Emperor An gripped his hands tightly. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to wipe out the entire Lu family, but he had his concerns.
Lu Chongyuan knew too many of his secrets, and not all of the Lu family was in the capital. Given Lu Chongyuan’s character, it was entirely possible he had left contingencies for his family.
With the evidence now irrefutable, Lu Chongyuan must know he couldn’t escape death. If only he and his son were punished, leaving the rest of the Lu family alive, Lu Chongyuan would likely avoid a desperate, all-out confrontation.
But if the entire Lu family were truly condemned, or even exterminated to the ninth degree as some in the court demanded, Lu Chongyuan might be pushed to the brink and retaliate recklessly.
Emperor An would be satisfied with simply dealing with the Lu family. He had no intention of driving Lu Chongyuan to a point of mutual destruction. In his view, without Lu Chongyuan, the rest of the Lu family was irrelevant, even if they survived.
Besides, “exile to military service” didn’t guarantee survival. Disposing of the Lu family quietly later was far safer than risking a desperate showdown with Lu Chongyuan now.
Emperor An knew the upright faction would never let the Lu family off easily. He had no choice but to turn to the noble family-aligned officials, his gaze settling on Grand Tutor Liang. “What does the Grand Tutor think should be done with the Lu family?”
Grand Tutor Liang, holding his tablet, replied, “The Lu family’s actions are outrageous, and the court has its laws. How to handle them is entirely at Your Majesty’s discretion.”
Emperor An looked at him in disbelief. “Does the Grand Tutor believe the entire Lu family should be put to death?”
Grand Tutor Liang responded, “This old minister defers entirely to Your Majesty’s will.”
Emperor An: “…”
His breath caught in his throat. He turned to the other noble family officials, but wherever his gaze landed, they remained silent.
Finally, he singled out two officials close to Lu Chongyuan, only to find them staring at their feet, as docile as Grand Tutor Liang.
“I am not an official of the Ministry of Justice and am unsure how to judge the punishment.”
“The Lu family’s crimes are all acts of deceiving the emperor. Your Majesty may decide as you see fit.”
Emperor An: “…”
He nearly spat in frustration.
In the past, these people never followed his decrees so obediently. Whenever he proposed a policy, they’d argue until their faces turned red. They’d counter every word he said, as if afraid he’d forget the noble families’ power. Yet now they were all meekly chanting “as Your Majesty wishes.” Had the noble family officials gone mad? Weren’t they supposed to stand united in honor and disgrace?!
With no other choice, Emperor An turned his hopeful gaze to Xiao Yan, expecting his usual tactful support.
But before Xiao Yan could speak, the Second Prince suddenly stepped forward.
“Father, your son has something to report.”
“Your Majesty, this old minister has something to report.”
At almost the same moment, Cui Lin stepped forward as well.
Neither had expected the other to speak up at the same time. They exchanged a glance, and both the Second Prince and Cui Lin suddenly realized something.
The secret I know, Cui Lin (the Second Prince) knows too. Cui Lin (the Second Prince) is trying to steal my advantage!*
Displeasure flashed in their eyes, both thinking the other had dared to keep secrets from them. Realizing that what they thought was a hidden matter was known to someone else, they felt a surge of urgency, unwilling to let the other take the lead.
“Father!”
The Second Prince spoke first. “Your son has urgent news. I accuse Empress Lu of colluding with Prince Cheng, engaging in an illicit affair!”
Cui Lin, beaten to the punch, shot the Second Prince a furious glare, cursing him as an ungrateful wretch who dared to compete with the Cui family.
As the Second Prince’s words fell, Cui Lin, unwilling to be outdone, declared loudly, “This old minister also accuses the Lu family of knowing about the illicit affair between Prince Cheng and the Empress for years. After the incident at Prince Cheng’s residence, they forced Lu Zhao’s wife, Lady Guan, to her death to cover for Empress Lu, deceiving and defying Your Majesty.”
The hall erupted in chaos. Grand Tutor Liang whipped his head around, staring at Cui Lin in shock. When he glanced at Feng Qiuli, he saw him gaping at the scene before them.
Cao Dejiang, already aware of the matter, remained composed but silently cursed Xiao Yan’s cunning. Meanwhile, Cui Lin and the Second Prince must have had their brains chewed by dogs to be fighting over such a disastrous matter.
Qian Baokun’s eyes gleamed with excitement, as if he’d stumbled upon the juiciest gossip. The other court officials craned their necks to look at Emperor An, who sat on the throne, gripping the armrests of the dragon chair so tightly his face had turned ashen, now adorned with a massive metaphorical green hat.
Cui Lin shot the Second Prince another venomous glare before stepping forward.
“Your Majesty is merciful and lenient toward the Lu family, willing to spare the others despite Lu Chongyuan’s heinous crimes. But the Lu family has long disrespected Your Majesty. Before Empress Lu’s betrothal to Your Majesty, she had already met Prince Cheng, and the two had even been… intimately involved.”
“After Empress Lu married Your Majesty, she did not cut off contact with Prince Cheng. Shortly after the marriage, she was found to be pregnant, but the child was tragically lost. Your Majesty and the late emperor showed her great pity for this. However, according to my investigation, she was already pregnant before entering Your Majesty’s household.”
“I have located the physician who attended to Empress Lu at the time, as well as former servants expelled from Prince Cheng’s residence. They can all testify. I beseech Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly!”
The Second Prince knew he had offended Cui Lin today and was determined to make a significant contribution to the Lu family matter, at least to show his father he had been diligent.
Moreover, he felt his father was far too lenient with the Lu family. Despite their crimes, he still wanted to spare the lives of the others, not even mentioning Empress Lu or the Fourth Prince.
The Second Prince assumed Emperor An still harbored fatherly affection for the Fourth Prince. He was determined to utterly ruin the Fourth Prince, ensuring his father grew thoroughly disgusted with him and removed his greatest rival.
“Father, I have also discovered that after Empress Lu entered your household, she continued to aid Prince Cheng. After you ascended the throne, she never ceased contact with him.”
“When the Ministry of War and the Armory were involved, it was the Empress who used the Lu family’s influence to facilitate their work for Prince Cheng. Even the Lu family’s ships in the south, secretly transporting iron ore for Prince Cheng, were arranged by her. The Lu family knew of this but covered for her.”
“Furthermore, the Fourth Prince may not be Your Majesty’s true heir…”
“You insolent fool!!” Emperor An roared in fury.
The Second Prince dropped to his knees with a thud. “Your son would never dare deceive you, Father.”
“If the Fourth Prince were not Your Majesty’s blood, why would Prince Cheng, all these years, claim to remain devoted to Lady Rongguo and refuse to have more heirs? If Empress Lu hadn’t borne him a son, Prince Cheng would never have disregarded his legitimate child’s fate, allowing Empress Lu to swap them.”
“Even Lu Yin is not a direct descendant of the Lu family. He was adopted from a collateral branch, placed in Prince Cheng’s residence to grow up and eventually support the Fourth Prince.”
Emperor An’s face turned a sickly mix of green, purple, and white. His teeth clenched so hard they seemed ready to shatter, his eyes glinting with malice as he glared at the Second Prince, who spoke endlessly. He wanted nothing more than to strangle this “filial son” on the spot.
It was as if he could hear the slaps landing on his face. The shock of the court officials made him wish he could faint.
After today, how many would mock him, the grand emperor, for marrying a tarnished woman as his empress? How would the world view him, an emperor who had raised another man’s bastard for twenty years?!
===============
T/N: They were both thinking the same thing about each other================
You can read ahead to chapterr 470 (100+ extra chapters) here
Comments
Post a Comment