Destroy the family and clan
They didn't beat him, not even a whip.
His clothes were neat, his hair was not messy, and there was even a light in the cell.
Lu Jie was a veteran minister of three dynasties, and had been in and out of the palace for thirty years. He rose from a teacher at the Imperial College to the Minister of Personnel. He had withstood the wind, frost, and swords, so how could he not withstand this "false accusation"?
He thought he could.
Until he witnessed his eldest son being dragged and beaten to death in a cell.
Strike after strike, his cries were silenced until even a breath was barely audible. His Wen Zhong, the young man who had practiced swordplay in the corridor and ridden his horse through the snow, died like a dog in a pool of blood.
Wen Zhong died in front of him without even finishing calling him "Dad".
Lu Jie was speechless. He saw that the group of beasts in official uniforms dragged Shi An in again.
It was the first time in thirty years that Lu Jie was so embarrassed. His voice was trembling and he was almost on the verge of collapse.
He knelt down and he actually said it.
"I plead guilty... I've colluded with the enemy and committed treason... I, Lu Jie, am a traitor! I'm a piece of shit! Don't touch him, don't touch him again! I beg you..."
The moment these words came out of his mouth, his throat felt as if it was burned by fire.
Thirty years of loyalty, just a bunch of nonsense.
He didn't care anymore. He didn't care at all.
He heard a shrill, extremely arrogant laugh. The demons and monsters before him laughed loudly, as if offering alms, as if showing pity: "Lu Shi'an, if you are willing to take the initiative to testify against Lu Jie, I will spare your life."
Lu Jie's voice was hoarse, and he shouted like a madman: "Hurry up and agree to it... Hurry up and agree to them... Shi'an, listen to your uncle!"
Tears and snot mixed together on his face: "I, Lu Jie, am a traitor! I am a traitor and a traitor! I deserve to die!"
Shi'an didn't move, just looked at him quietly. The young man spoke in a very soft voice.
"The higher-ups at the Dali Temple never give me a hard time because I'm my uncle's nephew. I can handle cases without having to worry about background or the relationships with high-ranking officials, because I'm my uncle's nephew."
"I've profited from this for so many years, how can I disown you now?"
"Even if I die today, I will still be my uncle's nephew."
Lu Jie suddenly looked up, opened his eyes wide and looked at the child.
At that moment, Lu Jie suddenly remembered that many years ago, when the child first entered the academy, he stood under the courtyard wall, quietly looking at a blooming plum tree, his knuckles pale, but his back straight.
Lu Jie's whole body began to tremble, like an old man who was about to die.
"You are still young... live... live first..."
"You're going to survive by framing me? Then why didn't you try to persuade your cousin?"
"He's your son, isn't he?"
At that moment, Lu Jie could not hear anything.
The fire flickered slightly, and the whole place was filled with blood.
He wanted to rush over and call his nephew's name, but he couldn't stand up at all.
Lu Jie knelt in the blood on the ground, kneeling on the blood and beliefs of his thirty years.
He howled and laughed.
Like an old tree fallen in the snow, trembling, collapsing, and at the end of its road.
The Lu family has reached the end of its road.
···
The person on the sickbed suddenly opened his eyes.
Lu Jie woke up from his dream, breathing heavily. His eyes were blank for a moment, as if he was still trapped in that dream of blood and fire.
"Father! You're awake!!"
Lu Wenzhong, who was watching nearby, had his eyes reddened instantly. He quickly reached out and held down Lu Jieyu's struggling shoulders, saying anxiously, "Father, the doctor said you can't get up yet, or your wound will split."
But Lu Jie just stared at him blankly.
That face was the same as in the dream—in the blood, where he knelt, shouting “Dad” but never finishing.
His throat moved, but no words came out.
Lu Jie held the young man's hand tightly. He could not distinguish between dreams and reality, nor could he tell whether this was fate's forgiveness.
He only knew what he was holding.
Seeing Lu Jie's unusual look, Lu Wenzhong was a little overwhelmed: "Father...?"
Lu Jie slowly shook his head, and all he could say was a sigh: "My son is great."
Lu Wenzhong had never been praised so directly by Lu Jie before, and he was at a loss for a moment: "Father...what's wrong with you?"
Lu Jie shook his head and asked in a hoarse voice: "Where is Shi'an?"
Lu Wenzhong told the truth: "The doctor said you were very unconscious. You couldn't even swallow hot water these past two days. Shi'an and I took turns to watch over you."
The young man paused, his tone tangled. "That morning, Ren Xuan came to me and said that Shi An had drugged you and that he had found some questionable tea in Shi An's room..."
Lu Jie shook his head and interrupted him: "It's not Shi An, it has nothing to do with him."
Lu Wenzhong's eyes lit up: "Shi'an is also at home, I'll go find him now!"
Just as he took a step forward, he seemed to suddenly remember something and turned back and said anxiously, "That bastard Ren Xuan is also in the house. I'll chase him away immediately!"
But Lu Jie spoke at this moment: "...Call Ren Xuan."
Lu Wenzhong was stunned. He even suspected that he had heard it wrongly: "Father?"
Lu Jie closed his eyes and spoke in a light tone, but with every word clearly: "Call him over."
Lu Jie called Ren Xuan and even left his son and nephew outside the house.
Lu Jie sat on the couch, his face pale but his eyes surprisingly clear.
Ren Xuan stood at the door, neither moving nor speaking.
There was a whole room between the two of them, but it was closer than the river of blood in the dream.
After a moment's silence, Lu Jie spoke first.
"Sit down."
Ren Xuan didn't sit down.
Lu Jie didn't mind, he just looked up at him and said, "General Ren, I will not pursue this matter. Of course, I will not go against Lu Xingchuan. Lu Xingchuan, you have to solve it yourself."
Ren Xuan frowned slightly and said in a calm voice, "Conditions?"
Lu Jie did not answer, but asked: "Ren Xuan, what is your relationship with Shi An?"
The room was silent for a moment, and Ren Xuan did not respond immediately.
He just stood there, looking into Lu Jie's eyes for a long time.
Ren Xuan's eyes darkened. "What does the Minister mean?"
Lu Jie suddenly laughed: "As a father, I am concerned about my nephew. Does it require the general to be so vigilant?"
Ren Xuan's originally restrained expression turned completely cold at this moment.
The unbearable past events were still vivid in his mind. He could remember that night as soon as he closed his eyes. It was like a nightmare that tormented him for half his life.
It cannot be mentioned, it cannot be saved, and there is no way to regret it.
All because of this man, Ren Xuan suddenly felt a surge of rage: "What the hell are you qualified to say this to me?! Stop using him to negotiate with me! Don't you think you haven't hurt him enough, you bastard?!"
Lu Ji's eyes were gloomy, and his tone was slow: "General, please don't misunderstand. I... don't want to make any conditions."
Ren Xuan said coldly: "Then what do you want to say?"
Lu Jie looked at him, his eyes showing an unusual calmness and determination. "Shi'an, I entrust him to the general. This child has a strong character and does things without considering the consequences. As long as the general takes good care of him, the Lu family will not have any conditions. We are willing to do our best to help the general in any way he needs."
Ren Xuan frowned. Lu Jie's tone didn't sound like that of a powerful official negotiating, but rather like that of a father... entrusting his child to someone else.
But he still couldn't let go of the knot in his heart from the past. Ren Xuan disdained to promise anything to Lu Jie: "You don't need to tell me these things. Of course I will take care of my people."
Lu Jie glanced at him, didn't answer, just raised his hand and called for help.
Not long after, Lu Shian pushed the door open and walked in: "Uncle?"
Lu Jie smiled, his tone extremely gentle: "It's okay, I talked it over with General Ren, it's all a misunderstanding."
"The matter of Songfeng Pavilion has caused a lot of trouble to His Royal Highness Prince Xiang, and I feel very sorry for it."
"Please help General Ren with this matter."
Lu Shi'an was slightly startled, as if he hadn't expected Lu Jie to personally make such an arrangement. But he still nodded and said, "Yes."
Ren Xuan, who was standing next to him, raised his eyebrows slightly, a hint of calm surprise appearing on his face.
Is this Lu Jie serious?
···
Ren Xuan didn't bother to care what Lu Jie was thinking.
Lu Jiefang allowed him to get close to Lu Shian.
——Good thing.
Ren Xuan seized the opportunity and never forgot to sow discord: "Shi'an, look at your uncle. I don't know what he's thinking every day. It sounds good to say that he is upright and noble, and Lu Jie is indeed noble - but your Lu family still has hundreds of people."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Shian's face next to him changed slightly, his expression turned cold, and his steps slowed down.
Ren Xuan knew he was crossing a line, so he tutted and changed the subject: "I didn't mean anything else. I just said, don't be foolish about loyalty, don't be foolish about filial piety. For some things, you have to make more decisions on your own."
Lu Shian glanced at him. As a junior, Lu Shian did not judge his uncle's ambitions. He just said directly: "You involve me. You and I are accomplices. What do you want?"
Ren Xing was relaxed. He laughed and retorted, "That's not right. You gave me the drug, but I injured him. So, you're the mastermind, and I'm the thug."
Lu Shian, who was already taking the blame, cast a silent glance at him: "Ren Xuan, have some shame."
Ren Xuan quickly waved his hands and laughed it off, saying, "It doesn't matter. What matters is that you and I are now on the same page."
After pondering for a while, Lu Shian took a deep breath and finally uttered three words: "Lu Xiyun."
Lu Shian: "The key to this case is not in my Lu family, but in Lu Xingchuan. You should find Lu Xiyun."
Ren Xuanman was speechless. Didn't I know Lu Xiyun's stance?
The difficult one is Lu Xingchuan. Lu Xingchuan is a man who clearly distinguishes between relatives and strangers. Lord Lu has his own circle.
To outsiders, Lu Xingchuan can make people deeply understand how dangerous this world can be.
Lord Lu has almost no bottom line when it comes to his family.
He calls his nephews "trash" every day, and when Lu Xiyun's "trash" cousin is bullied by outsiders, the first one to get angry is still this uncle.
Lu Xingchuan has high hopes for Lu Xiyun, the only rising star in the clan who may surpass him in the future.
If Lu Xingchuan knew that his beloved nephew was a pawn in Qin Shu's game, would the dog emperor be able to gain any benefit?
Ren Xuan frowned in confusion, "He's Lu Xingchuan's nephew. If his own nephew speaks for an outsider, given Lu Xingchuan's personality, he'll probably be even more wary of Qin Shu."
Relying on Lu Xiyun to find connections, this path was taken in the previous life.
But times have changed.
In the previous life, Lu Xiyun was able to persuade Lu Xingchuan to help, but that was because the situation had reached this point.
Ren Xuan had stabbed Prince Jin, but in the final analysis, it was that group of upright people who killed Prince Jin.
When Lu Xingchuan came back, he could not find out who was responsible for the knife attack. He had to find out who hung Prince Jin's head on the city wall.
But it’s different now. Ren Xuanjue felt that Lord Lu was staring at this knife.
Ren Xuan was unsure: "To be honest with you, Brother Lu, I injured Qin Huaizhang a few days ago. Your uncle's incident was just a pretext. Perhaps Lu Xingchuan is pursuing the matter of that knife."
A hint of surprise flashed across Lu Shian's eyes: "Why did you attack Prince Jin?"
It’s because of you…
Ren Xuan began to make up a story: "I wanted to play a trick of inflicting pain on myself..."
"This is troublesome..."
Lu Shi'an shook his head and slowly analyzed, "In Lu Xingchuan's eyes, you're Prince Xiang's man. This means that up to now—Qin Shu sacrificed Qin Huaizhang for his plan, lured the Prince of Han's party into the trap, and then let the Prince of Han's party bite back."
Not only is he an ungrateful person, he is also a waste.
Lu Shian sighed softly, "No wonder Lord Lu is targeting him so much this time."
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