Chapter 863 A Dream of Youth 395
Only now did Prince Consort Lu feel a little fear, because Yan Xi showed him no respect at all, whipping him in front of all the servants before sending him to the Dali Temple.
Generally speaking, cases are tried by the Court of Judicial Review, reviewed by the Ministry of Justice, and supervised by the Censorate.
What Consort Lu did was neither a big deal nor a small one, and since Yan Xi intended to make a big fuss about it, he was put on trial by the three judicial departments.
The Lu family, which was able to marry a princess, was certainly not a small family. The father of the Lu consort died early and did not hold an official position, but his grandfather was the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard Cavalry. This military rank was not high, but if you go further up, there was also the position of Jiedushi (military governor).
It was a long-standing practice for the royal family to marry military officers. Princesses and daughters of the imperial clan were mostly married to military officers. Even the emperor and the crown prince married empresses and crown princesses who came from military families. For example, the late Empress Jingdi came from a family of generals and ministers.
In the early years of its founding, in order to end the chaos of rampant military power and regional separatism and restore the rule of autocratic imperial power, the Great Zhou implemented a series of measures to "reclaim military power".
One such practice was marriage alliances with military generals, a tradition passed down through generations and becoming an ancestral law, which led to the long-term situation of relatives of the empress commanding the army.
The royal family's strategy of arranging marriages was effective in winning over the upper echelons of the military, especially gaining the support of some important generals' families.
At the same time, it also continuously cultivated military families that had long been involved in military command through marriage, such as the Xiang family, the Li family, the Lu family, the Zuo family, the Fu family, and so on. They held high-ranking military positions for a long time, forming powerful military families that had lasted for generations.
Going back further, Lu Yuanqi of the Lu family fought alongside the founding emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Since then, many of Lu's descendants have held mid- to high-ranking military officer titles, and the number of generals has been continuous.
Among these descendants, there was always one who married a princess, thus forming a marriage alliance with the royal family to strengthen ties.
Of course, Prince Consort Lu's grandfather has passed away, but that doesn't mean the Lu family is extinct.
The Lu family was able to propose that Prince Consort Lu marry a princess for two reasons: first, he was the only grandson of Marquis Lu Liu, which was enough status for him; second, as an orphan and a widow, becoming a prince consort would mean giving up her future. Other members of the Lu family, those with talent, would naturally refuse, while those without talent did not have enough status.
Therefore, after considering all the options, only Prince Consort Lu was the most suitable.
Regardless of his character, Prince Consort Lu was indeed talented. However, being chosen to marry a princess ruined his career, which made him resentful. This led him astray and ultimately caused him to commit a grave mistake.
Even though he made such a big mistake, neither Old Madam Lu nor Madam Lu would give up on him easily.
If they were to abandon him, it would be an admission of wrongdoing, which would be a significant blow to the Lu family. Therefore, they sought out all available connections to try and exonerate Prince Consort Lu.
After all, if they really accepted it, it would be very difficult for the Lu family to marry a princess in the future, which would mean that their connection with the royal family would be severed. Moreover, compared with other military families, the already weak Lu family would definitely be kicked out of this class.
Knowing that Xie Ning was a favorite of the emperor, the Lu family kept sending invitations to Xie Ning, hoping that he would plead for the Lu family, not for the sake of the imperial son-in-law.
Another group consisted of Old Madam Lu, who was simply acting in the best interests of her own son.
As far as the Lu family is concerned, if it doesn't implicate them, they wouldn't care even if their son-in-law was torn to pieces. Who would have thought that such a disaster would happen to that widow and her child?
In previous years, the Lu family had married princesses, but none of them had been treated so harshly. After all, a princess is a monarch, and such a marriage has a political purpose. Even if the couple dislikes each other, they will maintain a facade of peace and respect for one another.
However, if one were to ask whether Madam Lu truly knew nothing of what Consort Lu and Old Madam Lu had done, that would certainly be a lie.
Previously, they all thought that Princess Baochu was gentle and weak and easy to bully, so they turned a blind eye to the behavior of the Lu family mother and son. They thought that the mother and son had indeed had a hard life and had sacrificed their son's future. Some elders felt guilty and thought that as long as they didn't make a big fuss, everything would be fine.
Anyway, it's not a big deal for a man to be a bit of a womanizer, but now that he's caused such a big mess, they're starting to worry. They think to themselves, "He was raised by a widowed mother, and he's lost his sense of propriety."
Xie Ning no longer goes home through the main gate of her house. Instead, she goes around to the back gate of the house that Yan Xi gave her and goes home through the side gate, since there are still people squatting outside.
But before she could catch her breath after returning, Grandmother Xie came over and quietly told her about her encounter with Old Madam Lu that day, and then showed Xie Ning the treasure that Old Madam Lu had given her.
It is a Buddha statue made of black jade. Its value can be seen at a glance, and the Lu family is indeed very wealthy.
Grandmother Xie didn't want to accept it either, but the old lady put the jade Buddha down and left, as if Grandmother Xie had promised to do things for them.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
