When the Anchang Marquis's residence was surrounded by the Imperial Guards, the members of the Anchang Marquis's residence were sitting in the front courtyard having breakfast, preparing to discuss what to do next.
"Oh no!"
"Master, there are armored soldiers outside, they've completely surrounded our mansion!"
The butler rushed to the front yard, and before he could even see the man, his voice could be heard from afar.
As he stepped into the front hall with his left foot, he repeated what he had said.
The first thing Lady Anchang did was grab Anchang's sleeve, her face contorted with terror.
Anchangbo asked in a low voice, "Do soldiers wearing iron armor carry iron swords at their waists?"
Upon hearing this, the manager nodded repeatedly, "Exactly!"
Upon hearing this, everyone in the front hall except the steward showed an expression of disbelief.
"Has someone been sent to deliver a message?"
Upon hearing Anchangbo's question, the steward shook his head repeatedly, "No, the soldiers only surrounded the mansion."
Upon receiving this news, Qu Zifu said, "I understand. Tell the servants not to wander around. You may leave now."
Seeing that Earl Anchang did not react much, the steward finally felt relieved, responded, and went to make the arrangements.
After she left, Qu Zifu also dismissed all the servants and maids who were serving him.
After closing the door, Anchangbo looked at Qu Zifu and questioned, "You raised money everywhere before the army returned to the capital. Didn't you say that the hole caused by reselling military equipment was completely filled?"
Qu Zifu was also puzzled. "The money I raised before, plus the dowry from the Marquis of Lin'an's mansion, was all put into it."
The accounts have been checked several times and there are absolutely no problems.
The Imperial Guards surrounded the city, but did not break into the residence to arrest the culprit.
Perhaps it's not about the arms trafficking issue.
It's unclear whether Qu Zifu said this to comfort himself or those present.
Clearly, no one believed him, and everyone's expressions remained somber.
Upon hearing this, Lady Anchang grabbed Anchang's sleeve as if it were a lifeline and wouldn't let go.
But the words that came out of her mouth broke everyone's guard again: "Now that the Imperial Guards have surrounded the Anchang Marquis's residence, our family's good days are over!"
Qu Zikun immediately denied it, "Impossible! The Second Prince will not let us fend for ourselves."
Isn't he afraid we'll expose him?
Looking at his four sons, Anchangbo suddenly felt himself to have aged more than ten years. "If you were to reveal the Second Prince's identity, our entire family would be dead the moment the words left our lips!"
With the support of the Left Chancellor, the Second Prince was no match for even the once-powerful First Prince.
Who knows if the Second Prince has planted any people in the Imperial Guards?
After a moment of silence, Qu Zifu said, "The best course of action now is for us to keep quiet, so that we may have a chance to survive."
"If none of us survive, the Second Prince, considering our discretion, might still spare a trace of the Anchang Marquis's bloodline."
Qu Zifu also understood his final plan.
Those present turned ashen-faced upon hearing this, yet no one refuted his words.
Even Qu Ziyang and Qu Zikun understood how important it was to preserve a bloodline for the Anchang Marquis's family in their current situation.
The front door was opened again, and a faint light shone into the room.
A muffled sound came from the gray sky.
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and officials from the Ministry of Justice traveled together to the Marquis of Anchang's residence.
After they arrived at the Anchang Earl's Mansion, everyone in the mansion was arrested and taken to the Dali Temple.
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review walked to the front hall, looked at the Anchang Earl's family, and said loudly, "It is certain that the Anchang Earl colluded with Wu Guangping to resell military equipment."
"The family's property is confiscated, the entire household is imprisoned, and the case will be heard again later!"
The Ministry of Justice official then said, "Take him away!"
The Anchangbo family was apprehended and taken out of the mansion.
At that time, Lu Qiqi was sitting in the carriage.
She ate the pastries that Lu Yao had prepared before she left, while drinking the precious tea that Song Yanqing had sent her.
Sitting outside the carriage, Nineteen saw people coming out and called out to the people inside, "Princess, the people are out."
Upon hearing this, Lu Qiqi patted the crumbs of pastry in her hand, lifted the carriage curtain, and looked outside.
All that could be seen was that the Anchang family members were all chained, their hands and feet shackled, making a noise as they walked, their hair disheveled as they walked in a line.
"I'm not leaving! This has nothing to do with me! You've arrested the wrong person!"
A woman's crying voice pierced the gray sky.
Lu Qiqi looked in the direction of the sound and saw a brightly dressed woman wailing and howling in the hands of the Imperial Guards.
The two imperial guards who were carrying the woman remained expressionless, a stark contrast to her demeanor.
Who is this person?
Through the gap, Yuqing could see the face of the woman dressed in a rose-red dress.
He then answered Lu Qiqi's questions, "Miss, this person is a prostitute that Qu Silang brought back to the mansion from the brothel."
The reason Madam Qu left the manor that day was to redeem her from servitude and then sell her to a low-class brothel.
Lu Changping thought she had solved her biggest problem, but unexpectedly, she received her retribution even earlier than the prostitute.
Seeing that more and more people were gathering to watch the spectacle, they were worried about traffic congestion on the streets.
After Lu Qiqi lowered the carriage curtain, she instructed, "Let's go back to the manor."
Upon returning to the Marquis of Lin'an's residence, Lu Qiqi went back to her own courtyard.
The first thing Shijiu did was to report to her about Lu Changping's situation at Dali Temple.
"Lu Changping could not withstand the torture and quickly confessed the whole story and signed the confession."
Lu Qiqi was unaware of what had happened in the main hall, but when she saw that the Marquis of Anchang's property had been confiscated, she knew that Song Yanqing had handled the matter properly.
On the eve of the Spring Festival banquet, Song Yanqing was busy with the arrival of the Tartar marriage procession in the capital, while also investigating the shortage of military equipment.
Lu Qiqi accidentally learned about the situation from Shijiu.
She then hastily sold the land of the Anchang Earl's Mansion in Luzhou Prefecture.
She also conspired with Lu Changping to trick the Marquis of Lin'an into giving her the dowry, and had Nineteen tell Song Yanqing about it.
When the three events came together, Song Yanqing ordered the Shadow Guards to track and investigate An Changbo's four sons.
Anchangbo had four sons, three of whom lived like conspicuous figures.
The only exception was his second son, Qu Zifu, who never uttered a single word of comment in front of others.
Something unusual must be going on, so Song Yanqing followed this lead and finally caught the big fish.
"Lu Changping was convicted of fraud and murder, and the Dali Temple made a decision overnight."
At noon the following day, he was executed by being cut in half at the waist in the marketplace.
The nineteenth question was, "Princess, what should be done with the remaining four?"
This refers to the eldest branch of the Lu family and the Lu clan.
Lu Qiqi said, "Once the man's leg is healed, he will be sent to the border town to serve as a soldier."
The women were sent back to Luzhou Prefecture so they could live the life they were entitled to.
Back then, it was because Old Man Lu favored the eldest son's family that he allowed Lu Dazhuang to escape first.
She was also extremely selfish, which led to her father, Lu Dashan, being arrested and forced into military service, and ultimately he was unable to see his mother one last time before he died.
If the Lu family elders weren't biased towards the eldest son's branch of the family, then let all their beloved eldest sons become conscripts.
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