Lu Zhinian was suddenly imprisoned, leaving the Lu family in chaos. Lu Chongyuan and others tried to visit him in the jail, but since Xiao Yan had control over the situation, they were blocked even at the entrance of the imperial prison. They were told that because the case involving collusion with the Song family was still under investigation, and Lu Zhinian was implicated, no visitors were allowed.
Although the Lu family had connections within the prison, the Black Armored Guards were keeping a constant watch. Lu Chongyuan was unable to pull any strings, and despite nearly a whole day passing since last night, he still hadn’t managed to see Lu Zhinian. He couldn’t even understand why Lu Zhinian had gone to the Song Duke’s mansion in the first place.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yan and Cao Dejiang pressed on relentlessly, tying Lu Zhinian's actions to the case of collusion with the Song family. This infuriated Lu Chongyuan to the point of dizziness, and the entire Lu household was thrown into turmoil.
Empress Lu, although angry at Lu Zhinian for causing trouble, couldn’t truly abandon him. When she finally managed to see the Emperor, he coldly dismissed her.
“You still have the nerve to plead for the Lu family?”
The Emperor’s face was unusually flushed. Even though the weather wasn’t too hot, he wore only a light robe, with the front loose, revealing his chest, and his bare feet on the floor.
“Look at what your Lu family has done. Did you really think the Rong family was wiped out, that you could humiliate a young lady like that?”
As he spoke, his breath was hot, and with a wave of his sleeve, he angrily said, “A dignified empress, and yet you wanted to bring someone into the palace? What, you thought you could use your empress status to force that girl from the Song family to clean up your Lu family’s mess?”
“And you still dare to beg for mercy. It’s already generous of me not to have had that third son of the Lu family executed on the spot!”
The object the Emperor threw hit Empress Lu’s face painfully, but she didn’t dare utter a word. She reached out to pick up the item that had fallen to the ground, and as soon as she read what was on it, her face turned green.
That Song Tangning… she actually dared to file a petition to the Emperor?
“Your Majesty, this matter is not known to me. It was all the Lu family’s doing. I invited Miss Song into the palace out of concern for her injuries…”
“Concern for her injuries, yet you didn’t send someone from the Imperial Medical Bureau to check on her?” The Emperor let out a cold laugh, almost stripping away Empress Lu's pretense. “Do you really think I’m deaf and blind, unaware of what's happening outside?”
“Your Majesty, I…”
“Enough.”
The Emperor cut off any further explanations. “There’s no need to argue with me. I’ll remind you of one thing: although Grand Tutor Rong is dead, he served three dynasties and has disciples all over the land. If the Lu family truly thinks the Rong family is completely gone and dares to bully that girl, there will be plenty of people willing to stand up for the Rong family’s descendants.”
The Emperor looked down at Empress Lu, who was kneeling on the ground, feeling a wave of agitation surging inside him.
He despised the Lu family, and he despised Empress Lu, who was entangled with them. He had even less interest in the fate of Lu Zhinian; he'd rather spend his time refining his golden elixir.
Taking a sip of the chilled wine beside him to quell his inner restlessness, the Emperor spoke in a cold tone, “I’m sparing this petition for your sake, but the Song girl has already submitted it to the Jingzhao Prefecture. You tell the Lu family to handle this carefully. If that girl dares to ring the Qinglong Bell or knock on the Drum of Appeals, don’t blame me for disregarding past favors.”
Under the watchful eyes of the palace attendants, Empress Lu was driven out of the Yulong Platform, looking disheveled.
As soon as she stepped out, Jin Zhi hurriedly approached. “Your Highness, are you alright?”
“Do I look alright?” Empress Lu snapped.
Jin Zhi lowered her head in fear, while Empress Lu gritted her teeth and cursed, “What on earth is going on? How did His Majesty find out about the Lu family’s affairs and get so furious?”
Jin Zhi hesitated for a moment before replying, “It was Chief Eunuch Xiao…”
“Xiao Yan?” Empress Lu’s eyes narrowed.
Jin Zhi kept her head down. “Before Your Highness arrived, Chief Eunuch Xiao visited the palace. I don’t know what he said to His Majesty, but he was enraged. Third Young Master was initially just being held in prison, but right before Your Highness arrived, His Majesty had just ordered him to be beaten.”
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
Empress Lu was furious. If she had known that the Emperor had already ordered Lu Zhinian to be caned, she wouldn’t have come to plead for him!
Jin Zhi paled under the scolding. “I only just found out, Your Highness…”
In the past, when the Lu family was in power, they had eyes and ears all over the palace, and nothing could escape Fengxi Palace. But ever since Xiao Yan gained favor, many of their people had been weeded out, and now it was harder than ever to get information, especially about matters close to the Emperor.
Empress Lu knew this as well. She gripped the paper in her hand tightly. “That despicable eunuch!”
She then blamed the Lu family. “It’s all because of Father and Elder Brother. They should have dealt with Xiao Yan when he first gained power. If they had gotten rid of him then, we wouldn’t be in this mess now.”
“But now the situation has changed, and they think they can act. It must have been their actions against Xiao Yan yesterday that provoked Song Tangning, leading her to file the petition with the Emperor.”
Originally, they had agreed to give the Lu family three days to gather their resources. Tomorrow was supposed to be the deadline, but Song Tangning had suddenly turned on them and directly submitted her petition to the Jingzhao Prefecture today, with Xiao Yan delivering it to the Emperor.
The petition only accused the Lu family of embezzling the Rong family’s relics. Just that alone was enough to enrage the Emperor. If he were to find out those relics ended up in the hands of the Fourth Prince, and that her son was secretly colluding with court officials, the consequences…
Empress Lu was both angry and anxious, her mind in a chaotic state.
After they had moved away from the Yulong Platform, she turned and stuffed the petition into Jin Zhi’s hands. “You must go out of the palace and deliver this to the Lu family yourself. Tell Father and Elder Brother.”
“His Majesty is furious about what the Lu family has done. That Song girl clearly won’t stop at just submitting this petition to the Jingzhao Prefecture. If they can’t handle this properly, then tomorrow, during the morning court, the Fourth Prince will be dragged down alongside the Lu family as a laughingstock!”
Jin Zhi’s face turned pale as she carefully took the petition. “Your Highness, it seems that Miss Song is prepared to go all the way. If Uncle and the others can’t resolve this…”
Empress Lu’s face darkened. She couldn’t take any risks; she absolutely couldn’t allow anyone to ruin Zheng’er’s future.
After hesitating only for a moment, she reached up and removed the nine-tailed phoenix hairpin with a golden phoenix holding a pearl, and handed it to Jin Zhi. “No matter what the Lu family plans to do, you must also make a trip to Jiyun Lane and give this to Song Tangning.”
“Your Highness…” Jin Zhi was shocked. “This is the Empress’s phoenix hairpin. How can it be given to Miss Song so easily?”
“What else can we do?”
Empress Lu gripped the hairpin tightly as she looked at Jin Zhi. “Do you really want Zheng’er to go and reclaim those items from those people, or have him be humiliated in court?”
“Those old officials have only just started to look favorably on Zheng’er. If he truly has to go and ask for those things, he will end up offending everyone. Who will support him in the future?”
Her Zheng’er was destined to fight for the throne, to be the future emperor, and he must not bear any stain on his reputation.
Not a single one.
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You can read ahead to chapterr 200 here
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