"Absurd, absolutely ridiculous!!"
The Song family was imprisoned suddenly, Song Hong was captured, and it was against the rules for the black-armored guards to seize a third-grade official without an imperial edict. Everyone was waiting for the palace's reaction to see how Emperor An would punish him, but when they knew that Xiao Yan had entered the palace, Not only did the Holy Queen come out safe and sound, she even received an edict to seal the Duke's Mansion of Song Dynasty, and directly sealed the entire Duke's Mansion.
The courtiers of the aristocratic family were all jumping up and down with anger.
"Then Xiao Yan took advantage of the Privy Council and went unscrupulously. He broke into the Duke's mansion without permission and took out someone to make such a big mess. Your Majesty actually only rewarded him with ten pieces of gold? Your Majesty, is he crazy?"
"I think His Majesty is clearly obsessed with this eunuch. He broke into the Duke's Mansion at will and took it as Song Hong said. Then next time, will he be able to knead us at will? This morning The whole world from the middle to the back belongs to that eunuch!"
"Mr. Lu, this matter must not be taken lightly!"
"Yes, Mr. Lu, Xiao Yan is at odds with us, so we must not allow him to be so arrogant."
Some people are angry, while others are uneasy.
"Mr. Lu, your majesty is so biased in listening and allowing eunuchs to run rampant. This trend must not last long. Moreover, your majesty has been relying more and more on the people in the Privy Council recently. That Xiao Yan's men are like mad dogs biting us and have ruined several of our previous projects. It took several years to develop a way of making money, if we can't drive that Xiao Yan out of the court and the interests of the family will be harmed, we will be forced to retreat sooner or later."
"Mr. Lu, you have to think of a way."
There were seven or eight people sitting in the Lu family's study, all of whom were officials from aristocratic families. Although their official positions were different, what they represented behind them was the lifeblood and interests of several aristocratic families in the court.
These people have been fighting against His Majesty for several years, and they have always had the upper hand. The aristocratic family once overshadowed the imperial power, and even the Xie royal family had to avoid the edge for a while.
But since that Xiao Yan appeared, he first removed all the people they had placed in the palace, and then the Privy Council fell into his hands. They thought he was just an unworthy eunuch, but who knew he would become a serious problem for them? .
That man was ruthless, cruel and unscrupulous.
After Xiao Yan became Emperor An, he changed his attitude from the past and became particularly tough. Although he still did not dare to confront the aristocratic family directly, the imperial power was gradually increasing, constantly squeezing the interests that originally belonged to the aristocratic family.
Just for the previous grain transfer, they had to cut off their tails to save the clan, and the loss was hundreds of thousands of taels. In addition, during this period, Xiao Yan's people were chasing after and pulling out the After years of operation, all the major families have suffered heavy losses.
"Mr. Lu, if this continues, the eunuch will really bully us."
Everyone in the room was chattering away. Lu Chongyuan sat on the table and drank tea with his eyes lowered. There were leaf stains floating in the tea soup, and it was slightly bitter in the mouth.
After everyone talked for a long time and found that there was no response, Cui Lin, the head of the Cui family, looked up at Lu Chongyuan and frowned: "Mr. Lu, don't you have anything to say?"
"You've said everything, what else do you want me to say?"
Lu Chongyuan put down the cup, and the porcelain bottom made a slight collision sound when it fell on the table.
"Xiao Yan has been targeting the aristocratic family for a long time. Your Majesty is determined to eradicate the aristocratic family and regain the power of the court. He is just a mad dog in your Majesty's hands, obeying your Majesty's will. Even if he is a little arrogant, can you still expect your Majesty to cut off his arm? Pull out that mad dog’s claws?”
Everyone felt aggrieved when they heard this, Cui Lin frowned: "Is this the case?"
"Yes, Mr. Lu." Another person answered, "Xiao Yan has been rampant for a long time, and it took a lot of effort to catch him, why not take this opportunity to take him down in one fell swoop."
"That's right, such a good opportunity can't just be forgotten!"
They had hated Xiao Yan for a long time and finally found an opportunity. So what if Emperor An didn't want to punish him severely? Everything Xiao Yan did was against the rules. Even Emperor An couldn't violate the rules and protect him too much, otherwise the people of Yushitai I can't spare him!
Lu Chongyuan looked a little complicated when he saw that several people were already thinking about how to deal with Xiao Yan, and even planned to pull the people from Yushitai into the water.
"Are you thinking too much? Why do you think Xiao Yan is called a mad dog? Do you really think this is the reason why you should be held accountable? Even if you want to settle this matter, he may not be willing to do it."
Cui Lin frowned when he heard this: "What do you mean, Mr. Lu?"
Lu Chongyuan looked at him: "Do you still remember what charges Xiao Yansuo used against the Song family?"
Cui Lin was stunned for a moment, and then his expression suddenly changed.
"Back then, the ruthless prince failed in his rebellion and burned himself to death in the Forbidden City. Countless people were implicated in his rebellion. At that time, there was no need for me to remind you of the people who followed the order of the late emperor to suppress the rebels. How many benefits did you gain from it? I know it well."
Lu Chongyuan saw Cui Lin's expression looking grim, and then raised his eyes to look at the others with twinkling eyes.
"Why do you think Xiao Yan suddenly invaded the Song Dynasty's palace? Is it really just because Song Hong raised a rebellious daughter's wife and bullied his newly adopted sister-in-law, Governor Xiao? Or is it because the Song family has repeatedly Offended, he stood up for Song Tangning in a moment of anger?"
"If Xiao Yan is really so impulsive and irritable, how can he force me to wait like this?"
Cui Lin's heart skipped a beat when he heard this: "Are you saying that he is Xiangzhuang's sword dance, aiming at Pei Gong?"
Lu Chongyuan's voice was cold: "The Song family and Song Hong are just introductions. He just wants to use Song Hong to deal with the family. The clues in the previous Caoliang case have been broken. It will be difficult for him to use this to investigate. But if Song Hong uses his conspiracy to If they are convicted of treason, no one who was involved in the murder of the ruthless prince will be able to escape."
The expressions of everyone in the room changed.
"No way, how many years have passed."
"Yes, what happened back then has long since changed. How long has Prince Ru been dead? Moreover, if nothing happened to Prince Ru, how could His Majesty ascend the throne? How could he allow Xiao Yan to pursue this matter..."
Before the person who spoke finished speaking, someone suddenly knocked on the door.
"Father, it's me."
The room instantly became quiet. After the door was pushed open, Lu Chongyuan's eldest son, Lu Zhao, walked in in a hurry, with an extremely ugly expression on his face.
"Father, news just came from the palace that King Cheng was reprimanded by His Majesty for using his power to intimidate local officials and helping the Song family cover up his identity as a traitor."
"His Majesty has ordered Xiao Yan to strictly interrogate the Song family's rebellion case and search the Duke of Song's palace. Before the case is concluded, Prince Cheng is not allowed to step out of the palace."
Lu Chongyuan's face darkened when he heard this, and the expressions of several other people also changed.
There have always been many incidents in the royal family that used their power to bully local officials and allow them to open the door to seek personal gain. Wherever they were, it was worthy of Emperor An's separate decree to impose a ban.
Most importantly, King Cheng was also involved in the case of the violent prince.
Lu Zhao was a little anxious: "Father, that's all for Xiao Yan's capture of the Song family. Now even King Cheng has been reprimanded and banned by His Majesty. There are now widespread rumors that King Cheng colluded with the Song family to exchange traitors and deceived the king. If they really want to use the Song family's affairs to investigate the past, then we..."
"The sky hasn't fallen yet, why are you panicking!"
Lu Chongyuan frowned and scolded his eldest son, then said in a deep voice: "Where is Sanlang?"
"In the house."
"Let him come to me."
Although he didn't know what his father was doing with his legitimate son, he quickly agreed, turned around, and hurried out to find Lu Zhinian.
Here Lu Chongyuan raised his eyes and said to the people with different expressions in the room: "You have also seen that the Song Dynasty Duke's Mansion is just an introduction. Xiao Yan's goal has never been the Song family. Instead of thinking about how to interfere with the Song family's affairs, Instead of impeaching Xiao Yan and expelling him from the court, think about how to prevent the Song family's affairs from involving you."
"I know that some of you have been close to people in the royal family recently, and many of them have private dealings with King Cheng. Now King Cheng has been targeted by Xiao Yan. You'd better go back and clean up your tail, or else turn around. If something happens, I can’t protect you.”
Several people present were heartbroken, and Cui Qizheng said subconsciously: "What Mr. Lu said, our family has always been on the same page, and led by Mr. Lu, we have always supported the Queen and the Fourth Prince. We have no reason to interact with Prince Cheng." do what?"
When Lu Chongyuan heard this, he just glanced at him. He was obviously old, and the ends of his eyes were wrinkled by wind and frost, but his eyes were sharp, as if he could see through people at a glance.
Cui Qizheng was still forced to look at him, but after a while, his face became unbearable.
Lu Chongyuan did not expose the situation, only looked away and said: "I just want to remind you that the reason why several major families have been able to last for hundreds of years without declining is because they advance and retreat together so that no one dares to take advantage of them. If you want to seek benefits, you can, but if If someone harms the overall situation of the family, don't blame me for being ruthless."
"I will find a way to deal with it from Duke Song's Mansion and Xiao Yan. You guys can clean up your own tails. If someone really catches you in the wrong place and ends up in the City Prince's Mansion, you must be able to understand the need to cut off your tail to survive, right?"
The few people who had been talking about each other instantly fell silent. Cui Qizheng tightened his jaw after hearing Lu Chongyuan's words.
Lu Chongyuan was warning them, but he was also threatening them.
But they all know that Lu Chongyuan's words are not just words. If one day they endanger the interests of the family, Lu Chongyuan can really do it and abandon them without hesitation. This has long been the case among several major families. tacit agreement.
…
After coming out of the Lu family, people from other families went back to their homes first, but Cui Qizheng met with people from the other two families in a quiet place.
There are seven aristocratic families in Beijing that can join forces with the Lu family. The Lu family is the leader, followed by the Cui family. The Qi, Luo, Wang, Li, and Feng families are all in the same group. The Li family and the Feng family are slightly older than the other three families. Some times.
The current head of the Feng family is Feng Qiuli, who has just taken charge of the family. He is also the youngest person in the family. When he saw Cui Qizheng, he asked in a deep voice: "Mr. Cui, does Lu Chongyuan know about us?"
The man from the Li family was already worried. When Feng Qiuli mentioned the words "Lu Chongyuan", his face turned even whiter, and he even trembled a little when he spoke:
"Yes, does Lu Chongyuan know everything? We are communicating with the second prince in private, and we have King Cheng pull the strings. If something happens to King Cheng and he bites us, then if Lu Chongyuan knows what we are doing secretly, he will never let him go. us."
Although Lu Chongyuan is old, they know how cruel he is.
When something happened to Caoliang, he did not hesitate to sacrifice dozens of people from all over Jiangnan in order to protect the capital, and massacred them overnight. Even many officials in the capital were sacrificed.
The fourth prince is the prince chosen by the Lu family, and he is also the one who has been chosen by the family to assist him. However, they have now switched to the second prince. If Lu Chongyuan finds out, the consequences will be...
Although Cui Qizheng was younger than Lu Chongyuan, he was still in his fifties this year. Seeing the panicked look on the Li family's face, he frowned and said, "It doesn't matter whether you give me mercy or not. Everything has been done. What else can I do?" Do we need to back down?"
Seeing that his face turned pale, Cui Qizheng tensed his jaw.
"I know what you are afraid of, but what if Lu Chongyuan really discovers something?"
"The Lu family is powerful, but the three of us are not vegetarians. If Lu Chongyuan really dares to challenge us because of this, then we can just fall out with him. He doesn't dare to sacrifice the Lu family and fight to the death with us. , it’s a waste of money for others.”
Seeing that the man was still hesitant and silent, Cui Qizheng's eyes were cold: "This kind of thing depends on your own will. If you are really afraid, then let's go."
"I actually don't care who I assist. Although the Cui family is not as good as the Lu family, it will not be difficult for anyone who wants to protect themselves. The Lu family may not dare to touch us, but your Li family..." He paused, "The aristocratic family The law of the jungle is the same among them, don’t forget how the He family disappeared back then.”
When the head of the Li family heard this, his expression suddenly changed.
The He family was originally one of the aristocratic families. At that time, its status in the imperial court in Beijing was even greater than that of the Lu family. However, such a prosperous family was only because it conflicted with the interests of other families and the people in power were too merciful and soft-hearted. The interests were higher than those of the aristocratic family, so they were "expelled" by the other families.
At that time, it was found that the He family was related to the rebellion of the violent prince. The whole family was wiped out and all descendants were killed. It was widely believed that the head of the He family had made a mistake and ruined the prosperity of the family for hundreds of years. However, they were the only ones who knew in their hearts that the He family had never colluded with the violent people from beginning to end. Prince.
That was just because he hindered the interests of the Lu family and was framed.
The law of the jungle is never limited to the outside world, it also occurs in aristocratic families.
Seeing that the head of the Li family turned pale, Feng Qiuli said quickly: "Mr. Cui is joking. Since we have chosen to follow Gong Cui, we will never regret it."
He turned to look at the person from the Li family beside him,
"Uncle Li Shi, the Lu family has never thought of supporting anyone. They only have what they are today after devouring the He family. The interests of our family are also constantly being squeezed and eroded by the Lu family."
"Forget it, just like Cui Gong and a few others, but your Li family and our Feng family are already weak. The family is getting worse day by day. If you don't find a way to move forward, I'm afraid you will be squeezed out of the aristocratic family sooner or later. It has even become a source of nourishment for the Lu family and several others."
Feng Qiuli's young face was full of ambition and no hesitation: "Lu Chongyuan has never been kind, and the fourth prince may not protect the family. Instead of trusting them, it is better to trust himself. As long as the three of us join forces, he will not dare to touch us easily. "
