Dad, don't be greedy! My brother climbed into the emperor's bed, and I became famous overn

Gu Mingli's words carried great weight.

Gu Debai looked at the salted duck eggs on the plate and finally let out a deep sigh.

"Li'er, putting aside those vague notions of destiny, what exactly is your purpose in insisting on sparing Xiao Ye's life?"

Gu Mingli straightened his back slightly.

He knew that his father, who held immense power and had been plotting for a long time, was already making concessions by asking this question.

"Father, Xiao Ye personally promised me yesterday that he would thoroughly investigate the past events during the late emperor's reign. He will definitely give the Lu family an explanation."

"explain?"

Gu Debai seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, and sneered coldly, his eyes full of mockery.

"The royal family's confessions are often given with a knife. Your grandfather was so loyal, and what did he get in return? What kind of explanation do you expect from the person sitting on that dragon throne?"

"Father, Xiao Ye is not the late emperor!"

Gu Mingli met his father's gaze without backing down.

"He will surely uncover the late emperor's mistakes, clear my grandfather's name in the name of the court, exonerate him, and give full vindication to the soldiers of the Lu family army who died tragically back then!"

Gu Debai frowned slightly, but did not get angry. He simply picked up his teacup and took a small sip.

Gu Mingli keenly sensed that something was amiss and pressed his advantage, saying:

"Father, the power of the three major clans should not be underestimated. Although the Cui family has fallen, the remaining Liu, Jia, and Wang families will surely feel a sense of shared fate."

"They will definitely band together for warmth, or even resort to desperate measures and preemptive strikes."

"You have been navigating the court step by step for more than a decade, climbing to your current position."

"You know better than anyone that if we want to completely eradicate the foundation of the powerful clans, if we want to openly and legitimately clear the name of the Lu family, and even if we want the late emperor to admit his mistakes in the afterlife, Xiao Ye... is our most suitable and strongest ally."

Gu Debai remained silent for a while before slowly placing the teacup on the table.

Gu Mingli quickly gave his sister a meaningful look.

Gu Mingyue understood immediately and put on a sweet and obedient look.

She snuggled up to her father like a clingy kitten, grabbing his large hand and shaking it.

"Father, please trust my brother just this once. He will definitely clear my grandfather's name."

Gu Mingyue blinked her big, watery eyes and patted her chest to assure them:

"As for those arrogant powerful families, your daughter will take them all down and avenge you, Father!"

Gu Debai turned his head to look at his obedient daughter, and his gaze softened completely.

He reached out and gently ruffled Gu Mingyue's hair.

"Our daughter is so good; she knows how to care for her dad."

After saying that, the tenderness on his face vanished, and he looked again at his son, who was siding with outsiders.

"Alright, I'll agree to your request for now and not take any action against that brat Xiao Ye."

"Spare his life for now, and go deal with the three major clans."

"As long as he doesn't cause trouble for our Gu family during this period, Dad will allow him to live a little longer."

Gu Mingli took a deep breath. Although he felt immense pressure, he had at least managed to save Xiao Ye's life for the time being.

……

After breakfast, Gu Mingli didn't dare to delay for a moment. He changed into his official robes and went straight to the palace.

In the imperial study, Xiao Ye was already sitting behind the dragon desk, his eyes slightly bruised, clearly having stayed up all night.

On the table in front of him were several yellowed old files, and a thick stack of Xuan paper was pressed down in the corner.

Gu Mingli walked through the palace gate.

"Your Majesty, I have arrived."

Xiao Ye glanced at him, his gaze lingering for a moment on his slightly haggard face.

"What's wrong? Didn't you get enough rest?"

Gu Mingli rubbed his temples and gave a wry smile: "Yeah, I'm having some trouble sleeping."

The emperor looked at him, asked no further questions, and simply waved his hand gently.

Eunuch Liu immediately understood and led all the servants in the hall out silently, closing the hall door tightly behind them.

In the vast imperial study, only the emperor and his minister remained.

Gu Mingli sat down on the round stool diagonally opposite the dragon desk and stared at the rough edges of the old files on the desk for a couple of seconds.

"Your Majesty, I had a detailed discussion with my father last night."

Xiao Ye put down his vermilion pen and turned around.

"Um, what exactly is the situation?"

Gu Mingli carefully considered his words.

He couldn't reveal that his father planned to kill Xiao Ye, but some things had to be laid bare.

"My maternal grandfather was Lu Lin, the Grand General who protected the country during the founding of the Dayong Dynasty. My maternal grandmother was the eldest princess of the former Great Qi Dynasty."

"The powerful clans persecuted former officials of the Great Qi Dynasty, slaughtered their families, and eventually found my maternal grandmother. She denounced the Lu family."

The hall fell silent.

Xiao Ye did not show much surprise.

He looked up calmly at Gu Mingli, raised his chin, and gestured for her to continue.

Gu Mingli got straight to the point: "My maternal grandfather served the country loyally throughout his life and made great military achievements. However, the late emperor executed the Lu family on charges of treason and killed 10,000 Lu family soldiers in the Jiangbei camp."

"General Lu was beaten to death by the people of Jiangzhou during his escort, and my maternal grandmother committed suicide in prison."

"My father was General Lu's adopted son. When my mother was pregnant with my younger sister, she heard the news that the entire Lu family had been executed. She was so frightened that she had a difficult childbirth and did not survive."

He paused, looking down at his interlaced fingers.

"Therefore, the Gu family has a blood feud with the royal family."

After hearing these words, Xiao Ye remained silent for a long time.

Then he reached under the pile of old files on the table, pulled out a thin file, and pushed it in front of Gu Mingli.

"The Control Yuan just sent over the leads they've uncovered in the last few days."

Gu Mingli took it and opened it.

The paper had yellowed, and it contained original records that the Control Yuan had retrieved from the old archives.

The case file of Lu Lin.

He turned the pages one by one, and the contents basically matched what his father had told him.

The charge of treason was jointly brought by the four major clans.

The trial lasted only one day. From the initial report to the execution, the entire process took less than half a month.

The last page of the file contains the late emperor's imperial edict.

There are only four words: "Approved, to be done immediately."

Gu Mingli put down the case file and sighed softly.

"Now that we've uncovered this, what does Your Majesty intend to do?"

Xiao Ye raised his eyelids and stared at Gu Mingli for a moment.

"Lu Lin was posthumously granted the title of Marquis Zhongwu, with the posthumous name 'Zhonglie'. The eldest princess was posthumously granted the title of Lady Zhenguo."

"The names of all 10,000 Lu family soldiers who were killed at the Jiangbei camp have been officially recognized and their names have been entered into the Martyrs' Shrine. If the descendants of the fallen soldiers are still alive, the imperial court will provide them with compensation according to regulations."

"He posthumously honored Emperor Guangxian of the Great Qi Dynasty as 'Emperor Guangxian Mingde,' and erected a shrine in the old capital, offering sacrifices in spring and autumn to commemorate his aspirations."

"The surviving members of the former officials of the Great Qi who were wrongly killed and persecuted in the past will be added to the household register, given fifty taels of silver for support, and their families will be exempted from taxes and corvée labor for three years."

"I will personally draft an edict to judge the late emperor's mistakes and announce it to the world."

"As for Prime Minister Gu, I will personally go to his door to apologize."

Gu Mingli's eyes widened slightly.

He hadn't figured out how to handle this matter yet, so why did Xiao Ye bring it up first?

After all, for a reigning emperor to publicly criticize his own father is a heinous act in any dynasty.

Xiao Ye spoke with firmness and calmness, indicating that he had given it considerable thought.

Gu Mingli was curious.

"Your Majesty, once the edict to hold the late Emperor accountable is issued, you will be branded as unfilial. Those pedantic old ministers in the court will use filial piety as an excuse."

Xiao Ye gave a faint twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"A mistake is a mistake. How many officials of the Great Qi were killed and how many unjust cases were committed by the late emperor and the powerful clans?"

"It would have been fine if I hadn't known, but now that this debt is laid bare before me, if I still refuse to admit it, who in the world will dare to trust the court?"

"Moreover, I don't want you two siblings to be caught in the middle and put in a difficult position."