Chapter 418 Little Aunt
Di Tao shuddered suddenly and said with a playful smile: "Uncle, you are wise and brave!"
"I'll play dumb...bah, and fool the emperor. My father is here anyway, and he's planning to keep me in the capital as a hostage. After the Dragon Court Guards take action, he'll definitely try to win over my father to suppress the Shang family. Then he'll have to reward me with something."
The military power of the four battalions outside Beijing is pretty good.
Xiao Yan said, "Don't go to Jiyun Lane these days. Don't let anyone see you."
Di Tao patted his chest and said, "That can't be possible. I climbed over the wall and got in. No one saw me."
Xiao Yan: “…”
"Should I still praise you?"
Di Tao's face tightened, and he chuckled, forcing a change of subject: "Aunt, I'm hungry. The food at the inn is terrible. Do you and my uncle have anything to eat here?"
Even though Tang Ning had heard it several times, her face still flushed every time she was called "little aunt". She said to Di Tao, "Go find Hua Wu next door and ask her to make you something to eat."
Di Tao rolled his eyes and thought, "Go next door? That's great. He was just about to go find the little girl from last time."
"Thank you, little auntie. I'll be leaving now!"
Di Tao waved his hand and ran away.
Tang Ning couldn't help laughing when he saw that there seemed to be a ghost chasing him. Xiao Yan rolled his eyes impatiently, and when he looked closely, there was a smile in his eyes.
…
At the morning court the next day, Xiao Yan presented a thick stack of charges against the Lu family to the emperor, shocking everyone in the court.
Even though Emperor An had long known that the people of the aristocratic families were not honest, and Lu Chongyuan had been in the court for many years, he would definitely not be at peace once a thorough investigation was carried out, but he did not expect that Xiao Yan could find out so much. One or two cases of ordinary officials would be enough to be executed and their property confiscated, but the Lu family had accumulated a thick pile of evidence.
If they were to behead people, the more than a thousand people in the Lu family would not be enough to be chopped off.
After Xiao Yan finished explaining everything he had learned from the Lu family's interrogation, he looked up at Emperor An and said,
"Everything here has been verified, and the evidence has been found and handed over to Your Majesty. There are also more than ten cases related to the Lu family. Due to the long time, they need to be investigated in detail. In the grain tax case alone, apart from Lu Zhao, the rest of the Lu family are not innocent. There are dozens of people directly or indirectly involved in the case."
"To evade accountability, Lu Chongyuan dispatched assassins to kill dozens of officials, both high and low, and hundreds of individuals who were involved in the transport of grain. Countless others collaborated with the Lu family to embezzle imperial funds and exchange grain for silver. The relevant evidence has been recovered, along with the grain account books and several letters written by Lu Chongyuan himself, all of which have been presented to Your Majesty."
"Besides this, the Lu family has deceived their superiors and subordinates more than once. After Lu Qin was convicted and exiled for attempting to assassinate His Majesty, he was replaced with a fake during the journey. Now, the prisoners in his exile are other death row prisoners the Lu family has found, while Lu Qin was secretly brought back to the Lu family territory..."
The hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Xiao Yan's voice was not loud, but every word he said was horrifying.
The cases related to the Lu family alone took up half an hour to talk about, and the number of officials and innocent people killed by the Lu family was too numerous to list.
Emperor An looked at the things in his hands and slammed them heavily on the dragon throne: "Lu Chongyuan, he is so brave!!"
He kept breathing in and out, but his head was throbbing with pain. The heavy dragon robe on his body made him feel restless.
Xiao Yan bowed, "Since Lu Chongyuan was imprisoned, he has only cried out his innocence and has repeatedly requested to see Your Majesty. Most of this information was pried out from other members of the Lu family. If we want to examine the matters that have not yet been clarified, it will probably take some time..."
"What are you still investigating? The evidence is right here, and he still dares to cry out his innocence?!"
Emperor An's face was filled with anger. "I trusted Lu Chongyuan and the Lu family so much, but I indulged them repeatedly because of the past relationship between the emperor and his subjects. I didn't expect that this would foster the Lu family's ambitions and allow them to dare to betray me like this!"
His mind was pounding, and although he looked angry, he was extremely satisfied with Xiao Yan.
What Xiao Yan found out was enough to put the Lu family to death, allowing him to deal with the Lu family with justification, but nothing involved anyone who shouldn't be involved. Xiao Yan brushed off those "cases" that had not been investigated as being from a long time ago.
Emperor An glanced at Xiao Yan and said gravely, "Lu Chongyuan, arrogating himself to the emperor's support, has repeatedly used his position as a regent as an excuse to act arrogantly before the emperor. He has manipulated government affairs, accepted bribes, deceived the emperor, and caused chaos in the court. He intends to destroy the foundation of the Great Wei. His crimes are so heinous that even his life cannot aton for them."
"I hereby decree that Lu Chongyuan and his son be sentenced to death, the rest of the Lu family be exiled, and all property of the Lu family be confiscated..."
Qian Baokun frowned: "Your Majesty!"
He stepped forward, holding a white jade tablet. "Lu Chongyuan deserved death, but aren't the punishments for the rest of the Lu family too lenient? The Lu family has committed almost all serious crimes, including extermination of property and genocide. How can the lives of Lu Chongyuan and his sons be the only punishment?"
The entire Lu family shouldn't have escaped impunity just for the grain tax case, not to mention the numerous charges Xiao Yan had leveled against them. Was Emperor An trying to protect the Lu family?!
Cao Dejiang also spoke in a deep voice: "Minister Qian is right. The Lu family's crimes are too numerous to list. Although Lu Chongyuan is the master, the other members of the Lu family are not innocent either."
"Your Majesty, although a merciful ruler, should never forgive such a criminal. Otherwise, everyone in the court will become complacent and disregard the laws of the court."
Emperor An held the object in his hand and said, "I understand what Cao Qing means, but the Lu family has been my assistant, and we have had a long-standing relationship as monarch and subject. I will punish the mastermind, and I believe the rest of the Lu family will learn a lesson..."
"Your Majesty, since you understand the relationship between the monarch and his subjects, you should know that what the Lu family did is a taboo. Everyone in the court has been your Majesty's subjects for many years. Can they easily escape punishment by relying on their friendship with your Majesty if they make mistakes in the future?" Cao Dejiang said bluntly.
The people of the Qingliu faction were originally watching Cao Dejiang's actions. When they saw him confronting Emperor An, the others also stepped forward.
"As a minister, you must never use old friendships to blackmail your sovereign. How is that any different from committing treason?"
"Your Majesty has been very kind and tolerant to the Lu family, yet they have refused to change their ways, murdering court officials, seizing power, and engaging in corruption. Now, they've even set fire to the Forbidden Palace in an attempt to assassinate Your Majesty. If Your Majesty continues to tolerate the Lu family, there's no guarantee that others will think you're soft-hearted. No matter how serious the crime, you won't implicate your wife, children, or family, and take the same risk as the Lu family."
"The evidence of the Lu family's crimes is irrefutable. Each and every one of them is a grave crime punishable by extermination of the entire clan. Your Majesty must not be soft-hearted."
"Your Majesty, please severely punish Lu Chongyuan and the entire Lu family to restore order to the court."
"Your Majesty, please punish the Lu family severely and send a shock wave through the court and the world."
"I second the motion!"
"I second this motion!"
A large number of court officials stood up below and followed Cao Dejiang. They were all passionate and determined to wipe out the Lu family. Only after the Lu family was severely punished would they have a law to follow if they faced other families in the future.
Although the officials from the noble families looked unhappy when they heard this, no one stepped forward to stop him.
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