It turns out that on the day Chen Jing fell to her death, Old Madam Mu passed the family headship token to Chen Yu.
The reason why Chen Yu had not taken out the fish for so long was mainly because Yang Hua was pregnant with the Mu family's child.
But now, she was completely heartbroken. How dare Yang Hua torture her? This kind of greedy and ruthless woman could not be allowed to stay in the Mu family.
Therefore, she wanted to expel Yang Hua from the Mu family in front of the Emperor.
The Emperor was already astonished. He knew Yang Hua's temperament: arrogant, domineering, and competitive. But he couldn't believe that Yang Hua had done anything wrong; at most, he was just arrogant and bullying others.
He looked at the contract in his hand. It was Yang Hua's request for Chen Yu to register the shop under the Mu family's name. This was at most an internal dispute within the Mu family. How could it be a scourge to the people?
He glanced sideways at Chen Yu and reprimanded her, "Don't falsely accuse Princess Yanghua. The conflict between you and her is a personal grudge; how could it be about monopolizing supplies and harming the people? If you dare to speak nonsense again, I will not let you off easily."
Having said that, he tore the contract in two and threw it on the ground, choking back tears as he said, "Princess Yanghua is already dead, you don't need to expel her from the Mu family anymore."
Shen Yu was shocked. Yang Hua was dead? How could that be? Yang Hua was healthy and strong, and her pregnancy was stable. Even if she was traveling around, she wouldn't have gone into premature labor.
She looked around, her gaze settling on Hongyu's face.
Hongyu, choked with sobs, continued: "Princess Yanghua suddenly went into premature labor, just as a heavy snow began to fall. We couldn't find a midwife, and the imperial physicians and doctors couldn't arrive in time. So I ordered Gu Lingrong to help with the delivery. The baby was safe, but unfortunately, Princess Yanghua died from massive bleeding."
Shen Yu still didn't believe Yang Hua would be born prematurely; she was sure someone had tampered with the baby. Fortunately, the child was safe and sound.
She walked towards the ancestral tablets of the Mu family, knelt on both knees, and said sorrowfully, "Mother, since you have passed the token to Chenyu, Chenyu will never fail you. I will do my utmost to manage the Mu family well and preserve its reputation."
After saying that, she stood up, turned around and walked out of the ancestral hall.
Outside, snow was still falling heavily and the wind was howling.
Gu Lingrong had already led the Mu family to the outside of the ancestral hall.
There were ten young masters and four young ladies in the Mu family. Now, with Chen Jing dead and Mu Nanfeng away on business, there are twelve brothers and sisters in the Mu family.
Seeing her brothers and sisters all covered in snow, Chen Yu's eyes filled with tears. She walked against the wind and snow to her brothers and sisters, raised her token, and loudly gave the order:
With our parents gone and my brother burdened with the responsibility of protecting our country, I assumed that the eldest daughter-in-law of the Mu family should take over, so I never revealed my authority as the head of the family.
But now, my Mu family's business has deviated from our ancestral teachings. It is no longer about "honesty and trustworthiness, helping the needy and relieving the distressed." Instead, it has become a malicious monopoly, with people in the streets cursing my Mu family for being heartless.
Therefore, from this moment forward, I, Mu Chenyu, shall take control of the Mu family. I hereby declare Zhao Yanghua expelled from the Mu family, even if she is now a corpse; the Mu family cannot allow her to remain.
My daughter is dead; who dares to tarnish her reputation?
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw King Xiang rushing over angrily, raising his hand to strike Chenyu.
Fortunately, there were many young masters from the Mu family, who rushed forward in a swarm and pinned the Prince of Xiang to the ground.
The Prince of Xiang lay prone on the snow, shouting, "Let me go! I am the Emperor... How dare you humiliate me? Get out of my way!"
[Stop!] The Emperor walked out of the ancestral hall, stood in the porch, pointed at Chen Yu, and ordered: [Mu Chen Yu has maliciously damaged Princess Yanghua's reputation; arrest her.]
The Prince of Xiang, still furious, tearfully pleaded with the Emperor: "Your Majesty, Yanghua was in excellent health and never fell ill. It must have been Mu Chenyu and Gu Lingrong who conspired to kill Yanghua. One wanted to take control of the Mu family, and the other wanted to become the eldest daughter-in-law of the Mu family. Naturally, they joined forces to murder Yanghua. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly."
"Heh..." Shen Yu sneered, disdainfully retorting to the Prince of Xiang: "The innocent are innocent, the guilty are guilty. Since the Prince of Xiang suspects someone of plotting against Princess Yanghua, let's go to the Dali Temple to file a case. Shen Yu will go first."
After saying that, Chen Yu walked out, not wanting anyone to disturb the ancestors of the Mu family.
The young men and women of the Mu family followed closely behind.
As the group reached the main courtyard, Lord He, accompanied by dozens of guards, hurried over, shouting loudly: "Where is Zhao Yanghua? Come out quickly!"
Shen Yu stepped forward and asked, "What does Lord He want with Princess Yanghua?"
[Zhao Yanghua hired someone to commit arson, burning down the winter cotton shop. This official has come to arrest him. Where is Zhao Yanghua?]
At this moment, the Emperor arrived with the Prince of Xiang. The official stepped forward and reported, "Your Majesty, the case of the Wendong Cotton Shop has been solved. The perpetrators confessed that it was Princess Yanghua's orders."
The Emperor nodded in shame, and with a thud, he turned to see the Prince of Xiang lying on the snow.
"Guards, escort Prince Xiang back to his residence."
After speaking, the Emperor looked at Lord He and asked, "Has Consort Na's letter been translated?"
The official handed the emperor a piece of paper, and upon reading it, the emperor felt even more ashamed.
It turns out that Gulnaffee's letter to the Ancient Locust King was written like this:
Dear Brother Ancient Locust, this winter is unusually cold. The cotton shops in the capital have caught fire, and there is no cotton left to keep warm. I hope you can send some more cotton.
Because the emperor forbids officials from engaging in commerce, Nafi cannot give Gu Huai brother silver; she can only barter with him. Next summer, Nafi will give Gu Huai brother grain of the same value.
It seems that Gulnaffee is also trying to help the people. The Emperor put away the letter and said in a deep voice, "Lord He, release Consort Na."
"Yes." He said to the official, without leaving, and took out a scroll to hand to the emperor. He was about to say something, but seeing that the entire Mu family was watching, he stopped talking.
Upon seeing this, the Emperor frowned, his face turning red.
Seeing this, Hongyu approached the Emperor and secretly peeked. Good heavens! Yang Hua had actually accepted bribes and concealed the existence of five hundred shops and tens of thousands of acres of fertile land.
The Emperor hurriedly put away the documents, lowered his eyes, and said, "Princess Yanghua is dead. To appease Prince Xiang, summon the officials to perform an autopsy. Lord He, continue to tally the assets of officials and merchants. As for the Mu family's matter, handle it according to the law."
Lord He is terrified. Should we handle this according to the law? The Mu family concealed their assets and failed to report them. Wouldn't that mean all their property should be confiscated?
He hurriedly knelt down to plead for the Mu family: "Your Majesty, I am related to General Mu by marriage. When General Mu was alive, he only started doing business after resigning from his official post and never violated the law."
It must be the younger generation of the Mu family who are ignorant and have concealed the truth. We hope Your Majesty will forgive the Mu family this time, considering the loyalty of General Mu and Mu Nanfeng to the country.
Chen Yu pondered: The Emperor is taking stock of the assets of officials and merchants. What is the Mu family concealing? It must be the work of Yang Hua alone.
She knelt down with a thud and said loudly, "Your Majesty, Zhao Yanghua does not have the Mu family's headship token. He is using his status to oppress my Mu family. My Mu family is the victim!"
Just now, I expelled Zhao Yanghua from the Mu family. We, the Mu family, do not want any of her property, and we will not bear any responsibility for the mistakes she made. I request Your Majesty to take her body away.
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