Old Madam Zhao kept saying that she was afraid that this matter would bring shame to the royal family, but more than half a month had passed and the matter of Lingyun Temple had long been known to everyone. She had never cared about it before, and she would not suddenly remember the royal blood in her for no reason.
She forced the empress dowager to find Emperor An, first crying and begging for justice, then mentioned that Xiao Yan was seriously injured and had no time to take care of the government, which led Emperor An to order the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple to intervene. Later, she encountered the death of the fourth prince's wife and made a scene in the Privy Council.
The Privy Council prison was strictly guarded, but someone was able to sneak in silently and kill the Fourth Prince's wife. He also used such clumsy hands to fake a "silencing" scene and was caught by people from the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple. It seemed that all of this was just to make a big fuss in the Privy Council later.
Their target is Xiao Yan!
Yue Jian asked anxiously, "Girl, could it be that someone knows that the governor has left the capital..."
"Probably not."
Although Tang Ning was anxious, he remained calm: "If someone really knew that my brother was not in the capital, he would not have used the Zhao family to cause such a thing. The means were so gentle. He could have directly informed His Majesty to send people to surround Jiyun Lane. As long as he was sure that my brother, who was supposed to be seriously injured and unable to get out of bed, was not in the capital, he would not be able to escape the charge of deceiving the emperor."
He went to so much trouble, it didn't seem like he knew Xiao Yan had left Beijing, but rather that he suspected he was not seriously injured.
But whether Xiao Yan was really seriously injured or not, who among ordinary people would care? Even Emperor An believed it, who would care so much and even try every means to expose it?
Tang Ning's thoughts were racing, and after a moment, he stopped.
“Lu family!”
She stared intently. Apart from Lu Qin who was exiled because he was seriously injured while rescuing the emperor, and the Lu family who was blamed by Emperor An, who else would care so much about this matter?
If it is confirmed that Xiao Yan's injury is fake, and the rescue of the emperor that day was premeditated, and even the Lu family was plotted against, then Lu Qin's alleged crime of assassinating the emperor will not be established at all, and Lu Chongyuan's demotion was purely unjust, then the Lu family will be able to fight back.
Emperor An's guilt towards Xiao Yan will turn into thundering rage, and Xiao Yan will lose all the favor from the emperor because of deceiving the emperor.
But why did the Lu family suddenly suspect my brother’s injury?
Tang Ning frowned. Given Lu Chongyuan's personality, he must not have known that his brother had left the capital, otherwise he would have lost his temper long ago. But since he didn't know that he had left the capital, and nothing had gone wrong in Jiyun Lane during this period of time, and no suspicious people had come to inquire, and with Imperial Doctor Sun helping to cover it up, why would Lu Chongyuan and the others suddenly become suspicious?
What went wrong?
Tang Ning thought carefully about all the things that happened before Xiao Yan left Beijing, as well as a series of changes in Beijing after he left, including what happened before and after Lingyun Temple. As his mind was spinning rapidly, he suddenly grabbed the bell on his wrist and his face changed.
It’s the South.
Jinyun investigated Rong Jiang's old case, alarming the Lu family? !
After figuring out the key, Tang Ning, who was originally flustered, calmed down. She looked up at Tianqing and said in a deep voice: "Tianqing, go to the Lu family immediately and send the people you arranged before to Lu Yin, and lead him to the Jingzhao government office to sue Lu Chongyuan!"
Tian Qing exclaimed, "Is it about King Cheng?"
Tang Ning nodded: "Don't involve Queen Lu for now. Just say that there was someone else who colluded with Prince Cheng, and it was related to your Majesty's harem. The Lu family forced Guo to death to take the blame in order to conceal the truth."
"You must go quickly, and tell Wu Huai of Jingzhao Prefecture to come to the palace and ask to see His Majesty immediately after accepting the case."
Tianqing also knew that the matter was urgent, so he turned around and left quickly after hearing that.
Tang Ning looked at Wu Kui: "Has the Zhao family entered the palace?
Wu Kui nodded.
"Where's Mrs. Zhao?"
Wu Kui was stunned for a moment, then suddenly frowned: "I don't think I saw Madam Zhao today."
Tang Ning was determined in his heart, and turned to Yue Jian and said, "Go to the Zhao family and bring Madam Zhao here. If she is not imprisoned in the mansion by the Zhao family, then she is still unaware of what is happening outside and is being kept in the dark by Old Madam Zhao and the others."
"You go into the Zhao Mansion secretly and tell her that the Fourth Prince's Consort is dead. She died due to collusion between the Lu and Zhao families. If she wants to know the truth about Lingyun Temple and the death of the Fourth Prince's Consort, come and see me."
Yue Jian nodded with a serious face, turned around and left quickly.
Tang Ning stood there, thinking carefully about what to do next. Even if he had made all the plans, since Lu Chongyuan wanted to force Xiao Yan to show up and expose the truth about his "serious injury", he was afraid that these things could only be delayed for a while. As a last resort, he could only throw out the matter of the Queen and Prince Chen and let the Lu family take care of themselves. But once it came to that step, he had to guard against the Queen's desperate move and destroy everything with her.
Empress Lu was kept to testify against the Lu family and Emperor An. With her speaking up, the old case from 20 years ago would be more conclusive. However, if she had no other choice, she could only be abandoned in advance...
"Captain Wu."
"Girl." Wu Kui quickly stood up straight.
Tang Ning’s gaze turned ruthless. “Send word to Deshun. Tell him to inform the people at Fengxi Palace, if a coup breaks out, eliminate the Empress immediately.”
Wu Kui’s expression changed slightly, just as the beautiful young woman before him said coldly, “No need to act now. Wait for word from outside. But if the Empress and Prince Cheng’s crimes are exposed, don’t let her drag Ah Xiong down. Don’t give her the chance to speak.”
“And Jin Zhi… get rid of her too.”
Wu Kui heard her light voice, but her eyes were cold and fierce, as if he saw the shadow of his own supervisor. He lowered his head quickly and said, "I understand."
"etc."
Seeing Wu Kui was about to leave, Tang Ning stopped him and touched the private seal given to her by Xiao Yan, which was hidden on her body.
"Prepare the Black Armor Guards and Owl Guards as well, just in case."
Wu Kui's face was shocked: "But the governor..."
“Brother told me to act at my discretion.” She took out the private seal and held it up for Wu Kui to see. “Unless it’s absolutely necessary, I won’t take that step. I’ll do everything I can to stall and stabilize the capital. But anything can happen. Brother always said, no matter what you do, you must prepare thoroughly and leave yourself a way out.”
When Wu Kui saw the seal, his pupils shrank in shock. He quickly lowered his head and replied respectfully, “Understood.”
After Wu Kui left, Tang Ning carefully put the seal away again. She lowered her gaze to the bracelet on her wrist.
She had long felt something was off with how quiet the Lu family had been. But Jinyun had always operated discreetly during his investigations in the Southern Region. The letters he sent back reported that he hadn’t disturbed anyone, and the Lu family in the capital had supposedly cut contact with old court officials to keep the past buried.
Yet now they’d suddenly become alert and acted with fury?
Did someone from the Lu family also go to Shezhou?
The first person to come to Tang Ning’s mind was Lu Jiu’an, the illegitimate son of the Lu family. But why would the Lu family suddenly send him south? Lu Chongyuan was reportedly ill and confined to his residence, with Lu Jiu’an attending to him. The Lu family was at its lowest point, plagued with unrest. To send someone to the south at a time like this could only mean they were after something but what was there in the south worth scheming over?
Tang Ning couldn’t figure it out for the moment. Her thoughts were a mess. She shook her head hard.
Forget it. She could think more about that later. Right now, she had to get through this crisis first.
“Someone come.”
Standing at the entrance to Helì Hall, Tang Ning called out.
“My lady.”
“Invite Madam Rongguo and Master Gu here. Tell them the Commander has something to discuss.”===============
You can read ahead to chapterr 470 (100+ extra chapters) here
Comments
Post a Comment