This morning's court session was the first one after Xu Yunci's wedding. Although he was wearing the most ordinary official robes, one could still see a hint of tenderness in his unchanging expression.
"Speak if you have something to report, otherwise the court may adjourn."
The high-pitched voice of the eunuch came from above. After a pause and seeing no one respond, he was about to speak again.
"Your subject has a memorial to present."
Suddenly, a man stepped out from the ranks of officials, and Eunuch Gao quickly swallowed back the words "resign from court" that were on the tip of his tongue.
The Emperor, seated on his dragon throne, recognized the officials who had come out as third-rank censors. A heartbeat stirred between his brows; who would these censors impeach today?
"What is it you wish to report?"
Seeing that the Emperor had spoken, the Censor seemed even more determined. He raised his head and looked in one direction, saying, "I impeach Xu Yunci, the heir of the Duke of Rong and the Vice Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture, for abusing his power and threatening his subjects."
As soon as he finished speaking, even the King of Zhao, who was lost in thought, came back to his senses and looked at the Crown Prince. Then the two brothers turned around and looked at Xu Yunci.
"Impossible, how could Xu Er—the heir apparent Xu—do such a thing?"
Yang Ke stood in the middle, dressed in official robes, seemingly unaware that no one had spoken yet, not even the person in question, creating an eerily silent atmosphere.
He quickly swallowed the "Second Brother Xu" that was about to slip out, looking quite indignant.
The onlookers were puzzled, but then they remembered that the heir of the Duke of Chengen's mansion was currently in Jingzhao Prefecture. It was said that the Duke of Chengen had personally sent him to Xu Yunci, so they thought about how they could help the heir of the Duke of Chengen's mansion become a better person someday.
Could it be that they have threatened the Duke of Cheng'en's mansion?
That doesn't seem likely either; Yang Ke herself said it was impossible.
The censor looked furious, as if he had encountered something extremely infuriating: "I am impeaching Prince Xu. Yesterday, Prince Xu sent people to General Du's residence. Not only did they come to humiliate General Du, but they also humiliated the Du family's daughter. I believe that Prince Xu is unfit to be the Vice Prefect of the Capital Prefecture."
"Oh."
Xu Yunci chuckled softly, his voice ringing out loudly in the hall.
Many eyes were already on General Du, whose expression was changing, their gazes darting back and forth.
"Is Prince Xu afraid to admit his mistakes?" The imperial censor seemed unwilling to give up, staring straight at Xu Yunci.
Unfortunately, although he was older than Xu Yunci, he couldn't help but shrink back when he looked at Xu Yunci, and his imposing manner was greatly diminished.
"I did it."
Xu Yunci glanced at the smug-looking censor, then his gaze fell on General Du, whose expression was constantly changing: "As for why, if General Du won't say, then this young master will."
The censor looked smug, and no one noticed that when he looked at the King of Zhao, he was given a fierce glare.
“There must be something hidden about this matter; Prince Xu is not that kind of person.”
Xu Yunci stopped the Crown Prince, who was about to speak, and calmly stepped forward to stand in the middle.
"I also want to hear why you humiliated the Du family and the Du family's daughters."
Xu Yunci pursed his lips, seemingly hesitant, with a hint of struggle in his eyes: "Since Your Majesty is asking, I naturally dare not lie."
"To tell you the story, yesterday I brought my new bride to the palace to express my gratitude and went to Chonghua Palace to pay my respects to the Crown Princess."
"When they were supposed to return home together, Consort Du from Chonghua Palace told my new bride that the Du family's daughter wanted to become a concubine in the Rongguo Duke's mansion."
“I am naturally furious. I have been in love with the Princess of Yichang for a long time, and I even asked Your Majesty to write a decree to grant us marriage. Yesterday was the second day after my marriage to the Princess of Yichang, and Consort Du claimed that her half-sister was in love with me and was willing to become a concubine in the Duke’s mansion.”
"Although what angers me is not as much as the previous point, it is still very infuriating. General Du and I are colleagues in the court. If I were to take his sister as a concubine, wouldn't that be trampling on the Du family's reputation?"
"In the future, not only will the Du family's General's Mansion become a laughing stock in the capital, but even the Rongguo Duke's Mansion will become a laughing stock in the capital. So it's not a matter of humiliation. Just send someone to the General's Mansion to tell the Du family these things, and also introduce the Du family's daughters to some of the best matchmakers in the capital. They will definitely not have to worry about getting married."
"However, to my surprise, the Du family lady did not fall in love with me or willingly become my concubine, as Du Liangdi said. Instead, she secretly climbed over the wall and blocked my way, insisting on apologizing. It is because the Du family values the power of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion that she has no intention of currying favor with them."
"She also said that she was already engaged to a man, and the wedding was supposed to take place next year, but General Du and Consort Du broke off the engagement. Hearing that I went to the General's mansion, I specifically sought his help."
"Unexpectedly, what the Du family lady said was true. Her fiancé's family is a poor family of this year's scholars. They dared not refuse to break off the engagement after listening to General Du."
Xu Yunci paused as he spoke, glancing sideways at General Du, who was already pale and stunned, his eyes filled with mockery.
"Originally, out of consideration for the fact that they were both officials in the same court, the county princess even took out her own private savings yesterday to give silver to the families near the general's mansion, asking the local people not to make a fuss, so as not to ruin the young lady's reputation."
"Originally, my husband and I were mindful of these things and didn't want to make a fuss about it, but we didn't expect that the censor, who wasn't near the general's residence, would hear the news so quickly."
"But the censor didn't even bother to find out the facts before submitting his report. Did he even consider what would happen to the Du family's daughter's reputation if the facts didn't match?"
The prince lowered his head, concealing the smile on his lips.
In the past, Xu Yun's reputation was such that even if a delicate young woman fell in front of him, he would walk past her without batting an eye.
Marriage really does change things. Li Shiyue probably felt sorry for the Du family's daughter, fearing that as a concubine's daughter, how could she possibly resist General Du and Consort Du?
When he raised his head, the Crown Prince's eyes were chillingly cold: "Unmarried women value their reputation most. Are you trying to kill a woman so she cannot live? You are a third-rank censor, and you have read the books of the sages, yet you have done such a despicable thing."
The censor was speechless, feeling somewhat uneasy when he heard that the emperor wanted to investigate the matter thoroughly.
Of course, General Du's position is also untenable.
His actions weren't particularly serious, but his unauthorized association with others and his desire to curry favor with the emperor constituted forming cliques for personal gain. Whether this crime was serious or not was entirely up to the emperor's judgment.
Xu Yunci looked very pleased with himself after the morning court session. Li Shiyue couldn't help but tease him with a smile, "Why do you look so happy? Is something good happening today?"
After breakfast was laid out, Xu Yunci took her hand, took the spoon from her, and placed the porridge in front of her.
"There is good news."
He's always been like this, seemingly unconcerned about doing these things, as if it's just his duty.
"It must be about the Du family's daughter, right? You didn't impeach the Du family, did you?"
Xu Yunci shook his head: "It's resolved, but I didn't meddle."
Tell her about what happened at the morning court session: "His Majesty is discerning and has already bestowed a marriage upon the Du family's daughter and that scholar. He has also read the scholar's essay and, exceptionally, granted him a seventh-rank official position in the Hanlin Academy."
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