Chapter 317 The Dust Settles
Looking at the latest progress report on the trial, Emperor Xiaozhao couldn't help but shake his head. "This Min Rong is truly stupid! And this Min Qiao is really good at causing trouble!"
"It's a pity that Min Ji, who painstakingly planned for the Marquis of Xuanping's residence, is gone."
Liu Xin sighed and echoed, "The former Marquis of Xuanping was full of wisdom and had a long-term vision, but I never expected that his wife and children would cause such a mess."
Emperor Xiaozhao thought for a moment and asked, "I remember that Min Ji left behind some documents about divorcing wives to maintain stability?"
Liu Xin quickly replied, "Yes. The former Marquis of Xuanping left a complete set of documents for divorcing his wife to his trusted old steward. These included a blood-written letter left by the old lady of the Marquis of Xuanping's mansion, a personal letter from the former Marquis of Xuanping, a personal letter from Lady Wang, and testimonies from members of the Min family's collateral branches. Most importantly, it also contained a memorial written by the former Marquis of Xuanping himself requesting the replacement of the Marquis of Xuanping."
Where is the item now?
"Your Majesty, those items were originally thrown to the second branch of the Min family by the Hundred Departments, and the people of the second branch of the Min family then handed them over to Madam Qiao." Liu Xin speculated, "If nothing unexpected happens, those items have now been destroyed by Madam Qiao."
Emperor Xiaozhao smiled and said, "It doesn't matter if the things are destroyed, as long as they really existed and I approve of them."
"Your Majesty's meaning..." Liu Xin was somewhat unsure of Emperor Xiaozhao's intentions.
Emperor Xiaozhao ordered: "Draft an imperial edict. Lady Qiao, the Dowager Lady of Xuanping Marquis, has disgraced the emperor and acted recklessly, relying on her status and the imperial edict to disrupt the law. Furthermore, she has failed to properly educate her son, thus failing to live up to the weight of the imperial edict bestowed upon her by the court. Her title of Dowager Lady is hereby revoked, her official robes and hat are taken away, and she is demoted to a commoner. She shall leave the capital within half a month and shall not return to the capital without an imperial edict."
Upon hearing this, Liu Xin's lips twitched. "Your Majesty, this case hasn't even been concluded yet. Isn't it a bit premature to issue an edict now?"
Emperor Xiaozhao scoffed, "Is that what they call a trial? Isn't that just a shrew's rant, all empty words and no substance?"
Liu Xin fell silent.
Not to mention Emperor Xiaozhao, even he was speechless when he heard the details of the trials reported by the secret guards.
Because it was far too childish.
Apart from Min Hui's death, all the other accusations are baseless and made up on nothing.
Tsk tsk.
***
Meanwhile, in the Dali Temple courtroom, the two groups had already escalated into a heated argument.
Lady Yongning had now also stood beside Lady Min Qiao.
For every word the Marquis of Yongning said, she could say ten.
Min Yuexi also walked from the back to the front. For every negative thing Min Rong said about Min Qiao's family, she would retort.
Enraged, Min Rong gritted his teeth and cursed her for being unfilial, while Min Yuexi retorted without backing down, saying that she had learned it all from him.
If he could be unfilial to Min Qiaoshi, she would naturally follow suit and argue with him.
As soon as Sun Shiming opened his mouth, Madam Zheng rebuked him. When he mentioned the death of his mother, Old Madam Sun, Madam Zheng said that Old Madam Sun had poisoned her, that her heart was despicable, and that she deserved to die.
As for Lady Annan, Su Rongrong could argue with her to a standstill without even needing Madam Min Qiao to intervene.
Judging from the situation of the argument between the two sides, Min Qiao's side clearly had the upper hand.
There was nothing she could do; aside from her, the Earl of Annan's side was entirely composed of men. She was completely outmatched in verbal sparring by the woman.
The three presiding judges watched from the platform as the argument below escalated into a chaotic marketplace, and no one stepped in to stop it.
Until the Crown Prince could no longer bear it, he stood up, snatched the gavel from Zhang Cheng, and slammed it down heavily.
The argument then stopped.
The Crown Prince's furious glare swept across everyone in the courtroom, finally settling on the three presiding judges. "Is this how you conduct trials? This is a public court, and you just let them run wild like this?"
Before the three presiding judges could speak, Li Sanqi said with a smile, "Brother Crown Prince, you are mistaken. As the saying goes, truth is not clear without debate."
"The Earl of An'nan and the Marquis of Yongning accused Madam Qiao of murder, but they could not produce any solid evidence. Madam Qiao could not be wronged for nothing, so she naturally had to say something in her defense."
"What's wrong with this?"
"Brother Crown Prince, don't you think so?"
As soon as Li Sanqi finished speaking, the Third Prince said with a smile, "It's understandable that the Crown Prince is angry. However, the object of his anger should not be Madam Qiao and the others, much less the three presiding judges. Rather, it should be the Lady of An'nan, the Marquis of Yongning, Lord Sun, and the Marquis of Xuanping!"
"They made up all this on the spot, without any evidence, yet they slandered Madam Qiao in court."
"Isn't this ridiculous?"
As he spoke, the Third Prince's sharp gaze swept over the people he had mentioned.
"So many people are slandering Min Qiao Shi together?" The Crown Prince scoffed, disdainfully saying, "If she hadn't acted carelessly, would everyone be so fixated on her?"
"Moreover, even Marquis Xuanping personally stepped forward to identify his birth mother. Doesn't that prove the point?"
"This only proves that Marquis Xuanping is unfilial, foolish, and lacks a sense of the bigger picture!" The Third Prince glanced at Min Rong with disdain. "Otherwise, what else could it prove?"
Li Sanqi also sneered, staring coldly at Marquis Xuanping, "Even I know the principle of not washing one's dirty linen in public, but Marquis Xuanping openly accused his own mother and even stood with his mother's enemies."
"This is more than just ignorance and filial impiety; it's downright heartless and worse than pigs and dogs!"
"It is truly moving that Third Brother and Seventh Sister are so indignant in defending Madam Qiao." The Crown Prince looked at the two with a half-smile. "But when you keep cursing Marquis Xuanping as a scoundrel, did you ever think that Madam Qiao, Marquis Xuanping's wife, is his own mother?"
"If the son is a worthless wretch, is the mother really without any fault?"
"I'm afraid it's a case of those above setting an example for those below, just following suit."
Good heavens, the people below have stopped arguing, but the Crown Prince is arguing with the Third Prince and the Seventh Princess.
Just then, a loud shout came from outside the pond: "The imperial edict has arrived!"
Everyone was taken aback for a moment, then came to their senses and got up to greet them at the door.
The Grand Eunuch Liu Xin personally led the Imperial Guards to deliver the imperial edict.
The crowd knelt respectfully to listen.
Liu Xin then read aloud Emperor Xiaozhao's decree.
When everyone heard that Lady Min Qiao had been stripped of her imperial title and banished from the capital, they were all stunned.
A smile flickered in the Crown Prince's eyes, while the Third Prince and the Seventh Princess frowned deeply.
Some on Lady Annam's side were delighted, some were satisfied, while others still felt it was insufficient, believing that Emperor Xiaozhao's punishment of Lady Min Qiao was too lenient.
In contrast, everyone around Min Qiaoshi, except for the Zhao family who remained neutral and watched the show, immediately showed expressions of shock and worry.
"I'll go and beg the Empress Dowager for a solution!" said Madam Zheng, the first to speak.
She couldn't understand why Emperor Xiaozhao would issue such an imperial edict.
Su Rongrong echoed, unwilling to give up, "Grandmother, I will also ask Brother Yan to plead with the Emperor to rescind his decree."
Min Yuexi then turned to look at the Third Prince.
Receiving Min Yuexi's hopeful gaze, the Third Prince's brow furrowed even deeper.
His proposal to Min Yuexi wasn't because he truly loved her! Rather, it was to gain the support of Min Qiao's family and the connections behind her!
At this moment, Lady Min Qiao had lost her imperial title and had been banished from the capital. What use was there in marrying Min Yuexi then?
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