Dingbei Hou's doctor brother

Chi Musheng was worried, but seeing Feng Qi was there, he didn't want to ask any questions.

Lu Ziqing's palms suddenly broke out in cold sweat. He exchanged glances with Chi Musheng and walked out the door. This time he left in a hurry and still didn't wear a cloak.

Heavy snow was falling on the street, and his cheeks soon turned red from the cold. Looking at the towering palace gate from afar, he felt his heart sinking.

Feng Qi walked in front wearing a red cloak. Lu Ziqing hid his hands in his wide sleeves and counted secretly with his fingers. His expression immediately became bad.

Civil and military officials stood on both sides of the hall. Just like the first time he entered the hall, Lu Ziqing still had a solemn expression on his face when he entered the hall.

He caught a glimpse of Xiao Yan looking at him from the corner of his eye, but he didn't look over. He knelt down and kowtowed to Sheng Zhi.

Emperor Shengzhi asked him to stand up, then turned to the line of civil officials and said, "Lord Guan, Lu Ziqing has already come to the palace. You may tell me what you have to report."

Guan Feiling stepped out and respectfully reported, "Your Majesty, I would like to report to the court that the court judge is so audacious and presumptuous as to deceive the emperor and deceive his superiors, use false identities to enter the officialdom, disregard national laws, treat the emperor as nothing, and blaspheme the imperial power."

As soon as these words were spoken, there was a burst of astonishment in the hall and everyone was talking about it.

Xiao Yan suddenly clenched his tablet and looked at Guan Feiling, then his gaze shifted to Lu Ziqing. Lu Ziqing lowered his eyes and remained calm, without any apparent surprise.

He was anxious and worried when he heard Emperor Shengzhi ask, "What do you mean, my dear Guan?"

Guan Feiling said, "Your Majesty, I have received a report that someone has accused Lu Yuanpan of being the son of a prostitute. Such a filthy and lowly identity is now openly standing in the court. This is a serious disgrace to the imperial family and an insult to the entire court, and even to the sages of the world. This is a reversal of hierarchy and a heinous act. He has deceived Your Majesty and betrayed His Majesty's grace."

Every word was so stunning that the civil and military ministers looked at each other and discussed the matter. Emperor Shengzhi was so frightened that his face turned green. Xiao Yan stood up and was about to speak when Lu Ziqing interrupted him.

Without turning around, he asked Guan Feiling, "Master Guan, you can say anything you want without any empty words."

Xiao Duo, the Marquis of Anyuan, said, "The son of a prostitute entering the government is a serious matter. It involves deceiving the emperor. Your Excellency, please be careful with your words. If there is any injustice, it will not end well."

"Marquis Anyuan is quite right," Yan Mengjiang said at the right moment. "However, since Lord Guan, as the Imperial Censor, dared to openly report this in the palace, I believe it is not a fabrication. Let's ask Lord Guan to produce the evidence."

Guan Feiling looked at Emperor Shengzhi and said, "Your Majesty, I have evidence. This matter also involves Lord Tang, the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple."

"Tang Songyang." Emperor Shengzhi shouted.

Tang Songyang immediately stepped out of the group and bowed, reporting, "Your Majesty, I learned of this incident because of my son. A few months ago, my son and a few friends were together at Xiling River. While passing by Court Judge Lu, they got into an argument for unknown reasons. My son and his friends were beaten up for no reason by Court Judge Lu's friends. That beating left me bedridden for a month, and I'm still afraid to go out. My friends are in the same boat."

"Later, Jingchen learned that those friends were actually Lu Yuanpan's childhood classmates. According to their accounts, Lu Yuanpan was raised by foster parents, and his biological mother was a famous prostitute in Liuyin County. Her mother would send money to his foster parents' home every month. This fact is known to anyone who asks the locals."

Lu Ziqing clenched his fingertips, his eyes fixed on the void, the sounds of astonishment around him were right next to his ears, he listened to Emperor Sheng Zhi say.

"This matter is of great importance. Does Lord Guan have any evidence?"

"Your Majesty, I have evidence," Guan Feiling said. "The witness is outside the palace. Your Majesty can summon him for personal interrogation."

Emperor Shengzhi ordered Gao Jian to be his successor. He asked Lu Ziqing in a cold voice, "Lu Ziqing, what grudge do you have against Tang Songyang's son? Why did you attack him?"

"Your Majesty," said Lu Ziqing.

"That night, I hosted a banquet at Wangjiang Tower. Afterward, I was sobering up by the river when several drunken men bumped into me and frightened a woman with a child. I wanted to keep the peace, but they were full of nonsense and insults, even trying to molest the woman in the street. Among them was the son of Lord Tang. I argued with them, but they relied on his official status and tried to attack him. My friend, out of anger, resorted to violence."

Emperor Shengzhi called out, "Tang Songyang, your son got drunk and got into trouble, and molested a woman in the street. Is this true?"

"This..." Tang Songyang lowered his head in fear, "Your Majesty, I am guilty of not teaching my son well."

"You are indeed a bad parent." Emperor Shengzhi said with a dark face, "You are a Dali Temple Junior Official, a high-ranking official, yet you actually raised a son with bad behavior. He committed crimes in the streets of the capital. You used your official position to disregard the laws of the court and broke them knowingly. You, the Dali Temple Junior Official, are going from bad to worse."

Tang Songyang knelt on the ground in shock. "Your Majesty, please forgive me. It is my fault that I did not discipline my son well. I will discipline him strictly when I return."

"Master Tang's son hasn't changed at all," Zhang Tong added. "I've heard in the past that Young Master Tang loves to molest women. He and Young Master Wan were once notorious for their playboyish ways in the capital, victimizing many women. However, they dropped the case due to a lack of evidence, and the people would hide when they saw them."

Tang Songyang stared at him from behind and defended himself, "This is a completely unfounded story, Lord Zhang just made it up. My son was simply drunk and confused this time, so he acted foolishly. But if you say he has done anything harmful to others in the past, that's truly unfair."

As he was speaking, Feng Qi led three young men into the hall. The three men hunched their backs and dared not look up. They kowtowed to Emperor Shengzhi with great fear and trepidation.

Emperor Shengzhi didn't let them stand up, and asked directly: "You three, tell me your names."

The short man lowered his head and said, "Your Majesty, my name is Ao Xin, and the other two are Qu Lin and Fu Tong. The three of us are all from Liuyin County in Zhongzhou."

"Look up." Emperor Shengzhi asked, "Do you recognize the person next to you?"

The three of them cautiously looked up, and Qu Lin said, "Your Majesty, I recognize him. His name is Lu Nanxing, and he is a childhood friend of the three of us."

"Lu Nanxing?" Emperor Shengzhi was a little surprised. "He's the chief judge of the Imperial Hospital, Lu Ziqing. How did he become Lu Nanxing? Answer truthfully."

The three of them lowered their heads in fear. Ao Xin said, "Your Majesty, we are not mistaken. His real name is Lu Nanxing. We studied in the same school. I dare not lie to him. It's just that he suddenly left Liuyin County and may have changed his name."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Fu Tong added hastily, "We have been studying since childhood and will never admit our mistakes."

Emperor Shengzhi looked at Lu Ziqing and asked, "Lu Ziqing, is what the three of them said true? What is your real name?"

Lu Ziqing was silent for a moment. He took a deep breath and replied with a folded hand, "Your Majesty, my name is Lu Nanxing."

Xiao Yan became impatient when he heard this. Seeing that Emperor Sheng Zhi's face had fallen, he asked coldly, "What do you three think of Lu Nanxing's identity?"

Ao Xin said, "At first, we didn't know Lu Nanxing's parents weren't his biological parents. Later, a woman came to his house every month to give him money. We eventually discovered that she was from Cuifang Tower and was Lu Nanxing's biological mother. Because of this, the teacher expelled him from the academy. After the truth was revealed, the woman stopped giving him money. His adoptive father didn't get the money and had a huge fight with his adoptive mother. Everyone in our neighborhood knew about it, and we didn't see him again until we ran into him a few months ago in Xiling River."