The robe was a garment that only students who had completed their studies were entitled to wear.
Zhao even hoped to change the past practice of disturbing the people and put forward the slogan "No plundering, no wanton killing".
These measures aroused strong resentment from Liu San and his subordinates.
Many people went to Liu San to complain: "I risk my life, all I want is to sleep with a few women and steal more money!"
"Now that we can't do this or that, what the hell is the point of rebelling? We might as well go home and grow sweet potatoes!"
Now the situation has taken a sharp turn for the worse, and defeat is imminent. In order to win over the people, Liu San simply proposed to part ways with Zhao.
They came together because of Prince Jian's influence.
Now that Prince Jian is dead, his heir is still a naive boy who hasn't even grown up yet, and is completely incapable of shouldering any responsibility.
Zhao led his men towards Fengyang, while Liu San led his troops north.
Su Wanwan was imprisoned in a cellar.
Not many people know about this.
King Jian was also wary of Liu San and Zhao Yi, these unscrupulous traitors.
Su Wanwan has been deposed as empress, but she was once empress after all. If Su Wanwan is humiliated by traitors, it will not be good for Prince Jian's reputation if he ascends the throne in the future.
Moreover, the overseas merchant caravan behind Su Wanwan, which generates huge profits, is a cash cow that constantly replenishes the government's overburdened finances.
Prince Jian would never hand over this cash cow to someone else; only a very few of his confidants knew where Su Wanwan was being held.
However, all of his trusted confidants died in the murder plot orchestrated by Xiao Bin.
Currently, no one knows where Su Wanwan is being held.
Qiu Yue's troops discovered a highly decomposed female corpse in a civilian house. Gu Ziyu confirmed that the clothes and jewelry on the body were indeed those worn by Su Wanwan when she was captured.
With Gu Ziyu's confirmation, Qiu Yue ordered someone to rush back to the capital with news of Su Wanwan's death and her keepsake.
Lu Xingjian stared at the hairpin that had been broken into several pieces, then collapsed to the ground, remaining motionless for a long time.
He carved this hairpin himself for Wanwan, so of course he recognized it.
Wanwan really likes it and uses it to style her hair every day.
It turns out she took it with her when she left the palace.
Meng Yue was terrified and cautiously called out, "Your Majesty, please accept my condolences."
Lu Xingjian finally came to his senses, waved his hand and stood up: "I'm fine."
He returned to his desk as if nothing had happened and continued reviewing memorials with high efficiency, at a speed similar to his usual pace.
Meng Yue secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The emperor was probably prepared for this, so he wasn't too saddened.
This is a good thing.
A few days later, Lu Xingjian called Yan Ge'er and Yan Ge'er over and told the children the news.
What are your plans?
His expression was calm.
Yan Ge'er was terrified and suppressed his sobs: "No, Mother won't die."
“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have advised Yan’er to leave the palace, causing Mother to worry about us.”
Yan Ge'er clenched his fists.
He was so sleepy that day, and he seemed to vaguely hear his mother's voice. His mother said that she wanted to go with bad people and asked them to let the child go.
So, Mother was killed by bad guys while trying to save them.
After a long silence, Yan Ge'er bit his lip, his eyes brimming with tears, and said, "Father, I want to go find Mother and apologize to her. It was my fault."
"I'm the one who killed her."
Lu Xingjian patted the child's head without saying a word.
What do children know?
They didn't kill anyone or set fires, so what did they do wrong?
Lu Xingjian took the two children to the Su family and handed them over to Su Nan, his attitude unusually cold.
“Su Wanwan is no longer the Empress, and there is no need for these two children to remain in the palace.”
"You decide what to do. Arrange a suitable identity for them, and make sure they never enter the royal family again in this lifetime."
Su Nan couldn't believe it: "You don't even want your own son anymore?"
Lu Xingjian smiled, but the smile was tinged with bitterness and indifference.
"Who can prove that I have a biological son?"
Su Nan's face turned cold.
Yan Ge'er's background is too complicated. If the emperor refuses to acknowledge his status as a prince, no one can prove that Yan Ge'er is his child.
After a long while, Su Nan looked up at the sky and sighed.
"Very well, the Su family will raise the child; it has nothing to do with the Emperor."
Royal family ties are cold and indifferent.
The death of one's mother is essentially equivalent to the death of one's father.
Lu Xingjian's face remained expressionless. He glanced one last time at the child crying beside Su Wanying before leaving the Su family.
Not long after, news came that Ma Ang had been appointed as a military commander to defend Fengyang.
Su Wanying's eyes were red from crying. "Second Uncle, has the Ma family's daughter gained favor again?"
"My sister's body was barely cold when the Emperor found a new favorite."
"Back then, I should have risked my life to stop my sister from agreeing to marry him!"
Marrying someone of high status is like swallowing a needle.
She only hoped that her sister would live a safe and peaceful life, without encountering so many hardships.
Su Nan's hair was almost completely white. Since the news of Su Wanwan's death came, he seemed to have aged more than ten years in an instant.
His daughter was not raised by him from a young age, so their relationship wasn't very deep.
But ever since she got married, all his worries have fallen on her shoulders.
He was not a good father.
It seems that he only took Wanwan to play once, when they sat on an ice sled in Xuanfu. Xiao Bin even helped pull the ice sled.
Now that he's dead, he's left his old father with two children.
What does it matter if the son-in-law is powerful and influential?
She doesn't even care about her own son; she only cares about finding new lovers.
However, thinking about it, he himself wasn't much better off.
His daughter was brought into the palace when she was only six months old, and he married her as a second wife.
They didn't have much confidence to criticize the emperor for being heartless and ungrateful.
Qian Ning came to him with a worried expression: "Master Su, you should go to the palace and persuade the Emperor."
“He now lives in Xiaoyuan and doesn’t come out. He doesn’t care about anything and leaves everything to the Cabinet and the Directorate of Ceremonial.”
"The situation is still unstable; this is not a long-term solution!"
As the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he had requested an audience with the emperor ten times, but now he might not be able to see him even once.
Qian Ning has recently offended many people while apprehending thieves, practically handing his life over to the emperor.
If something happens to the emperor, and he loses his backing, he will inevitably be torn to pieces by his ministers.
Regardless, he was the one who most wanted the emperor to secure his rule.
Su Nan scoffed, "What does this have to do with me?"
Helpless, Qian Ning went to Yang Yiqing, the Minister of Personnel.
Yang Yiqing was, after all, Su Wanwan's former subordinate. His words might represent some of Su Wanwan's thoughts, and the Emperor might listen to them.
It's highly unusual that Yang Yiqing can't see Lu Xingjian at all.
Not long ago, the emperor even pulled these old bones aside in the middle of the night to discuss strategies for suppressing bandits.
Now he's suddenly become a hands-off manager, not caring about anything.
Yang Yiqing submitted a memorial to the throne.
The wording was very tactful, saying that the emperor only attended court once or twice a month and often resided in Xiaoyuan Garden, showing a lack of self-discipline despite being responsible for the ancestral temple and the state.
Unfortunately, this is why the court officials cannot find peace day and night.
May we henceforth live in seclusion in peace and tranquility, refraining from excessive indulgence in revelry and frivolity, so as to preserve harmony of mind and body, and to ensure the continuation of many sons in the harem. There is no more urgent plan than this for the continuation of the ancestral line.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
