Noble Lady

"Not necessarily," Chen Lizhu analyzed. "County Magistrate Cai has already been to the palace once before and revealed everything. He also has physical evidence."

"Even if he's dead, the physical evidence won't disappear. Another point is that he was a scholar and a student of the great scholar Mr. Lu."

"If he proves his innocence by dying, the impact of this matter will be infinitely expanded. Even Your Majesty would not dare to take action lightly based on Han Hongyue's one-sided statement without investigating."

Du Jingyuan digested it for a moment and said, "You mean to say that His Majesty has only surrounded the Marquis of Wu'an's Mansion without taking any specific action. Is he trying to hold Han Hongyue back first and then find out the truth?"

Chen Lizhu nodded.

"But if, as Han Hongyue said, Marquis Xue and Prince Cheng are both dead, then there's no evidence. How can we find out the truth?"

"Fifth sister-in-law, that's not true." Chen Lizhu shook her head and corrected her. "Think about it, he couldn't have murdered Marquis Xue and Prince Cheng alone."

"Whenever he deploys his troops, he will leave traces. Besides, the human heart is the most unpredictable thing..."

"When the soldiers helped him murder Marquis Xue and Prince Cheng, they might not have known their identities, but what would they think if the truth came out?"

Du Jingyuan was not stupid either. Chen Lizhu explained it so clearly that she also understood it.

There was only one thing that troubled her: "But there are so many people in the Zhenbei Army. How can we find the person who knows the inside story and dares to testify?"

Chen Lizhu was also stumped by her question. After thinking for a while, she said, "Then let's wait until Fifth Brother comes back."

Du Jingyuan nodded, having her own worries in her heart.

Now that Chen Mingxuan has returned to the Duke's Mansion, the Duke's Mansion has placed all its hopes on him.

She was worried that if the Duke, the Duchess, and the old lady knew about it, they would not want him to be involved.

Of course, the most important thing is Chen Mingxuan’s own attitude.

She just felt that she should stay with Xue Xiaoyu at this time and accompany her through the difficult times. But she couldn't do anything.

"Thank you for telling me this," Du Jingyuan said politely. "I thought you were hiding it from me because you were afraid I would act impulsively."

"No." Chen Lizhu said with a wry smile.

I don’t know whether she meant that she would not hide it from Du Jingyuan, or that no matter how emotional Du Jingyuan was, she would not act impulsively without thinking.

After walking out of Mingshu Courtyard, Chen Lizhu looked up at the sky which was about to darken, feeling a little melancholy.

Fifth sister-in-law and Sister Xue are very close friends and good sisters, and she is so concerned about them that she is confused.

But she couldn't be so impulsive, because she knew that the entire Chen Guogong Mansion was behind her, and her aunt, the imperial concubine, would also be implicated.

Although the Queen and the aunt have always been at odds, and the Duke of Chen's Mansion and the Han family have also been secretly competing with each other, they have always been on par with each other.

If she did something impulsive, it might give the Han family a handle.

At this moment, what she wished most was that she was an ordinary person with freedom, so that she could do anything without worrying about bringing trouble to the entire family.

Another point is that although Han Hongyue's words were very confident, Marquis Xue and Prince Cheng had been wary of him for a long time, so they might not be without a glimmer of hope.

But for now, these are all unrealistic things, and she didn't dare to promise Du Jingyuan, so as not to make her happy for nothing.

"Miss, it seems that the Fifth Young Master's wife has guests..." Cui Liu suddenly said.

Chen Lizhu's eyes glared, she glanced back at the two maids, and said in a deep voice, "No matter who asks, you just come with me to talk to the fifth sister-in-law, and don't know anything else."

Huangli and Cuiliu quickly agreed.

……

The news that Han Hongyue sued Marquis Xue was not widely circulated, but all the officials present at the time knew about it.

This also includes Mr. Lu’s disciple, Tong Liang, the current Minister of Personnel.

After something like that happened in the palace, His Majesty hurriedly issued an edict to confer the title of Marquis on the mansion, and then strictly ordered them not to spread the news, and then asked them to leave the palace.

Tong Liang hurried back to the house. The housekeeper said that the guest was still resting in the guest room and was not disturbed by anyone. He felt relieved a little, but his heart was immediately lifted again.

He also quickly instructed the housekeeper, "The fact that there are guests at home must not be spread outside."

The butler had been his confidant for many years. After hearing this, he realized the seriousness of the matter and nodded repeatedly.

Tong Liang didn't even bother to change out of his official uniform before hurriedly heading to the guest room.

He walked very quickly along the way, but when he reached the door of the guest room, he didn't dare to go in.

"Come in." Mr. Lu's calm voice came from the room.

Tong Liang was caught off guard and startled, but he could only convince himself that whether he stuck his head out or hid it, he would be stabbed, and there was no way to avoid it.

Then he mustered up his courage and pushed the door open for the second time.

"gentlemen."

Mr. Lu was brewing tea and explaining the wonderful meaning of it to Xue Huai while doing so.

Seeing Tong Liang coming in, he just gave him a glance and said, "Sit down."

This made Tong Liang feel very upset.

"Sir, I..."

"I want to drink this cup of tea." Mr. Lu pushed the tea in front of him.

Tong Liang quickly stood up in fear and trepidation, "No, no, no, how can I let the gentleman serve me tea?"

But Mr. Lu stared at him without changing his expression, so he didn't dare to refuse anymore and drank the hot tea nervously.

"You don't mind it being too hot." Mr. Lu said with a hint of smile.

Tong Liang wiped his mouth and quickly gave a silly smile.

"Now that we have had our tea, let's talk about what's happening in the palace." Mr. Lu suddenly said.

Tong Liang's heart, which had not yet been relieved, was hanging in the air again.

"Sir, I..." He looked at Xue Hou and seemed to hesitate for a moment.

Mr. Lu said, "No matter what you say, there's no need to avoid him. Just tell him the truth."

Tong Liang had no choice but to tell his son about Han Hongyue's lawsuit against Marquis Xue and Cai Jinxue, as well as how His Majesty had the Imperial Guards besiege the Marquis Wu'an's Mansion.

He chose his words and sentences very carefully, fearing that one of Mr. Lu and Xue Huai would suddenly jump up when hearing what he said.

But nothing.

Xue Huai silently clenched his fists, his eyes suddenly filled with red bloodshot, but he didn't let a single tear fall.

No wonder elder sister arranged for him and Luoluo to leave the house so early. It turned out that she had anticipated that something bad would happen.

The Marquis' Mansion has been surrounded, A'niang and elder sister are trapped, Luoluo is still young, and his father's life or death is unknown. He is the only man in the family, and he must shoulder this responsibility!

When Mr. Lu was talking about Han Hongyue suing Marquis Xue for murdering Prince Cheng, his eyes couldn't help but tear up, and the expression on his face seemed to say, "It is so." Is he really going to watch the Marquis's family destroyed?

When talking about Cai Jinxue, the old man choked up.

"That brat has been stubborn since he was little. Once he makes up his mind, nothing can change his mind."

Mr. Lu's voice trembled as he slowly met Tong Liang's gaze. "You were at the scene. Was it painful for him to die?"

Tong Liang shook his head subconsciously, then nodded quickly. He then realized that his statement was incorrect and quickly said, "Your Majesty sent for the imperial physician. Cai... He was still breathing when he was carried away."

"But we have all been driven out of the palace by His Majesty, and we don't know whether he is alive or dead."

Mr. Lu slowly closed his eyes, and a tear rolled down from the corner of his eye.

He had been in the officialdom for his whole life and thought he was used to the separation of life and death, but he did not expect that he would not be immune to it at this moment.