Chapter 261 The fish is dead and the net is broken. The net has been broken for a long time.
Gu Helian frowned even tighter: "Do I need that little bit of money from you?"
As soon as he said that, he felt annoyed. Just as he was thinking of a way to make amends, he heard Rong Yue say calmly, "Of course, Patriarch Gu is not short of money. Everyone knows that the Gu family in Zuozhou is rich enough to rival a country. But that's all I can offer you now. If Patriarch Gu doesn't like it, I'll have someone find the house myself."
Gu Helian was holding back her anger and suddenly felt annoyed.
"Rong Yue..."
Gu Helian wanted to speak, but when he saw her raise her eyes, her eyes were calm, and beside her were Tang Ning and Xue Ru, plus Qian Qiyue who had just arrived, his words suddenly got stuck in his throat. He shook his sleeves anxiously, "I don't look down on you, you don't have to be so polite to me."
"I'm not being polite, I'm being courteous. You've helped me a lot during this time." Rong Yue said softly, "It was already impolite to hastily call you from Zuozhou earlier, not to mention there were misunderstandings in the past. I'm very grateful that you're willing to help Tang Ning and me for the sake of my father and sister."
"I'm not..."
"Um?"
Gu Helian opened his mouth, but seeing that everyone in the room was looking at him, he pursed his lips suddenly, and after a moment he said angrily, "You also said that the Rong family has done me a favor. Even if you didn't call me, I would have come to the capital knowing that Xiao Haitang was in trouble. Besides, it's just a trivial matter, why are you nagging so much nonsense and nagging endlessly!"
Seeing Rong Yue's expression pause, Gu Helian felt as if someone had strangled her throat: "I'm going to look for a house. The accountant will ask them to come find you later."
He hurriedly opened the curtain and walked out, holding an umbrella to the yard. He looked back at the room over there, and thinking of the astonishment in Rong Yue's eyes just now, Gu Helian couldn't help but raised his hand and slapped himself: You have a broken mouth!
Do you want to die just by saying something nice?!
Gu Helian felt a lump in her heart and was about to walk out, but when she looked up, she saw Hua Wu coming over with something in her arms.
"...Master Gu?"
Gu Helian's face froze: "There are mosquitoes."
Hua Wu exclaimed "Ah" and looked at the rainy weather.
It's not even hot yet, but there are already mosquitoes?
…
Rong Yue was stunned by Gu Helian's sudden anger, and her face showed a momentary embarrassment after she saw the person leave.
She felt guilty towards Gu Helian. If she had not mistakenly believed Xie Tianyu, Gu Helian would not have been given such a bad reputation and expelled from the Rong family and left Beijing in disgrace. Although he later married into the Gu family and is living a very good life now, Rong Yue always felt that she owed Gu Helian.
Rong Yue knew that she had treated Gu Helian badly in the past, so she wanted to get along with him in a friendly manner, but she didn't expect to make him unhappy.
She lowered her eyes to suppress her bewilderment. Seeing the three little girls beside her looking at her, Rong Yue forced a smile and said, "Now that the imperial decree has come down, I'm afraid that starting tomorrow, many people will come."
It has always been like this in the capital. If she was still the Princess of Cheng, or had just divorced Prince Cheng, no one would care about her. But she happened to inherit the family property of Prince Cheng and was named Lady of Rong. In addition, with Prince Cheng and the Lu family's "affairs", there would be many people who wanted to come and watch the fun, find out the news, or try to build relationships and show goodwill.
Tang Ning said, "If my aunt finds it annoying, I'll ask Guard Hang to stop them directly."
Rong Yue shook her head: "It's impossible to stop it. Sooner or later, the Rong family will have to deal with those people in the capital."
Over the years, she has been carrying the title of Princess Cheng, and has been planning everything for the Cheng Palace. All the interpersonal relationships have fallen on the Cheng Palace. If she wants to protect Tang Ning and gain a foothold in the capital, she can't always hide in her shell. She has to let people know that Tang Ning has her family to rely on.
"I haven't recovered yet, and I don't want anyone to come here because of the Lu family's affairs. So, if someone does come, tell them that I will hold a banquet at my mansion in ten days. His Majesty has granted me a first-class imperial decree and invites them to celebrate. I will send an invitation to my mansion in two days when I feel better."
Tang Ning thought about it and felt it was feasible: "Then I will tell Xichun and the others."
Qian Qiyue was immediately delighted when she heard there was a banquet. She quickly asked, "Madam, you are having a banquet. Can I come?"
Rong Yue smiled and said, "Of course, I will have someone send invitations to you and Madam Qian separately. Madam Qian, please do me the honor of coming."
Qian Qiyue became happy.
…
Qian Qiyue stayed in Tang Mansion until it was getting dark before leaving. If the maid had not urged her, she would have stayed in Tang Mansion overnight.
After seeing Qian Qiyue off, Tang Ning accompanied Xue Ru to read for a while. When Xue Ru felt sleepy and went back to rest, she tidied up and asked Hua Wu and the others to go downstairs to rest as well. She leaned against the head of the bed thinking about Queen Lu and the Lu family. When she was drowsy, she suddenly saw a shadow passing by outside the window.
When Tang Ning looked carefully, the shadow had already gone far away. Her eyes lit up with joy, and she hurriedly walked barefoot to the window and pushed open the window sash, and saw Xiao Yan leaving.
"Brother."
Xiao Yan turned around and saw the little girl leaning on the window frame, her eyes full of surprise when she looked at him.
Xiao Yan strode back: "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
"I can't sleep." Tang Ning leaned against the window: "Brother, why are you here at this time?"
"Just came out of the palace."
The palace was full of ghosts and monsters. After Emperor An's headache subsided, he summoned him into the palace. He listened to Emperor An nagging and scolding Lu Chongyuan for his rebellion, with a ferocious face, accusing the Lu family of deserving death, but also indirectly asking him to put the Lu family's affairs aside for the time being.
Although he had long known that the Lu family held the leverage over Emperor An, and that Emperor An would back down if the Lu family dared to fight to the death, when he saw Emperor An's helpless and furious look, he still felt that it was truly pathetic that such a person had killed his father and become emperor.
Xiao Yan looked at Emperor An, who kept cursing but looked fierce but was actually weak, and for a moment he felt murderous intent. After coming out of the palace, he inexplicably wanted to see Tang Ning. Even if he just stood by her window, it would calm his surging and bloodthirsty heart.
Tang Ning felt that something was wrong with Xiao Yan tonight. She waved towards him and waited for Xiao Yan to approach before asking in a low voice, "Is something wrong in the palace?"
Xiao Yan shook his head: "No."
"Then why are you unhappy, brother?" Tang Ning asked.
Xiao Yan hadn't expected her to be so perceptive. He subsided a little of his coldness and relaxed as he lowered his eyes to look at her. "I'm not unhappy, I'm just a little tired."
Seeing the little girl looking at her worriedly, he said, "Lu Chongyuan was released from house arrest yesterday. After he started his duty today, he submitted a memorial to Your Majesty, saying that he and I have a personal grudge and that it is inappropriate for me to be in charge of the grain tax case. He requested that the grain tax case be transferred to the Ministry of Justice for a joint trial by the three courts. Emperor An approved the request and ordered Lu Zhao to be sent to the Ministry of Justice's prison."
Tang Ning was stunned: "Your Majesty, do you want to put the Lu family's affairs aside for now and stop the grain tax case?"
Xiao Yan said "hmm".
"Your Majesty is crazy?"
Tang Ning frowned. Everyone in the capital knew that Xiao Yan had a "grudge" against the aristocratic families, and the Lu family and he had been at odds with each other for a long time. That was why Emperor An had handed the Lu family's case over to him.
He had always wanted to eradicate the aristocratic families, and the grain tax case was also something that Emperor An had been suppressing and had people digging deeper into. Once Guan died, Lu Zhao and the Lu family would definitely turn against each other. With just a little trickery, Lu Zhao might be able to reveal the affairs of the Lu family. However, he actually transferred Lu Zhao to the Ministry of Justice, obviously not wanting Xiao Yan to interfere anymore.
Tang Ning said in a deep voice, "What evidence does the Lu family have against Your Majesty?"
Lu Chongyuan only went to the palace to apologize, and was first released from house arrest, and then the grain tax case was put on hold. This is not normal at all.
Seeing that she had instantly grasped the key, Xiao Yan raised his lips and said, "Perhaps he came to power illegitimately, and the Lu family is in cahoots with him. They both know that the other is desperate, and if they are torn apart, they will probably perish together, so they have no choice but to step back."
Seeing Tang Ning's serious expression after hearing that, his little face was tense and his fingers gripping the window frame were extremely tight.
Xiao Yan said, "It's a pity that some things he started, but he can't end them."
The Lu family wants to withdraw.
Emperor An wanted to retreat.
But some people have no way out.
His target has never been Lu Zhao, and the ones who can take the Lu family's life are not other members of the Lu family. There are some things that Lu Zhao will never say even if he dies, but other people will.
He wanted to destroy all her hopes, force her to cut off her own arms, and put her in a desperate situation where she could only follow the path he left.
Xiao Yan's eyes were tinged with frost. When he stretched out his hand and placed it on Tang Ning's hair, he gently rubbed it: "Go to sleep. There will be something exciting in a few days."
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