The Empress Dowager fainted and did not wake up until three days later.

The Emperor did not postpone the execution at the Duke of Mao's mansion despite the Empress Dowager's repeated vomiting of blood and fainting.

Therefore, when the Empress Dowager awoke, the entire Maoguo Duke's mansion had already been laid to rest.

During this period, only Princess Huyang went to the palace to plead for the Duke of Maoguo's family.

Well, to be precise, it wasn't about pleading for the Duke of Mao's family.

Although the Duke of Mao and Empress Wei plotted to harm Consort Chen, there were instigators behind the scenes. But as the saying goes, Empress Wei had no intention of harming anyone, and no one could have instigated her.

Pleading for the Duke of Mao would mean making an enemy of Prince Ling, who wanted to avenge his birth mother, Consort Chen. Princess Huyang wasn't that stupid.

However, Princess Huyang knew the weight the Maoguo Duke's family held in the Empress Dowager's heart, and knew that the Emperor's intention to execute the entire Maoguo Duke's family had angered her so much that she vomited blood again. Princess Huyang feared that the Empress Dowager would not be able to withstand such a blow when she woke up.

There are many ways to punish Duke Maoguo. It is not necessary to execute him. Even if he must be executed, there is no need to rush it in a year or two. The Empress Dowager is already old and in poor health. She does not have much time left to live. Princess Huyang hopes that the Emperor can consider the Empress Dowager's kindness in raising and nurturing her and spare the lives of everyone in Duke Maoguo's household.

Even when Princess Huyang knelt down and begged the Emperor, he remained unmoved.

When Empress Wei and Duke Mao plotted against Consort Chen, they should have thought about the day when their schemes would be exposed. They caused him to lose his beloved and created a rift between him and his son Yan'er. Executing his entire clan was already too lenient for them.

The Empress Dowager protected Prince Cheng, Empress Wei, and the Duke of Mao's mansion, deceiving him, the Emperor. Now he is being asked to consider the Empress Dowager's health and spare these people's lives.

If the Empress Dowager hadn't placed such importance on the Duke of Mao's mansion, they probably wouldn't have dared to touch Consort Chen.

The Emperor was unwilling to listen to Princess Huyang's pleas and directly ordered the Imperial Son-in-Law to take her away.

However, the Emperor executed the entire Maoguo Duke's family, but spared the eldest prince.

When Empress Wei and Duke Mao plotted against Consort Chen, the eldest prince was only thirteen years old and did not participate in the plot to harm Consort Chen.

After knowing he was doomed, Duke Mao took all the blame for the illegal sale of the Meizhou granary. In fact, he was the one who orchestrated it. Supporting the eldest prince and Xie Jingyin in their struggle for the crown prince position and winning over court officials required money, which the Duke Mao's family could not afford. Duke Mao was also unwilling to spend his own money.

That's why they set their sights on the Meizhou granary. This matter was spearheaded by the Duke of Mao and was handled by him. He insisted that it had nothing to do with the eldest prince, so the charge couldn't be pinned on the eldest prince. The only charge they could bring against the eldest prince was that he knew about it but failed to report it.

In addition, Empress Wei and the Duke of Mao conspired to murder Consort Chen, and the son of the consort was punished for both crimes. The emperor deposed the eldest prince, demoted him to a commoner, and sent him to guard the imperial mausoleum.

By the time the Empress Dowager woke up, everything had already settled down.

The Empress Dowager experienced the excruciating pain of having her maternal clan wiped out by her own son.

The people she wanted to protect in her life, apart from the Emperor and Princess Huyang, all met with bad ends.

The emperor was protected by the previous emperor, but after ascending the throne, he held the power of life and death and no longer needed the empress dowager's protection.

Princess Huyang was protected by her husband, who held only a nominal position in the court and refused to offer any advice or strategies for the eldest prince's succession. The Empress Dowager looked down on Princess Huyang's scheming and methods, which is why Princess Huyang and her husband were able to remain uninvolved.

After finding his biological son Du Cheng'an, the eldest son-in-law secretly placed him in the city patrol office behind the Empress Dowager's back, so that Du Cheng'an could befriend the Prince of Yanping and his son. Although he did not express his opinion on the surface, he had already sided with the Prince of Ling.

Thinking of the Duke of Mao's mansion, the Empress Dowager was heartbroken. "If only they had listened to a word I said, they wouldn't have ended up like this!"

The Empress Dowager wept bitterly.

Granny Zhao stood aside, sighing inwardly.

The Empress Dowager saw things clearly, but she was too selfish.

Since entering the palace, Empress Wei has offended Consort Chen countless times. Although the Empress Dowager has reprimanded Empress Wei many times, she has never helped clean up the mess whenever she caused trouble.

A few scoldings and a punishment of copying palace rules are nothing to worry about.

With repeated indulgences, Empress Wei and Duke Mao never truly took the Empress Dowager's words seriously. After all, if trouble arose, the Empress Dowager would take the blame. Ultimately, they were instigated by others, causing the death of Consort Chen and leading themselves to their own demise.

The Empress Dowager broke the Emperor's heart because of Prince Cheng, and the Emperor no longer cared about the Empress Dowager's life or death.

In fact, from the emperor's perspective, he was also in a difficult position.

When Consort Chen got into trouble, the Emperor demoted Prince Ling to guard the imperial mausoleum and executed the entire Yan family. The Empress Dowager knew that Consort Chen had not betrayed the Emperor and had been framed, but she did not stop the Emperor. Although she allowed the Minister of Justice to save a bloodline of the Yan family, it was only through Consort Chen's compromise that this was achieved.

The evidence against the Duke of Mao's family is irrefutable. The Empress Dowager wants the Emperor to spare the lives of everyone in the Duke of Mao's family. Even if the Emperor agrees, Prince Ling will not.

If His Majesty truly intends to spare the Duke of Mao's family, then Prince Ling should lead the entire court to force His Majesty to execute everyone in the Duke of Mao's family.

Would the Emperor do something that would damage the relationship between Prince Ling and his son, for the sake of the Duke of Mao, who had hurt and caused him so much pain for so many years?

Even if the sun rose in the west, that wouldn't be possible.

The Emperor demoted the eldest prince to guard the imperial tombs to appease Prince Ling's anger and also to silence the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager never pleaded for Prince Ling back then, and there's no need to plead for the First Prince now.

...

The imperial court has been in considerable turmoil these past few days.

After all, the eldest prince and the Duke of Maoguo wielded considerable power in the court. Furthermore, with Xie Jingyin's previous incident, many ministers promptly defected. They thought they had escaped a calamity, but who would have thought that even if they escaped the first day, they still couldn't escape the fifteenth.

When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. The Duke of Maoguo's family was the Empress Dowager's maternal family, yet it was destroyed by the Emperor, and the eldest prince was deposed and demoted. What about their cronies?

To plot against Consort Chen, to threaten the Emperor's beloved—isn't that courting death?!

It's pitiful that they wanted to contribute to the success of the new emperor, but ended up sacrificing their promising future.

These days, the Crown Prince's cronies are practically throwing their entire fortunes around seeking protection, but who would dare to get involved in this mess at this time? It would be considered kind of them not to take advantage of the situation and curry favor with Prince Ling.

While the political landscape in the imperial court was constantly shifting, the Ling Prince's residence remained peaceful, filled with laughter and joy.

That day, Shen Wan was playing with a rattle drum in her room when Dong'er came in with a bright red and gold invitation card and said, "Your Highness, the Shen family has sent an invitation card to invite you and the Prince to the Fourth Miss's wedding banquet."

I will definitely go to Shen Wei's wedding.

Not only will she have to attend the wedding banquet, but she will also have to go to the Duke of Wei's mansion for a wedding feast.

Yinshuang asked, "Is Your Highness going back to deliver dowry to the Fourth Miss these next few days?"

Shen Wan had already prepared the dowry for Shen Wei, but she didn't plan to go back in the next couple of days. If she went to the fourth wife's house, the fourth wife would definitely have to entertain her, and she was busy right now, so she didn't want to cause any trouble. Besides, she and Shen Wei didn't need to talk much. It wouldn't be too late to send it over when she returned on the day of the wedding.