In the imperial study, Lu Hanzhang was in tears, showing his deep love for his daughter incisively and vividly. He was determined to make the prince of Jingyuan pay the price for murdering Lu Wei.
The emperor remained silent, but his eyes were cold and he was angry.
With a bang, a memorial was thrown in front of Lu Hanzhang.
Lu Hanzhang was confused, so he picked up the memorial and opened it. Then his eyes widened in disbelief.
This memorial was actually a joint letter from the military officers and soldiers, jointly accusing the son of Marquis Jingyuan of abusing Marquis Jingyuan's power in the army to amass wealth, embezzle and pervert the law.
Isn't this just like someone handing you a pillow when you are dozing off? Just as Lu Hanzhang was about to deal with Marquis Jingyuan, someone brought the evidence to him.
The emperor spoke slowly, his voice filled with anger: "The matter of Jingyuan Hou's son's corruption is also handed over to you to investigate. Find out every detail. I want to see how many heads he has!"
Lu Hanzhang took the order and left. Since he already had a grudge against the prince of Jingyuan Marquis, Lu Hanzhang's investigation of the case was like divine help. Within three days, the whole matter was uncovered.
The joint complaint filed by the soldiers was indeed true. The prince of Jingyuan Marquis embezzled military pay and murdered the soldiers. The evidence was conclusive and was presented to the emperor one by one.
The emperor was furious and immediately ordered the son of Marquis Dingyuan to be arrested and imprisoned. Soon after, he was stripped of his title of Marquis Jingyuan and demoted to a commoner.
In this way, the truth of the case in Gengzhi Garden that day came to light, and the emperor personally issued an edict to clear Lu Wei's name.
The study room of the Night Palace.
After dinner, Chu Xuan started practicing calligraphy in the study. Lu Yanluo was bored, so she read the latest popular picture book nearby.
Coincidentally, it is a story about the love-hate relationship between Chu Han and Lu Wei.
The storybook portrays Chu Han as a deeply affectionate man who not only saves Lu Wei from danger, but also uncovers the person behind the scenes to vent Lu Wei's anger.
Lu Yanluo watched with great interest. After a while, she looked at Chu Xuan and said, "Your sixth brother has become very famous recently. I heard that since Marquis Jingyuan was demoted, Chu Han has been very close to Dali Temple Minister Lu Hanzhang. I am worried that Chu Han has already boarded the Dali Temple Minister's boat through Lu Wei."
Chu Xuan was unmoved, still calmly lowering his head to write, and said nonchalantly: "Isn't this what Chu Han wanted? It's great that his wish came true."
Lu Yanluo was so angry that she threw the notebook down, stood up and walked to Chu Xuan's desk.
"I don't believe that you didn't see any suspicious points in this case. There were so many people in the Farming and Weaving Garden that day. How did Lu Hanzhang immediately identify the prince of Jingyuan Marquis? Moreover, those palace maids confessed without being asked. No matter how you look at it, it seems like a show."
"And the matter of the Marquis of Jingyuan's son's corruption. How could it be such a coincidence that when Lu Hanzhang found out the truth about the farming and weaving garden, the soldiers in the army jointly sued the Marquis of Jingyuan's son for corruption? This is all too deliberate."
It was as if someone had deliberately pointed out the way for Lu Hanzhang and prepared evidence for Marquis Jingyuan in advance, waiting for the right time to publicize everything.
After hearing this, Chu Xuan finally put down the pen in his hand and fell into deep thought.
Although Marquis Jingyuan was a military general, he had long been a military marquis in name only and had no real power. How could a prince of a marquisate with no real power use his position to embezzle military funds?
Thinking of this, Chu Xuan went to the palace the next day and told the emperor his guess.
But the emperor not only refused to listen, but blamed Chu Xuan for having ulterior motives and drove him out.
But no one noticed that outside the imperial study, a figure disappeared in a flash after Chu Xuan left.
Lu Hanzhang came here today because there was one thing in the Jingyuan Marquis's corruption case that didn't make sense, and he wanted to ask the emperor to let him check the military pay distribution records.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I walked out the door, I heard a quarrel inside.
"It's all just a coincidence. Chu Han clearly has bad intentions. The Marquis of Jingyuan is just Chu Han's scapegoat."
These few words made Lu Hanzhang's mind confused. Without even having the chance to enter the palace to pay respects to the emperor, Lu Hanzhang hurried back to his residence.
Pulling Lu Wei aside, he asked, "Why did you suddenly fall into the water on the lake in the Farming and Weaving Garden that day?"
Lu Wei didn't understand what was going on, so she tried to recall: "That day I was standing on the boat, and for some reason it seemed as if someone was shaking the boat at the bottom of the lake. I lost my balance and tried to grab the fence, but it broke, and I slipped into the water."
Lu Hanzhang's face turned even uglier, and then he asked, "Then when did you faint after entering the palace?"
Lu Wei looked embarrassed, that memory was really confusing. She only remembered that she followed the palace maid into the room, and she seemed to smell a strange fragrance before she changed her clothes. Then she lost consciousness. When she woke up again, she was lying in bed with Chu Han.
Lu Hanzhang's face became more and more ugly. He patted his innocent daughter and said seriously, "Weiwei, listen to your father and don't have anything to do with King Liang anymore. He has ulterior motives and deliberately approaches you. Your father is afraid that all this was arranged by him in advance."
Lu Hanzhang thought of the words he heard outside the imperial study. Coincidence, can everything be explained by a coincidence? That would be treating people as fools.
But Lu Wei disagreed with her father's statement and retorted, "How could it be? When I fell into the water, it was King Liang who saved me regardless of his own safety. When I was framed, it was King Liang who insisted on clearing my name and restoring my innocence. Didn't Daddy promise me that he would find an opportunity to ask His Majesty to grant me a marriage with King Liang? Why has it changed now?"
Before Lu Hanzhang could persuade her again, Lu Wei ran away angrily.
She went straight to the palace. Chu Han said that he would come to the palace to visit Concubine Xian today. Lu Wei wanted to find Chu Han to ask him clearly.
Along the way, it seemed that everyone on the streets was talking about King Liang, and the words King Liang kept coming into Lu Wei's ears.
"My sisters who work in the palace said that Prince Liang and Concubine Xian are harboring evil intentions and intend to win over the court officials and ascend the throne to become emperor!"
"Yes, I heard that in order to win over the Dali Temple Minister, he actually plotted against someone's daughter. It's incredible."
Lu Wei was even more flustered and couldn't help but doubt her own judgment.
Arriving all the way at Fenghua Palace, Lu Wei avoided the eunuchs and palace maids in the palace and entered the inner hall quietly.
As soon as she came in, she heard Chu Han's voice. Lu Wei was delighted, but just as she was about to speak, she heard a shocking sentence.
"In my opinion, Lu Hanzhang's daughter is ready. You can go and mention her someday. If you marry her, she will lose her innocence anyway. It's impossible for her to be the principal wife. It's enough to reward her as a concubine."
Chu Han snorted and laughed: "Son, you understand. Lu Wei is really sincere to you now. As long as she is willing, Lu Hanzhang will have no choice but to agree."
Lu Wei couldn't believe what she heard. Was this really said by the Prince of Liang whom she knew?
He was actually using her to deceive her father's trust!