Chapter 170 Imperial Edict
The emperor finally breathed a sigh of relief: Fortunately, after all the commotion since early morning, Qin Meiniang was saved and Xu Junying's backyard was calm.
The Queen Mother was really bold. She didn't allow him to marry a concubine, so she simply divorced his original wife and wanted Xu Junying to marry the princess. Yesterday afternoon, he and Xu Junying combined various information and figured out the Queen Mother's intention. They were both stunned.
Xu Junying said: "After I left, the Queen Mother issued an imperial decree to order my family to divorce my wife. After I come back, the Emperor will issue an imperial decree to let me marry her back. As for Princess Shang, the Emperor knows me and cannot bear this blessing."
The emperor laughed angrily, pointed at him and cursed: "What nonsense are you talking about? Do you think I have nothing to do and specially issued an imperial decree to grant you marriage? First the emperor issued an imperial decree to grant you a wife, and the empress dowager ordered him to divorce her, and then issued an imperial decree again to marry her back - what do people in the world regard imperial decrees as from now on? It's simply a joke. You are even more absurd and confused than the empress dowager."
Xu Junying was also strange. He hesitated before leaving. In addition to asking him to ensure that his wife was not divorced, he also had other requests. Although the emperor was puzzled, he agreed to all of them so that he could concentrate on his work.
A spy reported that the second brother of the late emperor, the Prince of Wei, born to Concubine Min, was training private soldiers in his northern fiefdom, Gunzhou, secretly buying a large number of horses, and privately mining ore to make ironware. The Prince of Wei was two years younger than the emperor. He was very smart since childhood. He could write poems at the age of six or seven, and showed his talent for painting at the age of ten. His landscape paintings were comparable to those of famous artists. The late emperor loved his second son very much and gave him the most extensive and rich fiefdom among all the princes. When the late emperor passed away, Concubine Min died of illness. Among all the princes, only the Prince of Wei did not receive the imperial edict and could not return to Beijing for the funeral. This was the Queen Mother's intention, and the newly enthroned emperor acquiesced. Later, the prime minister advised him to closely monitor the Prince of Wei, and he did so. Unexpectedly, many years later, he really waited for the news that the Prince of Wei had ill intentions.
He handed over the imperial sword and the secret decree to Xu Junying, and asked him to handle it. As long as the evidence was solid and the crime was proven, he could execute the person on the spot.
After Xu Junying left, the emperor asked Ji Qing to focus on this matter. Early this morning, Ji Qing received news that people from the Cining Palace had left the palace and were going to Xu's Mansion to announce the imperial edict. The emperor and Ji Qing split up. Ji Qing went to Xu's Mansion with the imperial edict that had been prepared earlier. The emperor went to the Cining Palace. The empress dowager's stubbornness made him angry, and his attitude became tough. The imperial power overwhelmed everything, and the empress dowager was so angry that she almost fainted. He had to use some tricks to slowly coax his mother back.
The palace was finally calm, but Xu's house was in chaos. The eunuch in charge of ceremonies came to Xu's house with the empress dowager's edict issued by the emperor. Ji Qing signaled him to let eunuch Tan, the general manager of the Cining Palace, read it out. Eunuch Tan had no choice but to read out another edict. This time he read it very carefully, word by word, slowly, as if he was afraid of missing any word. The edict contained only a few sentences, which were concise and clear, and the meaning could not be expressed more clearly. He still didn't believe his eyes, and scanned it back and forth again to make sure it was not for the princess to be married. The phoenix seal with distinct patterns on it was very clear. He looked at it again and again before handing it to old lady Xu.
Old Mrs. Xu seemed to be in a daze, kneeling on the ground, unable to raise her head. It was Xu Junlang who was beside her who stepped forward to help her lift her upper body. Facing a piece of bright yellow silk with a phoenix seal on it, she took it with trembling hands.
Ji Qing smiled and said, "Congratulations, old lady. Miss Zhuang has been brought up by the old lady since she was young, and is also related to the empress dowager. The empress dowager took pity on her dignified and beautiful appearance, and could not bear to see her end up in an ordinary family in the future, so she personally arranged a marriage for her. The second-rank cabinet scholar is absolutely worthy of Miss Zhuang. If she marries him, she will be granted a second-rank imperial decree, and will be rich and prosperous for the rest of her life. It will not be in vain for the old lady's years of cultivation."
Before Old Lady Xu could reply, she heard a noise coming from the hall behind her, and then Jinsuo cried out:
"Girl, girl, what's wrong with you? Wake up!"
Several maids and servants rushed over, helped Zhuang Yulan up from the ground, and carried her away while talking and clamoring.
Old Mrs. Xu closed her eyes, and the muscles on her drooping cheeks trembled.
Mei Niang knelt behind the old lady, her legs and feet numb. She raised her head and looked around, and suddenly saw Baoju talking to someone under a stone willow tree in the distance. It turned out that Xu Junying had really left the city.
Mei Niang couldn't hold it in any longer, she stood up all of a sudden, walked straight towards Ji Qing, bowed to him, and stretched out her hand:
"General Manager Ji, the first imperial decree has been read out and issued. It will be the same if it is given to me. Please let me take a look."
She didn't care what happened in the Xu Mansion or who Zhuang Yulan married. She just wanted to get the imperial edict, give her her freedom, and give her her son. She wouldn't have to live in this stuffy mansion anymore. It would be a great thing. But the bad thing was that Ji Qing took the imperial edict. She was not familiar with Ji Qing, but she was not a stranger to him either. It should be okay for her to ask him for it. If she wanted to take it away, could Ji Qing snatch it from her?
The men of the Xu Mansion who were kneeling below were shocked. How could they talk to the chief eunuch in the palace like that? He was a popular eunuch with a high rank.
Mr. Xu was busy last night and didn't come home. Xu Junying was not there. Xu Junlang hurriedly bowed to apologize to Ji Qing and said to Mei Niang:
"Sister-in-law, please go back to your original position and kneel. It would be disrespectful to stand up without the Master of Ceremonies telling you to do so."
Ji Qing looked at Mei Niang, a little puzzled: He had seen Xu Junying in Kunning Palace, looking distraught. After just a short while, Xu Junying was like that, which showed that he loved this beautiful lady very much. The couple should have a good relationship, but what did this woman say? She took the initiative to ask him for a decree to divorce her. Did she have another intention? Did she want to keep this decree and complain to Xu Junying when she came back?
Thinking of this, Ji Qing smiled, gestured to Mei Niang, and led her back to kneel down: "Madam Weiyuan, don't be anxious, please kneel down and receive the order. I have an imperial edict to read out, please listen carefully, Madam."
Mei Niang had no choice but to go back and kneel down again. When she passed in front of Old Lady Xu, she met the old lady's complex and cold gaze. Mei Niang raised her face arrogantly and didn't bother to look at her: I wish I could have made things clear with the Xu family. I don't want to see the old lady's stinky face anymore.
Ji Qing waved his hand, and one of the five or six eunuchs standing behind him came over, holding a roll of bright yellow silk in his hand. Ji Qing picked it up and read: "In compliance with the will of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims... The first-rank imperial concubine, Xu Qin, is gentle and graceful, virtuous and kind... From now on, she is given the name Qin Meimei, and enters the palace to accompany the Empress. She will be picked up and dropped off by the imperial guards every morning and evening for half a month. I decree this..."
Everyone in the Xu residence was stunned: What's going on with the royal family? Today, three imperial edicts were sent to the Xu residence. The first one was to divorce his wife, but it was taken back before it could be issued. The second imperial edict ordered the daughter of the Zhuang cousin who had been clamoring to marry the Marquis to marry someone else. Before Old Lady Xu could recover from this, another imperial edict came. This time, it was to praise the character of the eldest grandmother, and finally gave her a new name and summoned her to the palace to accompany the queen in confinement.
In the distance, Baoju and Baizhan exchanged glances and breathed a sigh of relief at the same time: Lord Hou's move couldn't be safer. They sent the grandma directly to the palace, nominally to accompany the queen, but actually to lock her up in Kunning Palace. No matter how brave the grandma is, she wouldn't dare to disobey the order and not enter the palace. She would go out early and come back late every day. They would only protect her between the palace and Xu's house. She wouldn't have the chance to run away. In half a month, Lord Hou should be back.
The grandma was almost kicked out. In the morning, Baoju received a report that the Queen Mother's people had left the harem and were heading for Xu's house. He hurried to find Ji Qing. When he saw Ji Qing leading a group of people out at the palace gate, he panted and shouted at him:
"Please, Chief Steward Ji, if you are too slow, the person will disappear."
Ji Qing misunderstood his meaning and said with a smile: "Why are you in such a hurry? The announcement will take a while, and your young lady will definitely not accept it. She will cry and make a fuss for a while, and then find a piece of cloth to hang herself. Even if we go over there in a swagger, it will take enough time."
Baoju was helpless. Ji Qing was usually very serious, and he was also very casual and joking. He just kept urging them. In previous years, the prince who had not become emperor was inseparable from Xu Junying. Ji Qing, Baoju and Baizhan always hung out together and knew each other. Seeing that Baoju was really anxious, he laughed and led everyone to gallop on horseback in the street. Fortunately, there were few pedestrians and cars in the morning, and the streets were unobstructed. When they arrived at Xu's house, Ji Qing went up to collect the imperial edict when Eunuch Tan delivered it. Looking at the stunned expressions of Eunuch Tan and Old Madam Xu, he felt very satisfied: I let you do such a heinous thing secretly. The emperor has clearly said that it is not allowed. The couple is fine, why do you have to separate them?
The eunuch shouted. Not only was Mrs. Xu's legs weak and she could not get up, having to be supported and carried by her grandsons, but Mei Niang was also kneeling there in a daze. Bai Jingyu came over to pull her, but he couldn't. She stared at Ji Qing, who was puzzled. Only Baoju and Baizhan knew what she was thinking. They quickly glanced at Ji Qing, asking him to leave the Xu Mansion quickly.
Unexpectedly, they were too far away, and Ji Qing could not see the expressions of Baoju and Baizhan. She thought Mei Niang was stunned because her name was changed, so she smiled and explained to the people in Xu's residence: "Madam Weiyuan may not understand. There is a concubine in the palace with the same name as Madam Hou, but a different surname. Madam Hou will accompany the queen in the palace for more than ten days, so she will inevitably meet them. To avoid embarrassment, the emperor discussed with the queen and decided to let Madam Hou change her name. The name was asked to Marquis Weiyuan, and he nodded."
The people in Xu's residence heard it clearly, but Baoju and Baizhan wanted to kick Ji Qing. Why is this guy talking so much?
Mei Niang finally figured it out. She was so angry that her face turned red and her head felt dizzy. Xu Junying left and set a trap for her, trapping her in the palace. This imperial decree replaced the imperial decree of divorce. The name she used outside was exposed. Word spread quickly. People gradually knew that Cen Meimei was Qin Mei Niang, the wife of Weiyuan Hou. She lost a good opportunity to leave Xu's house.
He stopped her from entering the palace to celebrate the prince's baptism. He was afraid that if she met the queen, the queen would definitely ask her to accompany her to help deal with the reception of the ladies from outside the palace. Women talk about everything together. She couldn't leave the palace before 3 p.m., and by then he would have set out and couldn't personally escort her back home. If she ran away halfway and didn't return to the Xu Mansion for several days and nights, although Baoju Baizhan would bring people to follow her, there were elders in the family and the rules would not allow it. He was also afraid that it would damage her reputation.
It turned out that what he said about sitting down and talking in the water pavilion was just a way of saying goodbye. She remembered Xu Junying looking at her and saying, "Be filial to the old lady for me and make her happy."
At that time, she felt that he was joking. Did he think she could do it? She could make the old lady so angry that she couldn't breathe, and then make her happy the next day. Even if she had the ability, she would not waste her energy.
It is made by】.
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