Chapter 458 Emperor An Becomes Suspicious
"Your Majesty, Lu Chongyuan is dead. I, your humble servant, have personally examined his body and confirmed that he died of a severe poisoning. He died instantly."
Emperor An sat on a low jade couch with his shirt open, a freshly used bowl of ice next to him. The autumn night was already chilly, but he was wearing thin clothes and walking barefoot on the ground.
"Did Xiao Yan ask him anything?"
"It only mentioned Lu Jiuan and Pingshan Wang."
Liu Tong'en, who was standing in the hall, was over forty years old. He had a pair of eyes that were particularly sharp, which was different from his appearance, on his honest and simple face. He lowered his head when he heard Emperor An's question.
"Lu Chongyuan mentioned what happened that night, still insisting it was a plot. However, Governor Xiao simply said he had been recuperating in the capital and had never left Jiyun Lane. It was Lu Chongyuan's overthinking that had trapped him. Furious and embarrassed, Lu Chongyuan brought up his past with Your Majesty and nearly revealed the Crown Prince, but was stopped by my humble men."
Emperor An's expression changed instantly: "Did Xiao Yan hear that?"
"No, but..." Liu Tong'en raised his eyes: "Superintendent Xiao must have noticed something, so he didn't question Lu Chongyuan too deeply. When Lu Chongyuan took the poison, Superintendent Xiao didn't stop him. He just watched him die and left."
Emperor An's expression softened upon hearing this: "Xiao Yan has always been a smart man."
Liu Tongen did not deny this, he just hesitated and said:
"Your Majesty, you previously asked me to investigate the Lu family's affairs. There's nothing strange about them. The Lu family did intentionally conceal the matter of Prince Cheng, and even Lu Yin's biological father was silenced by Lu Chongyuan. However, there is one thing I feel is a little off. Before the Lu family's incident, Lu Yin had met with Princess Xiangning."
"Song Tangning?"
"yes."
Liu Tong'en said, "Lu Chongyuan was very cautious. Lu Yinsheng's parents had been silenced long ago. After returning to the Lu family, he had been very quiet until he met Princess Xiangning. After returning to the Lu family, he began to secretly investigate the affairs of Guan and Prince Cheng."
"With Lu Chongyuan's methods, it's impossible for Lu Yin to hide the old events from him, unless someone is secretly helping to cover it up."
Emperor An stroked the ring in his hand with a somewhat cold expression, while Liu Tongen continued.
"There's one more thing. Regarding Madam Zhao, Zhao Yuanlang has already admitted to murdering the Fourth Prince's wife and blaming Governor Xiao. He also admitted to colluding with Lu Chongyuan. However, he has always said that he never sent anyone to hunt Madam Zhao down, nor did he poison her."
"Before he died, Lu Chongyuan insisted that Governor Xiao had left the capital, saying that he burned the Forbidden Palace and committed a grave mistake by sending people to break into Jiyun Lane in order to expose this matter. Although Governor Xiao never admitted it, I still feel that this matter is a bit strange."
Emperor An raised his eyes to look at Liu Tong'en: "Do you suspect Xiao Yan left the capital without permission?"
Liu Tong'en frowned. "I just think that with Lu Chongyuan's mind, if he hadn't really noticed something, he would never dare to take such a risk. And Yue Fengcheng, he has always said that when he led his men into Heli Hall that night, Princess Xiangning looked panicked, and even the attendants around Governor Xiao behaved strangely."
"Yue Fengcheng was the one sent by His Majesty to be with Xiao Yan. If he hadn't discovered something, he wouldn't have dared to send someone to do it even if Lu Chongyuan promised him a huge reward."
If Xiao Yan had not used himself as bait that day and set up a trap to plot against Lu Chongyuan, Yue Fengcheng and the others, then Lu Chongyuan must have really discovered that Xiao Yan was not in the capital and wanted to kill Xiao Yan for deceiving the emperor.
Where did Xiao Yan go during that time?
How did Lu Chongyuan discover it?
Xiao Yan, while recuperating from his injuries, secretly left the capital. What was he trying to hide from His Majesty? And since Lu Chongyuan was suspicious, why didn't he just inform His Majesty directly, or perhaps make a public announcement about the matter? He wasn't the only one in the court who disliked Xiao Yan; there were many who wanted to take advantage of his misfortune.
Lu Chongyuan could have used their strength to take action, so why did he go to such lengths as burning down the Forbidden Palace to create an assassination plot to lure away the capital patrol and the Black Armor Guards, and even personally send people to Jiyun Lane?
What is Lu Chongyuan afraid of? What is he wary of?
Liu Tong'en always felt that this matter was covered by a veil. The truth seemed to be right in front of him, but he couldn't see clearly through the veil. However, he subconsciously felt that the strangeness was in Xiao Yan, and even in the Xiangning County Princess Song Tangning.
The Lu family's defeat was too quick and too strange.
When Emperor An heard what Liu Tong'en said, his face darkened.
He was suspicious by nature, and although he hated Lu Chongyuan, he had "worked" with him for many years and knew Lu Chongyuan's abilities too well. He had been furious about the peace deception between King Cheng and Lu Qingfeng before, but now that he had calmed down, he realized that something was wrong.
Xiao Yan...
Is he really hiding something?
"Have someone keep an eye on Jiyun Lane, and you go and interrogate Jiang Ji yourself."
That day, Jiang Ji followed Feng Lai to Jiyun Lane to "examine" Xiao Yan. If Xiao Yan had really left Beijing, where did the so-called "serious injury" that Jiang Ji diagnosed at that time come from?
And Feng Lai.
Feng Lai had personally met and spoken with Xiao Yan. If Jiang Ji was lying, what about Feng Lai? Did this eunuch know about it, or was he involved?
Emperor An paused when he thought of Feng Lai, his expression growing even colder. "When you leave, mention this to Feng Lai."
Liu Tong'en was stunned for a moment, then he understood what Emperor An meant: "I understand."
…
Eunuch Feng stood outside the palace holding a whisk, looking up at the bright moon in the sky, which was already round. He thought that the Mid-Autumn Festival was only three days away, but His Majesty had not mentioned the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet yet.
The Grand Empress Dowager left the palace, the Queen Mother fell ill, and the Queen was deposed and "burned herself to death."
Although there are other concubines in the harem, no one dared to take on this task without His Majesty's permission. Furthermore, the Mid-Autumn Festival is only three days away, and with so many incidents happening in the palace lately and countless deaths, His Majesty might not want to hold the palace banquet this year...
"Squeak."
The palace door opened, and Eunuch Feng quickly stood up and turned around, only to see Liu Tong'en walking out.
"Commander Liu."
"Eunuch Feng."
The two of them greeted each other, and Liu Tongen said honestly, "It's really hard for you to stay here so late, father-in-law."
"How can it be hard or not to serve His Majesty? It's Commander Liu who comes to the palace so late. Is there any important matter with the Imperial Guards?" asked Eunuch Feng.
Liu Tong'en said, "It's not about the Imperial Guards, but I have some other troubles. His Majesty asked me to go to the Imperial Medical Bureau tomorrow, but I'm not very familiar with that place."
Eunuch Feng was puzzled: "Imperial Medical Bureau?"
"Your Majesty has something for me to ask Doctor Jiang."
After Liu Tong'en finished speaking casually, he turned to Eunuch Feng and said, "It's almost midnight. I have to hurry to the Forbidden Garden. Deputy Commander Yu's injuries haven't healed yet, so I have to take his place and lead his men on guard duty for a few days."
"There have been too many disturbances in the palace recently. If we cause any more trouble, His Majesty will not forgive us."
Eunuch Feng smiled and said, "Then Commander Liu, please go ahead. I, your servant, must also go in and serve His Majesty."
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