With the rapid flow of memories, Chai Hongyu soon embarked on her way home after her trip to Yuzhou.
The last scene was in an unknown mountain village on the border between Yuzhou and Tianlan Province.
Lu Chen's immersive experience continued. Chai Hongyu led the horse into the village on the pretext of staying overnight as it was getting dark. Then, under the guidance of the village chief, she went to a farmer's house with only a pair of orphans and a widowed mother. .
After Chai Hongyu thanked the village chief, she took out another two hundred dollars and handed it to the woman who was about the same age as her but looked weather-beaten.
The woman declined at first, saying she didn't need so much, but Chai Hongyu insisted. She glanced at the baby next to her who was sucking her fingers, and still hesitated to take it.
"Girl, please sleep here tonight."
After the woman took the copper plate, she took Chai Hongyu into the back room and pointed to a somewhat shabby bed.
"Well, thank you."
Chai Hongyu politely thanked her.
"Girl, you're welcome."
The woman smiled, then tidied up the bed and asked the baby to get some water and food.
Chai Hongyu did not refuse the woman's kindness and sat down on the wooden pillar nearby.
At this time, the woman who had packed the bed suddenly raised her head and looked at the sky outside the window. She saw that the bright moon had risen high. She seemed to suddenly remember something, and hurriedly hugged her son and walked to a memorial tablet not far away. Kneel down.
Chai Hongyu's eyesight was far better than ordinary people. Through her sight, Lu Chen suddenly saw the word "immortality" written on the end of the tablet.
The next second, when his eyes moved up, he saw his name.
My longevity tablet?
Lu Chen couldn't help but be stunned. At the same time, the woman pulled her son and kowtowed several times in front of the longevity tablet.
After kowtowing, the woman clasped her hands together and closed her eyes at the same time. Her face was full of solemnity, and she muttered to the longevity tablet:
"The saints are above, the gods are above, and the women of the people sincerely pray here. Please be sure to bless Mr. Lu Qingtianlu to have no illness and no disasters in his life, everything will go smoothly, and he will be promoted step by step, and he will be a prince for generations to come."
Listening to this solemn prayer, Lu Chen felt a strange feeling in his heart.
After a while, the woman completed the prayer very skillfully. After bowing deeply, she pulled her son to stand up.
"Ruier, remember."
The woman looked at her son with a serious face, and once again said the lesson she had said countless times:
"As a human being, you must know how to repay kindness. Our lives were saved by Mr. Lu. If Mr. Lu hadn't punished King Yu, killed corrupt officials, destroyed evil gentry, eliminated profiteers, and then opened the warehouse to release grain against everyone's opinions, , we both have starved to death a long time ago. If you have the opportunity to enter school in the future, you must study hard and become a good official like Mr. Lu, serve the court and benefit the people."
The child named Rui'er nodded in understanding.
"Mother, I have remembered it."
"Good boy."
Listening to the conversation between the mother and son, Lu Chen's mind suddenly flashed back to the time when he was the governor of the two states, when he racked his brains to come up with various policies to benefit the people in order to die from overwork, and when he worked tirelessly to visit various places to comfort the people.
For a moment, he couldn't help but have mixed feelings.
At this moment, he even felt that this was the meaning of his coming to this world and the meaning of his existence.
Chai Hongyu watched this scene quietly without disturbing her, silently enjoying this moment of peace and tranquility, relaxing physically and mentally as never before.
At the same time, inside the Tai Chi Hall.
The empress and Gu Simiao, the supreme being in the world, the powerful one in the Guiyi Realm, and the two peerless heroes, were staring intently at the longevity tablet with Lu Chen's name engraved in Chai Hongyu's memory.
After a moment, they turned their heads almost simultaneously and looked at Lu Chen, who had his eyes closed tightly, with a thoughtful look on his face.
Snapped!
With a crisp sound, the shadow array stopped operating.
But after Chai Hongyu completely proved Lu Chen's innocence, she couldn't hold on anymore and lost consciousness and passed out.
The fiery red spirit body was still nourishing and repairing her soul, and it looked like she was just in a coma caused by excessive energy consumption.
And she, the subject of the soul-searching technique, fell down, and all the magic circles and spells associated with it stopped functioning at the same time. Lu Chen also groaned softly and slowly opened his eyes.
"Lu Qing, are you okay?"
"Shilang Lu, are you okay?"
The empress and Gu Simiao spoke at the same time.
The next second, the two turned their heads at the same time and looked at each other.
"fine."
Lu Chen shook his head, then stood up while rubbing his temples.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you, General, for your concern."
"It's okay."
The empress responded softly, but Gu Simiao turned around and looked at Lu Chen with a subtle look.
The next moment, she didn't know if it was an illusion, but she always felt that in addition to being firm as before, there was something inexplicable in Lu Chen's eyes, which made people want to look at him more.
"So……"
The empress spoke again, and at the same time slowly turned around, her eyes scanning the courtiers not far away one by one.
"It's time to settle this matter."
As soon as these words came out, Chen Cang and others' expressions instantly trembled.
Click…
The empress stepped forward slowly, her red dragon boots stepping on the floor made of spiritual stones, making crisp sounds one after another.
"Yudu Yushi, do you have anything else to say?"
A flash of struggle flashed across Chen Cang's face, and then he sighed heavily, as if he had failed, and fell to his knees heavily.
"Your Majesty, the humble minister mistakenly believed the villain's slander. He rashly attacked the situation when the evidence was doubtful and the identity and intention of the witness were unclear. He insisted on going his own way, wrongly blamed Zhongliang, and almost caused a catastrophe. As the censor of Youdu, he should have been aware of everything. , but he was so careless, and the crime is aggravated. Your Majesty, please punish me for the crime of negligence and dereliction of duty!"
The empress's favor and preference for Lu Chen can be seen by everyone. She can be tough when she is being reasonable, but if she is not being reasonable, she should give in as soon as possible.
There is no point in quibbling.
In this way, for the sake of them admitting their mistakes cleanly and neatly, they might be able to get a lighter sentence.
Chen Cang spoke, and others knelt down to admit their mistake.
However, facing their resignation, the empress smiled coldly.
"Is it just negligence and dereliction of duty?"
Hearing this, Chen Cang and the others couldn't help but feel a thump in their hearts, but their faces remained calm.
"I'm sorry for my bluntness, but your Majesty, please speak clearly."
The empress did not speak immediately, but gestured with her eyes to Zhu Yong, deputy commander of the Xuanji Guard who was not far away.
Zhu Yong understood instantly and strode out directly, then took out a dossier from his arms, glanced at him with a mocking look, and at the same time opened the scroll in his hand and threw it in front of Chen Cang.
Chen Cang looked subconsciously.
The next second, his pupils suddenly shrank.
"This is"
After seeing the content above clearly, his face instantly turned pale, as if he had lost everything, and he collapsed directly to the ground, with a deep look of despair in his eyes.
At this moment, he finally understood.
The empress' control over the court and the civil and military officials far exceeded his imagination.
Even if Chai Hongyu didn't take the initiative to show up, she would still be sure to solve this problem for Lu Chen.
Just need to wait for the right time.
As soon as he thought of this, his vision suddenly went dark, and his consciousness completely fell into eternal darkness.
Chen Cang fell, and the other courtiers who made the most fuss in this incident were also wailing and being carried out one by one by Xuanji Guards.
The menacing Falling Land Faction fell apart in an instant under the strong power of the Empress, completely losing the ability to make trouble.
After Lu Chen experienced this incident, not only was his superior status not shaken at all, but he was even more valued by the Empress.
It was clear that nothing was wrong, but the empress still comforted him in front of all the courtiers, and also took out a lot of good things from the treasury and gave them to Lu Chen, euphemistically saying that this was a tribute to him, Lu Chen. Compensation for time wronged.
The post of censor of Youdu was concurrently held by Xiao Yun, the newly appointed deputy cabinet minister.
At this time, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, whether Fang Ping, the censor of the left capital, or Xiao Yun, the censor of the right capital, had a close relationship with Lu Chen. Although these two people may not necessarily favor Lu Chen, they certainly would not target him like Chen Cang.
At the same time, when Chai Hongyu's image that proved Lu Chen's innocence came out, the entire Luojing was in an uproar.
The rumors and slanders have since been self-defeating.
Everyone realized that they had really wronged a good person.
Especially in Chai Hongyu's memory images, when they saw the full version of Lu Chen and a group of Xuanji guards being attacked and besieged by traitors, and Chai Hongyu desperately trying to save them, they quickly realized that they had been hit by the traitor. A poisonous plot set up by using preconceptions and taking quotes out of context.
As a result, the "insightful people" who were incited, such as the teachers and Gongsheng students of the Imperial College, were as aggressive as they were when they came, and they were in a sorry state when they returned.
The siege of Lu Mansion was solved.
The next day, Lu Chen went to court as usual.
But what was different from usual times was that he was no longer walking while thinking about how to find an opportunity to be dismissed or die in the line of duty as before. At this time, there was a trace of concentration in his eyes that was not there before.
This time when I went to court, I didn't meet Gu Simiao by chance. I walked all the way to Tai Chi Hall alone.
"His Majesty."
After the formal worship, Lu Chen took a step forward with a solemn expression before anyone else could say anything.
"Wei Chen has something to report."
The empress nodded slightly.
"Lu Qing, please speak."
Lu Chen bowed slightly and saluted, and then said directly:
"Your Majesty, I believe that although Chai Hongyu committed treason, her original intention was not for her own glory and wealth, but to save the common people. Moreover, the person she killed was not a pillar of the imperial court. It was most likely to cause disaster. She is a corrupt official, so although her actions are extreme, they are excusable."
"She is guilty, but it is also because the court was at fault first. It can be said that it was precisely because of the rampant corruption in the government at that time that gave the opportunity for rebellious ministers and traitors like Yu Jiuyuan to rise. Chai Hongyu also saw the court You have no way, so you place your hope on the blade in your hand."
"Therefore, I sincerely request your majesty to suspend the treatment of Chai Hongyu and restore her freedom until everything is found out before making any further decisions."
As soon as these words came out, all the courtiers suddenly looked solemn.
This Lu Chen really dares to say anything...
As an official of the imperial court, you have to bear the emperor's salary and worry about the emperor. Even if the court has great faults, it cannot be said. This is the basic rule that a minister must abide by.
But this guy actually dared to openly accuse the imperial court because of a female rebel.
And that’s a female rebel!
Even if she did you a big favor, you can't abandon your position as a courtier, right?
The laws of Daxia are written in black and white. No matter what the reason is, as long as they are rebels and rebels, they must be killed. This is the ancestral system established by the ancestors of Daxia. How dare you, Lu Chen, even touch this? Do you want to go to heaven?
So, as soon as Lu Chen finished speaking, some officials immediately stood up to object.
"Shilang Lu's words are wrong."
An old censor with white hair and beard stepped out from the crowd and said loudly:
"A rebel is a rebel. Even if her conscience finds out and she clears her grievances for you, Minister Lu, it won't change the fact that she is a rebel. As long as she has the idea of subverting our country, she should die."
After a pause, he said again: "Shilang Lu, I know that Chai Hongyu has a personal favor for you, but one code must be treated as the other. Under the current national law, no one can seek public benefit with personal benefit. Please don't do it for your own benefit, Minister Lu." You have to ignore the laws of the country, otherwise once this case is made, there will be endless troubles!"
After all, the Yongchu Dynasty was not the Shenghe Dynasty when the Demon Queen was in power, and there were still many Taoists in the court.
Lu Chen didn't have any bad feelings towards such tough arguments, and argued seriously:
"Special cases are special cases, and everything cannot be generalized. I believe that whether to judge guilt or not, one must use subjective consciousness as the basis for judgment. The real rebels are desperadoes who take risks for the sake of glory and wealth. Such people are naturally unforgivable. , but those who fight purely for survival can give the other party a chance."
The old censor shook his head, still disagreeing with Lu Chen's point of view, and firmly believed that Chai Hongyu should be sentenced to death to serve as a warning to others.
However, Lu Chen felt that if Chai Hongyu was let go, it would be equivalent to giving a chance to some people who could fight for it, weakening the rebels' will to resist, and weakening the cohesion of the rebel sword, which would be beneficial to the court's subsequent counterinsurgency.
Both sides held their own opinions and argued back and forth in the court for a long time.
In the end, the two of them were at loggerheads and looked at the empress at the same time.
"Your Majesty, please judge!"
The next second, all the courtiers looked at the empress on the dragon throne.
Amid everyone's expectant or hesitant gazes, the empress raised her head slightly, and at the moment the twelve jade beads swayed slightly, her red lips slowly opened.
"I feel that Lu Qing's words are reasonable. Although Chai Hongyu is guilty, his righteous act has allowed the court to recover huge losses and has contributed to the country. Moreover, his original intentions are pure and he did not intend to rebel. What's more, the court was at fault in the first place. Do not place all the blame on the people."
Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but be stunned.
Your Majesty, she... actually openly said that the court was indeed at fault?
Oh My God? ! Did I hear that correctly?
As the master of the court and the supreme king, if the court is at fault, the emperor is at fault.
But how could the emperor be wrong?
Immediately someone stood up and said loudly:
"Your Majesty, don't say that. How could the court be wrong?"
However, the empress swept her beautiful eyes away and said calmly:
"Is the imperial court a saint? Since he is not a saint, why can't he make mistakes?"
As soon as these words came out, the man suddenly didn't dare to say anything anymore.
(End of chapter)
