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Chapter 585 Missing
Lu Qing, who had been demoted to a commoner, could not witness what happened in the main hall. Fortunately, Lu Chao sent a secret letter, which basically told the whole story.

The secret letter said that the Duke of Yan was in the main hall with tears streaming down his face. He expressed his loyalty to Emperor Jin, claiming that his wife had prepared a set of clothes for her birthday, but he never expected that someone would frame him and tamper with the fabric in an attempt to frame him.

In front of his colleagues at the morning court, he passionately recounted how he had followed Emperor Jin through thick and thin, risking his life, and how he had worked diligently and loyally for decades. Finally, he kowtowed to the ground, saying that everything was up to Emperor Jin and that he would have no objections.

Faced with such a tearful old minister, Emperor Jin could not remain ruthless.

Thus, a scene of deep affection and loyalty between the emperor and his ministers was staged in the main hall.

When the court session ended, the ministers were generally divided into two types. One type surrounded the Duke of Yan, fearing that the Duke might mistakenly think that his stance had wavered and that the Duke might distance himself from him or even harbor resentment.

The other type maintained a polite distance, keeping a respectful facade while their behavior became even more cautious due to the Duke of Yan's tearful complaint and Emperor Jin's magnanimity.

Lu Chao also attached a list of those who, after the court session, still did not show any particular interest in the Duke of Yan to the secret letter.

To Zhu Yu's surprise, the name of General Cao Tianbao was also on that list.

"This..." She looked at it with some surprise, pointed with her finger, and looked at Lu Qing questioningly, wondering if she was not familiar enough with interpreting secret letters and therefore had misunderstood them.

Lu Qing knew what she meant: "You're not mistaken, it's Cao Tianbao."

"What's going on? Didn't Cao Tianbao go to the banquet that day? And when we left, I saw that everyone else either got up to say goodbye or hesitated, but he sat there calmly, drinking by himself, without any intention of leaving in a hurry or distancing himself from Zhao Bi." Zhu Yu felt somewhat surprised.

“It’s not surprising. Cao Tianbao is a man who has loyalty and righteousness ingrained in his bones,” Lu Qing said. “He is loyal to the Emperor and righteous to the Duke of Yan.”

The reason he stood up to Emperor Jin when he was falsely accused, making everyone around him hold their breath, was because he was very firm in his loyalty and would not accept any slander or questioning.

As for Zhao Bi's choice to protect himself and his unwillingness to risk the wrath of his superiors to speak up for him, this was clearly an act of disloyalty.

The impact of this unauthorized weapon manufacturing on General Cao is clearly far greater than that of his nephew's previous incident. Last time, Zhao Bi quickly avoided involvement, so General Cao might have been able to overlook it.

However, given the serious nature of this issue, the Duke of Yan still hasn't taken a clear stance. It would be impossible for Cao Tianbao to have no thoughts at all.

I suspect that his staying at the banquet was a way of telling Duke Yan, "You have been unjust to me, but I have been loyal to you."

As for why he didn't take any action to show his stance after court today, it's probably related to the matter that the Duke of Yan was involved in this time.

The phoenix pattern on that fabric was so bright and clear when it was wet that anyone with eyes could see it.

This kind of thing is easy to say but hard to hear. Duke Yan could come up with a hundred reasons to make the matter seem reasonable and to make himself appear innocent, but whether the listener believes him or not is another matter entirely. General Cao can stand with his cronies and be loyal in other matters, but when it comes to loyalty to the Emperor, even Duke Yan cannot harbor any rebellious thoughts.

Therefore, his actions today are tantamount to demonstrating his loyalty to the Emperor, and also letting the Duke of Yan know that if he harbors any rebellious thoughts, he will not associate with him.

"No wonder the Yan Kingdom Guild has been using Lu Zhang as a front, acting as if they're doing everything they can to support their grandson, yet they allow their eldest grandson, Zhao Boce, to act like a bully around Lu Zhang." Zhu Yu sighed. "As long as he uses the pretext of paving the way for Lu Zhang, he'll naturally have a legitimate reason to do so!"

After all, they were all princes. The question of whether to establish the eldest son or the most virtuous son had been debated for hundreds of years without a definitive conclusion. Zhao Bi was Lu Zhang's maternal grandfather, and it was reasonable for him to support his grandson's ascension to the throne, both publicly and privately. From this perspective, it was indeed understandable for Cao Tianbao to stand with him.

However, if someone is disloyal in important matters and seems to harbor some ambition in private... then that's a different story.

In the days that followed, the capital city seemed to have returned to its former state.

Or rather, it's not entirely the same as it used to be.

After Duke Yan took the initiative to plead guilty before the emperor that day, he was not only not punished, but also received comfort from Emperor Jin. He then lived a quiet and unassuming life for less than ten days, seemingly observing the outside world's reaction. Afterwards, he probably felt that there were no problems, so he relaxed and even acted more recklessly than before the incident.

As for the Zhelüfang (a type of clothing store), things certainly wouldn't be so easy.

Originally a top-notch shop in the capital, it was sealed off overnight by officials from the Jingzhao Prefecture.

However, according to Liu Yueyao, when the shop was sealed off, neither Gu Lingyun nor the manager could be found. Only a few trembling young shop assistants were found, almost scared to death by the sight of the shop being sealed off.

When the people from the Jingzhao Prefecture went to Gu Lingyun's and the steward's house, they found that all the items in the house were intact, and nothing had been taken away; only the people had disappeared without a trace.

The soldiers guarding the city gates of the capital also said they had not seen the two people leave.

Soon, notices were posted all over the capital, announcing the arrest of Gu Lingyun and the other managers and employees of the Zhilvfang who had not yet been caught.

This commotion caused quite a stir. The people of the capital dared not speak out on the surface, but they were all talking about it in private.

Some people say that this Tze-Lush Shop really has the guts of a bear and the heart of a leopard, daring to frame the Duke of Yan in such a matter. They are really tired of the good life and refuse to take the path of survival, insisting on running down the path of death.

Of course, some people have a different opinion, thinking that no one in this world would be so stupid as to do that, especially business people. Who doesn't seek profit and avoid trouble? Who would deliberately invite trouble upon themselves?

Perhaps some influential people do have some ulterior motives that could cost them their lives if they get out, and when their scheme is discovered, they pick on the weak and shift the blame for the discount onto a businessman who is completely incapable of defending himself, making Zelifang the scapegoat.