Chapter 346: The Fifth Prince Shen's family was confiscated and exiled.

I'm afraid that the evidence submitted by the Second Prince and the Sixth Prince will be like the case of "Crown Prince's Rebellion". No longer under investigation, it will become a completely unsolved case.

Next, the capital city will probably be in chaos for a while.

The Second Prince and the Sixth Prince would probably be busy fighting for the power and interests left vacant after the Fifth Prince lost power, and the ministers in the court would also have to reconsider who to support. Presumably... no one would care about him, the "dead" prince.

He could also take advantage of this gap to act outside Beijing and unite the forces that supported him.

If possible, he would have liked to resolve these matters peacefully.

But...if he really couldn't get what he wanted, and was in a desperate situation, he would have to use some extreme means, even risking the world's condemnation, to take back everything that originally belonged to him.

Otherwise, the victors will be the kings and the losers will be the bandits. I am afraid that in such a vast world, not only will he have no place to stand, but even his mother, Feng He, and the Ninth Prince will not be tolerated!

Late that night, Xiao Yunshuo and Yuan Xu took advantage of the cover of darkness, quietly left the city, and headed towards Youzhou.

At the same time, the Prince Jin's Mansion and the Shen Mansion were in chaos.

Chen Meixin's makeup was disheveled, and the hairpins and jade pendants she wore on her head, as well as the silk and satin she wore on her body, had all been snatched away by the officials who came to confiscate her property.

Her eyes widened as she lunged madly at the chief constable who had snatched her hairpin, shouting at the top of her lungs, "Give me back my hairpin! It's mine! You're so insolent! I'm the concubine of the Fifth Prince, Prince Jin, and the Prime Minister is my father. How dare you be so rude to me! Give it back to me now!"

She doesn’t understand…

Obviously...when her husband and father went to court in the morning, everything was fine.

One is the fifth prince who is most favored by the emperor, the dignified Prince of Jin, and the future crown prince!

One is the prime minister of the current dynasty who no one dares to look down upon!

Why... in just a few hours, both the Prince of Jin's Mansion and the Shen Mansion faced the disaster of having their property confiscated and being exiled?

The chief officer who took the gold hairpin turned around impatiently and slapped him hard!

"Ah!" Chen Meixin was beaten so hard that her mouth was bleeding and she fell to the ground.

The chief officer even kicked her hard and taunted her, "The concubine of the Prince of Jin? The daughter of the Prime Minister? Are you still dreaming of the Spring and Autumn Period?"

Another officer came over and sneered, "That's right. If it weren't for the emperor's magnanimity and consideration for the father-son relationship, Prince Jin and the Shen family would have been beheaded! Now I'm only sentencing you to exile, so just be happy!"

Chen Meixin's whole body seemed to be frozen, and there was deathly silence in an instant.

"how so?"

She refused to accept it! She was destined to be the queen! Why did she end up like Shen Fenghe?!

She is unwilling to accept it!

However, the officer in charge of confiscating her property didn't have time to wait for her to collapse. He stepped forward, kicked her, and shouted, "What are you lying on?! The emperor has decreed that tomorrow morning, you will be escorted out of the capital and exiled to Youzhou! Hurry up and get up! You've delayed our mission, and you will be in trouble!"

It was a nanny that came with Chen Meixin as a dowry who quickly pulled her up and was taken to the prison by the officials.

The next day, before the hour of dawn, the officers woke up all the people from the Jinwang Mansion and the Shen Mansion in prison, chained them, dragged them out of the prison, and walked along the street towards the north gate of the capital.

Xiao Yunqi, Shen Shi'an, Shen Meixin and Shen Meixin's mother Yang Cuicui are all on the list.

As for Concubine Duan, she was banished to the cold palace, but I heard last night that she suddenly died of a "serious illness".

Everyone knew about this "evil disease" and was afraid that the emperor had secretly instructed him to kill him with a cup of poisoned wine.

Although it was still early, the common people in the capital city got up early and blocked both sides of the streets when they learned that the prince and the prime minister were going to be exiled.

Everyone was just watching at first, and then some people started discussing in whispers.

"Serves them right! The Crown Prince was such a good man, yet he was killed by this evil family. The Queen, the Crown Princess, and the little prince were even exiled!"

"I heard that the Crown Princess is Shen Shian's biological daughter. When she was exiled a few months ago, the Shen family was still at its peak. There wasn't even anyone to see her off. Now they've been exiled too. They deserve it!"

"Shen Shi'an is a scoundrel who's only going to take advantage of the family! If he hadn't married the daughter of the Gu family, would he have been able to rise so high in his career, all the way from a small county magistrate to the position of prime minister? As a result, as soon as the old man of the Gu family died, he immediately teamed up with those useless children from the Gu family's side branches and emptied the Gu family out!"

"That's right! Moreover, he received so many benefits from the Gu family, but what did he do in the end? He favored his concubine over his wife! He sent his wife and daughter to the countryside, but instead pampered his concubine and illegitimate daughter to the skies? This is retribution!"

"And Prince Jin isn't a good guy either! Didn't he deliberately frame the Crown Prince for the throne? If not, the Crown Prince would still be alive and well!"

"He and his mother, Concubine Duan, are both ungrateful! My distant nephew is the godson of a palace eunuch. He heard stories that the Empress treated them well in the past. The Crown Prince took the Prince of Jin to the battlefield to gain military merit, and the Empress also helped Concubine Duan, promoting her from concubine to concubine. But in the end... they are both ungrateful! Now it's just the cycle of fate. No one can escape the fate of heaven!"

…

Everyone was talking, and the voices were getting louder and louder.

Then, someone suddenly threw a rotten egg, hitting Chen Meixin's mother Yang Cuicui in the face.

"Ouch! Who hit me!" Yang Cuicui still looked like the mistress of the Prime Minister's Mansion and shouted angrily.

As a result, as soon as he finished speaking, the prisoner in charge of escorting him to exile was whipped.

"What are you yelling about? Hurry up and get going! If you miss the time to leave the city, I'll beat you all to pieces!"

"Ah!" Yang Cuicui was beaten so hard that tears fell down. How could she dare to say anything?

Seeing that even the police officers didn't care, the people on the street were filled with righteous indignation and threw rotten eggs, rotten vegetable leaves and other things at Xiao Yunqi, Shen Shi'an, Chen Meixin and Yang Cuicui!

Xiao Yunqi's eyes were bloodshot. He never imagined that he, a dignified prince, would be humiliated by being paraded through the streets like this.

However, no matter how unacceptable he was, he was dragged out of the north gate by the escorting officers.

Sitting by the window on the second floor of a restaurant on the street, Chu Ming silently watched Xiao Yunqi and others leave the north gate, and then he drank the wine in his glass.

Although compared with what Xiao Yunqi did to the prince, his fate today is far from enough to pay for it, fortunately His Royal Highness the Prince is safe and sound, otherwise, even if he had some ulterior motive, he would never let Xiao Yunqi go!

The Crown Prince was pardoned, and Lord Xie and the others obeyed Xiao Yunshuo's orders and did not continue to petition for a thorough investigation of the Crown Prince's affairs. However, the matter of the Empress, the Crown Princess, and the Ninth Prince was brought up.

"Your Majesty, now that the Crown Prince has been cleared of his treason, the Empress, the Ninth Prince, and the Crown Princess have all been exiled to Youzhou for this crime. I beg Your Majesty to pardon their crimes as well and welcome them back to the capital."

As soon as these words were spoken, the Second Prince and the Sixth Prince couldn't help but feel a tightness in their hearts.

However, there was nothing wrong with Lord Xie's request, and they were not sure what the emperor's intention was. Therefore, although they were anxious, they did not object.

Emperor Yucheng patted the dragon throne twice.

The image of the queen appeared in front of my eyes.

After all, they were a young couple, and he was not the favored one among all the princes back then.

After Emperor Yu Jingdi's first empress died of illness, he did not appoint another empress. Although Emperor Yu Chengdi's mother was named Imperial Noble Consort, her family power was too weak compared with another Imperial Noble Consort or even the four concubines below her. In addition, Emperor Yu Jingdi had a mediocre attitude towards him, so naturally no one in the court was optimistic about his ability to become the crown prince and the future emperor.

Later, he married the eldest daughter of the Qin family and gave birth to Xiao Yunshuo the following year.

Even so, neither Emperor Yu Jing nor the court officials changed their attitude towards him until Xiao Yunshuo grew up. Because of his natural intelligence, he could recite chapters of the Four Books and Five Classics at the age of four, and express his own opinions on political affairs at the age of five. In terms of martial arts, he was fearless in riding and archery at such a young age. He stood out among the emperor's grandsons and was favored by Emperor Yu Jing.

There were even rumors at the time that Emperor Yu Jing might even bypass his sons and directly let Xiao Yunshuo ascend the throne.

It was also from then on that his situation gradually improved, from being deserted to being crowded with people.

Although Emperor Yu Jing still scolded him from time to time and was dissatisfied with him, he eventually passed the throne to him in his will.

It was said that the reason he was able to ascend the throne was because he had a good son.

It is precisely because of this that he has always been wary and disgusted with his own son.

However, putting aside his feelings for the prince, he has always liked the queen.

Qin Mengyue was extremely beautiful and had a simple personality. They were a young couple, and during those years when they were neglected, they had spent happy and peaceful days in the palace.

Later, after he ascended the throne, although he appointed many concubines, the queen remained as jealous as before and never got involved in the intrigues in the harem.

If the Qin family's achievements were not so great, and if the prince was not too dazzling, he would have wanted to protect her for the rest of her life - even if he might not be able to promise to let her be the queen forever, but... even if he wanted to depose her, it must be because of the situation. He would always keep her in the palace and protect her life.

It's a pity... fate plays tricks on people...

Emperor Yucheng glanced at the sky outside the palace with a sense of melancholy before saying, "Since the Crown Prince has been pardoned, the crimes of the other implicated individuals should also be pardoned. Send down the imperial decree, pardoning the exile of the Empress, the Ninth Prince, and the Crown Princess. The Empress will be demoted to the rank of Mengpin and brought back to the palace. The Crown Princess should also be brought back and properly accommodated."

A moment of joy appeared on the second prince's face.

The Crown Princess will also be brought back to the capital, doesn’t that mean... he will be able to see her soon?

After the court was dismissed, the second prince entered the palace under the pretext of visiting Concubine Zhao who was suffering from a cold.

"Mother, although Father has ordered the return of the Empress, the Ninth Prince, and the others, he has also demoted the Empress to a concubine. I think even if she returns, she won't pose any threat."

Concubine Zhao felt relieved that the queen was demoted to a concubine, but she still felt a little uncomfortable.

Apart from anything else, the Fifth Prince was just colluding with Prime Minister Chen, selling some official positions, annexing some land, and embezzling some money. After being exiled, Concubine Duan was immediately sent to the cold palace and died that night.

The Crown Prince was convicted of treason, and the Queen was merely exiled. She was pardoned in just a few months, and could she even be recalled to the palace by the Emperor's order?

She was exiled all the way, so who knows what happened to so many men? Even with Qu Wenmin from Hejian Prefecture, I'm afraid it's hard to explain.

The emperor is actually willing to take her back to the palace?

"Is it really so hard to part with one's spouse?" Concubine Zhao murmured in a low voice with a cold look in her eyes.

Even as a concubine in the harem, she cannot be with her husband for life, but how can a woman tolerate her husband loving another woman more deeply than herself?

In the past, Qin Mengyue was the queen and she could not compete with her. Now, she has been deposed and exiled. Can't she compare to her position in the emperor's heart?

Xiao Yuncong heard Concubine Zhao whisper something, but he couldn't hear it clearly, so he asked, "What did mother just say?"

Concubine Zhao came to her senses, realizing she had lost her composure. She shook her head calmly and said, "It's nothing. Although the Queen has been demoted to a concubine, the Ninth Prince is still a nuisance. But... never mind. Let's hold off for now. Once they leave for the capital, I'll discuss this with your grandfather and uncle."

The imperial edict was drafted quickly, and the official in charge of conveying the edict from the Hanlin Academy was sent out of the capital to Youzhou to convey the edict.

At this time, outside Youzhou City, the small village where Chen Fenghe and her friends settled was still peaceful.

News traveled slowly in ancient times.

Even if it was an expedited 800-li journey, the distance from the capital to Youzhou, which was about 1,000 kilometers, would still take four or five days of traveling day and night, and requiring frequent changes of fast horses at post stations to reach the destination.

However, the 800-li express can only be used when there are urgent military affairs or major events.

Emperor Yucheng was most concerned about his reputation when it came to matters like the Crown Prince being pardoned and the imperial decree to bring the Queen back to the palace, so he naturally would not enable them to do so, in order to avoid being branded as a waste of money and resources.

Therefore, Chen Fenghe, Qin Mengyue and a few other little ones had a few days of leisure.

The wild boar meat that the village distributed last time was smoked by Chen Fenghe and Qin Mengyue with firewood, then coated with salt and hung under the eaves to dry.

In addition, the brick kiln that Chen Fenghe had built before was not idle either.

That night, a wild boar broke into the village and directly knocked a big hole in the newly built granary of Zhu Huaihua's family. However, the red brick wall of Chen Fenghe's family was intact after being hit by the wild boar. Therefore, all the villagers came to learn how to make red bricks and how to make quicklime.

Although it is impossible to build a sturdy house like Shen Fenghe's, the most important warehouse and main room are worth spending some money on.

In addition, each family received more than 20 kilograms of pork, and some families took some out to sell and earned some money. Therefore, the whole winter was lively in the village.

After about twenty days, Xiao Yunshuo and Yuan Xu came back first.

The two of them still took advantage of the night to enter the house.