The Prodigal Son

I have arrived!

As soon as the voice rang out, Lu Cheng's face twitched.

Why is the Empress Dowager here?

Judging from the Empress Dowager's words, could the people who interrogated those individuals be...?

Empress Dowager?

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Lu Cheng suddenly realized that something was wrong.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the Empress Dowager slowly walked into the Zichen Palace.

"Greetings, Empress Dowager!"

"Greetings, Mother!"

Everyone bowed in greeting.

Zhao Luan also stood up from the dragon throne and quickly went down the steps to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager.

"No need for formalities!"

The Empress Dowager gently raised her hand, her gaze falling on Lu Cheng. "Lord Lu, I think I just heard that you want me to confront Qin Yu in court, is that right?"

Meeting the Empress Dowager's gaze, Lu Cheng's heart trembled, and he stammered, "This humble subject dares not!"

"You dare not?"

A sharp glint flashed in the Empress Dowager's eyes. "My family is all here, and now you say you dare not? Do you intend for me to turn around and leave?"

"this……"

Lu Cheng was terrified and dared not utter a word.

Zhao Luan glanced coldly at Lu Cheng, then feigned surprise and asked, "Mother, did you personally interrogate him to obtain this confession?"

"right!"

The Empress Dowager nodded slightly. "Ever since Qin Yu was assassinated at Lanshe, I've had a feeling something was amiss!"

"Later, when the Lü family encountered trouble, I immediately realized that someone was trying to sow discord between my daughter and me, hoping to plunge Da Ning into internal strife!"

"So, while feigning anger, I secretly sent people to investigate and find out who was stirring up trouble behind the scenes!"

"My greatest suspicions lie with the Northern Qi and the Yan state!"

"I never expected that after all this investigation, it would turn out to be that little bastard Zhao Yan!"

"I've been so good to him, yet he harbors malicious intentions and tries to take advantage of me..."

The Empress Dowager became more and more agitated as she spoke, her face filled with resentment.

Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's words, Lu Cheng and several officials in the court turned pale.

They suddenly realized that they had unknowingly fallen into a huge trap.

This is a trap targeting the Prince of Chengyang and his son, as well as those who have high hopes for them!

They didn't believe that the Empress Dowager and Zhao Luan hadn't discussed it beforehand.

This mother and daughter are just putting on an act!

Now, all the blame has fallen on Zhao Yan and Lu Yong's group, and they've even been lured out of the picture!

The Empress Dowager, however, gained another good reputation after the birthday banquet incident!

Once this matter is announced to the world, the people will only praise the Empress Dowager's wisdom and will not think about the intricacies involved!

Row!

They're really something!

A grand spectacle that had everyone completely bewildered!

They even wanted to put Qin Yu to death and use this opportunity to force Zhao Luan to agree to Zhao Yan's marriage proposal!

Little did they know, they had fallen into the trap set by the mother and daughter from the very beginning!

"That damned Zhao Yan, how dare he!"

Zhao Luan was filled with resentment. He handed the confession to Shangguan Youyi and said sternly, "Read it aloud to me! I want all the officials to see just how many more schemes this damned Zhao Yan has up his sleeve!"

"yes!"

Shangguan Youyi dared not be negligent and quickly took the confession, reading it aloud.

The testimony contained a great deal of information.

In their confessions, those people admitted that Zhao Yan instructed them to fake the assassination of Qin Yu, and then instructed them to take advantage of the Lü family's inattention to bury those witchcraft items in the Lü family's home, and to secretly spread the news to the people of the Baojing Division.

Their goal was to sow discord between the Empress Dowager and Zhao Luan, causing the mother and daughter to fight each other.

In addition, they colluded with Lu Yong and others to spread numerous rumors defaming Qin Yu, and incited the students of the Confucian Temple and Academy to oppose Qin Yu...

Anyway, they were the ones who did all the bad things, and they were the ones who spread the rumors.

Qin Yu was innocent, the Empress Dowager was wise, and Zhao Luan was kept in the dark.

When Shangguan Youyi finished reading, the anger of the court officials could no longer be contained.

"That damned Zhao Yan, how dare he harbor such treacherous intentions!"

"That Zhao Yan! How could he be so ruthless!"

"It's fortunate that His Majesty did not agree to Zhao Yan's marriage proposal, otherwise our Great Ning would surely have been plunged into internal and external troubles!"

"I'm afraid Zhao Yan is just an executor; the Prince of Chengyang is pulling the strings behind the scenes!"

"It seems the Prince of Chengyang has grand ambitions!"

"I fear the Prince of Chengyang harbors rebellious intentions; I implore Your Majesty to prepare accordingly..."

For a time, all the blame was directed at the Prince of Chengyang and his son, and many people's eyes fell on Lu Cheng and Fei Zhong, as if they were spies planted by the Prince of Chengyang in the court.

Facing the gazes of the crowd, Lu Cheng and Fei Zhong felt both flustered and afraid.

It was the height of summer, yet cold sweat poured from their foreheads, and their bodies were ice-cold.

They were indeed the men of the Prince of Chengyang.

They joined the Prince of Chengyang's faction five years ago.

In their view, the Prince of Chengyang held a large army to guard the gateway between Daning and Chu, and as a member of the royal family, Zhao Luan, being a woman, was bound to continue the royal bloodline.

After those vassal kings were eliminated, Zhao Yan, the heir apparent of the Prince of Chengyang, became almost Zhao Luan's only option!

As long as Zhao Luan marries the heir of the Prince of Chengyang, they, as ministers who had long since pledged allegiance to the Prince of Chengyang, will naturally be given important positions!

But now, the Prince of Chengyang and his son have been labeled as traitors and rebels.

With the Prince of Chengyang and his son both fallen, how could they possibly escape unscathed?

Lu Cheng forced himself to remain calm, his voice trembling as he said, "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, there's something...something fishy going on here!"

"Strange?"

The Empress Dowager's eyes flashed with a cold light. "Does Lord Lu mean that I am framing Zhao Yan?"

"No...no!"

Lu Cheng was in a state of panic. "Your Majesty, don't forget, the Prince of Chengyang commands a large army and guards the strategic location of Yinzhou. Once this matter is confirmed, the Prince of Chengyang will have no choice but to rebel! I believe that no matter what this matter is all about, it must be a conspiracy by the enemy!"

"Lord Lu is right."

Fei Zhong quickly agreed, saying, "This humble subject believes that this is definitely a conspiracy by the Northern Qi or the Yan state! I implore the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty to see the truth!"

Hearing what the two said, many people nodded in agreement.

This even included Cui Xu, the Imperial Censor.

conspiracy!

It must be a conspiracy by an enemy country!

Otherwise, once the news reaches the ears of the King of Chengyang, he will surely turn to the State of Chu!

In this way, the imperial court will be attacked from both the north and the south!

If the Yan state also launches an attack on Daming, Daming will be attacked from three sides!

Let alone now, even during the heyday of the Great Ning Kingdom, it wouldn't have had much of a chance against the attacks of the three kingdoms!

At this point, even things that everyone knows must be presented as a conspiracy by the enemy!

"Urgent report! Express delivery at breakneck speed!"

Just then, a loud voice rang out from outside the hall.

Upon hearing this voice, the faces of most of the court officials began to change color.

Urgent dispatch! (800 li express)

Something really bad must have happened!

Either something happened in the north, or something happened in Yinzhou!

Just as everyone was feeling uneasy, a messenger ran in, led by a palace guard.

The messenger quickly stepped forward, saluted, and breathlessly took the letter tube from his back: "Your Majesty, urgent report from Ningzhou!"