In the prison, the women of the He family sat there in a daze, looking towards the entrance from time to time.
The He family had many descendants. Mrs. Du had six brothers. They married and took concubines, and had many children.
The girls of this generation alone are ranked up to twenty-three.
Therefore, in addition to married daughters, there are more than a dozen daughters of the He family in prison, and they are usually pampered regardless of whether they are legitimate or illegitimate daughters.
The He family had a Mrs. Du, who brought the whole family to a higher level and crossed the social class. Naturally, the He family attached great importance to the training of their daughter, hoping to have another Mrs. Du.
Who would have thought that instead of enjoying wealth and glory, he ended up having his property confiscated and being thrown into jail.
These delicate women were despairing and panic-stricken as if they had been struck by a bolt from the blue, and they felt as if the sky was falling.
Fortunately, Mrs. He was able to remain calm and calm everyone down.
After waiting for several days, I was so anxious, "When will aunt come to save us? How many days has it been?"
"She will come. As long as she knows the news, she will come to rescue us. Then, hum."
"I have never suffered such hardship. I have lived in this shabby place for several days. The food is not good. I will go crazy if I am locked up any longer."
"They actually let us eat dry steamed buns. Is this what humans eat? And we have to eat it every meal."
Everyone kept complaining and yelling at the jailers, venting their fear and dissatisfaction.
Madam He saw this and could only sigh silently, "Just bear with it a little longer, you'll be able to get out soon."
They tacitly agreed to only talk about this topic and avoid talking about other things.
Even though, the women were very worried about the men in their families and couldn't sleep at night.
The youngest girl in the He family tugged at her mother's sleeve with tears in her eyes, "Mom, I miss Dad. Where is he? Why hasn't he come back yet?"
The cell was quiet and the atmosphere was weird.
Madam He Liu had a bitter look on her face. She was not as innocent as the other girls. "I'll be back soon. Very soon."
“How soon is soon?”
"This..." Mrs. He Liu also wanted to know.
Just then, the jailer brought the meal. Everyone didn't bother to talk and gathered around.
"Eat steamed buns again, I won't eat it."
"I want to eat meat, braised pork."
"I want to eat grilled fish, go and bring it over quickly, otherwise, when my aunt comes, you will be in trouble."
They used to live a life of luxury, with delicacies from land and sea eaten every day, but they were still picky and their voices were very delicate.
How can I bear eating white flour buns every day? It's too torturous.
A clear voice rang out, "Wow, so majestic."
It was Mu Wanqing, she followed the jailer.
The women of the He family all looked at the girl who came out of the darkness. She was not wearing any makeup but was extremely beautiful, with picturesque eyebrows and eyes, standing out from the crowd.
The fifth wife of the He family's eyes lit up, and she said gloatingly, "Princess Qingping, why are you here? Have you committed a crime too?"
When you are unlucky, you wish others to be even more unlucky.
Mu Wanqing's eyes fell on the two buckets of steaming food and she raised her eyebrows. "White flour buns, mung bean porridge, I didn't know the prisoners were treated so well. Didn't they say they had no money?"
This food is better than that of ordinary people. How can ordinary people eat this on a daily basis? They have never seen white flour.
She knew at a glance that the women in the He family received special care.
The two deputy governors also came out from the darkness. Deputy Governor Jiang looked embarrassed, "This... this..."
Miss Du has issued a warning, forbidding anyone to humiliate the women of the He family.
Not only did the people below not dare to humiliate him, they also gave him all kinds of special care.
There is no way. Who dares to offend Mrs. Du's family easily? Even if you go to jail, you can turn things around in a minute.
Mu Wanqing didn't make things difficult for him. She looked around. Although it was a large prison, it was quite tidy and clean.
The dozen or so cells here only hold the women of the He family, and no one knows where the others have gone.
There were bedding and clean clothes in the cell, so the women of the He family looked relatively decent and not too miserable.
"What does everyone else eat?"
Tongzhi Jiang gave a bitter smile and said, "Wo Wo Bread." It was the kind of coarse grain steamed bread that poor people ate, mixed with wild vegetables. It was hard to swallow and got stuck in the throat.
Mu Wanqing looked very serious, "Change them, and treat all prisoners equally."
Being in prison should be like being in prison.
"Yes." With a command from her, all the white and plump steamed buns were taken away and replaced with black, wowotou, which looked unappetizing.
He Shiwu was immediately furious. "Mu Wanqing, why do you care about us? Get out of here."
She is the pampered daughter of the He family. She is usually very arrogant and looks down on Mu Wanqing.
Mu Wanqing looked at the spoiled He family girl with cold eyes, "What is the crime for disrespecting the county lady?"
The maid assigned by the queen knew it best, "Fifty slaps."
The He family relied on Madam Du's support, looked down on others and acted recklessly, which led to such a huge disaster.
But, the lesson has not been learned yet.
Well, everyone is helping to show respect, and he gets special care even though he’s in prison, so naturally he won’t feel like he did anything wrong.
Mu Wanqing said calmly, "Drag him out for execution."
Two guards immediately opened the cell and dragged the man out. Other members of the He family rushed over to stop them, but they were no match for the guards.
He Shiwu was so scared that he started to cry, "No, no, no, my aunt is the wife of the Du family, you can't do this to me."
"Pa pa pa." Who would still talk to her about kindness? Just beat her first and talk later.
In just a few hits, He Shiwu's face was swollen like a pig's head and he cried for his parents.
Madam He was heartbroken. "County Lady, my child is young and naive. Please be magnanimous and forgive her."
Mu Wanqing stood with her hands behind her back, extremely arrogant, "You all know why you are locked up here."
Madam He immediately cried out in injustice, "We were framed, County Lady, please help us redress our grievances."
Mu Wanqing sneered, "You really don't know that your son He Bin defected to Xiwu and shot Du Shuai?"
He Bin is the eldest grandson of the He family. He has been trained as the focus since childhood and is the hope of the family. Naturally, he is looked at differently by Mrs. Du.
Mrs. He was extremely flustered, but she maintained a righteous look on her face.
"Our He family is loyal and we are related to the Du family. Why would we seek refuge in Xiwu? If you think about it, you will know that it is impossible. Princess Qingping, I don't know how our He family has offended you. You actually made up such a terrible rumor. You are too cruel."
Mu Wanqing couldn't help but take another look, "Like son, like mother. Bad things are inherited from the same bloodline. Don't worry, I have already informed the court of this matter..."
The He family members turned pale. The court?
Madam He's face lost all color, she was terrified, "What did you say?"
She relied on Madam Du. No matter how big the trouble was, she could always settle it in the Xiliang area.
She believed that, for both moral and legal reasons, and for both public and private reasons, Commander Du would not make a big deal out of the matter and would not take it to court.
After all, if the He family is not good, it means that Mrs. Du is not good, and her three children will naturally not be good either.
Du Shaoxuan is going to inherit the Du family army and take over Xiliang, so how could his mother have any stain on her?
Everyone in Xiliang will help to conceal it.
However, she never expected that Mu Wanqing would suddenly appear along the way.
Mu Wanqing has no vested interest in anyone, so there is no need to worry so much.
"Whatever the truth is, I believe that the Wuyi Guard will investigate it thoroughly. I also believe that the emperor is a capable and wise ruler who can distinguish right from wrong."
Others may not know, but Madam He knows it very well. Their family cannot withstand investigation. "How could you...how could you?"
Mu Wanqing liked to see the bad guys getting mad but unable to do anything to her. "As a county lady appointed by the court, I have the responsibility to supervise the local area. As a Daqi person, I have the obligation to kill traitors."
She raised an eyebrow, "No one is allowed to protect traitors, including Mrs. Du."
She seemed to suddenly remember something, "Oh, by the way, Madam Du wanted to come and save you just now, but I scolded her and she left. Don't count on her, it's useless."
He Family: ...
Madam He was unwilling to believe this was true. "This is impossible, Master Jiang, this can't be true, right? Why would Princess Qingping come to the prison to intimidate us?"
Jiang Tongzhi has given up hope. "The Princess of Qingping is now the acting governor of the Xiliang region, holding the power of life and death."
"She is a girl..." Mrs. He exclaimed.
Jiang Tongzhi has always looked down on the He family. Although they are relatives, they are not close. "She is also a third-rank county lady. In the whole of Xiliang, except for Du Shuai and his son, no one has a higher rank than her. From the perspective of the official system, there is nothing wrong with her taking over Xiliang."
"Of course, she can also go directly to the emperor's court and submit memorials to him at any time."
The He family members were trembling, with despair on their faces.
It’s over, the emperor knows.
Mu Wanqing spoke at the right time, "I heard that the emperor hates two types of people the most in his life, corrupt officials and traitors. The former still have a glimmer of hope, but the latter, the entire clan will be killed, leaving no one alive."
After saying this, she glanced at everyone and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
"If you can make up for your crime with meritorious service, you may be spared from death. Let's enjoy our last moments."
Then she turned and left.
Jiang Tongzhi followed and retreated. Madam He quickly called him, "Sir Jiang, Sir Jiang, Princess Qingping... is at odds with the Du family?"
Jiang Tongzhi lowered his eyes, "Anyway, she is not afraid of the Du family."
Madam He was devastated, "So, what she said is true?"
Jiang Tongzhi understood a little bit what Mu Wanqing meant. "Yes, the Wuyi Guards are coming soon. They have the right to investigate, spy on, and execute traitors."
After these words were spoken, the women of the He family became even more frightened and their faces turned as pale as paper.
Sure enough, not long after, the Sixth Madam of the He Family shouted, "I want to see the Princess of Qingping County. I will try to redeem myself for my crimes."
She ignored the angry looks from the others and followed the jailer.
Once there is the first one, there will naturally be a second one. They will expose and report each other, just to gain merit.
In order to survive, they said everything they should and shouldn't say, and sold out the He family completely.
All the dirty things he had done were brought to light one by one.
Several spies were also involved, and these spies used the He family to influence Mrs. Du's decisions.
Then, these were announced to the public by Mu Wanqing, which completely nailed the He family down, and no one could save them.
The people suddenly realized what was going on. No wonder the He family was raided and it was a good raid.
Mrs. Du's reputation was also damaged, and some people strongly suggested that Du divorce his wife.
When Mrs. Du found out, she spat out blood, fainted on the spot and fell seriously ill.
When she finally recovered from her illness, she found out that Mu Wanqing had dealt with all members of the He family and held a public trial in front of the entire city's citizens. The scene was spectacular.
There is no need to mention the men of the He family. They were all sent to the vanguard camp to be cannon fodder. Even if they came back alive, they would be exiled three thousand miles away.
All the female members of the He family were punished, and those who had done bad things were sent to labor reform, doing heavy physical work to atone for their sins.
Even those who have not done anything bad cannot be let go. These days, if one person breaks the law, the whole family will be punished.
The premise for not bringing disaster to wife and children is that they should not be brought benefits to them.
Since he was protected by the He family and lived a life of luxury, it was natural that he would be implicated as well.
At most, they would be assigned some easy work.
The people applauded and praised Mu Wanqing for being a good person. Mu Wanqing's reputation soared again.
She spoke up for the people without fear of power and redressed their grievances. No one thought there was anything wrong with the way she tried the case.
In other words, the people ignored her intentionally or unintentionally. As long as it was beneficial to the people, they didn't care whether she was a man or a woman.
It’s not uncommon for women to be the head of a household, so why can’t they be officials?
In this way, Mu Wanqing successfully passed the most difficult stage with the help of the He family.
The fact that a woman took over the Dusi Mansion was smoothly accepted by the public and was not rejected.
Of course, this is also inseparable from her secretly sending people to guide public opinion.
Mrs. Du fell ill again, and this time she was bedridden for a long time and did not recover.
She held Du Shuai's hand and begged, "Please take back your decision. If you continue like this, Xiliang will have to change his surname to Mu."
Du Shuai looked at her expressionlessly, "When you recover, you can go to the Buddhist temple to practice Buddhism with your hair untied, and pray for the He family and the children of the Du family."
Mrs. Du was like being struck by thunder. What?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
