"As for the man who was divorced by the original wife a while ago, think of a way to prevent him from disturbing the lady's peace again." After returning to the house, he whispered to Zhimo.
Zhi Mo thought for a long time before he understood who "that one" and "that lady" respectively referred to. Although he was surprised that his master suddenly cared about this matter, he did not ask any more questions and just accepted the order and left.
He sat at the desk, leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, faces flashing through his mind, some scolding and some indifferent, including his relatives, some he knew, and some he didn't.
Disloyal and unfilial... He raised the back of his hand to cover his eyes, hiding the tears that had seeped out of his eyes at some point in time.
Over the years, he had experienced countless plots and had been through life and death situations, but he had never been afraid. But now, listening to the accusations and looking at the cold face, he felt his heart trembling.
"...Husband." The familiar gentle voice suddenly rang in his ears. He said "hmm", calmed his thoughts, and cast his eyes on Zhou Wanning who had a hesitant look on her face.
Zhou Wanning did not miss the slight redness in his eyes. Her heart tightened and she could not utter the words she wanted to ask.
"Is there something wrong?" Wei Chenglin asked hoarsely when he saw that she had been silent for a long time.
"No, nothing serious, it's just that Hong Geer is making a fuss and wants to look for his father."
Hong Ge'er was his second son. It was five years ago that Zhou Wanning was carrying him when Murong Tao took him away. This child was weak since birth, much weaker than his brothers and sisters, so he naturally favored him more.
He lowered his eyelids and said slowly after a long while: "If you have any questions, just go to Nanny. I'm quite busy recently. If there is nothing else important..."
"Then I'll go back first. You should also take care of yourself and don't be too busy." Zhou Wanning interrupted him, forced a smile, and didn't dare to wait for him to say anything else. She turned around and walked out.
The moment she turned around, her tears finally fell silently.
It really has changed. Everything has changed since my mother-in-law died.
She had not been able to shake the relationship between them in the slightest when she was alive, but after her death, it seemed as if a huge rift had been created between her and her husband, and no matter how she tried to mend it, it was of no avail.
"Aunt Chen was promoted by your father back then. She has been running the shop for your mother all these years. She is as smart and capable as Aunt Sun. With her helping you, you can feel more relaxed." Mrs. Wen gently stroked her daughter's long hair, looking at her obviously thinner face with pity, and said softly.
Zhou Wanning suddenly raised her head from her arms: "No, I don't want it! Mother, take Nanny Chen back. I will take care of the affairs of my own house by myself."
My husband was already very unhappy last time because of Nanny Sun. If another Nanny Chen comes along, who knows what will happen!
"Listen to mother, Nanny Chen is just there to give you advice. She will never interfere in the affairs of the mansion and will never..."
"No! Mother, if you really want this for my own good, just take Nanny Chen back and never mention it again." Zhou Wanning shook her head like a wave drum.
"But you have always been against these nonsense..." Wen wanted to persuade her again, but Zhou Wanning looked determined and refused flatly.
Seeing that she could not be persuaded, Wen sighed and said, "Forget it. Since you insist, I will not do anything annoying. I will take Nanny Chen back with me."
"Mom, I am no longer the ignorant little girl who would hide behind my parents. I am now married and have children. I should shoulder the responsibilities of a wife and a mother. The Duke's Mansion is my and my husband's home. If he doesn't want to... then forget it!" Zhou Wanning said sadly.
During the last funeral, my husband invited the aunt from the third room to come over. Even though he thought of a perfect excuse to cover it up, word had already spread in the capital that the Lady of the Duke of England was not good at managing the household.
Then, capable people like Nanny Sun were driven away. She was left alone and everything in the mansion seemed to be in the dark. However, she still gritted her teeth and slowly began to learn how to take charge. Even though there were some bumps and bruises along the way, she felt at ease in the end.
At this time in the study, Zhi Mo reported back: "Everything has been done. That person will not disturb Madam Huang's peace again. However, Madam Huang left her residence with her maid yesterday. No one knows where they went. Judging from their appearance, they will not come back."
Wei Chenglin nodded and didn't ask any further questions.
The next day, a big event broke out in the court. The descendant of Duke Cheng'en, the only legitimate son of Marquis Zhongyi, had been found. Emperor Yuanyou walked out of the Golden Palace and, accompanied by the crown prince, went to the Heavenly Prison in person to pick up the legitimate son of Marquis Zhongyi who was imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison.
Since Emperor Yuanyou suddenly issued an edict last year, posthumously conferring the title of empress on his first wife, Princess Rui Zhao, and the title of Marquis Cheng'en on her father and the title of Marquis Zhongyi on her brother, the unjust case of Zhao Quanzhong was made clear to the world.
"Which one in the Heavenly Prison is the descendant of the Zhao family, Marquis of Loyalty? Are you sure?" Wei Chenglin was shocked.
But as soon as he said this, he realized that his question was in vain.
Since Your Majesty has personally welcomed the descendant of the Zhao family, it has already proved that his identity is no longer in doubt.
"It turned out to be him. I never thought that the 'Lingfu' I have been looking for for many years turned out to be him!" he murmured.
"Your Majesty has ignored the dissuasion of the court officials and has just issued an order to execute Prince Cheng. He has also ordered the newly appointed Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness, Zhao Fu, to supervise the execution to comfort the 340 innocent souls who died at the foot of Yueping Mountain that year." Zhi Mo reported again in a low voice.
Wei Chenglin's heart was filled with shock and waves, and after a long while, he gradually calmed down. Hearing this, he just curled his lips and said, "This is not just to comfort the wronged souls, it is clearly a chance for the Loyal Marquis to kill his enemies and avenge his father!"
"No wonder, no wonder he is full of resentment towards the royal family. It turns out that he is the nephew of Empress Yuan and a descendant of the Zhao family!"
Back then, Princess Rui escaped death from the hands of the late emperor, but she was discovered by Prince Cheng's men a few years later and eventually died at his hands. Your Majesty has lost his first wife today, but he cannot show any sign of it and has to endure it silently.
His father also met with an accident shortly after Princess Rui's death.
Then, after a thorough investigation, Uncle Qiao found out that his father's death was not an accident, but was caused by the Prince of Cheng. At that time, Uncle Qiao, who was only fifteen years old, chased the escaped Prince of Cheng, cut his body into pieces, and personally delivered it to the imprisoned Prince of Cheng!
It was also at that time that he realized that his father was not the incompetent "dandy" as the world thought. He had always been secretly working for His Majesty, and it was he who saved Princess Rui from the hands of the late emperor.
"My Lord, His Majesty, His Majesty has ordered you to enter the palace immediately!" Suddenly, a servant came in hurriedly to report.
Wei Chenglin did not dare to delay, and quickly changed into court clothes and hurried out.
Zhou Wanning, who happened to come looking for him, could only watch his back from a distance.
"Daddy hasn't eaten with us for a long time." Her daughter beside her pouted in dissatisfaction.
"Daddy is too busy and can't spare the time. When he's done, he'll be able to have dinner with Sister Xian." She forced herself to cheer herself up and smiled to comfort her daughter.
The little girl was still a little unhappy, but she didn't say anything in the end.
Wei Chenglin from that room hurried into the palace, but when he entered the hall he found a person standing inside who surprised him greatly.
"Uncle Qiao?!"
He wanted to go forward, but he took a step back when he saw Qiao Liu's gloomy expression.
"Your father and I have known each other since childhood. Although we are not blood brothers, we are better than blood brothers. His sudden death was like losing my limbs. In order to avenge him, I did not hesitate to disobey the order and killed the Prince of Cheng." After a while, Qiao Liu's hoarse voice rang out in the hall.
Wei Chenglin's lips trembled, and he looked at him intently, watching him close his eyes in pain.
The killing of Prince Cheng destroyed the elaborate arrangement of Emperor Yuanyou to clean up the imperial court. For this, Qiao Liu was exiled far away. Although he still worked for Emperor Yuanyou, it was different from before. Today was the first time Wei Chenglin had seen him after many years.
"But, it was not until today that I found out that the murderer was someone else. Prince Cheng was just a loyal man!!" Qiao Liu suddenly opened his eyes, and the raging anger inside him burst out.
"What?! Who is it?! Who on earth killed my father?!" Wei Chenglin's face changed drastically, and he no longer cared about anything else. He stepped forward and grabbed his hand, asking with gritted teeth.
"Who is it?! That person is your good wife's aunt! The most honorable Empress in the palace!!" Qiao Liu's face was ferocious and he stared at him fiercely.
He staggered and took several steps back in disbelief.
Prime Minister Zhou's desire to usurp the imperial power had already displeased His Majesty, but he had been an official for many years and had made contributions to the court. He could see that although His Majesty wanted to suppress him, he also remembered his many years of support and was not willing to kill him.
As for the Empress in the palace, although she is not very favored, His Majesty still maintains the dignity that a Empress should have.
As for his father-in-law Zhou Mao, he has been your Majesty's man for many years.
If his biological father really died at the hands of Queen Zhou, and Queen Zhou was from the Zhou family, even though his father-in-law's family was not close to the legitimate branch, he could not write two characters of the word Zhou in one stroke of his pen, so how could he be completely innocent!
"How, how is this possible, how is this possible..." He widened his eyes in disbelief.
He did not hear clearly what Qiao Liu said, his mind went blank until Emperor Yuanyou appeared on the throne, and then he knelt down on the ground.
Emperor Yuanyou did not look at him, but cast his gaze on Zhou Mao, who had walked in at some point and was standing at the door with a pale face.
"In my life, I have the loyalty of the three nobles Zhou, Qiao, and Wei. They have never left me and have even risked their lives to protect me. I am so lucky!"
"Jun Hang and I are close friends and cousins. He has protected me since I was young and has helped me avoid many schemes. I have lived up to my ancestors and the people, but I have let down these two people."
"One is my original wife, and the other is Jun Hang."
"If Jun Hang were still alive today, I would not interfere in the matter, whether the relationship between the Wei and Zhou families was severed or maintained. I would also forgive the mistakes of Prime Minister Zhou and the Zhou family."
"But, Junhang is dead!"
Speaking of this, Emperor Yuanyou choked up a little.
The man who had taken the blame for him countless times but always smiled at everyone died at an age when he should have been able to show his talents. Therefore, everything was irreversible.
"Propagate my decree. Zhou has plotted to kill the heir to the throne and colluded with traitors to kill loyal ministers. Her moral conduct is corrupt and she is unfit to be the empress. She shall be deposed and banished to the cold palace. She shall be given a three-foot white silk."