Xiao Yan stood lazily in the hall, looking up at Empress Lu who was trying her best to be furious, with a calm expression: "Your Majesty, you are just making up a false accusation."
"When I entered the palace that day, His Majesty already knew about the Lu family's affairs. It was His Majesty who personally told the Fourth Prince to investigate the Lu family. If Your Majesty doesn't believe it, you can go ask His Majesty."
"As for the fact that I asked him to meet me at Hengting Pavilion, it was only because it was safe there and it would be difficult for ordinary people to disturb us. As for the Bai Yi Niang that the Empress mentioned, I have never heard of her before."
Xiao Yan spoke with sarcasm, "The fourth prince fell from his horse, and it was blamed on him for not being good at riding but wanting to compete with others. I did not teach him riding and shooting, nor was I present. The Queen loves her son dearly, but she should not arbitrarily accuse others. If people hear this, they will only think that the Queen is incompetent and vents her anger on others."
"you!"
Queen Lu stared at Xiao Yan, feeling anger boiling in her heart.
Xiao Yan ignored her anger. He folded his sleeves lazily and said, "If the Queen summoned me here just to ask this, then I don't have the time to accompany you."
"I am busy, so I will leave first. Please do as you please, Queen."
Seeing that he only nodded as a formality and turned to walk out, Empress Lu said coldly: "The fourth prince is useless."
Xiao Yan stopped and turned to look at Queen Lu with a frown on his face.
"Waste?"
Empress Lu showed pain on her face: "Lord Xiao should know about the Fourth Prince falling off his horse at the Western Suburbs Horse Farm. The Fourth Prince injured his back that day, but the doctor who treated him earlier concealed it and tampered with the medicine used by the Fourth Prince."
"The Fourth Prince's face is ruined. Even if he is healed, he will still be lame."
Xiao Yan was somewhat stunned, then frowned and asked, "Who is treating the Fourth Prince?"
"He Wengran from the Imperial Medical Bureau."
"Someone from the Lu family?"
Queen Lu nodded. He Wengran had a very close relationship with the Lu family. After she married into the prince's mansion, he had always been by her side. Later, after Emperor An ascended the throne, He Wengran naturally entered the Imperial Hospital and had been responsible for treating her all these years.
She took good care of the He family and showed kindness to He Wengran many times.
He Wengran had less contact with the Lu family over the years and was extremely loyal to her, but who would have thought that his loyalty was fake and his master was still the Lu family.
Empress Lu felt extremely remorseful when she thought of this. She looked at Xiao Yan and said, "I heard that Governor Xiao has not entered the palace to accompany the emperor these days, and it seems that there is a new person around His Majesty. The Lu family's case is about to be closed. With Lu Chongyuan's character, he will definitely take revenge on Governor Xiao after the Lu family recovers."
"I and the Fourth Prince are related to him by blood, but he is still so heartless. If it were Governor Xiao, how do you think they would treat you?"
Xiao Yan frowned slightly, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Don't worry, Queen. This Governor and the Lu family have been at loggerheads for a long time. If they don't let me go, I may not let them go either. Queen, please take good care of the Fourth Prince. I will order people to capture He Wengran."
He bowed to the queen and said, "If the queen has no other instructions, I will take my leave now."
"Why, after taking advantage of me, Governor Xiao is unwilling to even put in the effort to put on a show?" Queen Lu sneered.
Xiao Yan turned around and frowned at the queen.
Empress Lu said, "I have been wondering for some time why Governor Xiao cares so much about the affairs of the noble families. Ever since you came to power, you have regarded the noble families as thorns in your side. You knew that dealing with them would be a life-or-death struggle, but you still schemed and planned in every possible way, and even never left yourself any way out in order to destroy the noble families' foundation in the court."
"It's not that the noble families haven't tried to win you over. With the intelligence of Governor Xiao, if it was just for power and future, you would never have done so. However, you have been ruthless to the noble families without any mercy, which is far beyond what a minister should do to share the worries of the monarch and eliminate hidden dangers for His Majesty."
"What kind of hatred brought Governor Xiao to this point?"
Xiao Yan's eyes turned cold: "What does the Queen want to say?"
Queen Lu noticed the expression on his face and said softly, "I am just curious. You were able to climb up from the bottom in just a few years and become His Majesty's confidant. You hold great power and influence the government. How could the Xiao family raise such an outstanding child like you?"
"I sent people to investigate the Xiao family, but what's interesting is that the second son of the Xiao family died when he was young. The Xiao family head who was supposedly killed by Governor Xiao for mistreating his young son, and those Xiao family members who were exterminated by you, have also changed their names and appeared in other places."
Empress Lu seemed to have caught him and said word by word: "Twenty-three years ago, the third daughter of the He family married the eldest son of the Xiao family, the infamous Xiao family patriarch Xiao Jinan."
"After the He family was wiped out, the He family girl hanged herself to protect the Xiao family. However, the second son of the Xiao family, who should have died long ago, suddenly came back to life."
"The Xiao family only said to the public that the child was sent to another manor to be raised because he was sick when he was young, but if they care so much about him, how could they treat him so harshly after bringing him back to the mansion?"
The Queen looked at Xiao Yan without blinking: "Everything in the world has its reasons. Lord Governor Xiao, tell me, should I call you Lord Xiao Erlang or Lord He Jia..."
Swish!
Before Queen Lu could finish her words, Xiao Yan, who was standing in front of the palace, suddenly flashed in front of her, and a soft sword that appeared in his hand was pointed directly at the Queen's neck.
"Empress!!"
Jinzhi was horrified.
But the queen said sternly: "Don't come over here!"
When Jinzhi stopped and looked over here with worry, the queen raised her eyes to Xiao Yan and said calmly: "You came here today because I ordered someone to tell you. Not only can you not hide it from the people in the palace, even the Lu family who have been keeping an eye on you and me may have known about it."
"If you hurt me, not only will you not be able to leave Fengxi Palace, but the Lu family will also use this as a pretext to kill you. I'm sure Governor Xiao will not lose sight of the main point..."
Hmm!
There was a murderous look in Xiao Yan's dark eyes. He thrust his hand upwards, and Queen Lu groaned in pain.
Something flowed down her skin around her neck, and Queen Lu felt panic for a moment, but she still tried her best to calm herself down and soften her voice.
"Master Xiao, why are you so impulsive? I am the only one who knows about your affairs, and I have never told anyone else."
"You hid your real name and identity, and even made the Xiao family go into hiding. You yourself endured all kinds of humiliation and entered the palace despite your disability. Was it just for this momentary pleasure?"
"I checked your identity only because I wanted to cooperate with Governor Xiao. You want to destroy the Lu family and avenge the He family, and I also want to seek justice for the Fourth Prince. Our goals are the same, aren't they?"
Xiao Yan looked at Queen Lu coldly for a while. Just when Queen Lu thought she had made a wrong bet, the sword across her neck suddenly retreated.
Jinzhi hurried forward and covered the wound on the queen's neck with a handkerchief.
Xiao Yan waved his hand back, and the soft sword instantly returned to his waist and hid in the tourmaline leather belt around his waist. He raised his eyes and looked at the queen.
"I underestimated the Queen. Over the years, countless people have investigated my background, but only the Queen has gained anything."
He was tantamount to acknowledging his identity in disguise.
When Queen Lu heard this, her expression suddenly relaxed. Her legs and feet felt a little weak, but she couldn't help but reveal joy in her eyes.
She made the right bet!