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Chapter 84: The Grand Governor's Cruelty
Chapter 84: The Grand Governor's Cruelty
Lu Lingxiao opened his mouth as if to call out to her, "Meng... Qianqian."
Meng Qianqian halted in her tracks.
Banxia and Taner turned to look at him.
Taner, hands on her hips, demanded, "Why are you stopping us again?"
Having witnessed the hardships their mistress endured in the Lu family, Banxia now shared her mistress's disdain for Lu Lingxiao.
Lu Lingxiao's emotions were mixed.
She had publicly severed ties with him, and he had felt anger, shame, annoyance, and even resentment. Later, when he encountered her at the border, he had been apprehensive, thinking she would embarrass him. Yet, she hadn't.
She had completely acted as if they were strangers, sparing him from becoming the subject of gossip as a heartless man.
However, at the same time, he also felt a sense of loss, though he couldn't quite explain why.
"You've come at just the right time," said Meng Qianqian.
Lu Lingxiao looked at her in surprise. "You... came to find me?"
Meng Qianqian thought for a moment and nodded. "I suppose so. After all, your grandmother is avoiding me, so I can only come to you to get my money back."
Lu Lingxiao's expression stiffened.
Meng Qianqian took out an account book. "The part of my dowry spent in the Haitang Courtyard and the Old Madam's courtyard is not included. Your Lu family still owes me 16,000 taels. Write me a new IOU."
Lu Lingxiao clenched his fists. "You really..."
Meng Qianqian smiled faintly. "When we were still husband and wife, we only talked about money. You don't expect that now that we've severed ties, I would suddenly want to chat with you about romantic topics, do you?"
Lu Lingxiao's face turned red.
"Taner, bring me the paper and brush," ordered Meng Qianqian.
"Yes, mistress!"
Taner quickly fetched the paper and brush from the carriage and handed them to Lu Lingxiao, fearing that this despicable man might refuse to acknowledge his debt if they delayed even a moment.
Lu Lingxiao gritted his teeth and wrote the IOU.
Whether it was in front of her great-grandmother and mother, in front of him, or on the battlefield, she always remained the same—infuriating!
Meng Qianqian carefully put away the IOU. "Let's go."
"Let's go!" Taner said in a valiant voice.
The group boarded the carriage and departed, leaving a trail of dust in their wake.
At the Governor's Mansion
Baoshui woke up and found herself back in the Governor's Mansion, once again sitting alone in a corner, sulking.
Lu Yuan sat leisurely, sipping his tea. In front of him was a pile of memorials and letters.
Shangguan Ling entered the room and bowed to him. "Grand Governor!"
Lu Yuan glanced at him. "You're injured?"
Shangguan Ling nodded, his face pale. "I was ambushed by a few hooligans, but unfortunately, we didn't catch any of them alive."
Lu Yuan smiled slightly. "It's been quite lively in the capital these days, hasn't it?"
"Yes, it has been. Quite a few opportunists have emerged. Many of our people have been eliminated, and several valuable properties under our name have been confiscated. The Left Assistant Minister of Personnel has been imprisoned, the Chief of the Golden Guard has been dismissed, and the Grand Scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion and the Principal of the Imperial University have been impeached by their students..." Shangguan Ling reported. "Our influence has been reduced by at least half."
"I expected that we would face some suppression after your departure, but I didn't anticipate it to be so severe," Lu Yuan said.
In fact, they hadn't been so bold at first. It was only after Lu Yuan had disappeared for more than a month with no news that people assumed he had suffered a defeat at the border and began to turn on him, taking the opportunity to kick him while he was down.
Those who had originally opposed Lu Yuan took this chance to suppress him, which was understandable. However, some of those who betrayed him were actually his own people.
They took advantage of Lu Yuan's benefits while secretly stabbing him in the back, which was truly despicable.
Shangguan Ling took out a list from his bosom and placed it on Lu Yuan's table carefully. "The names of the traitors are on this list, and I've also found evidence against them. I believe that after this lesson, they will never dare to betray the Grand Governor again!"
Lu Yuan said nonchalantly, "Once a betrayal, never trust again. Make sure it's clean."
Shangguan Ling was taken aback, his eyes scanning the lengthy list of names. He cupped his hands in agreement and replied, "Yes!"
The spring chill was biting, and the night was dark and windy.
Shangguan Ling, clad in a flying fish robe and wielding an embroidered spring blade, gazed intently at the field, where rows of brocade-clad guards exuded a chilling aura.
He threw a stack of wooden plaques onto the table and ordered, "Take your plaques!"
Each plaque bore the name of a betrayer.
The well-trained brocade guards took their plaques in an orderly fashion.
The last one was left for Shangguan Ling.
Shangguan Ling looked at the name on the wooden plaque, his expressionless as he took it and gazed into the blood-soaked night, "Let's go!"
North of the city.
The Right Assistant Minister of Personnel was cuddling his concubine, sleeping soundly.
Suddenly, the window lattice was pried open, and a tall figure carrying a formidable killing intent barged in.
The Right Assistant Minister was jolted awake by a chill that crept up his spine.
As he opened his eyes, he saw a figure standing at the foot of his bed, and he exclaimed, "Who are you?"
The brocade guard drew his embroidered spring blade and declared, "I am here by the Grand Governor's order to kill the traitor!"
"Wait-no...ah..."
The Right Assistant Minister's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed in a pool of blood.
...
As dawn broke, the last brocade guard completed his mission and returned to the Governor's mansion to report to Shangguan Ling.
Shangguan Ling retrieved the wooden plaque from him, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Well done."
Shangguan Ling turned, stroking his own plaque, "It's a pity that you betrayed the Grand Governor."
The brocade guard was taken aback.
Shangguan Ling thrust his blade through the guard's heart!
As the morning light grew brighter, the sun rose.
The young emperor had slept late the previous night and was running late for the morning court session.
As he stepped into the Golden Palace, he sensed that something was amiss.
Upon further inspection, he noticed that several people were missing.
He asked the eunuchs below, "Lord Luo, Lord Zhu, and Lord Li are never late. Why are they absent today?"
The eunuchs dared not utter a word.
The young emperor, with an air of authority, looked at the assembled officials and asked, "What has happened, my lords?"
The officials exchanged glances, unsure of what to say.
Finally, Minister Xing stepped forward, hesitated for a moment, and then knelt before the emperor, holding his tablet. "Your Majesty, there were several murders in the capital last night. Lord Luo of the Ministry of Personnel, Lord Zhu of the Court of Judicial Review, and Lord Li of the Cabinet were assassinated."
The Chief Justice of Jingzhao also knelt and presented his tablet. "Several royal merchants have also been mysteriously murdered!"
Minister Xing added, "From the wounds, it appears they were killed by blades."
General Zhou spoke up, "Blades, invisible blades that kill..."
Minister Xing interrupted, "General Zhou, there is currently no evidence, so please refrain from jumping to conclusions."
General Zhou countered, "These men used to be subordinates of Lu Yuan. They later turned against him and presented numerous impeachment charges against him. Lu Yuan returned to the capital the day before but did not come to the palace to pay his respects to Your Majesty, nor did he attend the court session to meet with the officials. Where could he have gone? I don't need to spell it out, but it must be Lu Yuan who ordered the brocade guards to do this! It's him!"
"Who's thinking about this humble governor so early in the morning?"
Accompanied by a voice that was half-smiling and half-serious, yet exuded an intense sense of oppression, Lu Yuan strode into the Golden Palace, clad in a purple official robe.
The civil and military officials bowed almost instinctively, their scalps tingling. "Your Excellency, the Grand Governor!"
The young emperor rose from his dragon throne, surprised.
Lu Yuan smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I have returned."
What a ruthless man, causing the entire court to tremble in fear.
(End of Chapter)
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