Kang Yueran and Chai Shijing were also discussing this matter.
"I do have a way to convince the court officials to agree, but if I stand up and support Qin Shu, it will be clear that I am going against the emperor."
The court officials were making such a big fuss, and it was no wonder that Chai Shijing was behind the scenes fanning the flames. "The emperor and I are just about to fall out, which is fine. But, Yueran, we have to first confirm whether the Duke of Zhenguo and Qin Shu are willing to go against the emperor."
"That's right. Qin Cheng is the commander of the Imperial Guards. We can't offend him. As long as we take the blame, Qin Shu will definitely agree. Who would be willing to hide something when they can use their real name to become famous throughout the world?"
The Qin family's ambivalent attitude had left Chai Shijing feeling very uncomfortable with them. "Let's go and find out what Qin Shu thinks, lest we end up with a situation where we don't please both sides."
"Okay, then I'll go to the Qin family tonight."
Kang Yueran wanted to find Qin Shu, and Qin Shu also wanted to find Kang Yueran. The two met not far from the Zhenguo Mansion. Qin Shu led the way and took Kang Yueran to her home.
"What do you want to see me about?" Qin Shu asked first.
"Let me ask you, what are your plans for the war in the southwest?"
Qin Shu raised his eyebrows and said, "Didn't you say that you would definitely be able to fulfill my wish to go to the battlefield?"
"Yeah, but I didn't know there was this bug with Chai Shiqin before, so I thought it was simple."
"What brother?"
Kang Yueran was at a loss for words. "I mean, I can be satisfied now, but His Majesty will definitely vent his anger on you, or even the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. That's why I came here tonight to confirm with you."
"When I entered the palace this afternoon, His Majesty told me explicitly to go to the southwest privately."
Uh… "That's even more troublesome. What do you think?"
"I definitely don't want to, but my father said that the emperor won't give me a clear order."
She was silent for a moment, looked directly at Kang Yueran, and said, "Kang Yueran, can you ask the emperor to give me a clear order?"
"You can give it a try! But! Qin Shu, you have to understand, you also said that the emperor has clearly told you to go privately. If I stand up to support you, the emperor will certainly blame me and Ajing, and will also be angry with you.
He might even summon you to persuade me to stop interfering. Have you ever thought about what you would do then? Would you obey His Majesty or fight to the end?
Qin Shu was a little undecided, lowered his head and said nothing.
"Think about it carefully and tell me when you have figured it out." She could help, but she couldn't accept being stabbed while helping.
Qin Shu seemed to have made some kind of decision. "Don't think about it, Kang Yueran, help me! I will go to the battlefield in the name of Qin Shu! I want everyone in the world to know Qin Shu's name."
"Okay!" Kang Yueran's eyes were shining. She was very willing to see women of this era have such awareness, be willing to take action and stick to it.
Two days later
Wang Jian, a member of the Yulin Army, ran to the guard post sweating profusely to find Lei Ying, "Commander Lei, Duke Lu has been found, in..."
Lei Ying stood up suddenly and asked, "Where is he?" He had almost turned Duke Lu's mansion upside down, but still couldn't find anyone.
"Early this morning, two bodies were found lying at the gate of the Ministry of Justice. One was Duke Lu's, and the other was a man's. However, the man was wearing a veil and women's clothing. Judging from his clothes and hairstyle, he looked very much like Miss Kang."
"Only these two? Where's Lady Lu? Where's the others?"
Wang Jian wiped his sweat, "There are only these two, no one else. Oh, Duke Lu also has a blood letter in his arms, but I don't know what it says."
A blood letter? Lei Ying was shocked and headed towards the Ministry of Justice.
Many people gathered at the entrance of the criminal department. Lei Ying felt nervous when he heard words like "blood letter" and "fratricide". He did not stop and went straight to Zhou Yang to ask about the situation.
Zhou Yang's face turned grim. He handed both copies of the blood letter to Lei Ying, "Commander Lei, please read them yourself. The contents of the two blood letters are identical. One is in Duke Lu's arms, and the other appeared on the court's notice board. When I received the news and sent someone to retrieve it, many people saw it."
Lei Ying unfolded the blood letter written by Duke Lu and began to read it. The more he read, the darker his face became.
The content of the blood letter is roughly divided into three parts. The first part explains the cause of his death, saying that the murderer was ordered by Emperor Jianning to pretend to be Kang Yueran to kill his entire family, with the purpose of using his death to frame Chai Shijing.
The middle section questions Emperor Jianning, asking him if he still remembers who secured his ascension to the throne and if he still remembers his promise that military power in the southwest would always belong to the Wan family. It also asks who Chai Shiqin's biological mother is: a palace maid or Nie Qiu'er?
The last section was abusive, accusing the Jianning Emperor of being ungrateful and shameless, claiming to be a benevolent ruler. It also accused Chai Shiqin of being immoral and incompetent, saying that the Jianning Emperor sent Chai Shiqin to the southwest not to quell the rebellion but to pave the way for Chai Shiqin's imperial power, using the lives of the people there as stepping stones. This was the behavior of a tyrant.
It was a letter written in blood, with few words but rich content and sharp words, which opened the eyes of the people.
Lei Ying's hands trembled. This blood letter posed a huge problem for Emperor Jianning. If Emperor Jianning insisted on appointing Chai Shiqin as the crown prince, it would be tantamount to acknowledging the contents of the blood letter, and he would inevitably be branded a tyrant.
He didn't dare to delay any longer and entered the palace with two letters written in blood.
Emperor Jianning looked at the blood letter and spat out a mouthful of blood directly onto the letter. He rolled his eyes and fainted.
It was such a big thing, and no one except Emperor Jianning dared to make the decision on what to do next.
Zhou Yang had no choice but to make a gesture, saying that he would conduct a thorough investigation into the murder of Duke Lu, and ordered that no one was allowed to talk about it until the incident was fully investigated.
But people don’t say it in person or in public, they still say it in private or at home.
The same went for the court officials. Chai Shiqin's life story was revealed, and everyone was comparing timelines and speculating on various possibilities.
The next day, Emperor Jianning finally awoke. His body was already weakened, and he couldn't hold out for much longer. Since he was dying, why bother caring about his reputation? Of course, fulfilling his wish was the most important thing.
Without thinking too much, he knew that this matter was closely related to Chai Shijing and Kang Yueran. He hated Chai Shijing so much that he picked out a small mistake and punished Chai Shijing by making him kneel at the palace gate until dark.
Kang Yueran was so angry that she felt sorry for her own man. She bribed several students and asked them to instigate a group of students in the capital to write a letter of advice to Emperor Jianning, asking him to sympathize with the people in the southwest, recall Chai Shiqin as soon as possible, and send capable people to the southwest to quell the rebellion.
Emperor Jianning summoned Qin Shu to the palace and asked him, breathing heavily, "Why haven't you set off for the southwest yet? Qin Shu, is your Qin family planning a rebellion?"
Qin Shu knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily. "The Qin family will not participate in the struggle for the succession, nor will they rebel. I just want to seek a future for myself."
"You are just a woman, what future do you want? After leaving the palace, head to the southwest immediately. If you disobey my order, I will chop off your head."
"Your Majesty, please grant me an imperial decree, I..."
Emperor Jianning pointed at Qin Shu and said, "Don't play dumb in front of me, Qin Shu. Don't think I dare not kill you!" After he said that, he coughed.
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