.
"I dare not. I thank Your Majesty for your consideration. From now on, I will take good care of the family and educate my children. I will never let you down."
When Emperor An saw his face, which was full of anger and frustration but had to give in, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Xiao Yan has done a great service in rescuing the emperor this time, and he has also saved your Lu family from disaster. Lord Lu should thank him sincerely, and no gift would be too generous."
Lu Chongyuan felt a mouthful of blood stuck in his throat and said in a hoarse voice, "I understand. I will definitely thank Governor Xiao."
…
The morning court session was extremely exciting because of the Lu family's affairs.
After the court was dismissed, people were discussing Lu Qin's audacity and laughing at the Lu family's loss of power. Of course, many people were also curious. Since Grand Tutor Liang was from an aristocratic family, it was understandable that he helped to plead for Lu Qin, but why did Cao Dejiang, a "clean stream" who had always been at odds with the aristocratic families, also plead for mercy?
"Lu Zhongshu is quite capable. He used to be at odds with Cao Dejiang, but now he can actually get him to plead for your son."
Cui Lin deliberately blocked Lu Chongyuan's way. As soon as he finished speaking, he pretended to realize something: "Ah, I forgot that you are no longer the Minister of the Central Secretariat. From now on, you should change your title to Lu Langling? Speaking of which, your Lu family lost a Langling, and now you have another one. It's quite appropriate."
Lu Zhao used to be the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and others also called him Lu Langling.
Seeing this, the court officials who wanted to leave also stopped. Seeing the internal strife among the noble families and the quarrel between Cui Lin and Lu Chongyuan, they just watched the excitement from the side.
Lu Chongyuan's face was gloomy. "That's worse than you being the only official in Minister Cui's house. You have countless children, but none of them are successful. If Minister Cui makes a mistake and loses his life one day, the entire Cui family will be left without support."
"you!"
Cui Lin's face suddenly darkened.
It's not that Lu Chongyuan doesn't have a sharp tongue, but he has always been proud of his status and cared about the dignity of his family. However, Cui Lin bullied him again and again, and even if Lu Chongyuan was a saint, he became mean at this time.
"Although my eldest and second sons were confused, they also served the emperor and were punished for their mistakes. But Minister Cui, I heard that your son, who was a Feng'an official, was demoted for making a mistake. And your grandson has become insane because he was forced to study hard by you."
"I would like to advise Minister Cui that grandchildren have their own blessings. Don't force people who are incompetent, dull and unmotivated to make progress, lest the harmony between father and son and grandson be lost."
It was the first time that Cui Lin had seen Lu Chongyuan so sharp-tongued. Every word he said pierced his heart, but he remembered the rumors he heard last night and sneered.
"No matter how bad my sons and grandsons are, they would never do something like murder. Moreover, the Cui family has many descendants, unlike Lu Langling."
"The eldest son will be beheaded soon. Although the second son has survived, he is a cripple who cannot be treated humanely. Lu Langling, you must take good care of your grandsons. If anything happens to them, Lu Langling will lose his family line. How tragic that would be!"
Lu Chongyuan: “…Cui Lin!!”
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