Chapter 484 Two Major Events
The Queen excused the concubines from paying their respects, using the excuse of recuperating from her injuries. The gates of Changchun Palace were tightly closed, and for a moment the palace was deserted. It was so quiet that it seemed as if it had blended into the world of ice and snow.
There were dramatic changes in the harem, and the previous dynasty was also in turmoil.
As the year drew to a close, two major events occurred in Beijing.
First, the capital received good news that the pirates on Wangyue Island had been completely wiped out and a large amount of property had been seized.
The pirate leader cursed a bastard named Yi Zhen and wished he could eat him alive.
According to investigation, Yi Zhen is a man with some magical powers, and he played a significant role in the successful capture of Moon-Watching Island. Although he is in the enemy camp, his heart is with the court, so he may be of use.
The good news came with a portrait of Yi Zhen.
The moment Xiao Jingfan saw the portrait, he recognized it as the scholar who had slipped him the note in front of the restaurant. He immediately ordered local authorities to post missing person notices and conduct strict inspections of checkpoints. He had to find this man and bring him to the capital safely.
Chu Liuzheng tilted his head to glance at the portrait, and saw a handsome, pale-faced scholar whom he had never seen before.
She withdrew her gaze and continued to open Jiang Yao's reply letter.
The letter was not long and I finished reading it in a few glances.
In the letter, Jiang Yao said that she would take her husband to Xixia to take a look, and try her best to capture Ping Xuan. If she couldn't catch him, she would kill him. By the way, she also reported that Feng Jing was safe.
Tang Ge'er is in good health for the time being. Feng Jing has already taken Tang Ge'er to Yinsha Island to celebrate the New Year on the island.
It was all good news, so Chu Liuzheng burned the letter after reading it to avoid the emperor seeing it. She couldn't explain to the emperor why she knew Ping Xuan was in Western Xia.
Watching the flames burn the letter to ashes, Chu Liuzheng reacted slowly and realized that something seemed to be wrong.
[City Lord Jiang specifically wrote in the letter that she was going with her husband. Is this a show of affection? This is not like City Lord Jiang's style!]
It is indeed not Jiang Yao's style. It was something a certain young master begged for by holding his wife for several days.
If for no other reason than to tell all of Jiang Yao's friends that he, Cang Yi, finally, finally, finally has a legitimate status!
Although Chu Liuzheng had known about it for a long time, he also selected gifts and sent them to Yuecheng along with the emperor's reward to congratulate City Lord Jiang on his wedding.
Thinking of the two people's completely different personalities, she shook her head. She wanted to continue reviewing the memorials that had suddenly increased several times, but suddenly she caught a glimpse of the emperor beside her staring at the memorials in front of him with a very gloomy expression.
Chu Liuzheng took a look and found that it was a memorial to plead for mercy on behalf of Duke Zhong's Mansion.
As for why he pleaded for the Duke Zhong's Mansion, this brought up the second major issue.
Someone went to Shuntian Prefecture to sue the Duke Zhong's mansion, alleging that two years earlier, for selfish reasons, they had damaged the West Ring River embankment, causing a flood to change its course and submerge thousands of acres of fertile farmland downstream. The people along the river were unable to evacuate in time and were swept away, drowning thousands.
There are both witnesses and evidence.
After verifying that the evidence was not false, Shuntian Prefecture Governor Dong Yi decisively took the complaint to the palace to meet the emperor.
The emperor was furious and ordered the three courts to hold a joint trial and investigate the case within ten days to give an explanation to the innocent people who died tragically!
The evidence was irrefutable; if it were an ordinary family, the case would have been settled. But facing a noble family like Duke Zhong's, the three courts had to be extremely cautious and prudent.
The result of careful consideration is that this is indeed the case.
The perpetrator was the second son of Duke Zhong's mansion. Duke Zhong not only knew about the crime, but also chose to cover it up and executed all the people in the mansion who knew about it. He also gained a reputation as a Bodhisattva along the Xihuan River by providing relief to the victims. Some people even built statues for him and temples and offered longevity tablets to him at home.
Little did they know that the source of their suffering was the Duke Zhong’s Mansion.
By taking advantage of others' misfortunes, Duke Zhong's Mansion not only saved its own fertile land, but also pleased the emperor greatly, received many rewards, and its position in the court became more and more stable.
Now that this tragedy has been brought to light, the entire court is shocked.
The emperor was furious and stripped the Duke's title and imperial edicts from him. The entire Zhong family was imprisoned. After investigating their crimes, the mastermind and accomplices were beheaded, and the rest were exiled to a bitter and cold place, never to return to Beijing.
The noble family collapsed overnight.
The queen, who had been confined to the palace, knelt and begged in front of the Yangxin Palace for a whole night, but she did not get the emperor to show mercy, but instead got a book of her own crimes.
Everything is clear and detailed.
Queen Zhong understood everything in an instant.
Since then, Changchun Palace has never been opened again and has become like a cold palace.
However, people were coming and going in Zhaoyang Palace, and the Concubine Shu, who was holding the Phoenix Seal, seemed to be the best candidate to succeed the Queen.
For a time, even the Duke of Ying's mansion, the home of Concubine Shu's mother's family, was crowded with visitors.
The warm room in the Wanshou Palace was as warm as spring. The Queen Mother held a cloth tiger and teased the little prince, "Yan'er, come here, come to the Imperial Grandmother."
The little prince crawled over using his hands and feet, stretched out his hands to grab the cloth tiger, and made a babbling sound.
Nanny Zhao walked in quietly and said softly, "Empress Dowager, His Majesty just sent a message saying that he is busy with court affairs and will not be able to dine tonight."
The Queen Mother was stunned for a moment, and the little prince took the opportunity to grab the shaking cloth tiger in his arms, holding the tail in his mouth, and crawled away grunting before starting to play, so as to avoid being snatched away by the evil-minded adults again.
Seeing him like this, the Queen Mother smiled and said, "This little brat will definitely be smart when he grows up."
Aunt Zhao echoed.
After watching the little prince play with the stuffed tiger for a while, the empress dowager told the wet nurse to take good care of him, and then she was supported by Madam Zhao and went to the outer room.
"Rub me quickly, it's sore." She stretched out her arm, and Madam Zhao smiled helplessly. "You're so busy holding your grandson that you've forgotten about yourself. Should I ask Envoy Wu to come and give you a couple of acupuncture treatments?"
"Just rub it." The Queen Mother flexed her fingers and suddenly sighed softly, "The Emperor has really irritated me, the Queen Mother."
"Look at what you're saying. How can a mother and son hold grudges overnight?" Madam Zhao said soothingly. "The New Year is hectic, and the incident at the Zhong Mansion just happened. His Majesty must be upset. I heard the lights in Wenhua Hall were on until midnight yesterday. Please be understanding and don't really upset His Majesty."
After hearing this, the Queen Mother felt better.
She was angry that day and spoke harshly, and she felt a little regretful afterwards.
The affection between people cannot withstand erosion.
She wanted to make amends, but the emperor was very busy. He only came to pay his respects twice in a hurry and left without even eating. He looked very different from before.
But Madam Zhao said that the emperor was like this before, but she was worried about something, so she noticed the difference and was being too suspicious.
She thought, let's wait until the emperor is free, then the mother and daughter can sit together and have a good chat.
But the emperor's subsequent series of actions left her stunned.
First, under the pretext of letting her recuperate, she took away the Empress's Phoenix Seal and gave it to Consort Shu to hold, and then sent the little prince to her. She had just begun to understand what was going on. The sudden collapse of Duke Zhong's mansion had, in addition to the dam incident, involved many other things, even old stories related to the Empress.
In the blink of an eye, the queen who was firmly sitting on the throne was actually deposed.
The empress dowager did not feel sorry for the queen, but was shocked by the emperor's actions.
The Duke Zhong's Mansion, a noble family of two dynasties, liquidated the accounts without delay, and with drastic measures. Who would be next? The Duke Ying's Mansion? Or her Xie family?
Such worries lingered in her mind, and the empress dowager could not sleep well at night. She sent countless letters to her mother's home, urging her brother to behave himself, keep a low profile, and not jump up and hit the emperor's guillotine.
(End of this chapter)
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