Di Tao shuddered dramatically, flashing a cheeky grin. “I meant to say, Uncle, you’re wise and mighty!”
“I’ll play the fool just fine… pfft, I mean, I’ll handle the emperor. My dad’s got me stuck in the capital as a hostage anyway. After the Dragon Court Guards make their move, he’ll definitely try to win over my dad to keep the Shang family in check. He’ll have to toss me some kind of reward, right?”
The military control of the four suburban garrisons would be a nice start.
Xiao Yan said, “Stay away from Jiyun Lane for the next few days. Don’t let anyone spot you.”
Di Tao patted his chest. “No way, I snuck over the wall. Nobody saw me.”
Xiao Yan: “…”
“Should I be praising you for that?”
Di Tao’s skin prickled, and he let out a nervous chuckle, quickly changing the subject. “Little Aunt, I’m starving. The food at the relay station is awful. Got anything to eat around here?”
Even though Tang Ning had heard it a few times, being called “Little Aunt” still made her cheeks burn. She said to Di Tao, “Go next door and find Hua Wu. Ask her to make you something.”
Di Tao’s eyes gleamed mischievously. Next door, huh? Perfect, he’d been wanting to track down that girl from last time.
“Thanks, Little Aunt! I’m off!!”
Di Tao waved and bolted like a ghost was chasing him.
Tang Ning couldn’t help but laugh at his frantic retreat. Xiao Yan, meanwhile, rolled his eyes in exasperation, though a closer look revealed a hint of amusement in his gaze.
…
The next morning at court, Xiao Yan presented a thick stack of charges against the Lu family before the emperor, shocking the entire court.
Even though Emperor An had long known the noble families weren’t clean, and that Lu Chongyuan, a veteran official, would surely face trouble if thoroughly investigated, he hadn’t expected Xiao Yan to uncover this much. For an ordinary official, one or two crimes would be enough for execution and family confiscation. The Lu family, however, had racked up a stack thick enough to bury them.
If judged by their crimes, the thousand or so members of the Lu family wouldn’t have enough heads to chop.
Standing before the throne, Xiao Yan methodically detailed the findings against the Lu family before looking up at Emperor An.
“Everything has been verified, and the evidence has been submitted to Your Majesty. Additionally, there are more than ten cases linked to the Lu family that, due to their age, still require further investigation. However, in the grain transport case alone, aside from Lu Zhao, dozens of others in the Lu family, directly or indirectly, are implicated.”
“To evade responsibility, Lu Chongyuan sent men to assassinate over a dozen officials, large and small, and killed over a hundred people involved in the grain transport. Countless others collaborated with the Lu family to embezzle court funds, swapping grain for silver. The evidence, including grain ledgers and several letters in Lu Chongyuan’s own hand, has been recovered and presented to Your Majesty.”
“Furthermore, the Lu family has repeatedly deceived and defied the court. After Lu Qin was convicted of attempting to assassinate Your Majesty and sentenced to exile, he was secretly swapped with a death row prisoner. The one in exile is a substitute, while Lu Qin was smuggled back to the Lu family’s stronghold…”
The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Xiao Yan’s voice wasn’t loud, but every accusation was staggering.
He spent nearly half an hour detailing the cases tied to the Lu family alone, and the number of officials and innocent people they’d killed was too vast to fully recount.
Emperor An stared at the evidence in his hands, slamming it down on the dragon throne. “Lu Chongyuan, what audacity!!”
He took deep, heaving breaths, his head throbbing. The heavy dragon robe felt suffocating, fueling his rising agitation.
Xiao Yan bowed. “Since his imprisonment, Lu Chongyuan has only proclaimed his innocence and repeatedly demanded to see Your Majesty. Most of this evidence was extracted from other members of the Lu family. The unresolved cases, if further investigated, will likely take more time…”
“Investigate what more? The evidence is right here, and he still dares to claim innocence?!”
Emperor An’s face was flushed with anger. “To think I trusted Lu Chongyuan and the Lu family so much, indulging them time and again for the sake of past loyalty. And yet they’ve grown so bold as to betray my trust like this!”
His head pounded, and though his face showed rage, he was deeply satisfied with Xiao Yan.
The evidence Xiao Yan had uncovered was enough to doom the Lu family, allowing the emperor to deal with them justifiably without implicating anyone who shouldn’t be touched. And Xiao Yan had deftly glossed over the unverified “cases” by citing their age.
Emperor An glanced at Xiao Yan, his face darkening as he spoke, “Lu Chongyuan, relying on his past merits in supporting my ascension, has repeatedly acted with arrogance before me under the guise of being a loyal minister. He has monopolized court affairs, engaged in corruption and bribery, deceived and defied his sovereign, disrupted the court, and sought to undermine the foundation of our Great Wei. His crimes are heinous, and even his life cannot atone for them.”
“By my decree, Lu Chongyuan and his son are to be sentenced to death. The rest of the Lu family shall be exiled to military service, and their wealth confiscated…”
Qian Baokun’s brow furrowed. “Your Majesty!”
Clutching his white jade tablet, he stepped forward. “Lu Chongyuan deserves his fate, but is the punishment for the rest of the Lu family too lenient? Almost every crime they’ve committed warrants the extermination of their entire clan. How can the lives of Lu Chongyuan and his son alone suffice?”
The grain transport case alone should doom the entire Lu family, not to mention the mountain of charges Xiao Yan had presented. Was Emperor An trying to protect the Lu family?!
Cao Dejiang also spoke up gravely. “Lord Qian speaks truly. The Lu family’s crimes are too numerous to record. While Lu Chongyuan may be the main culprit, the others in his family are far from innocent.”
“Your Majesty, though benevolent as a ruler, must not lightly spare such criminals. Otherwise, others in the court will grow complacent, treating the laws of the realm as nothing.”
Emperor An gripped the documents in his hand. “I understand Lord Cao’s point, but the Lu family has served me loyally and shares years of camaraderie with me as ruler and subject. Punishing the main culprit should suffice, and the rest of the Lu family will surely take it as a lesson…”
“If Your Majesty acknowledges the bond between ruler and subject, you should recognize that the Lu family’s actions are a grave taboo,” Cao Dejiang retorted bluntly. “Everyone in this court shares years of loyalty with Your Majesty. Does that mean anyone who errs in the future can escape punishment by citing their bond with you?”
The upright faction, always following Cao Dejiang’s lead, saw him challenge the emperor and stepped forward in droves.
“As subjects, we must never use past favors to manipulate our sovereign. How is that different from rebellion?”
“Your Majesty has already shown the Lu family excessive leniency and favor, yet they refuse to reform. They’ve murdered court officials, seized power, and engaged in corruption. Now they’ve even set fire to the forbidden palace and attempted to assassinate Your Majesty. If you continue to indulge the Lu family, what’s to stop others from thinking Your Majesty is soft-hearted, believing that even the gravest crimes won’t implicate their families or clans, and taking risks like the Lu family has?”
“The evidence against the Lu family is irrefutable, with every crime warranting the extermination of their clan. Your Majesty must not act with misplaced compassion.”
“We beseech Your Majesty to severely punish Lu Chongyuan and the entire Lu family to uphold the court’s laws.”
“We beseech Your Majesty to punish the Lu family harshly to deter the court and the realm.”
“I second the motion!”
“As do I!”
A throng of court officials stepped forward behind Cao Dejiang, each speaking with fervor, determined to see the Lu family utterly destroyed, root and branch. Only with the Lu family’s severe punishment could they set a precedent for dealing with other noble families in the future.
Meanwhile, the noble family-aligned officials, though grim-faced, did not step forward to intervene.
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You can read ahead to chapterr 470 (100+ extra chapters) here
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