Chapter 67
After nearly a month of careful investigation, the accusations made by the Censorate against King Huai were all confirmed, but King Huai had no evidence to support his accusations against Wei Zhen, so he was charged with an additional crime of false accusation.
Following King Su, King Huai was also removed from the lineage of saints, demoted to a commoner, and returned to his hometown to be imprisoned for life.
At this point, Crown Prince Wei Zhen became the biggest winner.
At the same time, the punishment for the rebellious Chu clan was announced to the world. All adult men of the Chu clan were to be beheaded, and men under the age of fifteen were to be exiled 3,000 miles to the place of exile as government slaves. All women were to be enslaved by the government for life, with no right to redeem themselves.
However, just before the execution, the already weak Chu Canglang died of illness in prison, and his wife Yu Rongxue died by hitting the wall in grief.
First, her daughter died, then her grandson, and now her son has also passed away. Unable to bear the pain of losing her sons, the former Princess Xu of Chu suddenly died within two days.
The once glorious and prominent Pingzhou Chu family just disappeared in the history of the Yong Dynasty. From then on, the only thing left in the history books was the phrase "died due to rebellion."
As the dust settled on the Chu family rebellion, Chu Miaomiao finally regained her freedom.
This time, she was completely safe, but it was hard for her to be happy.
In the end, she was the only one who survived.
She had to survive even if she was the only one left. This was her life that Wei Zhen had saved with great difficulty.
"Miaomiao."
Just then, Wei Yan arrived. Chu Miaomiao forced a smile and asked, "What's wrong?"
"You said you wanted to move out of Prince Yu's Mansion two days ago, so I found another house for you. Let's go take a look."
Chu Miaomiao nodded, and said a little embarrassedly: "I'm sorry to trouble you again."
Wei Yan said, "It's not really a big deal, so you're welcome."
Chu Miaomiao and Wei Xun went out, got on the carriage and headed towards the new house. It felt like they had been walking for about half an hour before they stopped.
The new house that Wei Yan found for Chu Miaomiao was a small courtyard with two entrances, located deep in a quiet alley.
As soon as they got off the carriage, a gatekeeper came out to greet them. Before they even entered the house, servants came to greet them and lead the way.
Chu Miaomiao was a little confused and thought that the original owner of the house was still living here, but Wei Yan shook his head and just said, "You'll know when you go in."
Know what?
Just as Chu Miaomiao was about to ask further, she suddenly heard an excited voice that seemed familiar yet unfamiliar: "Princess!"
She subconsciously wanted to reply, "Don't call me that," but when her eyes fell on the face of the owner of the voice, she was stunned: "Sister Lianyue?"
The person was Lian Yue, the eldest maidservant of Chu Miaomiao's mother. She was also escorted to Beijing this time. She had been detained elsewhere before, and Chu Miaomiao thought she had been sold to another family. She didn't expect to see Lian Yue again here.
"Why are you here?" Chu Miaomiao was so surprised that she stuttered.
"Of course, I'm taking care of the princess and the prince."
"Ah?" Chu Miaomiao was stunned for a moment before she spoke again, "Are you here to keep vigil for them?"
After hearing this conversation, Wei Yan couldn't help but look at Chu Miaomiao. This was truly a god-like understanding.
Lian Yue was obviously confused by Chu Miaomiao's reaction. After a while, she came to her senses and shouted, "No! The princess, the prince, and the prince's wife are all still alive!"
These words were like thunder in Chu Miaomiao's ears, and even her mind went blank. She looked at Wei Yan with a pleading look: "I, I just..."
Wei Yan nodded: "Yes, you heard it right."
"Alive?"
Wei Yan nodded again: "Alive."
Then, a sharp explosion pierced Wei Zhen's ears and hurt her. She dodged and stepped back, away from the center of the scream - Chu Miaomiao.
Chu Miaomiao was extremely excited about her loved one's resurrection. After a brief scream, she hugged Lianyue and started crying. Lianyue also cried with joy. The two cried for a long time in front of the door. After calming down a little, they went to the backyard to meet Xu and Chu Canglang.
Just as she was about to take a step, Chu Miaomiao realized that Wei Wei was several steps away from her. She recalled her previous misconduct and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Wei Wei. I was just too excited. I promise I won't do anything extreme next time. Let's go in."
"It's okay." Wei Xuan said lightly, "I have something else to do next, you go in." Others' families were reuniting, and as an outsider, she didn't want to get involved in the fun.
Chu Miaomiao smiled at her with gratitude: "Ah'lu, thank you."
"There's someone else you really should thank." After saying that, Wei Xi turned and left.
In the main house in the backyard, Xu and the others heard the scream. Xu frowned slightly, glanced at the young man beside her, and said, "Miaomiao, that child is too unstable."
The young man just smiled without saying a word, his eyes fixed on the door, as if Chu Miaomiao would rush in from outside the door in the next second.
"Hearing her voice still so energetic, I feel much more relieved." Chu Canglang said with a smile.
As soon as the words fell, a figure flashed in, and Lian Yue's voice could be heard from behind, asking her to slow down. Then, the figure pounced on Chu Canglang. The force was so strong that he barely fell to the ground.
Xu and Yu Rongxue both became nervous watching this. Chu Canglang smiled and gently stroked his sister. Feeling a warm sensation on her neck, he said softly, "Miaomiao, don't cry. It's a good thing that our family is reunited."
If Chu Canglang hadn't mentioned it, Chu Miaomiao might have been able to restrain herself, but now when she heard her brother's gentle voice, Chu Miaomiao surrendered instantly and burst into tears, "I, I thought I would never see my brother again. I really miss you, brother, wuwuwuwu..."
"It turns out that Brother Chu is the only one you care about."
As soon as this voice sounded, Chu Miaomiao's crying stopped abruptly. She looked up suddenly and met a pair of dark eyes that seemed to be smiling but not smiling.
"...Wei, Zhen?" Chu Miaomiao forgot to wipe away her tears and just looked at Wei Zhen and said, "Did you arrange all this?"
Wei Zhen nodded: "It really took a lot of effort."
Chu Canglang felt his body lighten up immediately, and Chu Miaomiao had already rushed to the next target. The target was quite delighted, standing up and opening his arms to let her fall into his arms.
"You really didn't trick me!" Chu Miaomiao buried herself in Wei Zhen's arms, her voice trembling slightly, "You actually did it."
"I've asked you to believe me so many times before, do you finally believe me now?"
Chu Miaomiao nodded heavily.
Wei Zhen smiled with relief: "Then my efforts are not in vain." As he spoke, he gently patted Chu Miaomiao's shoulder and softened his voice. "Okay, wipe your tears. Don't be disrespectful in front of your elders."
"Um."
Chu Miaomiao took the handkerchief handed to her by Wei Zhen, wiped it violently without any hesitation, and even blew her nose.
"You can keep the handkerchief. You don't have to return it to me." Although Wei Zhen didn't have any mysophobia, it was better not to return the handkerchief stained with snot to him.
Not to mention Wei Zhen, even Xu couldn't help showing a look of disgust, and then looked at Wei Zhen's expression.
After all, this kind of behavior is not what a young lady should do.
Chu Miaomiao smiled embarrassedly: "I'll wash it clean and return it to you."
Wei Zhen chuckled: "That's something I can consider."
Xu was stunned. She had assumed the prince had rescued them out of his fondness for Miaomiao. So, in her view, Wei Zhen was someone to be appeased. She had assumed Miaomiao had already given herself to Wei Zhen, treating him like heaven and serving him with the utmost care. She hadn't expected Miaomiao to be so relaxed in front of Wei Zhen.
After Chu Miaomiao greeted Xu, she sat down next to Wei Zhen. While everyone chatted, Xu carefully observed the dynamic between Wei Zhen and Chu Miaomiao. It wasn't so much that Chu Miaomiao meticulously served Wei Zhen, but rather that Wei Zhen was extremely tolerant of her.
Just as Xu was lost in thought, Wei Zhen suddenly called her back to her senses: "I came here to ask Miaomiao and Madam Xu for their opinions on something."
"What's up?"
Wei Zhen turned to look at Chu Miaomiao, gently holding her hand, and seemed to let out a sigh between his breaths: "The King of Chu plotted rebellion, and the Chu family in Pingzhou fell because of it. Moreover, in order to force Miaomiao to stay by my side, I fabricated her death. From then on, there was no Chu Miaomiao in this world."
Chu Miaomiao smiled faintly and said soothingly, "It's okay. I'm still alive. It doesn't matter whether I'm called 'Chu Miaomiao' or not. It's just a name."
"But I want you to be my wife, the Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace." Wei Zhen said seriously, his eyes deep. "You need a legitimate identity to enter the Eastern Palace."
Seeing Chu Miaomiao stunned and silent for a long time, Wei Zhen's heart was in a panic, afraid that she would say "no". He held Chu Miaomiao's hand tightly and said in a tight voice: "Miaomiao, it's too late to regret now."
"I, I'm not..." Chu Miaomiao looked at Wei Zhen with a helpless look, then held his hand and soothed him softly, "I don't regret it."
Two red clouds flew up to Chu Miaomiao's cheeks, and her crystal eyes became bright and moist.
Chu Miaomiao rarely showed a shy look: "I am very happy to marry you."
Chu Canglang and Yu Rongxue looked at each other in surprise. Lianyue also excitedly said to Xu: "Princess, the princess's life is settled. You can rest assured!"
Xu looked at Chu Miaomiao and felt a little more relieved.
She had previously thought Miaomiao had suffered all kinds of grievances while serving the Crown Prince. Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince was willing to marry Miaomiao as his principal wife! Such love and respect moved Xu Shi.
Although Xu was quite strict with Chu Miaomiao and gave her the least care, seeing that she now had someone who loved and cared for her, as a mother, Xu could finally feel at ease.
"Thank you, Prince, for loving and cherishing my daughter so much."
Xu stood up, about to solemnly bow to Wei Zhen. Wei Zhen hurriedly stopped her, saying, "Madam, there's no need for this. I haven't finished what I was saying. If Miaomiao wants to enter the Eastern Palace, I'm afraid her status will need to change."
Xu smiled helplessly: "The daughter of a criminal, a dead person, if she wants to be the Crown Prince's principal wife, her status must naturally change."
"I have obtained the consent of the Duke of Zheng's Mansion, the Queen's mother's family, to allow Miaomiao to marry into the Eastern Palace as the adopted daughter of the Queen's brother, Duke of Zheng." Wei Zhen looked at Chu Miaomiao with an apologetic look, "So, Miaomiao may no longer have the surname Chu."
Wei Zhen originally thought that Chu Miaomiao would be sad. After all, removing the surname is a difficult decision for anyone.
But this time Wei Zhen was wrong. Ever since the King of Chu's accident, Chu Miaomiao had wanted to change her surname. This cold-blooded and heartless father had sent their family through the gates of hell, and Chu Miaomiao felt unlucky to bear his surname.
During this time, she had been browsing the Hundred Family Surnames when she had nothing to do in Prince Yu's Mansion, hoping to choose a nice and domineering surname for herself.
"What's the Empress's maternal surname?"
Wei Zhen was a little surprised that Chu Miaomiao accepted it so quickly.
"Last name: Tang."
"Ah." Chu Miaomiao seemed to remember something and suddenly realized, "So when we met in Pingzhou, you said your last name was Tang."
Wei Zhen smiled and tapped Chu Miaomiao's forehead lightly: "How about you call me Tang Miaomiao?"
Chu Miaomiao smiled brightly: "It's just a name, what's wrong with that?"
She glanced at her family members around her, blushing as she leaned over to whisper something into Wei Zhen's ear. Seeing this, everyone smiled and turned away, with Chu Canglang and his wife even covering their ears.
Chu Miaomiao secretly criticized her brother and sister-in-law for being too exaggerated, but she still whispered in Wei Zhen's ear:
"Whether it's Chu Miaomiao or Tang Miaomiao, none of this matters. The most important thing is that I will always be by your side."
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