Don't disturb me, I won't be a concubine

After Lu Wenchen left, Mother Wang followed in.

"Did the master and the lady have a quarrel?"

Zhou returned to her chair and sat down, angrily saying, "At such a critical moment, he even came over to ask me where that bitch was."

Mother Wang went over to pour her a glass of water and held it to her with both hands, "Madam, calm down. I just can't accept it for the time being. After a while, when I inherit the title, Madam, send a beautiful and obedient maid to me, and I will naturally forget about Qingyan. Men just want something new."

Zhou took the water from her hand, and Wang's mother suddenly realized, "Grandpa knows about that?"

Just as the cup of water reached his lips, Zhou put it heavily on the table, making a crisp sound.

"It's all because of that evil creature. He threatened me in the funeral hall and asked me to hand over that bitch tomorrow."

Mother Wang's heart skipped a beat when she heard this. "Why would the Third Master ask Madam for someone? Could it be that he..."

Zhou raised her eyes and asked, "You guys didn't tell anyone, did you?"

"No, no," Madam Wang assured hastily, "We are loyal to Madam and will never betray her. Besides, we have sworn an oath not to reveal a single word to anyone."

"The evil creature is really trying to trick me!" Zhou snorted coldly, "I won't hand him over tomorrow. Let's see what he can do to me."

Marquis Zhongjing had passed away many days ago, and he needed to be buried as soon as possible after returning to Beijing.

The emperor issued an edict to posthumously confer the title of Duke Zhonglie on Lu Hao.

After Lu Hao was buried, Lu Siheng returned to his residence, changed his clothes and went to Qingyan's room.

All the furnishings in the room remained the same as before. Lu Siheng's eyes fell on a guqin, and the image of Qingyan playing the guqin with lowered eyebrows appeared in front of him.

He walked over and gently plucked the strings with his fingers. The untuneable sound made him feel confused.

Zhou hasn't sent Qingyan back yet. Is it because she doesn't want to or can't?

His chest felt slightly hot. That was the thing Qingyan asked Lin Zhong to give him. It was the evidence he had been searching for for many years.

She still acted on her own, and I don't know how she is now. I have to find her as soon as possible.

Lu Siheng withdrew his hand, raised his leg and walked out, but after taking a few steps he suddenly stopped.

He retracted his right leg, squatted down, and picked up something from the ground. A white pearl fell into his palm. It was Qingyan's earring!

Lu Siheng tightened his grip, the needle on the earring pierced his palm, and blood dripped onto the ground.

On the second day, during the morning court session, the emperor asked Lu Siheng, "You have killed the Northern Di general and repelled the enemy. You have made great contributions. I want to reward you well. Tell me, what reward do you want?"

Lu Siheng stood in the center of the hall and said, "It is my duty to share your majesty's worries. I dare not ask for any reward."

"A reward for your meritorious service."

As for how to reward, the emperor had not figured it out yet, so he asked him.

Gold, silver, jewelry, houses and land, these are all easy to talk about, the key is what kind of official position to give him. He is now the deputy commander of the Internal Affairs Department. The commander above him has not made any mistakes, so he cannot be promoted. If he is transferred to another place to serve, it still needs careful discussion.

"I do not want any reward, but I have a knot in my heart that has been weighing on my heart for twenty years, and I would like to ask Your Majesty to make a decision."

As long as you have something to ask for, the emperor said, "Oh, there is such a thing. You should have said it earlier."

Lu Siheng said bluntly: "This is about my biological mother. When she passed away, I was still young and unable to protect myself. Even though I know she was murdered, I have no evidence and cannot redress her injustice."

His background was no secret. In order to have him included in the family tree, Marquis Zhongjing's wife even reported him to the emperor, causing a huge uproar.

As soon as he finished speaking, all the ministers in the hall, including the emperor, roughly guessed who he was talking about who killed his biological mother.

On one side was the widow of the loyal and brave Duke who had just been buried, and on the other side was a minister who had made military achievements. The emperor was somewhat embarrassed, but the words had already been spoken, so he could only continue to ask: "So you have evidence now?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, please take a look." Lu Siheng took out the piece of paper given by Qingyan from his arms.

The eunuch presented the things to the emperor.

The emperor opened it and read it, his brows furrowed, "Is this what Lu Wenchen said?"

"Yes, it has his signature on it."

"He is willing to confess that it was his mother who killed your biological mother, but did he tell you so in person?" The emperor expressed his doubt.

"Your Majesty, this evidence was handed over by a girl in my courtyard through my attendants. She disappeared two days before I returned to Beijing. I suspect it has something to do with my biological mother, Zhou, and I have already asked someone to investigate." Lu Siheng said truthfully.

"What do you want me to do?"

Lu Siheng knelt on his knees and said, "I want to redress the injustice for my biological mother and severely punish the murderer, my stepmother Zhou."

Zhou was the wife of Marquis Zhongjing, so it was not the right time to interrogate her. The emperor looked at Lu Siheng, who was kneeling below him. He was his confidant who had followed him for many years and had concealed his identity to enter the inner circle to help him ascend the throne.

After that, he did a lot for him, especially during the war in Xizhou.

Now is the time to employ people, and we must not discourage the meritorious officials.

After thinking about it, the emperor made a decision. "Lord Zhonglie sacrificed his life for the country. Although I feel sorry for him, I want to treat his family well. However, the law is as strong as a mountain. Now Mr. Lu has evidence to prove that his biological mother was killed by his stepmother Zhou. If this is true, I will definitely give justice to your biological mother."

The emperor immediately ordered, "This case should be tried by the three courts and must be verified."

Officials from the Dali Temple, the Censorate and the Ministry of Justice stepped forward to receive orders.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Lu Siheng stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I have something else to report."

"Go ahead."

"This time, I was able to defeat the Northern Di army. In addition to the generals and soldiers, there are three others who have made great contributions."

"Oh, who are they?" The emperor was a little curious, thinking that if they were useful talents, he would promote them all.

"They are Lord Cui, the Minister of Justice and the son of Duke Dingguo, the daughter of General Zhenyuan, and the daughter of Lord Dong, the Left Vice-Chief Censor."

As soon as these words were spoken, the ministers below whispered in surprise and looked at Cui Jun and Dong Jingtang.

The emperor was also surprised. "That boy... Cui Qiyan actually went to Xizhou? What about the other two women?"

Ever since hearing about the war in Xizhou, Dong Jingtang had been worried about his daughter and wanted to go and bring her back. However, she had been gone for many days and he could not catch up with her.

Dong Jingtang was very excited when he heard the news about Dong Jiafu from Lu Siheng. He wanted to ask him more about Dong Jiafu, but he was attending court and could not ask more questions.

Hearing the emperor's question, Dong Jingtang came out and replied, "Your Majesty, my wife is seriously ill and needs the snow spirit grass from Xizhou to cure her. My daughter knows a little about medicine, so she went to Xizhou to look for medicine. I didn't know she would meet Lord Lu."

Lu Siheng continued, "It is just as Lord Dong said. Miss Dong helped heal many soldiers injured on the battlefield. As for Miss Du, she learned that the Northern Di were invading and came here to help the Western State Army."

It is not appropriate for women to serve in the army. Lu Siheng pleaded for Du Manting, "Miss Du is an excellent warrior and is as brave as any man on the battlefield. Your Majesty, please forgive her recklessness. She was acting out of patriotism."

Your Majesty will know sooner or later what happened to the three of them in Xizhou, so it is better to report the truth now.

The emperor had no intention of blaming her, and nodded with satisfaction, "It's rare to have a daughter of a general."

The emperor looked at Dong Jingtang again and said, "My dear Dong, your daughter is quite courageous and filial."

"I would like to thank Your Majesty for the praise on behalf of my daughter." Dong Jingtang bowed.