Not putting the blame on others.
What they said is true.
Lu Chongyuan's heart, which had been stable since he met the Fourth Prince, suddenly became uneasy. If it was true, even if only part of it was true, it would be a catastrophe for the Lu family...
The female members of the Lu family who were of appropriate age were all in a panic, especially the wives of the Lu family who had legitimate sons and were over thirty but under fifty years old. They were all in this group.
As if she was stunned by this shocking injustice, Mrs. Lu said anxiously.
"Father, I'm not familiar with Prince Cheng at all. I've been doing my duty after marrying Second Master. Jing'er grew up under your care. How could he be Prince Cheng's son?"
Madam Lu's face turned pale as well. "Yes, father. We are all women of the Lu family. If we let them enter the backyard to search today, how can we face people in the future? How can Xuan'er and the others live innocently? And how can the women in the mansion live?!"
"Father, we can't let them search!"
"We are innocent, why should we be insulted like this!"
Several other female members of the Lu family also spoke up.
Women who can marry into the direct branch of the Lu family will not have a low family background, and the Lu family is very particular about "equal status" when selecting daughters-in-law.
They were all brought up with pride, so how could they tolerate being blamed for "adultery"? Not only would it implicate their children, but also the women in their natal families, as well as married and unmarried girls.
The Black Armor Guards' visit could not be concealed from outsiders. If they really searched the house under the pretext of "catching an adulterer", even if they found nothing in the end, people would still look at them strangely in the future, and some would even question the birthright of their children.
No one would endure such humiliation!
Naturally, Lu Chongyuan would not agree to let anyone search. Seeing the black-armored guards trying to step forward, he took half a step forward and shouted angrily, "Let's see who dares to search my Lu family!"
"Grandfather..." The Fourth Prince frowned and looked at him: "Do you want to disobey my order?"
"Your Highness said it was His Majesty's will, but what about the imperial edict?"
Seeing the Fourth Prince frowning, Lu Chongyuan said in a cold voice: "The Lu family is a family of nobles, and has been passed down for hundreds of years. If Your Highness has solid evidence, you can arrest someone, but if you have nothing, you can bring people to search the residence of the Lu family's women. This is absolutely impossible, and the Lu family will not accept such humiliation!"
"Grandfather, this is the emperor's order..."
"Since it is an oral order, I will go to the palace with Your Highness to see His Majesty!"
The fourth prince was startled, and then he heard Lu Chongyuan say sternly: "My Lu family has diligently assisted His Majesty for many years and devoted ourselves to the court. Even if there really is someone as foolish and greedy as Lu Zhao, should our contributions to the Wei Dynasty over the past hundred years be wiped out?"
"Your Majesty punished Lu Zhao and confined me. I have no complaints, but he should never have used the traitor Prince Cheng's nonsense to humiliate the Lu family."
"If Your Majesty really cannot tolerate the Lu family, you can just kill everyone in the Lu family. I, an old minister, will never accept such humiliation."
He stood there, his hair, which had turned pale at some point, made him look particularly solemn and cold, and his eyes also became calm.
"Since Your Highness said that what happened today was ordered by His Majesty, I will follow Your Highness into the palace. I want to ask His Majesty why he treats the Lu family in this way. He humiliates the family of meritorious officials and humiliates the old ministers in the court. Isn't he afraid of disappointing the people of the world?!"
The Fourth Prince was shocked by Lu Chongyuan's words and his expression changed.
His father had instructed him to investigate the Lu family, but there was no order to arrest people directly. If this really came to the attention of the emperor...
The Fourth Prince's heart trembled and he hesitated for a moment.
Seeing that Lu Chongyuan had stunned the Fourth Prince with just a few words, and turned the situation that was just unfavorable to the Lu family around, Tang Ning couldn't help but whispered, "This Lu Chongyuan is worthy of being the head of a noble family."
The Lu family was just below them. Although the place where they were squatting was a blind spot, Tang Ning was still afraid of being noticed, so he lowered his voice very low, and when he turned his head to speak, his whole body pressed against his arms.
"He must have sensed something was wrong, and he knew that the Lu family couldn't avoid what happened today, so he wanted to delay by entering the palace..."
Regardless of whether what Prince Cheng said was true or false, he could use it to stop the Fourth Prince from leading people to search the women of the Lu family.
If it was false, he could use this incident to make a scene with Emperor An, borrow the mouths of the people of the world to help the Lu family out of trouble, and force Emperor An to give in on the grounds that he was mean and ungrateful, so as to help the Lu family out of trouble, and maybe he could take advantage of the situation to return to the court.
If it was true, he could go to the palace and make some noise, which would give the Lu family some time to react and allow the people in the mansion to find a way to dispose of the "evidence" that might be found.
The little girl spoke in a soft voice and breathed lightly, the hot air from her breath lingering on his neck.
"Lu Chongyuan is so smart. He was able to react so quickly to the sudden incident. No wonder he almost harmed my brother several times before."
Xiao Yan hugged her waist, and his eyes darkened when he lowered his head.
Tang Ning didn't notice anything was wrong, he just lowered his voice and said, "Brother, Lu Chongyuan wants to break the impasse by entering the palace. If we miss this opportunity and the Lu family does something, I'm afraid today's event won't be accomplished."
After she finished speaking, no one responded behind her.
Tang Ning couldn't help but look up: "Brother?"
Xiao Yan met her black and white eyes, his throat rolled slightly, and he forced himself to avoid the whiteness on her neck, lowering his eyes to look at the courtyard over there: "He can't break the situation, there is Cang Lang."
In the yard below, Canglang seemed to sense his own supervisor's muttering, and he sneered and spoke sarcastically.
"Lu Zhongshu, have you forgotten that you are still under house arrest and are not allowed to step out of the Lu family without the emperor's order? As for your merits, all the nobles in the court and the nobles in the capital are loyal to the Great Wei, and many of them have ancestors with outstanding merits."
"If the merits of the past could offset the evil deeds of the descendants, and if the merits of the ancestors could be used to coerce the emperor, the He family would not have been destroyed by the late emperor. But just because of their connection with the Crown Prince, the entire He family was executed, and no one in the mansion was left alive."
"I remember that when the execution was carried out, Lu Zhongshu was also there, right?"
"In terms of achievements, the He family is not inferior to the Lu family."
Lu Chongyuan's originally stern face could no longer be maintained in an instant, and the other members of the Lu family also turned pale.
Canglang looked at the wavering Fourth Prince beside him and said, "Your Highness, you came to the Lu family to arrest someone for interrogation under the order of the Emperor. My Lord Governor also let me, the Black Armor Guard, come with you because he is grateful to you for not showing favoritism and for your willingness to sacrifice your relatives for the greater good."
"The Lu family's female members are suspects. With the confession of Prince Cheng, it is reasonable to take them back for interrogation, not to mention just a search. Since you are here, you should handle the matter impartially. If you have any sympathy for the Lu family, I will take my people and leave now."
The Fourth Prince's expression kept changing. He had already broken off relations with the Lu family when he came to the family today.
Lu Chongyuan had long intended to abandon him. Even if he retreated now, the people of the Lu family would never let him go. Moreover, he brought the Black Armored Guards with him. Such a big commotion must have made his father aware of it.
If I suddenly turn back, my father will definitely be angry.
He has already lost the Lu family, so he must not lose the emperor's heart again.
The fourth prince gritted his teeth fiercely, and after the hesitation in his eyes disappeared, he said: "Grandfather, if you feel wronged, you can personally plead your case to the emperor later. Right now, it is more important to interrogate the person who committed adultery with Prince Chen."
"Please forgive me, aunts. I am only acting on the orders of my father."
He glanced at the panicked women of the Lu family and said in a deep voice:
"Come here, arrest the ladies first, and send people to search their residences. If anyone tries to stop us, arrest them all!!"
"Xie Guangzheng, you dare..."
"Bang!"
As Silang of the Lu family rushed out to stop them, he was knocked to the ground by Canglang's sword. Madam Lu screamed "Jing'er" and wanted to pounce on him, but was caught by the black-armored guards the next moment.
Seeing that the Fourth Prince actually dared to have someone take action, the Lu family members immediately started cursing. Lu Qin and others even called the Fourth Prince an ungrateful and ungrateful person.
The Fourth Prince's face also turned ugly, and he ordered his men to stop the people from the Lu family.
There were guards in the Lu family mansion, and they rushed out when they sensed the commotion. However, the ordinary people guarding the mansion were simply unable to stop the ferocious black-armored guards and were quickly captured.
Seeing the front yard collapsed, the black-armored guards captured several women of the Lu family, and the rest rushed straight to the backyard.
Lu Qin said sternly: "Qing..."
"Second brother!"
Lu Chongyuan turned his head suddenly, interrupting Lu Qin's cry, and the person who had been moving in secret suppressed himself almost instantly, and as soon as he retracted his head, he was locked by a cold light.
Hearing a sound of something breaking through the air, he turned around and stepped back without thinking too much.
Xiao Yan protected Tang Ning with one hand and held a short crossbow with the other. All the crossbow arrows he shot were aimed at the man's vital points, forcing him to be unable to hide his body. When he staggered to the ground, he suddenly looked up.
Everyone in the Lu family was stunned. When they looked up, they saw Xiao Yan and a young girl in green standing behind the roof beam diagonally opposite.
The man was suddenly exposed in front of everyone. When he saw Xiao Yan, his face changed and he suddenly wanted to bite off the poison sac between his teeth.
"Don't ask him to take poison!"
Canglang swung his sword towards his head. When he dodged, the scabbard hit his jaw directly, and then approached the man like a spirit snake and hit him in the face twice in a row.
The man's teeth were loose and it was too late for him to swallow what was in his mouth. Several people who were left there to "protect" the Fourth Prince suddenly surrounded him and kicked him in the back, causing him to spit out blood.
Seeing that the poison didn't work, he turned around and tried to escape.
The next moment, a beam of cold light shot out and nailed the man to the spot.
The Lu family's illegitimate son, who had remained silent, put down his hand, raised his eyes and frowned: "Where did this thief come from? How dare he sneak into the Lu family and commit crimes? Grandfather, are you okay?"
Cang Lang: "…"
Besieged several people: "..."
Are there people who are more shameless than them?
"Lord Governor." Canglang looked up at Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan looked at the man who was pierced through the heart by a sword, and looked thoughtfully at the low-key illegitimate son of the Lu family, so he said that the Lu family still had many trump cards.
He chuckled, "Let him die, he's just a thief. It's just that the Lu family is so easy for someone to sneak in. I will definitely report to His Majesty and send some guards to protect Secretary Lu."
He put his arms around Tang Ning's waist and jumped down from the roof.
The fourth prince's eyelids twitched: "Lord Governor Xiao..."
Didn't he say he wasn't coming?!