Empress Lu relaxed in her heart, knowing that the most risky obstacle of the day had passed. Feeling relieved, she gently touched her neck and spoke softly, "What I found out is merely an accident."
When the He family was annihilated, over a thousand people from the main and collateral branches were almost all recorded. Not only the He family in the capital but also the collateral branches not part of the three prominent families were targeted by Lu Chongyuan and the others, who left no survivors, sparing neither man nor beast.
Xiao Yan frequently showed hatred for the Lu family in her presence and repeatedly mentioned that he would never rest until the Lu family was destroyed. Empress Lu noticed that his methods towards the noble families were excessively ruthless, so she sent someone to investigate his background.
To her surprise, she learned that over twenty years ago, the Xiao family had a marriage alliance with the He family. She managed to find an old servant who had worked for the Xiao family twenty years ago, and from them, she learned that the Xiao family's legitimate second son had died shortly after birth.
Xiao Yan's identity was fake. His extreme measures against the noble families now revealed his true identity.
Empress Lu’s resources were limited, and she was bound by the Lu family's situation, so she dared not conduct a large-scale investigation. She had only regarded this information as her last trump card, planning to use it against Xiao Yan when the time was right. However, she never expected that before she could get to the bottom of it, the Fourth Prince ran into trouble.
In reality, Empress Lu didn’t know whether the people from the Xiao family were still alive or whether Xiao Yan’s identity was genuine; she was simply gambling.
If she lost, it would only mean losing the opportunity. But if she won, she would be able to find the most powerful ally for herself and her son.
Clearly, she won the gamble!
Empress Lu’s hands were stained with a little blood, but she didn’t care about the wound on her neck. "Only I and Jin Zhi know Xiao Yan’s true identity, even the Fourth Prince doesn’t know. I am willing to keep his secret and help him."
Xiao Yan scoffed, "The Empress can’t even protect herself, yet you want to help me?"
Empress Lu was not angry at all: "I believe that as long as Xiao Yan is willing to intervene, both I and the Fourth Prince’s situation will naturally be resolved."
Xiao Yan sneered but remained silent.
Empress Lu clearly saw the sarcasm in his eyes but continued, "Of course, as long as Xiao Yan is willing to protect me and my son, I will offer a reward that will satisfy him. Surely, you can see that the Emperor’s attitude toward the Lu family has changed drastically. It seems that Lu Chongyuan is holding something over the Emperor to be able to return to the court."
"To deal with the Lu family, simply relying on the case of grain shipments and minor troubles will not suffice. The Lu family holds the Emperor’s most important secrets. If everything is ruined and the Lu family meets a bad end, the Emperor’s throne will also be shaken."
"The Emperor will never let anyone threaten him, unless there is something that could destroy the Lu family, something that would make the Emperor afraid to protect them in front of everyone. Otherwise, the Lu family will always be like a centipede with a thousand legs. You can hurt them, but you can never truly destroy them."
Xiao Yan listened to the Empress’s words, his expression finally showing some change. He looked up coldly, "Anyone can say these things. If the Empress wants to cooperate with me, she must offer something that interests me."
The Empress smiled upon hearing this, "Of course. Jin Zhi."
Jin Zhi turned and walked toward the inner room. After a while, she returned holding an old box.
The Empress untied a pouch from her waist and took out a key, placing it on the box and passing it to Xiao Yan through Jin Zhi.
"This is a mechanical box made by the descendants of the Mo family. Without the key, if it’s forcefully opened, the poison inside will immediately destroy the contents of the box and kill the person trying to open it."
Xiao Yan glanced at the box but did not take it. The Empress knew he was wary of her, so she signaled for Jin Zhi to take it back. She personally opened the box and took out something, handing it to Jin Zhi to give to Xiao Yan. This time, Xiao Yan did not refuse.
It was a bloodstained letter on white silk, accompanied by another letter stained with blood. Xiao Yan first took the bloodstained letter and read it. The characters, formed by dried blood, were messy but still legible, with large drops of blood scattered across the silk, but the contents were still readable.
The second letter was more orderly, the handwriting clear and sharp.
"Twenty years ago, there was a flood in the southern region. Prince Li Xie Tianzhao was ordered by the late Emperor to go to the south for disaster relief. However, the official ship transporting disaster funds and food sank in the turbulent river below Fengjiang, and 127 officers on board, along with all the money and food, were lost. At the time, it was still the Fifth Prince who accompanied the late Emperor and Lu Chongyuan. Prince Li Xie wanted to inspect the nearby flood damage and took a separate boat, avoiding the disaster."
"After the ship sank, Prince Li Xie immediately ordered the recovery of the wreckage. However, the river was too fast and only a few coins were retrieved, while nearly all the grain was lost."
"The southern region had suffered from the disaster for a long time, and the people were eagerly awaiting the relief. But this accident occurred, and Prince Li Xie feared a rebellion and ordered that the news be sealed. He sent a message back to the capital to raise more funds for the south, but the late Emperor was enraged by his failure to protect the relief supplies, and some officials even filed complaints. The second batch of funds was delayed for a long time."
"Helpless, Prince Li Xie had to temporarily raise grain and silver along the way and even sold off the East Palace’s properties, using the He family’s considerable wealth to make up the shortfall, barely stabilizing the southern region’s disaster."
Xiao Yan tightened his fingers around the bloodstained letter, his eyes cold, but he listened quietly to the Empress.
Empress Lu continued in a low voice: "The He family played a role in mediating, and the southern disaster was alleviated. Prince Li Xie wanted to start investigating the sunken ship, but before he could act, an epidemic broke out in the Rongjiang area."
"To protect others and prevent panic, Prince Li Xie had no choice but to seal off the city of Rongjiang and the epidemic news. He originally planned to send doctors to suppress the disease, but before he could do so, the news of the sunken ship spread, and rumors started that the Prince had secretly kept the relief goods for himself."
"The previously calm disaster area erupted in chaos, with bandits and rebel armies rising up. Prince Li Xie became the target of everyone’s criticism. The late Emperor had no choice but to recall him to the capital and entrusted the relief efforts to the Fifth Prince, who is now the current Emperor. Before Prince Li Xie returned to the capital, he had ordered the He family’s third son, He Wenzhuo, to stay behind in Rongjiang."
Empress Lu raised her head and looked at Xiao Yan: "Xiao Yan, you should know that He Wenzhuo died in Rongjiang."
Xiao Yan lowered his eyes, "They say he was attacked by the rebels of Rongjiang."
Empress Lu sneered, "He wasn’t attacked by rebels. He was burned alive in Rongjiang."
She spoke slowly and clearly:
"After Prince Li Xie returned to the capital, the Fifth Prince, in less than a month, suppressed the southern rebellion, controlled the Rongjiang epidemic, and cleared up the mess left by Prince Li Xie. For this, he was praised by the entire court, and it was the first time he stepped into the public eye, surpassing people like Xie Tianyu."
"Everyone said he was no less capable than Prince Li Xie, but no one knew that he was able to resolve the disaster so quickly not because of his ability, but because he had colluded with local officials and bandits, using brutal methods to suppress the common people. He took advantage of Prince Li Xie’s name to let blood spill across the southern region. When he reached the peak of suppression, he used his own name to distribute the disaster relief grain, taking all the credit for himself."
"Not only that, but he also set fire to Rongjiang, sealing off the city with oil and poisoning the wells. Over nine thousand people, both the infected and uninfected, were burned to death in the city, including He Wenzhuo, who had stayed behind, and several dozen doctors who remained in the city despite the danger."
============
You can read ahead to chapterr 400 (100+ extra chapters) here
Comments
Post a Comment