Lu Chongyuan naturally didn't believe that Guan would collude with Prince Cheng.
Although he did not personally select this daughter-in-law, he knew her background well. Guan was a bit soft-hearted, but she was devoted to her eldest son.
Looking at Guan kneeling on the ground, Lu Chongyuan's eyes were cold: "It's just a few letters, not written by Guan herself. If she wanted to frame someone, it would be too easy. Besides, it was the Black Armor Guards and the Fourth Prince's men who searched Guan's residence just now. Who knows if someone took the opportunity to frame her?"
"Grandfather, do you think I framed Guan?"
Seeing that Lu Chongyuan just looked at him coldly without saying anything, the Fourth Prince was angry: "This letter was found in her residence. Even if my grandfather doesn't recognize it, what about Qinxin? She has served Guan for decades..."
"She's just a lowly slave, how can you take her words seriously?"
Lu Chongyuan's eyes suddenly fell on Tang Ning: "I heard that the reason why Princess Cheng was deceived by King Cheng was because of the betrayal of her nanny. An old woman who served Princess Cheng for more than 30 years could betray her master, let alone a lowly slave. What do you think of Yiyang County Lady?"
Tang Ning's face turned cold.
Upon hearing this, Guan said anxiously: "Father is right, it was Qinxin who betrayed her master, she was bribed and framed me..."
Qin Xin, who was lying on the ground covered in blood, suddenly raised her head and said, "Madam, I have served you for many years and have never been slack. But now you want to abandon me?"
"Back then, you and Prince Chen were having an affair and were almost discovered. You begged me to keep it secret for you. When you were pregnant with my child for the first time, you didn't want to give birth to a child for the Lu family and deliberately aborted it. I also helped you clean up the mess and used it to make my master feel guilty."
"Later, you and Prince Chen had an illegitimate child. You used the excuse that the child was born under my name, and you gave birth several days earlier for fear that the month would be wrong. It was also because I covered up for you that I was able to conceal Sanlang Jun's background..."
"You are talking nonsense!!!"
Guan was still feeling wronged, but when she heard her talk about Lu Zhinian, she went crazy and rushed over to hit Qin Xin: "The child was lost by accident, and I was frightened when Sanlang gave birth early. Sanlang is obviously your blood, why did you frame me, why did you lie?!"
Qinxin was hit several times on the face before Guan was freed.
Qin Xin's face was covered in blood from the scratches she had done. "I did not lie. Everything I said was true. You kept the bastard child of King Cheng, occupying the identity of the legitimate son of the Lu family, and you just took a child of the Lu family's bloodline and gave him to King Cheng, pretending that he was the newly born little prince."
"You said that no matter how noble the Prince of King Cheng is, he is not as good as the Patriarch of the Lu family. You also said that after Sanlangjun inherits the Lu family, the Prince of King Cheng will be able to use him when he comes of age and pave the way for Sanlangjun's future."
"You were afraid that Prince Cheng would be biased if he had another child, so you drugged Princess Cheng for many years. If it weren't for the accident a few days ago, Princess Cheng wouldn't be pregnant again."
After Qin Xin finished speaking, she kowtowed to Xiao Yan and the others.
"Master Xiao, my wife has been in love with Prince Cheng for many years. The jade bracelet on her wrist was given to her by Prince Cheng."
"This item originally belonged to the Concubine Dowager of Prince Cheng's Palace. When the late Emperor was on a tour in the south, he got a piece of top-quality green jade and made it into a bracelet and jade pendant, and gave it to the favored princes and concubines in the palace."
"This jade bracelet was given to Madam by Prince Cheng. It has the insignia of a palace item on it. In addition, it was given by the late Emperor. There must be records in the palace. We can tell whether it is real or fake with just a check."
Madam Lu was stunned and looked down at the jade bracelet on her wrist.
"…This is the bracelet that the queen had blessed by a master when she was still in her boudoir. The master had prayed for her blessing…I hope that after you wear it, it will save the master from danger and protect you and the young master."
"The Queen has always been thinking about you and the master in prison, and she hopes that you and the young master will be well..."
"... Madam, please don't spread the matter of this bracelet. Otherwise, if the Second Madam and the others knew that this item was only given to you, they would probably blame you."
When Aunt Jinzhi, the queen's concubine, gave her the bracelet that day, she showed great concern and she was extremely grateful. When she heard that it was blessed by a high monk, she kept carrying it with her, hoping that it would bring good luck to herself and her master.
But...
Seeing that everyone's eyes were on her wrist, Guan suddenly threw away the bracelet and said in a hoarse voice: "This is not mine, it was given to me by the Queen..."
"presumptuous!!"
The Fourth Prince's expression suddenly changed. He had never expected that Guan would actually attack Empress Lu. He raised his foot and kicked Guan: "You whore, you have been having an affair with Prince Cheng for many years, and you dare to slander my mother? My mother has never had this jade bracelet, so how could she give it to you?!"
"It was really given to me by the Queen, Qinxin..."
Guan wanted to say that Qinxin knew it, but Qinxin betrayed her. She turned around and said hurriedly, "Father, this bracelet was really given to me by the Queen. It was given to me by Aunt Jinzhi who was beside her..."
"Shut up!!"
Lu Chongyuan shouted angrily, frightening Guan. She cried, "Father, I didn't lie. It was really given to me by the Queen. Aunt Jinzhi said that this bracelet was blessed by a high monk and can help you escape from prison soon. She also said..."
Bang!
The teacup on the table suddenly hit Guan's forehead, interrupting her words.
Lu Chongyuan said in a deep voice: "You said the Queen gave it to you, did anyone see it?"
Guan's eyes widened. She wanted to speak, but she couldn't say anything.
When Jinzhi came to see her, she was alone with Qinxin. Later, feeling grateful for the queen's kindness and fearing that the people in the palace would be dissatisfied with the queen's reward to her alone, she carefully hid the bracelet and carried it close to her body without telling anyone.
"The Queen told me not to tell anyone else. It was the Queen. She really gave it to me..."
"Bang!"
Seeing that Guan still dared to bite him, the Fourth Prince stepped forward and slapped her in the face: "If you dare to slander my mother again, I will kill you!"
Guan's head was buzzing from the beating, and she couldn't help but scream, "I didn't slander..."
"aunt!"
Lu Jia Erlang suddenly spoke up: "Aunt, you are really confused! Your affair with Prince Cheng is a serious crime, and now that we have all the evidence, you still want to slander the Queen."
"Aunt Jinzhi came to visit Grandfather that day. I accompanied her in and out. She did come to visit you before she left, but it was also because my uncle was imprisoned and the Queen felt sorry for you."
"I saw it with my own eyes. She only gave you ordinary food and clothes. She never mentioned the jade bracelet. Why did you slander the Queen like this?!"
Guan's eyes suddenly widened, looking at the illegitimate son from the next room in disbelief. Whenever he saw her in the past, he always respectfully called her aunt and was never disrespectful, but now he was actually confusing right and wrong and harming her.
"Lu Jiuan, you are lying..."
"That's enough!!"
Lu Chongyuan seemed to be unable to bear it any longer and waved his hand to brush away the things on the table.
"You have done such a shameful thing yourself, and you still dare to bite the Queen. Do you want the entire Lu family to be buried with you, and let Xuan'er die with you?"
When Guan heard the word "Xuan'er", all the color disappeared from her face.
Seeing that she had calmed down, Lu Chongyuan said in a deep voice, "The Queen came to visit with good intentions, but you slandered her like this. You still want to deny it even though there is evidence. How could a child as smart and well-behaved as Xuan'er have a mother like you!"
"Xuan'er..."
Guan's lips trembled, and she looked up into Lu Chongyuan's cold eyes, feeling a chill all over her body.
No matter how stupid or dull she was, she had realized by now that the queen had plotted against her.
From the day when the bracelet was given to her, she had fallen into the Queen's trap. The letter from Prince Chen, the bracelet given by the late Emperor, and the testimony of the maid who came with her as a dowry, all of these made it impossible for her to defend herself.
The one who is having an affair with Prince Cheng is the Queen!
She could tear the queen apart and bite her to death, but as for Xuan'er, she had neither evidence to prove that it was the queen who harmed her nor evidence to clear herself.
If she insisted on biting the Queen and letting the Emperor know what the Queen had done, the Emperor would be so furious that he would drag the Queen and the Lu family to death together.
Cuckolding Lu Zhao and cuckolding the emperor are two completely different things. The former brings shame, while the latter results in death. The father-in-law clearly sensed that something was wrong, so he chose to sacrifice her to protect the Lu family from being implicated by the Queen, and threatened her with Xuan'er's life.
Guan had never hated herself so much for being so clear-headed. She glanced at Qin Xin, then at Lu Chongyuan and the others, and recalled the look on her youngest son's face when he left the house.
"Mother, Xijue Tower has a kind of pine nut candy that is delicious. I will bring it back for you to try."
"Don't be afraid, mother. My brother and father are not here, and Xuan'er will protect you."
"Xuan'er has grown up. I will practice martial arts well when I get back. If anyone dares to bully my mother, I will beat him..."
Xuaner...
Tears welled up in Guan's eyes, and she couldn't say a word of excuse. She looked at Lu Chongyuan quietly for a long time, and whispered: "I have brought shame to the Lu family, and I am sorry for you, Master."
She looked at the Fourth Prince with hatred, as if she could see his vicious mother through his face: "The Fourth Prince and the Queen are both members of the Lu family, why do they want to ruin my good deeds and kill me!"
She suddenly pulled out the hairpin in her hair and stabbed it hard towards her neck.
The hairpin pierced Guan's throat and she fell to the ground with a thud, blood gushing out.
She raised her eyes to look at Lu Chongyuan: "I... I'm sorry to the Lu family... But Xuan'er is the blood of the Lu family, so please, father... please, Secretary Lu, treat him well... For... I haven't been a burden to the Lu family..."
She stared at Lu Chongyuan, then turned to look at the Fourth Prince:
"Even if I become a ghost, I will not let the queen go!"
Guan died right after she finished speaking. As blood flowed, her eyes were wide open and filled with hatred, which frightened the Fourth Prince so much that he took two steps back.
The Fourth Prince never expected that when the truth was revealed, Guan was dead.
He turned his head to look at Xiao Yan, but saw that he was just looking at him coldly. Cang Lang and the others were also unmoved. Even Tang Ning, who was obviously just a little girl, just stood there and watched.
The Fourth Prince vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but before he could figure out what was wrong, he met Lu Chongyuan's exceptionally cold eyes.
"Fourth Prince, are you satisfied?"
When Lu Chongyuan stood up, he said to the Fourth Prince in a deep voice, "Guan Shi was conniving with Prince Cheng, using the power of the Lu family to seek things for Prince Cheng's mansion, and secretly encouraged Lu Zhao to embezzle the grain funds. The Lu family produced such an unfilial and unscrupulous person, but I did not see clearly, it is my fault."
"Since the Fourth Prince wants to restore the Emperor's order, I will bring Guan's body with me to the palace and personally apologize to His Majesty."
"Grandfather..."
"I dare not. Your Highness is a descendant of the royal family. I am a criminal and I am not worthy of being called Your Highness."
The Fourth Prince's face turned pale. Even though he had known that the relationship would break up afterwards, when he saw Lu Chongyuan treating him so coldly, he still felt as if he had lost something.
He tried hard to tell himself that he was not wrong, and that it was the Lu family who was wrong. They were the ones who attacked him first and wanted to kill him, so he had no choice but to be cruel to them.
Lu Chongyuan didn't look at him again, but turned to look at Xiao Yan, his eyes more fierce than ever before.
"Master Xiao, can I come to the palace to plead guilty now?"
Xiao Yan turned his head to face his sinister eyes and raised his lips: "Since you are asking for forgiveness, of course you can."
"Come here, follow the Fourth Prince's instructions and carry Guan's body into the palace with Secretary Lu."
Lu Chongyuan stared at Xiao Yan, with an unprecedented murderous intent in his heart. Why did he allow this eunuch to climb to such a high position? Why didn't he get rid of him earlier?
He hated it so much that his throat was bleeding and his heart was aching, but in the end, Lu Chongyuan just turned his head and said to the side: "Erlang, take good care of the mansion."
Lu Jia Erlang clenched his palms: "Yes, grandfather."
Xiao Yan turned his head and glanced at the Fourth Prince: "Your Highness, please."
…
After leaving the Lu family, Tang Ning was escorted back to Jiyun Lane, and the bloody woman who was carried out from the Lu family was placed on a cart and followed Lu Chongyuan into the palace.
Lu Chongyuan watched with his own eyes as Guan's corpse was exposed to the public, watched as people pointed fingers at her, and watched as the fact that she had had an affair with Prince Cheng became known to everyone.
Lu Chongyuan turned his head and looked at Xiao Yan: "Master Xiao, death is the greatest thing, why do you have to do it to the extreme?"
Xiao Yan leaned against the carriage and looked at the people around him who were talking about it. He raised his lips and said indifferently, "Lu Zhongshu sent people to whip corpses and dig up the bones of the He family to set up an altar for the sacrifice of Prince Li. He didn't seem to care about the death of a person."
He leaned against the car window and supported his chin with his hand. "You have helped the Lu family become the top family by taking advantage of the He family and the Crown Prince Li. I am young and want to gain a foothold in the court, so I naturally have to learn from you."
Lu Chongyuan suddenly raised his eyes: "Xiao Yan, you!"
"Um?"
Xiao Yan lazily raised his eyebrows, as if he had not noticed what he had just said. He just pointed outside and said, "Fourth Prince, you see, people in this world love to follow the crowd. Your Highness clearly sacrificed his relatives for the greater good, so why did they say such a bad thing about you?"
The fourth prince listened to the increasingly heated discussions outside, occasionally hearing his and his mother's names, and he was filled with anger: "Ignorant and unruly people!!"
"It's really ignorant."
Xiao Yan quite agreed.
When Crown Prince Li and the He family were convicted, they also pointed fingers and made comments in the same way, just like they are doing with the Guan family and the Lu family today .
The fourth prince shouted angrily, "Get someone to drive them away!!"
Xiao Yan did not stop him, but just looked outside with a casual expression.
Lu Chongyuan looked at the person opposite him uncertainly, with suspicion, doubt, anger, and a hint of fear in his eyes. Xiao Yan mentioned the He family, he...
Impossible, the people of the He family and the Prince Li's Mansion had already died. If he really was, how dare he mention it, but if not, why did he keep nagging the Lu family? !
Xiao Yan caught a glimpse of Lu Chongyuan's uneasy expression and sneered.
Several people walked all the way from the Lu family into the palace, and almost everyone knew about Guan's affairs. When they arrived in front of the Imperial Palace, Canglang pretended to help Xiao Yan get off the carriage.
"Master Governor, we have found the things that the Lu family hid."
Xiao Yan looked at Lu Chongyuan in front of him and asked, "Did anyone notice?"
"No, we haven't moved since we found the place last time. The Lu family didn't get suspicious. Today, we took advantage of the chaos at the Lu family and went there. We put the fake one in there. No one will notice."
Xiao Yan played with the ring, turned around and walked forward.
Canglang stepped aside.
The palace gates were heavily guarded, and in the long corridor, the glazed tiles on the red walls cast dazzling sunlight. When Xiao Yan walked through it and saw the Imperial Palace at the end from afar, he suddenly remembered what his father had said to him when he stood on the high platform a long, long time ago.
He said: "Yuan Sheng, the aristocratic families are too selfish, they have a family but no country. As long as the malpractices of the aristocratic families can be eradicated, the great Wei will be strong, and one day we will be able to recover the other countries and make the world peaceful and prosperous."
Xiao Yanwei closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was cold.
"Master Xiao, His Majesty has summoned you."
Xiao Yan nodded to the palace servant who delivered the message: "Got it."