He originally thought that the third princess had angered Jiang Songyi.
Jiang Songyi naturally wouldn't reveal the grudges from her past life. She simply said lightly, "I really can't stand Xinyi Mingyao taking someone's life so carelessly."
Su Sheng was stunned for a moment. Jiang Songyi's image suddenly became more majestic and tall in front of him. Her determination and courage made him respect her.
Su Sheng has always been domineering and rude, and is known as the "Little Bully". However, he still knows his limits and only teases his fellow students and the ladies of fame in the capital. He has never dared to be so careless and disregard human life.
"Now that Xinyi Mingyao's scandal has been exposed to the world, the Imperial Guard will conduct a thorough investigation. Even if the Emperor shows leniency, Xinyi Mingyao will no longer be so reckless, and those underprivileged students will no longer have their futures ruined because of her. Jiang Songyi, you are a true gentleman of virtue. Even when it doesn't concern you, you won't stay out of it. Instead, you will stand up and speak out for justice."
Su Sheng's eyes towards Jiang Songyi were full of respect and admiration.
Jiang Songyi: Actually, I didn’t think much about it at the time. It was just out of revenge against Xinyi Mingyao.
Su Sheng patted his chest and solemnly assured her, "Jiang Songyi, you can rest assured. I will keep this matter a secret for you. This is something only known to heaven, earth, you, and me. This is a private agreement between the two of us."
Jiang Songyi: "Okay."
…
During the Lantern Festival, with bright lights and bustling crowds, the scandal of the third princess finally spread beyond the palace walls.
At the court session the next morning, the censors submitted memorials to impeach Yang Guifei and the third princess.
The Imperial Censor, who was over 70 years old, was particularly indignant. He knelt in the court, holding a tablet in his hand, with a resolute expression, as if he was ready to die. "Your Majesty, the Third Princess secretly brought a man from outside the palace, violating palace rules and being unfaithful to women. She deserves death as a warning to others!"
The emperor couldn't help but look shocked.
Although he was angry about the Third Princess's actions, after a night of reflection, his anger had largely subsided. He could only give his beloved daughter a mild punishment, but he simply couldn't bear to execute her.
However, he did not dare to get angry with the old censor. After all, although the censor was old, he was full of passion and was determined to leave a glorious reputation in the Golden Palace and pass it down through the ages. The emperor did not want him to succeed. If he allowed this old man to be remembered in history, he would bear the infamy of the ages!
At this critical moment, Grand Tutor Yang stepped forward like a ray of light at dawn.
"Your Majesty, while the Third Princess did make mistakes, the Imperial Censor's accusations are rather harsh. I believe the Third Princess is still young and lacks the experience of the world. With proper guidance, she will surely find her way back. Furthermore, if violating the chastity of a wife warrants execution, then shouldn't Princess Zi Yan, who caused a stir by parading around Xiaoxiang Tower earlier, deserve the death penalty even more?"
Yet, Princess Zi Yan remained unharmed. Relying on the legacy of Prince Guangling and the Queen Mother's protection, she even challenged the Yongding Marquis's decision to cancel the engagement, forcing the second son of the Yongding Marquis's mansion to offer him a handsome young man. Could it be that the dignity of a princess is actually inferior to that of a princess?
Grand Tutor Yang spared no effort to protect his granddaughter. He directly questioned the Imperial Censor: "My Lord Imperial Censor, if the princess must be sentenced to death, then what punishment should Princess Zi Yan receive?"
The Imperial Censor was speechless for a moment.
He originally believed that those who were unfaithful to their husbands should be put in a pig cage, but Princess Zi Yan had the glory of the Guangling Palace and the blood of martyrs behind her. If she was executed, wouldn't it chill the hearts of those heroes who sacrificed their lives for the country?
Yang Taishi's words touched the emperor's heart. He also secretly thought, since the empress dowager can tolerate Princess Zi Yan's presumptuousness, then why can't he indulge his own daughter a little? From now on, he will strictly discipline the third princess.
At this moment, the Minister of Revenue stepped forward.
"Grand Censor, your ideas are truly outdated and need to be updated. The Western Wei Dynasty has only been stable for a little over a decade and is at a critical juncture in its recovery. The Emperor and the Empress Dowager are actively advocating for a loosening of restrictions on women and encouraging widows to remarry in order to boost population growth. If we continue to cling to the Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism of the previous dynasty and strictly demand chastity from women, where will the population come from, and how will we gather soldiers when war breaks out again?"
Regarding the question of whether a woman should remain chaste after her husband's death, there were already three distinct schools of thought in the court.
The Minister of Revenue was the pioneer who advocated that the Empress Dowager relax the restrictions on women, while the Grand Censor was a staunch representative of the conservative faction.
Whenever this topic was brought up, the civil servants would argue until their faces turned red, and the debate could even last the entire morning court session.
The emperor was annoyed by this and waved his hand to signal them to stop arguing, then turned his gaze to Jiang Dinglian.
In his previous understanding, he always thought that she was just a vindictive villain, but now it seems that Jiang Songyi is actually a righteous person who has the courage to face the powerful!
"I see... I've long been dissatisfied with Xinyi Mingyao's cruel behavior. She insulted those scholars from poor families, forced them to become her male concubines, and had them commit adultery with her. It would have been fine, but she even cruelly killed them one by one. Those scholars studied hard, but in the end, they could only become fertilizer for the Yongchang Palace. It's a pity."
"Marquis Yongding, what are your thoughts on the Third Princess's incident?"
Everyone knows that the Yongding Marquisate and the Fourth Prince are about to marry, and everyone generally speculates that Jiang Dinglian will side with Grand Tutor Yang and plead for the Third Princess.
However, when Jiang Dinglian was questioned by name, he answered without hesitation: "He deserves the death penalty!"
All the civil and military officials in the court were shocked after hearing this.
Although Jiang Dinglian has always been fond of martial arts, she is the Fourth Prince's biological sister. Isn't he afraid that his daughter will be neglected after marrying into the Fourth Prince's mansion?
Even the emperor couldn't help but twitch his eyelids.
I thought, could it be because Yang Guifei had always belittled Jiang Dinglian's daughter before?
That’s right, although Jiang Dinglian was rough with his son, he always treated his daughter as a treasure.
The emperor coughed lightly and signaled Jiang Dinglian with his eyes to give him face.
Jiang Dinglian naturally couldn't turn a blind eye. "However, she is a princess after all. It is not appropriate to execute her. Why not let the emperor let her become a nun to atone for her sins."
Grand Tutor Yang frowned, "What about Princess Zi Yan?"
Jiang Dinglian answered decisively: "Let's become monks together."
Everyone was silent.
They even felt that Marquis Yongding seemed to have anticipated that Grand Tutor Yang would raise this question.
After all, Princess Zi Yan had seriously damaged the dignity of the second son of the Jiang family. If they were in her place, they would not be able to tolerate this.
The emperor now regretted asking the Marquis of Yongding.
At this time, Yu Hang, who was both the Minister of Personnel and the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, stepped forward and cleverly provided the emperor with a way out.
Yu Hang said, "Your Majesty, the Marquis of Yongding's suggestion is not without reason. Why not order the Third Princess and Princess Ziyan to Rong'en Temple to become nuns and temporarily practice Buddhism, praying for national peace? This way, we can impose a light punishment without damaging the royal dignity."
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