Chapter 67 Falling asleep leaning against him

Chapter 67 Falling asleep leaning against him

While Lu Dongchen was hesitating, Ye Hanting put down the folding fan in his hand and said, "Lord Lu, you were the top scholar that year. Everyone knows that you are upright. Why are you like this now?"

Lu Dongchen listened to Ye Hanting's words and swallowed nervously.

His family was not well off. After becoming the new top scholar, he was assigned to the Hanlin Academy and served as a compiler, a sixth-rank official. This position was higher than a county magistrate but lower than a prefect.

However, he had been working as a compiler for ten years but was not promoted, and was constantly replaced by young people from noble families.

For him, the road to promotion is extremely difficult.

Ye Hanting looked at him calmly, "Lord Lu was full of vigor and ambition back then. He worked diligently for ten years as a compiler. He was ambitious, but he was frustrated. Did that lead him to take the wrong path?"

Lu Dongchen's face became more and more ugly, his expression was painful and distorted, Ye Hanting touched his pain point.

"Master Taifu, please stop talking."

Chu Li understood that he exchanged his conscience for his official position.

Chu Li looked at Lu Dongchen's painful expression and said in a deep voice: "Your original intention was to seek welfare for the people, but you became a parasite that helped the tyrant to commit atrocities. You are trapped in the mud, but I believe that you still have a little conscience and did not accept the 100,000 taels of silver from Madam Guoyue."

Lu Dongchen's eyes suddenly became sore. Over the years, he had done some unscrupulous things in order to keep the official position he had worked so hard to obtain.

However, he also did many good things for the Chu State and the people.

Chu Li saw clearly that Lu Dongchen was not a completely bad person, he also had his own difficulties.

Liu Chuang had made a big mistake and could only go on with it.

Lu Dongchen was attacked from both sides, and the defense line in his heart completely collapsed.

Chu Li and Ye Hanting's words awakened Lu Ta's last conscience. He took out a secret letter from the cabinet and handed it to Chu Li with both hands.

Chu Li opened the secret letter that Madam Guoyue wrote to Lu Dongchen.

Madam Guoyue wrote in the letter that she hoped Lu Dongchen could help settle the matter. If he failed, she would report Lu Dongchen to His Majesty. By then, Lu Dongchen would probably lose his official position.

Lu Dongchen regretted his decision and shed tears. "At that time, Madam Guoyue brought the 10-year-old Fourth Prince to threaten me. There are some things that I cannot tell you. I know she has the ability to make me lose my position, so I had no choice but to help the tyrant!"

"I have kept this letter in the archives. I hope that one day His Majesty will see it. Even if I lose my job, His Majesty will understand my difficulties. But after the Crown Prince and the Grand Tutor came, I was afraid, so I took the letter out of the archives."

Lu Dongchen looked up at the sky. "Since I became an official, the biggest mistake I have made is the Liu Chuang case. I feel so sorry for Liu Chuang. Tomorrow I will personally resign from my post to His Majesty. You can kill me or chop me up, I will accept it!"

Chu Li finally understood.

Lu Dongchen knows the secret between His Majesty and Madam Guoyue.

He knew that he was powerless to resist Lady Guoyue, and he did not dare to sue Lady Guoyue before His Majesty, so he could only help the tyrant and wrongly sentence Liu Chuang to ten years in prison.

When he talked about this matter today, he concealed the affair between Your Majesty and Madam Guoyue.

In fact, the root of everything was the secret plot between Your Majesty and Madam Guoyue.

If His Majesty had not indulged that woman, perhaps Lu Dongchen might have been able to keep his original intention and serve as an official in an honest manner.

But this kind of thing cannot be solved by one hand alone.

If one of Zhang Sheng, Madam Guoyue and Lu Dongchen was a purely good person, the injustice that lasted for ten years would not have happened.

Chu Li suddenly thought of the Fourth Prince.

Madam Guoyue had been to the Fourth Prince's residence two days ago, and the Fourth Prince was also aware of this matter.

Before she died, Madam Guoyue mentioned that she gave Lu Dongchen 100,000 taels of silver. Could it be that the silver was swallowed by the Fourth Prince?

Chu Li has figured out all the connections in this case.

Zhang Sheng is after money, Madam Guoyue is after sex, Lu Dongchen is after power, and the Fourth Prince is just taking advantage of the situation to rob!

Because of their selfishness, these people harmed Man Niang and Liu Chuang.

It was already midnight when Chu Li finished trying the case. She stretched and saw Ye Hanting coming out of the Dali Temple.

Chu Li looked at the bright moon hanging high in the sky and realized that he couldn't go back to the palace at this time.

Ye Hanting seemed to see through her thoughts, and he said naturally: "Let's go, go back and rest early."

When Chu Li thought that he would have to report this matter to the morning court tomorrow, he got on Ye Hanting's carriage.

Ye Hanting has never seen a woman working so hard. Doesn’t Chu Li feel tired?

She seems to have endless energy every day.

The carriage shook slightly, and suddenly, Chu Li's head tilted and leaned on his shoulder.

Ye Hanting did not push Chu Li away like he did last time.

Instead, he looked at her quietly. Chu Li's long eyelashes covered her eyelids, her cherry lips were slightly parted under her tall and upturned nose, and her breathing was steady.

She fell asleep.

Chi Yan, who was sitting outside the carriage, was about to lift the curtain, but Ye Hanting was afraid that he would wake Chu Li, so he whispered, "Don't move."

Chi Yan did not see Chu Li leaning on Ye Hanting's shoulder in the carriage.

He couldn't help but complain in his heart: Master, what are you two doing pulling the curtains?

Look at you and the prince, going out together every day. What would you do if rumors spread about you two after some time?

Along the way, Chu Li leaned on Ye Hanting's shoulder and slept soundly.

Ye Hanting sat straight all the way with his back tense. When he arrived at the door of the Taifu Mansion, his whole arm was numb.

As soon as the carriage stopped, Chu Li opened his eyes dazedly, lifted the curtain and looked outside, "We're here."

She got off the carriage, rubbed her eyes, and looked at Ye Hanting sitting there motionless. She asked suspiciously, "Sir, you're not going home?"

Ye Hanting said calmly, "You go first, I want to be alone."

Chu Li got off the carriage indifferently, walked to the room as if he was familiar with it, and fell asleep.

Ye Hanting shook his arms and curled the corners of his lips slightly. It seemed that Chu Li was not as wary of him as before.

Early the next morning, Jinluan Hall.

Emperor Qingyuan, who had not slept well all night, summoned all civil and military officials to court.

He guessed: Chu Li would definitely inform him of the result of Liu Chuang's case today.

He summoned everyone to court because he couldn't bear it any longer and he couldn't wait to take Zhang Sheng's life!

After he went back yesterday, he thought about it carefully and realized that Zhang Sheng was also a person who would not care about his life for money.

He clearly knew that Madam Guoyue had an intimate relationship with him, the emperor, yet he still dared to hook up with her.

Zhang Sheng also killed Madam Guoyue in front of him, so of course he was capable of killing his wife and father!

Emperor Qingyuan suppressed his emotions, pretended nothing had happened, and asked Chu Li.

"Prince, has the trial of Liu Chuang been concluded?"

Under the gaze of everyone, Chu Li replied, "Father, the trial has been completed."

Chu Li presented all the files and interrogation results to Emperor Qingyuan.

Then, she looked at Lu Dongchen who was standing beside her, "Master Lu, please tell me!"

Lu Dongchen's face turned pale and he fell to his knees. He kowtowed to Emperor Qingyuan and told the truth.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is very observant. I was afraid of losing my job and was protecting the culprits Zhang Sheng and Madam Guoyue."

Civil and military officials looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Zhang Sheng? Isn't he the victim?"

"Ah, how come Madam Guoyue is also related to this matter? What's going on?"

Until Lu Dongchen told everything that happened that year.

After he finished speaking, he noticed that the way the civil and military officials looked at him had changed. They all stared at him with disgust, avoiding him like the plague.

Civil and military officials all discussed the matter.

"I didn't expect that Lu Dongchen would make a wrongful conviction just to keep his job! How despicable!"

"Zhang Sheng deserves to be killed! There are such cruel people in the world who killed his wife for money and almost killed his own father!"

"Yes, poor Liu Manniang still loves her husband, but she didn't expect that the person who killed her was her husband!"

"Madam Guoyue is fickle and has killed people! Damn it, damn it!"

The ministers were outraged.