The Prodigal Son

The following day, Qin Yu was "forced" to attend the court assembly.

It has only been about ten days since Qin Yu last performed meritorious service, attended the court assembly, and received his reward. However, the attitudes of many ministers towards Qin Yu have undergone a dramatic change.

As soon as Qin Yu followed Qin Fumeng to the outside of the Zichen Palace, several hostile gazes shot towards him.

This includes Su Yu, who had been on leave for several days.

It felt like if Qin Fumeng hadn't been there, these court officials would have already rushed up and ganged up on Qin Yu.

Facing these hostile gazes, Qin Yu remained unfazed and immediately glared back menacingly.

Seeing Qin Yu's arrogance, the courtiers were even more furious.

"That scoundrel Qin Yu is far too arrogant!"

"We must thoroughly impeach him today!"

"If Qin Yu is not eliminated, the court will never have peace!"

"Lord Su, you were appointed regent by the late emperor. Now that treacherous officials are in power, you must set a good example!"

"Nonsense! I came here today specifically to impeach Qin Yu! Qin Yu first insulted the Sage of Literature and us scholars, and then framed Lord Lü. Today, I will definitely seek justice for us scholars and Lord Lü..."

The courtiers discussed amongst themselves while staring at Qin Yu with piercing gazes.

With Su Yu's words, the officials who were already preparing to impeach Qin Yu today became secretly excited.

As long as Su Yu, the regent, takes the lead, what do they have to fear?

Today, we will make that little beast Qin Yu pay the price he deserves!

No one can protect him!

"At the beginning of the court meeting, hundreds of officials enter the palace!"

With a loud shout from the eunuch in front of the palace, the officials rushed into the hall, many of them eager to impeach Qin Yu.

Soon, everyone stood in line according to their official rank.

The court assembly had barely begun when Su Yu immediately launched his attack: "Your Majesty, this old minister wishes to impeach Qin Yu, the Palace Attendant and concurrently the Director of the Six Ministries!"

"Oh?"

A sharp glint flashed in Zhao Luan's phoenix eyes. "Lord Su, please speak!"

"Qin Yu insulted the Sage of Literature and belittled all the scholars in the world. This old minister can take it as youthful arrogance and not hold it against him! However, the witchcraft case has already harmed the very foundation of the court. As the regent appointed by the late emperor, this old minister absolutely cannot sit idly by..."

Su Yu launched into a long, eloquent speech, then declared loudly, "To the best of my knowledge, those so-called witchcraft items were discovered by Qin Yu alone from the Lü family, and none of the Golden Armored Guards can corroborate this!"

"In my humble opinion, those witchcraft items were definitely framed by Qin Yu to implicate the Lü family!"

"Qin Yu deceived the emperor, framed loyal ministers, and his crimes are unforgivable!"

"This old minister humbly begs Your Majesty, for the sake of the nation and its people, to execute Qin Yu and clear Lord Lü's name!"

Su Yu started with a royal flush.

Upon hearing Su Yu's words, Lu Cheng and the others were immediately excited.

They thought Su Yu was just making a simple impeachment, but to their surprise, Su Yu immediately demanded that Zhao Luan execute Qin Yu!

It seems that Su Yu was extremely dissatisfied with Qin Yu's insult to the Sage of Literature.

He had previously claimed illness and refused to attend court, not because he was embarrassed to impeach Qin Yu, but because he was waiting for an opportunity to kill Qin Yu in one fell swoop!

And now, such an opportunity is right in front of them!

"Bullshit!"

Qin Fumeng flew into a rage, pointing his finger at Su Yu's nose and yelling, "You old dog Su, which eye of yours saw my grandson frame someone? You dare to slander my grandson based on your mere conjecture? Are you tired of living?"

Faced with Qin Fumeng's furious curses, Su Yu trembled with rage: "You...you..."

"What do you mean, 'you'?"

Qin Fumeng stepped forward, glaring fiercely at Su Yu. "I know, you're just holding a grudge because my grandson wrote a poem mocking all the scholars in the world, aren't you? Your actions are entirely worthy of that poem!"

"Qin Fumeng!"

The Imperial Censor Cui Xu roared, "This is the imperial court, not a place for tantrums and shouting! In front of His Majesty, you don't want the officials to speak? What, do you think this court is your Qin family's personal fiefdom?"

"that is!"

Lu Cheng immediately chimed in, "Duke of Wei, if you want to become a powerful minister with absolute authority, first ask the entire court if they agree!"

"I'll be your father!"

Qin Fumeng flew into a rage, grabbed Lu Cheng, and raised his hand to slap Lu Cheng across the face.

"Duke of Wei!"

Zhao Luan suddenly spoke up, stopping Qin Fumeng, and asked sternly, "Do you even have any respect for me?"

Qin Fumeng was unwilling to accept this, so he pushed Lu Cheng away and bowed to Zhao Luan: "This old minister was blinded by anger and behaved improperly in the palace. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

"If you dare to be so insolent again, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"

Zhao Luan coldly warned Qin Fumeng, then glanced at the assembled officials, "Although the Duke of Wei behaved improperly in court, he was right about one thing! Who saw Qin Yu frame someone? To say that Qin Yu framed Lü Chunqiu based solely on conjecture makes me suspect that you are retaliating!"

"Our suspicions are not mere conjecture, but based on valid reasoning!"

Cui Xu immediately interjected, "The feud between Qin Yu and Lü Si is common knowledge. Moreover, as far as I know, Nan Que'er, a servant in Qin Yu's household, is actually a sorceress from the Southern Frontier! All indications suggest that those so-called witchcraft items originated from Nan Que'er and have nothing to do with Lord Lü!"

"I have also heard of this matter!"

Minister of Works Fei Zhong also stepped forward and said, "If Your Majesty does not believe me, you may send someone to investigate Nan Que'er's identity! Your Majesty will know once you investigate!"

Hearing Fei Zhong's words, Lu Cheng couldn't help but secretly give him a thumbs up.

How could Zhao Luan not know Nan Que'er's identity?

They all knew that Qin Yu had been ordered by Zhao Luan to frame Lü Chunqiu.

But right now, we certainly can't point the finger at Zhao Luan.

All the blame is being pointed at Qin Yu and Nan Que'er!

Zhao Luan didn't want the matter of her instructing Qin Yu to frame Lü Chunqiu to come to light, so the best way was to sacrifice Qin Yu and Nan Que'er!

Qin Fumeng frowned, about to speak, but Qin Yu spoke first: "No need to investigate, Nan Que'er is indeed a witch from the Southern Frontier!"

"It's good that you admit it!"

Cui Xu sneered, "Since Nan Que'er is a witch from the Southern Frontier, it's quite obvious where those witchcraft items came from!"

Hearing Cui Xu's words, the ministers all nodded in agreement.

"Just because she's a witch, does that mean she can concoct witchcraft items and give them to me to frame Lü Chunqiu?"

Qin Yu scoffed, "That Lü Si has also been to the Southern Frontier, and he's seen quite a few witchcraft items! Does Lord Cui think that making those witchcraft items is difficult?"

"Traitor!" Cui Xu roared, "You want to wipe them all out and drag Lü Si into this too?"

"You're the traitor! Your whole family are traitors!"

Qin Yu jumped up and cursed, then angrily questioned, "You surnamed Cui, I ask you, is it common knowledge that His Majesty flogged Lü Chunqiu in court?"

"So what if it is?"

Cui Xu snorted coldly.

Qin Yu stared coldly at Cui Xu and said loudly, "You just said that my feud with Lü Si is known to everyone, and that Nan Que'er is a witch from the Southern Frontier, so I framed Lü Chunqiu with witchcraft."

"But it's common knowledge that Lü Chunqiu was flogged by His Majesty in court, and Lü Si also knows how to make witchcraft items!"

"According to Lord Cui, can we conclude that Lü Chunqiu harbored resentment towards His Majesty because he was flogged in court, and therefore had Lü Si make witchcraft items for him to curse His Majesty?"