The fourth prince suddenly turned around, and his superior, Chamberlain Feng, also looked surprised. No one expected that Lu Chongyuan would resign.
An Di narrowed his eyes slightly: "You want to resign?"
"Yes, the old minister has no face to stay in the capital. I hope your majesty will allow the old minister to return home in view of the long-term friendship between the king and his ministers."
Emperor An stared at him for a long time, as if he wanted to see clearly what he wanted to do, just when Feng Neishi and the fourth prince thought he would agree.
Emperor An said in a deep voice: "The Caoliang case has not been concluded yet, and it has yet to be determined whether it is related to other members of the Lu family. Although the matter of King Cheng has been found out, the Guan family is a person with a foreign surname. If Lu Qing is allowed to resign because of this, Official, I am afraid that people outside will say that I treat the old officials in the court harshly, and that I am mean and unkind."
Lu Chongyuan raised his head: "The old minister has taken the initiative to resign. Your Majesty does not need to worry about external rumors."
Emperor An said in a deep voice: "I said, I won't allow it."
The fourth prince couldn't help showing surprise on his face. There had long been incompatibility between his father and the aristocratic family. If the aristocratic family hadn't been so powerful that they didn't dare to touch them, his father would have eliminated them long ago.
Lu Chongyuan took the initiative to resign this time. Shouldn't his father agree immediately? In addition to the power of the Lu family in the court, he would slowly weaken the other families.
But why didn't the father allow it?
Although Lu Chongyuan was kneeling on the ground, his expression was calm when he raised his eyes: "Then what does Your Majesty plan to do with the old minister? Keep the old minister confined in the house forever, or wait for someone to come to the Lu family again and again, or let the old minister be ruined along with the Lu family. Your Majesty is satisfied?"
"Lu Chongyuan, you are so impudent!" Emperor An suddenly looked stern.
Lu Chongyuan calmly raised his head: "I don't dare to be presumptuous, but I don't understand why your majesty treats the Lu family like this. I have never owed you a debt, and the Lu family has never failed the royal family."
"In the Caoliang case, the treacherous son Lu Zhao has been in jail for a long time. He has proof of accounts and has been subject to severe punishment. The trial should have been concluded long ago, but your majesty has been ordering me to be grounded and have people dig deeper into this matter. Your majesty wants to prove it. The veteran is also involved in this case, or do you think the entire Lu family is unclean?"
"There is also the previous matter about the Song family. Others don't know why. Doesn't your majesty know about it? If it weren't for the fourth prince's ignorance and greed, he tricked the wife of an old official into taking the belongings of the Yiyang County Lord. Why would the Lu family have to give away half of their book collection and be ridiculed and scolded by others? , to save the face of the fourth prince and the royal family."
"Grandpa..."
Before Emperor An could speak, the expression of the fourth prince had already changed. He said urgently: "Father, those things were given to me by the old lady. I don't know where they came from..."
"Is it because I don't know, or is it because I know and is pretending not to know?"
Lu Chongyuan's face was full of sarcasm, and he looked at the fourth prince without any mercy: "The Lu family has a rich heritage and has never been short of gold and silver, but many of those things are orphans, and some of them are signed by the Rong family. "
"Your grandmother frequently gave gifts to you, and every time when no one was around, you never asked about the origin, and you never let anyone in the Lu family know that you had taken something from the house. You had a guilty conscience and did not dare to be known. Or have you guessed that those things came from the wrong way?"
"I……"
The fourth prince was speechless when asked, and wanted to defend himself, but Lu Chongyuan had already turned to look at Emperor An.
"Prince Cheng and the Guan family are living in peace, and they are replaced by the legitimate son of the Lu family. The grandson who has been taught carefully by the veteran for many years is not of the Lu family's blood. He is also ridiculed because he has brought trouble to the entire Lu family. This is fine, but even the fourth prince has been loved by the veteran for many years. My grandson also had His Majesty’s permission to personally push the Lu family into ruin.”
"Since Your Majesty can't tolerate the Lu family, I took the initiative to retreat and took the clan to a corner. What else does Your Majesty want? Do you really want to kill the Lu family?"
Lu Chongyuan's voice was not sharp, but the compelling meaning in his words made Feng Feng and the fourth prince break into cold sweat.
The fourth prince wanted to interrupt Lu Chongyuan several times, but in the past, he was always considerate and cautious, but today he seemed to be stimulated by the Guan family incident. He ignored Emperor An's already livid face and kept making more mistakes every time.
"I have been in the imperial court since the late Emperor was here. Twenty years ago there were floods in the south, sixteen years ago there was chaos in Yingzhou, and thirteen years ago the ruthless prince conspired to rebel. Your Majesty has faced many dangers and the Lu family has never retreated even half of the way. The step is now nothing more than His Majesty’s suspicion. In this case, what is the old minister doing in the court?”
"Please forgive me, your majesty, or allow me to resign and retire, and give me a happy life!"
"boom!!"
"Lu Chongyuan, you are so presumptuous!!"
An Di stood up suddenly in anger, grabbed the things on the case and threw them at Lu Chongyuan. The messy things were scattered on the ground, and the paperweight fell on Lu Chongyuan's face, scratching a hole and rolling to the ground. An Di glared at Lu Chongyuan gasped in his throat.
His face was green and white at first, as if he was angry, but if you look closely at his turbid eyes, there was a hint of fear.
Emperor An has been secretly fighting with the Lu family for a long time, and not mentioning the past has almost become a tacit agreement between him and the Lu family. He never thought that Lu Chongyuan would risk everything to break up with him.
Twenty years ago…
Thirteen years ago…
The sky-shattering fire appeared in his mind, as if he saw the East Palace that was half the sky red. Emperor An clutched the corner of the table and was shaking with anger when he suddenly felt a severe pain in his head.
When he staggered back, Chamberlain Feng was startled: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?!"
"Father!"
The fourth prince was also frightened, and hurriedly stepped forward to help him and shouted: "Come here, tell the doctor, tell the doctor quickly!!"
There was chaos outside, and Emperor An's sudden onset of illness also made everyone panic. Xiao Yan watched coldly, looking at Emperor An gasping for air, and then said coldly: "Lu Chongyuan's arrogance in front of the saint is really outrageous. Someone, come and capture Lu Chongyuan." …”
"Don't!"
Emperor An tightly held Feng's hand, holding back his headache and hissed.
"Your Majesty?" Xiao Yan frowned.
An Di gasped for breath, the severe headache made him unbearable, and the constant emptiness in his body made his hands tremble uncontrollably.
He couldn't touch the golden elixir, so he could only try his best to stay awake. Looking at Lu Chongyuan who was kneeling there with a cold expression, he said to Xiao Yan: "Lu Zhongshu is Chaozhong Humerus. What happened today is because I didn't think carefully. The case has been settled and no other members of the Lu family can be implicated."
"Father?" The fourth prince looked shocked: "But Xie Yin's life experience is still unknown, and so is Guan..."
"That's enough. I have made my decision. There is no need to say more."
Emperor An couldn't bear to interrupt before the fourth prince could speak.
"Father..."
The fourth prince still wanted to speak, but Emperor An irritably shook off the fourth prince's hand holding him. He endured his headache and looked at Xiao Yan: "Send Lu Zhongshu back to his home, lift his grounding, and investigate Lu Zhao's corruption case as soon as possible. There is no need to mention Lu Zhongshu’s resignation again.”
Xiao Yan glanced at Emperor An, and when he lowered his head, his eyes flashed with sarcasm: "I obey the order."
When the imperial doctor hurried over, Emperor An was helped by Feng's servant to the back room. Listening to the footsteps inside, the fourth prince stood there with a pale face.
He didn't understand why things turned out like this.
It is clear that the father hates the Lu family, and what happened today can also condemn the Lu family. Even if Guan is not from the Lu family, she married into the Lu family in her early years and did what she did to the Lu family. The Lu family has no connection at all. The worst is to confuse the royal family. There is no escaping the crime of blood.
He broke up with the Lu family because he was sure that the Lu family would not be able to escape today, but his father, his father, he did not punish him at all. Instead, he even banned Lu Chongyuan...
The fourth prince's face turned extremely pale. He saw Lu Chongyuan getting up from the ground and stepped forward: "Grandpa..."
"Your Highness has forgotten that you are a member of the royal family and have nothing to do with the Lu family."
Lu Chongyuan's words made the fourth prince shaken and turned pale.
"Grandpa, I..."
He wanted to say that he didn't mean it, and that he was forced to do so by his father's order, but when he looked into Lu Chongyuan's black eyes full of frost, he couldn't say a word.
Lu Chongyuan reached out and patted the dust on his sleeves, then turned to look at Xiao Yan who was standing next to him: "Thank you very much, Governor Xiao, for the generous gift. It's just that His Majesty's friendship with the Lu family is hard to understand for a eunuch like Governor Xiao. Today I will remember this and will definitely repay you."
After he finished speaking, he waved his sleeves and walked out. Xiao Yan was not in a hurry and followed him slowly.
When Lu Chongyuan was about to step out of the imperial study, Xiao Yan suddenly chuckled: "Did the Lu family's friendship with His Majesty happen twenty years ago, or thirteen years ago?"
Lu Chongyuan froze.
Xiao Yan clasped his hands and walked to Lu Chongyuan: "Speaking of which, Guan's death is really pitiful. He confounded the royal bloodline and deserved to be punished. Lu Zhongshu could save the Lu family with just a few words. If Guan entered the palace alive, your majesty might look at it. Spare her life because of the friendship between the Lu family, but unfortunately... no one wants her to live."
His voice was not loud, and the fourth prince inside could not hear it clearly, but it was like thunder in the ears of Lu Chongyuan beside him.
"But it's strange to say that a careless eldest daughter-in-law of the Lu family can actually command people from the Ministry of War. I think she might be really unjust..."
Lu Chongyuan suddenly turned around and looked at Xiao Yan: "Director Xiao, keep a line in everything!"
Xiao Yan looked casual: "I don't want to stay, what should I do?"
Seeing Lu Chongyuan tightening his lips and looking gloomy, Xiao Yanyan raised his lips and suddenly looked outside into the distance: "Isn't that the Queen? Lu Zhongshu, hurry up and show your kindness to your father and daughter."
Lu Chongyuan: "..."
This eunuch really knows!
He thought he was in control today, and he was the one who took advantage of Emperor An's weakness and settled the matter with Prince Cheng, but Xiao Yan actually knew about it. He knew clearly that she was the queen and the fourth prince, but he allowed the Guan family to "take the blame" .
What does he want to do? !
Lu Chongyuan felt fear for Xiao Yan for the first time.
…
"Father."
Queen Lu originally came to see the fourth prince, but she didn't expect to see Lu Chongyuan and Xiao Yan first.
Seeing Lu Chongyuan coming straight over, a look of guilt flashed across Queen Lu's face, but then she calmed down and said, "I heard that something happened in the palace. Is father okay? Your Majesty is in trouble..."
Snapped--
Lu Chongyuan slapped Queen Lu hard on the face.
Empress Lu was completely stunned, and Jin Zhi and the others who were following her were also dumbfounded.
This is inside the palace and outside the imperial study.
Lu Chongyuan actually dared to hit the queen? !
The fourth prince saw something was wrong here from a distance and ran over in a hurry: "Mother!" Seeing Empress Lu's swollen face, he said anxiously: "Grandpa, what happened today is what I did. It has nothing to do with the queen. She has nothing to do with her. …”
Snapped! !
Lu Chongyuan slapped him again, interrupting the fourth prince's words.
The fourth prince covered his face in disbelief: "Grandpa..."
"Don't call me that. We don't have idiots like you in the Lu family who cheat on you."
Lu Chongyuan looked past the fourth prince and looked at Empress Lu: "Lu Qingfeng, I thought you were a smart person, but I didn't expect that your smartness would be used on your own family."
Queen Lu was angry: "Father, this is the palace..."
"So what in the palace, you can go to His Majesty to make the decision for you mother and son!" Lu Chongyuan sneered.
Only then did Queen Lu remember that Lu Chongyuan came out on his own, and apart from the small wound on his face, there was no trace of guilt on his body.
Her eyes narrowed and her tone softened: "Father, I have no choice but to..."
"You don't need to tell me. Don't worry. From now on, your mother and son's affairs have nothing to do with the Lu family. I look forward to seeing the empress and the palace live forever!!"
After speaking, Lu Chongyuan glanced at the mother and son coldly, turned around and walked out of the palace. From the beginning to the end, he seemed not afraid of being seen attacking the queen and her son.
Queen Lu's heart was beating fast. After seeing Lu Chongyuan walk away, Xiao Yanshi came over calmly. She said anxiously: "Master Xiao, why is the Lu family..."
It is clear that His Majesty should be blamed for the Lu family, so why is Lu Chongyuan okay?
Xiao Yan sighed softly: "Although we have found out the person who is flirting with King Cheng, who would have thought that His Majesty would change his attitude when Lu Zhongshu mentioned some past events."
He looked at the Queen and her son with some pity: "Lu Chongyuan acted ruthlessly, and the Guan family was forced to death by them. It would be difficult for the governor to trace her even if she wanted to."
"Queen, the fourth prince has made the Lu family hate you so much this time. If I had known that your majesty has retained friendship with the Lu family, I should have persuaded the fourth prince not to get involved. Even if he offends your majesty, it is better to offend the Lu family. After all, they have died in these years. The person in my hand..."
Xiao Yan shook his head, but before he could finish his words, both the queen and the fourth prince looked pale.
"The Queen and Your Highness, please take care of yourself."
Xiao Yan followed Lu Chongyuan and left. Queen Lu's face turned green and white. She covered the place where she had been beaten and turned to look at the fourth prince: "What did Lu Chongyuan say to His Majesty, asking Your Majesty to spare the Lu family?"
The fourth prince was at a loss: "My son didn't know that he resigned as soon as he saw my father, and later he even contradicted his father with words..."
The queen said in a deep voice: "What did you say? Tell me again. Don't miss a word!"
The fourth prince looked at the queen in confusion, seeing that her face was ugly, and he did not dare to hesitate, and hurriedly told everything about what happened in the palace just now.
Queen Lu's expression changed, and she finally settled on the sentence "Thirteen years ago"...
After the fourth prince finished speaking, he asked: "Mother, why did your father spare the Lu family?"
Empress Lu pinched her palms. She did not answer the fourth prince's words, but her eyes kept changing. Thirteen years ago, Prince Ruo conspired to rebel, and the He family, and the east palace was in fire...
"Mother?" The fourth prince pushed the queen.
When Empress Lu came to her senses, she said calmly: "It's nothing. Your father probably has other things in mind."
The fourth prince frowned, feeling that his mother was hiding something from him, but the queen had already covered her face and said, "Let's go back to Fengxi Palace first."
…
After coaxing away the fourth prince, Queen Lu had been feeling uneasy. She always felt that Lu Chongyuan's look when he left the palace made her panic.
At nightfall, the eunuch in charge of Fengxi Palace brought over a cup of chicken soup.
"Your Majesty, you haven't eaten all day. The kitchen has stewed some chicken soup. Take a few sips."
Jin Zhi was also advising: "My dear, no matter how many things happen outside, you have to take care of yourself."
Empress Lu put down the kitten in her arms with some boredom, asked the eunuch in charge to bring the chicken soup, and then said absently: "How is your Majesty?"
The eunuch in charge put down the chicken soup and said: "Your Majesty woke up earlier. I heard from Dr. Sun that your Majesty suffered from the cold and got angry, which caused the head disease. As long as you stay healthy... …”
He opened the lid of the cup, put the spoon in it, and wanted to hand it to Queen Lu, but suddenly he seemed to have stepped on something, and when his hand tilted, the ginseng soup spilled out.
Jin Zhi was startled, quickly put down the things in his hands, took out the handkerchief and wiped Empress Lu's knees: "My Majesty, Madam, are you okay?"
The eunuch in charge was also panicked and quickly knelt on the ground: "It's my fault. I'm guilty."
Empress Lu frowned and said, "Those who are rough-handed and rough-footed should go and get the ten pieces by themselves..."
The eunuch in charge quickly thanked him: "Thank you, Queen."
He quickly got up and left. Queen Lu lost her appetite looking at the remaining half cup of chicken soup: "Forget it, I don't want to eat it, take it away."
Jin Zhi didn't dare to say anything, and hurriedly took away the chicken soup and put it aside, helped Empress Lu and walked towards the inner room, wanting to help her wash up, but at this moment, she heard a scream.
The master and servant turned around and saw the cat that Queen Lu was holding just now, bleeding from its orifices and lying in the puddle of chicken soup on the ground.
Jin Zhi screamed in horror: "Ah——"
"Shut up!"
After Empress Lu drank suddenly, her face turned pale.
Just a little bit, the chicken soup entered her mouth.
Jinzhi trembled with fear: "Mother, this soup..."
"Call Deshun in!"
The eunuch in charge, Shi Banzi, was called back by the queen before he could get it. When he saw the cat lying on the ground, he was also frightened.
Deshun knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Majesty, you are not a slave. A slave would never dare to harm your Majesty."
Queen Lu took a deep breath: "I know it's not you."
If it was really Deshun, the soup had entered her mouth just now. She said coldly: "Go and get everyone in the small kitchen, and put everyone in Fengxi Palace under lockdown. Don't let the news get out."
Deshun hurriedly went out, and when he came back after a while, his expression was extremely bad.
"Mother, Gui Niang in the kitchen is missing."
Jinzhi immediately said: "She must have plotted to kill the empress!"
Deshun also spoke: "Empress, my servant is going to report to Your Majesty right now, and have someone lock the palace door and take Gui Niang's maidservant. We must capture her!"
Unexpectedly, Queen Lu's eyes were calm when she heard this: "No need."
"Empress?" Deshun and Jin Zhi were both confused.
Empress Lu grabbed the glass bead in her hand hard, her expression extremely ugly. She knew who did this, and she also knew who wanted her life. Guiniang had most likely been silenced.
What Xiao Yan said during the day suddenly came to her mind.
"Lu Chongyuan acted ruthlessly, and the Guan family was forced to death by them... The Queen and Your Highness, please take care of yourself."
Empress Lu pressed her fingers so hard that they turned green and white. The string of glass beads suddenly broke, and the beads hanging on it rolled to the ground.
