Chapter 257 When Lu Zhongshu sent people to whip the corpse, did he ever think that the dead are the most important?
Lu Chongyuan naturally didn't believe that Guan would collude with Prince Cheng.
Although he did not personally choose this daughter-in-law, he knew her background well. Guan was a softer person, but she was devoted to her eldest son.
Looking at Guan kneeling on the ground, Lu Chongyuan's eyes were cold. "They are just a few letters, not written by Guan herself. If she is deliberately trying to frame someone, it would be too easy. Besides, it was the Black Armor Guards and the Fourth Prince's men who searched Guan's residence just now. Who knows if someone is taking advantage of the opportunity to frame her?"
"Grandfather, do you think I framed Guan?"
Seeing that Lu Chongyuan only looked at him coldly without saying anything, the Fourth Prince was furious: "This letter was found in her residence. Even if my grandfather doesn't recognize it, what about Qinxin? She has served the Guan family for decades..."
"How can you take what a lowly slave says seriously?"
Lu Chongyuan's gaze suddenly fell on Tang Ning. "I've heard that the reason Princess Cheng was deceived by Prince Cheng was because of the betrayal of her maid. If an old woman who had served Princess Cheng for over thirty years could betray her master, how much less a lowly slave? What does the Yiyang County Lady say?"
Tang Ning's face turned cold.
Upon hearing this, Guan said anxiously, "Father is right. It was Qinxin who betrayed her master. She was bribed and framed to harm me..."
Qin Xin, who was lying on the ground covered in blood, suddenly looked up and said, "Madam, I have served you for many years without any slackness, but now you want to abandon me?"
"Back then, you and Prince Cheng were almost caught having an affair, and you begged me to keep it secret. When you first became pregnant with my child, you didn't want to give birth to a child for the Lu family, so you deliberately aborted it. It was me who cleaned up your mess and used it to make me feel guilty."
"Later, you and Prince Cheng had an illegitimate child. You used the excuse that it was born under my name. You even gave birth a few days earlier, fearing the birth month would be wrong. It was this servant who covered up for you, keeping Sanlang Jun's background a secret..."
“You are talking nonsense!!!”
Guan was still feeling aggrieved, but when she heard her mention Lu Zhinian, she went crazy and pounced on Qin Xin, wanting to hit her: "The child was lost by accident, and I was frightened when Sanlang went into labor prematurely. Sanlang is clearly my bloodline, why did you frame me? Why did you lie?!"
Qinxin was hit several times on the face before Guan was freed.
Qin Xin's face was covered in blood from the scratches she had made. "I didn't lie. Everything I said was true. You kept Prince Cheng's bastard child, occupying the identity of the Lu family's legitimate son. Then you took a random child of the Lu family's bloodline and gave him to Prince Cheng, passing him off as the newly born young prince."
"You said that no matter how noble the Prince of Cheng was, he was not as good as the Patriarch of the Lu family. You also said that after Sanlang inherited the Lu family, the Prince of Cheng's mansion would be able to serve him after he came of age and pave the way for Sanlang's future."
"You were afraid that Prince Cheng would be biased if he had another child, so you drugged Princess Cheng for many years. If it weren't for the accident a while ago, Princess Cheng wouldn't have gotten pregnant again."
After Qin Xin finished speaking, she kowtowed to Xiao Yan and the others.
"Master Xiao, my wife has been married to Prince Cheng for many years. The jade bracelet on her wrist was a gift from him."
"This item originally belonged to the Concubine Dowager of Prince Cheng's Palace. Back then, during the late Emperor's southern tour, he obtained a piece of top-quality green jade and made it into bracelets and jade pendants, which he then gifted to the favored princes and concubines in the palace."
"This jade bracelet was given to Madam by Prince Cheng. It has the insignia of a palace item on it. Moreover, it was given by the late Emperor, so there must be records in the palace. A simple check will reveal its authenticity."
Madam Lu was stunned and looked down at the jade bracelet on her wrist.
"...This is a bracelet that the Empress had blessed by a master when she was still in her boudoir. It was blessed by the master... I hope that when you wear it, it will save the master from danger and protect you and the young master."
"The Queen has always been concerned about you and the master in prison. I hope you and the young master will be well..."
"...Madam, please don't spread the news about this bracelet. Otherwise, if the Second Madam and the others knew that it was only given to you, they would probably blame you."
When Aunt Jinzhi, the queen's aunt, gave her the bracelet that day, she was very concerned and grateful. When she heard that it was blessed by a high monk, she kept it with her, hoping that it would bring good luck to herself and her master.
But……
Seeing everyone's eyes on her wrist, Guan suddenly threw away the bracelet and hissed, "This is not mine. This was given to me by the Queen..."
"presumptuous!!"
The Fourth Prince's expression suddenly changed. He hadn't expected Guan to actually attack Empress Lu. He raised his foot and kicked Guan: "You whore, you've been having an affair with Prince Cheng for years, and yet you still dare to slander my mother? My mother has never had this jade bracelet, so how could she have given it to you?!"
"It was really given to me by the Queen, Qinxin..."
Guan wanted to say that Qinxin knew it, but Qinxin had betrayed her. She panicked and turned around and said hurriedly, "Father, this bracelet was really given to me by the Empress. It was given to me by Aunt Jinzhi who was by her side..."
"Shut up!!"
Lu Chongyuan suddenly shouted angrily, frightening Guan. She cried, "Father, I didn't lie. The Empress really gave it to me. Aunt Jinzhi said that this bracelet was blessed by a high monk and can help you escape from prison soon. She also said..."
Bang!
The teacup on the table suddenly hit Guan's forehead, interrupting her words.
Lu Chongyuan said in a deep voice: "You said the Queen gave it to you, but did anyone see it?"
Guan's eyes widened. She wanted to speak, but she couldn't say anything.
When Jinzhi came to see her, she was alone with Qinxin. Later, out of gratitude for the Queen's kindness and fearing that the people in the mansion would be dissatisfied with the Queen's reward to her alone, she carefully hid the bracelet and carried it close to her body without telling anyone.
"The Queen told me not to tell anyone else. It was the Queen. She really gave it to me..."
“Bang!”
Seeing that Guan still dared to bite him, the Fourth Prince stepped forward and slapped her in the face: "If you dare to slander my mother again, I will kill you!"
Guan's head was buzzing from the beating, and she couldn't help but scream, "I didn't slander..."
"aunt!"
Lu Jia Erlang suddenly spoke up, "Aunt, you are truly foolish! Your involvement with Prince Cheng is already a serious crime, and now that we have all the evidence, you still want to slander the Empress."
"Aunt Jinzhi came to visit Grandfather that day, and I accompanied her in and out. She did come to visit you before she left, but it was also because my uncle was imprisoned and the Empress felt sorry for you."
"I saw it with my own eyes. She only gave you ordinary food and clothes. She never mentioned the jade bracelet at all. Why are you slandering the Queen like this?!"
Guan's eyes suddenly widened, looking at the illegitimate son from the next room in disbelief. Whenever he saw her in the past, he always respectfully called her aunt, never showing any disrespect, but now he was actually confusing right and wrong and harming her.
"Lu Jiuan, you're lying..."
“That’s enough!!”
Lu Chongyuan seemed to be unable to bear it any longer and waved his hand to brush away the things on the table.
"You yourself have committed such a shameful act, and yet you dare to accuse the Empress. Do you want the entire Lu family to be buried with you, and for Xuan'er to die with you?"
When Guan heard the word "Xuan'er", all the color disappeared from her face.
Seeing her quiet down, Lu Chongyuan said in a deep voice, "The Empress came to visit with good intentions, yet you slandered her like this. Even with all the evidence, you still want to deny it. How could a child as smart and well-behaved as Xuan'er have a mother like you!"
"Xuan'er..."
Guan's lips trembled, and she looked up into Lu Chongyuan's cold eyes, feeling a chill all over her body.
No matter how stupid or dull she was, she had realized at this moment that the Queen had plotted against her.
From the day she was given the bracelet, she had fallen into the Queen's trap. The letter from Prince Cheng, the bracelet given by the late Emperor, and the testimony of the maid who came with her as a dowry, all of these things made it impossible for her to defend herself.
The one who is having an affair with Prince Cheng is the Queen!
She could tear the queen apart and bite her to death, but as for Xuan'er, she had neither evidence to prove that the queen had harmed her nor evidence to clear herself.
If she insisted on biting the queen and letting the emperor know what the queen had done, the emperor would be furious and would drag the queen and the Lu family to death together.
Cuckolding Lu Zhao and cuckolding the emperor are two completely different things. The former brings shame, and the latter results in death. The father-in-law clearly sensed that something was wrong, so he chose to sacrifice her to protect the Lu family from being implicated by the queen, and used Xuan'er's life to threaten her.
Guan had never hated herself so much for being so clear-headed. She glanced at Qin Xin, then at Lu Chongyuan and the others, remembering how her youngest son looked when he left the house.
"Mother, Xijue Tower has a delicious pine nut candy. I'll bring some back for you."
"Don't be afraid, mother. My brother and father are not here, Xuan'er will protect you."
"Xuan'er has grown up. When I return home, I will practice martial arts well. If anyone dares to bully my mother, I will beat him..."
Xuan'er...
Tears welled up in Guan's eyes, and she couldn't utter a word of excuse. She looked at Lu Chongyuan quietly for a long time, and whispered, "I have brought shame to the Lu family. I am sorry, Master."
She looked at the Fourth Prince with hatred, as if she could see through his face to his cruel mother: "The Fourth Prince and the Queen are both members of the Lu family, why do they want to ruin my good fortune and kill me!"
She suddenly pulled out the hairpin from her hair and stabbed it hard towards her neck.
The hairpin pierced Guan's throat and she fell to the ground with a thud, blood gushing out.
She looked up at Lu Chongyuan: "I... I'm sorry to the Lu family... But Xuan'er is the blood of the Lu family. I hope my father... I hope Lu Zhongshu will treat him well... For the sake of... I haven't dragged down the Lu family..."
She stared at Lu Chongyuan intently, then turned to look at the Fourth Prince:
"Even if I become a ghost, I won't let the Queen go!"
Guan died right after she finished speaking. As blood flowed, her wide-open eyes were filled with hatred, which frightened the Fourth Prince so much that he took two steps back.
The Fourth Prince never imagined that when the truth was revealed, Guan was dead.
He turned his head to look at Xiao Yan, but saw that he was just looking at him coldly. Canglang and the others were also unmoved. Even Tang Ning, who was obviously just a little girl, just stood there and watched.
The Fourth Prince vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but before he could figure out what was going on, he met Lu Chongyuan's exceptionally cold eyes.
"Fourth Prince, are you satisfied?"
When Lu Chongyuan stood up, he said to the Fourth Prince in a deep voice, "Guan Shi was in collusion with Prince Cheng, using the Lu family's influence to seek things for Prince Cheng's palace. She even secretly encouraged Lu Zhao to embezzle grain funds. The Lu family produced such an unfilial and unscrupulous person, but I did not see through it clearly. It is my fault."
"Since the Fourth Prince wishes to restore the Emperor's order, I will bring Guan's body with me to the palace and personally apologize to His Majesty."
"Grandfather..."
"I dare not. Your Highness is a royal descendant. I am a criminal and do not deserve to be addressed as Your Highness."
The Fourth Prince's face turned pale. Even though he had known that they would break up afterwards, when he saw Lu Chongyuan treating him so coldly, he still felt like he had lost something.
He tried hard to tell himself that he was not wrong, and that it was the Lu family who was wrong. They were the ones who attacked him first and wanted to kill him, so he had no choice but to be cruel to them.
Lu Chongyuan didn't look at him again, but turned to look at Xiao Yan with a fierce look that had never been seen before.
"Lord Xiao, can I come into the palace and apologize now?"
Xiao Yan turned his head to meet his sinister gaze, raised his lips and said, "Since you are asking for forgiveness, of course I can."
"Come here, follow the Fourth Prince's instructions and carry Guan's body into the palace with Secretary Lu."
Lu Chongyuan stared at Xiao Yan intently, with an unprecedented murderous intent in his heart. Why did he allow this eunuch to climb to such a high position? Why didn't he get rid of him earlier?
He hated it so much that blood seeped into his throat and his heart ached, but in the end, Lu Chongyuan just turned his head and said to the side: "Erlang, take good care of the mansion."
Lu Jia Erlang clenched his palms: "Yes, grandfather."
Xiao Yan turned his head and glanced at the Fourth Prince: "Your Highness, please."
…
After leaving the Lu family, Tang Ning was escorted back to Jiyun Lane, and the bloody woman who was carried out of the Lu family was placed on a cart and followed Lu Chongyuan into the palace.
Lu Chongyuan watched with his own eyes as Guan's corpse was exposed to the public, watched as people pointed fingers at her, and watched as the news of her affair with Prince Cheng became known to everyone.
Lu Chongyuan turned his head and looked at Xiao Yan: "Lord Xiao, death is the greatest thing, why do you have to do it so drastically?"
Xiao Yan leaned against the carriage, watching the people around him chattering. He raised his lips indifferently, "Lu Zhongshu sent people to whip corpses and dig up the He family's bones to be buried in the altar for Prince Li. He didn't seem to care about the greatness of death."
He leaned against the car window, supporting his chin with his hand. "You were the one who helped the Lu family become the most powerful family by taking advantage of the He family and the Crown Prince Li. I am young, and if I want to gain a foothold in the court, I naturally have to learn from you."
Lu Chongyuan suddenly raised his eyes: "Xiao Yan, you!"
"Um?"
Xiao Yan lazily raised his eyebrows, seemingly oblivious to what he had just said. He simply pointed outside and said, "Fourth Prince, look, people in this world love to follow the crowd. Your Highness clearly sacrificed his relatives for the greater good, yet how could he be so despised by them?"
The Fourth Prince listened to the increasingly heated discussions outside, occasionally hearing his and his mother's names, and he was filled with anger: "Ignorant and unscrupulous people!!"
“It’s really ignorant.”
Xiao Yan quite agreed.
When Crown Prince Li and the He family were convicted, they also pointed fingers and talked about them with disgust, just like they are doing to the Guan family and the Lu family today.
The Fourth Prince shouted angrily, "Get someone to drive them away!"
Xiao Yan did not stop him, but just looked outside with a casual expression.
Lu Chongyuan, however, looked at the person opposite him with an uncertain expression. There was suspicion, doubt, anger, and a hint of fear in his eyes. Xiao Yan mentioned the He family, and he...
Impossible. The people of the He family and Prince Li's residence had long been wiped out. If he really was, how could he dare to mention it? But if not, why would he keep harping on the Lu family?!
Xiao Yan caught a glimpse of Lu Chongyuan's uneasy expression and sneered.
Several people walked all the way from Lu's house into the palace. Almost everyone knew about Guan's affairs. When they arrived in front of the Imperial Main Hall, Canglang pretended to help Xiao Yan get off the carriage.
"Master Governor, we have found what the Lu family was hiding."
Xiao Yan looked at Lu Chongyuan in front of him and asked, "Did anyone notice?"
"No, we haven't moved since we found the place last time. The Lu family didn't get suspicious. Today, we took advantage of the chaos at the Lu family and went there. We put the fake one in there. No one will notice."
Xiao Yan played with the ring, turned around and walked forward.
Canglang stepped aside.
The palace gates were heavily guarded, and in the long corridor, the glazed tiles on the red walls cast dazzling sunlight. As Xiao Yan walked through it and saw the Imperial Palace at the end from afar, he suddenly remembered what his father had said to him long ago when he was standing on the high platform.
He said, "Yuan Sheng, the aristocratic families are too selfish, they have a family but no country. As long as we can eradicate the evils of the aristocratic families, the great Wei will be strong, and one day we will be able to recover the other countries and bring peace and prosperity to the world."
Xiao Yanwei closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was cold.
"Lord Xiao, His Majesty has summoned you."
Xiao Yan nodded to the palace attendant who delivered the message: "Got it."
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