Lu Chongyuan refused to believe Xiao Yan’s words. He still held Emperor An’s secrets, knowing the unsavory truths of the emperor’s past.
With the Lu family’s marital ties spread across the noble houses, how could Emperor An dare to wipe them out completely? Wasn’t he afraid of mutual destruction?
This eunuch must be lying!
Recalling what he knew, and how Emperor An had repeatedly yielded to him before, Lu Chongyuan forced himself to stay calm.
“You’re just trying to provoke me, to make me confess to baseless crimes. Let me tell you, you’re dreaming! I’ll never believe you. You know nothing of the bond between His Majesty and the Lu family. He would never discard us like a bow after the hunt is done…”
“Is it an old bond, or the secrets the Lu family holds, believing they can shake His Majesty’s throne?”
Clang-
The cell door rattled, and Lu Chongyuan’s face turned deathly pale.
“Or perhaps it’s Lu Jiu’an, who long ago went to Prince Pingshan’s fief, plotting to incite rebellion so your Lu family could overthrow the dynasty and claim the throne?”
Lu Chongyuan’s eyes widened in shock, the last trace of color draining from his lips.
Xiao Yan adjusted his sleeve casually. “Kind words can’t save a man set on death. I thought if you confessed honestly and revealed Lu Jiu’an’s actions, I might plead with His Majesty for leniency for the Lu women. But to think, even now, you plan to use those secrets to threaten His Majesty.”
“What a waste of my trip.”
His expression turned cold, losing the casual tone he’d used earlier.
“By His Majesty’s decree, Lu Chongyuan has deceived the emperor, repeatedly violated court laws, and conspired with Prince Pingshan to commit treason, this is an unforgivable crime.”
“For his past service, His Majesty grants him dignity and bestows poisoned wine.”
Someone entered from outside, carrying an ornate wine cup filled with liquid. Lu Chongyuan staggered and collapsed, unable to believe Emperor An knew about Lu Jiu’an and Prince Pingshan.
“You can’t kill me! Jiu’an is still in the south. If I die, he’ll surely raise an army…”
Clatter.
The cell door was flung open, and the two men carrying the wine stepped inside.
Lu Chongyuan scrambled back, but as the poisoned wine was brought to his face, all hope vanished.
He shrieked, “You dare kill me? I’m the regent appointed by the late emperor! I saved His Majesty’s life… mmph…”
He was seized, the wine pressed to his lips.
Lu Chongyuan’s face blanched in panic. “Xie Tianyong, you ungrateful wretch! Xiao Yan, tell Xie Tianyong to face me! Without the Lu family, how could he have ascended the throne? Without me, he’d be nothing but the lowliest prince!”
“He’s forgotten how he begged the Lu family, how I helped him scheme against the rebellious Crown Pr-”
*Crack!*
His jaw was crushed, cutting off his words. The man delivering the wine stomped on Lu Chongyuan’s ankle, grabbing his hair and forcing his head back. The poisoned wine was poured into his barely closed mouth. He tried to push it out with his tongue, but his throat was pinched and forced to swallow.
Within moments, searing pain erupted in his gut. Lu Chongyuan collapsed with a *thud*, his body convulsing.
Blood poured from his unclosable mouth, his screams rasping from his throat, chillingly eerie in the dim cell.
His face twisted, turning purple, blood streaking the floor as he writhed.
His cries weakened, and after a long while, Lu Chongyuan lay still in a grotesque pose, motionless.
“Lu Chongyuan has taken his own life out of guilt. Detain everyone on duty in the prison tonight.”
“Yes, Lord.”
Xiao Yan turned to leave, sparing not a glance at Lu Chongyuan’s body. After he departed, the two who delivered the wine began to pack up.
But one lingered at the cell door, noticing the other hadn’t followed.
“Cen Liang, what are you doing?”
The man called Cen Liang quickly withdrew his hand from checking Lu Chongyuan’s breath. “Nothing, just got some blood on me earlier. It’s a bit disgusting.”
The other mocked, “A little blood disgusts you? Hurry up, Commander Cang and Lord Xiao have more orders.”
“Coming.”
The two left the cell, hurrying out.
Canglang had rounded up all the night’s prison guards, leaving the dim cellblock empty. After a while, a figure emerged from a shadowy corner.
“My lady, I’ll stand guard here. You only have two cups of tea.”
Tangning, cloaked, gave a soft “mm” and stepped quickly into the cell.
The cell reeked, a mess of blood and struggle. Ignoring the marks on the floor, Tangning approached Lu Chongyuan’s lifeless body.
She took a porcelain vial from her sleeve, poured out two pills, and stuffed them into his mouth, prepared by Lady Qin in advance.
The pills melted instantly. Moments later, Lu Chongyuan, who had been dead, twitched, gasping hoarsely as he came to.
The pain in his gut lingered, his face still purple, the poison seeping into his ears and nose. The despair of his earlier struggle left him terrified, and seeing Song Tangning so close, his eyes shrank in fear. He tried to speak, but his shattered jaw prevented it.
Tangning looked down at him. “The emperor’s poisoned wine has no antidote. What I gave you will only grant a brief moment of clarity.”
“After your death, to secure his position, Emperor An will surely eradicate the Lu family entirely. But if you write a confession of your and Emperor An’s deeds, my brother and I can promise to spare the lives of your married Lu women and those beyond your immediate three clans, your distant Lu relatives.”
Lu Chongyuan’s eyes widened, his hoarse gasps echoing as he endured the knifelike pain, staring at Tangning.
“Xiao…”
He struggled, barely managing a garbled “Xiao.”
Tangning seemed to understand. “The Lu family isn’t innocent in my brother’s eyes; your fate is deserved. If you think him cruel, ask yourself why you and Emperor An spared not even a child of the He family’s thousand souls.”
Lu Chongyuan’s eyes trembled, lying on the ground.
The He family…
It was the He family!
Xiao Yan was a He!
No wonder Xiao Yan relentlessly targeted the Lu family. A eunuch fighting noble houses brought him no gain, but it was for the He family, it was all for the He family!
Seeing Lu Chongyuan’s eyes dim, tears falling, his face contorted, whether in regret for not wiping out the He family completely or for failing to realize Xiao Yan’s connection sooner, letting himself be cornered, Tangning didn’t care.
She said, “You have the time of one cup of tea before the poison kills you. Emperor An’s men will personally inspect your body; even a divine immortal couldn’t save you.”
“Write the confession, preserve a thread of the Lu bloodline, and send the treacherous Emperor An to join you in death. Or take the entire Lu clan with you to the grave. The choice is yours.”
=========
T/N: Slayyy. Literally
CWTGD Chapter 456 - Punish the heart, and die without turning a blind eye
"Hugh...... Want to ......"
Lu Chongyuan's expression was hideous, and the vague voice popped out of his throat, mixed with blood.
Tang Ning lowered his eyes: "So you chose to let everyone die with you?" ”
She chuckled: "Also, you still have a way out after all." ”
"In your heart, the Lu family is ruined and Lu Jiu'an, your nephews and grandchildren, the girls who marry outside the Lu family, and the lives of more than 1,000 people of the Lu family are not as good as Lu Jiu'an."
"It's a pity that the rebellion of King Pingshan was exposed, and the money used to hoard grain and buy horses has long been seized, and even the fiefdom has been watched now."
"Without the support of the Lu family's wealth and nobility, and without the private soldiers that your Lu family has hidden in the clan land for many years, let's take a gamble, and wait for the Lu family's rebellion to announce to the world, after King Pingshan knows that the Lu family will be wiped out, and the wealth of a hundred years will be returned to the treasury."
"Will he bear the charge of rebellious ministers and thieves and protect Lu Jiu'an, or will he hand over the people and put all the crimes of rebellion on the head of the Lu family, so as to quell the crusade of the court and the kings."
Lu Chongyuan's face was pale at Tang Ning's words, and the wheezing in his mouth became heavier, but Tang Ning stood up directly and didn't continue to persuade him to turn around and leave.
"Ahh
Lu Chongyuan made a faint sound in his throat, struggled desperately to get up, grabbed Tang Ning's cloak, and was unable to support it under the severe pain in his body, and fell down beside her with a "bang".
Tang Ning looked down at him: "What, Lu Gong still has something to say?" ”
"Then you have to hurry, what I feed you won't last long."
Lu Chongyuan felt that the poison in his body was being pressed down as if he was twisting his internal organs, and his throat was like a tattered bellows wheezing, and he looked at the girl standing in front of him condescendingly.
This used to be a child he had never put in his eyes, a girl who could even be manipulated by the people in his mansion at will, she didn't dare to speak when she saw him, she hid behind Lu Zhinian every time, and her eyes trembled when she looked at him.
But now she is no longer the slightest bit delicate, obviously she is still the same face, but the words she says are like sharp blades, sharp enough to slash people's hearts with one knife at a time.
Lu Chongyuan was afraid.
He was afraid that Lu Jiu'an would lose the Lu family and would not be able to hold the King of Pingshan, and he was afraid that after he died, everyone in the Lu family would bury him, and the Lu family's bloodline would never be heir.
Lu Chongyuan didn't dare to gamble, and he couldn't afford to gamble.
Tang Ning watched Lu Chongyuan's eyes struggle and become powerless, as if he had lost all his sharpness, and a faint voice came out of his throat, and he bowed his head towards her little by little.
She breathed a sigh of relief, and it was done.
……
The prison was dim, Lu Chongyuan was lying on the ground, holding a pen and writing something, the blood on the ground was dotted, and the paper was not smooth, but he didn't dare to stop at all.
He knew that he didn't have much time, and the toxins suppressed in his body were eroding his five senses, and he wrote tremblingly, but not slowly.
Since he was soft and asked Xiao Yan to let the Lu family live, he didn't think about doing tricks.
Tang Ning stood aside, looking at the things written by Lu Chongyuan, some of which she knew, and some of which she didn't know, all of them were secrets before Emperor An ascended the throne.
The more she looked at it, the more shocked she became, and she couldn't help but inhale secretly.
When Lu Chongyuan tried his best to finish writing the last word, the pen in his hand fell to the ground with a "bang", staining half of the paper, he vomited blood in his mouth, and reached out to drop the palm print.
After Tang Ning saw him let go and collapsed, he carefully picked up the confession letter.
The hem of the cloak was grabbed hard, and Tang Ning lowered his head to see Lu Chongyuan, who had lost his medicinal power to suppress the poison again, and grabbed her robe and looked up at her.
He couldn't make a sound in pain, blood was dripping outwards from his mouth, and black blood was spilling from his nose and ears.
But Lu Chongyuan just looked up at her, as if he was waiting for her to promise with his last breath.
Tang Ning put away the self-incrimination book and put it in his sleeve, and then lowered his eyes and said seriously: "Although my brother and I are not good people, we are not as vicious as you and Emperor An. ”
"After what Brother wants to do is over, in addition to your three clans, the other Lu clan side tribes and distant relatives will be exiled to the wasteland as a guilty person, and they will not be prosecuted after three generations."
She paused, remembered something, and then said:
"Those Lu family daughters who married out might not be able to keep their place, but as long as the collateral bloodlines behave themselves, after a few generations, if the imperial examination system is revived and no longer relies on aristocratic family backgrounds for recommendation, they might be able to get the chance to enter the court again."
Lu Chongyuan was stunned when he heard Tang Ning's words, and he suddenly remembered what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said a long time ago when he stood on top of the court.
He said that the aristocratic families monopolized the official career, resulting in more and more incompetent people in the court, and the recommendation system had many drawbacks, making it difficult for truly talented people to display their talents.
The aristocratic families may seem glorious, but they are actually corrupt inside, and the court is in chaos. If the Wei Dynasty wants to be strong, it must first eliminate the corruption in the court and allow the children of poor families to have a way to rise. Only in this way can the Wei Dynasty be renewed and the children of the aristocratic families be forced to work hard to make progress and bring vitality to the court.
Lu Chongyuan was the best of the Lu family back then. He was extremely talented at a young age. He knew that what the prince said was right and that aristocratic families did have their drawbacks.
But he is a member of the family, and he is raised by the family, and he will never let anyone want to offend the interests of the clan and ruin the stability of their families for a hundred years.
Later, the prince died, and the He family, who agreed with what he said and betrayed the interests of the aristocratic families, were also exterminated. He thought that the Lu family could continue to prosper in his hands.
Lu Chongyuan never thought that the Lu family's century-old inheritance would be broken in his hands, and he never thought that what he was trying to oppose at the beginning would become a lifesaver for the Lu family's side branch bloodlines that were lucky to survive.
Maybe fifty years, maybe a hundred years.
When the court changes, no one remembers the mistakes of the Lu family, and they can still have a chance to turn over, and they can get the opportunity to enter the court with the imperial examination and re-prop up the lintel of the Lu family.
And this is what he once disdained.
Lu Chongyuan slowly raised his head and lay on the ground. He felt that Tang Ning's last word of "comfort" was the most heartbreaking. His face seemed to be crying and laughing. As tears fell, he loosened his grip on the cloak little by little, his eyes widened and he stopped breathing.
Tang Ning looked at Lu Chongyuan who died with his eyes open, bent down and dragged him back a little, making him return to the state he was in before dying from the poison. Then he picked up the things on the ground, put his hood back on his head with a calm face, and turned to leave the prison.
"Girl?"
"Get out."
Jinyun nodded when he heard this and left quietly with Tang Ning.
Everything in the prison remained the same, and no one knew that anyone else had been here.
After a while, someone came in from outside and carried Lu Chongyuan's body out, and then someone came to check.
Xiao Yan glanced at them and then looked away: "You guys take care of things here. Take care of Lu Chongyuan's body. Move the rest of the Lu family to the death row for now. The specific punishment will be determined by His Majesty."
"What happened tonight should be kept to oneself. Anyone who talks too much will be exterminated along with his entire clan."
Everyone around hurriedly bowed their heads: "Yes, Lord Governor."
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You can read ahead to chapterr 470 (100+ extra chapters) here
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