Chapter 539 Invitation from the Duke's Mansion
Amidst various opinions.
Su Tai took Ruan Fang and Yu Mei to the Ministry of Justice dungeon.
In just a few days, the beautiful Ruan Haizhu had become half-human, half-ghost. She started howling like crazy when she heard any noise. "This has nothing to do with me. The princess lied to me and told me to do this. I am innocent! Please let me go. I want to go home. I want to go home!"
In the past, she always resisted her parents selling her for money, but now she hoped that her parents would take her away for money at that time, so that at least she could survive. Now, only death awaits her.
"If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place." Su Tai slowly walked out from the shadows.
Ruan Haizhu was stunned for two seconds, and then her reaction became more intense. "Mrs. Shen, I know I was wrong. I really know I was wrong. Please forgive me. I want to go home. I want to go home!"
Ruan Fang was so disappointed that she cursed, "You want to go home now? What did I say to you at the beginning? If you had just turned around and walked back, you wouldn't have been in such a disaster today! Haizhu, you are deceiving the emperor! No one can save you! The emperor has ordered you to be executed in the autumn, you better be a good person in your next life!"
Ruan Haizhu’s face turned pale in an instant, and her frightened eyes seemed to jump out of their sockets, making her look particularly hideous.
"No! Sister Fang, I don't want to die, I can't die! I'm so young, please save me, save me."
Ruan Fang shook her head and put down the food she had brought. "Today, I asked Madam to bring me to see you and bring you some food. Also, Madam wants to ask you something."
Ruan Haizhu was so scared that she had no time to think about anything else.
She answered whatever Su Tai asked without hesitation, and you could tell at a glance that she was telling the truth.
The three of them left the dungeon.
Yu Mei asked in a low voice: "Madam, that Princess Qingfeng not only took Ruan Haizhu in, but also specially asked the nanny to teach her and spent a lot of effort to cultivate her, just to snatch the eldest lady's marriage? It seems that our Shen family has never offended her!"
Su Tai nodded, thought about it, and took the two of them to the Princess Huai'an's Mansion.
Because of the incident in the palace, Princess Huai'an felt guilty and grateful to Su Tai. When she heard that Su Tai was coming, she immediately had someone take her to the inner courtyard.
The relationship for the women who can enter the inner courtyard is different.
Su Tai had something on her mind, but she didn't think much about it. As soon as she sat down, she told Princess Huai'an the news she had heard.
Princess Huai'an paused while drinking water, with a look of surprise in her eyes, "You said that Ruan Haizhu was cultivated by Qingfeng with great effort? Why did she do that?"
Su Tai looked solemn, "If this matter is not directed at our Shen family, then it is directed at the eldest princess. It was only after I came to the imperial capital that I learned that my Shen Yi had been promoted again in the past six months. Maybe he blocked his way, so I wanted to ask the eldest princess to find out."
Princess Huai'an thought for a while and shook her head decisively, "Although the position of the Minister of Works is popular, it is not as good as the position of the Ministry of Revenue. The original Minister of Works had problems and was found out. Shen Yi was promoted based on his real ability. The emperor promoted Shen Yi to let all the court officials know his intentions.
What he wanted was a capable official with real talent and real ability, not just a flatterer. If he wanted to deal with Shen Yi, he could just send someone to assassinate him without going through so much trouble.
Besides, Qingfeng has been training Ruan Haizhu for a while. Do you know when she started training Ruan Haizhu?"
Su Tai grasped the point and nodded excitedly, "It should be two or three years ago."
Princess Huai'an fell into deep thought, and her expression became more solemn the more she thought about it. After a while, she said quietly, "In this case, her motive for cultivating Ruan Haizhu is strange. Don't worry, I will send someone to investigate this matter carefully. Our two families have been granted marriage by the emperor, so we should give priority to the marriage.
During this period, I plan to take Yue Zhang out to a banquet, and it would be a good idea for you to bring Yue An along, so it would be a good idea to get into the circle of noble ladies in the imperial capital as soon as possible."
That is the first way for ladies and young ladies to get news. If people don't play with you, you won't be able to keep up with many news.
Su Tai readily agreed.
After what happened to Princess Qingfeng and the wife of Duke Ji, she also wanted to see how many evil spirits there were in the imperial capital. For the sake of her man and children, she was really determined to give it her all. Anyone who stood in her way would be killed, whether they were gods or Buddhas.
Just when Su Tai was getting ready, the invitation from the Rongguo Mansion arrived.
Su Tai looked at the invitation with interest, raised an eyebrow and asked Shen Yi, "How many dukes are there in the imperial capital?"
Chen Yi pondered and said, "The two dukes, one is Duke Ji, whose property was just confiscated, and the other is Duke Rong. The first generation of dukes followed the founding emperor in his early years and fought in the south and the north. He made great military achievements and was an important official of Langya State. It is said that the founding emperor said that he and the two dukes owned the world together.
The two dukes were given many honors and favors. They were smart people. When Langya State was stabilized, they handed over their military power. The founding emperor conferred the titles of duke on them and put them in charge of the taxes and labor service of the counties where their ancestral homes were. Even the royal family members did not have such an honor.
Unfortunately, the descendants were not up to the task, and this glory only lasted for three generations. After the fourth emperor ascended the throne, he was dissatisfied with the two dukes in charge of the taxes and labor service of the two counties, so he ordered a thorough investigation of the meritorious officials.
If they were innocent, it wouldn't matter, but both Duke's Mansions had many problems and could not resist investigation. Fortunately, this Duke Rong still had some scheming skills and guessed the emperor's intention at once. He decisively returned the taxes and labor services under his control to the court.
The late emperor was pleased to see that he was tactful and had refused several times, but when Duke Rong insisted, he accepted it "reluctantly" and gave him many rewards. Duke Rong's wife was even given the title of Old Lady for this. Duke Ji's family was very jealous but could not bear to give up the taxes and labor service of an entire county, so they did not follow Duke Rong's example and pay the taxes and labor service.
The late emperor was not in a hurry. Later, the Langya Kingdom and the Longxia Kingdom went to war and were in urgent need of food and grass. The court officials advised Duke Ji to temporarily hand over the taxes and labor of a county for the sake of national justice.
Duke Ji was naturally reluctant to give up, but he also understood that the country comes before the family. If he refused, he would most likely be labeled a traitor, so he agreed, but gave it reluctantly. The late emperor was also unhappy. After the defeat of Langya State, the late emperor chose a young lady from Duke Ji's mansion to marry. It was said that the young lady was the most beloved daughter of the former Duke Ji.
At this time, the former Duke Ji regretted his decision. At the same time, the late emperor offered to return the taxes and labor service of one county to the Duke Ji's Mansion. The former Duke Ji learned his lesson this time and sternly refused. The late emperor then took back the taxes and labor service and bestowed a golden phoenix on the Duke Ji's Mansion.
The two dukes' mansions, one has the Golden Phoenix and the other has the Old Lady, they are roughly equal. But this time, Duke Ji brought disaster upon himself. The emperor not only investigated Duke Ji, but also others, and punished all those who had problems. Now everyone is waiting to see how the emperor will deal with the title of Duke Ji's mansion.
The Rong Duke's Mansion naturally cares more about this than other families. After all, without the Duke Ji, the Rong Duke is not at ease in his position.
The affairs of Duke Ji's mansion are more or less related to us, and Madam Rong will definitely find a chance to ask you about it."
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