No one expected that a group of courtiers from aristocratic families would enter the palace to impeach Xiao Yan, but the final result would be that the Lu family would be convicted.
Lu Zhao was imprisoned and Lu Chongyuan was banned.
The backbone of the Lu family was almost broken.
Lu Chongyuan did not expect that Emperor An would actually issue such a decree. His face instantly turned pale and he shouted loudly into the palace: "The Lu family has never colluded with officials in the south, and my son has never been involved in corruption. How could your majesty listen to Xiao Yan?" The traitor has wronged the entire Lu family with his one-sided words. The veteran is the late emperor’s personal assistant minister and is loyal to His Majesty. The veteran wants to see His Majesty..."
Lu Chongyuan didn't care about kneeling. He stood up and quickly walked into the palace. However, before he could reach the steps, he was blocked by Feng's servant.
"Lu Zhongshu, His Majesty has decreed that you should return home."
Chamberlain Feng put out his hand in front of Lu Chongyuan. Behind him were the guards in front of the palace, blocking the way.
Lu Chongyuan was no longer as calm as before. Even if he tried his best to calm down, he was still a little shaken: "Eunuch Feng, your Majesty falsely trusted traitors and wrongfully harmed Zhongliang. The grain issue has been settled long ago. Xiao Yan and my Lu family have a clear personal enmity. His words and deeds have framed the blame. Even if His Majesty wants to accuse the Lu family, he must give the Lu family a chance to defend himself. How can he treat the Lu family like this just based on the eunuch's words..."
Feng Neishi listened to him and said with a cold expression: "Lu Zhongshu misunderstood. It was not Governor Xiao who reported the Lu family."
Lu Chongyuan was stunned.
Grand Master Liang next to him frowned: "Isn't it Xiao Yan?"
"No, it's Mr. Song, the former clerk of the sect."
Song Jinxiu?
There was a look of astonishment on Taishi Liang's face, and he heard Feng's wife say: "Master Song personally presented the grain account book to the Holy Spirit, accusing Lu Langling of colluding with southern officials to embezzle grain relief funds, and intercepted the Privy Council sent to Jiangnan to retrieve the evidence. He has spent many years in the court excluding dissidents, framing and murdering other court officials."
"Your Majesty relies heavily on the Lu family and I didn't want to believe it, but today I ordered Governor Xiao and Minister Qian to search the Lu family and found something unexpectedly, which made your majesty extremely angry. If it weren't for the fact that Lu Zhongshu is old and has served as an assistant to the government for many years, your majesty would I don’t want to vent my anger on you, I’m afraid it’s not just Lu Langling who will be held accountable today.”
Chamberlain Feng looked at Lu Chongyuan, whose face was fading in color, and advised him in a gentle voice: "Your Majesty is very angry right now. Lu Zhongshu should go back to the palace first, so as not to be accused of disobeying the imperial decree again."
Lu Chongyuan's figure was swaying, his face was so white that there was almost no trace of blood left, and the faces of the astonished courtiers from the aristocratic families were constantly changing at this time.
Cao Liang ledger?
How could there be such a thing!
Didn't the Lu family say that they had already destroyed it and cleaned up those tails in Nandi? Why would a grain account book appear now? !
The "business" of the family in the Southland was more or less involved with the government, and almost all other companies were involved in the reselling of grain. Although the Lu family was the leader at the beginning, they were not clean either. Later, after the incident was exposed, He even gave up a lot of interests in the south and only wanted to cut off his tail to protect himself. Lu Chongyuan had personally promised them that this matter would never go wrong again, and Xiao Yan would not find any clues and would never implicate them.
But what about now? !
The courtiers looked at Lu Chongyuan with hidden anger. Even Master Liang frowned tightly, feeling increasingly uneasy.
"Eunuch Feng, is that account book really given by Song Jinxiu?" Grand Master Liang asked in a deep voice.
Feng Neishi said: "This can still be false. I heard that Mr. Song got it from Mr. Sanlang of the Lu family. In the past, the Song and Lu families were close, and Mr. Song often went in and out of the Lu family. Even those who Lu Lang ordered to frame the court officials He also heard the evidence of the crime with his own ears from Sanlang Lu."
"Although Mr. Song's father was guilty of colluding with the daughter of a traitor, Mr. Song has made meritorious service this time. His Majesty has reinstated his official position and assisted Qian Shangshu and Governor Xiao in checking the account books and thoroughly investigating the grain transfer case."
Taishi Liang's heart became heavy. There was no chance of recovery from the Duke of Song Dynasty. Emperor An wanted to "kill the chicken to scare the monkeys" and warned the courtiers who favored the aristocratic family. Even if Song Hong did not die, he would never return to the court. Therefore, when the Song family was in trouble, don't say anything. It's the Lu family, and even they don't have a helping hand.
But who could have expected that after Song Hong was convicted, Song Jinxiu could step on the Lu family and reenter the court.
"Lu Zhongshu, His Majesty's decree has been issued, please don't embarrass me."
Several guards in front of the palace came forward and vaguely surrounded Lu Chongyuan. Feng Neishi said: "Send Lu Zhongshu back to the house."
After speaking, Chamberlain Feng looked at the other people who were still kneeling in front of the steps: "Do you, sir, continue to wait for His Majesty's summons?"
The others looked at each other for a moment, then looked at Master Liang.
Taishi Liang's face sank slightly. Looking at Lu Chongyuan who was almost "escorted" away by the palace guards, he stood up without hesitation and said: "No, since your Majesty is discussing business with Qian Shangshu and the others, I won't disturb you. When Your Majesty has time, I will come to the palace to see you again."
Seeing that Grand Master Liang had retreated, the others who were already flustered hurriedly followed suit.
"I remembered that there was something else to do in the Yamen, so I went back first."
"Me too."
After a group of people agreed one after another, they turned and left one after another without waiting for Chamberlain Feng to speak. However, within a moment, the courtiers who had been bustling and kneeling on the ground dispersed in an instant.
After everyone had left, the little eunuch who followed Feng Neishi could not help but whisper: "These people left happily. I thought they would continue to pester..."
"What's the matter?"
Chamberlain Feng sneered, with disdain in his eyes that were full of kindness just now.
People like this have always been like this in the aristocratic family. They have repeatedly intimidated His Majesty by relying on their numbers, but in reality they are just a bunch of loose sand. As long as the leader among them is caught, the rest will see their interests being harmed and endangering themselves. He could not wait to retreat, but Lu Chongyuan still wanted to use these people to deal with Xiao Yan. It was really ridiculous.
Thinking of Lu Chongyuan's previous eunuchs, Feng's eyes were filled with frost.
Although he didn't like Xiao Yan very much and always felt that the man was dangerous, he hated Lu Chongyuan even more: "Be careful when people go to the Lu family. Take Lu Zhao to the imperial prison as soon as possible. If anyone resists the order, don't be polite."
The little eunuch understood and said, "Don't worry, father-in-law, I understand."
…
Things in the palace cannot be hidden from outsiders at all.
The incident of Xiao Yan leading people to trespass into the Lu family to search had already become a big deal. After the people from the aristocratic family entered the palace, Wen Xinhou and others were all worried about Xiao Yan, thinking that he might really meet him today. There was big trouble, but who knew that within an hour, Lu Chongyuan would be "escorted" back to the palace by the imperial guards. Lu Zhao was directly locked up and imprisoned. More than ten members of the Lu family were tied up and taken away due to conflicts with the imperial guards.
Not to mention Wen Xinhou and Cao Dejiang were shocked by the mighty posture. Even Cui Lin, who had never entered the palace before, was also shocked.
When Feng Qiuli saw Cui Lin, she took the lead and said before he could speak: "Mr. Cui, did you give the evidence of the Lu family in Xiao Yan's hands?"
Cui Lin opened his mouth: "I just wanted to make Lu Chongyuan suffer some losses, but I didn't expect that they actually had the ledger in their hands..."
Those things in the Southland had been destroyed long ago, so he dared to secretly reveal the truth and wanted to use Xiao Yan's hand to suppress Lu Chongyuan's momentum, so that his assistant could come forward to overwhelm the fourth prince. But who would have thought that Xiao Yan Can you actually find the grain account book?
"You really are!"
Feng Qiuli seemed to be angry, and even spoke in a serious tone: "I have told you before that Xiao Yan is not trustworthy. He has long wanted to kill the family. How can he be so easy to take advantage of? You The disagreement with Lu Chongyuan is also an internal matter within our family, how can you hand over the Lu family’s handle to Xiao Yan?!"
Cui Lin was older than Feng Qiuli. In the past, if someone spoke to him like this, he would have been angry. However, at this time, he was wrong. After being scolded by Feng Qiuli, he explained: "I didn't expect Lu Chongyuan to be so unclean."
Feng Qiuli's face tightened with anger: "Then what should we do now?"
"I don't know how many things are in that account book. I'm afraid the Lu family can't keep it. After Lu Zhao is imprisoned, Xiao Yan will definitely try his best to get him to talk. If he really reveals something, then we will all follow Lu Zhao. The whole family is destroyed, even if Lu Zhao bites the bullet and takes the blame, if Lu Chongyuan finds out that you secretly leaked the news to Xiao Yan, he will definitely not let you go."
"We have violated a taboo by secretly supporting the second prince. If we expose this matter again, the other families will never tolerate us..."
Feng Qiuli's tone became more and more urgent as he spoke, his face turned pale, and he was pacing in circles with fear, and what he said made Cui Lin couldn't help but frown.
Intrigues are common among aristocratic families, and competition for interests is normal. However, betraying the Lu family will break their "tacit understanding" with the outside world. Once someone discovers it, the Lu family will not let him go, and other families will probably follow suit. They fall out. Not to mention wanting to be the head of a noble family, even the Cui family may be ostracized by other families.
Cui Lin frowned tightly and said in a deep voice: "Then let the Lu family have no chance to trouble us!"
Feng Qiuli raised his head suddenly, full of shock: "Mr. Cui, you..."
Cui Lin looked at him: "Why, don't you dare?"
Feng Qiuli's face turned pale.
Cui Lin said: "You also said that Lu Chongyuan is not a broad-minded person. If he knew what I did, he would never let us go."
"I originally just wanted to suppress the Lu family's arrogance, so that I could help the second prince gain some support from the family, but who would have thought that something unexpected happened. Now that the matter has come to this, I might as well take the opportunity to replace the Lu family. This will not only gather support for the Second Prince to take a further step, but also prevent the possibility of the grain supply matter affecting me and others."
Seeing the hesitation on Feng Qiuli's face, Cui Lin said in a deep voice: "On the surface, the aristocratic family shares weal and woe, but you should be very clear about what's going on inside. Do you want to see Lu Chongyuan escape and turn against us? Besides, the reason why the Lu family can become the head of the aristocratic family is because That is also stepping on the bones of the He family. Lu Chongyuan can deal with the He family, why can't we deal with him."
If the Lu family can do it, so can they.
If the Lu family can be divided and conquered, the Cui family will definitely be far better than it is now, and without Lu Chongyuan's pressure, he will naturally be able to conquer the other families for his use!
Feng Qiuli was obviously persuaded by Cui Lin. The hesitation on his face faded little by little, and a trace of ambition appeared in his eyes: "What do you think Mr. Cui should do now?"
Cui Lin waved to Feng Qiuli, and when he came forward, he whispered a few words.
Feng Qiuli raised his head in surprise: "Is this possible?"
Cui Lin said solemnly: "Of course it can be done. I will ask someone to handle this matter so that the Lu family has no chance to speak again. You just need to help me at the critical moment."
Feng Qiuli nodded: "Okay."
Seeing that he agreed, Cui Lin showed a bit of joy on his face: "Don't worry, as long as Lu Chongyuan is solved, you and I will be the ones to decide the future of the family. The Feng family will definitely be as good as the Lu family today."
Feng Qiuli couldn't help but have a look of admiration on her face when she heard Cui Lin promised. She looked excited and expectant, as if she was already thinking about what would happen after the Feng family replaced the Lu family, but when Cui Lin turned around When he called his cronies in and discussed in detail how to deal with the Lu family next, he slightly lowered his eyelids to cover his somewhat cold eyes.
Xiao Yan was indeed right.
Everyone in the family is really colder and crueler than the last, Lu Chongyuan is the same, Cui Lin is the same, as long as they arouse their ambitions and make them have the desire to be inferior to others, and a little provocation, no matter how close they were once, they can suddenly turn against each other. Ruthless, treating the other person as a stepping stone to your own advancement.
Xiao Yan could guess these people's thoughts perfectly.
Feng Qiuli suddenly felt lucky that that person was not his enemy.
…
On the other side, after Xiao Yan and Qian Baokun "pacified" Emperor An, when they came out of the palace, Qian Baokun had already introduced Xiao Yan as his confidant. He was extremely kind to this treacherous man whom he once hated so much, without saying a word. He has been teaching Xiao Yan not to be too upright and to learn to be selfish when he should be selfish.
Xiao Yan pursed his lips: "I just don't want to implicate Minister Qian."
"That's why I say that you have really earned the reputation of being a traitor in vain!" Qian Baokun frowned and said: "Just now it was clear that you could save yourself by just a few words of prevarication, but it's better for you to keep holding on to the accusation for fear that His Majesty will not I blame you, you are just too straight-tempered and too serious, thinking about yourself in everything, and that is why you have such a bad reputation."
He said with some sincerity: "Those people outside have always followed what others say. You are a pure and upright person, but you made them speak so harshly, causing everyone to misunderstand that you are cruel and vicious. You should learn from this in your actions in the future." Be more tactful, be selfish when you should be selfish, don't rush forward in everything."
Qian Baokun looked at Xiao Yan, who looked cold but was actually "warm-hearted", and was heartbroken for him.
"I know you don't care about this, but when you live your whole life, you have to take care of your reputation and your reputation. If you don't seek to be famous forever, you can't live in infamy for thousands of years."
Xiao Yan was silent for a moment before speaking: "I understand, thank you very much, Minister Qian."
Qian Baokun laughed: "Okay, that's enough for today. I'm going back to my house first. I'll discuss the account book with you later." He glanced at Song Jinxiu who was not far away, "That person, You should also be careful.”
A biting dog doesn't bark. The eldest son of the Song family used to be respectful and well-behaved, but he didn't want to bite off half of the Lu family's life with just one bite.
Xiao Yan smiled gently: "Okay."
After Qian Baokun led his three sons away, and when he got on the carriage, he couldn't help but turn his head and look at the handsome young man not far away, who looked very pleasing to the eye, and felt more and more happy.
He said to Qian Qingran and the three people following him: "This Xiao Yan is an upright man. The rumors are indeed misleading. You three should follow his example."
Qian Qingran: "..."
I always feel like something is wrong.
"Father, Xiao Yan is afraid of him..."
"Why are you so tired of Xiao? He is older than you, and he is on good terms with me. From now on, he will be called Uncle Xiao Shi."
Qian Qingran: "..."
The second and third brothers of the Qian family: "..."
Their dad is crazy!
After the Qian family father and son left, the gentleness on Xiao Yan's face softened, and the coldness in his eyes that had been suppressed before reappeared.
Song Jinxiu, who had been following behind, couldn't help but say: "Supervisor Xiao, what a good trick."
