Xuanyuan Zhan thought for a moment and said, "How about this, don't prepare any accommodations for them. Give each of them some money, let them leave the palace, and let them make a living on their own."
If we were to buy them houses, we would have to support them indefinitely, which would be too much trouble. It would be better to resolve this issue once and for all.
They were all sinners to begin with, and it was already a great favor that he didn't punish them. Now that he's given them some money, they should be extremely grateful.
“Hmm.” Su Xuening felt that what Xuan Yuanzhan said made sense: “Then I’ll have them come and ask tomorrow.”
Xuanyuan Zhan nodded: "I'll leave these matters to you. If they refuse to leave, then we'll save the money and just kick them all out."
Su Xuening remained silent, guessing that no one would insist on staying in the palace.
If such a person truly exists, they may indeed have impure intentions, and in that case, we should really do as Xuan Yuanzhan said and save all the money.
Early the next morning.
Su Xuening thought about this matter and, taking advantage of Xuan Yuanzhan's absence at court, summoned Xuan Yuanzhi and Xuan Yuanyu's wives and concubines.
Xuanyuan Yu didn't have many wives or concubines. Apart from the deceased Su Feiling, he only had Zhao Zhenzhen as his legal wife. He didn't even have any concubines.
Xuanyuan Zhi had quite a few wives and concubines. In addition to his principal wife Liu Hanyan, he also had two concubines and several maids.
Although Xuanyuan Zhi was exiled and Liang Taifu was executed and his property confiscated, none of Xuanyuan Zhi's wives and concubines were implicated.
Apart from Xuan Yuanzhi's legal wife, Liu Hanyan, who gave birth to a daughter, none of the other women had given birth, which made things a bit easier to handle.
"Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress."
Zhao Zhenzhen, Liu Hanyan, and the others knelt down to pay their respects to Su Xuening.
Liu Hanyan still remembered the scene when Su Xuening and Xuan Yuanzhan exchanged greetings at their wedding. She never imagined that in the blink of an eye, Su Xuening would become the Empress, while she would become the wife of a criminal.
Xuanyuan Zhi was demoted to a commoner and sentenced to exile. As a result, she and her daughter lost all their status and were no longer a princess or a prince consort.
Su Xuening glanced at them and said kindly, "Please sit down."
Su Xuening looked at Bihe and Lülian. There weren't enough stools in the room, so the two of them immediately added a few more round stools.
Zhao Zhenzhen, Liu Hanyan, and the others then sat down.
Su Xuening didn't beat around the bush with them. After they sat down, she said directly, "The reason I invited you here today is actually to find out where you're going."
As soon as Su Xuening said this, everyone tensed up instantly.
They are all guilty of crimes, so why didn't the Emperor and Empress intend to punish them before?
Liu Hanyan nervously gripped the hem of her dress, her heart leaping into her throat.
Zhao Zhenzhen, however, knew that Xuan Yuanzhan and Su Xuening were kind-hearted, and even if they were to be given a place to go, they probably wouldn't make things too difficult for them.
Su Xuening noticed their nervousness and quickly reassured them, "Please don't be nervous, everyone. I have discussed this with the Emperor. The Emperor is broad-minded and knows that you were unaware of what Xuan Yuanzhi and Xuan Yuanyu did, so you will not be implicated because of what they did."
The group felt somewhat relieved upon hearing this.
It's fine as long as they aren't punished because of what happened between Xuan Yuanzhi and Xuan Yuanyu.
Su Xuening continued, "It's like this: even if you won't be punished because of Xuan Yuanzhi and Xuan Yuanyu, it's obviously inappropriate for you to stay in the palace now that the new emperor has ascended the throne. The emperor wants to let you leave the palace. What do you think?"
So that's what it was about. The group looked at each other, all somewhat hesitant.
Although they knew they should leave the palace, they had nowhere to go as criminals, and their families probably wouldn't dare to take them in.
Zhao Zhenzhen stood up first, curtsied to Su Xuening, and said, "This concubine is willing to leave the palace."
Even if the Empress hadn't saved her before, she should have agreed to the Empress's suggestion. Even if the Empress hadn't saved her before, she would definitely agree to such a good thing as letting her leave the palace.
Liu Hanyan quickly replied, "This concubine is also willing to leave the palace. Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty the Empress."
As she spoke, Liu Hanyan knelt down and kowtowed to Su Xuening with deep gratitude.
Ever since Xuan Yuanzhi's accident, she has been unable to sleep for nights on end, fearing that she and her daughter would be implicated by Xuan Yuanzhi.
Her father, the Minister of Revenue, had already been dismissed from his post due to Xuan Yuanzhi's machinations. She was genuinely afraid that she and her daughter would also be implicated. She could accept her own fate, even death, but her daughter was still so young, and she didn't want to harm her daughter because of Xuan Yuanzhi's affair.
So if she could leave the palace, she would definitely be willing to take her daughter with her. Even living as an ordinary citizen would be better than staying in the palace and living in constant fear.
Now that both Zhao Zhenzhen and Liu Hanyan, the two legal wives, have agreed to leave the palace, how could the remaining concubines dare to stand up to Su Xuening?
The women could only stand up and say, "We are also willing to leave the palace to thank the Emperor and Empress for their mercy in not punishing us."
Seeing that they were all willing to leave the palace, Su Xuening breathed a sigh of relief.
She had originally planned to say a few harsh words to them if they refused to leave the palace, but they were all willing to leave. This was truly a happy ending for everyone.
Su Xuening smiled at them and said, "Life outside the palace is not easy. I have prepared some silver notes for you."
Su Xuening looked at Bihe, and Bihe immediately picked up the money box and stepped forward to distribute the silver notes.
First came Zhao Zhenzhen and Liu Hanyan, each receiving 20,000 taels of silver notes, and the remaining concubines each receiving 5,000 taels of silver notes.
After receiving the silver notes, the group knelt down gratefully and kowtowed to Su Xuening: "Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Your Majesty the Empress."
The Emperor and Empress are truly benevolent; not only did they not punish them, they were even willing to give them money. They are so kind-hearted.
Su Xuening raised her hand to them: "Alright, get up. I'll give you two days to pack your belongings. If you want to leave the palace, you can leave today."
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress."
Everyone expressed their gratitude once again.
Liu Hanyan decided to leave the palace today and bid farewell to Su Xuening.
The remaining people also immediately bid farewell to Su Xuening. Regardless of whether they left the palace today or tomorrow, they would never see the Empress again, so they naturally parted ways together today.
Soon, Liu Hanyan and the others left, leaving only Zhao Zhenzhen.
Seeing that Zhao Zhenzhen seemed to have something to say, Su Xuening smiled and said, "Just say what's on your mind."
Zhao Zhenzhen did indeed have something to say: "I heard that the child Su Feiling gave birth to was born to the maid Zishu and Physician Liu?"
Su Xuening was surprised that she would suddenly ask this question, but she still nodded: "Yes. He is not Xuan Yuan Yu's biological son."
Now that Xuanyuan Yu is dead, she would even kill her own child to avoid being implicated by him. She shouldn't care whether Xuanyuan Yu left behind any biological children.
Zhao Zhenzhen smiled bitterly: "Both Zishu and Physician Liu are dead, so Madam Liu probably wouldn't want that child either. I heard that you adopted that child?"
Su Xuening finally understood Zhao Zhenzhen's meaning and asked in surprise, "You want that child?"
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