Chapter 354 The Truth
Although Lu Qiniang also scolded Xiao Yan for his youthful arrogance, she was really worried about him at this moment.
I always thought Yun Ting was unreliable, but no matter how unreliable he was, he never did something like killing the military supervisor.
"Your Majesty, Military Supervisor Li Sheng, due to his close ties to the Xie family, has been giving me trouble at every turn since arriving in the northwest. But honestly, it was just a nuisance, not a capital offense. I was genuinely frustrated by the stalemate in the war, so I drew my sword against him. Unexpectedly, he responded with provocative words, and so I... made a terrible mistake."
This was the first time Lu Qiniang heard Xiao Yan talk about the whole story of how he killed the military supervisor.
"What else?" the Emperor asked. "You can't kill my military supervisor just because you're in a bad mood. How has he troubled you?"
Lu Qiniang's eyes lit up.
She didn't know if it was her illusion, but she felt that the emperor was giving Xiao Yan an opportunity to make an excuse.
Come on, tell me, Xiao Yan, tell me quickly.
"Your Majesty, Li Sheng used my background to mock me and interfered with military affairs, big and small. Jiang Xuan and others also repeatedly advised me to give in, but I refused. Li Sheng was lustful and took a fancy to the daughter of a local civilian, forcibly abducting her, but I let him go. He also investigated the rations and accused my quartermaster of passing off inferior goods as good ones. He even wanted to kill someone to vent his anger, but I stopped him. There are countless other examples like this."
"Then why didn't you submit a letter of apology when I asked you to?" The emperor's face was serious. "Are you really going to make me angry?"
"Your Majesty, this is all my fault." Xiao Yan bowed his head and admitted his guilt. "At that time, I had made some achievements and was a little frivolous. I also felt that the emperor sent Li Sheng to supervise the army. Yes, he was deliberately controlling me, so..."
Lu Qiniang was confused by what she heard.
This Li Sheng, and that Xie family, have a grudge against Xiao Yan?
"I only just found out," the emperor shook his head. "Li Sheng and Xie Zhijie are close friends, and Xie Zhijie is the older brother of the sixth daughter of the Xie family."
Lu Qiniang, how did Xiao Yan offend the Xie family, and how does it have anything to do with the Sixth Young Lady?
"But no matter what, you shouldn't have just executed the military supervisor without consulting him first."
"yes."
Xiao Yan admitted his mistake with a good attitude.
The emperor drummed his fingers on the table, "Write me a letter of apology."
"……yes!"
"Now that you have agreed so readily, why don't you learn from the past and be stubborn with me?" The emperor looked disappointed.
"You are young and frivolous, narrow-minded, and have made malicious assumptions about the emperor." Xiao Yan kowtowed deeply, "Xiao Yan deserves death."
"You're still thinking of the same old trick of cooking the dogs after the rabbit dies, aren't you?" The Emperor sneered, "If I were really such a petty person, all your nine clans would be wiped out by now!"
"Your Majesty is kind and benevolent."
"Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan, you can't be too straightforward. Even if you are passionate and straightforward, you will end up hurting yourself and others. Forget about your mother, let's not talk about her. Your father is your biological father after all, so why did your relationship become like this?"
Xiao Yan lowered his head and said nothing.
He couldn't understand this, and didn't think it was because he was unlikable.
His background still needs to be investigated further.
"As for the Xie family, I have granted you a marriage. The sixth daughter of the Xie family has already gone to the northwest. No matter what happens, you tell me. This marriage was arranged by me. If there is anything wrong, I will make the decision for you. But you just killed the person directly."
"Yes, you said that burning the grain was a serious crime. Couldn't you have waited for me to be the bad guy? You chose to do it yourself, and created a feud with the Xie family. Li Sheng's subsequent difficulties were probably related to this incident. Now that I want to appoint you, I have to settle the debt for you. The Xie and Li families are both aristocratic families. Do you know how narrow your path is?"
In the eyes of the emperor, Xiao Yan was left with only sincerity.
The emperor scolded Xiao Yan harshly.
Lu Qiniang finally figured out these relationships belatedly.
"Abandoned Mother, do you dislike him? He hasn't told you these things, has he?"
Lu Qiniang chuckled twice, "I didn't tell him that. I didn't tell him about my embarrassing things!"
"Then tell me about it?" The emperor felt particularly happy every time he teased Lu Qiniang.
"That's a lot. I'll tell you all about it later." Lu Qiniang said, "I never thought before that Xiao Yan deserved to be punished so badly. Don't let him become a general who breaks the enemy's will. Just let him be a local tyrant at the dock. Otherwise, I'm really afraid he will cause trouble again."
The emperor laughed. "No, I can't bear to let him go. He has many flaws, but one good thing is enough."
"What's the benefit?"
"Loyal and devoted."
"That's true." Lu Qiniang said, "He is a single-minded person, and so am I. Otherwise, how could we be a couple? God has arranged everything."
The emperor was amused by her and waved his hand for Xiao Yan to stand up. "Wait a minute, wait until I have made amends for all the bad things you did before, then we can talk. Xiao Yan, do you want to return to the Black Armor Army, or serve somewhere else?"
"Everything is at the emperor's command." Xiao Yan said, "Just give me a few more months. I still need to finish what I haven't done before."
"What could be more important than serving the court?"
Xiao Yan and the emperor mentioned Cheng Jiuwan.
The emperor looked rather disapproving.
"Your Majesty, I suspect Cheng Jiuwan is involved in smuggling."
"Important salt?"
"Not only salt, but also tea and even weapons. Some were transported from the capital to Jining and other places via the canal, and then transported north by land, while others were transported south via the canal and shipped out to sea."
The emperor's expression immediately grew serious. "Are there any more weapons?"
"Yes," Xiao Yan said, "I've been keeping an eye on him for a long time and have evidence in my hands, but I don't want to alert the enemy. His business is so big, he must have connections above him. I want to dig out the corrupt officials in the court on behalf of the emperor."
"Good, good," the emperor laughed in anger, "How dare you smuggle weapons to me."
Iron is more strictly regulated than salt.
Ordinary people have to register when buying kitchen knives, but some people are playing tricks right under the emperor's nose.
"So, Your Majesty, if you don't open up sea transportation, you won't be able to stop these people from doing evil." Xiao Yan said, "But you will stop the people from making money."
The emperor nodded, but said nothing more.
The emperor is calm and reserved, and he is thorough in his work.
He must go back and have a careful discussion with everyone in the cabinet before making any major decisions.
After finishing their couple's homework in the evening, Lu Qiniang asked Xiao Yan: "Is the sixth lady of the Xie family the fiancée you killed?"
"Um."
Lu Qiniang: "...Look at you too, why are you being a bad person? If you tell the emperor about this, will he tolerate her? The emperor is right to scold you."
"After achieving some success, I became arrogant and conceited," Xiao Yan said. "I can't tolerate any injustice. I always feel that others will look upon me differently and be extra tolerant because of my achievements."
No one taught him how to behave.
The only things that made him valuable to others were his bravery and strategy.
"But I can't blame you entirely. When we're young, who knows what's right?"
"Abandoned Mother, if I had a mother like you, I probably wouldn't have taken such a detour."
Lu Qi Niang: “…”
Really, whoever gives you milk makes you your mother?
"But sometimes I can't help but think, if I were much older than you, I would adopt you sooner, just like you adopted Zhao Zhao and the other three, so that you wouldn't have to suffer so much."
"I can't imagine having a son as good as you, but it's really nice to have a father like you."
"You've thought about this."
Xiao Yan said that he knew.
Lu Qiniang pulled up the quilt to cover her face.
I thought it was fine before, but now that the two of us have been in such a mess, I feel really embarrassed.
"Abandoned Mother," Xiao Yan dug her out from under the quilt, "Zhao Zhao will be going to see the Crown Prince in a few days."
The smile and shyness on Lu Qiniang's face suddenly froze.
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