Chapter 256 Returning Favors to Old Acquaintances
Even the Prince of Nanyang, the person directly involved, was rendered speechless by his rebuttal. Other members of the imperial clan who were unaware of the full story and had only received benefits had even less of an objective basis to refute his words.
The group quickly exchanged glances and ultimately decided to remain silent for the time being, observing how things would develop and the emperor's personal attitude.
The emperor's personal attitude was even clearer than they had anticipated. After his uncle finished criticizing the Prince of Nanyang, the emperor nodded and said, "Uncle is right."
The Prince of Nanyang, who was just about to come up with some excuse: ? ? ?
He looked on incredulously, "Your Majesty!"
The emperor waved his hand, "Throughout history, the kindness of raising someone has been greater than the kindness of giving birth, not to mention that you are a man. If we really talk about the kindness of giving birth, you are not worthy to be compared with her birth mother. She is speaking out for her birth mother and is grateful for the kindness of her adoptive parents in raising her, so she does not want to do as you wish. How can I force someone to do something against their will?"
"As for the matter of using imperial power to forcibly seize someone's child, let alone how the civil and military officials and the people of the world will view it, I myself cannot get over that hurdle in my heart."
He was an emperor with ambition, and he would not allow himself to be tainted in history by making a morally reprehensible request for a cousin he disliked.
The emperor knew very well that others might be tempted by the promises made by the Prince of Nanyang, but Xie Wanniang would never hand over her child to the Prince of Nanyang to raise.
Not to mention that she only felt disgust and no affection for the Prince of Nanyang, even if she did, judging from her past behavior, she would never compromise or sacrifice herself to satisfy someone else's wishes.
Not to mention that what the Prince of Nanyang needed her to endure and sacrifice this time was her unborn child.
Given that girl's temperament, is there any difference between this and letting a tigress hand over her cubs to a hunter with ulterior motives? No.
If he were to issue such an imperial edict as the Prince of Nanyang desires, that girl would probably immediately go mad without a care in the world.
The emperor had no hobbies that drove talented people crazy, and he also remembered that he had promised Xie Wanniang that he would not take sides.
Given the circumstances, he preferred to be a king who kept his word. That's why, even though his uncle hadn't spoken up, he wouldn't go back on his word and help the Prince of Nanyang.
However, since the other party had spoken, he did save himself a lot of trouble and avoided a lot of obstacles.
The emperor was unaware that the other party was repaying a favor because of his concubine, and instead assumed that the other party was, as always, acting as his vanguard, responsible for offending people.
Coincidentally, everyone else shared the same idea as the emperor.
In their view, it was clear that the emperor had made preparations in advance and had informed his unruly uncle beforehand.
Once this idea was born, who, including the Prince of Nanyang, would dare to mention asking the emperor to issue an edict again?
Although they are attending a royal "family banquet," they are not foolish enough to actually treat the emperor as their own nephew or brother.
There's an old saying that goes, "In the imperial family, there are no fathers and sons." Even "fathers and sons" have to give way to "rulers and subjects." Naturally, uncles, aunts, and brothers should take even greater priority in following the etiquette between ruler and subject.
Because these people wisely kept quiet, the small disturbance caused by the Prince of Nanyang quickly passed. However, after the banquet ended, the Crown Prince immediately sent a letter to his cousin Chang Yao, who was far away in the northern border.
Chang Yao received this letter, delivered personally by a guard under the Crown Prince, on the sixth day of the new year. The letter contained neither urgent nor private information.
At that time, he had already returned to Zijing Pass from Baoding Prefecture and was planning to submit a memorial to the emperor to request rewards for the soldiers who had made meritorious contributions before and during the New Year. He received this letter, which was sent by the crown prince and written by his staff. He read it quickly and then handed it to Jiang Yuan, the husband of the person in question.
Jiang Yuan was puzzled, but he still took the letter and started reading it.
Upon seeing the opening paragraph, Jiang Yuan was so angry he almost jumped up on the spot. Not only would Xie Wanniang never send her child to the Prince of Nanyang's mansion, but Jiang Yuan shared the same attitude as his wife.
Fortunately, the Crown Prince's advisors had already mentioned the Duke and the Emperor himself in the second paragraph of the letter.
Jiang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that the emperor was on their side.
But that Duke...
Jiang Yuan was unaware that his young wife had once interacted with Xie Wanniang, so he assumed that Xie Wanniang had figured out the emperor's attitude and was therefore offering him a way out.
But Xie Wanniang was different. After hearing Jiang Yuan, who had returned home, relay the contents of the letter, she almost immediately thought of the poor girl who had used her youth and beauty to gain a foothold and was almost killed by her stepmother and aunt.
She murmured softly, "I wonder if she's doing well after she got married."
Jiang Yuan turned his head to look at her, "What?"
Xie Wanniang briefly recounted to Jiang Yuan how she had met the girl while running errands, how she had wanted to help her but the girl had refused.
Finally, she added, "I heard she was born out of wedlock, and her biological mother died early. Judging from her stepmother's appearance, she must have had a very difficult time at her maternal home. Later, her father arranged a respectable marriage for her, which almost cost her her life."
"She probably worried that if she went home, those guilty-looking guys would try every means to kill her and silence her, so she ultimately chose to follow that Duke."
Jiang Yuan took a moment to realize what he meant. "You mean, you met that Duke's new second wife once?"
Although that Duke was a bit old and his actions were a bit outrageous, his status was undeniable, and countless families in the court who wanted to climb the social ladder intended to marry their daughters to him as his second wives.
No matter how persuasive the matchmaker was, he remained unmoved.
Just when everyone doubted that he would not remarry his first wife, he suddenly brought back to the capital a merchant's illegitimate daughter from a remote place.
Such outrageous behavior naturally caused another shock throughout the government and the public.
People were talking about it, and the matter quickly became a hot topic and spread rapidly.
It is no exaggeration to say that, apart from the large-scale invasions by foreign tribes from the north and west, there was really no other event in the imperial court that could compare with this one in terms of popularity and speed of dissemination.
It was under these circumstances that Jiang Yuan heard this gossip from his colleagues.
At the time, he didn't take it seriously at all, since it was something that had nothing to do with him or Xie Wanniang.
He never imagined that the girl who was openly and secretly mocked by many envious and jealous people as a "chicken turned phoenix" would have a brief encounter with his wife.
As he was thinking, Xie Wanniang said in a tone full of nostalgia and admiration, "Yes, that girl was very beautiful. Although she was gentle and had little experience, her demeanor and temperament made her seem like a real beauty at first glance."
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