"Emperor, there are too many concubines involved in this, and the law cannot punish everyone."
It’s not that the Queen Mother doesn’t want to settle accounts. After knowing what these concubines have done, she really wants to get rid of them all.
But the harem is closely related to the previous dynasty. Dealing with so many concubines at once will naturally alarm the previous dynasty.
If we deal with one, two or three companies, there will be no problem.
But there are more than a dozen concubines and more than a dozen families, and the families of these concubines all play an important role in the court.
If they unite, it will be enough to cause turmoil in the court.
Not to mention the other concubines, the Yang family alone almost controls half of the dynasty.
"If I don't punish them, I won't be able to swallow this anger, and there will be no place for them in the harem."
Emperor Jiahe knew it very well, and he was thinking of a countermeasure to deal with things according to their importance.
"Mother, you can leave the others alone for now, but the Empress must be deposed. Consort Shu has passed away and left the palace. Consort Jing Guifei and Consort Hui, who assist in managing the harem, will each be demoted one rank. The other concubines will remain in place for now, and their families will have to pay to redeem their lives."
"Just do as the emperor says, but take it one step at a time. We have to be careful not to let them get desperate and do something crazy."
The Queen Mother said, "Noble Consort Jing and Consort Hui can wait a little longer. We will deal with the Queen and Consort Shu first."
Emperor Jiahe thought the same, and immediately ordered the three brothers of the Crown Prince Cheng'en and the Duke Kangguo to be invited into the palace.
"My queen mother will return to the palace first. I will go there after my uncle and the others enter the palace."
Emperor Jiahe sent the empress dowager away and returned to his bedroom.
Bei Lingyao already knew everything and looked at Emperor Jiahe with full sympathy.
This time, the emperor suffered a serious blow to both his reputation and his dignity.
Emperor Jiahe naturally would not tell Bei Lingyao about some of the things he found in the harem. He still had his dignity.
"Shufei... my uncle and the others will enter the palace soon, and I will have settled things with the Yang family."
"I obey the emperor."
Bei Lingyao also agreed with the emperor's handling of the matter.
The previous dynasty and the harem are closely related. If more than ten concubines are dealt with at once, these officials of the previous dynasty and the various networks behind them will unite, and the court will definitely be in turmoil.
By then, it is possible that the emperor will be sidelined.
Emperor Jiahe was somewhat shocked. He knew that the Yang family was powerful, but if the Yang family took action in the harem alone, they could unite more than a dozen major concubines.
The main reason is that some minor concubines have no foundation in the harem, no power or influence, and are only controlled by these high-ranking concubines.
These young concubines were also intended to be used as scapegoats by a dozen or so concubines.
Speaking of scapegoats, Emperor Jiahe couldn't help but think of his children who died young.
Taking advantage of this thorough investigation of the harem, Emperor Jiahe ordered Zhang De to continue the investigation.
When the Yang brothers received the imperial edict, they were shocked to find that they had not received any news from the palace.
Arriving at the Cining Palace, the empress dowager looked at her three biological brothers, her cousin Duke Kangguo and others, and recalled the love her brothers had shown her when she was a child, their warmth, laughter, and innocence.
In the blink of an eye, decades have passed and everything has changed.
The sentimental queen mother felt very upset.
"Your Highness and I pay our respects to the Empress Dowager."
"No need to be polite, brothers and sisters, please take your seats."
The Queen Mother's face did not look very happy.
The brothers of the Yang family looked at each other and started chatting with the empress dowager.
"Let's wait for the emperor to come. I never thought we would face this situation one day."
The Queen Mother's words made the Yang brothers even more uneasy.
With the number of people the Yang family has in the palace, they will be the first to know if there is any disturbance in the palace.
But this time, there was no news at all.
However, the second master of Cheng'en had a trace of doubt in his heart.
Could it be that the people he arranged have worked?
Thinking of this, he felt a hint of anticipation in his heart.
Anyway, he has never had any conflicts with his biological sister, the Queen Mother, and his father and brother always stand up for the Yang family's affairs.
The Empress Dowager and the Emperor's nephew would not implicate him in what Concubine Shu did.
Thinking of this, the second master of Cheng'en felt a little relieved. He just had to watch his brother fall and wait to inherit the throne of Duke Cheng'en.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
Emperor Jiahe arrived late.
If this had been the case in the past, when his uncles entered the palace, he would never have made them wait.
But now Emperor Jiahe is full of complicated feelings, thinking about how to break off all ties with the Yang family.
As soon as he stepped into the Cining Palace and saw the familiar and friendly faces of his uncles, Emperor Jiahe felt very uncomfortable.
The previous emperor had many sons and did not think highly of Emperor Jiahe, so he did not give Emperor Jiahe too much father-son affection.
But Emperor Jiahe received love from his uncles from the Yang family. They took him out of the palace to play, taught him horse riding and archery, and his cousins accompanied him in reading and practicing martial arts with him.
Before and after he ascended the throne, he was close to the Yang family. He conferred titles on two members of the Yang family, appointed his maternal grandfather as prime minister, and let his maternal grandfather and his eldest uncle and his son serve in the same court.
Not to mention the other two biological uncles and his cousin Duke Kangguo, who were all officials of the fourth, fifth, and sixth ranks, even the uncles born out of wedlock had good official positions.
He felt that this was what the Yang family deserved, so he was willing to do it.
But I don't know when it started, but it gradually changed.
Until now, there are even more contradictions and estrangements.
"Zhang De, let the uncles see it."
Emperor Jiahe didn't want to talk nonsense anymore, and he was not in the mood to chat or gossip.
The brothers of the Yang family were shocked when they saw the evidence handed over by Zhang De.
Duke Kangguo was the first to say, "Your Majesty, is this a misunderstanding? Concubine Shu has always been innocent and simple. Perhaps she has been framed."
The Prince of Cheng'en also hurriedly said, "Yes, Concubine Shu has been raised in the palace since she was a child. The Empress Dowager and the Emperor know her best. I believe that Concubine Shu would never make such an ignorant mistake. I hope the Empress Dowager and the Emperor will examine her carefully."
The Second Lord of Cheng'en also spoke up, "It must be a misunderstanding."
"She's admitted it."
As soon as the emperor said this, all the brothers of the Yang family froze, secretly cursing Concubine Shu's stupidity. She could have just pushed the blame on the servants and framed other concubines, but she actually admitted it.
So stupid.
As the former Chief Justice of the Dali Temple, Prince Cheng'en did not want to admit that Concubine Shu was his daughter.
"Zhang De, have someone bring Concubine Shu here."
When Concubine Shu was brought to the Cining Palace, her eyes lit up when she saw her father and a group of uncles. She swept away her decadence and fear and rushed over:
"Father, help me! Father, uncles, please save me! I didn't mean to do that. I had no idea it was a curse, a forbidden technique in the imperial palace... I only wanted to harm Imperial Concubine Zhuang and adopt the Crown Prince. I would never harm the Crown Prince. I didn't plot to murder the heir to the throne..."
The Yang family brothers' faces darkened and they gritted their teeth in their hearts. Stupid, so stupid.
It's so stupid that it's unbearable to watch.
Their eyes were like knives as they cast a glance at the Prince of Cheng'en. When they thought about how their daughters could have been selected to enter the palace, but because of the conspiracy of the Prince of Cheng'en's wife, they missed the opportunity to be selected, and as a result, such a fool as Concubine Shu was allowed to enter the palace.
No wonder she has not been favored by the emperor after entering the palace for many years. She is so stupid that she confessed it herself. Not only the emperor, but they also despise her.
If Concubine Shu had not said too much when she came in, the brothers would have been able to make a big deal out of a small matter, and the matter of someone taking the blame would have been over.
But now, all the brothers of the Yang family are in danger!
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