Tang Ning was silent for a moment and then whispered: "Empress Lu holds in her hands the news about an orphan of the He family. If anything happens to her, that person will die."
Cao Dejiang suddenly sat up straight: "The orphan of the He family?"
Tang Ning said softly: "If it weren't for this, my brother would have exposed the matter between her and Prince Cheng, and the Lu family wouldn't have been able to get away so easily."
"If I had no other choice today, I would not use this matter to divert His Majesty's attention, but it can only stop here. Unless Brother comes back and can directly defeat the Lu family, I cannot expose this matter for the time being, otherwise He will be involved once it is involved. Home, we can’t hide things about Nandi.”
Cao Dejiang looked at Tang Ning steadily: "Xiao Yan is helping the He family?"
Tang Ning was silent for a moment and did not answer Cao Dejiang's words. She only looked up at him and asked, "Mr. Cao, do you think the violent prince and the He family deserve to die?"
Seeing that Cao Dejiang was silent, Tang Ning said quietly:
"I once heard that when Prince Ru was in court, he admired Duke Cao very much. Apart from my grandfather and the He family, Duke Cao was also the one who strongly supported the prince in dismantling the family and reforming the administration of officials in the court."
"Mr. Tong told me some stories about the cruel prince in the past. He was such a glorious man who devoted himself to the people. Does Mr. Cao really think that he would conspire to rebel?"
Cao Dejiang's palms were sweaty and he looked at Tang Ning expressionlessly: "Do you know what you are talking about?"
He tried his best to calm his mind: "What happened back then is in the past. Bringing it up again will only lead to bloodshed. You and Xiao Yan are so smart, you don't know how powerful this is."
Tang Ning's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she chuckled sarcastically: "Of course we know, it's just a thankless job, but brother and I always feel that we can't do nothing despite knowing the truth."
"The situation of the court has been decided, and the past is gone. It will be difficult for Prince Ru to make a comeback after losing his bloodline. But there are still people in the He family, so we cannot let them lose even this little bit of bloodline."
"Actually, I know I shouldn't tell Duke Cao these things. After all, people are unpredictable, but I always feel that you are different from other people in the court."
"Perhaps I can risk my life on your conscience."
After finishing the tea in the cup, Tang Ning stood up and saluted Cao Dejiang.
"Queen Lu can't move there. Prince Cheng's matter won't hold the Lu family back for long. Mr. Cao can guess that my brother is not in the capital, and Lu Chongyuan can probably guess it as well. I have to go back to Jiuyun Lane to prepare first."
Cao Dejiang's expression changed: "You can't stop Lu Chongyuan. If he goes directly to His Majesty and mentions that Xiao Yan is checking old things, Xiao Yan will definitely die!"
Tang Ning smiled bitterly: "I know, but you have to stop it even if you can't. Just do your best to obey fate. You can't do nothing."
"These are fine Ling Yun teas. Mr. Cao can sit here for a while. I'll leave first."
After she finished speaking and nodded to Cao Dejiang, she turned around and walked out.
With Sheng Ning Ju behind him, Cao Dejiang watched the girl walking further and further away, the expression on his face changing constantly. After Tang Ning left the courtyard of Sheng Ning Ju, all the bitterness on his face disappeared.
Her expression was indifferent, and her clear eyes were also extremely cold. There was no trace of the helplessness and compulsion she had just felt in Sheng Ning Juli.
While leading Yue Jian and Cang Lang out, Tang Ning carefully recalled every word and even every expression he had just said to Cao Dejiang.
She was indeed betting, but not on Cao Dejiang's conscience, but on his opinion of the He family and even the violent prince, and even on the stance of the Cao family and the Qingliu faction after he learned about the old events in the Southland.
Tang Ning is not so naive as to think that just a few words or even a few "friendships" can persuade this scheming and well-connected courtier to come forward to defend her and her brother. However, the old things from twenty years ago are now clear. It is a rare opportunity for one faction to be able to deal with aristocratic families, or even have a say in the court.
Emperor An hated the aristocratic family, but he protected the family. The old case twenty years ago made Emperor An and the Lu family tightly tied together.
Only by uncovering the case from twenty years ago can Emperor An be forced to severely punish the Lu family and completely "break" with the family. If they are lucky, an emperor who is close to the Qingliu sect can even take the throne. That is the real chance for these courtiers to make a difference. .
Cao Dejiang will never let it go.
The premise of all this is to ensure Xiao Yan's safety.
Tang Ning glanced down at the bracelet on her wrist and fiddled with the bell on it.
She wanted to pull Cao Dejiang onto their ship for her brother, and make Cao Dejiang willing to help her brother conceal his whereabouts and help them resist the Lu family's "offensive."
As Tang Ning walked towards the outside of the academy, she silently estimated the time in her mind.
When she walked around the corridor and was about to reach the main entrance of the academy, she heard someone hurriedly coming from behind and shouting to her: "Princess Xiangning, wait a minute."
…
Lu Chongyuan never expected that the Zhao family's careful strategy would go wrong.
When he was summoned to the palace, he endured his heart palpitations and showed no abnormality, but after entering the palace, he stood under the sun for three full hours without seeing Emperor An.
It was not until the sky turned dark and the palace servants came over to tell His Majesty that he had rested and asked him to go back to the house for confinement. Lu Chongyuan's face had been exposed to the sun all afternoon and there was no trace of blood left.
Staggering out of the palace and seeing the Lu family's carriage, Lu Chongyuan almost fell down before he even got close.
Xilin quickly stepped forward to help the man: "Master Lang..."
"go back."
Lu Chongyuan didn't have the strength to speak, and his lips were tanned.
Xilin quickly helped the person onto the carriage, and after passing the water, Lu Chongyuan drank it in large gulps to relieve the thirst of the lack of water in his body.
Lu Chongyuan just licked his chapped lips, leaned uncomfortably on the carriage, and closed his eyes to relieve the dizziness in his head.
Xilin said anxiously: "Master Lang, has your Majesty taken action against you?"
Lu Chongyuan opened his eyes: "Just do it."
He didn't even see Emperor An's face.
If he could see someone, even if something went wrong with the Zhao family's arrangements, he would be sure to figure out what happened and convince Emperor An to excuse himself.
But Emperor An didn't see him at all, and actually let him stand in the sun for several hours. Lu Chongyuan, who was already sick and weak, almost thought he would be sunburned to death.
He reached out and touched his forehead, which was hot.
Lu Chongyuan forced himself to stay dizzy and asked: "What's going on? What went wrong with the Zhao family? Didn't the palace send the imperial army to Jiuyun Lane? Why didn't Xiao Yan enter the palace? His Majesty looked like Are you angry with the Lu family?"
Xilin's face looked a little ugly: "Your Majesty did ask Yu Yanfeng and Feng Lai to take people to Jiuyun Lane, but they met Song Tangning on the way."
He told Lu Chongyuan in a low voice what happened at that time. Song Tangning and the others were on the street when they stopped the Forbidden Army. There was a lot of noise on both sides. Mrs. Zhao didn't cover up when she spoke. Naturally, the news couldn't be hidden. The Lu family It would be easy for someone to find out afterward.
Lu Chongyuan's face turned extremely ugly when he heard that Yu Yanfeng was stopped by Song Tangning and diverted directly, taking her and Mrs. Zhao into the palace.
