Upon hearing the news, Madam Zheng hurriedly led her maid to the front hall, followed by Madam Yang.
Aunt Chunxiang walked at the very back, and Madam Yang deliberately lagged behind a few steps, seeing Chunxiang approach.
He said in a sarcastic tone, "Sister Chunxiang, you worked hard last night. You don't need to force yourself to come out. Master and Madam can handle receiving the imperial decree. If you tire your sister out, Master will feel sorry for you."
Chunxiang was young and easily embarrassed. She wondered how Madam Yang knew how hard she had worked last night. Thinking of how her husband had tormented her in various ways last night, her cheeks flushed red.
Even though Chunxiang was young, she could still sense a hint of jealousy in Yang's sour words. Yang was jealous of Chunxiang's favor with the emperor.
She blushed and looked up to meet Yang's gaze, replying softly, "Thank you for your concern, sister. Serving the master well is our duty, there's no need to complain about the hardship."
Yang was rebuffed and had nowhere to vent her anger, so she could only curse Jiang Zhengming in her heart as a vixen and a fickle and heartless man.
Upon learning that someone from the palace had arrived, Yang's first reaction was that the Emperor favored Jiang Shuyue, and the royal family, for the sake of its reputation, still had to support the Jiang family.
Thinking that he would eventually benefit from Jiang Shuyue's influence and that the days of having a large retinue of servants would return, the gloom in his heart was swept away.
Jiang Zhengming instructed his servant to set up an incense table to receive the imperial edict. When the eunuch who was announcing the edict saw that almost everyone had arrived, he unfolded the edict and read it aloud.
Upon hearing the contents of the imperial edict, everyone in the mansion was stunned into silence.
Jiang Zhengming was struck dumb.
How could it be an external speaker?
Throughout history, it has always been newcomers who are sent to remote areas. Yet, he, a veteran official who has served for many years, was sent to a remote area.
"Does Magistrate Jiang have any objections?" The eunuch asked loudly when he saw that Jiang Zhengming had not accepted the imperial decree for a long time.
The word "Magistrate Jiang" brought Jiang Zhengming back to his senses.
He immediately kowtowed, raised his hands, and loudly replied, "Your subject receives the decree, long live the Emperor!"
Yang, who knew him well, could hear the sorrow and helplessness in Jiang Zhengming's voice.
Jiang Zhengming received the imperial edict with both hands and held it above his head for a long time without putting it down.
The eunuch delivering the imperial decree gave Jiang Zhengming a deep look before turning and leaving.
Zheng was so shocked by the sudden news of her transfer that she knelt on the ground for a long time and couldn't get up.
Only after the eunuch's figure disappeared through the door did Madam Zheng get up and walk towards Jiang Zhengming.
"My lord, what bad luck have we encountered? Why is the Emperor demoting you again and again?"
Even if Zheng didn't understand much, he knew that officials sent to the provinces were not as good as those in the capital.
Jiang Zhengming slowly lowered his hand, held the imperial edict to his chest, and sighed to the heavens: "I have committed a terrible sin! Even the ancestors of the Jiang family could not protect me from dying in a foreign land."
"I was wrong, I was foolish, I deserved it, but it's too late to regret it!"
Although Zheng was made the principal wife, her relationship with Jiang Zhengming was not as close as that with Yang.
Seeing that Jiang Zhengming was on the verge of collapse, she withdrew her outstretched hand.
Yang and Jiang Zhengming had been in love for many years. Upon seeing this scene, she rushed forward and hugged Jiang Zhengming tightly.
"My lord, shall we go and beg her? Let's beg her to persuade the Emperor to rescind his decree. If she's lenient, I'd gladly kowtow to her until my head breaks."
Jiang Zhengming sighed and slowly closed his eyes. "It's too late. Everything is too late. She won't forgive us, and the Emperor is even less likely to change his mind and retract his decree."
A tear slid down her cheek and landed on her newly changed blue official robe, blooming like a dark cloud.
Madam Yang shook her head violently, "No, my beloved daughter is still in the capital, we can't abandon her."
"Master, this departure means we'll never see Jiao'er again. Are you willing to part with her?" Madam Yang's eyes instantly filled with tears.
Jiang Zhengming was like a wooden doll who had lost his soul, and he didn't say anything even as Yang shook him vigorously.
Chunxiang was so frightened by this sudden turn of events that she fell silent.
Madam Zheng glanced at Madam Yang, who was crying her eyes out, and said coldly, "If Madam Yang is reluctant to part with the Second Miss, she can stay in the capital. Even if it means going through fire and water, my son and I will follow her."
“Madam, your son Jiang Qingjian is not married yet, so of course he can go with you without a care in the world. My darling is married, so how can it be the same?”
"Shut up, get out of here, you're making the master dizzy." Madam Zheng winked at the maid in the room.
Several people stepped forward, grabbed Yang's arm, and dragged her aside.
Jiang Zhengming held the imperial edict in his arms, completely immersed in grief.
His eyes were vacant and unfocused; no matter how much Yang called to him, he didn't even glance at her.
Demoting from a sixth-rank official in the capital to a seventh-rank county magistrate, especially to a remote border region far from the capital, is something no one could accept.
Madam Zheng waved to Chunxiang, who was standing there in a daze, "Aunt Xiang, don't just stand there like an idiot, come over and help the master back to his room to rest."
Madam Zheng and Aunt Xiang, one on each side, helped Jiang Zhengming to the backyard.
Seeing that the master and mistress had left, the servants abandoned Yang and went about their own business.
Yang scrambled to her feet, dusted off her skirt, and turned to leave through the door.
Time was of the essence; she needed to see her daughter.
Jiang Jiaojiao was shocked when she saw Madam Yang. "Auntie, were you bullied by Madam Zheng?"
As soon as Yang entered the room, she hugged Jiang Jiaojiao tightly and burst into tears.
"My dear child! I'm afraid we'll never see each other again."
"Auntie, don't talk nonsense. Aren't we all fine?"
Jiang Jiaojiao was startled by Yang's shout.
“My dear child! Your father has just received an imperial decree. He is to be transferred to Anlu County in the southwest. The Emperor has ordered him to depart in ten days.”
"Anlu County, isn't that a remote border region?" Jiang Jiaojiao's head buzzed, and her legs instantly went weak.
Seeing her daughter swaying precariously, Madam Yang quickly stopped wailing and helped her daughter sit down on the edge of the bed.
Yang wiped away her tears and sobbed, "Being sent to a remote place to be a county magistrate is worse than the Emperor killing us. Your father has become a laughing stock among his colleagues."
"How could this be? Could it be that hussy whispering in the Emperor's ear?"
"That's not right! The Emperor hasn't even held a selection of concubines yet, and we don't even know who will ultimately be chosen. Who does she think she is!"
Jiang Jiaojiao watched her mother cry her heart out, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
She was well aware of what it meant for her father to be sent to a remote area at his age.
If Jiang Qingjian fails to achieve academic success in the future, Jiang Zhengming's branch of the family will be separated from their clan and will never be able to return to the capital.
When I see my parents again, they may be a memorial tablet.
Remembering that her husband had gone to Tingxue Pavilion last night and had not returned, Jiang Jiaojiao's eyes showed disappointment. She gritted her teeth and whispered something in Yang's ear.
Yang gradually stopped crying, her eyes widening in astonishment. "Jiao'er, how... how dare you?"
“Mother, I have no worries about Su Peng being a good man. You should keep these words to yourself and not even tell Father.”
"I'm sorry, it was all my fault for being bewitched and ruining your marriage. I thought that once you entered the Su family, you would be bound to that slut and would have a life of wealth and honor. Who knew that slut would be so heartless as to not even acknowledge her own uncle?"
When Yang brought up this matter, the hatred in her eyes was impossible to hide.
Before noon, the news of Jiang Zhengming's transfer to another post spread like wildfire.
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