The husband I snatched halfway through his life is strange.

Chapter 491 I often beat up your son
After Wei Zhao left the palace, he rode a horse with Bao Pu in his saddle. The wheels rolled over the waterlogged streets with a dull thud, splashing mud everywhere.

It was raining, and there were hardly any pedestrians on the road.

Xiao Huaiyan lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside.

"This is not the way to your residence."

Wei Zhao: "Go to the Gu family."

Xiao Huaiyan paused slightly, his amusement fading: "Lu Huaizhang has arrived?"

Wei Zhao closed his eyes, his expression indifferent: "We entered the city this morning."

Gu Fuju received the news when the carriage from the Duke of Shunguo's mansion arrived at Guanxi Street.

Sitting opposite him was Lu Huaizhang, who was wearing a faded dark blue satin round-necked robe. Although he looked travel-worn, the cloud-patterned embroidery on the collar and cuffs still revealed a hint of his former dignity.

Upon hearing this, Gu Fuju placed the chess piece in his hand into the jade chess jar.

Lu Huaizhang saw him straighten his clothes.

"Fu Ju, what are you doing...?"

He quickly realized what was happening and gave a knowing look.

"I haven't paid attention to court affairs these past few years and rarely inquire about matters in the capital. The only person I've kept in touch with is you. But on my way here, I heard that the Wei family's son became your son-in-law."

He stroked his beard: "You valued him highly in your early years, always keeping him by your side at the Imperial Academy and the schools you founded. I used to joke that you had an extra half-son."

"But I never imagined we would actually become a family."

"Now that he's your son-in-law, it's no big deal for you, the father-in-law, to go out and greet him."

Gu Fuju listened indifferently.

"I just want to see if he has any conscience at all."

Will he bring Yaoyao along?

Gu Fuju's intentions in letting Lu Huaizhang stay at the Gu family home were quite clear.

He stood up: "Huaizhang, please sit down first, I'll go take a look."

"no need."

From afar, Wei Zhao could be seen walking towards them with steady steps.

Wei Zhao handed the umbrella to the Gu family attendant before entering the house, saying, "This student knows the way."

Gu Fuju looked behind him.

Very good, there is only one Xiao Huaiyan.

What a heartless bastard!

Lu Huaizhang scrutinized him carefully. The son of an old friend indeed possessed the air of that old friend.

Wei Zhao bowed to him, a gesture of respect befitting a junior: "Lord Lu is not surprised to see me, which shows that Master has already told you everything."

Lu Huaizhang: "He knew I loathed the capital, and he wouldn't have invited me to the capital unless it was for important business."

He was a decisive man and knew exactly why Wei Zhao had come to the Gu family so soon after he arrived.

Lu Huaizhang's gaze fell on Xiao Huaiyan.

He has a dignified and upright appearance.

He nodded: "Is this Xu Ran?"

Wei Zhao:......

Gu Fuju: ...

Xiao Huaiyan: ? ? ?
No, why would anyone mistake him for He Xuran, that perennial runner-up?

"Has Lord Lu forgotten?"

Xiao Huaiyan: "Once, when the Empress Dowager hosted a banquet, I was playing with a tinderbox and burned a hole in your official robe."

“You might be confused if I told you, after all, I framed Chu Liulang back then.”

"Of course, you may have forgotten who Chu Liulang is. After all, he's a scoundrel and not an important figure."

Wei Zhao:......

The smell of vinegar is overwhelming.

Xiao Huaiyan smiled and said, "Let me put it in the simplest and most understandable way."

"Back in the day, I used to beat your son all the time."

Lu Huaizhang: ...

Now I remember which little rascal it was.

You've changed a lot.

He suddenly felt that something was off about him.

After a few people sat down.

Lu Huaizhang said directly, "My Lu family can be considered a distinguished family. My father served under the late emperor." He then placed a piece on the chessboard.

There was a snap.

“I am ashamed. My father was a man who only cared about profit. He did many evil things for the late emperor. When the Prince of Yan was exiled, it was my father who was ordered to go to the Prince of Yan’s residence to read the imperial edict.”

"They say he was a close confidant of the late emperor, but I think it's more accurate to say he was a dagger in the late emperor's hand, because he made too many enemies."

Place another piece.

"He feared that the late emperor, with his unpredictable temper, would punish him and silence him, so he left himself a backup plan. He had too much evidence of royal crimes that he had not destroyed. After the new emperor ascended the throne, he continued to support him for many years and was able to die peacefully of old age by relying on the old methods."

Lu Huaizhang disapproved of his father's behavior, and the two were never close. Although he came from a prominent family, he was only an illegitimate son. After marrying, he did not want to be associated with the Lu family and moved out to live separately early on.

That legitimate son had the Lu family paving the way in the officialdom, but he was still inferior to him.

"Perhaps he was disappointed by his eldest son's incompetence."

"Perhaps they knew that their eldest son was incapable of shouldering great responsibilities, and that the Lu family was destined to decline."

"Before my father died, he handed all the evidence of his crimes to me."

Lu Huaizhang said to Wei Zhao, "According to my father, the late emperor doted on the Prince of Yan the most."

but……

"The edict of succession shall be made in triplicate."

“Your grandfather had one copy, Lord Wei, one copy was held by the late emperor’s trusted eunuch, and another copy was hidden in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.”

"After the late emperor wrote the edict and arranged everything, he did not sleep a wink all night."

Xiao Huaiyan found it ridiculous.

"Why didn't you pass the throne to the Prince of Yan, whom you loved the most? You set up such a grand scheme just to make the new emperor resent you, so that his first act after ascending the throne would be to kill the Prince of Yan and eliminate any future trouble?"

The incense smoke from the burner curled upwards and swirled.

Lu Huaizhang placed another chess piece.

“You’re not the only one who found it strange; I found it strange too back then. But after the Duke of Shun passed away, I understood.”

He looked at Wei Zhao.

"You should know that too."

Wei Zhao lowered his eyes, and through the thin wisps of smoke, it seemed impossible to see the emotions in his eyes. His voice was cold, but carried a hint of sarcasm.

"Even the late emperor was not the crown prince that the founding emperor favored."

Xiao Huaiyan had also heard about this matter.

Emperor Taizu was more concerned about the princes he loved.

But that man was too benevolent; his methods weren't ruthless enough. Just like the Prince of Yan, he also maintained good relations with the Wei family.

Wei Zhao addressed the matter directly: "Not all those with the surname Ying are beasts and petty men. Emperor Kaizu was a good man, and the emperors who succeeded him were also good."

A truly kind-hearted person is good at accepting advice.

From the handwritten notes left by Wei's ancestors, Wei Zhao could see that the Great Jin Dynasty at that time was truly ruled by a wise and virtuous ruler and ministers.

"No matter how good the seedlings are, some will always grow crooked."

The Wei family has produced many talented individuals, surpassing even the imperial family's offspring. How could they not be a thorn in their side?
It is unclear from which emperor onwards the dissatisfaction with the situation arose.

Perched high on the dragon throne, he looked down on so-called wise rulers and virtuous ministers, declaring that he could decide the fate of the world with a single word.

With his ambitions growing, he began to consider eliminating the Duke of Shun's mansion.

But they couldn't do that back then; they could only plan slowly.

This plan will require the efforts of several generations.

"The founding emperor issued a decree, bestowing upon that prince the title of Prince of Xiaoyao, granting him a residence in Nanyang, and forbidding him from entering the capital without an imperial edict. This was a way of saving his life, and only then was the throne passed to the late emperor."

The late emperor was even more ruthless than him.

"The empty imperial edict of succession left to the Wei family by the late emperor on his deathbed has become a death warrant."

He won't give up until he achieves his goal.

Even though he knew that this trip would surely lead Emperor Yingqian to kill the Prince of Yan.

Did the late emperor care about the Prince of Yan?
It's something we should care about.

But compared to eliminating the Wei family, the Prince of Yan is insignificant.

Wei Zhao spoke each word clearly and without emotion: "The elimination of the Prince of Yan proves that he chose the right person."

It can be said that the Ying family can actually produce good bamboo.

But they chose the bad bamboo shoots.

"Is Lord Lu aware of the matter concerning the shadowy figure?"

Lu Huaizhang met his indifferent and cold eyes.

"You want to ask why the shadowy figure attacked General Jingyuan?"