The window sashes swayed back and forth in the night wind, and the clacking sound was heart-stirring.
Hua Wu held the pole to secure it, and looked outside: "Girl, it looks like it's going to rain."
Tang Ning curled up on the small couch: "How is Yue Jian?"
Hua Wu said, "The wounds have been medicated. Doctor Wang said that except for the wound on the right back, the others did not injure the bones or muscles. I have just sent her some medicine. She drank it and rested before returning. Don't worry, girl. Doctor Wang said that she will be fine after some rest."
"Where are Aunt and Uncle Gu?"
"Madam has gone to bed too. The head of the Gu family took Mu Feng to the Gu family, saying that he was worried about the chaos in the business."
Upon hearing this, Tang Ning remembered that Gu Helian had transferred all the Gu family members to Jiyun Lane during this period. The incident happened suddenly tonight, and it was obvious that the Lu family did not just want to target Xiao Yan. When a large number of assassins broke into Heli Hall, many people also entered the Tang Mansion, and they all rushed straight to Jiuxiao Courtyard and her aunt's residence.
If Gu Helian had not brought enough manpower, she would probably only be able to take care of Helitang but not Tangfu.
"And the academy..."
"The academy is fine. Mr. Tong and his friends only suffered minor injuries from the fall. Everything is fine in the library."
Hua Wu came over with a bowl of soup, mumbling a little on her round face, "Don't worry about the others. Everything is settled in the mansion and next door. Hang Li has also brought people over to the academy. With Jinyun and the others watching over them, there won't be any trouble."
"As for you, you didn't eat anything during the day, and you had such a thrilling experience at night. You should drink a few sips of tranquilizing soup to calm your nerves."
The bowl was filled with pitted longans and jujube kernels, along with a few pieces of lily bulbs, bringing a sweet aroma.
Tang Ning had a bowl of soup stuffed in her hand. She looked at the unhappy Hua Wu helplessly. During this period of time, she was used to taking everything into consideration and not daring to be careless at all. For a moment, she even forgot that Xiao Yan had returned to the capital, and Jinyun and others who were taken out of the capital by him had also returned.
Now that they are here, she really doesn't have to worry.
Seeing Hua Wu pouting unhappily, Tang Ning chuckled: "Okay, I'll eat, little housekeeper."
When Xiao Yan came over, he saw Tang Ning curled up on the couch, holding the soup bowl and eating with a spoon. He looked very well behaved.
She had something in her mouth, her cheeks were bulging, and a strand of her casually tied black hair fell on the side of her face. Under the light next to her, her crow-feather-like eyelashes were particularly curled and her lips were as red as cherries.
The food in her mouth seemed to be sweet to her, and she smiled with her eyes curved, her eyes sparkling.
Xiao Yan stood in front of the door, his throat rolling slightly, and his eyes could not help but fall on her bright red lips. Did he use so much force before? Why did it look a little swollen...
As he stepped inside, both the master and the servant in the room turned around.
"Master Governor." Hua Wu bowed quickly.
Tang Ning was also surprised: "Brother, you are back?"
Seeing that she was about to get up, Xiao Yan quickly walked over to her, took the tranquilizing soup that was about to spill from her hand, and gently pushed her back: "Didn't I tell you to rest early? Why haven't you slept yet?"
Tang Ning's eyes curved: "I'm worried about you and can't sleep."
Sincerity spoken out loud is always the most touching. Xiao Yan showed a smile in his eyes. Seeing that Hua Wu had left at some point, he put the calming soup aside, held Tang Ning in his arms before sitting down.
"Everything is going well in the palace. Emperor An has issued an order to have the entire Lu family imprisoned, and Lu Chongyuan has lost his official position."
"Very good."
Tang Ning was delighted. What she was most worried about was that Emperor An would summon Lu Chongyuan before the Dragon Court Guards entered the capital. Once the matter of the South Land was mentioned, the Lu family would be "tied" to Emperor An, and Emperor An would probably turn around to deal with Xiao Yan.
Now Emperor An has directly imprisoned him, and Lu Chongyuan has fallen into Xiao Yan's hands. It is impossible for him to see the emperor again. With my brother's means, he has plenty of ways to delay it until the incident in the south and the people from Longting Wei and Shang family come to the capital. By then, even if Lu Chongyuan meets Emperor An, it will be useless.
Tang Ning looked up and asked, "What about Queen Lu? There was a fire in Fengxi Palace. Was she burned?"
"The face and body were burned. Although his life was saved, his face was destroyed."
Although Xiao Yan did not deliberately inquire after entering the palace, someone still told her about Queen Lu's situation. According to Feng Nei Shi's apprentice, although Queen Lu was not dead, her life was worse than death.
When the Fengxi Palace caught fire, Empress Lu was drugged, and Jinzhi, who served her, disappeared for some reason. The newly promoted maid was far less loyal than Jinzhi, and she ran away when the fire grew bigger. Empress Lu was trapped in the curtains and woke up from the pain.
When she was rescued, Queen Lu was covered in burns and blisters, and half of her face was disfigured.
When the imperial physician examined her, she kept screaming in pain and fainted several times.
“You had Lu Yin go to the Jingzhao Prefecture, which threw Lu Chongyuan into a panic. His goal tonight was indeed aimed at me, but he also wanted to take the opportunity to get rid of Empress Lu once and for all. He didn’t expect you to have already stationed people at Fenghui Palace, who, along with Deshun, took advantage of the chaos to rescue her.”
Xiao Yan held the person in his arms, his cheek lightly resting against the top of her head.
“Emperor An has already grown suspicious of Empress Lu, and everyone in Fengxi Palace has been detained. Deshun and our people escaped in the chaos, and I’ve already arranged for them to leave the palace.”
Tang Ning said, “That’s good. But Empress Lu’s downfall is also her own doing.”
Xiao Yan let out a questioning “Hm?”
Tang Ning explained softly, “The most loyal person to Empress Lu in Fengxi Palace was Jinzhi. If she were still there, Empress Lu wouldn’t have been so easily caught. Even if a fire broke out, Jinzhi would have risked her life to save her. Unfortunately, Empress Lu was too ruthless.”
“After the Lingyun Temple incident, the Privy Council kept targeting the Fourth Prince, and I deliberately blew the matter out of proportion. Later, it seems Zhao Yuanlang and the others’ move to abandon the Fourth Prince’s consort scared Empress Lu. She wanted to offer Jinzhi as an apology to us.”
That day, things had happened suddenly. Tang Ning had originally planned to deal with Empress Lu directly if things went wrong, but it didn’t reach the worst-case scenario, so she let Empress Lu go. Who would’ve thought Empress Lu would scare herself?
The death of the Fourth Prince’s consort was orchestrated by the Zhao and Lu families, but Empress Lu, cut off from outside information, thought Xiao Yan had a hand in it and even believed he had deliberately allowed it.
Fearing that Xiao Yan would dig up old scores with ruthless intent and that the Fourth Prince would follow in his consort’s footsteps, she decided to get rid of Jinzhi and pin the Lingyun Temple incident on her.
Deshun saved Jinzhi and secretly sent her out of the palace.
Without Jinzhi, Empress Lu never imagined that her ruthless decision to sacrifice a loyal servant would ultimately lead to her own downfall.
Xiao Yan listened to the soft, gentle voice of the young girl, absentmindedly playing with her fingers, his mind already wandering wildly.
How is Little Haitang’s hand so small?
So soft and tender, smooth to the touch, with fingertips still tinged with pink.
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T/N: The single community found dead
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You can read ahead to chapterr 470 (100+ extra chapters) here
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