After the court dispersed in the morning, the courtiers from the aristocratic families came out of the Imperial Palace and hurried out with ugly faces.
Cui Lin, who was previously happy to see the Lu family's misfortune, also panicked: "What are the Lu family doing? Are they crazy?"
He just wants the Lu family to suffer, and he also wants to suppress the Lu family through the Caoliang case, but that doesn't mean he wants the aristocratic family to fall out with the emperor.
The Lu family secretly helped King Cheng smuggle contraband, and connected with the Ministry of War to recruit soldiers and stockpile weapons for him. They were crazy!
Queen Lu's son was of their Lu family's blood, and he was the next emperor they wanted to assist in ascending the throne. They actually helped King Cheng to rebel? !
Cui Lin couldn't figure it out, and felt that the Lu family was out of their minds.
Feng Qiuli followed him and looked back at Xiao Yan, who was not far away and walked around the inner palace gate. After making eye contact with him, he looked away and only turned to look at Cui Lin, who was yelling curses next to him.
"I also don't understand. When the late Emperor was here, it was understandable for the Lu family to live in two families. However, His Majesty has been on the throne for many years, the government has been stable, and the fourth prince has already expressed his intention to seize the throne. However, the Lu family still helps Cheng. "Wang..." Feng Qiuli looked a little unhappy, "If the queen and the fourth prince knew about it, how could they be at peace with the Lu family?"
Cui Lin looked calmly: "I always feel that something is wrong with this matter. Lu Chongyuan shouldn't be so stupid."
Even if the Lu family had other ideas and wanted another escape route besides Queen Lu and her son, they should not choose Prince Cheng.
Even if they secretly contact other princes, or even assist him privately, it is better to use him as a candidate for the fourth prince than to choose Prince Cheng. Lu Chongyuan should not be so confused as to choose someone who has no chance of ascending to the throne again.
Feng Qiuli whispered: "What Cui Gong said is that there may be a hidden meaning in this matter." He paused and said in a lower voice: "I just saw that Xiao Yan seemed to be heading towards Fengxi Palace."
Cui Lin looked back and said, "He wants to use this matter to drive a wedge between the Queen and the Lu family."
Feng Qiuli said: "It's not surprising that he was anxious. After the account book was discovered, we secretly sent a lot of clues. We thought we could crucify the Lu family, but who knew that Lu Chongyuan had dealt with those people earlier, and now we just rely on The Lu family cannot hold the account books at all, and Lu Zhao has been refusing to speak, so Xiao Yan is afraid that he is also anxious..."
Cui Lin narrowed his eyes slightly: "That old fox Lu Chongyuan, I thought he would be half dead with successive blows, but I didn't expect him to be so treacherous!"
He had previously thought about putting the Lu family to death through the grain issue, but Lu Chongyuan was ruthless and killed those who might implicate the Lu family. Lu Zhao was also able to bear all the sins alone.
The Lu family was hit hard one after another. Everyone, including Cui Lin, thought that Lu Chongyuan had no skills. However, no one thought that apart from the people on the surface, the Lu family had secret means to take care of people outside the capital when Lu Chongyuan was trapped.
Not even the eunuch Xiao Yan could get ahead of the Lu family.
Cui Lin didn't dare to act arbitrarily, not only for fear of being caught by people in the Lu family's secrets and being targeted by the family collectively, but also for fear of sending more clues, and Xiao Yan would follow the clues and implicate other families.
He had always been anxious, but now he found an opportunity to drive a wedge between the Queen mother and son and the Lu family. If the Queen mother and son could bite back the Lu family, Lu Chongyuan would probably be caught off guard no matter how capable he was.
This is a good opportunity.
Cui Lin whispered: "Let someone send a message to the second prince and ask him to come to see us."
Now that Xiao Yan has found the queen, they will give her a push. Compared to the queen, the impulsive fourth prince is more easily provoked by others.
Feng Qiuli lowered his eyes and said, "Okay."
…
Since King Cheng was imprisoned, Queen Lu seemed not to care. On the surface, she just stayed in the harem and went about business as usual, but in fact, she paid closer attention to the news from the outside world.
She had heard from the palace officials about the Song family's relocation of their graves last night, and knew that Song Tangning actually went to the Song family to remove their family membership, and also moved the coffins of Song Xi and his wife from the Song family.
Empress Lu frowned for a long time, always feeling that the person in the servant's mouth was nothing like the easy-going little girl she once knew.
"The Song family actually agreed?" Queen Lu asked.
Jin Zhi said in a low voice: "No, no, I heard that not only the head of the Gu family has gone, but also Governor Xiao and his black-armored guards. After the Song family lost the Duke's mansion, they were just ordinary officials. How could they do that?" Can stop that evil god."
She hesitated for a moment: "Mother, when you sent people to visit the Song family's ancestral tomb, they suddenly moved the tomb, could it be..."
"Have I ever sent anyone?"
Queen Lu looked back coldly, and that gaze sent a chill down Jin Zhi's spine.
The person who was doing the work back then had long since died. Moreover, although she sent people to look for things, she also told her to clean up the tail no matter whether the things could be found or not. The palace servant who came back also made it very clear that he would The rest of the matter will be left to the Song family.
As long as the old lady is here, she can't even take care of her son's grave. What's more, after moving the grave last night, there was no reaction from the Song family, and Song Tangning was quiet.
It has been so many years, who knows that anyone has touched the coffin in the tomb?
"Jin Zhi, I have noticed that you have been talking more and more recently. Are you getting older and your memory is messed up?"
Jin Zhi's face turned slightly pale at what Empress Lu said, and she quickly lowered her head: "It's because I have a bad record. Your Majesty has never interacted with the Song family."
Only then did Empress Lu look away, holding the golden scissors in her hand and placing it on the peony flower in front of her: "Don't mess up your sense of proportion and cause others to misunderstand."
Seeing Jin Zhi lower his head, she sighed: "I used to think that Tang Ning was a stubborn kid. She only had Lu Zhinian in her eyes. I never thought that she could actually catch Xiao Yan's eyes."
If she had known that the little girl was so capable and could please this powerful eunuch inside and outside the palace, she should have kept more people in the palace.
Even if the Lu family's marriage fails and the thing can't be found, if Xiao Yan can be coaxed into being used by her, how can she be restricted in everything, and she can't even find out the least bit of news about Xie Tianyu in prison.
"It's a pity that the child is tired of me because of the Lu family."
Empress Lu was full of regret. She closed the scissors in her hands and suddenly cut off a few peonies that were full of flowers.
Jinzhi held the tray and placed the cut flowers on it. Seeing the queen's languid expression, she whispered, "That's Miss Song's coldness. The empress used to treat her well. She doesn't know how to cherish blessings."
Empress Lu said: "After all, she is a young girl with a strong temper. Let's invite her into the palace to sit down when we have time. We can't let her misunderstand me."
It is not known whether Song Tangning has the thing in her hand, but her reputation outside the country, the academy that will be built as a "holy place" in the capital, and the goodwill of the elite civil servants, even Xiao Yan, are not inferior to those of the Rong family in the past. benefits.
The little girl had to get married. Since she had been wronged by the wrong matchmaker, let's give her a good marriage.
If the Lu family fails, there will be other families. If we take ten thousand steps back, there will still be a fourth prince.
Empress Lu looked at the peony in front of her with calm eyes. Her whole body was as delicate as ever. If she didn't look at the cyan color under her eyes that could not be concealed by makeup, one would really think that she had been peaceful and unconcerned about unexpected events. But in fact, she only She herself knew the urgency in her heart.
The Lu family has lost power, and she and Huang'er are not as good as before. She has to find a way.
Compared to other people, a little girl is always easier to handle.
"Empress!"
The sudden sound outside the palace made the contemplative Empress Lu shake her hands and cut off a bunch of branches and leaves, making the whole pot of peonies look ugly.
Jin Zhi turned around and yelled: "What are you yelling about?"
"It's news from the morning."
Queen Lu put down the golden scissors: "Come in."
The person who hurried in from outside was the eunuch in charge of Fengxi Palace, who was also the one who inquired about King Cheng that night. He looked a little flustered. When he got closer, before Queen Lu could speak, he said in a hurry:
"Just now after the court was over, I was hiding in the corridor leading to and from the palace and overheard a few adults talking, saying that King Cheng had confessed."
Empress Lu curled her fingers: "If he confesses, he will confess. Why are you panicking?"
The young eunuch said: "King Cheng confessed that he colluded with people from the Ministry of War and the Department of Arms because of the Lu family. He also said that the ore used to refine the iron for hoarding the ordnance was obtained from the Lu family, and In the past, the Lu family's merchant ships helped transport the goods to Beijing. His Majesty was extremely angry and said that he would investigate the matter strictly."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone called outside the hall.
"Queen, Governor Xiao wants to see you."
