Chapter 267 Lu Xuefei is an ally, not an enemy
Everyone heard a woman's voice and turned around, but they couldn't see who it was.
At this moment, the woman's head had been pressed to the ground, and her mouth was being tightly covered by her parents. If they had known she would be so unruly, they shouldn't have brought her to the Crown Prince's birthday banquet. If she were to enter the palace to participate in the selection of concubines in this manner, she would probably offend everyone sooner or later.
Xie Shang was also pleased with what he had in mind. "You ministers, prepare to follow me into the palace. General Chi Hu, take your father with you!"
Then he added, "Lin Feng, General Su is drunk. Find a few people to help General Chi Hu."
"Your subordinate obeys." Lin Feng then sent someone forward to help, saying kindly, "General Chi Hu has also drunk quite a bit, so let us help the General!"
Su Xuan stared coldly. When he woke up, he saw Xie Shang's guards beating his father. No matter how drunk his father was, he couldn't possibly still be sober and not clear-headed. What was going on?
It seems we have no choice but to take a long-term approach.
Seeing his father being taken away, he chased after him, saying, "This general will take care of my father. Guard Lin, thank you for your hard work."
"Just now, General Su mistook me for a woman, so I gently hit him to bring him to his senses. Please don't mind, Young General! In that situation, I saw General Su almost taking off his underwear, and there were so many women in the hall..."
Su Xuan grew even angrier after hearing this. What on earth was going on? Had his father's old habit relapsed? This was Shengjing, how dare he do this?
My father wouldn't be so clueless; there must be something fishy going on.
Xie Shang walked up to Lu Tingwei and saw that he was still kneeling on the ground with his daughter and wife, afraid that his daughter would see them because of her loose tongue.
Lu Tingwei sensed a figure before him, raised his head slightly, and was almost scared out of his wits. "Your subject Lu Yun greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Xie Shang stared at the top of Lu Xuefei's head and said in a deep voice, "Is this Lu Tingwei's daughter?"
Lu Tingwei hurriedly said, "Hurry up and pay your respects to His Highness the Crown Prince."
Lu Xuefei quickly bowed and said, "This humble woman, Lu Xuefei, greets Your Highness the Crown Prince. May Your Highness live a thousand years!"
"No need for formalities!" Xie Shang said.
"Thank you, Your Highness. I will kneel here and reply to Your Highness."
Xie Shang was stunned: "Just now I saw you bravely identify General Su. You have a grudge against him."
Lu Xuefei knelt on the ground, her mind racing. "Just now, General Su took off his clothes and ran around the hall. He's shameless! He touched my breasts and even put his arm around my waist. He's disrespectful and shameless. So I beg Your Highness to severely punish that man surnamed Su." She didn't want to enter the palace to marry the Crown Prince, so she wanted him to think she had been taken advantage of and wouldn't choose her to enter the palace.
Lu Tingwei's face turned white, then green, then red, and he wanted to sew his daughter's mouth shut with a needle.
Xie Shang was speechless upon hearing this, and said to Lu Yun, "In that case, would Judge Lu be willing to let your daughter enter the palace to testify before His Majesty?"
"No……"
"This subject is willing." Lu Xuefei raised herself up, her cross-eyed staring at the Crown Prince, a black mole on her philtrum looking out of place and unsightly.
Xie Shang was startled. "Then, Commandant Lu, bring your daughter with you to the palace to meet the Emperor!"
After saying that, he turned and left. Only after Xie Shang left did Lu Xuefei's eyes return to normal, revealing a pair of bright and lively eyes blinking.
Madam Lu just wanted to give her a good whack with a board and pry off the mole on her philtrum. "Fei'er, what are you up to?"
"Your daughter said she didn't want to come, but you insisted. Look what you've done now!" Lu Xuefei knew she wasn't particularly beautiful. Although she wasn't ugly, her looks were less than a tenth of the Crown Princess's. However, she was on the list of candidates for the Crown Prince's selection of consorts. Knowing that the Crown Prince wouldn't really like her, she didn't want to become a victim of imperial power.
Before dawn, Censor Zhu indeed personally reported Su Dehai's dissolute behavior to the Qianqing Palace.
The emperor was awakened by the commotion outside before he was fully awake, and had no choice but to get dressed and go out.
Even after being carried to the emperor, Su Dehai remained sound asleep, snoring loudly as if he were about to pass out. The smell of alcohol on his body had not dissipated, as if he had been pulled out of a wine barrel.
Upon seeing this, the emperor's face was full of disgust. He noticed that the general's clothes and trousers were haphazardly put on, making him look disheveled and lacking any of the grandeur expected of a great general.
"Your Highness, what are you doing in the palace so late at night?" the emperor said coldly.
“Father, it wasn’t me who wanted to come to the palace. Yesterday, a banquet was being held at my residence…” He recounted the whole story, “and the trouble happened when I came out after finishing my business.”
Imperial Censor Zhu said, “Your Majesty, General Su caused trouble while drunk, and even almost lost control of his sexuality. Such behavior damages the prestige of our Great Zhou generals. I request Your Majesty to punish him severely.”
At this moment, someone stood up to speak for Su Dehai, "Imperial Censor Zhu is making a mountain out of a molehill. General Su is a military officer who has been leading troops in battle for many years. He is used to being free and undisciplined, and his character is not flawed. I think he was just drunk and had no idea what he did while drunk. He is forgivable." He had naturally received Su Xuan's advice.
"Does Lord Yu mean that military officers don't need to pay attention to their words and deeds, and don't need to have moral character? Our Great Zhou Dynasty's military officers can go out and bully women at will, without any moral compass."
“This… I didn’t say that,” Lord Yu said.
"In that case, General Su's actions should be severely punished." The Crown Prince was clearly very angry about the matter, as the daughter of Imperial Censor Zhu was about to enter the Eastern Palace. He ordered someone to send Su Dehai directly to the Golden Palace, and naturally he wanted to make a great effort to demonstrate his authority as an Imperial Censor.
"Isn't Censor Zhu making a mountain out of a molehill?" another official said, speaking up for Su Dehai. "General Su simply drank too much at the Crown Prince's birthday banquet."
"Why are you in such a hurry, Lord Hu? I am merely stating the law. As for how His Majesty intends to convict General Su, that is still up to His Majesty to decide."
The Emperor's eyes were cold as he said in a deep voice, "Crown Prince, this happened in your residence. What's your opinion on that?"
"Your Majesty, I believe the evidence is conclusive. General Su did indeed act inappropriately," Xie Shang said in a deep voice. "Besides the dancer who was harassed by General Su, Lu Tingwei's daughter was also harmed. Lu Tingwei has brought his daughter and wife to the palace to tell the truth. Your Majesty, would you like to summon them to an audience?"
"Let them in."
Lu Tingwei knelt before the emperor with his wife and daughter, trembling with fear. This time, Lu Xuefei did not have a black mole on her philtrum. She had been scolded by her mother on the way there in the carriage.
After bowing, the emperor said, "Commander Lu, do you have anything to say?"
"Your Majesty... perhaps General Su was drunk and unaware of his surroundings. Your Majesty is not."
"This humble woman has something to say," Lu Xuefei said boldly.
The emperor stared at her coldly, "Tell me the truth."
Lu Xuefei recounted the events of that time, "...General Su not only harassed women, but he also harassed dancers and the daughters of ministers. Everyone saw it and no one could stop him. How can General Su, with such a character, be worthy of being a highly respected general?"
Upon hearing this, the officials could only sigh in dismay. General Su was utterly shameless; not only did he put his arm around her waist, but he also groped her breasts. He was simply shameless and perverted.
Xie Shang glanced at Lu Xuefei, thinking, "She really dares to say anything!"
When I saw her again, the black mole on her philtrum was gone, and her eyes were normal. I guess she was scolded by Lord Lu. This girl is so afraid of seeing me that she deliberately makes herself look ugly in front of me.
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