Chapter 304 Queen Lu’s Ambition
Lu Chongyuan and Cui Lin stabbed each other eight hundred times in front of the palace gate, and left with a grim face after exposing each other's secrets. The court officials who watched the fun felt like they had eaten a lot of gossip, and left with their eyes full of interest, whispering about the new gossip.
In Fengxi Palace, Empress Lu was filled with astonishment: "You said Lu Qin is useless?"
Deshun bowed and said, "Your Majesty, it is absolutely true."
"Landlord Lu and Minister Cui got into an argument in front of the palace gates. Minister Cui said it himself that Second Master Lu was unable to find a doctor and happened to run into Princess Yiyang. Furthermore, the Lu family and Governor Xiao had a long-standing grudge, and Princess Yiyang repeatedly embarrassed the Lu family, so he decided to harm her and ordered someone to act secretly. Who could have imagined that His Majesty would be injured by mistake?"
"When Minister Cui said this, there were quite a few people outside the palace gate. Lu Langling was furious but didn't refute it. I think it must be true."
The Fourth Prince's face was still covered with a white cloth. Upon hearing Deshun's words, he sneered, "Lu Qin is actually crippled. Mother, do you think this counts as tit-for-tat?"
Lu Chongyuan made it impossible for him to continue his sexual life, and his own son became a waste.
Compared to flogging and exile, this is the biggest joke of the Lu family.
Queen Lu looked at the Fourth Prince's sinister expression and couldn't help showing a bit of heartache.
Ever since the Fourth Prince learned that his face was disfigured and he would be lame in the future, his temper became gloomy and weird. He mocked Lu Qin and the Lu family, which was like rubbing salt in his own wounds.
After Empress Lu waved her hand to let Deshun and Jinzhi leave, she said to the Fourth Prince beside her, "Zheng'er, the Lu family deserves what happened to them. If they dare to destroy you, I will make sure they die without a burial place."
"My mother has asked Xiao Yan and Madam Qin to ask. After your facial wound heals, Madam Qin can prepare some medicine to help you reduce the scar. As for your leg, my mother has also sent people to find famous doctors in the community. They will definitely find a way to cure you."
The Fourth Prince laughed at himself when he heard this: "Can it be okay?"
"Of course I can!" Empress Lu affirmed, "No matter what method is used, Mother will definitely find someone to cure you."
"Why does the Queen Mother deceive herself?"
The Fourth Prince sat on the four-wheeled cart and touched his leg, which was struggling to stand. "Everyone in the Imperial Hospital said there was nothing they could do. Even Madam Qin couldn't cure my leg. How could I possibly get better?"
"Besides, I'm now at odds with the Lu family. Lu Chongyuan holds a grudge against me for forcing Guan to death. The Lu family is targeting me everywhere. I can't hide my current situation from others. The aristocratic families are all eager to benefit from it. Seeing that I'm failing, they abandoned me and joined Xie Pingjia's army."
"Father has never liked me, and now Xie Pingjia is even more capable than me in every way. Mother, why bother lying to yourself? I have no future. From now on, I can only be a cripple laughed at by everyone, a useless person looked down upon by everyone..."
Bang!!
Before the Fourth Prince could finish his words, he was slapped in the face.
Empress Lu glared at him angrily. "It's just an injured leg. Who allowed you to belittle yourself?! Have you forgotten everything your mother taught you over the years?!"
"Mother..." The Fourth Prince's expression trembled slightly.
Empress Lu tried her best to suppress her anger. Seeing his pale face, she said to him in a deep voice:
"Madam Qin is a good doctor, but there may be better doctors in the world. Even if no one can cure your leg, you are only slightly lame. You have no missing limbs. As long as you can ascend to the throne and become the supreme being, who would dare to say anything wrong about you?!"
The Fourth Prince looked at Empress Lu in a daze: "Can I still..."
"Why not?"
Empress Lu said in a deep voice, "The fact that I was able to become the Empress and make you His Majesty's legitimate son was not solely due to the Lu family. Although the power of the aristocratic family can no longer be used by us, I have trained some people for you over the years. I don't rely on the Lu family for everything. I have never used them because I want them to be your last trump card."
"What's more, although you have lost the power of the aristocratic family, you have Xiao Yan to help you. With him around, the aristocratic family has nothing to fear."
The Fourth Prince was stunned: "Xiao Yan?"
Empress Lu looked at him and said, "Xiao Yan agreed to cooperate with me and also promised to help you ascend to the throne. Look at the setbacks the Lu family has suffered. Lu Qin was exiled, and Lu Chongyuan was demoted. Do you think these were just accidents? That was Xiao Yan showing his loyalty to us mother and son. If the Lu family hurts you, he will hurt the Lu family."
"My son, before this family affair is settled, anything is possible. This is just a temporary setback. Don't get discouraged, and don't encourage others."
The Fourth Prince's eyes were filled with shock, but a glimmer of hope emerged from his originally depressed heart. "Mother, has Xiao Yan really agreed to assist me?"
Queen Lu nodded: "Yes."
The Fourth Prince was excited: "But with so many princes in the palace, I am not the best choice. If Xiao Yan really wanted to gain the credit for following the Dragon, why didn't he choose someone else?"
For example, Xie Pingjia is now in a good momentum, his father also favors him, and the other princes also have their own support. Why did Xiao Yan choose him?
Empress Lu seemed to see his confusion and said softly, "It's because you weren't a good choice that the aristocratic family gave up on you. If he had helped you secure the throne when you were at your lowest point, he would have been the greatest contributor. After you ascended the throne, he would still be able to wield considerable power, perhaps even far more than he does now."
"Also..." Queen Lu paused, "He has grudges against the Lu family and several other aristocratic families. I have something that can help him."
The fourth prince was puzzled: "Have you got any grudge?"
Empress Lu whispered, "Xiao Yan is not the eunuch's real name. His original surname was He."
The Fourth Prince was confused for a moment, but when he realized what Queen Lu meant, his eyes widened: "He? Queen Mother is saying that Xiao Yan was from the He family back then..."
Seeing Queen Lu nod, the Fourth Prince was shocked.
He was still young when the He family got into trouble, but he still knew that the He family was involved in the old case of Prince Li and was ordered by the previous emperor to be executed. At that time, the He family was more prosperous than the Lu family today. In one night, all the more than a thousand people in the family were killed.
During that period, the capital was a river of blood, and I heard that the corpses of the He family members were piled up like a mountain. Under such circumstances, how could anyone in the He family survive?
The Fourth Prince no longer had the heart to dwell on himself. He quickly sat up straight and asked Empress Lu, "Mother, are you sure Xiao Yan is from the He family? All nine members of the He family were wiped out back then. How could anyone still be alive?"
Empress Lu said, "Even if the nine clans are completely wiped out, it doesn't mean that the family's legacy cannot be passed down. Back then, Song Hong was able to exchange the daughter of a traitor for that traitor, let alone the He family. How could a family like them not have some hidden cards?"
"Think carefully about every step Xiao Yan has taken since entering the palace. If he hadn't had someone to help him, how could he have established himself so quickly within the palace? If he hadn't been familiar with the court, how could he have come before your father, easily gained his trust, and become the powerful Governor Xiao in just a few years?"
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