Front Hall
Xiu Shu relayed Princess Jia Hua's message to the Seventh Prince's personal guard. The guard nodded and relayed the message when no one was looking.
The Seventh Prince's eyes darkened slightly.
It was already midnight.
As the Third Prince's Consort walked towards the Phoenix Palace, Qingzhi couldn't help but ask, "How is the matter Her Majesty instructed, Third Prince's Consort, progressing?"
The Third Prince's wife glanced at Qingzhi, her lips pressed tightly together: "Of course it's been taken care of."
The blue pheasant's face showed a pine-like color.
The group walked through the night and returned to Fengyi Palace. Empress Yan was still awake, sitting at her desk copying scriptures. Hearing the noise, she put down her pen and asked, "How is it?"
"She agreed."
Empress Yan asked in surprise, "Really?"
The Third Prince's wife nodded: "Perhaps she has some reservations and dares not disobey. After all, if she offends the Yan family, she will find it difficult to move an inch in the future. As for whether the Seventh Prince will listen, that is uncertain."
"Don't worry, as long as it's Zhao Jiahua, Lao Qi will listen to him."
At this point, Empress Yan picked up her brush and wrote a large character for "endurance" on the paper, her breath trembling slightly: "It's getting late, go and rest in the side hall, and go back tomorrow."
The Third Prince's wife was not given a chance to refuse.
"yes."
The argument raged in the front hall all night.
How many people in the harem suffered sleepless nights?
The next morning, the Seventh Prince presented Prime Minister Yan with a solution: "The Empress will be moved to Fengci Palace and will never be allowed to step out of the palace gates again. When the new emperor ascends the throne, the Empress will still be posthumously honored as Empress Dowager and will be able to enjoy her later years in peace. In addition, Madam Yan will be confined to the Yan residence for life, Prime Minister Yan will be removed from his position as regent, and a left and right prime minister will be appointed, with Prime Minister Yan as the left prime minister."
"Your Highness..." Prime Minister Yan swayed, "This old minister has worked diligently for so many years, isn't this forcing this old minister to die?"
"Or, if Prime Minister Yan wants to retain his position as the head of all officials, then no one in the Yan family, for three generations, should be allowed to serve as an official in the court or as a general in the army."
After the Seventh Prince finished speaking, Lord Xu said, "His Highness is kind-hearted and has already given the Yan family enough face. Prime Minister Yan should not be ungrateful!"
"That's right. We should give an explanation to those who died unjustly and were wronged. Otherwise, it will be difficult to convince the public."
More than a dozen victims' family members knelt on the ground, demanding an explanation.
Seeing this, Prime Minister Yan knew he couldn't go against the Seventh Prince, so he took a deep breath and said, "This old minister is guilty and accepts punishment, but Her Majesty is innocent. Her Majesty is weak and cannot withstand any shock. Your Highness, Her Majesty is nominally your stepmother. You can't implicate both your biological father and your stepmother, can you? How will the people view you?"
Prime Minister Yan did his utmost to advocate for Empress Yan.
The Seventh Prince's eyes darkened as he looked at Prime Minister Yan: "That's why we didn't execute Madam Yan according to the law, and we confined the Empress to her quarters. It's also so that the Empress can recuperate without being disturbed. Apart from not being able to leave Fengci Palace at will, all her treatment will remain the same!"
Prime Minister Yan was stunned by the Seventh Prince's words. If he continued, he would very likely order Madam Yan to commit suicide.
So Prime Minister Yan was forced to bow: "This old minister thanks Your Highness for your mercy."
In response, the Seventh Prince provided compensation to more than a dozen families, either by offering them reinstatement as officials or by having them prove the girl's innocence, and also rewarded the victim's family.
They beat drums and gongs, and then carried away the rewards along with the food.
With a wave of his hand, the Seventh Prince lifted Lord Xu to the position of Right Chancellor, placing him on equal footing with Prime Minister Yan.
Lord Xu, the current Prime Minister Xu was flattered and repeatedly thanked the Seventh Prince.
The month-long farce has finally come to an end.
When the palace maid who had gathered the information rushed back, Empress Yan's eyelids twitched even more violently: "How is it?"
"Your Highness, His Highness has stripped the Prime Minister of his regency power, ordered all members of the Yan family who have served as officials in the court for three generations to be demoted two ranks, and confined the Lady to the mansion for life, forbidding her from stepping out of the Yan family compound without an imperial edict."
Empress Yan's face grew increasingly gloomy.
The messenger stammered, his eyes darting around. Empress Yan demanded, "What else?"
"Your Highness, His Highness also said that in order for you to rest and recuperate in peace, you will be moved to Fengci Palace from today onwards, and you shall not step out of Fengci Palace without being summoned."
Boom!
It was as if a thunderclap had exploded in my ears.
"What, what did you say?" Empress Yan asked in disbelief. "I am the Empress, and he is just a prince. What right does he have to punish me?"
The palace maid knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, the Prime Minister has agreed, and all the civil and military officials have also agreed."
"Outrageous! What right do they have to decide where I am?" Empress Yan roared angrily at the palace maid beside her, "Go and fetch the Seventh Prince."
Before the palace maids could even step out the door, they saw the Seventh Prince arrive in person.
Empress Yan's anger had not yet subsided. She narrowed her eyes and sized up the Seventh Prince: "For Zhao Jiahua's sake, do you really intend to imprison me for the rest of my life?"
"Imprisonment and loss of life are insignificant compared to this." The Seventh Prince stared blankly at Empress Yan: "When Consort Yu died, she was drugged. In order to stay sane, she broke off her fingers one by one. She followed me for years and fought alongside me in battle. She shouldn't have ended up like this."
He also regretted it late at night.
If he hadn't been sent away that day, would he have been able to win back Consort Yu?
Empress Yan's anger subsided somewhat upon hearing this.
“That day, you sent a palace maid to invite me to reminisce, and then Yu Shi was in trouble. I still can’t believe that you deliberately lured me away from the mountain.”
"I...I was unaware of this."
"What about Miss Zhang? She was trampled in the abdomen by the horse's hooves, suffered for three months, and died from the pain." The Seventh Prince's eyes were fixed on Empress Yan. "I only met Miss Zhang twice by chance, and we never had any private conversations. She shouldn't have died so tragically. Her mother was also greatly affected by this, fell seriously ill, and passed away the following year. Miss Wen was framed for having an affair and was forced to marry far away from home. Her husband's family still found out and beat her to death."
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