Xu Yixing opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything. "It doesn't matter?" But originally, all this didn't have to happen. But to say "I hate you" was not her true intention.
After another long stalemate, Xu Yixing spoke, but not in response to Lu Anyuan's words, but to express his own guess.
"You handed over the Emperor's Sword before leaving the capital. When you arrived in the northern border, before you could report it, my father's spies had already revealed your discovery of the Emperor's Sword to the Empress Dowager's people, forcing you to rebel. Unfortunately, neither my father nor the Empress Dowager knew about it. The Emperor had been on guard from the beginning, so he gave you the Tiger Tally. Once you arrive in the northern border, my father's people will undoubtedly contact you, and then you can wipe them out."
Lu Anyuan hummed, "That's about it."
"Then I was imprisoned in the palace and revealed the origins of the Emperor's Sword. The Emperor was going to use this as evidence to prove your rebellion, but he was afraid I would leak the news if I left, so he imprisoned me. Then rumors spread throughout the capital that you had led troops from the northern border into the capital and that I had defected. In reality, you only arrived near the capital, where you used the Tiger Tally to mobilize the Weiwei Army to disguise yourself as a rebel, and then entered the palace to 'force the Queen Mother and Prince Cheng' to appear."
"right."
"Alas." Xu Yixing didn't want to continue. The whole story was too clear to explain. It was a pity for the Empress Dowager, Prince Cheng, and himself. They had all been fools, and the Emperor had figured it all out.
"But the emperor doesn't seem to trust you that much, otherwise why would he tie me up and eavesdrop on me?" If Lu Anyuan had shown any reluctance to hand over the tiger talisman that morning, both he and he would probably have died at the hands of the people in the tunnel.
"Well... Father never really trusts anyone. This is necessary for him to be the emperor. If you want to blame someone, blame me. I should have taken you with me." Lu Anyuan couldn't say that he was worried that something would happen to you, so he rushed day and night and people said that he led troops to rush through the pass. He couldn't say that he was actually rebelling, so he could only take all the blame on himself.
Anyway, it’s good enough that I see you’re okay now.
"Tsk, in the end, your father won." Xu Yixing's face darkened. He was extremely dissatisfied when he thought of the conversation with the emperor that day, but there was nothing he could do. After all, the other person could decide his life or death with just a word.
"Puchi." The night gradually darkened, but the lights were still not on. Lu Anyuan smiled in the darkness, and his heart suddenly relaxed a lot.
"My father is dead. I sent him off myself."
"Hmm?" This expression was strange. What did he mean by sending him away? Didn't the emperor send Bai Yu to kill people? Why... Lu Anyuan suddenly felt a little cold.
"To be honest, this time he has brought it upon himself. He was too ambitious and had to die." Xu Yixing glanced out the window and quickly looked away. The night was as dark as ink.
"Feel sorry."
"I don't blame you. He and I were... Never mind. Once this is over, maybe, maybe the emperor will feel comfortable making you the crown prince, and then you'll get what you wish for."
Fortunately, the lights were not on, otherwise he would have seen her expression of having eaten fly shit, as if the position of crown prince was something disgusting.
However, Lu Anyuan was also a little distracted at this time. He was thinking about something else. This afternoon, when he went to report, he didn't see his father summon him. Moreover, no decree had been issued to Prince Cheng and the Queen Mother. He wondered if something had gone wrong, or...
Forget it, there is no point in thinking too much. In the current situation, it is best to pray that my father is okay. Otherwise, before I can clear my name, I will really become a traitor.
"Madam, since the emperor has already let you out of the palace, I think General Xu's affairs will not implicate you. I will ask the emperor to grant you a favor, don't worry." Speaking of which, Lu Anyuan was still somewhat grateful to General Xu in his heart. Even if he had selfish motives in supporting him, which minister didn't have this selfish motive?
In the final analysis, this time I really screwed my father-in-law over. If my father wasn't so suspicious and strong-willed, maybe I could have...
Lu Anyuan's gaze was momentarily distracted, but Xu Yixing had already picked up his words: "I dare not ask for any mercy. The moment the Emperor sees me, he thinks of the daughter of a traitor. How can anything good happen to me?" Xu Yixing scoffed at this so-called compensation. After all, from the Emperor's perspective, he had been extremely lenient by not killing the traitor's daughter and allowing her to retain the dignity of a princess.
"this..."
Xu Yixing stood up and lit a candle. The dim candlelight cast strange shadows on the two people, like two monsters.
"Actually, I want to ask, if I go to the North with you this time, will you rebel?"
Lu Anyuan was stunned, and a light flashed in his mind. As expected of Yixing, he even figured out his thoughts. "Of course not."
Xu Yixing smiled knowingly. After all, Lu Anyuan's ambition could not be satisfied by the position of a prince.
In November, on the new moon after the palace coup, the emperor's edict was issued as expected.
The decree was very long, and the list of punishments alone was a full page long. The ministers finally understood the whole story from the emperor's decree.
The one who rebelled was not Prince Xiaoyi, but Prince Cheng, the emperor's younger brother! It is said that Prince Cheng pretended to obey the imperial edict on that day and actually dared to change the secret passage to directly enter the Yian Hall, and even brought troops into the palace to force abdication!
The Emperor was furious, not only because of Prince Cheng's betrayal, but also because Prince Cheng threatened his own mother, the Empress Dowager, during the process of forcing the Emperor to abdicate, and even injured the Empress Dowager, leaving her bedridden and unconscious. He was truly a traitor who had no father or emperor!
Therefore, Prince Cheng had to die. He was covered with a white cloth and carried out of the palace with a cup of poisoned wine. All his family members were exiled and were never allowed to return to the capital even if they were pardoned.
The charges against the Xu family were ambiguous. After all, the emperor was concerned about his son's face and did not want him to have a rebellious in-law family. Therefore, he only said that Xu Xianshan's poisoning relapsed and he died, and rewarded him with 100 taels of silver to cover his funeral expenses.
After receiving the longest imperial edict in history, Xu Yixing rubbed his eyes gently. Was the Empress Dowager injured by Prince Cheng? The Emperor was so bold in making this up. I'm afraid the old lady is already a corpse by now, just waiting for the right time to hold a funeral.
However, she also read a strong warning in the imperial edict. It wasn't that the emperor wasn't angry with the Xu family; he simply didn't want to embarrass Lu Anyuan and wanted to give him a clean slate. After all, she was also lucky. Otherwise, she would have been blamed for not reporting the Emperor's Sword.
The regulations on punishment stipulated that some should be killed and some should be arrested, but there was no decree of reward. It seemed that the emperor was not in a hurry to reward at the moment and would make plans after the situation calmed down a little.
"Siqin, tell someone to prepare the horses. I want to go back to the Xu Mansion." After something like this happened at home, I have to deal with the aftermath myself.
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