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

Pei Yan's face was extremely gloomy at this moment.

He had experienced his grandmother's rule of sacrificing everything for the family for more than 20 years.

He had long known that powerful clans and aristocratic families with a history of over a hundred years had always been aloof and superior.

In their eyes, the continuation of the family and its dignity are more important than anything else.

When the late emperor first ascended the throne, the country was not yet completely stable, and the border guards were mostly Xianbei people and founding heroes.

Back then, fighting was a shortcut to promotion and advancement.

Now that peace has lasted for decades, aristocratic scions like Lu Bingde, who were born and raised in the capital, have forgotten the suffering of the war years ago.

They spent their days indulging in poetry, books, etiquette, and music, competing to see whose family was of higher social standing.

They regarded the soldiers who braved the wind and sand on the front lines and risked their lives to protect them as uncouth "lowly commoners".

Pei Yan was not unfamiliar with these arguments, but he never expected that Lu Bingde would be so paranoid and insane!

The lives of the soldiers on the front lines are not worth as much as the Lu family's ridiculous sense of superiority!

This is outrageous and heinous!

"Looking at the truth, you're the one who has truly forgotten your roots!"

Pei Yanteng stood up abruptly, walked a few steps to Lu Bingde, and looked down at the beast.

"Without these uncouth Xianbei people you speak of guarding the border, without them sacrificing their lives, could you, Lu Bingde, have enjoyed wealth and glory in peace?"

"Where do you get your comfortable life from?! How can the Great Chu's realm possibly be stable?!"

"You're a spineless rat who only knows how to stab others in the back. You're not even a decent human being, what right do you have to mock others!"

Faced with Pei Yan's angry rebuke, Lu Bingde scoffed and curled his lip.

"Murong Kui has rendered meritorious service in battle. A few hundred taels of silver, a few houses, and a general's position would suffice. Why give them such a high status! The late emperor was wrong!"

"Good, very good."

Pei Yan laughed in anger, his eyes surging with murderous intent.

He turned around and sat back down.

"I ask you, where is the ten thousand taels of gold you accepted from the Chidi prince while impersonating Murong Kui now hidden?"

"I've spent it all." Lu Bingde made no attempt to hide it, and even showed a hint of pride.

"With the money, we will naturally buy land and purchase fields. The rest will be used to repair the ancestral hall of the Lu family in Fanyang. The beams and pillars will all be made of the finest Phoebe zhennan wood."

Pei Yan nodded repeatedly, then gritted his teeth.

"Since you value the Lu family's ancestral legacy so much, then I will grant your wish."

"Lu Yunzheng, write down everything he just said!"

He then turned to look at the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

"I have decided to jointly submit a memorial with the three judicial departments, requesting Your Majesty's permission."

"First, send troops to seal off all ancestral halls of the Lu family in Fanyang! From this day forward, no descendant of the Lu family may return to their ancestral home to pay respects to their ancestors!"

"Secondly, publicize Lu Bingde's actions and post notices throughout the country to clear the names of the 108 members of the Dingyuan Marquis's family who suffered injustice!"

"Third, order the Lu family to repair the Murong family's tomb! Not only must the Lu family contribute money, but your father, Lu Xiu, must also lead the Lu family members outside the city to personally repair the Murong family's tomb!"

"And the Murong family's tombs must be higher and larger than your Lu family's ancestral tombs!"

"Fourth, for the next thirty years, no member of the Lu family within five degrees of kinship may participate in the imperial examinations or serve as an official in the court!"

Lu Bingde's previously composed expression completely crumbled upon hearing these words.

"How dare you! Pei Yan, are you insane?! What right do you have to forbid my Lu family descendants from offering sacrifices to our ancestors?!"

"I only committed the crime of framing a loyal minister; I did not actually collude with the enemy and betray the country! I merely tricked the prince of Chidi! By what right do you prevent my descendants from participating in the imperial examinations!"

"With your unorthodox ways, the various aristocratic clans will eventually find you intolerable and will drag you down from your horse!"

Lu Bingde dragged his broken bones and desperately tried to crawl forward, looking like a demon.

"Because I am the current Grand Secretary of the Great Chu! Because the laws of the land are above the ancestral laws of your Lu family!"

Pei Yan raised his head high, and every word he uttered was deafening.

He picked up his vermilion pen and immediately began drafting the memorial.

"As for you, Lu Bingde... framing loyal officials is an unforgivable crime. You should be sentenced to be torn apart by chariots as a warning to others!"

……

The following afternoon, the early June sun was already quite scorching.

A window in Qingyi Garden was half-open, and a breeze blew in from the direction of the waterside pavilion, bringing a touch of coolness.

Jiang Guo'er leaned back on the soft couch by the window, with the book "The Passionate Tale of the Imperial Guard" spread out on her lap.

She turned to the page where "The Imperial Guardsman wept alone with his sword in the middle of the night" and couldn't help but cover her mouth with her sleeve.

She laughed as she covered the silk doll's eyes.

"Don't peek," she whispered, "this book is indecent."

Just as she was laughing, Luyi's footsteps rang out in the courtyard, more hurried than usual.

"Madam, the Prime Minister is back!"

Pei Yan interrogated the emperor all night and went to the palace to see him at dawn this morning. He was only able to return home now.

He took off his official robe, changed into a sky-blue casual dress, and headed straight for Qingyi Garden.

In the past, when the Prime Minister returned to his residence, he always exuded a chilling aura that kept strangers at bay.

But today, the chill had faded somewhat, replaced by a weariness that was immediately apparent.

When Jiang Guo'er heard Lü Yi's voice, her heart skipped a beat, and she slammed the book down on the couch before rushing out to greet her.

Just as I reached the door, I saw Pei Yan step into the courtyard.

His face was expressionless, but the deep weariness in his eyes was impossible to hide.

"The Prime Minister is back!"

Jiang Guo'er stepped forward and naturally reached out to straighten his slightly disheveled clothes.

Pei Yan didn't say anything, but the moment she reached out, he grabbed her wrist, then led her into the inner room without a word.

His palms were very hot and his grip was strong, making her feel a little pain.

Jiang Guo'er glanced at Lü Yi, who was waiting beside her, and said softly, "Go down first, there's no need to serve us here."

"Yes."

Lvyi closed the door.

The room fell silent, with only the sound of their breathing mingling.

Pei Yan then released her hand, walked to the table and sat down, picking up the tea that had long since gone cold and intending to gulp it down.

"Don't drink this, it'll upset your stomach if it's cold."

Jiang Guo'er quickly went over and held his hand, then turned around and poured him a cup of warm honey water.

"After a whole night of interrogation, you must be exhausted. Have something sweet to soothe your throat."

Pei Yan's gaze lingered on her fingers for a moment before he took the drink and downed it in one gulp.

The warmth slid down his throat into his stomach, dispelling the stench he had picked up in the dungeon.

His tense shoulders and back finally relaxed visibly.

Jiang Guo'er sat down beside him, without urging him, but quietly kept him company.

After finishing a cup of honey water, Pei Yan finally spoke in a hoarse voice: "Lu Bingde confessed everything."

Jiang Guo'er's heart jumped instantly.

"Why did he frame my father?"

She had guessed hatred, power grabs, and rebellions.

She even prepared for the worst, that Lu Bingde had someone backing him, perhaps a member of the royal family.

Pei Yan unconsciously ground his teeth as he recalled the crazed and disgusting face in the dungeon.

"For the sake of the reputation of the Lu family of Fanyang."

"What?" Jiang Guo'er wondered if she had misheard.

He said your father was a Xianbei, a barbarian from beyond the borders.

"He believes that the late emperor favored the Xianbei people, enfeoffing your father as the Marquis of Dingyuan, with a stipend and land even higher than his father Lu Xiu's, which allowed your Murong clan to trample on the heads of centuries-old aristocratic families."

Pei Yan smiled bitterly as he repeated Lu Bingde's outrageous remarks.

He considered this a great disgrace to the Lu family.

"Since the late emperor was unjust and blinded by his own judgment to elevate the lowly, he must act on behalf of Heaven and crush the Murong clan back into the earth."

"..."

Jiang Guo'er stared blankly at Pei Yan, her once shimmering eyes now chillingly cold.

She didn't even feel the pain as her fingernails dug into the carved details on the edge of the table.

They felt that the Murong clan was lowly and unworthy of such honor.

So... they're going to be destroyed?