strictlysupreme Chapter 217 So what?
Chapter 217 So what?
I'm afraid the emperor himself knows it clearly.
That's why he hid Empress Wu's tablet in the Sanqing Hall and why he said those words.
What's the point of regretting and getting afraid only now?
Jiang Wanyue lowered her eyes and sneered in her heart.
After Qianfan finished speaking, no one in the room spoke for a long time.
Li Ce was also shocked by the truth that Qianfan told.
He actually had some guesses.
If the power of the imperial relatives grows, it will threaten the throne.
Li Ce now feels a similar situation, but it is not the Jiang family, but the Lu family.
Of course, the Lu family is not as strong as the Wu family, and Li Chengye is not that close to the Lu family. For Li Ce, suppressing the Lu family is a normal thing, and he will not have any psychological burden.
What he couldn't understand was that after so many years, why did the emperor suddenly feel guilty when he was old? Why did he abdicate and become a Taoist priest?
If it were him, he would never regret it even until his death.
What is done is done.
So, these thoughts were quickly put aside by him.
He rolled up his sleeves and asked the question that concerned him most.
"Are you sure the child in Empress Wu's belly is gone?"
Qianfan was originally immersed in the memories of the past and was a little dazed, but when he heard these words, he suddenly woke up.
She looked at the emperor with some surprise and found that there was a subtle expectation in the young emperor's eyes.
Qianfan's heart moved slightly.
She turned and looked at the Queen again.
The queen's expression was normal, but her eyes kept moving, sometimes looking at the emperor, sometimes looking at Qianfan.
Qianfan suddenly understood her look.
She thought of what Xiuchun had told her about the queen's temperament.
So she frowned and looked questioning.
"Why does the emperor ask this?"
Li Ce pursed his lips, thinking about how to ask more appropriately.
Although he doubted his own background, he didn't want to ask outsiders directly questions like "Am I Empress Wu's biological son?"
At this time, Jiang Wanyue reached out, gently held Li Ce's hand, and took over the conversation.
"Your Majesty must be feeling strange. From what you said, Empress Wu is not a simple person who is ignorant of worldly affairs. When she was first betrothed, she felt that the future was uncertain, so she let you go. After that, she lived with the retired emperor for many years. With Empress Wu's intelligence, how could she not guess what the retired emperor was thinking?"
Jiang Wanyue spoke slowly, one sentence at a time.
"If Empress Wu knew the fear of the retired emperor, she would not just sit there and wait for death, right? She may not be able to do anything about the Wu family, but she can't ignore the child in her belly."
Having said this, Jiang Wanyue sighed softly.
"I am also a mother. When the child was in my belly, I had already sensed it. At that time, Xu'er and I were in danger because of the incident in the palace. I thought at that time that even if I had to sacrifice my life, I would protect the child's safety. I think Empress Wu felt the same way at that time!"
Qianfan looked at her without blinking.
After a moment, she blinked and a smile appeared on her face.
"Maybe! But I was not in the capital at that time, so I didn't know the situation at that time, and I knew even less about what was going on in the palace."
Jiang Wanyue's expression changed slightly. She quickly glanced at Li Ce, and seeing that he looked a little excited, she pressed his hand and continued asking.
"Based on your understanding of Empress Wu, if she wanted to entrust the child to someone, who would she entrust it to?"
Qianfan looked at her and his smile slowly spread.
"Of course, they are the people she trusts the most, Ruyi and Ruyu."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Wanyue clearly felt Li Ce's hand clenched.
He could hardly conceal the excitement in his eyes.
Ruyu is the name of his biological mother.
Li Ce's biological mother did not actually enter the palace with Empress Wu. She was originally in the palace and entered the Ye Ting at a young age. Because of her outstanding appearance, she was later transferred to the inner palace. Later, she was transferred to Fenglai Palace to work beside the empress.
She did not have her own name when she entered the palace. When she was in the Yunting, the name was given to her casually by the steward, and it was not very nice. Later, after she followed the queen, the queen gave her a name.
Like jade, it means she has an outstanding appearance.
Perhaps it was because of her appearance that she was favored by the emperor.
However, there was very little information about Li Ce's biological mother in the palace. Just like Empress Wu, few people knew her personality and preferences.
She died less than a month after giving birth to Li Ce.
No title was given to her when she died. She was only given the rank of a beauty, but no title.
When Li Ce returned from the border after his meritorious service, the retired emperor seemed to have just remembered and posthumously conferred the title of Concubine Rou on her.
This is all the information Jiang Wanyue knows about her mother-in-law.
As for how Li Ce was born, whether he was born prematurely, or whether he was switched, it is impossible to find out now.
The palace had gone through many purges, and the old maids and eunuchs were either purged or released from the palace. Who would remember the birth of an unfavored little beauty?
What Li Ce wanted to know was destined to remain unanswered.
But that’s okay.
He has such expectations, so just give it to him.
Fortunately, Qianfan understood what she meant and cooperated very well.
Li Ce believed it.
In this way, Qianfan's goal will hopefully be achieved.
She wanted to save Wu Linglan, and only Li Ce would give in.
Jiang Wanyue actually didn't care much about Wu Linglan's life, but if she could use this to make friends with Qian Fan, the genius doctor, it would be such a great deal.
Jiang Wanyue can now understand Li Ce's thoughts a little bit.
Sure enough, after calming down, Li Ce showed his first smile since Qian Fan came in.
"What happened back then was not the fault of the miracle doctor. Since it is a thing of the past, the miracle doctor does not need to blame himself too much."
Then he flicked his sleeves.
"As for Wu Linglan, she approached the emperor with a purpose. As the emperor's concubine, she colluded with outsiders. Her intentions are not small. I cannot let her go so easily."
Qianfan understood.
"When I see Ling Lan, I will ask her to confess the people she is involved with. After this is over, I will take her away from the capital, retire to the mountains, and never come out again."
After hearing this, Li Ce readily asked someone to send Qian Fan out of the palace, and agreed to send someone to send her to see Wu Linglan tomorrow.
Qianfan saluted again.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness."
Jiang Wanyue stood up, walked Qianfan to the door, waved for Mier to come over, then turned and said to Qianfan.
"We have to deliver something to Tianfu Temple tomorrow, so let Mier go with the doctor!"
Qianfan bowed.
"Thank you, Queen."
This thank you contains many meanings.
Although she had experienced a lot and had traveled far and wide for many years, she was far from familiar with or accustomed to everything in the palace.
I thought I would fail this time, but I didn't expect to achieve my goal in one go.
Qianfan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. His impression of Queen Jiang Wanyue was much better than that of the two emperors.
She left the palace smoothly.
The next day, she took a carriage to Tianfu Temple and met Wu Linglan.
Wu Linglan was not treated harshly.
However, I have been living in fear for the past few days in the temple and it is inevitable that I feel haggard.
At first, when Wu Linglan saw Qian Fan, he was surprised and happy, and even dreamed of asking Qian Fan to help him contact the Lu family. But soon, his hope was shattered.
Qianfan only said one sentence.
"You are the only one left in the Wu family. Do you want the Wu family to be extinct?"
Wu Linglan froze.
She subconsciously touched her lower abdomen.
Qianfan sighed.
"I have met the emperor. He has no intention of punishing you. He is more concerned about those who lured you. As long as you work hard and make amends for your crime, you will be able to leave here soon. I don't think he has any ill feelings towards the Wu family. He is much better than the emperor. Maybe he will vindicate the Wu family in the future. By then, won't everything in the Wu family belong to you and your child?"
"On the contrary, if you are stubborn and refuse to compromise, I am afraid that someone will come to take your life in a few days. Although I have taught you many skills, it is impossible for you to regenerate a head after being cut off."
Wu Linglan's pupils shrank.
She bit her lip, stammered for a long time, and then spoke softly.
"I listen to you."
Qianfan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She had someone bring a pen and paper, and forced Wu Linglan to write down in detail the several times she had contacted the Lu family.
After writing, she asked Wu Linglan to sign it before handing it to Mi'er who had been waiting outside the door.
"Thank you, young lady."
After getting the confession, Mi'er rushed back to the palace without saying a word and handed the confession to Jiang Wanyue.
Jiang Wanyue didn't even look at it and asked her to send it to Li Ce.
Li Ce had already sharpened his knife for the Lu family, and all he needed was a reason to do so.
And this confession came at the right time.
Sure enough, after receiving the confession, Li Ce did not even read it carefully. He directly called Commander Fan and ordered him to go to the Lu family to arrest people.
The Lu family never expected that Li Ce would suddenly attack.
In fact, after Wu Linglan did not return from Tianfu Temple, the Lu family speculated whether she had been in trouble. But after waiting for a few days, there was no further news from the palace. Li Ce's attitude towards the Lu family remained the same as before, and the several adults in the Lu family were somewhat hesitant.
Just this hesitation made you miss the best opportunity.
What awaited him was only Li Ce's butcher knife.
In fact, even if Wu Linglan had not been exposed, the Lu family’s plan would not have succeeded.
The Lu family was only a second-rate family in the court. Although Lu Qingshuang was posthumously named the queen, the Lu family did not get the corresponding status. Even the eldest prince Li Chengye was lukewarm towards the Lu family, which made the Lu family very embarrassed.
As a royal family, the Lu family believed that they had made a lot of efforts in the first few years when Li Ce was Prince Jing. However, they did not enjoy any benefits after Li Ce ascended the throne, so they were naturally unwilling to accept this.
Their plan, to put it simply, was to use Wu Linglan to attract the attention of the palace. In fact, they had secretly bribed a chef in the imperial kitchen and planned to use the theory of food incompatibility to make Li Ce "die of illness". Then, they instigated a fight between several concubines in the harem and Jiang Wanyue, and put the blame of Li Ce's death on the Jiang family.
In this way, when Li Chengye ascends the throne, without a queen mother, he can only rely on his uncle's family.
The plan was conceived perfectly, but unfortunately, it was almost impossible to actually implement it.
Is this not?
Just as it started, clues were discovered.
On this day, Commander Fan led his trusted men to surround the Lu family and put all the men, young and old, from several branches of the Lu family into prison.
At the court meeting the next day, an official from the Censorate, instructed by Li Ce, wrote a letter to impeach the Lu family for treason and presented various evidences.
Li Ce acted out his disappointment and shock in class, and he was almost crying.
Finally, he sighed to the sky.
Considering the kindness of the late Tutor Lu who taught the retired emperor, the Lu family was given a lenient sentence and only the main culprit was executed, while the rest of the side branches were only sentenced to confiscation of property and exile.
As the imperial edicts were passed down one after another, the Lu family's empire collapsed.
But because of Li Ce's tolerance, there was not much shock in the court.
Even Li Chengye was moved to tears of gratitude when he found out, thinking that his father had let the Lu family go for his sake.
He did not have deep feelings for his maternal family, and this time the evidence was irrefutable, so it was even less likely that Li Chengye would speak for the Lu family.
He also asked someone to keep an eye on his sister and prevent her from doing anything wrong.
Overnight, the Lu family, which had been passed down for hundreds of years, disappeared in the capital.
Li Ce did not prohibit the side branches who were exiled after their property was confiscated from taking the imperial examinations. As long as they performed well, they could restore their civilian status after two generations and, naturally, could take part in the imperial examinations.
But it is no longer possible for the Lu family to restore its former glory.
The officials in the court praised Li Ce's handling of the matter endlessly.
Many ministers felt that the emperor had matured and become more benevolent.
But only Jiang Wanyue knew that Li Ce did this just to prepare for overturning the case for the Wu family in the future.
In a similar situation, the Lu family was sentenced so lightly despite having solid evidence, while the Wu family didn't even have solid evidence back then, so wasn't the sentence too heavy?
Of course, overturning a verdict is not something that can be done overnight.
Li Ce is very patient.
He did it step by step. First, he had people spread the rumor in the palace that Empress Wu was suspected of giving birth to a child. Then he found several old people in the palace who were "said" to have served Empress Wu and asked them to say some specious things.
At first, the rumor only spread among some low-ranking palace servants.
After a few months, the news gradually spread outside the palace.
But because the Wu family had disappeared for too long, it did not attract much attention.
Just when Li Ce was about to take the next step, the emperor fell ill.
His illness was originally just a cold, but he was restless and worried too much, so his condition recurred and sometimes got better, and his body was worn down.
The emperor had been recuperating for several months and only appeared in public on New Year's Eve.
It's just that the emperor at this time seemed a little confused.
He refused to stay for long, even refusing to drink, and kept on saying that Mei'er was waiting for him, that she had been waiting for a long time, and that he could not let her down this time.
Li Ce had no choice but to ask someone to send him back.
But I didn't expect that this farewell would be forever.
The emperor died at the hour of Chou on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
At daybreak, Li Ce, who was supposed to lead all officials in offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, changed into mourning clothes and ordered the palace gates to be opened to announce the death.
At the same time, Jiang Wanyue also led everyone in the harem to change into mourning clothes.
The originally joyous palace suddenly turned white and was filled with weeping.
The capital city, covered in silver, was covered with another layer of white.
According to historical records, in the year of Yi Si, the emperor passed away. The emperor cried bitterly in front of the coffin and fainted several times. After that, he stayed in front of the coffin day and night and wrote a eulogy for his father, which fully demonstrated his filial piety.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the emperor changed the reign title to Fengjing.
On the fifth day, the emperor discussed with all officials and decided to give the emperor the temple name Jing, which was later called Jingzong. Empress Wu was also posthumously named Empress Dowager Yuansi.
After seven days of rest, the emperor, along with other members of the royal family, princes, and ministers, escorted the retired emperor to the imperial mausoleum.
Afterwards, the emperor stayed behind closed doors to observe mourning.
After observing mourning for 27 days instead of months, the emperor went to court and suddenly ordered a reinvestigation of Wu's conspiracy to treason.
The emperor said in court that when the late emperor was seriously ill and on his deathbed, he once said that he was deceived by villains when handling the Wu case and failed to see the truth. He had been deeply regretful for many years. So, in accordance with the late emperor's last wish, he decided to reopen the case.
All officials had no objection.
After more than 20 years, it is extremely difficult to reinvestigate the case.
However, thanks to the efforts of the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate, a thorough investigation was finally completed two months later, and it was determined that although the Wu family had made minor mistakes, they had not committed any acts of treason.
The emperor was overjoyed and announced it to the world, clearing Wu's name.
During the Qingming Festival of the same year, the emperor paid homage to the tomb of the previous emperor and "accidentally" discovered a portrait of the empress dowager when she was young. He was shocked to find that she looked very similar to himself.
The portrait was circulated among several people, and they all agreed with it.
A few days later, an old man who once served the empress dowager came to the palace to meet the emperor and told him the secret that he had kept in his heart for more than 20 years.
When Wu was the empress, she was instigated by a treacherous person and was convicted by the previous emperor. In order to protect the legitimate child in her womb, she pretended to have a miscarriage, but actually secretly nurtured the pregnancy. Ten months later, she gave birth to a son and handed the child over to a trusted palace maid.
The emperor was shocked and asked several palace maids to verify and confirm that he was the biological son of Empress Dowager Yuansi.
At the grand court meeting the next day, the emperor announced the matter publicly and made changes to the jade edict, registering himself under the name of Empress Dowager Yuansi.
After the Lu family was eliminated, the court was stable and no major incidents occurred in the former court or the harem.
And so, six years passed.