Chapter 3 Chapter 3 The young lady is already two months pregnant
All the masters of Duke Su's mansion were imprisoned.
This news was like cold water dropped into a frying pan, causing a stir in Shengjing City.
The families that were close to Duke Su's Mansion were unable to sit still, let alone the Xuan and Lin families who were married to it.
As soon as the two families received the news, the whole family started to make preparations and run around for their daughter and her in-laws, and they were extremely anxious.
It is a serious crime for a general of a country to collaborate with the enemy and commit treason.
Judging from the new emperor's behavior today, in which he quietly ordered people to surround Duke Su's mansion and imprison all the masters, big and small, without leaking any information in advance, he is afraid that he wants to exaggerate the matter.
Collaboration with the enemy and treason is a crime punishable by execution of three generations of the clan.
However, the Su family has sacrificed their lives for the country for generations, and their accumulated military merits are greater than the combined merits of all the emperors buried in the imperial mausoleum.
If the three courts were to hold a joint trial, not to mention that the merits and demerits would be offset, at least the whole family would not be thrown into death row.
But the information that the Xuan and Lin families heard all pointed to one possibility: this matter could not be resolved peacefully.
The new emperor's throne was secure, and the prestige of the Su family's mansion threatened his imperial power. Even if the Su family's second uncle hadn't disappeared during the war, he would have been looking for an opportunity to eliminate the Su family.
This is the analysis given by Lin Taifu Lin Ren and his son-in-law Xuan Zhao.
Xuan Zhao, as the head of the Xuan family, has secured the position of Minister of Revenue with his own ability, and has a keen sense of political affairs. Now, hearing what his father-in-law said, he felt even more depressed.
His beloved daughter Jinyu was also sent to the death row of the Ministry of Justice...
"You go back home and let Wan'er go check on Jinyu first," Lin Ren said, standing up and putting on his outer robe. "The Ministry of Justice is full of shrewd people. Although they won't let her be bullied, what kind of place is Death Row? She's bound to be wronged."
As he spoke, Lin Ren had already straightened his clothes and said, "I will go to the palace to see the emperor."
Xuan Zhao responded and said, "Wan'er is worried about Jinyu and I'm afraid she can't wait any longer. She must be in the Ministry of Justice's jail right now."
My wife has always loved her daughter, so how could she be willing to just wait for news at home?
Lin Ren knew his daughter very well. He nodded and said, "You go back! I'm leaving."
Xuan Zhao hurriedly followed his father-in-law out of the study. Seeing that a sedan chair was waiting in the yard, he watched Lin Ren get on the sedan chair, and then he hurriedly followed behind out of the Taifu Mansion.
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Ministry of Justice death row.
Xuan Jinyu hasn't said a word since she entered the cell.
Su Guanzhang looked around and saw that his grandmother, father, mother and three sisters-in-law were all safe and sound, and his nephews and nieces were all snuggling up to their mother obediently. He felt a little relieved.
Although Commander Xifang was a little cold and unkind, he still gave some face to the Su Mansion out of consideration for Jinyu.
He looked at Xuan Jinyu, who was sitting motionless with her knees hugged, and remembered that she had not had time to have lunch before she came here with the group.
"Jinyu," he called her softly, taking out a chestnut cake wrapped in oil paper from his arms, "I bought this at a pastry shop in the south of the city when I returned to Beijing today. Have some."
Xuan Jinyu really liked the chestnut cakes from that shop, and whenever she had a quarrel with him, she would always ask him to buy them for her before dawn or after dark.
This time he was away for more than a month on business at the Dali Temple. When he returned to Beijing, he wanted to buy it back to coax her, but he didn't expect that he would be called to the study by his father as soon as he returned home.
Seeing Xuan Jinyu didn't react at all, Su Guanzhang felt bitter and said in a softer voice, "Jinyu."
Xu Yu Niang, who was standing by, sighed softly upon seeing this and called out to her son, "Come here, Zhang."
Su Guanzhang looked back, put the oil-paper bag in his hand next to Xuan Jinyu, and walked to the iron fence between the two cells.
"Mother."
Xu Yu Niang glanced at her still-unmoving daughter-in-law and twisted Su Guanzhang's arm fiercely in anger. "He deserved it!"
Su Guanzhang felt pain, but his brows did not move at all.
"Why do you act like a mannequin all day long?" Mingming was a delicate little ball when he was just born, but after he grew up and learned to walk, he looked more and more like the Buddha statues in the temple.
The second sister Su Yutong covered her mouth and chuckled. She was only six years old, the most lively and lovely age, but also the age when things could not be hidden.
"My uncle was beaten by my grandmother again." She whispered to her mother Xu Xuanniang.
At least she still remembered to save some face for her uncle. Xu Xuanniang tapped her nose, glanced at her uncle, and couldn't help sighing in her heart.
Xu Xuanniang is the niece of Xu Yuniang. She grew up with her husband Su Guanyu. She married him at the age of sixteen and they have been married for almost ten years.
She was also very familiar with her brother-in-law Su Guanzhang.
When her mother-in-law was still her aunt, she often complained to her about her youngest son, who didn't like to laugh or talk, and even the Buddha statues in the temple didn't have a face as cold as his.
Obviously reluctant...
She glanced towards the cell at the other end and saw that her younger sister-in-law Xuan Jinyu was still looking the same as when she came in. She hugged her daughter tightly and collected her thoughts.
Yes, if anyone can leave, then that's the best. After all, she couldn't bear to leave her cousin-in-law.
"Jinyu."
"Jinyu."
The urgent and familiar voice finally brought Xuan Jinyu back to her senses. She raised her head and saw her mother.
"Mom." Her tears immediately came down.
"Yeah." Lin Qingwan responded, and her heart sank when she saw her daughter sitting on a pile of hay with her skirt covered in dust.
How could her daughter have suffered such a hardship since she was born?
Xu Yu Niang greeted her across a cell. Lin Qingwan just nodded, not caring about being rude, her whole mind was on her daughter.
"Mrs. Lin." Su Guanzhang walked over and raised his hand to salute.
"What did you call me?" Lin Qingwan's face turned dark.
Su Guanzhang saw Xuan Jinyu trying to stand up. She was dizzy and weak from squatting for so long that she almost fell down. He hurriedly picked her up and said, "Slow down." Seeing that there were still traces of tears on her face, he couldn't help but wipe them with his sleeve.
Seeing this, Lin Qingwan didn't care about her son-in-law's rudeness just now, and hurriedly signaled the jailer beside her to open the prison door.
The sound of chains and padlocks colliding reached her ears. Xuan Jinyu slowed down, pushed Su Guanzhang hard, and threw herself into the arms of Lin Qingwan who walked quickly into the cell.
"Mom, I want to go home." The tears that had just stopped flowed out again.
The daughter looked like she had suffered a great injustice.
Lin Qingwan was heartbroken. "Okay, okay, mother will definitely take you home. Just wait."
Su Guanzhang slowly took a step back.
Xu Yu Niang looked at her son worriedly, and Old Lady Su shook her head at her.
The Su family is doomed this time. Zhang did a good job and shouldn't have dragged Jinyu into this.
The two of them had different personalities and had been a couple for three years with a lot of quarrels. It was already a great fate for them and it was a blessing for the Su family.
After Xuan Jinyu calmed down, she whispered about her and Su Guanzhang.
"Mother, we have signed the divorce agreement and are just waiting to file it with Jingzhao Prefecture." She was about to get on the carriage to leave Duke Su's Mansion, but she was a step too slow and was caught in this silent cell.
It was midday, but the cell was utterly dark, the only light coming from a few torches in the three corridors. Furthermore, she had heard that the cell was infested with vermin, but she hadn't seen even an ant in the entire time she'd sat there.
The noise from the outside world cannot be heard here at all, and the movement here cannot be heard outside.
The only sound was the occasional footsteps of the jailer during his patrols, which, in the dim light, sounded like ghostly shadows and steps, quite frightening.
Lin Qingwan hugged her daughter soothingly.
When she heard about the divorce agreement, she started to think.
"Mom, I don't want to live with him anymore." Xuan Jinyu's voice was a little nasal. She buried her head in her mother's arms, letting herself be vulnerable.
Before she married, Lin Qingwan was the apple of Taifu Lin's eye. She had been taught by him since childhood and possessed a keen mind. Hearing this, she glanced at Su Guanzhang and saw that her usually elegant son-in-law was now shackled, though he didn't look embarrassed at all. Only his eyes had lost a bit of their calmness.
Now she finally understood why he called her "Mrs. Lin" outside the prison door just now.
"Where is the divorce agreement now?" Although she was asking her daughter in her arms, her eyes were fixed on Su Guanzhang.
Sure enough, under the dim candlelight, Su Guanzhang's eyes dimmed.
He reached his hand into his arms, and the crisp sound of iron clashing stopped after a few times. "This is our divorce agreement." He handed it to Lin Qingwan with both hands.
Lin Qingwan took it, unfolded it and took a look.
"Jinyu, are you sure you don't want to live with him anymore?" she asked Xuan Jinyu in a gentle voice.
Xuan Jinyu's tears fell one after another, "It's over."
After three years of making trouble, the whole of Beijing had seen her laugh. In the end, she still lost to a beloved man who only existed in the mouths of the Su family's maid.
She is really ridiculous.
Lin Qingwan hugged her daughter again to comfort her.
"Mother brought the court doctor."
Xuan Jinyu looked up at her in confusion.
Lin Qingwan did not explain, but simply called out to the jailer who was guarding the passage, "Please bring the doctor I brought with me."
Soon the court doctor was sent into the cell, and the jailer locked the door and retreated to the corridor.
"You lazy girl," Lin Qingwan tapped Xuan Jinyu's nose, "don't you even care whether you change clothes or not?"
There was a man in the nearby cell, who was Xuan Jinyu's father-in-law. Lin Qingwan lowered her voice so low that only Xuan Jinyu, Su Guanzhang and the court doctor could hear it.
Xuan Jinyu was stunned.
It seems that she really didn't change her clothes last month.
Su Guanzhang couldn't help but stand up, looking at Xuan Jinyu with a serious look on his face, a rare trace of helplessness on his face.
The court physician had already begun to take Xuan Jinyu's pulse, but quickly withdrew his hand.
"Madam, the young lady is indeed more than two months pregnant." The Xuanfu doctor watched Xuan Jinyu grow up and always treated her like his own grandchild.
"Miss, you are fine. Just remember to be less angry and less sad." He said gently.
"Who's sad for him?" Xuan Jinyu muttered, caressing her belly, still a little bit incredulous. She actually had a child here?
She was just ridiculed this morning for being childless after three years of marriage, and now she's already pregnant?
Su Guanzhang was both happy and worried, and the Su family members beside him were also mixed with joy and worry - the court doctor did not deliberately lower his voice, and the people around him, including the jailer, heard what he said.
Old Madam Su and Xu Yu Niang looked at each other.
If the Su family cannot escape this disaster, the baby in Xuan Jinyu's belly will be the last flesh and blood of the Su family.
However, Xuan Jinyu has never liked Zhang. This time, things have even come to the point of signing a divorce agreement. Will she still be willing to keep the child?
Not to mention the complicated emotions of the Su family and Xuan Jinyu and her daughter in the Ministry of Justice prison, the news that Tutor Lin entered the palace to ask to see the new emperor but was turned away quickly spread throughout the court.
Outside the palace, not everyone hopes for the best for the Su family.
At least, Xuan Jinyu herself has made countless enemies in the capital over the years.
In the residence of the Minister of Justice Liang, the boudoir of Liang Guier, the eldest daughter of the Liang family.
"Gui'er, is the news true or false?" Chen Jin, the second daughter of Marquis Wu'an, was quite excited and couldn't wait to speak as soon as she stepped into the inner room.
Today her mother held a banquet, and someone at the table just said a few gossips about Xuan Jinyu, and this person overturned the table and pointed at the guests and cursed them without any politeness.
Her mother, the wife of Marquis Wu'an, actually had to shamelessly chase after him and apologize.
She was so angry that she didn't eat much for lunch.
As soon as she heard the news that Xuan Jinyu was imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice along with Duke Su's family, she didn't even take a break. She changed her clothes and rushed over to confirm the truth of the news.
The carriage rumbled along the way, and as she listened to the discussions of passers-by, she had already believed it about 80% of the time.
She was so happy that she couldn't help laughing several times in the carriage.
Liang Guier was sitting on the couch, and there was an acquaintance next to her. It was He Quwei, the younger sister of Concubine He, Miss He San, who had been disgraced at the banquet hosted by her mother, Lady Wu'an Hou.
"Xuan Jinyu has come to this?" Chen Jin pulled He Quwei's arm. "She's always been so lawless, relying on her family background, and she doesn't care about anyone. When she slapped Sister Wei in the face like this today, did she ever consider that she's now sitting on death row?"
A smile appeared on her face. "This is called retribution!"
He Quwei smiled slightly and did not respond, only saying: "She does have a good family background."
How many girls in Shengjing City could live as freely and unrestrainedly as Xuan Jinyu? Even the man on the throne, who was humiliated by her back then, now politely calls her "Junior Sister" when he sees her.
I’m afraid they are still thinking about it!
He Quwei sneered in her heart.
The eldest sister couldn't see clearly in the palace. Among the favored concubines, which one didn't have a resemblance to Xuan Jinyu? Either in appearance or in temperament.
The Minister of Justice is a shrewd man, and his daughter Liang Guier is also a smooth-talking person.
She just silently let Chen Jin vent his anger, but she was unwilling to say anything bad about him and didn't agree with him.
Seeing that Chen Jin wanted to say more, he pulled her hand and said with a smile: "The Xuan family girl has been favored since she was young. Now that the Su family is in trouble, the Xuan family and the Lin family will not stand idly by."
He Quwei nodded, "If the two families join forces, even if we can't save the Su family, we can definitely save Miss Xuan."
Chen Jin loosened his grip on He Quwei in frustration. "Comparison is the thief of frustration. How could she be so reborn so well?"
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