After Xiao Yan helped Tang Ning stand steadily, he looked up at the Fourth Prince with displeasure in his eyes: "Your Highness, what did you tell me when you were in Hengting Pavilion before? I lent you the Black Armor Guards only if you wanted to protect you and the Queen. But if Canglang hadn't been with you just now, would Your Highness have planned to let the criminals of the Lu family break into the palace?"
When it comes to the villain filing a complaint first, no one is better than Governor Xiao.
The fourth prince thought of his hesitation just now and felt guilty: "Master Xiao, I..."
"If Your Highness can't do it, I will do it."
"Need not!"
The Fourth Prince instantly forgot why Xiao Yan and Song Tangning went back on their word and came to the Lu family again, fearing that he would really take action. He had already torn his relations with the Lu family and caused such a big fuss. If he allowed Xiao Yan to take over at this time, his father would think that he was indecisive and had ties with the Lu family.
"Don't bother Governor Xiao, I'll do it myself."
The Fourth Prince made up his mind and said to Cheng Ping, "Take Lu Zhongshu and the others to the front hall. No one is allowed to leave without my order. Also have the women of the Lu family interrogate them separately and arrest the people who serve them. Do not let any of them go."
"Xie Guangzheng!!!"
This time, not to mention Lu Qin and the others, even Lu Chongyuan was furious.
He guessed that someone must have been behind today's events. When he saw Xiao Yan, he already understood most of the situation. He also knew that the Fourth Prince might have been instigated and used by the villain Xiao Yan. However, the Fourth Prince's attitude of wiping out the Lu family still chilled him to the bone and made him furious.
This is his grandson, whom he has taken great pains to assist for many years.
How could he be so stupid as to be instigated? The Lu family was his greatest support, and he actually wanted to destroy the Lu family himself!
"Xie Guangzheng, don't be fooled by Xiao Yan, this eunuch is just using you..."
"Bang!"
As soon as Lu Qin opened his mouth, a sharp weapon pierced his calf. He screamed in pain as his body tilted and fell to the ground.
Xiao Yan was playing with the short crossbow in his hand: "Master Xiao Lu still hasn't learned the difference between respect and inferiority. Since this tongue can't tell how to speak, why don't you just throw it away?"
The short crossbow was strung, and the cold light pointed directly at Lu Qin's head, as if it could take his life in the next moment.
"Xiao Yan, you dare..."
Before the word "dare" was on his lips, the crossbow trigger trembled slightly, and the crossbow arrow shot towards Lu Qin in an instant.
The several-inch-long arrow pierced into Lu Qin's thigh with a puff. Just as Lu Qin was about to scream in pain, he suddenly met Xiao Yan's dark eyes.
There was no trace of warmth in his eyes, which were as cold as ice that had been there for thousands of years, as if he was looking at a dead person. Lu Qin suddenly remembered the day when the man in front of him used a thin blade to tear off the flesh between his legs. His legs were trembling as if he was incontinent, and his face was pale as he covered his leg that was pierced by a crossbow arrow.
The other members of the Lu family also looked pale.
The Fourth Prince's eyes were filled with fear. Xiao Yan glanced at him and said, "Your Highness, why don't you try him yet?"
…
The Fourth Prince brought people to conduct the trial in person, while Xiao Yan and Tang Ning stood in the courtyard. They saw that everyone from the Lu family in the flower hall not far away were indignant and angry, but they dared not say a word after seeing Lu Qin's end. Tang Ning's gaze paused at Lu Chongyuan, whose face looked grim but suddenly calmed down. She felt that he might not surrender so easily.
Her eyes turned to the side and fell on the inconspicuous Lu Erlang who was standing beside Lu Chongyuan.
Tang Ning had seen the second son of the Lu family before. She had occasionally met him when she went in and out of the Lu family. This man was always taciturn and had no sense of existence, but the sword just now... his reaction was more decisive and fierce than that of any other person in the Lu family, which made her doubtful.
As if he felt someone was looking at him, Lu Erlangjun suddenly looked up, and when his eyes fell on Tang Ning, she suddenly felt a chill as if being stared at by a ferocious beast. The inexplicable sense of crisis made her frown slightly. Before she could think more, her head was suddenly gently turned away by the person next to her.
When the chill disappeared, Tang Ning was at a loss: "Brother?"
Xiao Yan raised the thing in his hand and said, "Do you want it?"
"Hmm?" Tang Ning's eyes lit up instantly.
He led the people to the side, raised his eyes and looked coldly at the Lu family's Erlang who had already withdrawn his gaze, and then lowered his head to Tang Ning in a gentle tone: "Just now I saw you staring at it, wishing your eyes were glued to it..."
Tang Ning suddenly felt embarrassed. She was indeed envious of Xiao Yan's crossbow. It was different from those she had seen before. Most of the previous crossbows were very bulky. Even a hand-held crossbow would be difficult for ordinary people to hold. However, the one in Xiao Yan's hand was very delicate.
The crossbow was only slightly larger than his palm, and although the arrow was not long, it was very lethal.
Xiao Yan handed it to her: "Try it?"
Tang Ning was eager to try: "Is it okay?"
Xiao Yan did not say anything. He just put the short crossbow into her hand and taught her how to place the arrow. He held down the hanging knife and motioned for her to aim at a certain place. Then she pressed her hand down and the arrow shot out instantly. With a "ding" sound, it pierced into a tree trunk not far away.
Xiao Yan said: "This crossbow is exquisite. Normally, it can be disassembled and hidden by your side as an armlet or ornament. In an emergency, even if it is not assembled, you can directly use the crossbow as a hidden weapon."
He took the thing from her hand, dismantled it in just a few moves, and put the bare crossbow in her hand.
"There are ten silver needles hidden inside. They are all poisoned by Madam Qin. They can kill people instantly. If you encounter danger, you can use them directly. When the enemy is caught off guard, even a martial artist with great skills will find it difficult to dodge."
Tang Ning suddenly felt that the thing in her hand was hot, and she quickly returned it to Xiao Yan: "I can't take this, brother, keep it for self-defense!"
However, Xiao Yan let him go.
"Brother..."
Tang Ning opened her mouth and wanted to speak, but when she saw Xiao Yan lowering his eyes, his eyes were full of undisguised deep affection: "Tang Ning, I have no weaknesses, the only one is you. As long as you are safe, there is nothing in the world that I can retreat from. Protect yourself, and you are protecting me."
Tang Ning paused, her face softened. She had never doubted how well Xiao Yan treated her, but when she heard his frank words, her heart still tingled and she couldn't help but feel happy.
She didn't push the thing in her hand away anymore, but put it away carefully.
"I'll put it to good use."
Seeing the little girl taking care of herself so seriously, Xiao Yan's eyes were filled with smiles.
…
The Lu family's front yard was very large. The people in the flower hall could only see from a distance in the corner, where Xiao Yan, dressed in a brocade robe, was talking to a little girl whose figure was hidden by him with his head down. Outside the hall, black-armored guards were standing guard on full alert, and the Lu family members were all nervous.
Lu Chongyuan sat aside with a slightly gloomy expression, looking at Lu Qin who was howling in pain while holding his leg, and the panicked Lu family members, feeling a little sad.
Once upon a time, who could have imagined that the Lu family would end up in such a situation.
The young Silang of the Lu family was impulsive by nature. Seeing his mother being taken away and his father being injured by Xiao Yan, he was so angry that he said fiercely, "How dare the Fourth Prince collude with Xiao Yan and humiliate mother and others like this? When he can't find anything, grandfather will go to the palace to file a complaint against them!"
"But the Fourth Prince is so sure, what if..."
A young girl next to her had just opened her mouth when she was glared at by Lu Jia Silang.
"What if? Do you think my mother and my aunt and uncle would have an affair with Prince Cheng?!"
The little girl was not very old, but she was frightened and trembled, hunched her shoulders and looked terrified. The fourth son of the Lu family turned his head and said, "Grandfather, you must not let the fourth prince and the others go!!"
The eldest son of the Lu family was not as optimistic as his cousin. He glanced at the people guarding outside and remembered that the Fourth Prince was willing to break up with the family to take away the Lu family women. He felt that something was wrong and whispered to Lu Chongyuan, "Grandfather, what should we do next?"
Lu Chongyuan raised his eyelids and looked at him: "Wait."
The eldest son of the Lu family looked a little panicked: "But what if the Fourth Prince really finds something..."
"That'll have to wait."
Lu Chongyuan seemed to have calmed down from his initial rage. Although his face was gloomy, he was not panicked. Perhaps influenced by him, the other members of the Lu family, who were originally in chaos, also gradually calmed down.
The flower hall was exceptionally quiet, and even the occasional noises coming from the backyard could be heard clearly.
Lu Chongyuan glanced at the people guarding the door, his eyes fell on Xiao Yan's back, his mind racing as he thought about the Fourth Prince... No, it should be Xiao Yan's purpose today.
He went to so much trouble to instigate the Fourth Prince to break with the Lu family and brought people to break into the Lu family. Was it really just for a female member of the Lu family who was having an affair with Prince Chen?
Even if these were discovered, the Lu family's reputation would be ruined, but after all, it was just an affair between a man and a woman. If the person who was connected with Prince Cheng was really one of the daughters-in-law, she would be a person of a different family. The Lu family could just be ruthless and cut off the person's arm, but how could it hurt the Lu family's foundation?
Xiao Yan would not do useless things.
His purpose...
When the Fourth Prince pushed out Madam Lu, whose body was covered in blood after being interrogated, Lu Chongyuan's heart sank suddenly. He suddenly looked up at Xiao Yan and suddenly understood his intention.
Cheng Ping whispered, "I led people to search the residences of several ladies and interrogate the people around them. Everyone else was normal, except for Qin Xin, who was beside the first lady Guan, who looked flustered and spoke furtively. I had people torture her to get her to speak."
"According to Qin Xin's account, Guan had known Prince Cheng before she entered the Lu family, but at that time she was already engaged to the eldest son of the Lu family. The Lu family had intended to choose between Prince Cheng and Your Majesty to assist them, but they were wavering. Guan married into the Lu family to serve Prince Cheng for his great cause."
The people from the Lu family all changed their expressions.
Guan shook her head desperately: "It's not me, I didn't..."
She looked at Lu Chongyuan with tears in her eyes: "Father, father, please believe me, I have not betrayed you, I have never had anything with King Cheng, they are the ones who harmed me..."
"So what are those things you found in your house?"
There was contempt in Cheng Ping's eyes. He disdained people who committed adultery. He also felt that Madam Lu was truly despicable. She didn't want to be a lady of a noble family, but to become a shameful "concubine".
"Just now, the Black Armor Guards found the letters between Guan and Prince Cheng from the dressing box in Guan's room. These letters mentioned many things about Prince Cheng's mansion. Although there is no signature on them, we can clearly identify them by comparing them with Prince Cheng's past handwriting."
Guan's face turned pale and she shook her head desperately: "It's not me, it's really not me, I have never seen those letters, I, I don't know where those letters came from..."
Ever since Lu Zhao's accident, she hasn't dressed up properly for a long time, and her dressing box hasn't been opened for more than a month.
She had no idea when the letters were put there, and she had no idea who wanted to harm her. She cried her heart out and crawled to Lu Chongyuan using her hands and feet.
"Father, father, please believe me, those letters are not mine, someone is trying to harm me!"