"Feng Qiuli!"
Master Liang gave a low cry.
Feng Qiuli stopped talking, but she could still not hide the anger on her face.
Although Grand Tutor Liang stopped him, he was still influenced by Feng Qiuli's words.
Lu Chongyuan has been acting more and more strangely recently. It's hard to guarantee that he isn't really ambitious and wants to step on the other families to get to the top. What he did is even worse than Cui Lin.
The most important thing is that Qian Baokun has now seen the affairs of King Pingshan. Once it is exposed, it will not only be the Lu family that will die.
We must punish the Lu family before the incident in the south, and separate Lu Chongyuan and his family from the other families.
Master Liang is not a soft-hearted and hesitant person. No matter if it is for the interests of the Liang family or all their families, he will not hesitate once he has made a decision.
He said to Feng Qiuli, "I will ask people to relax their hands on the Lu family's affairs and let the Privy Council investigate as soon as possible. If there is any connection between your mansion and the Lu family, hide what should be hidden and cut off what should be cut off."
Feng Qiuli was stunned for a moment, then suddenly raised her head: "Grandmaster..."
Grand Tutor Liang said coldly, "I will also secretly instruct the other families."
"I know you are close to Cui Lin. If Cui Lin asks you to attack the Lu family again, or wants to do something else, you don't have to stop him. Let him do it."
Feng Qiuli opened her mouth.
Master Liang looked at him and asked, "Why, do you think I am cruel?"
Seeing that Feng Qiuli didn't say anything, he said in a deep voice: "Lu Chongyuan was raised by me. If it were in the past, even if the Lu family fell, I would definitely protect the lives of everyone in the Lu family. But Lu Chongyuan disregarded the interests of the family and took everyone's lives to gamble for that ridiculous future. Naturally, I don't have to care about his life or death."
"The family cannot be destroyed because of him, and we cannot give His Majesty an opportunity to ban and eliminate him."
Feng Qiuli's face changed, she took a deep breath, gritted her teeth and said, "Grand Master is right, it's not easy for aristocratic families to get to where they are today, we must not let it be ruined because of the Lu family, I will go see Lord Cui later!"
Upon hearing this, Grand Tutor Liang's expression eased a little: "Don't worry, even if Cui Lin does something, it won't be too excessive. Just take this opportunity to distance yourself from the Lu family."
Feng Qiuli seemed to relax: "Thanks to you, otherwise I don't know what to do."
The pot is too big for him to carry alone.
"With you at the helm, our families will be safe."
Since Grand Tutor Liang had asked him to trick Cui Lin, he could do it with confidence.
"In the past, I always felt that you were distant from people like us, but now I know that I was wrong. You are the only one in the aristocratic family who always cares about us and has no selfish motives."
Feng Qiuli's face showed just the right amount of admiration and respect.
Master Liang felt comforted after listening to his words. How could he have been so blind before that he had never seen such an outstanding young man?
…
Qian Baokun’s letter to his clan was secretly intercepted by Grand Tutor Liang’s men. After confirming the contents aligned with Feng Qiuli’s information, his disdain for the Lu family deepened.
The letter was held back for a few days before being sent on, during which time the Privy Council “uncovered” a great deal about the Lu family.
Xiao Yan handed a thick stack of charges against the Lu family to Tang Ning, who stood nearby.
Tang Ning glanced at the documents and couldn’t help but gasp. Grand Tutor Liang’s approach was truly ruthless—loving someone to the point of giving them life, hating them to the point of wishing their death. This was practically pulling the rug out from under the Lu family and stripping them to the bone.
Di Tao, crouching by the desk, glanced at the papers. “I thought he’d keep the letter. Why send it to the Qian family?”
Tang Ning said softly, “The Qian family already knew about this. If Qian Baokun didn’t receive a reply for too long, he’d realize something was wrong with the letter. Liang couldn’t stop the next one. Besides, Grand Tutor Liang never intended to save the Lu family.”
Di Tao clicked his tongue. “True. He’s practically turned the Lu family upside down. That’s brutal.”
Xiao Yan let out a faint sneer. “Among the noble families, who isn’t ruthless?”
When it came to interests, even the closest ties could be severed without hesitation.
Like the He family back then.
Like the Lu family now.
They were all the same.
Jinyun, standing to the side, spoke up. “Shang Qin’s people in the south have already started moving. Rumors about the flood from twenty years ago are spreading in Shezhou and Langzhou.”
Di Tao asked curiously, “So fast? How did he pull it off?”
Jinyun chuckled. “Earlier, when I took Lou Yongan and Zhou Jungui away for the investigation, Lu Jiuan’s people got suspicious. I couldn’t take them with me, so I made their deaths a bit more… dramatic. The women who escaped back to their families were given some of Madam Qin’s Nightmare Powder and were scared witless by Shang Qin’s men. They’ve been screaming about retribution ever since.”
“Shezhou was already full of people involved in those old crimes, and the guilty ones always have something haunting their conscience. Shang Qin’s men killed two officials, staging it as sudden, gruesome deaths, blood streaming from all seven orifices, their bodies hung in their own residences. Then, they spent thirty thousand taels of silver to bribe the coroner’s son from back then. He’s been dragging his ‘crazed’ old mother to a Buddhist temple to ‘cleanse their sins.’”
Shang Qin was truly a talent. Xiao Yan had only mentioned that public sentiment could be leveraged, and Shang Qin had orchestrated a whole spectacle.
With officials in Shezhou dropping dead one after another, all in grisly ways, people were already on edge. The women from the Lou and Zhou families, screaming about divine retribution, made it impossible for anyone to sleep soundly.
When one of the Zhou family women scared herself to death, even the wealthy families outside the official circles started to panic. Rumors began swirling that Shezhou was haunted.
The ghost stories grew more outlandish by the day. As fear spread, more people turned to praying and seeking divine protection. Conveniently, the coroner’s son was at the temple, repenting with his “mad” mother.
Before the gods and Buddhas, repentance naturally required honesty. A crowd of wealthy women, listening from behind curtains, heard every word clearly.
“The fire that burned Rongjiang, the massacre of the city, officials colluding with bandits to frame Prince Li, killing disaster relief soldiers, sinking official ships, and pocketing a million in grain funds… Shezhou is a prosperous place, and many of its wealthy families have deep connections and ties to powerful figures elsewhere.”
The news was too shocking. Within days, it had spread across all of Shezhou, even reaching Langzhou and Raozhou. Now everyone was saying the dead officials had been struck down by divine justice for their heinous crimes, that the冤魂 (wronged souls) from the southern floods twenty years ago had returned for vengeance.
Tales of gods and ghosts spread like wildfire among the common folk, especially stories of a city burned and tens of thousands slaughtered, which easily stoked public outrage.
The south was now buzzing with rumors, though the capital was still quiet, with the news suppressed. But it would likely reach here within three to five days at most.
Tang Ning glanced at the charges in her hand and asked Xiao Yan, “Brother, are you planning to move against Lu Chongyuan?”
Xiao Yan gave a faint “Mm.” “It’s about time.”
“Have Cui Lin and the others uncovered anything about Empress Lu?”
“Not yet, but the clues are enough. They’re just missing the final piece of evidence. I’ll have someone deliver it to them later.”
Given Cui Lin and the Second Prince’s nature, once he presented the evidence against the Lu family to the emperor tomorrow, they’d be the first to jump in and “claim the credit.” All he had to do was sit back and watch the show.
Xiao Yan glanced at Di Tao. “You’ll attend court tomorrow morning as well. His Majesty will likely reward you with a residence. The case against Zhao Yuanlang is airtight, witnesses and evidence are all in place. The Zhao family will fall, and I’ll find a way to get Zhao Yuanlang’s military forces under your control.”
“Half of the four suburban garrisons are under His Majesty’s command. You’ll be aiming for the other half. Do you remember what I taught you? If His Majesty asks you anything, do you know how to respond?”
Di Tao stood up, stretching his arms. “I know, just act dumb and play the fool.”
Xiao Yan shot him a look. “It’s not just about acting dumb. Be smart when you need to be. Don’t hide the sharpness a young man should have. Let His Majesty see your value, but make sure he doesn’t feel threatened by you.”
Di Tao groaned, rubbing his head. “Uncle, why do people in the capital have so many schemes?”
Tang Ning couldn’t help but laugh.
Xiao Yan glared at him. “Say that again?”==================
You can read ahead to chapterr 470 (100+ extra chapters) here
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