Xiao Yan's face was grim: "If Queen Lu has something to hide, she will definitely try her best to prove that Prince Cheng is secretly having an affair with other members of the Lu family. However, ordinary women of the Lu family or other female members of the Lu family simply have no ability to avoid Lu Chongyuan and others to secretly use Hou Rui for her own use."
"There are only a few people in the Lu family who can do this. They want to live in the Lu family for a long time, have the opportunity to touch the real power, and make the Lu family have no choice but to cooperate and give up that person even if they know they are being plotted against by her. They want to save the reputation of the Queen and her son and the Lu family by cutting off their own arm. Who do you think it is?"
Canglang and Jinyun both widened their eyes. In order to preserve the reputation of the Lu family, this person must be an "outsider" of the Lu family and must not be a woman with the surname Lu. However, this "outsider" must have sufficient status, or even a very high position in the Lu family, in order to gain the trust of others.
A person appeared in their minds almost at the same time.
"Guan?"
Guan is the wife of the eldest wife of the Lu family. Her status is noble enough, but her current situation in the Lu family is extremely embarrassing.
The whereabouts of her son Lu Zhinian is unknown, and her husband Lu Zhao has been imprisoned for a crime and is very likely to have been abandoned by the Lu family. Now there is only one seven or eight-year-old child left in the entire main house, who is Lu Zhinian's younger brother.
Even if Guan really took the blame for the Queen, no one in the main house would stand up for her, and no one in the Lu family would fall out with Queen Lu for her and drag everyone down with her.
Since she is an "outsider" who married into the Lu family and her identity is "noble" enough, there is no better choice than other female members of the Lu family.
Jinyun lowered his voice and asked, "Does the Governor want them to fight each other?"
Xiao Yan said indifferently: "Lu Zhao refused to say a word after he was imprisoned. He wanted to take the blame for the grain embezzlement alone. He only cared about the family. I am very curious, if he knew that he was being used and his wife and children would be humiliated and die, would he still die for the Lu family like he is doing now?"
Canglang understood what he meant: "I understand. I will make Hou Rui and the others give the same testimony as King Cheng ."
Xiao Yan said: "After the interrogation is complete, keep it to yourself. If anyone asks, just say that King Cheng has not confessed yet."
She had to be more anxious about Queen Lu.
"Three days later, spread the word that the trial results have been revealed."
Cang Lang nodded: "Yes."
After Xiao Yan looked back at Tang Ning, he suddenly thought of the people from the Song family: "Has Song Jinxiu been to the Imperial Prison these days?"
The place where the Song family members were imprisoned was not on the death row. They were also imprisoned on the east and west sides of the imperial prison with the place where the nobles such as Prince Cheng were imprisoned. There was a long distance in between. People were always sent to watch over there, but Jinyun shook his head: "No, no one from the Song family has ever visited."
"What is Song Jinxiu doing?"
"Go in and out of the government office and the Qian family, get information from some people, and investigate the grain tax."
Xiao Yan sneered: "It seems that I underestimated him."
I thought he wouldn't be able to sit still.
Jinyun hesitated: "Master, the case of the Song family has been closed, and the Ministry of Justice has also determined the guilt. Song Hong and his men will be exiled soon. Do you still want me to find a way to keep them in the capital?"
Xiao Yan said coldly , "No need. Escort him out of the capital in the next few days, have someone tell Song Jinxiu and the others the news, and then send someone to secretly watch him along the way."
"The journey from the capital to the wild land is nearly three thousand miles. If Song Jinxiu hasn't sent anyone to the destination halfway through the journey, we can let Song Hong and his mother die in an accident and secretly bring them back to the capital."
He hired Song Jinxiu because he thought he had good abilities and he also felt a sense of "guilt" towards his little Haitang. He thought he could be used and might become Tang Ning's retreat in the future.
But if he knew that Tang Ning's amnesia was not an accident, and he did not question the cause of death of Song Xi and Madam Rong, even his "guilt" towards Tang Ning was false.
Then there is no need to leave such trouble behind.
The affairs of the Song family do not have to be investigated by Song Jinxiu alone. If he can pry open Prince Cheng 's mouth, he can naturally pry open the mouth of the Song family's old and young.
Jin Yun heard the murderous intent in his commander's words , lowered his head and whispered, "I will pass on the instructions."
After Xiao Yan had explained everything that needed to be explained, he waved his hand and told Cang Lang and the others to go about their business. He turned and walked towards Tang Ning.
Seeing that the little girl seemed bored and was playing with the sachet he had given her earlier, he approached her and asked, "Have you been waiting for a long time?"
Tang Ning paused, pressed his eyelashes and muttered, "I'm a little sleepy."
Hearing this, Xiao Yan said, "I didn't sleep well last night, it would be strange if I wasn't sleepy. Let's go, finish our business and then go back."
Tang Ning said "hmm".
After getting on the carriage, someone else took over as the driver, and the carriage went all the way to the City God Temple in the north of the city.
After Xiao Yan asked Tang Ning, he handed the deceased child over to the people in the temple and asked them to bury him next to the Huang Ning tree in the temple. He also left some incense money for them to offer sacrifices during festivals.
After coming out of the City God Temple, Xiao Yan said, "That child is not expected by others, and because his biological father died, he would probably be a wandering ghost if he went somewhere else. Putting him here can at least receive some incense."
Tang Ning said "hmm".
"If Princess Chen doesn't mention this, you shouldn't mention it either. Just assume that he has been buried a long time ago. If she asks about it, you can tell her about it. I think she will feel comforted knowing that he has a good place to go." Xiao Yan whispered.
Tang Ning nodded: "Okay."
The carriage swayed towards Jiyun Lane. Xiao Yan spoke to Tang Ning from time to time. She responded from time to time, and her voice gradually became lower.
"I will go to the palace to meet Queen Lu in a few days. There may be changes in the Lu family by then. You..."
When Xiao Yan was about to talk to Tang Ning about Queen Lu, he looked up and saw the girl leaning against the wall of the car with her eyes closed, as if she was asleep, with her hands dangling by her sides and her head slightly lowered.
"Tang Ning?" Xiao Yan called softly .
Seeing that she didn't respond, he laughed a little: "You are really sleepy. You can fall asleep now."
As the carriage moved forward, the girl's head swayed slightly back and forth. Xiao Yan approached and put his hand on the wall of the carriage to prevent her from accidentally hitting her head. He then covered the girl with a cloak and whispered to the outside, "Go slower."
The man outside responded in a low voice, and the carriage stabilized.
Seeing that she had fallen asleep leaning against the wall of the car, Xiao Yan was afraid that she would have a headache if she rested her head on the hard object, so he reached out and fiddled with the girl, then put her head on his shoulder.
He sat up straight, let her lean back more comfortably, and straightened her cloak for her. Then he took out the information that the people below had collected during this period from his arms and looked through it.
The carriage was extremely quiet for a moment, and the only sound that could be heard was the sound of the wheels rolling over the ground outside.
When they arrived at Tang Mansion and the carriage stopped, Xiao Yan was about to wake up Tang Ning, but the "sleeping" girl's eyelids trembled slightly and she woke up in a daze.
"Awake? Just in time to get home."
The corners of Xiao Yan's eyes slightly raised, as if he was smiling, and the sound that should have been as cold as the sound of jade breaking against stone was full of tolerance.
Tang Ning couldn't help but avert his eyes, rubbing his eyes and pretending to be confused and stepped back: "Brother, I want to spend the next few days with my aunt in the mansion."
Xiao Yan didn't think much about it: "I should spend more time with the princess. The matter of Prince Cheng 's mansion has come to an end. It's time to think about the marriage between the princess and Prince Cheng ."
"If Prince Chen is convicted and the truth of the matter is uncovered, this marriage, even if it is a royal marriage, can be cancelled with reason. Find a chance to ask her what she wants to do, and take the opportunity to rest for a few days."
Seeing that he always took her and her aunt into consideration, Tang Ning tightened her grip on the sachet: "I understand. Thank you, brother."
"I've never seen you so polite before."
Xiao Yan joked with her, then said with a smile: "Okay, you are as sleepy as a cat, go back and rest."
Both of them got off the carriage, and Xiao Yan turned and walked towards the Xiao Mansion next door.
Tang Ning saw the tassel hanging on his waist swaying back and forth as he walked. Suddenly, she thought of the deep, bone-deep, hideous wound on his waist. She couldn't help but say, "Brother."
"Hmm?" Xiao Yan turned around.
"Your waist injury hasn't healed yet, so you need to rest more."
Xiao Yan's face paused for a moment, and the next moment, ripples appeared in his black eyes, like ripples spreading on the lake, and he suddenly smiled: "Got it, let's go in quickly."
Tang Ning was dazzled by the smile on his face . After returning home and recovering from her shock, she couldn't help but cover her face with her hands and groaned in annoyance.
"Xiao Haitang, what are you doing?!"
She is absolutely crazy.
Just now, for a moment, she was actually dazzled by her brother's beauty.