Chapter 93 The Jiang Family's End
In Qixiang Palace, Su Qingrong's face was pale and she was in the lowest mood ever.
"Lan Xiang, has she been buried?"
The maid was silent for a moment. "My lady, Sister Lan Xiang was killed by poisoned tea. She cannot be buried and can only be sent to a mass grave."
Su Qingrong immediately glared at the palace maid, who shuddered with fear and said,
"If you can't rest easy, my lady, why not bribe the two eunuchs who are transporting the corpse and have them find a good place to quietly bury Sister Lan Xiang."
Su Qingrong didn't say anything, but just murmured with a sad face.
"How could Your Majesty be so cruel? Even if I was the one who poisoned her first, Xu Nian Ya is still alive! You couldn't even bear to send someone to bury Lan Xiang properly. What am I in Your Majesty's eyes?"
Seeing Su Qingrong weeping sadly, the palace maid consoled her, "My lady, please accept my condolences. Sister Lan Xiang certainly wouldn't want you to be so sad."
Su Qingrong suddenly looked up and stared at her, "Get out! You keep mentioning Lan Xiang here, are you deliberately trying to make me sad? Get out!"
Seeing that Su Qingrong had no intention of arranging for the eunuchs to bury Lan Xiang, the palace maid retreated awkwardly.
At night, the news that Su Qingrong was demoted to a concubine quickly spread to the Su residence.
Su Wenyue flew into a rage.
"Your Majesty actually let Rong'er suffer such injustice for a mere merchant girl! Not to mention that she poisoned her, even if she poisoned that Xu to death, she can only blame it on her bad luck!"
Qin was there to help Su Wenyue calm down.
"Calm down, sir. It's not good for your health to get upset."
Su Qingyue offered a cup of cold tea and said gently, "Daddy, please enjoy. Our immediate plan is to come up with some countermeasures for my sister as soon as possible. Otherwise, she will be grounded several times, her prestige will plummet, and she will become a laughing stock, and it will be difficult for her to recover in the future."
Su Wenyue looked at Su Qingyue and became more and more angry.
"Back then, I was so foolish that I switched you with Rong'er and let Rong'er enter the palace! She's been spoiled and sentimental since she was little, and she's not as smart as you. Now the entire Su family is really asking for trouble!"
Su Qingyue lowered her eyes, hiding the emotions in them.
If the Su family's backyard is stable, it would be the same for anyone who enters the palace. However, the house is not stable now. If my sister is left at home, their family will be torn apart and eaten up sooner or later.
It is true that the entire Su family benefited from her entering the palace and becoming the queen, but she did not want to make wedding dresses for irrelevant people.
"In your opinion, how can your sister escape from this predicament?" Su Wenyue asked.
"My daughter remembers that the Xu family is a merchant family. Recently, because Xu Baolin entered the palace, the Xu family took advantage of the situation and became the top boss of the flower business. They are very proud and proud. However, their family has dirty hands and it is easy to catch them."
Su Wenyue stroked his beard and said angrily, "Hmph, since Rong'er has been wronged, then I will overthrow your Xu family and let you know that the end of being an enemy of the Su family is the destruction of your entire family!"
Su Qingyue added, "Father, the Jiang family and the Xu family are also helping them. They are all birds of a feather. Father, please don't let them go. If you do that, Empress Chongyi will also become the daughter of a criminal. If Your Majesty is reluctant to punish her severely, then you must pardon my sister."
Su Wenyue looked at Su Qingyue with appreciation, "Yuer still has the idea."
Su Wenyue sent people overnight to collect evidence of the Xu and Jiang families' corruption and embezzlement.
The next morning, Su Wenyue sued Xu Baolin's family in court for using their status as "royal relatives" to oppress the people and make a fortune.
The evidence is listed one by one, clearly and systematically.
"Your Majesty, the newly appointed Xu Xingtou is arrogant and self-serving. He extorts anyone who comes to work for the Huahang. If they don't pay enough, they can't even open the shop. What's worse, they even force the wives and daughters of merchants to accompany them to pay those unwarranted taxes. They oppress the people and seize their daughters. Such despicable behavior, Your Majesty, will not be tolerated!"
Xiao Chenglan flipped through the evidence presented by Su Wenyue one by one, with a sarcastic smile in his eyes.
He hadn't even sent anyone to arrest and interrogate him yet, but the Su family acted quickly.
After all, they are from a noble family. Although they are greedy, their ability to handle cases is indeed first-class. The evidence is so complete that there is no need to investigate further.
It seems that Su Wenyue is determined to kill the Xu family.
How could he not fulfill it?
Xiao Chenglan put down the account book and said casually, "My dear minister, you are from the Ministry of Revenue. How do you know so much? If these things really happened, the merchants should have sued them and brought them to Jingzhao Prefecture for a resolution. Why did you present the evidence first?"
Su Wenyue was not afraid of the questioning and said, "Your Majesty, I understand. It's because the people who manage the private chamber of commerce under me have had several dealings with the newly appointed Xu Xingtou and have complained to me repeatedly. Although this is the responsibility of Jingzhao Prefecture, they don't care because they dare not intervene!"
Xiao Chenglan's eyes suddenly grew fierce. "What do you mean by this, Lord Su? Jingzhao Prefecture is the parent government of the people of the capital. Who wouldn't dare to interfere?"
Su Wenyue looked around and said awkwardly, "Your Majesty, you may not know that the Xu in the Xu family is the same Xu Baolin. That Xu Yuanliang claims to be the father-in-law of the emperor."
All the court officials sighed.
"Father-in-law of the state? Only the Empress's family members are worthy of being called the father-in-law of the state. How dare a seventh-rank official like Baolin from his family call himself the father-in-law of the state? How lawless!"
"Your Majesty, this is stirring up trouble under the banner of the royal family. This is truly damaging to the royal dignity. Your Majesty, please punish them severely!"
"The Xu family has committed many evil deeds. Your Majesty, please punish them severely!"
Su Wenyue continued to present a pile of evidence, this time it was from the Jiang family.
Although their crimes were not as colorful as those of the Xu family, their behavior of extorting money and oppressing the people under the banner of the royal family was the same.
"Jiang Yuanzhou claimed that he had connections with the head of the flower shop and could help get a stamped business contract. He took the opportunity to extort money. His despicable behavior is no different from that of the Xu family." Su Wenyue said.
The Soviet Party members stood up one after another.
"Your Majesty, the Xu and Jiang families have committed countless evil deeds. Please punish them severely! I dare to invite you. Your Majesty must not ignore the people because of your favoritism towards Empress Chongyi!"
Listening to the voices of agreement one after another, Xiao Chenglan felt like laughing.
When you want to kill someone you don't like, everyone sounds like a loyal minister or general, but in fact it's just dogs biting each other, and the whole thing is just a mess.
Xiao Chenglan frowned, looking very displeased. "The Xu and Jiang families are so presumptuous, they really don't know their place. Now that the evidence is irrefutable, I will not tolerate it."
He looked at the person from the Ministry of Justice and asked, "My dear, tell me, how should we deal with them for committing such a heinous crime?"
The person from the Ministry of Justice was about to speak, but when he received Su Wenyue's gaze, he changed his words temporarily.
"Your Majesty, the Xu family is the main culprit and must be executed according to the law to serve as a warning to others. As for the Jiang family... the Jiang family should be stripped of their official status and made into slaves, expelled from the capital, and sent to work in the mines."
"Then do this. Immediately order Jingzhao Prefecture to apprehend the Xu family members and bring them to justice. Confiscate the Xu family's property and return the money paid by the merchants. Also, remove the Jiang family members from the civil service register and exile them to the mines as slaves, where they will be forced to work and be punished. They will never be allowed to return to the capital."
Su Wenyue was finally satisfied, and the emperor responded quickly.
In that case, let's both take a step back.
If Your Majesty could pardon Rong'er, he would not be so aggressive and ask him to deal with Zhao Chongyi.
It is better to live in peace than to suffer losses.
"Businessmen are cunning and profit-driven. Xu Baolin is from the Xu family, so he must be no different. I heard that my daughter and she had a conflict last night, which angered Your Majesty. This woman must be treacherous and plotted against me. I beg Your Majesty to see through this and clear my daughter's name."
Xiao Chenglan looked at Su Wenyue with a sharp gaze: "My dear, are you saying that I didn't make a clear judgment and made an unjust verdict?"
"I have absolutely no such intention! It's Xu Baolin who's too eloquent! She's the same age as Empress Zhao Chongyi, which means she's been raised in the Xu family for a full nineteen years, influenced by the corrupt practices of her family and relatives, and her morals are the most corrupt. Empress Zhao Chongyi is different. She left the wolf's den early on and has a good temper, so she can't use those tricks."
Xiao Chenglan naturally knew the purpose of Su Wenyue repeatedly mentioning Jiang Yingli.
He was just using her as a threat. If he didn't let Su Qingrong go, Jiang Yingli would also be implicated in this matter.
"My dear minister, your words are reasonable. Xu Baolin and the Xu family will be executed together. Concubine Su will be restored to her Zhaoyi rank and exempted from house arrest."
"Your Majesty, wise and wise!"
After the court session, Su Wenyue walked out of Chengqian Hall with a proud smile on his face.
But gradually, he couldn't laugh anymore.
He suddenly came to his senses and realized that after going through such a big circle, he had finally brought Su Qingrong back to the starting point.
It also makes people very tired.
What's the point? How can you laugh?
Su Wenyue's face immediately fell.
What a sin!
What a disappointing thing!
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