Chapter 74 King Cheng is under house arrest
"Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous!!"
The Song family was suddenly imprisoned, Song Hong was captured, and it was against the rules for the Black Armor Guards to arrest a third-rank official without an imperial edict. Everyone was waiting for the palace's reaction to see how Emperor An would punish him. But when they learned that Xiao Yan had entered the palace to meet the emperor, he not only came out safely, but even obtained an imperial edict to seal off the Duke of Song's Mansion, and directly sealed off the entire Duke's Mansion.
The court officials from the aristocratic families were all furious.
"That Xiao Yan, relying on the Privy Council to act recklessly, broke into the Duke's residence without permission and caused such a huge mess, yet Your Majesty only gave him ten lashes of the cane? Is Your Majesty crazy?"
"I think His Majesty has clearly been bewitched by this eunuch. He barged into the Duke's Mansion at will and took things whenever Song Hong said so. So next time, he might even be able to manipulate us. From now on, the court will be completely controlled by that eunuch!"
"Mr. Lu, this matter must not be taken lightly!"
"Yes, Lord Lu, Xiao Yan has always been at odds with us, so we must not allow him to be so arrogant."
Some people are angry, while others are uneasy.
"Lord Lu, Your Majesty is so partial to one side of the story, condoning the eunuchs' rampant behavior. This trend must not be allowed to continue. Moreover, Your Majesty has recently relied more and more on the people in the Privy Council. Xiao Yan's men are biting us like mad dogs, and have already destroyed several ways of making money that we have cultivated over the past few years. If we can't drive Xiao Yan out of the court, the interests of the aristocratic families will be damaged, and sooner or later we will be forced to retreat."
"Mr. Lu, you have to think of a solution."
There were seven or eight people sitting in the Lu family study. They were all officials from aristocratic families. Although their official positions were different, they represented the lifeline and interests of several major families in the court.
These people have been fighting against His Majesty for several years and have always had the upper hand. The aristocratic families even surpassed the imperial power at one point, and their prominence forced even the Xie royal family to temporarily avoid the limelight.
But ever since that Xiao Yan showed up, he first eliminated all the people they had planted in the palace, and later the Privy Council fell into his hands. They originally thought he was just a eunuch who was not worthy of being in public, but who knew that he would become their biggest threat.
That person was cruel and brutal, and acted without restraint.
With Xiao Yan's coming, Emperor An became extremely tough, contrary to his previous attitude. Although he still did not dare to confront the aristocratic families directly, the imperial power was gradually increasing, constantly squeezing the interests that originally belonged to the aristocratic families.
Just with the previous grain transport issue, they had to keep trying to protect their clan, and the loss of profits was enough to reach hundreds of thousands of taels. In addition, during this period of time, the routes that had been operated for many years were pursued and cut off one after another by Xiao Yan's people, and the major families suffered heavy losses.
"Mr. Lu, if this continues, the eunuch will really bully us."
Everyone in the room was talking at once. Lu Chongyuan sat at the top, looking down and drinking tea. There were leaf stains floating in the tea soup, and it tasted slightly bitter.
After everyone had been talking for a while and still received no response, Cui Lin, the head of the Cui family, looked up at Lu Chongyuan and frowned: "Mr. Lu, don't you have anything to say?"
"You've said everything, what else do you want me to say?"
Lu Chongyuan put down the cup, and the porcelain bottom made a slight clinking sound when it fell on the table.
"Xiao Yan has been targeting the aristocratic families for a long time. Your Majesty is determined to eliminate the aristocratic families and consolidate power in the court. He is nothing more than a mad dog in Your Majesty's hands, doing what Your Majesty wants. Even if he is a little arrogant, do you still expect Your Majesty to cut off one of his own arms and remove the mad dog's claws?"
Everyone felt aggrieved when they heard this. Cui Lin frowned and asked, "So, is this matter just going to be over?"
"Yes, Lord Lu," another person said, "Xiao Yan has been rampant for a long time. We finally got a handle on him. Why not take this opportunity to take him down in one fell swoop?"
"That's right, such a good opportunity can't be let go!"
They have hated Xiao Yan for a long time, and finally found an opportunity. What can they do if Emperor An is unwilling to punish him severely? What Xiao Yan did violated the rules in every way, and even Emperor An could not go against the rules and protect him too much, otherwise the people from the Censorate would not forgive him!
Seeing that several people had already started thinking about how to deal with Xiao Yan, and even planned to drag the people from the Censorate into the water, Lu Chongyuan had a complicated expression.
"Are you overthinking it? Why do you think Xiao Yan is called Mad Dog? Do you really think you can investigate this matter? Even if you wanted to, he might not agree."
Cui Lin frowned when he heard this: "What do you mean, Mr. Lu?"
Lu Chongyuan looked at him and said, "Do you still remember what crime Xiao Yansuo used to arrest the Song family?"
Cui Lin was stunned for a moment, then his expression changed suddenly.
"When the Crown Prince Li's rebellion failed, he burned himself to death in the Forbidden Palace. Countless people were implicated in the rebellion. I don't need to remind you who were the people who followed the late emperor's order to eliminate the rebels. I think you all know how much benefit you gained from it."
Seeing Cui Lin's ugly face, Lu Chongyuan looked up at the others with flickering eyes.
"Why do you think Xiao Yan suddenly attacked the Duke of Song's mansion? Could it be that it was really just because Song Hongrong had a mistress, the daughter of a rebel, and was bullying his new adopted sister, Governor Xiao? Or was it because the Song family had repeatedly offended him, and he was enraged and stood up for Song Tangning?"
"If Xiao Yan is really so impulsive and easily angered, how could he have the nerve to force us to this point?"
Cui Lin's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. "Are you saying that he is Xiang Zhuang dancing with a sword, aiming at Pei Gong?"
Lu Chongyuan's voice was cold and gloomy. "The Song family and Song Hong were just a prelude. He just wanted to use Song Hong to deal with the aristocratic families. The clues in the previous grain tax case were cut off, and it would be difficult for him to use this to pursue the case. But if Song Hong is convicted of treason, then no one who cleared out the Crown Prince back then would be able to escape."
Everyone in the room's expressions changed.
"No way, it's been so many years."
"Yes, things have changed since then. Crown Prince Li has been dead for a long time. Besides, if Crown Prince Li hadn't been in trouble, how could His Majesty ascend the throne? How could he allow Xiao Yan to pursue this matter..."
Before the person finished speaking, he heard someone knocking on the door.
"Father, it's me."
The room suddenly became quiet. After the door was pushed open, Lu Chongyuan's eldest son Lu Zhao walked in hurriedly with an extremely ugly expression.
"Father, news just came from the palace that Prince Cheng was reprimanded by His Majesty for using his power to intimidate local officials and helping the Song family cover up their treasonous identities."
"Your Majesty has ordered Xiao Yan to conduct a rigorous investigation into the Song family's conspiracy case and to confiscate the Duke of Song's residence. Prince Cheng is not allowed to leave the palace until the case is concluded."
Lu Chongyuan's face darkened when he heard this, and the expressions of the others also changed.
There have always been cases of the royal family taking advantage of their power to oppress local officials and allowing them to seek personal gain. This was not worthy of Emperor An issuing a separate decree to reprimand and confine them.
Most importantly, Prince Cheng was also involved in the case of Crown Prince Li.
Lu Zhao was a little anxious. "Father, it's one thing that Xiao Yan captured the Song family, but now even Prince Cheng has been reprimanded and confined by His Majesty. Rumors are spreading that Prince Cheng is colluding with the Song family to exchange rebels and deceive the emperor. If they really want to use the Song family's affairs to investigate the past, then we..."
"The sky hasn't fallen yet, why panic?"
Lu Chongyuan frowned and scolded his eldest son before he said in a deep voice, "Where's Sanlang?"
"In the mansion."
"Let him come to see me."
Although he didn't know what his father wanted to do with his own legitimate son, he quickly agreed, turned around and hurried out to ask someone to find Lu Zhinian.
Lu Chongyuan raised his eyes and said to the people in the room with different expressions, "As you can see, the Duke of Song's Mansion was just a prelude. Xiao Yan's target has never been the Song family. Instead of thinking about how to manipulate the Song family's affairs to impeach Xiao Yan and expel him from the court, you should think about how to prevent the Song family's affairs from involving you."
"I know some of you have been getting close to people in the royal family lately, and some of you have had private dealings with Prince Cheng. Now that Prince Cheng has been targeted by Xiao Yan, you'd better go back and clean up your mess. Otherwise, if anything happens later, I won't be able to protect you."
Several people present were startled, and Cui Qizheng subconsciously said, "What Lord Lu said is true. Our families have always been united, and we have always supported the Empress and the Fourth Prince with Lord Lu as our leader. Why would we have any contact with Prince Cheng for no reason?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Chongyuan just glanced at him indifferently. Although he was obviously old and the corners of his eyes were full of wrinkles, his eyes were sharp as if he could see through people at a glance.
Cui Qizhen was trying hard to look him in the eye, but after a moment his expression became strained.
Seeing this, Lu Chongyuan didn't expose the truth. He just withdrew his gaze and said, "I am just reminding you that the reason why the major families have been able to last for hundreds of years without decline is because they advance and retreat together, so no one dares to challenge them. You can seek benefits, but if anyone harms the overall interests of the family, don't blame me for being ruthless."
"I'll find a way to deal with the Duke of Song's Mansion and Xiao Yan. You guys should clean up your own mess. If you're caught and end up in trouble with the Prince of Cheng's Mansion, I'm sure you can understand that I'll have to cut off my own mess to survive, right?"
The people who were talking at once suddenly fell silent, and Cui Qizhen tightened his jaw even more after listening to Lu Chongyuan's words.
Lu Chongyuan was warning them and also threatening them.
But they all knew that Lu Chongyuan was not just talking. If there ever came a day when they endangered the interests of the aristocratic families, Lu Chongyuan would really be able to abandon them without hesitation. This was also a tacit understanding that had long existed among the major families.
…
After leaving the Lu family, the people from the other families went back home first, while Cui Qizhen met with the people from the other two families in a quiet place.
There are seven aristocratic families in Beijing that can join forces with the Lu family. The Lu family is the leader, followed by the Cui family. The Qi, Luo, Wang, Li, and Feng families are all on par with each other. The Li and Feng families are slightly inferior to the other three families.
The current head of the Feng family is Feng Qiuli, who has just taken over the helm and is also the youngest person in power among the several families. When he saw Cui Qizheng, he asked in a deep voice, "Mr. Cui, does Lu Chongyuan know about our affairs?"
The man from the Li family was already anxious, and when he heard Feng Qiuli mention the name "Lu Chongyuan", his face turned even paler, and even his voice trembled:
"Yes, does Lu Chongyuan know everything? We have been secretly interacting with the Second Prince, and we asked Prince Cheng to act as a middleman. If Prince Cheng gets into trouble and blames us, then if Lu Chongyuan knows what we have been doing in secret, I am afraid he will never forgive us."
Although Lu Chongyuan is old, they know how cruel he is.
When the grain tax incident occurred, he did not hesitate to sacrifice dozens of people from all over Jiangnan in order to protect the capital. He slaughtered them all in one night and even killed many officials in the capital.
The Fourth Prince was the Lu family's chosen heir, and the one the noble families had already tacitly chosen to assist. However, they had now turned their support to the Second Prince. If Lu Chongyuan knew about this, the consequences would be...
Although Cui Qizheng was younger than Lu Chongyuan, he was already in his fifties. Seeing the panicked Li family member, who seemed to be retreating, he frowned and said, "What does it matter whether we spare him or not? We've already done it. How can we retreat?"
Seeing his pale face, Cui Qizheng tightened his jaw.
"I know what you're afraid of, but even if Lu Chongyuan really finds out, what can we do?"
"His Lu family is powerful, but our three families are not pushovers either. If Lu Chongyuan really dares to attack us because of this, then we can just turn against him directly. He doesn't dare to fight us to the death at the cost of the Lu family, which would only benefit others in vain."
Seeing that the man was still hesitant and silent, Cui Qizheng's eyes flashed coldly: "Things like this require mutual consent. If you are really scared, then leave."
"I don't really care who I support. The Cui family may not be as strong as the Lu family, but no matter who comes to power, it will not be difficult for them to protect themselves. The Lu family may not dare to touch us, but your Li family..." He paused, "Aristocratic families also prey on the weak. Don't forget how the He family was wiped out."
The head of the Li family's face suddenly changed when he heard this.
The He family was originally one of the aristocratic families. At that time, its status in the court of Beijing was even greater than that of the Lu family. However, such a prosperous family was "expelled" by the other families just because their interests were contrary to those of the other families and the people in power were too lenient and put the interests of the people above the aristocratic families.
At that time, it was discovered that the He family was involved in the rebellion of Prince Li. The entire family was wiped out and all descendants died. People outside said that the head of the He family made a wrong step and destroyed the family's prosperity for a hundred years, but only they knew in their hearts that the He family had never colluded with Prince Li from beginning to end.
It was simply because he had hindered the interests of the Lu family and was framed.
The law of the jungle is not just a thing in the outside world; it also exists among aristocratic families.
Seeing the Li family patriarch's face turn pale, Feng Qiuli quickly said, "Mr. Cui, you're joking. Since we have chosen to follow Mr. Cui, we will never regret it."
He turned his head to look at the man from the Li family beside him.
"Uncle Li, the Lu family has never thought of supporting anyone. They only got to where they are today after devouring the He family. The interests of our families have also been continuously exploited and eroded by the Lu family."
"It's fine for Mr. Cui and a few other families, but your Li family and our Feng family are already in decline, and our clan is getting worse day by day. If you don't find a way to move forward, I'm afraid that sooner or later you will be squeezed out of the ranks of the aristocratic families, and even become the nourishment of the Lu family and a few other families."
Feng Qiuli's young face was filled with ambition and no hesitation. "Lu Chongyuan has never been kind, and the Fourth Prince may not protect the aristocratic family. Instead of trusting them, it's better to trust ourselves. As long as the three of us join forces, he won't dare to touch us easily."
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