The guests in the wedding hall knelt down in a flurry, while Jin Shanyao, pulling two children along, hid in the inner room, peering out through the window.
Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci stared nervously at the doorway, their hearts pounding. That was the Empress, a powerful figure in the Sheng Dynasty...
Within moments, a woman dressed in magnificent attire entered. Her aura was so intense that it immediately overwhelmed the good fortune of the officials.
Lu Chi looked at Feng Zhi, Feng Zhi was holding the memorial tablet and gave him a reassuring look.
As the words "Long live the Empress!" faded, Lu Chi knelt at the Empress's feet with a thud, pleading, "Your Majesty, please grant me justice."
The room fell silent instantly upon hearing this, and all eyes turned to him.
"Minister Lu, on this joyous day, what brings you here?!"
Lu Chi's voice boomed, "Your Majesty, Lu Chi, accuses Madam Wei Tingwan, of plotting to murder my birth mother years ago, and now, with malicious intent, secretly attempting to poison me. I implore Your Majesty to uphold justice!"
The Empress's icy gaze fell upon the frail Madam Wei, but her words were directed at Lu Chi, "Do you have any evidence?"
A few days ago, Lu Chi came to the Empress's palace to see her, asking her to come half an hour later, and saying that he could get Madam Wei to confess her crimes. The Empress remained noncommittal; if Lu Chi couldn't handle it, then she would have to.
Regardless of the outcome, the one who kowtows to the elder sister must be her sister, even if it's just a memorial tablet.
Hearing her question, Lu Chi stood up and walked step by step towards Madam Wei. "I'm asking you, did you kill my mother?"
Upon hearing this, the Empress nearly fell off her chair. This was how Lu Chi interrogated cases in the Capital Prefecture —he simply asked, "Who would tell you?"
The next moment, Madam Wei choked back tears and said, "Yes... I killed him."
These words caused an uproar in the hall. The Empress clenched her fists tightly and stared intently at Madam Wei. Even Marquis Lu looked at her in disbelief.
Madam Wei covered her mouth in horror. No, that wasn't what she wanted to say. She was supposed to be accusing Lu Chi of making false accusations, but the truth had slipped out.
As if he had anticipated this, Lu Chi pressed on relentlessly, each sentence hitting the nail on the head, "Why did you kill her? Weren't you two inseparable confidantes?"
Madam Wei's tears streamed down her face. She was about to say that she was wronged, but her mouth blurted out, "Just because she is my close friend, she keeps telling me how wonderful the Marquis is."
The Marquis brought her some wonderful things from the border, and he even taught her horseback riding and archery. After hearing this for a while, I started to think the Marquis was a good man. Sometimes I would think, how wonderful it would have been if I had met the Marquis first.
So I became jealous and harbored the thought of stealing her fiancé. I wondered if I married the Marquis, would he treat me well too?
Madam Wei covered her mouth, looking at Marquis Lu in horror. She shook her head desperately, but the words kept spilling out.
"Your mother is a fool. Ever since I had this idea, she's been subtly trying to find out the Marquis's preferences. She answers whatever I ask, without ever putting up a fight."
The Queen's voice was icy. "That's because she considers you a friend."
"A friend..." Madam Wei cried, her eyes glazed over as if recalling something. "If she was a friend, why wouldn't she give me her fiancé? Back then, when she knew I was in love with the Marquis, she cut off all ties with me without a word, all for a man?"
Madam Wei forced a bitter smile, her eyes filled with ruthlessness. "What I want, I never fail to get. So, under the guise of coming to repent, I drugged her and bribed the midwife, causing her to die and return to the Yellow Springs."
She slumped to the ground in despair, no longer bothering to cover her face, and resigned herself to her fate, saying, "See, murder is that simple. More than ten years have passed, and you still haven't found a single clue."
"Because I killed everyone who knew about it..."
In the end, Madam Wei became almost delirious, her cries tinged with a chilling coldness.
The Empress's hand trembled slightly. "Now that you've become Madam Wei, why did you still poison Lu Chi?"
Madam Wei's smile was bitter. "I'm pregnant, I have to think about my son... With you, his aunt, Lu Chi, do you think the Marquis's mansion will fall into my son's hands?"
I can't believe he's so lucky. He survived birth, age five, seven, fifteen... every time I poisoned him, he survived, and the last time he even escaped?!
As she spoke, she suddenly turned to look at Marquis Lu, "Tell me, how did he escape from my grasp? It shouldn't be like this..."
Marquis Lu remained silent. This was his own son, and no matter how much he disliked him, he would never stand by and watch him die.
He devised a plan to switch the beams and pillars, saving Lu Chi. This way, he wouldn't be seen as abandoning someone to their death, and it would also allow his youngest son to inherit the position of heir apparent.
He never expected that Lu Chi would return alive, completely disrupting all his plans. It seems this child is determined to destroy the Marquis's mansion.
Looking at his expression, Madam Wei understood everything. She chuckled softly, " Qin Yan liked you so much, I thought you were a treasure. But after marrying into this family, I've discovered you're utterly rotten."
"What kind of good person is a man who's in such a hurry to remarry less than six months after his first wife's death? It's a pity I was blind back then, always thinking that what you steal is the best. But after you started bringing one concubine after another into the mansion, that's when I wanted to kill you."
"But you can't die. If you die, my son will be completely hopeless. I must rely on you to ensure that the position of heir apparent falls to my son, and that the entire Marquis's mansion belongs to my son and me."
Madam Wei laughed cruelly, her voice chilling, "Do you know why you've only ever had two sons in your life?"
A bad feeling welled up in Marquis Lu's heart. Madam Wei smiled smugly, "Because I gave you a drug that will prevent you from having children? I'm not that fool Qin Yan."
"If you can't control your lower body, I'll help you control it. It's just a pity that I've planned my whole life, but I've been defeated by this wolf cub." Madam Wei glared fiercely at Lu Chi.
"How did you know that Ji Chengye was borrowing lifespan? And how did you catch Xuanjizi? And what did you do to me?!" Madam Wei suddenly stood up and rushed towards Lu Chi like a madwoman.
She didn't know what tricks Lu Chi had played, but he had managed to make her blurt out the truth uncontrollably.
Unfortunately, as soon as she got close, Lu Chi kicked her away, sending her crashing heavily onto the table and shattering teacups on the floor.
The Empress breathed a sigh of relief. When her elder sister passed away, she was not yet the Empress, but the Wei Household already had a Consort. At that time Qin Household was suppressed everywhere. By the time they turned the tables and investigated the events of that year, it was too late.
She would eradicate all the remnants of the Wei Household. " Wei Tingwan poisoned a court lady and a marquis's son. Guards, take Wei Tingwan to the imperial prison and hand her over to the Dali Court of Judicial Review for punishment."
Only then did everyone realize that this seemingly gentle and frail woman was actually so vicious. And looking at Marquis Lu, they realized that he didn't love his wife, but rather that she was infertile...
Everyone heard a huge secret today. Their eyes darted around, looking at each other, full of things to say but unable to utter a word.
The Empress said coldly, "My lord, today is Chi'er's joyous occasion. I imagine you're not in the mood to participate. You should go back and reflect on your actions."
Marquis Lu dared not object, "Yes, Your Majesty, I shall take my leave now."
Marquis Lu left in a disheveled state, and the wedding continued.
Feng Zhi placed the memorial tablet of Lu Chi's birth mother, Qin Yan, back on the chair.
The matchmaker called out, "Second bow to the parents... Husband and wife bow to each other... Ceremony complete, escort them to the bridal chamber."
Jin Shanyao and her two children witnessed a war without gunpowder. Only then did she realize what palace intrigue and family feuds were—they were all maggots swarming in the shadows.
Anyone with real power wouldn't resort to such convoluted tactics... Her gaze fell on the two children, and she picked one up in each hand and left the Lu Residence.