Happy Spring Every Year

Chapter 232 The Letter is True

At this moment, Wen Chengye came outside the hall to report that Jia Shaobo, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, had arrived.

Eunuch Fushun observed Emperor Sheng's expression and quickly raised his voice, "Announce!"

The moment he stepped into the hall, Jia Shaobo felt a heavy atmosphere coming towards him.

The emperor was seen sitting behind a jade table, his face as gloomy as water, which made people feel afraid.

Jia Shaobo hurried forward, lifted up his robe, knelt on his knees, bowed deeply, and said loudly:

"Greetings to the Holy One."

At this time, Emperor Sheng had already knocked on the jade table and said in a cold voice: "Come and see if these letters are real or fake."

Upon hearing this, Jia Shaobo looked up in surprise.

Ah? Letter? What letter?

The Cui family has been in the spotlight recently.

He thought that the fact that he had given a roast goose to Cui Daoyuan had been discovered, and he was so scared that he broke out in cold sweats and thought of a lot of explanations.

When Eunuch Fushun saw that Emperor Sheng was showing impatience, he hurried forward and handed the letter on the table to Jia Shaobo.

This Lord Jia is good in every way except that he is too greedy for food and is too afraid of death.

As soon as he got closer, he could smell that Lord Jia was having roast goose for lunch today!

Jia Shaobo finally reacted and gave Fushun a slightly flattering smile, then nervously reached out to take the letter.

At this time, something strange happened.

Jia Shaobo's trembling hands stabilized, his bent waist straightened, and his fearful expression disappeared in an instant, replaced by extreme concentration and calmness.

Eunuch Fushun had known about Jia Shaobo's behavior for a long time, so he was not surprised, but his heart was in a knot.

This letter...can't be true? General Shen and General Lu have always been loyal and brave, how could they commit treason?

Emperor Sheng also looked over, his gaze icy cold.

At this time, Jia Shaobo's attention was completely focused on the letter in his hand, and he had completely forgotten everything around him.

He first lowered his head to read it carefully, then stood up and walked to the door of the hall, looked at it in the light, and then rubbed his fingertips back and forth on the letter paper, and finally even put the letter under his nose and smelled it.

Eunuch Fushun was feeling very nervous because of Jia Shaobo's actions.

Just as he was about to go forward and ask, Jia Shaobo suddenly pulled himself away from the letter, bent down abruptly, knelt in the hall with a look of panic, and said in a trembling voice:

"Your Majesty, the letter is true!"

This sentence was like thunder, shocking everyone in the hall and changing their expressions. Only Emperor Sheng and Eunuch Fushun were shocked, while Zhao Huailang was happy.

Emperor Sheng subconsciously leaned forward at this moment, his hands tightly grasping the intricately carved armrests of the dragon throne.

"Jia Shaobo, did you see clearly?"

Emperor Sheng opened his lips slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but when the words reached his lips, they turned into questions.

Jia Shaobo quickly replied, "Your Majesty, this letter paper is of excellent quality and has been specially—"

"I don't want to hear any of this. I just want a definite statement. Believe it or not—is it true or false?"

Emperor Sheng frowned and interrupted him harshly.

Jia Shaobo was so frightened that his whole body trembled.

Just now, the emperor asked him to read the letter, but he didn't even bother to read the content of the letter. He was getting more and more frightened at this moment, but he still nodded very firmly.

"Your Majesty, this is my signature skill, and I can't be wrong. Aside from the pungent smell, this is the finest paper and ink commonly used by the royal family and aristocratic families of the Mo Kingdom."

"But... forgive my inattention, I cannot tell when this letter was written."

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhao Huailang's eyes flashed slightly, and the last stone in his heart fell to the ground.

He knew Jia Shaobo's abilities, and even he couldn't see it. No one else in the court had such vision.

"Father!"

Zhao Huailang immediately showed fear on his face and shouted.

Although he believed that it was he who took it out, he looked as if he could not hide his surprise at the result and looked at Emperor Sheng with a little helplessness.

Emperor Sheng slowly stood up, his face filled with anger. He slammed the armrest of the throne and said through gritted teeth:

"Collaborating with the enemy and treason is unforgivable and a heinous crime!"

"Your Majesty!"

Fushun looked at Shengdi's hand and called out nervously.

Emperor Sheng took two steps back and forth, then suddenly looked at Zhao Huailang with a cold gaze and said in a cold voice:

"Second Brother, let me ask you one last time, is this letter really from Shen Zhengsheng?"

Zhao Huailang clenched his hands slightly under his sleeves and nodded without any hesitation, "Replying to Father, that's right!"

Emperor Sheng looked at Zhao Huailang deeply and suddenly raised his voice: "Wen Chengye!"

Outside the palace, the commander of the Imperial Guards, Wen Chengye, came in.

Emperor Sheng's face was filled with anger, his expression as cold as ice, and he gave a stern order:

"I command you to immediately lead the Imperial Guards to surround General Dingguo's and General Zhaoyong's mansions and bring Shen Zhengsheng and Lu Yongzhu before me!"

When these words were spoken, even Wen Chengye looked up in surprise, thinking he had heard it wrong.

However, the emperor's face was full of majesty and murderousness, so he didn't dare to hesitate at all.

"Wei Chen obeys!"

---

The sound of horse hooves shook the long street.

A large group of royal guards rushed out of the palace like a raging torrent.

The Royal Guards were all wearing bright armor that gleamed with cold light. Wherever they passed, the streets were filled with silence.

The people who were busy making a living all looked frightened and hurriedly fled to the corners of the street.

The women hurriedly covered the children's mouths, fearing that the unintentional crying would cause trouble.

The raised dust filled the air, and soon the two teams of imperial guards arrived in front of General Dingguo's mansion and General Zhaoyong's mansion respectively.

Following the order, the royal guards quickly changed their formation, dispersed in a well-trained manner, and surrounded the two mansions in a lightning speed.

In a blink of an eye, spears stood up and shields were connected, forming an iron wall.

It was clearly August, but frost seemed to be condensing everywhere. Some people looked at it from afar, not daring to make a sound.

The two gatekeepers of the general's mansion were so frightened by the sight of the awe-inspiring royal guards that they trembled all over and shouted to report the news.

Wen Chengye personally led his subordinates to General Zhaoyong's mansion.

Although I don't know why the emperor ordered the siege of the palace, General Lu is now at the peak of his power. If he resists, he will pose a much greater threat than General Shen.

"Let's go! Go into the mansion and get him!"

Wen Chengye tightened the sword at his waist and broke into the mansion.

Fuzhong.

Lu Yongzhu returned to Beijing at the end of July. The emperor sympathized with his long journey and granted him half a month's leave.

Apart from the time he went to visit Shen Zhengsheng, Lu Yongzhu had never gone out. At this moment, he was sitting with Mrs. Lu.

"Master, I have been thinking a lot these days. When I think back on what I did in the past, I truly regret it."

In the past few months, Lu Yongzhu has been fighting the enemy in the north. Mrs. Lu has been worried day and night, and she has looked much thinner.

No wonder even Aunt Zhou said that there was no need to doubt Madam Lu's feelings for General Lu.

"Especially after learning that the master always had high hopes for Zheng'er and had never...never favored Zhou Fu's son, the resentment in my heart also dissipated."

"As for Yao'er's incident back then, I could—"

When Lu Yongzhu heard Madam Lu say this, his brows relaxed, but he heard shouts from all sides outside, and then a man rushed in, tumbling and crawling, shouting:

"Master! It's bad! The Royal Guards have surrounded the mansion and are coming this way with swords!"

"What!?"

Lu Yongzhu stood up suddenly and walked out with a serious expression.

Mrs. Lu was stunned for a moment, and when she came to her senses, her face had lost all color.