"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
Not long after the empress finished speaking, Gu Simiao stood up to express her agreement.
After she, the general, expressed her stance, some military attachés also stood up and shouted His Majesty's wisdom.
Surprisingly, even Wang Qian, who had been completely humiliated by Lu Chen's reprimand in the court, also expressed his stance. Not only did he not add insult to injury, but he agreed with the empress' decision with a complicated look on his face.
As for the civil service system, as always, only the three top bosses, Fang Ping, Liu Dongyang, and Xiao Yun, and five or six of the six subjects expressed their sincere admiration for Lu Chen, while the others were silent. Silent.
After a while, Lu Chen walked out of the queue slowly and bowed his hands towards the empress.
Then he slowly told the story of Fu Huan's tribulation.
After listening, Liu Dongyang and Fang Ping suddenly showed expressions of understanding.
Xiao Yun also stood up to prove it at the right time.
As the governor of the two states after Lu Chen, it was naturally impossible for her to know nothing about Fu Hua's tribulation, but she was not a witness after all, and it was impossible for Fu Hua to tell her everything, especially about Chai Hongyu's rush to help them. , it is impossible to say it.
After all, Chai Hongyu is a traitor, and it is not a good thing to have anything to do with her. Although the Xuanji Guards are not afraid, Lu Chen is an important minister appointed by the empress to assist the country, so it is best not to be tainted at all.
So Xiao Yun only knew that Lu Chen activated the forbidden technique in the Jidao Sword at the cost of his life, and almost died in front of Fu Hua. Fu Hua also lost her mind because of this, and directly transformed into the God of Death to kill all the way from the place of transcending tribulation. In Yuzhou City, the thieves who were causing trouble in Yuzhou City were directly killed, leaving corpses everywhere.
If Lu Chen hadn't mentioned it, she would have never known that there was such an incident that night.
Although she didn't know why Chai Hongyu, a rebel general, led people to rescue Lu Chen, she believed that Lu Chen would never betray the court.
However, even if Lu Chen told what happened that night, Chen Cang still dismissed it.
"Lu Chen, let alone whether what you said is true or false, whether there is any evidence to prove it, even if what you say is true, I am not interested. I only want to ask you one question."
"Then why did Chai Hongyu, the Saint of Burning Heaven, risk her life to save you?"
At this point, he suddenly sneered.
"Don't talk about chivalry. No one in this world would risk his life for someone who has nothing to do with him. What's more, that woman was a ruthless rebel. Not even a hundred but eighty of the court officials died in her hands. , you are also an official of the imperial court, and you are the governor of two states, and you are the sworn enemy of the rebels! Why can you, Lu Chen, be that special case, just because you are handsome?"
As soon as he finished speaking, not sure if it was an illusion, Lu Chen almost instantly felt eyes scanning from several directions, but when he subconsciously looked over with the corner of his eye, he found nothing unusual.
Illusion?
Shaking his head, Lu Chen shook away the distracting thoughts in his heart, and then said calmly:
"As for Chai Hongyu, I did have some interactions with her before the night she was attacked by the thieves. But whether you believe it or not, I did meet her by chance."
After a pause, before Chen Cang could refute, he continued: "In order to vent his anger, King Yu sent people to attack the villagers of Gou'er Village and Qu'er Village without humanity, and massacred hundreds of people in Qu'er Village. , and when King Yu Wei continued to attack and kill the villagers of Gouer Village, Chai Hongyu happened to pass by, stopped King Yu Wei from killing, and killed them all."
"After the incident with King Yu was over, I met her by chance in Gou'er Village and chatted for a little bit. We can barely be considered acquaintances."
As he spoke, he suddenly turned his head and stared at Chen Cang with burning eyes.
"I don't know anything about the Burning Heaven Saint. I only know that Chai Hongyu Chai is a righteous person who acts bravely and punishes rape and eliminates evil. Moreover, in my eyes, King Yu, who is supported by the court and the people, and the official who is supposed to be the parents of the people Officials in Yuzhou are abusing the people wantonly, while Chai Hongyu, a man in the world without support or salary, is preventing the powerful from committing violence. You have to ask, as one of the Shangguan in charge of hundreds of censors in the Metropolitan Procuratorate, in Yuzhou When the people are in dire straits, why do you, who should be speaking out for them, say nothing?"
"Stop talking about him!"
Chen Cang scolded angrily and raised his voice:
"This officer is asking you now. You must either plead guilty or prove that you have nothing to do with that Chai Hongyu. Don't confuse the public with irrelevant things to me!"
"Why did Chai Hongyu want to save me?"
Facing Chen Cang's question, Lu Chen smiled sarcastically.
"As the saying goes, those who have gained the right will get more help, while those who have lost the right will have less help. During my tenure as the governor of the two states, I have been committed to eradicating violence, rescuing the people, eradicating King Yu and a group of corrupt officials who oppressed the people, so that the people of Yuzhou can benefit from it. Living and working in peace and contentment, Chai Hongyu witnessed all this with her own eyes in Yuzhou at that time."
"Hahaha"
Before Lu Chen could finish speaking, Chen Cang laughed loudly, and a trace of mockery flashed in the eyes of Qian Yiqian and others.
After Chen Cang finished laughing, he asked disdainfully:
"Lu Chen, what do you mean, the rebels respected you so much when they saw you were kind to the people? In gratitude for your kindness, not only did they not harm you, but they risked their lives to save you when you were in danger?"
Lu Chen nodded matter-of-factly.
"Exactly."
It's nonsense, but it's true.
After all, that's what she said when she was stabbed in the back by Chai Hongyu.
He's not lying either.
"What a big joke!"
Chen Cang looked at Lu Chen with disdain.
"Then what is Chai Hongyu's identity? He is a rebel! Would the rebels hope to see the peace and prosperity of Daxia? And for the rebels, who is the biggest enemy? They are the famous scholars and wise ministers who are loyal to the court! If it is true as you said, you If you eliminate violence in Yuzhou and bring peace to the people, and make the people loyal to the imperial court, then Chai Hongyu will definitely regard you as a mortal enemy. He will try his best to get rid of you, a serious problem in his heart, but he will sacrifice his life to save you?!"
"Don't you think that all the civil and military officials in the dynasty are fools?"
After Chen Cang finished speaking, many courtiers below laughed.
At this time, Yan Song actually opened his mouth slightly, speaking out for the first time on Lu Chen's issue in the court.
"Shilang Lu, Censor Chen Du is right. Your reason is too far-fetched."
Lu Chen glanced at him indifferently and said calmly: "Perhaps Chai Hongyu is not a pure rebel, but she was too disappointed with the court before, and then she went astray. After seeing hope in her, she made a decisive choice Change evil and return to righteousness."
"It's impossible, Mr. Lu, you are too naive."
Yan Song shook his head and said slowly:
"The human heart is like fire. Once it touches something combustible, it will do everything it can to spread to the end. It will never stop before it is burned out. The rebels, especially the rebel leaders, will taste the life-and-death consequences of rebellion. Once you get the sweetness of Quan, you will never look back."
"Maybe the truth is indeed what Mr. Yan Ge said."
There was still no wavering on Lu Chen's face.
"However, I am still willing to believe that Chai Hongyu, who saved hundreds of villagers in Gou'er Village regardless of gain or loss, has good intentions and is not the heinous and unforgivable traitor you say."
"That's just your wishful thinking."
Chen Cang said coldly: "A thief will always be a thief. From the moment she rebelled against the imperial court, killed the imperial officials and slaughtered the clan, her fate was already doomed! Even if she takes ten thousand steps back, even if she As you said, there is still a trace of kindness in her heart, and she will definitely not escape death with her hands stained with the blood of the imperial officials. She must know this better than anyone else, so there is no way she can even look back. possible."
"Rebels have no way out after all!"
After hearing this, Lu Chen not only did not flinch from what he said, but actually calmed down a little.
"maybe."
He shook his head slightly and said softly:
"Whether you believe it or not, that's the truth."
As he spoke, he slowly turned around and cupped his hands to the empress on the jade steps.
"Your Majesty, this is all I have to say. If your Majesty does not believe it, I am willing to accept the crime and apply the law of the country."
Seeing that Lu Chen no longer argued, Chen Cang suddenly raised his head with a heavy expression and looked at the empress.
He knew that the most critical time had come.
"Your Majesty, no matter where this retrospective video comes from, what its purpose is, or whether there is any hidden secret in it, it is an indisputable fact that he, Lu Chen, has a close relationship with the rebel general Chai Hongyu. Otherwise, Chai Hongyu would never have risked his life to save him. According to the According to the law, all Daxia subjects who collude with rebels will be punished with the same crime and will be executed without mercy!"
Having said this, he kowtowed heavily on the ground again.
"If these people who are ambiguously related to the rebels are allowed to go unpunished and bring disaster to the country, where will the national law be placed? How will the knowledgeable people in the world view our country? Even the crime of treason can be allowed to go unchecked. In this world, Is there anything that cannot be done? If the wind rises, the consequences will be endless, and the country may even be destroyed. I beg your Majesty to think twice!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Qian Yiqian and Qian Yiqian looked at each other solemnly and cryptically, and then stood up at the same time.
Qian Yiqian cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I think Master Chen's words are reasonable. Regardless of how this thing came from, since Lu Chen has an affair with the rebels, the loyalty and integrity he has shown before must be just for the sake of It is a disguise made for a certain purpose, and its words and deeds cannot be trusted, and the purpose of a treacherous person who has such a close relationship with the rebels is simply self-evident."
Zheng Zhong continued: "Although Great Xia is a big country, there is no place for rebels and their comrades to stand, and there is no room for such harm in the temple. I also ask your majesty to put the country, the country, and the country first, and immediately kill these great harms to the country. Purge the court to bring peace to the world!"
When a big shot expressed his stance, many courtiers from the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple immediately followed suit.
After all, what Chen Cang and Qian Yiqian said was indeed correct. No matter what, no matter what happened at that time, it was an ironclad fact that Lu Chen and Na Chai Hongyu had a close relationship between life and death, which could not be refuted at all.
And since there is such irrefutable evidence that Lu Chen has an affair with the rebels, Daxia's laws cannot tolerate him.
It’s a sure win, why not follow?
Seeing so many courtiers asking to kill Lu Chen at the same time, a cold look suddenly flashed in the empress's eyes.
Without any hesitation, she spoke directly to express her attitude——
"Until the matter is thoroughly clarified, I will never make any hasty judgments, and I will never give anyone the opportunity to unjustly frame the ministers of the DPRK."
Her attitude was as firm as ever, without any wavering.
"Furthermore, what Lu Qing just said was very clear. The reason why Chai Hongyu risked her life to save Lu Qing was because she admired Lu Qing's character. Lu Qing has always been upright, caring about the people and the country, and he is a true gentleman with unparalleled benevolence and righteousness. Even if he is against Thief, even for a great man like Lu Qing who serves the country and the people, he may not be impressed by him."
"No matter what, I believe in Lu Qing."
She said the last four words almost word for word. The power contained in these simple words made all the courtiers feel numb.
Fang Ping and Liu Dongyang secretly breathed a sigh of relief, while Lu Chen sighed slightly in his heart.
"besides."
Just when Chen Cang and others did not give up and were about to continue speaking, the empress's emotionless voice sounded again.
"Don't say anything about Lu Qing having an affair with Chai Hongyu until there is complete evidence. Lu Qing has always been clean and self-sufficient. He is devoted to public service. He never flirts with women. He has never even been to the land of fireworks. He is innocent with anyone. If you dare to undermine his innocence again, don’t blame me for being rude!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she stood up suddenly, then waved her sleeves and spoke very simply.
"Retreat!"
After saying that, she stepped forward directly and left the Tai Chi Palace under the wait of all the palace people, leaving behind a group of civil and military officials who looked at each other in bewilderment.
Lu Chen's collusion with Chai Hongyu, who was suspected of being a rebel ally, was temporarily suppressed by the powerful empress.
However, now that things have happened, they will not end easily.
Especially Lu Chen, who has never had any flaws, was actually seized with such a huge opportunity. How could the person behind it let it go so easily?
After going to court, all the courtiers left the Taiji Hall and returned to their public rooms to work.
At this time, inside Donghua Pavilion.
Yan Song, Chen Cang, Qian Yiqian, Zheng Zhong and others gathered together on the pretext of discussing official business.
As the chief minister of the dynasty, Yan Song is naturally qualified to call on the courtiers.
"Lao Yange."
Chen Cang saluted Yan Song, and then said with a serious face:
"Your Majesty favors Lu Chen so much and even suppresses such serious crimes for his sake. What should we do?"
Zheng Zhong on the side took over the conversation and said: "Yes, Mr. Ge, even such ironclad evidence cannot defeat Lu Chen. Can we really do anything to defeat him?"
After being frustrated several times in succession, whether it was Qian Yiqian, Zheng Zhong, or Zhao Bingliang, the minister of Dali Temple, they all felt a deep sense of powerlessness towards Lu Chen at this time.
The main reason is that Lu Chen is really evil.
Why is it that every time something that clearly seems like a bad thing, in his hands, it somehow turns out to be a good thing?
Moreover, the Empress still favored him so much that even if it was a capital crime involving treason, the Empress would force Lu Chen to be protected.
This guy is simply impeccable.
"Do not worry."
Yan Song sat on the Taishi chair, leaning his entire upper body on the backrest in a relaxed manner. While habitually tapping the armrest with the five fingers of his right hand, he slowly said with a crisp "da da da" sound:
"Although His Majesty's insistence on going his own way is unexpected, it is also reasonable. After all, Lu Chen's performance in the Demon Queen's chaos and the Holy King's return to the court was really excellent. Your Majesty is only twenty-eight years old, and there is no one Taught her the art of the emperor, was impressed by Lu Chen's loyal behavior, and the young man was a little more impulsive, it's really normal."
(End of chapter)
