"Imperial edict?"
"About what? A sudden decree, must something terrible have happened?" Cuimei recalled the past: the moment the imperial decree was issued, the Marquis of Jingyang's mansion collapsed. She bit her lip, a moment of uneasiness.
The servant scratched his head, unsure. "I asked, but they wouldn't reveal anything. They only said 'an imperial decree, an important imperial decree.'"
Cuimei did not dare to delay at all, and immediately turned back to report to the county.
Jiang Yushu frowned in surprise. "Imperial edict?" She gathered herself, stood up, and said apologetically to the guests, "My apologies, you two. I have to attend to an urgent matter. Let's talk another day when I'm free."
"You're busy, go ahead." Wen Yizhai's wife then stood up. Wen Yizhai bowed and said, "I've been bothering you for so long. I must take my leave now. I'll come back another day to pay my respects to you, my Lord."
Jiang Yushu nodded, walked out first, and casually told the steward: "See the guests off."
"Yes." The steward bowed.
"Please go slowly." Wen Yizhai and his wife stood by the corridor, watching the magistrate go away before leaving the rear court through the corner gate.
Soon, the front hall
Jiang Yushu quickly changed into her official robes and walked into the hall without stopping. She looked up and saw:
Two unfamiliar clerks in plain clothes stood there with sad faces.
The two sides met and the clerk bowed respectfully: "This humble official greets Master Jiang."
Jiang Yushu was suspicious and said politely, "No need to be so polite. Please sit down. You two have come from afar. I wonder what instructions the government office has for you?"
The two clerks did not sit down. Instead, they took out an official document and solemnly said, "Please take a look. You will understand after you read it."
Jiang Yushu nodded, and the attendant took the official document and presented it to her. She took it and unfolded it. She was first attracted by the familiar seal of the Yongzhou government office and the prefect's private seal. Then she glanced at ten lines and read the text silently.
"What?" She suddenly opened her eyes wide and said in a lost voice, "Emperor Chengguang, His Majesty, has passed away?"
Death?
Everyone in Tuning looked at each other in surprise, stunned and at a loss as to what to do.
The two clerks who were in charge of delivering the letter nodded and sadly announced, "That person is the late emperor. The country cannot be without a ruler for a single day. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has ascended the throne and changed the reign title to 'Yongqing'."
"Master Jiang, the imperial court has issued an order, and the prefect has also issued instructions. Upon receiving the obituary, each county must immediately post a notice to inform the people."
"Also, although officials from other provinces cannot return to the capital to kneel down and bid farewell to the late emperor, they must mourn with a respectful heart and strictly adhere to the national funeral rituals in their words and actions."
Jiang Yushu nodded solemnly, "I understand." She held the document and examined it again and again, her eyes flashing, "A general amnesty?"
"Yes," the clerk replied, "It's customary. When a new emperor ascends the throne, he usually grants amnesty to the entire nation."
Another clerk added: "However, those who have committed the ten major crimes are considered 'unforgivable crimes' and will not be pardoned."
Jiang Yushu thought thoughtfully, "This is natural."
The emperor is the father of the emperor, and the emperor is like a father. When the emperor passes away, the ministers must mourn. Although she had never met Emperor Chengguang, she was deeply grateful to the emperor and his son for making an exception to the rules and appointing female officials. Therefore, she sighed with regret and said sadly, "I will make arrangements immediately! You two are exhausted. Please rest for a while and have dinner later."
"Yes." The two clerks bowed.
Jiang Yushu thought for a moment and then shouted, "Immediately tell the county magistrate, the chief clerk, and the people from the third shift and sixth chamber to change into plain clothes as soon as possible and kneel down to mourn and bid farewell to the late emperor."
"yes!"
She explained everything in an orderly manner, returned to the back hall, took off all her jewelry, wiped off her bright red lipstick in front of the mirror, and changed into plain clothes.
In the bedroom
The belated amnesty left the master and servant with mixed emotions.
"Alas," Cuimei, a close confidant of the magistrate, also changed into plain white and sighed, "New Year's Eve is almost here, and I never expected the late emperor to pass away at this time!"
Jiang Yushu carefully examined her appearance in the bronze mirror and whispered, "Back then, when we were first sentenced, we dreamed of a general amnesty. If we relied solely on a 'general amnesty' to gain freedom, we would have to serve six years of exile."
"Oh my God, six years! It's been six years since we left the capital! Fortunately, Madam and the Second Master are capable, otherwise, we would have to suffer for several more years." Cuimei was filled with emotion and felt very fortunate.
Jiang Yushu said softly, "I'm not afraid of hardship, but I feel sorry for the child. The child is innocent. If Xiaoyan and her two brothers were born as 'exiles', I would feel very guilty and painful."
"Strangely, now that I think about it, I don't feel how hard it was to farm in Liu Village."
Jiang Yushu smiled. "Silly girl!" She stood up and said, "Let's go. During the national mourning period, you must be careful with your words and actions, pay attention to your manners, and be sad."
"Alas, to be honest, I am truly heartbroken by the passing of the late emperor. If it were not for the emperor's special appointment, I would never have had the opportunity to wear the official hat."
Cuimei comforted her, "Madam, please accept my condolences. Your diligent service as an official is your way of repaying the late emperor's appreciation."
Jiang Yushu led her entourage and hurried back to the front hall. After announcing the important affairs of the court, she knelt facing the direction of the capital and bid farewell to Emperor Chengguang from afar.
After the worship, the officials gathered in the meeting hall.
Jiang Yushu looked around carefully: everyone in the room was wearing plain clothes, all in white, and all of them had a look of sadness on their faces, and there was no sound of talking or laughing.
"The Crown Prince has ascended the throne, and the new Emperor is merciful and gracious. He has granted amnesty to the entire nation." She said slowly, "But according to the court's rules, no one who has committed the ten major crimes will be pardoned."
Hahaha, a general amnesty, God help the Li family! Li Qigong lowered his head, his heart blossoming, thinking to himself: Xiaofan doesn't have to die, just compensate the plaintiff with a sum of money and the case will be closed.
Jiang Yushu's expression was serious as she instructed, "I've just made all the arrangements for what needs to be done. All six departments should be busy and report back as soon as possible. Especially the Criminal Department, you must be very careful in your judgments. Minor offenses will be pardoned, major offenses may be reduced in severity or fined, but the 'Ten Evils' will not be pardoned."
"yes."
"I understand." The clerks responded one after another.
Huang Yichun volunteered, "I'll be in charge of overseeing this. I'll review it for you in a few days." He glanced at the Chief Clerk and the Dianshi and suggested, "Want Chief Clerk Wen and Dianshi Li together? There are so many files. Let's work together and get it done quickly."
Wen Xi and Li Qigong had no reason to refuse and answered readily: "It is our duty!"
"I am willing to serve you, sir."
Jiang Yushu nodded in satisfaction. "This is a serious matter. There's no time limit. You can take your time to judge. Let's stop here for today. Let's disperse and get back to work."
"Yes." The subordinates took their leave and left the conference room one after another.
Afternoon · Quiet Place
"Qi Gong!"
"Hey, Lao Wu!"
Wen Xi came out of the toilet and saw his brother-in-law from afar. He quickly picked up his belt and jogged after him.
Li Qigong put his hands behind his back and looked straight ahead, "What's the matter?"
"Hehehe, that's great!" Wen Xi beamed. "The new emperor has ascended the throne and issued a general amnesty. Xiao Fan is saved! When he's released from prison, we must have a good drink to calm him down."
Li Qigong curved his thin lips and said lightly, "We'll talk about it later."
"That kid is so lucky and survived. The elders must be very happy to hear the good news." Wen Xi laughed happily and raised his hand to put it on his brother-in-law's shoulder, but his hand was pushed away.
Li Qigong glanced at him and asked, "You just came out of the toilet. Did you wash your hands?"
"It's winter, and the government office is not my home. How can I wash my hands without hot water?" As he spoke, Wen Xi rubbed his hands on the hem of his robe.
Li Qigong took a glance, curled his lips in disgust, and took two quick steps.
"Tsk, like a woman, obsessed with cleanliness." Wen Xi sneered.
Li Qigong looked around and saw that no one was around. He asked in a low voice: "Xiao Fan's problem is finally resolved! I heard from my sister that you have been going out for social events frequently recently. I guess you have received a lot of filial piety. If there is an opportunity to make a fortune, don't forget to bring me along."
Wen Xi immediately muttered: "Tigress, you tell everyone everything——"
Li Qigong interrupted unhappily: "Am I an 'outsider'?"
"Haha, of course not!" Wen Xi laughed dryly. "Alas, actually, I haven't gained anything for the time being. The redemption silver I was fined is all in the government treasury, used to build a workshop."
"Really?" Li Qigong narrowed his eyes and asked suspiciously, "Those people who flatter the workshop manager don't know how to respect their brother-in-law?"
Wen Xi couldn't hide his smug look, "Why would I lie to you? So far, I've only received some tea and medicinal herbs. Your sister already sent a box back to her parents' home."
Li Qigong commented casually: "Oh, I think the Longjing tea is pretty good."
"You like it? I'll ask your sister to make you some more later!" Wen Xi waved his hand generously, then changed the subject and said teasingly, "Humph, back then, you repeatedly advised me to turn down the job. Fortunately, I didn't listen to you. Otherwise, how could I have Longjing tea to drink?"
Li Qigong sighed helplessly, "I can't postpone it now, so I'll just take it one step at a time and enjoy myself while I can."
"Hahaha, that's right!" Wen Xi hooked his arm around his brother-in-law's shoulder and reminded him, "Well, your redemption money has been paid by your brother-in-law. Look, when—"
Li Qigong's smile faded, he frowned and broke free, then walked forward quickly, saying confidently, "I told you, I'm short of money, I'm very poor."
"Hey, you, you are obviously well-off, you can't cheat!" Wen Xi was furious and chased after him, but his brother-in-law kept rambling and cheating.
In a blink of an eye, the Little New Year is approaching. The cook has prepared malt sugar in advance and bought various nuts to prepare for the Kitchen God offering.
On this day, the wind was howling, blowing up heavy snow, and the sky was completely blocked, making it gloomy.
Fortunately, there was a kang in the bedroom, which was heated day and night, keeping the room warm.
After Jiang Yushu recovered from her illness, she had some rare free time, so she stayed on the kang and played with her daughter.
"Come on, turn over again!" She clapped her hands, encouraging her daughter to turn over.
Guo Xiaoyan owns all kinds of floral jackets. Today she wore one with goose yellow orchid pattern. She looked very cute. She obeyed her mother's instructions and rolled over, lying on the kang. She struggled with her hands and feet for a long time, but could not get up.
The maids praised while doing their needlework: "Good!"
"The girl is getting more and more energetic."
"In two months, she should be able to crawl."
Jiang Yushu pinched her daughter's cheek, smiling until her smile gradually faded, and she felt melancholy and worried. "I don't have time to go back to Heqin for the New Year this year. I don't know how things are going at home, especially Yan'er's brother... Alas!"
The maids all said in unison, "With the old lady and the Third and Fourth Masters taking care of them, the young masters will be fine. Don't worry."
"Yeah, wait until next year and visit my family as soon as I have time!"
"If there really is something wrong, why wouldn't the government write to me?"
…
Jiang Yushu thought about it, frowned with a headache, and muttered: "Next year? I don't know when I will be free next year."
After chatting until noon, the maids put down their needlework and started moving the kang table. They brought back two large food boxes from the kitchen and set out the bowls, chopsticks and food.
"Come, eat!" Jiang Yushu stirred the porridge. "If you can't finish half a bowl this time, Mom will be really angry."
Guo Xiaoyan was still lying on her stomach, concentrating on playing with the stuffed tiger, not caring about the food at all. The nurse saw this and picked up the child. As a result, the baby cried out "wa~" and struggled with tears as soon as she held him in her arms.
Jiang Yushu frowned, about to scold, but then softened her expression and said helplessly: "Don't cry, don't cry, just eat this half bowl of porridge obediently, and you can play as long as you want."
"Wuwuwu~" Guo Xiaoyan struggled hard, tears streaming down her face, her face flushed red from crying, and she refused to open her mouth.
Just as everyone was trying to coax and persuade them, a group of people stopped outside the corner gate of the back yamen.
"Whoa!"
"arrive."
Several personal guards dismounted first and rushed to help, but Guo Honglei shook his head, controlled the reins with his right hand, and dismounted with one hand, his left arm slung due to a shoulder injury.
His feet touched the ground, and his boots sank into the soft snow. Suddenly, his vision went dark, and the world spun around him. Guo Honglei swayed all over.
"grown ups--"
The guards hurried to support him and asked worriedly, "Are you okay?"
"He lost too much blood and his face turned pale."
Guo Honglei subconsciously raised his hand and rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand. "Is it obvious?"
"Yes, a little bit. After all, the injury is not light."
In the fierce wind and heavy snow, Guo Honglei's face turned pale and he tiredly instructed, "Don't tell your wife anything about the injuries sustained in the battle."
The guard said cautiously, "Even if she doesn't say it, Madam can see it."
Guo Honglei downplayed it, "I told her it was just a flesh wound, so she wouldn't be too upset."
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