Chapter 119 Be careful with Xie Zhan
Chapter 119
In the Golden Palace, the emperor and his ministers were silent for a while.
Someone immediately jumped out, "Your Majesty, although General Qin died a heroic death, during the battle between the Northern Frontier Army and the Qiang and Hu people, General Qin abused his power for personal gain, putting personal interests above public interest, and killed too many soldiers, causing many unnecessary sacrifices! The Qin family must be held accountable for this!"
The ministers had no idea who was so bold and aggressive at this time. After all, the Qin family had been guarding the border for so many years, and even if they had no merit, they had worked hard...
I looked up and saw, "Yan Hua, it's you? Tsk, are the Xie, Zhao, Qin, and Lu factions fighting again?"
Lu Desheng saw that the Xie family was really good at kicking someone when they were down. They really wouldn't stop until they took advantage of the opportunity to crush the Qin family, right? He rolled up his sleeves and decided to fight Yan Hua, the shameless old man.
"Do you understand warfare? How dare you conclude that the soldiers who died were meaningless sacrifices? And not that General Qin achieved his goal of annihilating the enemy with minimal sacrifice?"
Yan Hua stiffened his neck and said, "I don't understand warfare, but I do know that Qin Yue was impatient and reckless in his attempt to atone for his sins! He could have achieved the same goal of annihilating the enemy at a much lower cost!"
Lu Desheng retorted bluntly, "If you don't understand how to fight, just shut up. You know what you know!"
Yan Hua's actions were naturally instructed by Xie Zhan. It was true that he wanted to crush the Qin family, and he had pledged his allegiance to the Fourth Prince, so he naturally had to contribute when it was time to do so. He also used his actions to show his support and protection for the Fourth Prince.
Of course, he could bribe other censors and achieve his goal without Yan Hua. But he had to consider Emperor Kang Cheng's current impression of him. The emperor already knew that the Xie family had voted for the Fourth Prince, and he couldn't let Emperor Kang Cheng think that he was deep-minded and all-encompassing.
Emperor Kang Cheng naturally knew that the Xie family was helping the Fourth Prince crush the Qin family. Seeing Yan Hua still had plans, he raised his hand again, indicating that the matter would be put on hold for the time being. No rush, the Qin family, he would deal with them later. All those who should be taken away would not escape.
Yan Hua felt so uncomfortable. The emperor was really partial. Why didn't he interrupt Lu Desheng instead of him? He had just been confronted by Lu Desheng and hadn't fought back yet. The emperor didn't give him a chance at all!
The Fourth Prince, who had been silent the whole time, sighed in his heart. The Qin family reacted too quickly. If Xue Huaimin's plan was used, the best result would be that when the news of the Crown Prince's death came, his father would die suddenly. Then he could put the blame of both the Crown Prince's death and his father's death on the Qin family. These two charges would be enough to destroy the Qin family.
But now the development is not as they expected. Qin Yue is too decisive. His death is enough to stop all the accusations. It is not snowballing as they expected.
One minister worriedly said, "Your Majesty, the death of the crown prince is a great loss to us, but for the stability of our country, we should appoint another heir."
Emperor Kangcheng nodded and stated his second purpose for attending court. "The most urgent task now is to appoint a crown prince. Let's discuss who to appoint."
Some ministers exchanged glances with each other, saying that the prince was dead and the position of crown prince was vacant, so here was an opportunity.
The ministers looked at the Second Prince who was crying uncontrollably in the court and the Fourth Prince with red eyes, and they were all thinking silently in their hearts.
"Your Majesty, should we summon Prince Cheng back to the capital?" a minister suggested.
Prince Cheng is the second prince who has already been enfeoffed.
"Prince Cheng is already on his way back to Chang'an." After saying this, Emperor Kang Cheng clearly felt unwell and said, "You all should go back and think about the issue of appointing a crown prince. We will discuss it next time we attend court. Now, court is dismissed!"
The Fourth Prince's heart skipped a beat. His father could have directly declared him the Crown Prince, so why...
Wei Zili hurried forward to help Emperor Kang Cheng leave.
The moment Emperor Kangcheng left, his face was so gloomy that when the ministers left the court, no matter how many thoughts they had in their minds, they all looked like they had lost their parents.
After the ministers dispersed, Lu Desheng did not return home, but instead headed towards the palace. He still had to see the emperor, as they had agreed to yesterday. He had originally planned to leave the palace quickly to bring the news of Qin Yue's death to his daughter. But then he realized that the emperor had already mentioned this matter at the morning court, so he didn't need to mention it specifically; his daughter and the Qin family would already know.
At this time, the empress dowager was in the emperor's Yugan Palace.
A palace maid came to report, "Your Majesty, Lord Lu requests an audience."
Emperor Kangcheng was about to make an announcement when he was interrupted by the Empress Dowager, "What is he doing here? Don't see him!"
Emperor Kang Cheng was helpless as his mother still disliked Lu Desheng as always.
So, Lu Desheng waited for the palace servant's reply, "Master Lu, please go back. The emperor will not see you."
Lü Desheng: Impossible! Could it be the Emperor?
Seeing him dumbfounded, the palace maid recalled that when he was in favor in the past, he had never troubled them. So, she looked around and whispered, "Master Lu, the Queen Mother is in the Emperor's palace."
That’s it, he understood, he understood! The Queen Mother was trying to prevent him from making things difficult for her.
He wanted to go find his daughter! He also knew that his daughter had just married into the Qin family yesterday, but he couldn't do anything about it. At this critical moment, the Queen Mother was too hostile to their Lu family. They had to take precautions early!
And why couldn't he go? His daughter was marrying into the Qin family, not being sold to them! He could go whenever he wanted, he was just so willful.
Qin family
On the wedding night, after seeing off the guests, Qin Sheng returned to their courtyard and fell asleep almost as soon as he touched the pillow.
Lu Songli understood that he had been traveling outside for nine days and must be extremely tired.
When she woke up in the morning, she found that Qin Sheng had already woken up, and there was something strange in the way he looked at her.
"What’s wrong with you?"
Qin Sheng resisted the urge to rub his shoulders. He'd only slept for about two hours last night, and then couldn't fall asleep again. It wasn't that he didn't want to sleep, but after catching up on some sleep, he couldn't sleep as deeply, and since he'd been constantly harassed, he hadn't fallen asleep since.
Rather, he was kicked awake in the middle of the night. Later in the night, he realized her sleeping position was truly terrible. He wasn't just being kicked, he was being pushed! Then, as if she couldn't do anything to him anymore, she leaned over, hugged his arm, rested her head on his neck, and draped her calves over him, clinging to him like the octopus he'd heard about in the barracks!
Qin Sheng was deeply doubtful. Is this really the sleeping position of a noble lady?
At this moment, Mo Bing's voice came from outside the door, "Sixth Young Master, Sixth Young Madam, the Crown Prince invites you——"
After Mo Bing came as a dowry, she needed to change her words.
The two of them looked at each other when they heard this. Something had happened. Big Brother was not the kind of person who did not follow the rules. He came to invite them so early, so something must have happened!
When Lu Songli and Qin Sheng arrived, Qin Heng was sitting in the main seat. He looked up from the letter paper, and his eyes were red. "You're here? Sit wherever you want. Wait for your third brother."
Qin Sanlang arrived soon after, and was obviously woken up in a hurry. He and his elder brother set up the mourning hall together last night and went to bed very late.
"Dad died in the battle." After Qin Heng said this, he handed the letter in his hand to Qin Sanlang.
"How could it be?" Qin Sanlang murmured back, unconsciously taking the letter and reading it.
"Brother?" Qin Sheng suddenly looked up at his elder brother, "Is this not true?"
Qin Heng turned his face away reluctantly, "It's true."
As he finished speaking, tears began to roll down Qin Sheng's eyes!
Died in battle, Lü Songli chewed on these two words. These two words defined the situation, and it was also the final word after the coffin was closed. This was considered good, at least it would not be considered suicide out of fear of punishment.
After reading the letter, the three Qin brothers' eyes turned red. They all knew that their father died to protect them.
Lu Songli also lowered her head sadly. Her father-in-law was admirable. He was willing to sacrifice his life for defending his country and protecting his family.
It took a while for everyone to calm down. The fate of the Qin family now rested entirely on the Emperor's whim. However, there were limits to what they could do. It could be said that Qin Yue, the head of the Qin family, had done what the Qin family could do. But they then discussed what they could do for now.
"Brother, has the emperor known about this?" Lu Songli asked. Her father-in-law died in battle on the 15th, which was yesterday. They received the news early this morning. Was it a carrier pigeon message?
"The emperor has falcons that carry messages, so he should know it earlier than us." The speed of pigeons and eagles is still incomparable.
Lu Songli sent a servant out to inquire, and soon received a reply that the adults who had attended the court today had not returned home or gone to the government office. She knew that the emperor had attended the court. This showed that the emperor had also received the news from the northern border.
"Let's find a suitable time to tell Mom about this." She suggested that the secret couldn't be kept secret for much longer, and it would be better for her to tell him herself than for him to find out by accident.
"Um."
Lu Songli and Qin Sheng came out of their eldest brother's yard and were on their way back to their own yard. Lu Songli asked Qin Sheng, "Can you help me with something?" Apart from Qin Sheng, she couldn't think of anyone else who could pass the high surveillance of the imperial palace guards.
"Can."
“You’re…”
Xue Mansion
Qin Sheng avoided the sight of all the guards and appeared in Xue Huaimin's bedroom.
"Qin Sheng?"
"Master Xue."
Xue Huaimin's hands were shaking as he took a couple of sips of the water on the low cabinet beside the bed.
Qin Sheng: "Lord Xue should be able to guess why I'm here." This was what his wife taught him, but he didn't really understand it.
Xue Huaimin smiled self-deprecatingly, "Yes, I guessed it." He had been planning for half his life, but it was all in vain.
Xue Huaimin was no fool. He had sensed something was amiss for the past two days, especially the night before, when he'd inexplicably caught a cold and couldn't get up or attend court. A little more attentive, he'd noticed his residence was under surveillance by the imperial guards. News from outside could get in, but his couldn't. And yet, he knew the Fourth Prince was fine. What was there to understand? The Emperor was about to torture him to death.
"The Fourth Prince has decided to follow the new think tank's plan and abandon you. Lord Xue is so smart, he wouldn't still be hoping for the best, would he?"
"I know what you want. I've collected evidence against other officials in the court, right? But why should I hand it over? I, Xue Huaimin, am asking for trouble, but your Qin family is in big trouble too."
"Master Xue, I think we can work together. You've been planning for the Fourth Prince for so long, doing so much, yet in the end, he abandoned you, letting someone else pick your peaches. Don't you feel resentful? Besides, Master Xue must have foreseen the fate of himself and the people in the Xue Mansion, right? Don't you want to preserve a bloodline for yourself?"
Xue Huaimin laughed, "Can you still save the life of my child?"
"No, but we can cooperate. At least your things in Xinghua Hutong can be preserved. Lord Xue, helping the Qin family is also helping yourself."
The smile on Xue Huaimin's face disappeared. He stared at Qin Sheng closely. "What did you say?"
"I mean, if we two sides cooperate, it will benefit both of us. The benefit to Master Yu Xue is naturally what can preserve Xinghua Hutong."
Xue Huaimin laughed again, "You convinced me, no, it should be said that the person behind you convinced me." His lifeline was held by someone, and the other party promised to avenge him, why wouldn't he do that?
Qin Sheng frowned. Was Xue Huaimin trying to trick him?
Xue Huaimin ignored him, stood up, and went to the Duobao Pavilion next door. After a while, he took out a brocade box and handed it to him.
Qin Sheng took it.
Finally, Xue Huaimin couldn't help but say, "Did Lu Songli ask you to come to me? Your Qin family really married a good daughter-in-law."
What Xue Huaimin didn't say was that he had suggested to the Fourth Prince that he marry Lu Songli after everything was settled.
The Qin family was too loyal and had a knack for fighting, but they were completely clueless when it came to political power. The fact that Qin Sheng had come to him today must have been due to his wife, Lü Songli.
"I don't know what you are talking about!" Qin Sheng frowned. He didn't want to expose her. It wasn't that he wanted to take credit for her contribution, but he wanted to protect her.
Xue Huaimin snorted twice, but didn't try to expose him. He only said one last thing to him, "Tell Lü Songli to be careful of Xie Zhan." He already knew who had stabbed him in the back and plucked the peach that belonged to him. He was looking forward to Lü Songli joining forces with the Qin family to help him vent his anger.
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