"When did you come back!" Lu Linfeng's eyes were bloodshot. The moment he saw Lu Xingzhou, his eyes almost bleed.
The bandits in the past few days were naturally disguised as his private soldiers. The imperial court sent soldiers to suppress them but couldn't find anyone. That was because Lu Linfeng ordered his men to withdraw. There were no bandits in the first place, so where could they go to catch them?
Lu Linfeng did this in order to transfer Lu Xingzhou away. He clearly saw Lu Xingzhou leading his troops out of the city with his own eyes, but when did he come back?
Lu Xingzhou naturally would not answer Lu Linfeng's question, but just stood beside Emperor Jingkang with a smile.
Zhang Yongjin and Du Ruoheng led their soldiers and approached Lu Linfeng step by step, but stopped just when they were about to reach Lu Linfeng.
Lu Xingzhou stood beside Emperor Jingkang and said slowly, "Big Brother, will you surrender or wait for the soldiers to capture you?"
Lu Linfeng had just entered the hall alone, and now he was isolated and helpless.
Looking behind Zhang Yongjin, not a single one of his own soldiers remained. Lu Linfeng knew that the situation was hopeless and said with a wry smile, "What other choice do I have?"
"No." Lu Xingzhou answered affirmatively.
Lu Linfeng slumped on the ground, looking at Lu Xingzhou with a sinister look: "I sent people to surround Prince Yi's mansion before entering the palace. Even if you caught me, your Princess Yi would probably be dead by now."
Lu Xingzhou nodded, his expression quite relaxed: "But Big Brother, have you ever thought that if I hadn't left the city, then the princess shouldn't be in Prince Yi's mansion right now?"
Lu Linfeng looked up at Lu Xingzhou, and his eyes gradually dimmed.
If Chen Liyue was not in Prince Yi's Mansion, according to Lu Xingzhou's personality, he would definitely keep her by his side, so the most likely place for Chen Liyue now is the palace.
If Chen Liyue were in the palace now, the Queen Mother would probably be in great danger.
Lu Xingzhou has always kept Shen Liyue under his nose and protected her, so how could he let the Queen Mother succeed so easily?
Lu Linfeng smiled bitterly. Today's palace coup was a complete joke.
Lu Xingzhou gave a wink, and Zhang Yongjin and Du Ruoheng stepped forward and personally captured Lu Linfeng.
Lu Linfeng looked at Zhang Yongjin. What else did he not understand? Even if he got angry at Zhang Yongjin, it would be useless.
Lu Linfeng closed his eyes. Just as Du Ruoheng and Zhang Yongjin were about to take him away, Lu Linfeng turned around and shouted at Lu Xingzhou, "I have something else to ask!"
Lu Xingzhou raised his hand, signaling Du Ruoheng and Zhang Yongjin to slow down and wait for Lu Linfeng to finish speaking.
"Chen Liqing is pregnant now. I wonder if we can keep the baby in her belly..." Lu Linfeng said.
Lu Xingzhou's face darkened when he heard this. He didn't dare to agree to Lu Linfeng's request easily.
Lu Xingzhou looked at Emperor Jingkang, who had a heavy expression on his face and did not speak.
Emperor Jingkang did not say whether he agreed or not. He just waved his hand and signaled Du Ruoheng and Zhang Yongjin to take Lu Linfeng away.
Having lost two sons during this period, Emperor Jingkang's hair turned a lot grayer and he looked older.
He originally thought that he was in his prime and still young, but seeing his sons unable to control themselves one by one, he felt desolate.
Lu Linfeng had been dragged away, and Lu Xingzhou also bowed and took his leave. Emperor Jingkang waved his hand and told them to leave.
Emperor Jingkang was the only one left in the hall.
————
Lu Xingzhou dealt with Lu Linfeng's affairs here and returned to Jixiang Palace.
Chen Liyue and Lu Yun accompanied the Queen, sitting on her left and right respectively, each holding one of her hands.
Seeing Lu Linfeng walk in safely, the queen finally felt relieved.
The Queen Mother had already been controlled by Lu Xingzhou's men. All the maids around her were dragged away, and she was the only one left in the Queen Mother's palace.
It was not convenient for Lu Xingzhou to take action against the empress dowager. After all, she was his imperial grandmother. Emperor Jingkang did not order the empress dowager to be punished. They could only place her under house arrest in their own palace and make plans later.
Since Chen Liyue was pregnant, it was not convenient for her to stay in the palace for a long time, so Lu Xingzhou asked for her leave from the queen and took Chen Liyue back to Prince Yi's Mansion.
After returning, Lu Xingzhou thought about it and finally spoke.
"Before Lu Linfeng was taken away today, he shared some news."
"What?" Shen Liyue asked.
Lu Xingzhou looked at Chen Liyue and whispered, "Lu Linfeng said that Chen Liqing is pregnant. Please ask your father to keep the fetus in Chen Liqing's belly."
Chen Liyue was shocked. It turned out that Lu Linfeng wanted to marry Chen Liqing for this reason.
After all, Shen Liqing is a member of the Shen family. Lu Linfeng may know that he might fail one day, so he left himself this backup plan.
If Shen Liqing's baby could be saved, then even if Lu Linfeng died, his bloodline would be preserved.
"What does father say?" Shen Liyue asked. She knew that Lu Xingzhou could not make the decision on this matter at the moment.
Lu Xingzhou said, "The Emperor didn't agree to his request today, but he didn't refuse it either. I guess he also felt reluctant."
"Yeah." Shen Liyue responded in a low voice. Both Lu Xingzhou and Emperor Jingkang had to think twice about how to deal with this matter.
But they didn't know that Emperor Jingkang had quickly made up his mind, and that night the imperial edict was delivered to the eldest prince's mansion.
"By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The eldest prince, Lu Linfeng, has raised an army in rebellion and is guilty of capital punishment. All men in the palace shall be beheaded, and the women shall be made military prostitutes. This execution shall take place immediately."
Eunuch Yan came to announce the imperial decree, and Zhang Yongjin brought the guards to carry out the execution.
Emperor Jingkang wanted to finalize everything in the middle of the night to prevent anyone from the Jiang family from coming to plead for mercy the next day.
When the eldest prince's wife heard the contents of the imperial edict, she didn't even struggle. It seemed that today's outcome was already within her expectations.
Lu Linfeng was captured and her child was gone a few years ago. Now she was alive, but she was just a walking corpse. She accepted the order expressionlessly, then hit her head against the wall and died on the spot.
When the eldest prince's wife rushed forward, no one tried to stop her. Everyone knew that this would be her only fate.
The eldest prince's wife was also the daughter of a prominent family. She was already married and did not commit any crime against her family, but becoming a military prostitute would bring shame to her family. Moreover, she herself could not endure such humiliation, so her death now was the best outcome for her.
But Shen Liqing was different. She saw the eldest prince's wife hit the wall and died in front of her, and even her face was splashed with the eldest prince's wife's blood.
The warm blood sprayed onto Shen Liqing's cheek in an instant, and Shen Liqing was frightened and screamed loudly.
"No! No!" Shen Liqing screamed, "I'm pregnant! I can't be a military prostitute. I'm carrying the eldest prince's blood in my belly!"
Zhang Yongjin frowned when he heard this and motioned the imperial physician beside him to come forward.
The imperial physician had already brought an abortion pill, as ordered by the emperor.
Lu Linfeng could not be kept, and his flesh and blood could not be kept either. Although Emperor Jingkang felt reluctant, he could not leave such a hidden danger for Lu Xingzhou.
The imperial physician presented the abortion medicine, and Zhang Yongjin personally took the pill, pinched Shen Liqing's mouth, and forced it down.
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