Chapter 20 Emperor Jingping
As Qiu Heng ate the soft and sweet white sugar cake, she thought: "Earl Yongqing should be back by now."
The Earl of Yongqing returned in the afternoon, feeling both uneasy about offending Han Wu, the Commander of the Palace Guard, and excited about getting close to the Grand Eunuch Xue Quan. He had never felt so conflicted before.
"You punished Heng'er by making her kneel in the ancestral hall?" Upon learning of the old lady's punishment of Qiu Heng, the Earl of Yongqing's expression changed.
Seeing that the Earl of Yongqing's expression was not good, the old lady hesitated and asked, "Does the Earl think the punishment is too lenient?"
She's a young lady, after all; surely she doesn't need to be whipped?
"What do you mean by too light or too heavy? Why are you punishing Heng'er for no reason?"
The old lady was stunned: "Sixth girl shouldn't be punished?"
She went behind her family's back to accuse the son of Commander Han, thus making enemies of the Earl's family!
"She's a good girl; she's seeking justice for her adoptive father."
Old lady: ?
The old man may be possessed by an evil spirit.
"Send someone to the ancestral hall to bring Heng'er out. Never mind, I'll send Jiangxiang." Ignoring the old lady's incredulous gaze, the Earl of Yongqing emphasized, "From now on, anything related to Heng'er, please ask me first before speaking."
"I have a question for you now." The old lady took a deep breath. "Why does the Lord value Heng'er so much?"
In the past, the uncle never interfered in how to discipline his five granddaughters. He would only make decisions on important matters, such as sending the eldest daughter to the palace.
Why is it different when it comes to the sixth daughter?
"Didn't I say that Heng'er is to my liking?" Lord Yongqing was not going to tell the old lady about the tacit exchange of benefits he had with Qiu Heng for the time being.
"Madam, you only need to understand that what I do is for the good of the Earl's family. Things outside are complicated, and you, a woman, don't understand."
"knew."
Outside the ancestral hall, two maids were chatting idly when Jiangxiang came over.
"Why has Sister Jiangxiang come?" The two maids dared not neglect the head maidservant beside the Earl of Yongqing, and immediately put on smiles.
"The Lord instructed me to escort the Sixth Miss back to Lengxiang Residence."
Two maids opened the door of the ancestral hall, looking shocked.
The kneeling girl turned her head.
"Sixth Miss, let me escort you back to your room." Jiangxiang politely helped Qiuheng up.
"Thank you, Sister Jiangxiang."
As Qiu Heng walked past the two maids, she smiled slightly and said, "I'm sorry to trouble you two madams today."
Even after the two men had been gone for a long time, the two maids were still in a daze.
"The Sixth Miss left the ancestral hall in less than half a day?"
"It was Jiangxiang, the old master's maid, who came to fetch you. Doesn't that mean—"
The two maids looked at each other and began frantically recalling whether they had said anything offensive to the Sixth Miss.
Thankfully, the sixth sister ignored them completely after entering the ancestral hall.
The news that Jiangxiang, the head maid of the Marquis of Yongqing, had personally gone to the ancestral hall to fetch the Sixth Miss spread like wildfire throughout the Marquis's mansion.
When the fourth daughter, Qiu Fu, heard this, she was so angry that she punched her pillow.
She gave him that bag of white sugar cakes for nothing.
Worrying unnecessarily!
Qiu Heng returned to her residence, but Han Ziheng was unable to go home and instead ended up in the Jingtian Prefecture prison.
Despite being called a prison cell, it was kept very clean, with new mattresses and bedding.
His charges are pending, but the fact remains that he killed someone while riding a horse, and he cannot escape being temporarily imprisoned.
At that moment, several young people were visiting him in prison.
"Ziheng, how come you're suddenly in jail?"
Han Ziheng's face turned ashen: "It's all because of the trouble I got into going south!"
A few days ago, Han Ziheng went with his mother to Suiyun County to pay respects to his maternal grandmother on her birthday. Several of his playmates knew about this.
"That little maid from the Yongqing Marquis's mansion is really ignorant and arrogant. Don't worry, Ziheng, I'll find a chance to teach her a lesson."
"No need," Han Ziheng refused immediately, gritting his teeth, "At least not until the case is settled. After this period, I'll make her wish she were dead!"
As they were leaving the prison, one of the boys, unable to contain his curiosity, asked, "What does Miss Qiu Liu look like? Does she have three eyes and eight guts?"
If the young noblemen of the capital were divided into different ranks, Han Ziheng would be in the top rank.
Another young man laughed and said, "I did catch a glimpse of her when she came out of the yamen that day. Tsk, she's a rare beauty."
“My beauty…when Ziheng makes her wish she were dead, let’s join in the fun.”
The group of spoiled brats went to their usual restaurant, laughing and joking.
No one was worried about whether Han Ziheng would be able to get out of prison.
How could anything be wrong? Ziheng's father is Commander Han.
The Han Wu, the commander-in-chief Han mentioned by several people, went to the palace to apologize.
"I have failed in my duty to educate my son and am ashamed before Your Majesty."
Emperor Jingping was in his forties and rather thin. Perhaps due to his years of immersion in rare flowers and stones, calligraphy, painting, and incense, he looked more like a refined scholar at first glance.
His tone was also gentle: "What makes you say that, Han Qing?"
"My son went out with his mother to celebrate her birthday a few days ago. He got carried away and went hunting in the mountains. On the way back, he fell ill and, while trying to get medical help, his horse was going too fast and hit someone..."
Emperor Jingping listened and glanced at Xue Quan, the chief eunuch beside him.
He had already heard Xue Quan mention this matter, but the key points were different.
Was it a case of reckless riding that resulted in a collision, or was there a specific reason for the collision?
Emperor Jingping favored the former.
"I come from humble origins and owe my current position entirely to Your Majesty's grace. My son's matter will surely be impeached by the censors. I have disgraced Your Majesty and request to be dismissed from my post as Commander of the Palace Guards..."
As Han Wu spoke, he began to kowtow, each time striking the cold, hard gold brick firmly.
Although Xue Quan and Han Wu were at odds, he would not speak up at such a time.
At their level, they wouldn't easily break off relations directly.
As Emperor Jingping watched his ministers kowtowing vigorously, his initial dissatisfaction with their failure to discipline their son quietly dissipated.
Han Ziheng was Han Wu's only son, and what father wouldn't love his son?
Over the past twenty years, Han Wu's actions have been satisfactory to him; he couldn't let the old ministers down.
"Alright." Emperor Jingping called a halt, his tone indifferent, but his words filled Han Wu with joy: "Then let's get the doctor's testimony as soon as possible and give the young girl an explanation."
Xue Quan showed no outward reaction to these words, but sighed inwardly.
He underestimated Han Wu's importance in His Majesty's eyes. But it doesn't matter; he never intended to bring Han Wu down with this matter. Leaving a mark on His Majesty's mind was enough.
Later, Xue Quan called Xue Han over.
"We don't need to get involved in Han Ziheng's case."
Xue Han was silent for a moment before asking, "Is this the Emperor's intention?"
"You already know, why are you asking?" Xue Quan glanced at his adopted son. "Why do I feel like you're being overly concerned with this case?"
He knew the child he raised; the boy had come from a beggar background, had experienced all kinds of hardships, and had always been indifferent and nonchalant about everything.
This is a bit unusual.
Xue Quancun was puzzled, but he didn't show it on his face.
Xue Han said calmly, "I just feel it's a pity."
Xue Quan scoffed, "What's the pity? Han Wu and I have been at odds for years, it's not a matter of this moment. Alright, go do your own thing. Remember to rein in your capricious nature and don't cause me any trouble."
The entire story never mentions the girl who lost her adoptive father.
It was originally intended to be used against Han Wu, so the quality of the blade itself is not important.
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