Chapter 108 Desperate for Help, Begging the Crown Princess for Rescue
Half a month after the army set off, Shen Yujiao received the first military dependent who came to the Eastern Palace for help.
Inside the reception hall of the East Palace, a woman dressed in plain, patched coarse cloth sat uneasily on a chair. There was no one else in the hall except for the four palace maids on duty, but she just felt uncomfortable sitting there. Although her posture was quite proper, she would straighten her sleeves every now and then.
Beside her were two children. The older one was a girl, who, unlike the woman, did not appear timid but rather poised and calm. The younger one was a boy, who looked no more than three or five years old, with a pair of bright, sparkling eyes looking around at the furnishings in the flower hall.
As soon as Shen Yujiao arrived, she saw the three of them. She noticed their unease and gave them the gentlest smile she could muster: "Sister-in-law, is there something you need my help with today?"
She did not refer to herself as "this palace," but her imposing presence and celestial beauty still startled the mother and her two children. Turning to look at the palace maids in the hall who were instinctively bowing, the woman hurriedly led her two children to kneel down as well: "Your Highness, we pay our respects to Your Highness."
"Quickly, please get up, Mu Jin, help him up."
At Shen Yujiao's command, Mu Jin and two palace maids stepped forward to help the three of them up. Shen Yujiao knew that the hierarchy of etiquette in the Great Xia Dynasty was extremely strict, and the inequality between them was inevitable, so she could only try her best to make the three of them feel more comfortable.
"Please sit down, Mujin, bring tea, and also get some fruit for the young master. The child is still young, so have the kitchen warm some milk."
"yes."
Upon hearing this, Mu Jin left, while Shen Yujiao abandoned the seat at the head of the table and sat opposite the mother and her two children. She asked softly, "Sister-in-law, have you encountered any difficulties?"
The woman seemed to have never expected the Crown Princess to be so approachable. All the pressure she had been under these past few days and the unease of forcing herself to come to the Eastern Palace today turned into tears in her eyes. She rose from her chair again and knelt down in front of Shen Yujiao: "Your Majesty, please save my daughter."
After saying this, the girl, who had been calm just moments before, couldn't help but tear up. She got up and knelt down beside her mother, tears streaming down her face, but she bit her lower lip tightly and didn't utter a sound.
Seeing the mother and daughter in such a state, Shen Yujiao waved to the four palace maids. The maids, with great understanding, bowed to her and then filed out of the front hall, closing the door behind them.
“Come, sister-in-law, it’s just the four of us here right now. If you’re having any troubles, feel free to tell me.”
The emotions that she had been holding back burst forth the moment she opened her mouth, and she choked out, “I am Xu Zhao, and I live in Dunyi Ward. My husband is Xu Mingchang, formerly a centurion in the Jingjiao Camp and now a tenth-rank musketeer cavalry battalion commander. Today I have come to your door... to beg Your Majesty to save my daughter’s life!”
Through Xu Zhao's intermittent narration, Shen Yujiao roughly understood the ins and outs of what she was asking for—
Xu Mingchang and his wife were betrothed by their elders long ago. When they reached the appropriate age, they became husband and wife according to the marriage agreement. Because of the marriage agreement made when they were young, they could be considered childhood sweethearts who grew up together. Their married life was naturally quite loving. The only shortcoming was that Xu Zhaoshi had not been able to give birth to any children in the three years since she entered the family, which caused the couple a lot of distress.
That year, Xu Mingchang's elder brother, Xu Mingxing, was going through a divorce with his first wife. The reason was that Xu Mingxing had an affair. Xu Mingxing's first wife went into premature labor in a fit of anger. After giving birth to their daughter, the two argued every three days and every five days. Xu Mingxing couldn't stand it anymore, so he moved out and lived with his mistress.
Six months later, Xu Mingxing felt guilty towards his first wife, so he broke off his relationship with his lover and moved back home. However, upon returning, he discovered that his first wife was having a close relationship with her cousin. After inquiring further, he learned that the two had been in love since childhood. If his cousin had not gone to sea with his elders to do business before marriage, he might not have married him.
Feeling cheated on, Xu Mingxing started arguing about divorcing his wife. However, his wife was not one to back down. She insisted that she and her cousin had never had an affair and that Xu Mingxing had a mistress first. At first, it was just the two of them arguing, but then it turned into a fight between the two families. In the end, they parted on bad terms and had no choice but to divorce.
At the time of their divorce, their only daughter was not yet one year old, but neither of them wanted her. Seeing how pitiful her granddaughter was, and considering that she was still an infant and didn't remember anything, Old Mrs. Xu discussed with Xu Mingchang and Xu Zhaoshi and decided to have the girl adopted by Xu Mingchang and his wife.
Xu Mingxing had always disliked his daughter, so he was naturally happy to send her away. In addition, the Xu family was small, with only two brothers. When the old master was alive, the old master and old lady lived with Xu Mingxing and his wife. However, after Xu Mingxing divorced her, he married his mistress. The old lady didn't like such a woman, so she moved to Xu Mingchang's house.
Therefore, although the two brothers lived in the same city of Xia, they lived in different neighborhoods. One lived in the east of the city and the other in the west. They rarely saw each other and lived their lives separately. Xu Zhao had no children for many years, so she naturally treated this child as her own. Perhaps it was fate that the mother and daughter were destined to be together, but as they grew older, their appearances became more and more alike. Xu Zhao loved her daughter even more and named her Wanzhen.
When Wanzhen was eleven years old, Xu Zhaoshi accidentally discovered that she was pregnant. The following year, she gave birth to a son, Xu Wanhui. The couple had a son in their middle age after fourteen years of marriage. However, they did not neglect their daughter because of the arrival of their son. At home, Xu Wanzhen did not lose her parents' love because of the arrival of her younger brother. On the contrary, she was loved by her mother even more because of this. Naturally, the family's relationship became even stronger.
Xu Mingchang had been in the army for some years, and because of his hometown in the capital, he was assigned to the Beijing Suburban Army. The treatment of soldiers in the capital was much better than that of local soldiers, so although his family was not rich, they lived a good life. As he rose to the rank of centurion, he was selected by General He this year to be assigned to the musketeer cavalry battalion, which increased his salary even more.
However, it was also this year that Mrs. Xu suddenly fell seriously ill. The old lady had been healthy all her life, but this time the illness struck like a landslide. Her health had been poor since after the New Year. Mr. and Mrs. Xu Mingchang sought medical treatment and medicine, almost spending all of their savings. Last month, seeing that Mrs. Xu's condition had improved, the family even sold local items to maintain the supply of medicine.
Xu Mingchang had also asked his elder brother for help, but in recent years he had become addicted to gambling, and his second wife was also stingy. Not only did she ignore the old lady, but she also bluntly said that the two families did not need to associate with each other. In the end, it was Xu Mingchang's comrades who raised some money for him, which is how he managed to get by until now.
Now that Xu Mingchang has gone to war with the army, the family's livelihood consists of Xu Zhaoshi and her daughter doing some embroidery work. They also receive occasional relief from other military families. Their only hope is that the Xia army will achieve a great victory over the Northern Di in this expedition, so that Xu Mingchang can receive a substantial reward.
However, Xu Mingchang had only been away from the capital for half a month when Xu Mingxing came to his door with his second wife, saying that he had found a marriage for Xu Wanzhen and wanted to marry her off. When Xu Zhaoshi first heard this, she was extremely shocked, but since Xu Mingxing was Wanzhen's biological father, she asked someone to inquire about it. The inquiry almost made her faint with anger.
It turns out that the marriage Xu Mingxing arranged for Xu Wanzhen was with the young master of a restaurant in the east of the city. They met because they often drank and gambled together. Not to mention that this young master already had a wife and three concubines, what made Xu Zhao even angrier was that Xu Mingxing lost the marriage at the gambling table!
"Originally, that bastard lost his daughter Hongxiu, born to his second wife. But because his second wife couldn't bear to let her daughter marry him, she persuaded him to marry my Wanzhen to him! Wanzhen has been raised here since birth. She has no idea about the grudges between the previous generation. But that bastard and his second wife actually uttered filthy words in front of my Wanzhen!"
At this point, both Xu Zhaoshi and Xu Wanzhen couldn't help but burst into tears. Xu Zhaoshi's hands were trembling, while Xu Wanzhen gritted her teeth, looked up at the sky, and gripped her skirt tightly with both hands.
"My daughter, the daughter I've never been able to scold or beat since she was little, and he actually wants to give her to a good-for-nothing gambler as a concubine! How dare he call himself Wanzhen's father? What kind of heartless father is this!"
Xu Zhao crawled on her knees to Shen Yujiao, tears streaming down her face: "My husband has only been away on campaign for half a month, and they have come to our door countless times. When I refused, they beat and made a scene at home. My mother-in-law, who was already recovering, has fallen ill again after being tormented like this. I am just a woman, powerless, and my two children are so young. I have no other choice but to beg Your Majesty to save us..."
Perhaps seeing his mother and sister crying so sadly, Xu Wanhui also stepped forward with his short legs. He knelt down without saying a word and leaned against Xu Wanzhen's chest, looking up at his sister with teary eyes.
Seeing this, Shen Yujiao couldn't help but tear up. She squatted down to look Xu Zhao at eye level and asked, "If that's the case, why not report it to the authorities?"
At this point, Madam Xu Zhao became even more distraught: "This humble woman dares not! That scoundrel said that the young master of that restaurant has a sister who is the beloved concubine of the only son of the Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture. Mingchang is merely a sergeant; how could he possibly contend with the son of the Prefect? If I hadn't been truly desperate, I wouldn't have come to Your Majesty."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yujiao was so shocked that she was speechless. This was right under the emperor's nose. The case of Li Lu had just ended not long ago, and the fate of these corrupt officials was still fresh in everyone's mind. The court was cracking down on officials at the time, yet some officials were so audacious as to commit such heinous acts!
The perpetrators were officials from the Jingzhao government, and the victims were the families of soldiers who stayed in the capital to fight for the country. Shen Yujiao gritted her teeth. Could there be no law in the capital city of Xia?
"Sister-in-law, don't worry. Since I swore to protect you in front of all the military families, I will never break my promise. I am aware of this matter and will definitely not let Wanzhen marry into such a family."
Following the girl's stubborn face, Shen Yujiao's gaze slid down to her younger brother, Xu Wanzhen, whom she was holding tightly in her arms. Xu Wanzhen and Xu Wanhui were named after their adopted daughter, which showed how much Xu Mingchang and his wife loved this daughter. Even if Xu Zhaoshi didn't say it, she believed that Xu Wanzhen must have enjoyed her parents' love all these years.
"Hibiscus—"
As Shen Yujiao called out, Mu Jin, who had been waiting at the door for a long time, pushed the door open and entered: "This servant is here."
"You will personally lead a group to Dunyifang to bring Old Madam Xu to the East Palace. Then take my invitation to the Imperial Physician. Also, send an order to Zhu Yu to personally lead the East Palace guards to Tongshanfang to arrest Xu Mingxing and his wife."
"Yes," Mu Jin replied and was about to call someone, but before she could turn around, she remembered something and asked, "Your Highness, will Xu Mingxing and his wife also be brought back to the East Palace?"
"No, take the person to the Jingzhao Prefecture and then invite the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to the scene."
The fact that the Prefectural Assistant of the Capital Prefecture dared to allow his son to act so arrogantly could not have been kept secret from the Prefectural Governor of the Capital Prefecture. In the Capital Prefecture, the Prefectural Governor and the Prefectural Assistant had always complemented each other. If the Prefectural Governor of the Capital Prefecture did not tacitly approve, the Prefectural Assistant of the Capital Prefecture would never dare to act so arrogantly.
With the officialdom in the capital so tense these days, Shen Yujiao really thinks these two are either stupid or the criminal justice departments in the capital are so corrupt that they've reached the extreme. Since the Jingzhao Prefecture can't handle this matter, she'll let the Dali Temple handle it.
She's going to see today whether the Great Xia Law is just for show!
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