In my previous life, I killed my whole family. In my next life, I killed the royal family.

When the people of the Lu family were attending the morning court, they couldn't help but feel an indescribable sense of uneasiness after hearing the decision made by Empress Dowager Lu to publicly try the case of the Qi family who killed their brother and robbed his property.

In fact, any unbiased person can quickly draw such a conclusion - with the current large scale of Qi Mansion's wealth, it is simply impossible to seize the meager property of the third branch of Qi Mansion.

Everyone knows that the third branch of the Qi family has always relied entirely on the eldest branch to survive.

Therefore, after the court session, Empress Dowager Lu's brother Lu Qi could not wait to come and meet her.

Lu Qi advised earnestly, "My lady, before the emperor has grown up, let's not provoke the Qi family easily."

Empress Dowager Lu simply responded lightly: "I have no intention of touching them, but if they really did commit a crime, I will naturally not protect them."

Empress Dowager Lu told her brother her true thoughts, "Anyway, this case has no impact on me."

Lu Qi was anxious, for he knew very well that his elder sister, the Queen Mother, could have her current status thanks to the Qi Mansion.

At that time, the Qi government made great efforts to persuade General Cheng to rush into the palace to help.

Now, the little emperor has only been in office for a few days, and his elder sister, the empress dowager, is already thinking of causing trouble for the Qi Mansion. What good could come from offending the Qi Mansion?

Lu Qi didn't know how to persuade his elder sister. He hesitated for a moment and said, "My queen, you have a nephew who is only fourteen years old. Why don't you ask the official matchmaker to propose to Miss Qi?"

"By then, everything of hers will belong to the Lu family, and the people of the Qi Mansion will always protect the Lu family." Lu Qi wanted to use the method of marriage to cooperate with the Qi Mansion to help the little emperor.

Empress Dowager Lu thought about it and realized that if Miss Qi married into her family with a rich dowry, she would have troops and money, and the Lu family would be a great threat to her and her son's status. After the palace coup, she didn't even trust her family too much.

Empress Dowager Lu refused bluntly: "The age difference between them is too big. Our Lu family will not discuss marriage with the Qi family."

Lu Qi sighed secretly in his heart. He knew very well that the Queen Mother was also afraid of his own family, but he was powerless and could not change the Queen Mother's mind.

Now, Empress Dowager Lu holds real power and keeps the young emperor firmly under her control. Everyone can only obey her arrangements.

In order to ensure her absolute control over the young emperor, Empress Dowager Lu specially dispatched her most trusted and trusted palace maid Yan'er to serve the young emperor, and asked Yan'er to report everything to her in detail.

Every evening, Empress Dowager Lu would personally bring her youngest son to have dinner with the little emperor.

She always held the two children tightly in her arms, constantly instilling her thoughts into the little emperor: "The throne should be passed from the elder brother to the younger brother. In the future, you must make the younger brother the crown prince."

At this time, the young emperor was ignorant and had no idea about the complicated struggle for the throne.

Because he had been close to his mother since childhood, he obeyed her words without hesitation and nodded obediently, "Okay, I will definitely make my brother the crown prince in the future."

Empress Dowager Lu smiled with satisfaction, then looked at the eunuch who was recording the event beside her, indicating that he should record the entire scene.

The day of the trial came in a flash. It was the morning of the 20th day of the first lunar month. The sun was shining brightly and the air was filled with the scent of spring. There were crowds of people in and outside the capital, who were the people who came to the government office to watch the trial.

As soon as they met, everyone started talking excitedly. Someone said, "The case to be tried today is about the robbery and murder in the Qi Mansion."

"The daughter of the third wife of the Qi family actually sued the first wife of the Qi family, killing the third wife's family and seizing their property. She also used the money to open a bank. This is really sensational!"

Another person retorted: "How is this possible? I think this is obviously nonsense. How can you just falsely accuse someone without any evidence?"

Others echoed, "Yes, there is no evidence since the dead can't testify, so let the living say whatever they want. However, we still have to wait for the final trial results to know what the truth is." Everyone was looking forward to this trial to solve the mystery.

But as soon as the gate of the government office opened, a group of yamen runners came out beating gongs and drums and shouted: "Today we will also try the murder case of Xiaochuan in the brothel and the arson case of the prostitute's building."

The crowd waiting outside the government office started to make a noise, "Three cases, how long will the trial last?"

"What kind of day is today? So many cases have to be tried together."

The trial had not yet begun in the government office, and a large group of officials were sitting in the inner hall, including officials from the Zongzheng Temple, the Ministry of Justice, and the Dali Temple.

"We cannot be careless in this case. We must have witnesses and evidence. Otherwise, none of us can take the responsibility." Minister Jiang said.

The Zongzheng of the Zongzheng Temple said in a serious tone: "This case is extremely serious and involves matters related to the royal family. You are not allowed to mention a single word about it."

The officials in the hall knew that he was referring to the case of Xiaochuan.

Several officials in the government office were very nervous and whispered to each other for a while. No matter whether they had conflicts in private or not, they had to unite at this moment.

A dull and powerful drumbeat suddenly sounded, breaking the originally quiet atmosphere. This sound seemed to be a signal, indicating that an important trial was about to begin. Everyone's eyes were drawn to the front of the court, waiting for the judge to appear.

Lord Xiao walked out of the inner room slowly with a serious expression. His steps were steady and powerful, and every step was firm and majestic. He was wearing an official uniform and a black official hat on his head, which made him look particularly solemn. When he walked to the front of the stage, Lord Xiao sat down gently, and his eyes scanned the surroundings sharply, as if he wanted to see through everything.

As Lord Xiao took his seat, other officials also walked into the hall. They sat neatly in rows on both sides, quietly waiting for the trial to begin.

These officials are all experienced, impartial and strict people who will work together in this trial to ensure fairness and justice.

The hall of the government office was packed with people. The officials looked solemn and the atmosphere was tense and depressing. The people watching outside also held their breath and dared not speak easily, for fear of disturbing the solemn atmosphere in the hall. The whole scene was solemn, and everyone was quietly waiting for Master Xiao to speak.

Lord Xiao coughed lightly to moisten his throat, then took a deep breath and shouted with all his strength: "Court open!" These two words were like a bolt from the blue, and instantly spread throughout the hall with a shocking force.

Under the gazes of the crowd, Lord Xiao solemnly began to read out the details of the case, officially opening the curtain of this much-anticipated trial.

He spoke in a loud and clear voice: "This case was filed by Ding Jinxiu, who sued the first and second branches of the Qi Mansion for carefully planning a conspiracy to kill the entire family of the third branch of the Qi Mansion, and attempted to seize all the property of the third branch of the Qi Mansion..."

After reading the petition, Lord Xiao gently put it down and solemnly announced, "Call the plaintiff to court."

A bailiff stood at the door and shouted at the top of his voice: "Call the plaintiff Ding Jinxiu to the court."