Chapter 132 Losing Again
After the fourth prince left, Lu Songli did not leave.
No one from Dali Temple came in to urge me.
She sat on her seat and drank her cup of still-steamy tea in one gulp.
Xie Zhan, Xie Zhan, this time you will shed your skin even if you don’t die!
The first thing the new emperor does to exercise his imperial power and demonstrate his power must be to deal with the Xie and Zhao families! Lu Songli firmly believes in this.
Because there were so many benefits from disposing of the Xie and Zhao families, Song Mo couldn't refuse. The first is to disassociate himself from the death of the prince. The second is to fill the national treasury with the wealth accumulated by the Xie and Zhao families through generations of hard work. The third course is to kill the chicken to scare the monkey. It can also be said to be the first of the three things a new official does when he takes office.
During this period, Xie Zhan was active. There was no movement on her side, but do you really think she was a vegetarian during this period?
The relationship between her and Xie Zhan can be described as like the relationship between a flycatcher and an eagle.
Xie Zhan is very smart, but he wants too much and strikes out frequently.
And her tyrant flycatcher has been dormant. The tyrant flycatcher guards its nest very closely and will not easily provoke the enemy.
But if the eagle enters its territory, it will take the initiative to attack. When the eagle and the tyrant flycatcher enter into battle, even if they are perched on the same tree at the same time, when the eagle takes off, the tyrant flycatcher will definitely follow, and then find the right moment to soar into the sky and fly above the eagle, lock the target and dive down. , using his natural hook-shaped sharp beak to peck the eagle's head firmly, making it miserable and helpless.
Later, the officials from Dali Temple politely sent Lu Songli back to prison.
Qin Sheng and others were waiting anxiously, and they were relieved when they saw her coming back.
"I'm back," Mrs. Qin said, covering her chest.
Lu Songli smiled and nodded at them, "Mom, I made you worry."
Seeing her relaxed expression, the three brothers of the Qin family guessed that the result should be good, but Qin Heng still asked, "How was it?"
"Everything goes well, we will be able to leave soon." Lu Songli believed that after the fourth prince successfully succeeded to the throne, he would be very busy in the next period of time as he needed to stabilize the situation and secure the throne. Moreover, he has more powerful opponents, such as his two royal brothers, who will not care about their defeated generals.
Shortly after Lu Songli returned to the cell, her eldest sister Lu Songyun and her eldest brother-in-law Xu Wen came to see her with a basket.
The jailer was numb to the fact that someone came to visit the Qin family again. Because people come to visit the Qin family every day, and among them the Lu family are the most diligent. They come every day, sometimes twice a day.
The key is that the people who come here are good at doing things, and no matter what, they will be taken care of more or less. Among them, the Lu family is the most generous when visiting people. For the sake of the Lu family's face and the tacit approval of their superiors, they do not make it difficult for the people who come to visit the Qin family. Sometimes they even provide conveniences, such as getting them some hot water or something.
Sometimes they all wonder if this is still a feared prison? When a loved one is imprisoned, isn’t it true that most relatives and friends avoid him? How come you are not afraid when you get to the Lu family and others? But doubts remain doubts, and to be honest, having relatives like the Lu family who will never leave you is really enviable.
Lu Songyun brought them scones this time that were easy to store. This scone was made by her mother-in-law. It was baked on the dead side, which was very troublesome to make. When it was about to be baked, she sprinkled oil residue crumbs sporadically on both sides of the scone. The scone tasted like this. Especially fragrant. She brought it once when she went back to her parents' home last time, and the younger sister ate it very deliciously. Later, her mother-in-law knew that her little sister loved to eat this, so she would make it for her every time she had the chance.
Lu Songyun handed the scones in the basket to her little sister one by one from Lanshan, and watched her place the pancakes on the clean cloth one by one. She couldn't help but sigh in her heart. Life's blessings and fortunes are so unpredictable. Who would have thought that her little sister had just gotten married the day before, and on the third day her husband's family and her were thrown into prison? She glanced at the two cells, which were relatively clean, and thought to herself that she had not suffered too much after all.
After passing the scones, she looked around and said, "My mother-in-law asked me to tell you that she has done everything you asked her to do."
Lu Songyun was actually quite curious about what her little sister asked her mother-in-law to do.
Lu Songli nodded, "Okay, I understand."
This is the second time that the Xu family has come to visit her. Last time, Mrs. Xu came with her eldest sister and brought them half a basket of scones and a few pieces of coarse cloth that they woven themselves. They were not worth much and were given to them. Used for padding in the prison.
She remembered all this in her heart.
In the palace
Lu Desheng took out the second posthumous edict.
The ministers glared at him, "Liar, didn't you say you didn't have the late emperor's edict in your hands?" So what are you holding in your hand now? Tell me yourself whether you want to be slapped in the face or not?
Lu Desheng was thick-skinned and was not afraid of their mocking looks. He said respectfully to the fourth prince, "Wei Chen didn't expect that the second posthumous edict was really in Wei Chen's house."
Hum hum, just make it up! Do you think they are fools? The ministers gave him a pair of nostrils.
"Weichen found this edict in a brocade box. At that time, Weichen's daughter got married. The late emperor only said that the contents of the brocade box were a congratulatory gift to Wei Chen. The late emperor did not say that there was a secret edict hidden in it." So it can't be. Blame him, understand?
Ministers: "Haven't you ever opened it and looked at it?" We don't believe it!
"No, how could I open it?" Lu Desheng's eyes widened and he refused to admit that he had seen it secretly. "At that time, the late emperor's dragon body was already in very bad condition. It was too late for me to worry, so how could I care about trivial things?" That's right. , he is such a pure and sincere good minister.
Listening to him speak, all the ministers almost vomited.
Many of them carefully looked at Lv Desheng's old face. If they were not sure that Emperor Shizong could not have children at the age of eight, they would have suspected that Lv Desheng was his eldest son.
The Queen Mother was so angry that she vomited blood. Really, can such an emperor still be wanted? He treats an outsider better than her, his own mother!
At the signal of the fourth prince, Lv Desheng handed over the edict to the clan. After the clan confirmed the authenticity of the edict, they read out the contents of the edict and confirmed again that Emperor Shizong wanted to make the fourth son Song Mo the next emperor.
Now, only the third edict is missing. And with two edicts endorsing it, Song Mo is basically settled as the next emperor.
Imperial Study
Xie Zhan bowed his head deeply. If he was wearing light-colored clothes, he could see that his back was already wet with sweat.
In front of him, there was evidence of the crimes of the main members of the Xie and Zhao factions.
He trembled all over. Xie Zhan knew that the information in front of him must be only part of it. Since the other party can investigate so deeply, they can dig out more secret things of the Xie family, such as the stored grain and the huge hidden wealth obtained by generations of struggle.
It can be said that Xie Zhan was really dizzy when he realized that these secrets were exposed.
He realized that he had fallen into a huge trap.
He should have noticed it earlier!
He should have thought that Lu Desheng was willing to take out the second will, and he must have reached some kind of deal with the fourth prince. After the second will appeared, the evidence of the crimes of the main members of their Xie and Zhao factions was thrown in front of him by the new emperor, which was clearly aimed at the Xie and Zhao families.
No, the Lu family should have been planning it from an earlier time, or it should be said that Lu Songli was planning it.
First, they spread rumors and threw dirty water on him, saying that he was the mastermind who offered to kill the prince and was a hero who helped the fourth prince to ascend to the throne. So far, the relationship between him and the fourth prince was made public, so that the fourth prince did not dare to use him. Then even if he had all kinds of talents to take revenge, he could not be used by the new emperor, which was equivalent to a useless chess piece.
Then Lu Songli took out these evidences at this time, as well as the evidence that the Xie and Zhao families had hidden huge wealth. This was equivalent to handing the new emperor a sharp knife.
He also knew that the treasury was empty. Now the new emperor can get two fat sheep as long as he wants, how can he not be tempted?
The mentality of the superiors, seeing good things, can't help but want to take them for themselves, not to mention that there are more legitimate reasons to get things now?
It's really a mantis catching cicadas, and the oriole is behind. Did he lose again?
"Xie Zhan, what do you have to say?"
Xie Zhan knew that the new emperor was going to take action against the Xie and Zhao families, and he couldn't show any reluctance, otherwise, it would bring disaster to the Xie family!
He now deeply realized the cruelty of politics. When Xue Huaimin was abandoned by the fourth prince, he was still conceited about his extraordinary strategy and praised the charm of politics. Now I have become the one who has been abandoned, and I have ended up in the same situation as him.
"I know that I have failed the grace of the emperor, please punish me, Your Majesty." Xie Zhan bowed his head deeply and said bitterly.
It was really a careless move, and the whole game was lost.
How similar is Lu Songli's method to his original method?
At the beginning, he made plans for the fourth prince, threw Xue Huaimin out to vent the anger of the previous emperor and to ward off disaster for the fourth prince. Now, their Xie and Zhao families have also been used by Lu Songli, or thrown out by her to ward off the remaining disaster for the Qin family.
Xie Zhan's attitude was very low, he did not cry out for injustice or plead for mercy, and he never mentioned his previous merits or made excuses. He knew very well that these charges were just the names of the new emperor to deal with the Xie and Zhao families.
His behavior made the new emperor hesitate.
It can be said that Xue Huaimin and Xie Zhan made great contributions to his ascension to the throne. Now Xue Huaimin is dead, and his three clans have been exterminated. If he sentenced the Xie and Zhao families too harshly, would the world think he was mean and ungrateful?
After thinking it over again and again, he finally said, "The death penalty can be avoided, but the living punishment cannot be escaped."
Hearing this, Xie Zhan was relieved. He made the right bet!
As soon as he returned to the Xie family, the imperial edict came down regarding the punishment of the Xie and Zhao families. The same ending as the Qin family, confiscating their property and exiling them! This was the result of the new emperor giving him a break because of his previous merits.