But the position of Minister of Revenue is out of the question.

The entire Earl's mansion was almost completely destitute once again, leaving only a few thousand taels of silver to hastily purchase two shops in hopes of making a living and supplementing the family income.

By April, under pressure from court officials and lacking further evidence, Emperor Shunqing had no choice but to release Prince Rong, merely imposing a six-month salary deduction as punishment. He also reassigned the more than two hundred soldiers from the Prince Rong's household to military camps in the northwest. Only then did he feel somewhat relieved. He also dismissed the Minister of Justice who had tipped him off and replaced him with one of his own.

When Prince Rong returned to his residence, he thought of Jiang Mingli, the abandoned son, and sighed that he had misjudged people and how could he have taken a liking to such a useless family as the Jiang family?

Jiang Mingyi's marriage to his daughter is also dead in name only. This Jiang family is truly hopeless!

Now that he has lost control of both the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Justice, he needs to make some serious adjustments!

At this time, the new Western envoys also arrived in the capital and personally visited Yun Yue to check on his injuries. They finally believed that the assassination attempt was not aimed at the first group of Western envoys.

Under Yun Yue's forceful coercion and enticement, the Western barbarian envoys had no choice but to exchange 100 catties of gold, 100 horses, 500 cattle, and 1,000 sheep for the 2,000 Western barbarian prisoners.

As expected, the Shi family was escorted to the capital, while Shi Dazhu had already been escorted back to the capital. After the two sides met, the Shi family members gave Shi Dazhu a thorough dressing-down.

Shi Wenxia's mother, Xiaoyun, died of illness on the way to the capital.

After the Ministry of Justice approved the execution, the entire group of historians was immediately executed.

Shi Wenxia cried until she fainted by the execution ground, and ultimately did not witness the bloody scene of the final execution.

Old Madam Yun took pity on her, an orphan girl, and had the remains of the Shi family members collected and buried before telling Shi Wenxia the approximate location of her grave.

No one dares to erect a tombstone for the remains of traitors who betray their country.

After that, Shi Wenxia secluded himself in a corner of the Yun family home to observe mourning.

...

In May, Duke Yun Yue fully recovered from his injuries and took Madam Su and Xiao Youran back to Sanyang Village in Taizhou.

Yun Manwan and Yun Tiankuang were also accompanying them.

That is to say, all the members of the eldest branch of the Duke's mansion who were in Kyoto City came.

When the new Yunjia Village was built, the clan chief, Yun Laoqi, also had a new ancestral hall built.

Marquis Yun not only returned safely, but was also promoted to Duke, which can be considered a glorious return to his hometown.

They traveled south quietly, keeping a low profile.

When the group arrived in Wufeng County, Magistrate Cao was shocked and immediately gave the Duke of Yun and his party a warm welcome.

The Duke of Yun and his entourage did not linger in Wufeng County. After exchanging pleasantries, they went directly to the ancestral hall in Xinyunjia Village. After performing the grand ancestral worship ceremony, they solemnly added the names of Su Shi, Su Youran, and Su Youchen to the family genealogy under the witness of the Yun family elders.

The Yun family members were both familiar with and grateful to the mother and her two children. After learning that the brother and sister had taken their mother's surname because of Su Yiren's official position, they had no objection to them being included in the Yun family genealogy with the surname Su.

The men went into the ancestral hall to worship, while the women could only stay in the courtyard outside and chat.

The entire Yun family has arrived.

The clan chief's wife, along with several aunts and wives, surrounded Su Shi and Xiao Youran. "Oh dear," she said, "we always felt it was an incredible stroke of luck that you two appeared out of nowhere. The first time, you rescued the Tian Kuang family from their plight and those villagers at the foot of the mountain who were almost harmed by the mudslide. The second time, you saved the entire Yun family village on the mountain. We never imagined that you and the Duke would have such a connection. It's truly a blessing from your past life! You've saved Yun family village so many times, your kindness to the village is as heavy as a mountain. It's as if it were destined by heaven that you were meant to be people of Yun family village!"

She spoke from the heart, but those who listened were filled with resentment.

Back then, although this Su family brought good fortune to the Tian Kuang family and the Yun family village with her two adorable children, those gossipy women also subtly inquired and found out that Su family had actually divorced her husband's family. So what if a woman has outstanding children or is rich? If she doesn't have a good home, what good is it? They found some comfort and balance in their envy, jealousy and hatred.

Who would have thought that in just a few months, this divorced woman would suddenly become the Duchess of the State, and judging from the Duke's doting manner towards her just now, this Su woman is really living a very comfortable life.

Hearing the clan chief's wife praise the couple's fate, these gossipy women couldn't help but feel even more envious.

A voice rang out, "It's a pity for the former Lady Zhou, the wife of the Marquis of Yun. She finally got the Duke exonerated and reinstated, and even returned safely, but she had no chance to enjoy it."

The implication was that this divorced woman, Ms. Su, got off easy.

Madam Su turned to look at the old woman who had spoken, and found her somewhat familiar, but couldn't quite place her. She simply smiled and said, "This auntie does look familiar. My sister is indeed rather unfortunate. Her headache is a chronic condition, and even with the renowned physician Gu, there's nothing he can do. However, I am deeply grateful that she took the initiative to bring me into the Duke's mansion as the Duchess. As for the children my sister left behind, I am confident that I will never mistreat them."

Yun Manwan immediately stepped forward to protect her stepmother, saying, "Mother is absolutely right. My mother brought my stepmother into the Duke's mansion before she died, also to save my father."

The woman said sarcastically, "You're only speaking well of this stepmother because of the shops she gave you, aren't you? Don't forget that your mother left as a divorced woman; she was a ghost of the Zhou family until her death."

These were harsh words, and the clan chief's wife couldn't help but scold, "Second Sister Yun, shut your mouth!"

She should have addressed her as "Second Sister," but she was so angry that she didn't care about giving her face in front of outsiders and called her by her given name.

The one speaking is Yun Ermei, who previously stood up for Yun Liumei.

Reprimanded by the clan chief's wife, her eyes reddened. "Seventh sister-in-law, my sixth sister's body is barely cold. It's not a big deal if I don't ask a few more questions, is it?"

An auntie nearby chimed in, "After all, Sixth Sister had a falling out with her and her mother, so it's no big deal to ask a few more questions."

Xiao Youran then came closer and said, "Oh dear, old lady, you're saying that Yun Liumei's body is still warm? That old woman is dead, but how did she die?"

Mrs. Su glared disapprovingly at her daughter. Even if she was curious, she shouldn't have asked so bluntly.

Yun Liu Mei shuddered. "How else could they have died? Starved to death, of course!"

Xiao Youran recalled that last year, when they set off from Wufeng County to return to Beijing, Yun Liumei and her daughter were hiding in the Yun residence in Wufeng County. They were already starving and on the verge of death, but they still remembered to rush straight for meat to grab.

Unexpectedly, they really did starve to death?