Chapter 96 Chapter 96 When did you find out?

Chapter 96 Chapter 96 When did you find out?

The sky was grey and it was drizzling.

It was already afternoon. At this time on weekdays, Cheng Mingyu would return home from the government office. Cheng Yiyan had gone to Jiangnan, so it was up to him to take care of the Cheng family affairs.

Cheng Mingyu left the inner chamber as usual and came to the Meridian Gate. Raindrops poured into his eyelids, stinging him a little. He closed his eyes and walked towards the Cheng family carriage. At this time, a black shadow ran over from the side aisle and came to his side.

"Master, something happened to the Lu family."

.........

In less than a quarter of an hour, Cheng Mingyu rushed to Lu's mansion and walked along the central axis straight to the hallway of Mingxi Hall.

Countless faces of the Lu family passed by him.

"Master Cheng!"

"Cheng Shoufu, you have to save Brother Xu's daughter-in-law."

"You are finally here..."

Cheng Mingyu walked past the Lu family members without looking away, stepped into the hall, and looked up through the rain and mist.

I saw Cheng Yian sitting at a medium-sized square table, looking over here stiffly. I could tell that she was very nervous and scared, but still calm.

Opposite her was Old Lady Wang, and sitting facing south towards everyone was a girl in a white shirt.

Cheng Mingyu had never seen this girl before. Her face was emotionless, pale, and looked stiff and frightening.

Her hand was on An An's wrist, and there was no doubt that An An was being held by her.

Outside the gate of the main hall, the remaining soldiers of Baiyin Mountain, led by Qiu Qing,

, had already set up the crossbow and aimed it at Wang Yunyi and Old Lady Wang. Not only that, throughout Mingxi Hall, on the treetops on both sides, under the eaves, dozens of experts had found the best sniping points, waiting to rescue Cheng Yian.

This includes Cheng Mingyu's Thirteen Secret Guards.

The Thirteen Secret Guards were the backbone of the group that followed Lu Xusheng in hunting down the Archer. In that fight, the elite members of the Wang family suffered heavy losses. It was with their extremely high mortality rate that they finally helped Wang Yunyi escape from Lu Xusheng's pursuit.

The two most outstanding main forces among the thirteen secret guards had already quietly ambushed under the corridor of the main hall, waiting for the opportunity to break in and rescue people.

Cheng Mingyu stood in the hallway, took a quiet glance inside, and asked the housekeeper of the Lu Mansion beside him,

"Only two people from the Wang family came?"

Housekeeper Hang nodded, "Yes, there is another doctor in the inner room, but I don't know him, so he is not from the same party. In addition, there is an old servant at the door who was not allowed to enter the mansion."

Cheng Mingyu first glanced at Cheng Yian soothingly, then bowed to Grandpa Wang and said loudly, "Why is it that the prince is making a big fuss in the house of his own grandson?"

Old Lady Wang was calm and composed as she bowed to him, "Mingyu, you are here after all?" Then he sighed, "Ah, you shouldn't have come."

Cheng Mingyu smiled and said, "My little daughter was held captive by a villain, how could I, as a father, not come? Not everyone is as cold-blooded as the prince, willing to lay hands on their own daughter."

Old Lady Wang laughed and said nonchalantly, "The rules that our Wang family's daughters have to learn since birth are that everything is based on the family's honor and disgrace. For the future of the Wang family, she is willing to sacrifice."

Cheng Mingyu laughed and said, "A prince is a prince. He is older and thicker-skinned than others. He makes shamelessness sound so high-sounding."

Mr. Wang didn't take his words seriously at all. "Okay, Mingyu, let's be frank. I asked Mingyu to come here today because I have a favor to ask of you."

"Oh?" Cheng Mingyu asked with a serious look, "What's the matter?"

Lord Wang pulled out another imperial edict from his sleeve. This time it was bright yellow and had the Queen Mother's seal on it. He waved it towards Cheng Mingyu from a distance and said solemnly,

"Mingyu, the emperor is unjust and has violated the oath he swore when he ascended the throne. He has acted on his own and attempted to depose the crown prince and enthronize Prince Ning. Now the queen mother has issued an edict, intending to restore order and support the crown prince to the throne. Elder Kong has signed it. As long as you, Mingyu, the chief minister of the inner cabinet, sign it, then this edict can be issued throughout the world and announced to the world."

Since ancient times, the Queen Mother's edict came first, and the Prime Minister's signature came later, so that the edict to establish a new monarch could be recognized by the court and the world. In history books, there are many precedents of treacherous ministers forcing the Queen Mother to issue an edict to change the monarch, so as long as Cheng Mingyu stamped his seal and signed, the edict would take effect. This move by Master Wang was not bad.

Cheng Mingyu was not surprised at all after hearing this.

Ever since he heard that Cheng Yian was abducted, he knew that Master Wang was coming for him.

Cheng Mingyu suddenly found it funny.

"Prince, even if Cheng signs this imperial decree, why do you think His Majesty will be willing to abdicate?"

Old Lady Wang knew that Cheng Mingyu was asking about his next move. He stroked his beard and laughed, "Mingyu, don't worry about these. As long as you sign, not only will your daughter's life be protected, but I will still guarantee your position as the head of the inner cabinet in front of the prince, and your Cheng family will remain prosperous. Mingyu, your Cheng family has never participated in party struggles. No matter which side wins or loses, you will not lose anything. Don't hesitate."

Cheng Mingyu sneered when he heard this, "Since you know that our Cheng family never participates in party struggles, you shouldn't have made this request."

"I, Cheng Mingyu, will be loyal to whoever sits in the throne room. The edict was drafted by the Queen Mother and signed by me and Kong Yunjie. It is also to force Your Majesty to abdicate. Am I not a member of the Crown Prince Party? The Cheng family's ancestral teachings are not to interfere in party struggles. All the scholars and officials who come to the Cheng family from all over the world come here for this. If I break my promise, the Cheng family will not be able to gain a foothold in the middle faction in the future. Today, you not only want to take my seal of the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, but also want to destroy my reputation, and then let the Cheng family collapse."

Once Cheng Mingyu loses his word and joins the party struggle, the families that have attached themselves to him will question him, and the officials seeking protection will no longer easily choose the Cheng family. The Cheng family will be no different from other big families, and the Cheng family's household network that he has worked so hard to build will gradually collapse. The Cheng family will no longer stand firm.

More importantly, the reason why Cheng Mingyu regarded this rule as an iron law was that he wanted to use this banner to continuously strengthen the team of loyal officials and retain the most solid foundation for the Jin Dynasty court. Even if dynasties changed, there would still be a group of people who would serve the court all the time and work for the welfare of the people.

"Therefore, Cheng cannot sign this edict today."

Old Lady Wang's face suddenly turned cold, and she pointed at Cheng Yian standing opposite her, "Cheng Mingyu, don't you care about your daughter's life?"

Cheng Mingyu didn't even look at Cheng Yian. He looked helpless.

"My Lord, I, Cheng Mingyu, hold the position of Chief Minister of the Inner Cabinet. I bear the responsibility of the country and the future of the entire Cheng family. If I were to be threatened by you today, I would be abandoning the country and the great cause, and I would be a sinner for all eternity. As for my daughter..."

Cheng Mingyu closed his eyes and said, "If the prince is willing, I am willing to exchange myself for your hostage and give her freedom."

It was completely dark, the evening rain had just stopped, and the yard was wet. In order to facilitate the guards' sniping, the servants only lit a lamp in the corridor of the main hall and the hallway where Cheng Mingyu was. From time to time, news came that there were gangsters causing chaos everywhere in the city, and various military units were mobilizing people to quell the chaos. It was obvious that the Wang family had planned this in advance and had made a big move.

At this time, a secret guard entered Lu's house, quietly came to Cheng Mingyu and whispered,

"Master, Prince Ning's mansion was attacked by rioters."

Cheng Mingyu's eyes flashed, and he looked at Old Lady Wang intently.

"The prince is really good at this."

Old Lady Wang knew that Cheng Mingyu had received the news, and he laughed out loud.

"Mingyu, this is the trend of the times."

Wang Bingxian had already arranged today's situation on his way to Beijing.

The whole situation is actually very simple, simplifying the complexity and capturing the two most important people.

One of them is Cheng Yian, who is the link between the Cheng and Lu families, and even has connections with the Yunnan Palace. It is well known that Cheng Mingyu dotes on his little daughter. If he can capture her, he will have the soft spot of Lu Xusheng and Cheng Mingyu. Although Cheng Mingyu is unmoved, Wang Bingxian knows very well that he will not let his little daughter get into trouble.

The second was to kill King Ning.

As soon as Prince Ning died, those who supported Prince Ning scattered like birds and beasts. Why?

The entire royal family has only one heir, the crown prince. There will be no grandson within three generations. These ministers are very attached to their bloodline, so there is no other choice but the crown prince. Even if the emperor is angry and unwilling, he cannot control the power of the court officials. Even most of the centrists, including Cheng Mingyu, will definitely stand on the side of the crown prince immediately. The crown prince should have inherited the throne, so why bother to seek something far away?

Once Prince Ning died and Cheng Mingyu issued this edict, the throne would belong to the crown prince.

If you don't succeed, you will die.

Wang Bingxian had already prepared to give it a try.

"Mingyu, once Prince Ning dies, I believe you will be willing to sign the edict."

Cheng Mingyu did not answer him. Instead, he was responded by another voice outside the hall.

"Grandfather, this is the inner residence of the Lu family. If you want to negotiate terms with others, you should talk to me."

When Wang Bingxian saw Lu Xusheng rushing back to the capital so quickly, his face changed.

Could it be that Xiu'er failed to hold him back?

Not only him, but also Wang Yunyi and Cheng Yian looked outside at the same time.

I saw the people outside the hall making way for them one by one, and a handsome figure strode from the front yard to the hall.

Lu Xusheng first bowed to Cheng Mingyu, and then walked to the courtyard. One of the guards brought an armchair, and Lu Xusheng sat down in the courtyard.

"Since Cheng married into the Lu family, she is now a member of our Lu family. Cheng Mingyu has no say in this matter. You should talk to me."

When Lu Xusheng appeared, Wang Bingxian was no longer so calm.

Cheng Mingyu values ​​his daughter very much and would not want anything to happen to her. However, Wang Bingxian has no idea how much weight Cheng Yian holds in Lu Xusheng's heart. He is also a man. If it were him, women are like clothes and are not as important as power.

Wang Bingxian looked unhappy. He slowly sat down behind the desk and negotiated with him.

"Xu'er, this is not what grandpa wants to see. You are my legitimate grandson, so you should obey my orders. I asked you to serve the prince, why did you refuse? If you bowed your head and we worked together to help the prince, not only would there not be the situation of fratricide today, but the prince would have inherited the throne long ago."

Lu Xusheng said bluntly, "Grandfather, Master Wang, do you know why I have to assist His Majesty?"

"I tell you, the late emperor, out of selfishness, allowed the eunuchs to cause chaos in the government, and killed more than 200,000 cavalrymen of our Great Jin. To you executioners, 200,000 is just a number, but to me, Lu Xusheng, they are living lives, my compatriots, brothers, and comrades-in-arms. They are human beings, not sacrifices!"

"Such an emperor is not worthy of being an emperor, but it is different after your Majesty takes the throne. He is broad-minded, loves the people like his own children, and is not extravagant or warlike. This is the demeanor of a wise ruler."

"The world does not belong to any one person, but to all the subjects and common people. We will support whoever is worthy of being king."

"Even if the prince is the descendant of the previous emperor, so what? He doesn't love the people, he is a rioter!"

"So, you want to succeed, no way!"

Wang Bingxian blushed and felt extremely angry. He pointed at Cheng Yian and asked, "So, you mean you don't care about the safety of the Cheng family?"

Lu Xusheng didn't even look at Cheng Yian, and curled his lips idly, "Kill her, kill her and I will marry another one. Besides, I already have a legitimate eldest son, she's just a woman."

Just a woman.

He truly is worthy of being the grandson of Wang Bingxian.

Wang Bingxian was so angry that he said anxiously, "Lu Xusheng, how dare you say that in front of Cheng Mingyu?

"

Lu Xusheng put his hands on the armchair, his eyes narrowed with a bit of arrogance, "I said, this is the Lu family, I, Lu Xusheng, have the final say."

"And I have never been threatened by anyone, not even the Lord."

Wang Bingxian saw that things had reached a stalemate and his face looked very ugly. He glanced at Wang Yunyi beside him.

Wang Yunyi narrowed her eyes and looked at Lu Xusheng, "Let me ask you, where is my brother?"

Lu Xusheng moved his armchair forward a few steps, his legs almost touching the steps, and said expressionlessly, "According to the time, the head should have fallen by now, right?"

Wang Yunyi's eyes flashed coldly, and she said angrily, "Grandfather, I won't bother with them anymore. They won't cry until they see the coffin. I'll just break one of Cheng Yian's wrists and see what they think."

Just when Wang Yunyi was about to take action, at this moment, a melodious flute sound suddenly came from the sky. The sound of the flute was extremely clear and vast, like a clear spring flowing from far to near, gradually flowing into people's hearts and confusing their minds.

An extreme chill ran down her neck, and Wang Yunyi yelled, "Not good!"

In the blink of an eye, countless small snakes suddenly swarmed towards her and Wang Bingxian from all directions.

At the same time, the crossbows outside the steps shot accurately at Wang Bingxian.

Totally unexpected.

In the past, with Wang Yunyi's kung fu, she could have held Cheng Yian in her right hand and held her grandfather in her left hand, and quickly flew up to the beam to avoid this wave of attacks. Unfortunately, her hand was injured. Her left wrist was cut off by Lu Xusheng. Even if it was reattached afterwards, that hand was no different from being useless. However, Wang Yunyi still relied on her excellent judgment to immediately grab Cheng Yian's wrist, intending to pull her towards her grandfather to block the snakes and hidden arrows for her grandfather.

But something even more unexpected happened.

The moment she pulled Cheng Yian up, this "Cheng Yian" decisively pressed the mechanism under his other wrist, the silver ring cracked, and an extremely fine dart flew out, along with the dart came out a very poisonous little green snake.

The little green snake was as fast as lightning and bit directly at Wang Yunyi's neck. Wang Yunyi retreated quickly.

A cold knife slashed towards "Cheng Yian", and at the same time, his body lightly retreated to the beam.

But this "Cheng Yian" was obviously very agile. He stepped back decisively and slipped into the east room.

After all, the space in the main hall is limited, which is not conducive to the performance of lightness skills. Moreover, during this gap, the guards outside the door had already rushed in, and arrows were raining down from the sky. Two masters flashed into the room and blocked her way.

My grandfather was also captured.

The tide has turned.

A long sword was pressed against Wang Yunyi's neck. She stopped and looked at Lu Xusheng.

"When did you find out?"

Lu Xusheng stood in front of the stage and looked at her with a complicated expression, "It started from the day I met your brother."

Wang Yunyi was obviously puzzled.

Lu Xusheng said, "I have been at the border for many years and have seen countless soldiers with missing arms and legs. If a man's wrist is broken, the arm muscles will atrophy, but your brother's is not. This is one reason. Secondly, a person who is obviously suspected by me dares to show up in Lu's mansion. Either he really doesn't know that I am targeting him, or he is deliberately confusing people and covering up the truth. And I always like to make preparations for both situations."

While keeping a close eye on Wang Yunxiu, he was also on guard against Wang Yunyi. As for Cheng Yian, knowing that she was the biggest weakness of himself and Cheng Mingyu, how could he allow her to become someone else's "target"?

So he picked such a maid from Princess Xia Fu of Yunnan, just in case, but who knew it would come in handy today.

Cheng Mingyu has many masters of disguise under his command. From the moment Cheng Yian entered Mingxi Hall, this Cheng Yian is no longer the same Cheng Yian as before.

The old man had never met Cheng Yian, and Wang Yunyi and Cheng Yian had only met once. With so many archers squatting on the treetops at the door, Wang Yunyi had to be on guard against their sneak attacks all the time. She had no time to figure out the authenticity of Cheng Yian beside her, and she couldn't care less to figure it out.

Lu Xusheng thought that they might take action against Cheng Yian. After all, Cheng Yian was too important. If they controlled this "treasure", they could easily make him and Cheng Mingyu surrender to them. However, Lu Xusheng never expected that they would poison his mother Wang.

Wang Yunyi still underestimated Lu Xusheng's scheming.

She sneered softly, revealing an unspeakable anger and helplessness.

"Since you suspected me, why did you follow my brother out of town?"

Lu Xusheng looked at her with an indifferent expression, "If I don't leave the city, how can I lure the snake out of its hole?"

Only when the snake comes out of its hole can we have a chance to kill it.

Wang Yunyi was speechless.

All their plans were based on the premise of transferring Lu Xusheng away from the capital and tying him up north of Yanshan Mountain.

Lost, nothing to say.

"You win, cousin."

In response to this, Lu Xusheng raised his hand to take the longbow handed to him by the guard and aimed it at Wang Yunyi, the archer who had been the most lurking archer in his previous life. He vaguely remembered that when they were young, this cousin had a very good aim. He even joked that his cousin could learn archery, but she waved her hands with a look of disdain on her face.

"Why would a girl like me do this?"

It can be seen that the Wang family really planned for a long time and secretly cultivated such a killer who could decide the outcome with a single arrow at the critical moment.

With a "whoosh" sound, the arrow, carrying all the grudges from past and present lives, broke through the heavy rain and mist and hit Wang Yunyi right between the eyebrows.

Old Mrs. Wang was frightened by the snakes and passed out. Wang Yunyi was also executed on the spot.

Lu Xusheng handed the rest of the matters over to Qiu Qing. He and Cheng Mingyu, one rushed to the imperial city to take charge of the situation, while the other rushed to Ning Prince's Mansion to "rescue the driver". The mansion was hit by flaming arrows thrown by criminals, and a huge fire broke out. Princess Ning's belly was rumbling, and she was trapped in the smoke and fire. Ning Prince carried her while holding a sword and leading the guards to fight their way out of the siege.

Jinyiwei and Yulinwei came to rescue, and the Queen Mother's Dongchang and Four Guards tried to stop them. At the critical moment, Lu Xusheng arrived with his men and rescued Prince Ning and Princess Ning from danger.

It was an indisputable fact that the Empress Dowager had secretly colluded with the Wang family to rebel, but the Crown Prince had been under the supervision of the Emperor in the Eastern Palace, and there were still old ministers who made excuses for the Crown Prince. At this time, Lu Xusheng handed over evidence that the Crown Prince had been having an affair with the Prince of Nan'an, and the court officials immediately fell silent. The Emperor ordered the three judicial officials to try the case, and after half a month, all the details were announced to the world. At the same time, the Crown Prince was deposed, demoted to a commoner, and confined to the Southern Palace.

As for the Wang family, naturally the entire family was sent to prison, and all nine clans were implicated.

Even the second wife, Wang, although the poison was finally cured, her health was not as good as before. She was used as a pawn by her own father and her daughter-in-law was almost killed by him. She was deeply shocked and felt that she had committed a serious sin and could not let it go.

A month later, Prince Ning was made the Crown Prince and moved to the Eastern Palace with Zheng Ying.

Lu Xusheng was undoubtedly the biggest contributor to this palace coup. This time, after the couple finished their banquet in the palace, they returned home in a dignified manner, carrying the emperor's rewards and holding little Jiusi in their arms.

On the road, the summer flowers are still bright, but the autumn scenery is not far away.

Little Jiusi was more than four months old and felt quite heavy in Cheng Yian's arms. Cheng Yian couldn't hold him and gave him to Lu Xusheng. Lu Xusheng held his son's neck with one hand and his chubby little buttocks with the other.

The child has already begun to recognize his mother, and is crying as he looks at her eagerly. Cheng Yian is reluctant to let the child go and wants to take over, but Lu Xusheng refuses and stares at his son, "Let daddy hold you today. I want to see if daddy can hold you without a piece of your flesh. Why are you crying!"

Jiusi was so angry at her father's crying that she didn't want to look at him at all and cried hard with her eyes closed.

Cheng Yian had no choice but to finally take Jiusi in his arms. Jiusi was so tired from crying that she held onto her mother's clothes and gradually fell asleep.

"What's going on with the Prince of Nan'an?"

The car curtain was opened, and the streets were bustling with people. Lu Xusheng said calmly,

"The Northern Qi Emperor has already suspected him. I let him die suddenly at the right time, and secretly spread the rumor that the Emperor poisoned the prince, so that he would be branded as a murderer of meritorious officials. I will wait for them to make trouble among themselves."

"Is this the end of the Prince's affair?" Cheng Yian thought Lu Xusheng was going to do something big, like using the Prince of Nan'an to destroy the Northern Qi army's defense base.

Lu Xusheng shook his head and said thoughtfully,

"You are stupid. When the rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked. If Northern Qi is gone, what use will I, Lu Xusheng, have for my talents? As long as Northern Qi exists, we will be safe and secure."

Lu Xusheng's achievements were too great, and he might have overwhelmed the emperor. Now that Prince Ning has been appointed crown prince, the emperor is no longer constrained, so he must start keeping an eye on the court officials.

Thinking of this, Cheng Yian sighed, "We in the Lu family should also think about the long-term plan."

"Yes." Lu Xusheng nodded, turned his eyes to look at her, and smiled.

"An An, when I return home, I will personally add a rule to the clan rules that no member of the Lu clan is allowed to participate in party disputes in the future. I must follow my father-in-law's example."

Cheng Mingyu's move was really brilliant.

Before ascending the throne, all the princes wanted to win over a figure like Cheng Mingyu. Even if they failed, they would not become enemies with Cheng Mingyu. Firstly, they could not afford to offend him. Secondly, there was no need to offend him because Cheng Mingyu did not pose any threat to them and he would not stir up party disputes.

After ascending the throne, will the new emperor hold a grudge against Cheng Mingyu?

Not at all, I will just be eager to use him.

Because Cheng Mingyu is loyal to the emperor, he is capable and prestigious, impartial in the court and wholeheartedly serves the people, and will not collude with any prince to threaten the emperor. Such a person is too easy to use and can be used very safely. He can even help from time to time when there is a crisis in the national treasury. Which emperor would be willing to abandon him?

With a loyal minister like Cheng Mingyu sitting in the court, the emperor can rest assured.

"So, from now on, my Lu family will also be pure subjects."