Chapter 118: Superior Skills

Just two days after the sacrificial ceremony took place, Prime Minister Jiang went to see Lu Ji.

After the morning court session, the old man put on a smile on his face, pulled Lu Ji, and said with a sinister look in his eyes: "I never thought that a man like General Lu who claims to be upright would frame someone."

Lu Ji looked at the old man coldly and sneered, "When it comes to framing someone, Prime Minister Jiang is the best."

He instigated Concubine Duan to use a flesh and blood trap to swallow the Crane's Beak Red to frame Concubine Shu. Although this step was risky, if it succeeded, Concubine Shu would have no chance of turning things around.

With the fall of Concubine Shu, the Lu family naturally withdrew from the competition for the throne.

Prime Minister Jiang prided himself on his experience, but he never expected that Lu Ji was more skilled than him and secretly tampered with the sacrificial ceremony, directly targeting Prince Jin.

The Shaoqing of the Dali Temple is a disciple of the Lu family. If this matter is pinned on the head of Prince Jin, it would be treason to murder the king, and the entire Jiang family would have to be buried with him.

Compared to just losing a concubine, the Jiang family lost a big loss in this round of game.

After careful consideration, Prime Minister Jiang decided to seek peace with Lu Ji.

"The Empress Shu and the Concubine Duan have always gotten along well. I feel that the poisoning of the Concubine Duan a while ago is very suspicious. Although the matter has been handed over to the inner court for trial, I believe that the Empress Shu must be innocent."

Hearing this, Lu Ji said calmly, "Since even the Prime Minister feels that my elder sister is innocent, then the inner court will surely be able to investigate the matter as soon as possible and clear my elder sister's name."

Since the Jiang family set up this trap, they must have planned it well. If you want to overturn the verdict, you can only force the Jiang family to stop.

Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Jiang hurriedly said, "That's right, the inner court will definitely be able to find out the truth and clear the name of Concubine Shu."

After that, he looked at Lu Ji and proposed a deal with him: "General Lu, let's not beat around the bush. If the Concubine Shu is cleared of all charges, then this accident at the sacrificial ceremony..."

Before Prime Minister Jiang could finish his words, Lu Ji interrupted him coldly: "Prime Minister, do you think this was an accident? If the Saint had not dodged the cannon, the consequences would have been disastrous."

This is where Lu Ji's ruthlessness lies. He actually dared to use the saint as a wedge. The saint has always been suspicious. This matter not only suspected Lu Ji, but also certainly made him suspicious of King Jin.

After all, this grand ceremony was organized by the Prince of Jin, and he was the only adult prince. He was an adult with a big heart, and his desire to steal the throne must be greater than that of the underage Prince of Qi.

In the final analysis, the Jiang family lost this round.

But Prime Minister Jiang didn't have the energy to worry about these things at the moment. The most important thing right now was to save Prince Jin's life.

"General Lu, be careful with your words." Prime Minister Jiang pulled his sleeve and pulled him to a secluded place, lowering his voice and saying, "Let's not beat around the bush. General Lu, please show some mercy on this matter." Then he added, "If you let Prince Jin go, Concubine Shu will be safe. Let's not be impulsive. If we both lose, it will only give others an opportunity to take advantage of us."

Lu Ji's original intention in this move was to save Concubine Shu, and he certainly would not do it to overthrow Prince Jin's eldest sister.

He smiled faintly when he heard this: "Prime Minister Jiang is quite insightful."

"Then let's make an agreement."

Prime Minister Jiang spoke cheerfully, but he was scheming sinisterly in his heart. He had been a veteran of three dynasties and had experienced all kinds of storms. The battle for the throne was a long and arduous journey. If he failed this time, he would have a backup plan. Lu Ji looked at Prime Minister Jiang's departing back, his deep eyes narrowed slightly: As the Art of War says, speed is the essence of war. It is better to cut the Gordian knot in the battle between you all, so as to avoid more trouble.

The next day, news came from the inner court that Concubine Duan had caught a suspicious palace maid in her own palace and found crane's beak poison in the room where the maid lived. After interrogation, it was found that the maid had been punished for doing something wrong a while ago, so she held a grudge against Concubine Duan, and therefore put poison in the snacks given by Concubine Shu, intending to poison the Concubine.

Since the "culprit" confessed his guilt, Concubine Shu was naturally innocent. The inner court reported this to the emperor, who without further ado immediately ordered the release of Concubine Shu. In order to appease her, he promoted her to the rank of noble concubine and put her in charge of the affairs of the inner palace.

After a few days, the Dali Temple also found out the truth about the "accident" at the sacrificial ceremony. The craftsman who made the firecrackers was negligent for a moment, which led to the accident. Although it had nothing to do with Prince Jin, the sacrificial ceremony was arranged by Prince Jin after all. The saint stripped Prince Jin of his title of prince and punished him to reflect on his mistakes in seclusion in his mansion for two months.

This harem conspiracy came to an end.

Shufei felt very unhappy when she received the emperor's decree to promote her to noble concubine.

At first, she was bewitched by the emperor's grace and entered the palace wholeheartedly. After experiencing so many years of open and secret struggles, her feelings for Zhao Che had long been worn away.

The emperor's favor is not reliable. At critical moments, you have to rely on your parents' family.

"Mother, you were promoted to Noble Consort. Why are you unhappy?" The Prince of Qi looked at Consort Shu with a puzzled look on his face.

Concubine Shu threw the imperial edict aside, pulled her son over, and said with a wry smile, "Mother was almost wrongly accused to death. I am still in shock. How can I be happy?"

"Mother is a very fair person. How could she do such a shady thing as poisoning someone? Father is very perceptive. Not only did he clear Mother's name, he also promoted you to appease her. This shows that Father trusts Mother and loves you even more. Not only does he love you, but he also seems to love his son more than before."

Young people are naive and cannot see things clearly.

Concubine Shu looked at her son and said, "Mother was framed. It's not that your father is so perceptive and cleared my name. Even if he knew I was innocent, I'm afraid he would have hoped that Mother would die unjustly."

Hearing this, the young man gradually frowned, "Mother shouldn't say that about father." He paused, suppressed his discontent, and continued, "I know that mother is upset about the matter between Concubine Chen and her son. Father is indeed a little unkind in this matter, but it was Prince Xuanchen who disobeyed you first, so you have to be so ruthless. If we abide by our duties, you will trust mother and love me."

Concubine Shu knew that her son was eyeing the position of crown prince.

After all, the only ones qualified to compete for the throne right now are Prince Jin, born to Concubine Duan, and him.

Ever since the incident with Prince Ning, Zhao Che turned his attention to his son, doting on him overtly and covertly. It was obvious that the emperor's goodwill had completely won over his son.

Concubine Shu hurriedly pulled her son over and said earnestly, "My son, have you forgotten that your father was so partial to Prince Ning in the beginning, but in the end, he still gave him poisoned wine without any regard for the father-son relationship?"

Before Concubine Shu could speak, the Prince of Qi interrupted and said, "I have already said that we are different from Concubine Chen and her son."

Seeing her son's inability to see things clearly, Concubine Shu couldn't help but feel annoyed. She suppressed her anger and said, "To tell you the truth, if it weren't for your uncle's tricks, I'm afraid my mother and I would have followed in the footsteps of Concubine Chen and her son."

Seeing her son remained silent, she continued to persuade him, "When we fall, the Lu family will follow. Pan'er, you must remember that although you are a descendant of the Zhao family, the only ones who really care about your life are the Lu family. We can only rely on your uncle to be safe in this deep palace."

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(End of this chapter)