As a father, the son attempted to seduce a woman, but was interrupted by the Prince of Yanping. In the end, he died unexpectedly during the fight. No matter how you look at it, the eldest son-in-law was also derelict in his duty. He and the Duke of Mao were equally bad, and he had no face to say such a thing.

But the eldest son-in-law could say that the Duke of Mao and the entire Princess's mansion knew that the eldest son-in-law was very strict with the deceased eldest son. It was just a pity that the eldest son-in-law's strictness was useless. The eldest son-in-law had the protection of the Princess and the Empress Dowager, so the eldest son-in-law couldn't control him even if he wanted to.

Whenever her son made a mistake, the eldest son-in-law would punish him, forcing him to stand in a horse stance, be beaten with a board, or kneel in the ancestral hall. But every time the punishment was halfway through, Princess Huyang would come out to protect her son. If they ever argued too much about disciplining their son, it would even alarm the Empress Dowager.

Princess Huyang knew that her husband treated her well and she could feel his affection for her, but she could not feel his love for his son, only his strictness.

Princess Huyang was heartbroken by this. Her nanny comforted her, saying that it was because her husband cared too much about her. He had almost died giving birth to the eldest son, and when he saw the eldest son, he would think of the hardships she had endured, so he couldn't like her anymore. Princess Huyang didn't believe this explanation. Everyone says that love extends to everything connected to the person you love. Her husband should love the child she gave birth to even more.

Sometimes she would complain to the Empress Dowager, who would comfort her, saying that men always hold their grandchildren but not their sons, and that the eldest son-in-law was only stern on the surface, but how could he not love his son in his heart?

The stricter the eldest son-in-law was with his son, the more protective the eldest princess of Huyang became. The couple had been married for nearly twenty years, and 99% of their arguments were about their son.

The eldest son-in-law didn't really like that son. He came because of scheming. Apart from looking like him, he didn't resemble him at all. He was not good at martial arts, let alone studying. Thinking that a strict teacher can produce outstanding students, he disciplined him strictly. Princess Huyang and the Empress Dowager couldn't bear to let him suffer. Since he was already of average talent, he was spoiled even more.

Unable to manage the situation any longer, the eldest son-in-law gave up and focused all his attention on finding his missing son.

Duke Maoguo knew all about these things. The eldest son-in-law wanted to intervene but couldn't, while Duke Maoguo could have intervened but chose not to.

Furthermore, the eldest son-in-law's son also paid a heavy price for his actions. Throughout the entire incident, the eldest son-in-law never uttered a single word of reproach for the Prince of Yanping's heir. Of course, he also did not plead for the Prince of Yanping's heir. If he dared to say that, Princess Huyang and the Empress Dowager would definitely be furious.

The Duke of Mao's family was the Empress Dowager's maternal family, and the Duke of Mao's heir was the Empress Dowager's grand-nephew. Even the eldest son-in-law couldn't do anything to the Duke of Mao's heir. The Duke of Mao had the heir whipped ten times in front of him, and the matter was considered over by the eldest son-in-law.

However, this matter is not over yet; there is still the Emperor and Empress Dowager to get past.

Xie Jingyin and the eldest prince were locked in a life-or-death struggle for the crown prince position. Knowing that the heir of the Duke of Maoguo had abused his power and framed the biological son of the Princess of Huyang, had him arrested and nearly beaten to death by the city patrol, Xie Jingyin would not miss such a good opportunity to impeach the Duke of Maoguo. Memorials impeaching the Duke of Maoguo for failing to properly educate his son flew to the emperor's desk like snowflakes.

The Emperor was furious. Even if the Duke of Mao personally whipped his own son ten times, it wasn't enough. He deducted a year's salary from the Duke of Mao's salary and had his heir punished with thirty strokes of the cane.

Not content with the Emperor's punishment, the Empress Dowager also summoned the Duke of Mao and his wife and gave them a severe scolding. The Duke and his wife were so humiliated that they didn't dare to lift their heads.

They had never suffered such a great defeat, even at the hands of the Prince of Jin and the Empress. To be killed by their own people was truly a case of capsizing in a ditch.

These messages kept reaching Shen Wan's ears. Just as she finished hearing about the Emperor's appointment of Du Cheng'an as the heir apparent of the Duke of Du, Qiu'er came in and said, "The Patrol Division has been aiding and abetting the tyrant, and the Emperor has dismissed the officials of the Patrol Division."

Shen Wan leisurely ate the fruit. If it weren't for the fact that the heir of the Duke of Maoguo had instructed the patrol officers to beat the man, causing both external and internal injuries to the emperor's own nephew, the patrol officers would have faced far more than just being dismissed from their posts. They would have been beheaded, or at least had their property confiscated and been exiled.

These punishments were all expected, but some were completely unexpected by Shen Wan. After finishing her fruit, Shen Wan was reading a book when Chun'er came in and said, "Your Highness, the Emperor has decreed that Prince Ning's title has been changed to Prince Ping, and his fiefdom has been moved..."

Shen Wan, “…???”

Why would the Emperor change the title of Prince Ning?

Not only did they change the title, they even changed the fiefdom.

Has Prince Ning committed a crime?

But committing a crime is not as simple as just changing one's account name, and the fact that there was no prior warning is highly unusual.

Shen Wan asked, "Do you know why the Emperor suddenly changed the title of Prince Ning?"

Just as Chun'er was about to return to Shen Wan, Xie Jingyan returned. Shen Wan looked at him and Xie Jingyan said, "Du Cheng'an went to the capital not because he didn't look for Doctor Tao, but because he went to the wrong place. He went to the Ning Prince's residence, but the servants there were rude and only said that there was no such person as Doctor Tao. However, they did not tell him that Doctor Tao was at my Ling Prince's residence. This made Du Cheng'an think that Doctor Tao had deceived him. When this matter reached the ears of the Empress Dowager, she felt that the Ning Prince and my Ling Prince sounded too similar, so she asked the Emperor to change the Ning Prince's title."

As for changing the fiefdom, it was to teach Prince Ning a lesson.

If the servants of the Prince of Ning's mansion had been kind and told Du Cheng'an that he had gone to the wrong place, and that he had found the Prince of Ling's mansion in time, he would have been recognized and returned to his ancestral home long ago. Why would he have been wandering outside for so many days, and even angered the heir of the Duke of Mao's state because of hunting, almost being shot by him, and being saved by the heir of the Prince of Yanping?

The Empress Dowager doesn't know how to face the Prince of Yanping's residence now. For the sake of a fake grandson, she almost forced the Prince of Yanping's heir to his death, but in the end, the Prince of Yanping's heir saved her own grandson's life.

Having lived most of his life, this was the first time the Empress Dowager had ever made him feel so embarrassed.

Prince Ning ran right into the Empress Dowager's line of fire at this time, so how could he possibly escape punishment?

However, this punishment is not unjust. The master is kind, and the servants are also more amiable. This punishment of Prince Ning is also a warning to other noble families and royal clans in the capital. Why should ordinary people be so rude when they come to ask about something? Can't they just speak politely?

After the punishment was over, it was time to reward those who had contributed. The first to be rewarded was Doctor Tao. If it weren't for Doctor Tao's healing and saving lives, the longevity lock wouldn't have been brought to the capital, and Princess Huyang wouldn't have been able to reunite with her family.

The Emperor rewarded Minister Tao with two hundred taels of gold, twenty bolts of silk and satin, and one hundred acres of fertile land.

The Empress Dowager also rewarded Doctor Tao, and the eldest son-in-law received even more.

After rewarding Doctor Tao, the next people to be rewarded were the hunter couple. They had done a great service in raising the son of Princess Huyang, and their superb archery skills pleased the Emperor and Empress Dowager. The Emperor bestowed upon them a mansion next to Princess Huyang's residence. The Emperor's intention was clear: although Du Cheng'an had been recognized as a member of the royal family, he was still to take care of the hunter couple in their old age and see them off in their final days.

Princess Huyang and her husband were extremely grateful to the hunter couple. They only had one son and wanted a daughter, so they simply adopted the hunter couple's daughter as their goddaughter, thus both families now had both a son and a daughter.