After the ceremony, without waiting for the emperor to ask her why she came to see him and why she brought the eldest princess with her, Yu Zizhen went straight to the point and started complaining.
She looked at the reserved and timid Xiao Yuanjiu with sympathy, "Your Majesty, the eldest princess was beaten all over by the nanny who served her. Please save her quickly. She is so pitiful."
As soon as Yu Zizhen said this, the emperor and all the court officials present couldn't help but frown.
Xiao Yuanjiu, who had been observing people's expressions for a long time, was very sensitive to other people's emotional changes. She subconsciously hid behind Yu Zizhen.
Seeing this, Yu Zizhen became even more determined to deal with those palace servants.
She said to the emperor, "I request Your Majesty to send someone to examine the eldest princess's injuries."
Thinking that the emperor had few trustworthy people around him, and most importantly, that there might not be any women among them, Yu Zizhen added, "My female guard Yaoguang has also come with us. I request Your Majesty to allow Yaoguang to enter the palace, to accompany her closely, and to protect and comfort the princess throughout her journey."
The emperor nodded slightly with a serious expression, "Alright."
After a pause, he continued, "Go to Aunt Xuan Rongxuan and go to the main hall of the South Study."
The main hall of the South Study is very large. In addition to the spacious study where the emperor usually reviews memorials and discusses matters with court officials, there is also a small room where the emperor usually drinks tea and eats snacks, as well as a spacious bedroom for the emperor to occasionally stay overnight.
The bedroom was empty at this time, and the emperor wanted Aunt Rong Xuan to go there to examine the eldest princess's injuries.
This was the first time that the emperor made a decision without considering the expressions of his court officials. However, neither Fan Ting, the grandfather of Fan Zhongming who wanted to become a powerful official, nor Lu Tong, the head of the Lu family who had already become a powerful official, jumped out to reject the emperor's decision.
It’s not that they are so respectful of the mascot emperor who has no real power, but they all understand one thing very well, that is, they must never openly show their contempt and neglect for the royal family.
In fact, not only the direct relatives of the Lu family, including Lu Tong, who directly controlled the entire palace, but also other important officials of the Da Qi Dynasty knew to varying degrees that the royal family, including the emperor, was in a difficult situation.
In this palace, not only does the emperor have no real power, no freedom, and no privacy, but even his children are experiencing what it means to be miserable.
The eldest prince was poisoned and became a cripple. Although the second prince and the eldest princess were in good health, they were bullied and tortured in private just like the emperor's younger brother Xiao Shaoke.
Everyone knows that this is not only because the palace is firmly in the hands of two generations of women in the Lu family, but also because the eldest Lu family has always held great power and has the ability to interfere in state affairs at any time.
It’s not that there were no important officials loyal to the royal family. The Qingliu faction headed by Yang Shixian’s grandfather Yang Zhengde was extremely loyal to the royal family.
But what could they do? Their arms were not long enough to reach into the palace and protect these children.
Of course, they could also impeach the Lu family, but the problem was that even if they impeached them, the Lu family would at most be charged with the crime of negligence in governing their subordinates, which would not solve any problems at all.
As a result, the royal family members who offended the Lu family would be subjected to even more severe bullying and torture, and might even lose their lives.
In order to protect these children, they can only pretend that they know nothing.
But now, the notorious young man in the capital, Prince Yu Zizhen of Zhenbei, has exposed this matter directly to the public.
She suggested that a reliable palace maid examine the eldest princess's injuries, and that she also send her female guard Yaoguang to "protect and comfort the eldest princess throughout the process."
If it were anyone else, Lu Tong might have tried to use his power to suppress the situation and keep the matter hidden. But now he was facing Yu Zizhen, a hateful guy who relied on his status as the prince of Zhenbei and was not polite to their Lu family at all.
Lu Tong was also an old fox. His mind raced quickly and he had already foreseen the strong backlash he would face if he used his power to suppress others.
Instead of letting Yu Zizhen use the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms on him without any courtesy, he would rather wait and see what happens and then take the initiative to severely punish the palace servants who are responsible for serving the eldest princess.
As for his daughter, Xiao Lu, it was not her who hurt the eldest princess, so at most she would be accused of not governing her subordinates strictly.
This crime would not only cause Xiao Lu to suffer serious injuries, but she wouldn't even lose a single hair because of it.
Lu Tong was as steady as an old dog, but Yu Zizhen's classmates all rushed over in a hurry.
The eldest prince Xiao Yuanjin, Fang Huaiying and Yang Shixian were afraid that Yu Zizhen would get into trouble, Chen Hushan, Fan Zhongming and Wei Heng wanted to take the opportunity to gather some information, while Lu Heng, Wan Jingrong and Wu Mingyu were worried that the Lu family would be implicated.
As for Xiao Shaoke and the second prince, they just followed the crowd, simply to avoid being out of place.
Several people hurriedly asked for leave from the teacher, and then without caring whether the teacher agreed or not, they all rushed to the door of the main hall of the South Study.
After the eunuch guarding the gate reported the matter, the emperor said with a headache, "Tell them all to go back to school!"
They join in any fun, and these naughty kids are not afraid that one day they will fall into a big pit dug by others.
However, the reason why naughty children are naughty children is that the disobedient factors in their bodies must be very active.
Soon, the little eunuch came back in and told the emperor with a bitter face that none of the children outside the door were willing to go back.
The emperor tried his luck and was about to say a few harsh words when the eldest princess, Aunt Rongxuan and Yaoguang came out together.
Aunt Rong Xuan, who had been summoned at short notice, walked up to the emperor and bowed respectfully. "Your Majesty, the eldest princess has countless finger marks and bruises on her body from being pinched, stabbed, and twisted. These marks are some deep, some shallow. They're clearly the result of long-term abuse."
When she reported, her voice was no longer as steady as before, but had a rare tremor.
The emperor's heart ached when he heard this. He knew that Mrs. Lu was domineering and jealous, and would be unreasonable when she was stingy. So in order to prevent Mrs. Lu from harming the women and children in the palace because of her inexplicable jealousy, the emperor had been living an ascetic life.
Except for the two Lu sisters who asked him to sleep with a certain woman under the banner of expanding the royal family, he would never even get close to the harem.
He suppressed his paternal instincts and tried not to show his love and concern for the Second Prince and the First Princess in front of others. Even when he wanted to glance at them, he could only do so casually during every palace banquet.
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