Chapter 231 Sending the Princess
Gu Huan said softly, "Master Zuoban Duduzhi, please tell me. The princess has been waiting for three days just to know how the guilty minister will be dealt with, so as to comfort General Qi's spirit in heaven."
Zuo Ban Duzhi sighed, "Okay. I just went to the Ping'an Palace to issue an edict. Jiang Duo's death cannot atone for his crime. According to the law, he will be whipped 100 times as a warning. Crown Prince Jiang will be dismissed from all his official positions. A thorough investigation will be conducted on the Ministry of War and all those related to the Jiang family. Once the facts are verified, all of them will be dismissed on the spot. The emperor orally reprimanded Prince Ping'an for his poor parenting and ordered him to reflect on his mistakes at home."
Zhao Luoxuan burst into tears, kowtowed deeply to thank the emperor for his grace, and respectfully took the imperial edict with both hands.
Gu Huan thought to herself, after using so much effort and losing a fierce general, Mu Junyan faked his death and couldn't come back, and in the end they only whipped his corpse?
Prince Ping An reflected on his mistakes behind closed doors, but he was still the Prime Minister!
Although Crown Prince Jiang was dismissed from his post, he was not convicted of any crime. Once the storm has passed, won't he be able to choose any position in the court?
However, the Jiang family's military power was completely taken away, which did achieve Ziyuan's temporary goal.
Zuo Ban Duduzhi: "Madam Mu, there is one more thing."
Gu Huan bowed: "Please speak."
"The title of Marquis Wenchang has been revoked. Considering the contributions of the ancestors of Marquis Wenchang to the Liang Dynasty, the Gu family has been demoted to a baron with a fief of 300 households. But who will inherit the baronship will depend on which son of the Gu family passes the imperial examination next spring. The best son will be selected to be conferred the title."
Gu Huan: "Thank you for letting me know."
"Also, Aunt Huang has been divorced and sent back to her mother's home."
"Thank you, Master Zuoban Duduzhi."
If Huang goes back like this, she will be ruined. It is still a question whether the Huang family will allow her to live.
Gu Huan ordered Zhou Zhilan to give five hundred taels of silver to the left class commander.
"Master Zuoban Duduzhi, you are always busy running back and forth. If you need anything in the future, please send someone to let me know. I will do my best to help."
This person is very important and needs to be taken care of.
Zuo Ban Duzhi accepted it with a smile: "Then thank you, Madam Mu."
He looked at Zhao Luoxuan again: "Princess, the Queen misses you. It's not good for you to be in a bad mood and not want to go back to the palace. How about you go to the palace to see the Queen and the Emperor before you leave?"
Zhao Luoxuan touched the coffin obsessively and said calmly, "I am no longer her daughter, and I am too ashamed to face my father. Besides, I am in mourning for my husband and cannot enter the palace. Please convey my message to him."
Zuo Ban Duduzhi sighed and said goodbye.
Gu Huan gently stroked Zhao Luoxuan's back and said softly, "Xuanxuan, don't blame yourself too much."
Zhao Luoxuan's eyes, which were cold and clear, suddenly became moist.
Her voice was hoarse and she couldn't help sobbing and crying: "Sister Huan, I can't help but blame myself. If it weren't for my wishful thinking, he wouldn't have died."
Gu Huan gently embraced her in his arms: "No. You two are in love with each other. It was the treacherous ministers who did this. It's their fault."
Zhao Luoxuan lay on Gu Huan's shoulder and cried silently.
She already knew that it was her mother who deliberately spread the news to Jiang Duo so that Jiang Duo would mistakenly believe that he could threaten her and her by capturing Qi Jun.
It was her beloved mother who killed her most beloved lover.
She feels guilty.
I don't want to see my mother.
She hated her father who only cared about the country. If he had not mistakenly trusted the Jiang family, he would not have forced her to marry.
If she hadn't gone to Juzhou, she wouldn't have met Qi Jun, and Qi Jun wouldn't have died!
According to the auspicious time calculated by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, three days later, Zhao Luoxuan carried the coffin back to southern Xinjiang.
The four generals also returned to southern Xinjiang with the princess's entourage.
Gu Huan sat in a carriage and followed the princess's procession out of the city to see her off.
At the city gate, there was a black carriage parked, with two men on horseback standing on both sides of the carriage.
Seeing the princess's procession, the two men rode over on horseback.
"Princess, it's the Second Prince and the Sixth Prince."
Zhao Luoxuan sat motionless in the carriage: "No need to see you."
The maid had no choice but to get out of the carriage: "Your Highnesses, the princess said that there is no need to see you anymore."
"Sixth sister, this is wrong!" Zhao Yuwen was anxious.
"Are you angry? Are you blaming our mother and us for not saving Qi Jun? I have been with you to save Qi Jun, you can't be so ungrateful!"
Zhao Yuxuan blamed: "Sixth brother."
Zhao Yuwen was speechless: "It seems like we all owe her something."
The black carriage opened its door curtain, and the palace maid helped a woman in a black hooded cloak slowly get off the carriage.
The two princes jumped off their horses and went forward to support him.
Zhao Yuwen said angrily: "Mother, ignore her."
The queen's eyes were red: "She doesn't want to see the mother, the mother should go see her."
"Mother, you have spoiled her into having bad habits."
"I'm afraid I won't see you again."
The queen started crying as she spoke.
Zhao Yuwen choked.
The two men had no choice but to help her walk step by step towards Zhao Luoxuan's carriage.
Gu Huan also got off the carriage and saluted to the queen.
The queen waved her hand, indicating that she didn't need to be polite, and walked to Zhao Luoxuan's carriage and stopped.
The eunuchs and maids all stepped back.
Zhao Luoxuan twisted the handkerchief in her hands, her whole body stiff.
"Xuan Xuan."
Zhao Luoxuan's eyes were red, but she remained motionless.
"My mother knows that you are angry. You think that my mother was selfish and killed General Qi. But, do you know that you are spoiled by my father and mother and no one dares to bully you? This is all earned by my mother who has been walking on thin ice in the harem?"
The queen cried and spoke.
Both Zhao Yuxuan brothers' eyes turned red.
"If the Queen Mother wants to protect you three siblings forever, she must keep her position as Queen and make your second brother the Crown Prince. However, to achieve this, the Queen Mother and your grandfather will have to pay a great price. If we are not careful, we will be doomed!"
"Have you ever thought about it? Concubine Jiang is eyeing you covetously. If your mother is deposed and Concubine Jiang becomes the queen, will you three still be able to survive?"
"Mother knows that you resent me, but I will not love you any less because of your resentment. Mother only wants to see you one last time, and our relationship as mother and daughter ends here."
Zhao Luoxuan could no longer control herself, and with red eyes, she lifted the curtain and got off the carriage.
Without raising her eyes to look at her mother and two brothers, she knelt on the gravel ground and kowtowed solemnly to the queen.
"My daughter Zhao Luoxuan is unfilial. From now on, Zhao Luoxuan is dead, and there is only General Qi's widow in the world."
After saying that, he stood up and returned to the carriage without looking back.
"Set off!"
After saying that, she bit her handkerchief tightly, trying not to let herself cry.
"Mother has prepared a lot of things for you, take them with you..."
"All material things are meaningless. I don't need them." Zhao Luoxuan's cold voice came from the carriage, like a sharp sword piercing the queen's heart.
The queen touched her chest with tears in her eyes, staring blankly at the figure of her daughter in mourning clothes appearing and disappearing.
That determination made her heart ache.
She knew that this mother-daughter relationship could never be restored.
Gu Huan looked at the receding convoy, then looked at the crying queen, not knowing what to say.
The queen cried for a long time before she calmed down and looked at Gu Huan.
Gu Huan stepped forward and said, "Empress, your wish will be fulfilled soon."
The queen looked at her steadily: "Duke Yong is gone, and Prince Ping'an is still here. How can we guarantee that Xuan'er can become the crown prince?"
Gu Huan smiled faintly, "It's just around the corner for Duke Jing to become the Prime Minister. Since the Jiang family and their power have not yet recovered, they should be able to clean up the court soon. In addition, when the four generals of the Mu family army return safely to Juzhou, they will jointly write a letter requesting that the second prince take over the position of commander-in-chief. At that time, the emperor will have no choice."
The Queen was nervous: "Is Xuan'er going to Southern Xinjiang?"
“It’s just a name.”
The queen heaved a sigh of relief when she heard this: "Okay. I understand."
Gu Huan looked at Zhao Yuxuan and said, "Second Prince, you must practice martial arts diligently. The Mu family army will not accept a coward as their commander."
Zhao Yuxuan raised his chin with a hint of arrogance: "Of course."
Gu Huan bowed slightly and said, "I'll take my leave."
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