Having a child at home is very different from before. At the very least, Xu Di felt that his daily life had undergone a complete transformation, and at the beginning, he was really overwhelmed.
Li Yuexi has moved from the west wing to the bedroom. She sleeps in bed with the two children, while Xu Di insists on sleeping on the kang (a heated brick bed) by the window. Li Yuexi has a good milk supply and insists on breastfeeding herself. In the middle of the night, Xu Di gets up to help Li Yuexi breastfeed the two children.
Chen Zhaoci didn't say anything. As the child's father, he couldn't bear the burden that the child's mother had to endure when she was giving birth to two lives. Therefore, Xu Di, as the father, couldn't be absent when raising the child.
But Granny Lu didn't think so. Granny Lu had worked as a tutor in many families, whether they were of high or low social standing, or even ordinary families. When the lady of the house was in confinement after childbirth, the men of the house would stay with her in a room at night.
Granny Lu wanted Xu Di to move out, even if it was just to sleep on the couch in the study opposite the bedroom, it would be better than getting up once or twice at night.
Xu Di did not follow Granny Lu's advice and insisted on sharing a room with Li Yuexi at night. Although it was tiring, after a few days, Xu Di got used to it and felt it was okay.
Before the Marquis's residence in the capital received Xu Di's letter of good news, they learned of Xu Di's actions against the Zhou family.
The Marquis locked himself in his study and pondered all night. In the end, he decided that since Xu Di had already taken the plunge, the only course of action now was to stand on Xu Di's side. The Marquis naturally understood that Xu Di was not an impulsive person, and that he always had a reason for taking action.
The Zhou family's affairs slowly escalated until early summer, when Xu Di was impeached during a grand court assembly.
Xu Di's memorial regarding the interrogation of the Zhou family has reached the capital. Because it involves the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Revenue, the heads of the two ministries felt that Xu Di was making a mountain out of a molehill. Such things happen in many places. Anyway, the land belongs to the Zhou family. As long as the Zhou family pays enough taxes to the court, it doesn't matter where the land came from.
The matter concerning Xu Di was brought up by an imperial censor who, in front of all the civil and military officials, directly impeached Xu Di, the magistrate of Penglai County.
It was only much, much later, that Xu Di heard about this grand court assembly that had been talked about for so long, from other people.
After that censor initiated the impeachment, someone else submitted a memorial to reconsider the censor's impeachment.
Marquis Yongning was to attend the grand court assembly and was standing in a relatively prominent position. He listened to what these people were saying, and his close associates looked at him with great concern. Marquis Yongning, however, remained calm.
Opinions varied about Xu Di's actions until the Third Prince stepped forward and said to Emperor Liang Cheng, "Your Majesty, the Zhou family pays a considerable amount of taxes to the court every year, and I have heard that the Zhou family has always been charitable. I think that if the Zhou family is treated like this, wouldn't it discourage many families like the Zhou family?"
The second prince sneered and said, "Third brother, you can't say that. Didn't Lord Xu write it very clearly in his memorial? The Zhou family has encroached on the land and forced people to sell their children. Should such people be commended?"
In front of the entire court, the Third Prince was deeply offended by the Second Prince's rebuke. Suppressing his anger, he said, "Second Brother, you can't say that. We should consider what kind of contributions the Zhou family has made to our Great Liang."
The two princes continued their back-and-forth conversation. Marquis Yongning glanced at Emperor Liang Cheng, who sat on the throne, and watched the court officials talking back and forth with a calm expression.
They talked for a long time, and no one could convince the other. Then someone brought up the matter, saying that the Marquis of Yongning was Xu Di's grandfather. What was his opinion on this?
Seeing that everyone around him was looking at him, Marquis Yongning smiled and said, "Xu Di is my grandson, but first and foremost he is an official of the Great Liang. Since he is receiving a salary from the court, he should do his job well and be a good official. His actions will naturally be judged by the Emperor, the Court of Judicial Review, and his colleagues in the Censorate. I cannot arbitrarily say anything about his merits or demerits."
Emperor Liang Cheng nodded slightly. Marquis Yongning bowed to Emperor Liang Cheng and said, "Your Majesty, since Xu Di is already an official appointed by the court, his first priority should be to be loyal to the emperor and love the country, and then to care for the people under his jurisdiction. As for me, his grandfather, I cannot arbitrarily interfere with his actions."
Emperor Liang Cheng stood up, holding a memorial in his hand. He opened it and said, "This is a memorial submitted to me privately by Minister Xu Di. There are a few words on it that I would like to share with you all. Xu Di said in it that the nation is based on its people, and the people's livelihood depends on food. Land is the lifeblood of the people and the most important link in the prosperity and strength of the nation. More than ten years ago, the Zhou family of Penglai, in order to seize land from the people, used various means to seize dozens of acres of land. Some of the victims fled to other places with their entire families, some lost their homes and lives, and some were forced to sell their children. I would like to ask you, my ministers, why did such a tragedy happen in Liang?"
Upon hearing Emperor Liang Cheng's words, everyone in the court bowed deeply. Emperor Liang Cheng's anger had been ignited. He paced back and forth in front of his throne twice with his hands behind his back, pointed at the Third Prince and the Second Prince standing below, and said, "You spend your days in this capital city, yet you have never seen what it is like for displaced people, let alone know the tragic state of people suffering from starvation and death everywhere. For over a hundred years since the founding of the Great Liang Dynasty, we have resisted foreign aggression, recuperated, and finally created a peaceful and prosperous nation. Yet someone dares to defy the world. Fine, fine, since he has the audacity to reach out, I will chop off his hand with my sword."
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