Qi Zhen felt a headache coming on.
If there had been no Imperial Grandson, then Lai Chenglong would have been flawless in every respect, the ideal son-in-law.
But fate had a way of playing tricks on people. Unfortunately, there just happened to be a Imperial Grandson.
Lai Chenglong raised an eyebrow. “Miss Qi isn’t at home?”
So late at night, and she wasn’t home?
Qi Zhen hurriedly explained: “Yes, yes, she’s not here. She went back to our ancestral hometown to offer incense. She won’t be back for quite some time.”
Lai Chenglong let out a mocking laugh.
An excuse like that might fool ignorant fools. There was no way it could fool him.
Yet after staring at Qi Zhen for a while, he said nothing. He merely nodded slightly, planted a foot against a tree trunk, used it for leverage, vaulted over the wall, and quickly disappeared.
Qi Zhen wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
For some reason, these people never used the front gate when they came to the Qi residence.
What was wrong with the front gate?
Was it going to bite them or something?
It was infuriating.
He wandered back to Old Marquis Qi’s study and found the old marquis writing furiously. Unable to help himself, he said: “Father, after the New Year, should we make the walls a little higher?”
Since these people insisted on climbing over the walls no matter who they were, it was becoming a real problem.
Without even looking up, Old Marquis Qi asked: “Lord Lai came, didn’t he?”
Xiao Yunting had already left. At a time like this, the only person who would insist on entering by scaling the wall instead of taking a normal route was Lai Chenglong.
At the mention of Lai Chenglong, Old Marquis Qi shook his head.
Surprisingly, he and Qi Zhen shared exactly the same opinion. If Xiao Yunting did not exist, Lai Chenglong would truly be an excellent match.
But such was life.
He sighed. “What a pity.”
There was only one Yuan Jie’er. She could not exactly be split into two.
As the father and son talked, Chunsheng outside was also looking at his master and feeling somewhat sorry for him. “Lord, are you alright?”
He thought Miss Qi could be rather heartless. Whenever she needed their lord, she came to him. When she didn’t need him, she seemed to forget he existed.
That wasn’t right.
Shouldn’t she spread her attention around a little more equally?
Lai Chenglong glanced at him indifferently.
“Go investigate. Find out where Miss Qi went.”
The northwest was far away and full of watchful eyes. Xiao Yunting had not led the expedition alone; there were many court officials accompanying him. There was no way Xiao Yunting would allow Qi Yuan to follow him into danger.
Lai Chenglong felt that Qi Yuan must have gone somewhere else.
Chunsheng acknowledged the order and hurried away.
Meanwhile, Chunlin followed closely behind Lai Chenglong. Just as he was about to speak, Chunteng came running over from the distance. Lowering his voice, he said: “Commander, news has come from the palace. His Majesty summons you immediately.”
Something had happened.
Lai Chenglong realized this instantly. Without delay, he entered the palace through Shenwu Gate and went straight to the Imperial Study.
Emperor Yongchang was in a towering rage. A large group of officials were kneeling below him, all trembling.
With only a brief glance, Lai Chenglong recognized quite a few familiar faces among them.
Without changing expression, he stepped forward and stood to one side.
The emperor’s face was dark with anger. “How long has it been since he left?! Less than thirteen days! Thirteen days, and he was already attacked! What are all of you civil and military officials doing?! I entrusted my grandson to you people, and this is how you carry out your duties?!”
The emperor was in an extremely foul mood. With a sharp smack, he threw a memorial directly into Feng Nanmu’s face. “You tell me! What exactly happened?!”
Feng Nanmu looked utterly miserable. He knew full well that Xiao Yunting had essentially sent him back to be the scapegoat. All he could do was prostrate himself on the floor and explain softly: “Your Majesty, this was all because of Lord Zhang…”
And indeed, it had been Zhang Zongbin’s affair.
Before Feng Nanmu left, Xiao Yunting had already written a detailed report explaining everything from beginning to end.
Now Feng Nanmu was merely repeating those same points.
With a solemn expression, he continued: “This minister truly never expected it. Lord Zhang held a position of great authority and had always appeared diligent and devoted. Who could have known that he was connected to the Oirat? He even leaked His Highness’s movements. Fortunately, His Highness was vigilant…”
The emperor was so furious that he seemed ready to explode.
With a cold laugh, he said mercilessly: “Indeed! Occupying a high position, yet instead of serving the nation, he colluded with foreign enemies, endangered our country, and even sought to murder my grandson! He deserves death! Truly deserves death!”
Then he shouted: “Lai Chenglong!”
Lai Chenglong immediately stepped forward. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Grinding his teeth, Emperor Yongchang ordered coldly: “Go to the Zhang residence! Search every inch of it! As for the rest of the family, men and women alike, imprison them all in the Ministry of Justice’s prison and await sentencing!”
In the blink of an eye, another powerful family had fallen.
Chu Bo closed his eyes briefly.
The Imperial Grandson’s methods were simply too decisive and ruthless.
A trace of unease lingered in his heart.
But Emperor Yongchang had already turned back to Feng Nanmu. “How is the Imperial Grandson?”
How could the Imperial Grandson be?
Feng Nanmu closed his eyes and answered with great restraint: “His Highness had everything under control and anticipated the attack in advance. He had already hidden the soldiers inside the tents. Once the enemy forces fully revealed themselves, our troops emerged all at once. We achieved a complete victory. His Highness specifically ordered this minister to ride back at top speed to reassure Your Majesty.”
Good!
Only then did Emperor Yongchang finally let out a long breath of relief.
Yes.
That was his grandson.
Capable.
Clear-headed.
No matter what happened, he always had a plan and never panicked.
The emperor nodded before turning to the Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice Sun Yongning. “Old Sun, this man was your subordinate. You really knew nothing at all?”
Sun Yongning was terrified out of his wits. After decades in office, he had never walked such a dangerous tightrope.
He knew that a single mistake could doom him forever. Immediately, he dropped to his knees and shouted: “Your Majesty, this minister failed in his oversight! I will investigate immediately upon returning! I will thoroughly examine how many people were involved in the Lu family case and how many handled it. I guarantee there will be no further mistakes!”
At least his attitude was sincere.
Emperor Yongchang stared at him deeply. Then he laughed softly. “Good. Very good. If you can’t uncover the truth, then you can go down and keep him company.”
Sun Yongning’s legs nearly gave out beneath him.
Working for the Xiao family was truly difficult.
When the news reached the Crown Prince’s palace, he had been walking with the support of a palace maid. The moment he heard it, he hurled the two iron exercise balls he had been rolling in his hand onto the stone floor.
The impact smashed a hole straight through the floor tiles.
The palace maid screamed in fright.
The chief eunuch, Liu Shirang, hurried in and shot her a look. “You deserve death! How could you be so careless? You were supposed to help His Highness walk, and look, you made him drop his things! Get out of here immediately!”
The palace maid was so frightened that she could not even speak. She scrambled away on her hands and knees, fleeing as fast as she could.
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