Chapter 73 Returning to My Mother's Home [38]

While the Marquis of Zhongyi was reflecting on his mistakes behind closed doors, Rong Shi did not go out to socialize.

She felt that it would be better for the Marquis of Zhongyi's mansion to keep a low profile these days.

Of course, no one has sent an invitation to the Marquis of Zhongyi's residence yet.

Achu was able to return to her parents' home once a month, and on this day, she returned to the Marquis of Zhongyi's residence accompanied by Si Jinye.

While the Marquis of Zhongyi was reflecting on his mistakes behind closed doors, it was Lady Rong who personally came to the door to greet Achu.

Upon seeing Si Jinye, Rong Shi bowed first: "This humble woman greets Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Si Jinye helped her up, his tone slightly gentler than when he spoke to others: "Mother-in-law, there's no need for such formalities."

He then turned to Achu beside him and said, "I'll pick you up later. Why don't you have lunch with your parents?"

Achu nodded in agreement: "Okay, then you must remember to have lunch on time, don't forget to eat when you're busy."

Si Jinye smiled and touched her face, then nodded to Rong Shi before mounting his horse and leaving.

Watching Si Jinye leave, A Chu took Rong Shi's arm and said with a smile, "Mother, let's go inside."

Rong Shi's face, which had been filled with worry for several days, now showed a hint of a smile. She nodded slightly and replied, "Okay."

The mother and daughter walked in together, talking as they went.

"I heard Father was scolded. Is he alright?"

Hearing her daughter's concerned inquiry, Madam Rong sighed and said:

"Fortunately, the Emperor only temporarily relieved your father of his duties; it's good enough that he wasn't punished."

"But your father has been regretting it these past few days, saying that he shouldn't have kept it from the Emperor, and should have told him the truth after he found out that Shen Jingya was a concubine's daughter."

Because of what the Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness said, Lady Rong also complained a few times.

She said she was unwilling at the time, but the Marquis of Zhongyi insisted on persuading her.

Now look what's happened, so many jokes have been made.

When the topic turned to Shen Jingya, Rong's expression turned quite unpleasant.

She said, "It seems the problem lies at the root. Look at you, you've been raised under the Meng family all these years, and you haven't been corrupted by her."

"I put so much effort into raising Shen Jingya, but she turned out to be such a morally corrupt, vicious, and cruel person!"

Achu quickly comforted her, saying, "Mother, please don't be angry. It's not worth getting sick from it."

Madam Rong looked at Achu and said with great relief, "Fortunately, His Highness the Crown Prince saved you that day! Otherwise, I really would have..."

As Rong spoke, her voice choked with emotion, and her eyes reddened.

She felt incredibly guilty towards her daughter.

They gave birth to her but failed to protect her, causing her to be switched by a wicked person.

They finally managed to get her back, but she almost lost her innocence and her reputation was ruined.

Achu used a handkerchief to wipe away Rongshi's tears: "Mother, don't you see I'm doing well now? I've turned misfortune into blessing, haven't I?"

“If Shen Jingya hadn’t tried to harm me that day, I wouldn’t have been saved by His Highness, and I wouldn’t have been married to him.”

Rong was indeed comforted.

She looked at Achu's face.

Ever since Achu married Si Jinye, Rongshi noticed that Achu looked better every time she returned to the Marquis of Zhongyi's mansion than the last time.

She was radiant, like a peony that had been carefully nurtured and cultivated.

Moreover, judging from the way Si Jinye looked at A Chu and the tone of his voice when he spoke to her, they had a very good relationship.

Besides, what family's daughter can go back to her parents' home every month after she gets married?

Not to mention the current Crown Princess!

It's clear that Si Jinye really likes A Chu.

Thinking of this, Rong stopped crying.

A smile appeared on her face, and she nodded, saying, "Yes! A blessing in disguise! My daughter is lucky; nothing and no one can harm you!"

"Come on, let's go see your father first."

Achu replied, "Okay."

Achu spent most of the day at the Marquis of Zhongyi's residence, having lunch with Rongshi and the Marquis of Zhongyi.

She rested with Rong Shi for a while in the afternoon before Si Jinye came to pick her up.

Achu bid farewell to Rong Shi and Zhongyi Hou, and returned to the East Palace with Si Jinye.

Aside from visiting her parents' home, Achu rarely leaves the East Palace.

After all, Si Jinye's mother had already passed away, so A Chu didn't need to pay her respects to Consort Jiang.

Consort Jiang did invite Achu to visit her, but Si Jinye directly declined.

Three months have passed in the blink of an eye.

Prince Rui, Si Jinxuan, finally ended his period of seclusion.

Since the emperor had dismissed him from his post, Si Jinxuan was no longer required to attend the morning court session.

However, he still went to the palace to apologize to the emperor.

In the imperial study, the emperor saw that his son, whom he hadn't seen for three months, had lost a lot of weight and his eyes were full of sincere remorse.

Even though it was his favorite son, the emperor was still soft-hearted.

The emperor didn't scold him anymore, but gave him a good admonition before letting him go.

However, it was not mentioned when he would be reinstated.

Si Jinxuan didn't dare to ask.

After leaving the Imperial Study, he went to Consort Jiang's place.

Consort Jiang missed her son very much after not seeing him for three months.

She smiled, ready to offer her concern, but first heard her son's complaint.

"It's all Mother's fault! If Mother hadn't insisted that I plead for that poisonous woman Shen Jingya, I wouldn't have been incurred Father's wrath!"

He was fined for losing his salary, but he didn't care about that little bit of money anyway.

However, he was scolded in front of all the civil and military officials in the court, dismissed from his post, and flogged fifty times.

What a complete loss of face!

What Si Jinxuan found even more unacceptable was that rumors were circulating outside that he was unable to distinguish right from wrong because of a woman of questionable character, and that he was not the kind of wise ruler he was!

Those courtiers who were already hesitant about whether to side with him will likely become even more hesitant.

Consort Jiang was speechless as she listened to her son's complaints.

How could she have given birth to such a stupid son?

Consort Jiang was so excited that she stood up because she hadn't seen her son for a long time.

She sat down again and said, "Your mother asked you to plead for Shen Jingya, but she didn't ask you to disregard the occasion or the situation."

“Given the situation in the court, Shen Jingya not only harmed the daughters of court officials, but also her own sisters. You should ask your father to severely punish such a vicious person in front of the emperor and the court officials.”

Previously, when Consort Jiang heard that Si Jinxuan had pleaded for Shen Jingya in court, she was completely stunned.

Her son is quite intelligent.

But over the years, without her scheming behind the scenes, he would not have been able to gain the emperor's favor.

Just when it seemed like all we had to do was wait for Si Jinye to die from the poison, this whole mess happened.

In the past three months, the emperor has not visited her palace once, which clearly indicates that he is angry with her.

But her son, upon arriving, immediately began to complain about her.

What could Consort Jiang do? She only had this one son.

She also tried to comfort him: "It's alright, what's done is done, so let's not think about it anymore."

Si Jinxuan asked Consort Jiang, "So what should we do now?"

Looking at her son, who was waiting for her to make a decision, Consort Jiang remained silent for a few moments before speaking:

“Chen Jingya has been demoted to a concubine, and you have lost your princess consort. Your mother is preparing to find you another princess consort.”

Upon hearing Consort Jiang mention Shen Jingya, Si Jinxuan realized that he hadn't seen her even once in the past three months.

Now, Si Jinxuan only blames Shen Jingya for dragging him down, and he can no longer remember his feelings for her.

Upon hearing Consort Jiang's words, he nodded and replied, "Alright."