The Grand Secretary has no heir? His concubine gives birth to triplets.

Green Ripple walked briskly from the front yard, avoiding the rough old women working in the back house.

She lifted the curtain and entered the inner room of Qingyi Garden, closing the door tightly behind her.

"Madam, Miss Murong!" Green Rhyme said in a low voice, her cheeks flushed with excitement.

"News has just arrived: the new emperor issued an edict in the Fengtian Hall, ordering the three judicial departments to conduct a joint trial and reopen the case of the Marquis of Dingyuan's residence!"

Minister Lu of the Ministry of War was so frightened that he collapsed in the main hall!

Jiang Guo'er was holding half a cup of bird's nest in her hands when she heard this, and her hand trembled violently.

The verdict has been overturned.

It's really... time to overturn the verdict.

She went through countless hardships and finally waited for this day!

Countless nights, whenever she closed her eyes, her mind was filled with the bright red blood on the execution ground.

Now, the blood debt buried in the ground will finally be repaid!

Jiang Guo'er's eyes instantly stung and turned red, and her throat felt like it was being strangled by a rough hemp rope, letting out a broken sob.

She could no longer hold back, and buried her face in Xue Lingyi's arms, clutching her clothes and bursting into tears.

The heart-wrenching sobs seemed to be an attempt to vent all the grievances and hardships she had swallowed over the past few years.

Xue Lingyi, her eyes red, kept stroking her back and took out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears.

"Cry, it will make you feel better. This is a great joy, and your uncle, aunt, and brother in heaven will surely be happy too."

Jiang Guo'er cried her heart out, soaking two handkerchiefs with tears, before sniffling and raising her head.

"I'm happy... I should be happy."

Xue Lingyi smiled and instructed Lüyi, "Go to the main kitchen and tell them that today is the day the new emperor ascends the throne, a day of universal celebration."

"Qingyi Garden also wanted to share in the joy, so they asked them to prepare an extra table of delicious dishes for lunch and send them over."

"I understand!" Green Ripple replied crisply and turned to make arrangements.

At noon, a sumptuous feast was laid out on the round table.

The dishes included pickled goose feet, pickled bamboo shoots, eight-treasure wild duck, steamed shad, old hen and bamboo fungus soup, and a plate of exquisitely made plum blossom cakes.

Jiang Guo'er was pregnant with three children and couldn't drink alcohol. Xue Lingyi lied to the outside world that she was pregnant, so the two of them substituted red date and goji berry tea for alcohol.

The three of them closed the door and clinked their glasses.

"That's satisfying! That wretched jackal deserves to be in hell long ago!"

Jiang Guo'er took a sip of the sweet soup, and the tension in her heart completely relaxed.

After eating most of the steamed shad and pickled bamboo shoots, my appetite was whetted, and I picked up a few more pieces of pickled goose feet.

Seeing that she was enjoying her meal, Xue Lingyi, unusually, did not stop her.

On such a joyous day, as long as Shunshun didn't eat too much, she didn't want to remind her, lest she spoil her mood.

When we were almost full, an unresolved question popped into my head.

"Lingyi, tell me, why exactly did Lu Bingde frame my father and brother?"

"They've never offended Lu Bingde, nor the Lu family. Why would Lu Bingde do this?"

Jiang Guo'er found it increasingly strange.

"Is it simply because you don't like my dad and brother?"

"If you can't figure it out, just leave it for now," Xue Lingyi said, seeing her brows furrow slightly, and poured her a bowl of soup.

"The Prime Minister is currently being interrogated at the Dali Temple. Don't you trust his methods? Once he returns, he will naturally know everything."

Jiang Guo'er nodded.

*

The dungeon of Dali Temple.

This place is perpetually dark, with dirty water dripping from the corners of the walls.

The walls on both sides were covered with long whips with hooks and branding irons, emitting a fishy stench that could not be washed away over the years.

In the center of the punishment hall, there was a mahogany armchair.

Pei Yan, dressed in a bright red robe embroidered with gold, sat upright in a chair.

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice sat on either side, with case files and writing materials placed on the table in front of them.

Lu Yunzheng leaned casually to one side, playing with a folding fan in his hand, occasionally tapping his palm with the fan rib.

Following the new emperor's decree, the three judicial departments conducted an overnight interrogation, and a result had to be presented before dawn.

Two jailers dragged a person and threw him to the ground.

It was Lu Bingde.

Because he was sacked that night and had several ribs and leg bones broken, he can't even stand up now and is lying there like a lump of mud.

Even the slightest movement caused the broken bone to pierce into his flesh, making him gasp in pain.

"Oh dear, did Vice Minister Lu not watch his step while walking at night and fall into a ditch?"

Lu Yunzheng used the rib of his fan to lift Lu Bingde's chin, speaking sarcastically without any mercy.

"With that face, if he went to a theater troupe to play a clown, he'd be guaranteed to earn a lot of money."

Lu Bingde was in so much pain that he was covered in sweat. He glared at Lu Yunzheng, but he didn't even have the strength to talk back.

With witnesses and physical evidence all present, and even the Chidi prince confessing, the situation was hopeless; he had truly fallen this time.

The Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review slammed his gavel and demanded in a stern voice:

"Lu Bingde, do you admit to forging official documents, reselling disaster relief grain, accepting bribes from the Red Di, and framing the Marquis of Dingyuan?"

Lu Bingde lay on the ground, panting heavily for a long time, then surprisingly readily agreed: "I admit it."

But his pale face showed no remorse or fear; instead, it exuded a stubborn madness.

The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review frowned.

"Lord Dingyuan, Murong Kui, has no past grudges or present animosity with your Lu family. Why would you resort to such a cruel act? Who is truly the one who has colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country!"

Lu Bingde suddenly let out a sneer that sounded like a broken bellows.

The pain from the broken bone made him grimace, but he still managed to laugh out loud.

"Who does Murong Kui think he is!"

Lu Bingde spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the ground, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt.

"The Murong clan are Xianbei! Going back three generations, they were nothing more than lowly people from beyond the borders, utterly unworthy of respect!"

"Fighting for the imperial court on the frontier is the duty of these military generals, like dogs! It's also the glory that the Murong clan has earned over generations!"

"But the late emperor was foolish! Not only did he bestow upon Murong Kui the title of Marquis of Dingyuan, but he also showered him with countless rewards!"

"Go check the Ministry of Revenue's accounts. At his peak, Murong Kui's salary and land holdings were more than my father's, the Minister of War!"

Lu Bingde became more and more agitated as he spoke, and the veins on his neck bulged out one by one.

"What right does a mere warrior have to trample on the heads of our centuries-old aristocratic family?"

"How can this save face for the Lu family of Fanyang? Do you know how many aristocratic families are secretly laughing at the Lu family for this?!"

"This is an utter disgrace!"

"Since ancient times, powerful clans have remained constant while dynasties have come and gone! Since the late emperor was unjust and blind to favor commoners, why should I be polite to the Murong clan?!"

There was a moment of silence in the dungeon.

The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice stared in disbelief, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review froze in mid-air with his pen in hand, and even Lu Yunzheng stopped tapping his fan.

They all looked at him as if he were a madman.

Pei Yan's face darkened, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

I initially thought this guy was plotting some earth-shattering feat, wanting to collude with the enemy, betray the country, plot a rebellion, and install a puppet emperor, but...

"...Just because of that?"

"Just for the sake of your family's reputation, you framed loyal officials, causing the deaths of 108 people?!"

Lu Bingde, neck stiff and fearless, met Pei Yan's gaze with indignation.

There was even a hint of grievance in her voice.

"Isn't that enough?!"

"Prime Minister Pei! You come from the Pei clan of Hedong, a legitimate and powerful clan. Can't you understand me?!"

"These days, there are more and more peasants in the imperial court!"

"If we allow the Murong clan, these lowly people, to grow stronger, we'll be ridden around by them sooner or later! Is this the situation you want to see?"

"Prime Minister Pei, you and I are the same kind of people. We must not forget our roots!"