Chapter 411 Outside, I am a general, at home, I am your servant
However, after more than a month, Chu Ruohan received accurate news from the palace.
Yuling came in hurriedly from outside, with a look of incredible excitement on her face.
"Madam, news has come from the palace that Concubine Shu... Concubine Shu has been banished to the cold palace!"
Chu Ruohan's hand holding the teacup paused slightly, and the heat enshrouded her eyebrows.
Yuling took a deep breath and continued, "At the same time, the Pingnan Palace was completely destroyed. Concubine Shu's father and brother were escorted to the capital to await their fate!"
Chu Ruohan put down the teacup, and the bottom of the cup hit the table with a slight "knock" sound.
It turns out that the emperor's various "favors" for Concubine Shu were nothing more than a show of flattery and punishment in order to stabilize the Prince of Pingnan's Mansion and secretly collect evidence of her crimes.
The emperor's mind is truly unfathomable.
Just at this moment, Gu Junze walked in from outside, still feeling the slight coolness of the early morning.
Seeing Chu Ruohan was thoughtful, he asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Chu Ruohan looked up at him and snorted with a mixture of anger and laughter: "You hid it so well that I really thought the emperor was suspicious of you and worried about you every day."
Gu Junze walked over to her and sat down, holding her hand, a low laugh overflowing from his chest.
"It's the same with you. I never expected that Madam would actually bring those two women into the mansion and put on such a show."
He paused, a hint of teasing in his eyes, "It's all my fault. Madam, you can punish me however you want, but can you not do it in front of the servants?"
Chu Ruohan was amused by his rogue behavior, pulled her hand back, and raised her eyebrows slightly: "How dare I punish the general who protects the country?"
Seeing her smile, Gu Junze's smile deepened. He leaned over to her ear and whispered in a low voice, "Outside, I'm a general. At home, I'm your servant."
Yuling heard it clearly and couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh. She quickly turned around to tidy up the tea set on the table and pretended not to hear the explicit teasing.
Chu Ruohan blushed with embarrassment and gently pushed his shoulder with her bare hands: "Don't talk nonsense, what if someone hears it?"
"Why not?" Gu Junze held her wrist, not caring at all. "Who in the whole mansion doesn't know how I feel about Madam?"
Chu Ruohan turned her face away slightly, her eyes moving as she said angrily, "You are becoming more and more shameless. I can hardly stand it anymore."
"If you can't resist, don't resist." Gu Junze smiled wantonly, stroking her cheek with his fingers, his eyes full of love.
Chu Ruohan sighed softly. This man stood tall and straight like a pine tree outside, and was decisive and ruthless.
But he always expresses his affection so unscrupulously in front of her. How can she maintain the calm and composed appearance of a good housewife?
Seeing that she was speechless, Gu Junze changed the subject: "By the way, the emperor said that you were wronged this time and there will be compensation."
Just as he finished speaking, there was a sudden commotion outside the mansion, and the housekeeper hurried in to report: "General, Madam, the emperor has sent someone with a gift!"
"Gift?"
Chu Ruohan was stunned for a moment, and before she could react, she saw a group of eunuchs in bright yellow official uniforms filing in, each holding a brocade box or treasure box of varying sizes in their hands.
The leading eunuch held the imperial edict in his hand and announced loudly, "General Gu Junze, the guardian of the country, accepts the order!"
Gu Junze quickly helped Chu Ruohan to stand up, walked to the courtyard and knelt down. Chu Ruohan also bowed, but because the baby in her belly was already big, kneeling down seemed a little difficult.
Gu Junze supported her and whispered, "Be careful."
Seeing this, the eunuch smiled slightly, then unfolded the yellow silk and read aloud:
"By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: General Gu Junze is a man of great loyalty and bravery, serving his country with outstanding merit; his wife, Chu Ruohan, is virtuous and understanding, and possesses a deep understanding of justice. Consort Shu was negligent and sent people to disturb the general's residence, causing the general's wife to suffer injustice."
"I feel deeply sorry and am hereby bestowing upon Madam Chu a pair of auspicious phoenix hairpins, ten pairs of gold and silver hairpins, a seven-colored jade ruyi (ruyi), ten embroidered brocade quilts, fifty pieces of Shu brocade, thirty pieces of high-quality cloud brocade, twelve pieces of Loulan jade, one hundred taels of gold, and one thousand taels of silver, as a token of my regret. I decree this."
"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace." Chu Ruohan tried to calm down and thanked you for the grace.
Gu Junze took the imperial edict and said respectfully, "On behalf of my wife, I thank the emperor for his great grace."
The eunuch smiled and put away the jade scroll. He then took out a piece of gold-edged paper from his sleeve and whispered, "General, this is a private letter from the Emperor. Please take a look."
Gu Junze took the letter and nodded slightly.
Only after the eunuchs had left did Chu Ruohan breathe a sigh of relief. Looking at the treasures all over the yard, she felt at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
"With such a grand show, many people in the capital will be jealous."
"The emperor never pays attention to trivial matters when doing things." Gu Junze helped her back to the hall and ordered people to put away the gifts one by one.
Haitang and Yuling have already started to get busy, counting the priceless gifts, marveling at them as they go.
"Madam, look at this pair of phoenix hairpins. They are exquisitely carved and inlaid with the finest rubies!" Haitang held a small brocade box in her hand, her eyes wide open.
Chu Ruohan smiled and shook her head: "Put it away quickly, there's no way we can use all these things up."
Gu Junze opened the private letter and read it carefully. After a moment, he folded the letter and put it into his sleeve.
"Junze, did the emperor say anything else?" Chu Ruohan asked curiously.
Gu Junze glanced at the maids and servants around him and whispered, "Shufei has been demoted to a noble lady and sent to live in the cold palace. The matter of Prince Pingnan's mansion has also been thoroughly investigated, and the evidence is conclusive."
Chu Ruohan nodded slightly and said softly, "She probably didn't expect that the chess game she played would eventually trap herself."
"She only saw the military power in my hands, but forgot the emperor's determination."
Gu Junze said meaningfully, "The Emperor has been secretly rectifying the court and weakening the power of the princes. The Pingnan Palace is just the first one, and there will be more to come."
Chu Ruohan pondered, "So, our 'suffering' has actually helped the Emperor a lot?"
"I guess so." Gu Junze smiled, "The emperor is very satisfied with our cooperation, especially the good show you put on."
Allen Chu gently pushed him and said, "Who knows what you guys are planning behind my back? You made me worry for so long in vain."
"So this generous gift today can be considered as the emperor's apology to Madam." Gu Junze held her hand and said softly, "And it also shows his trust in us."
Just then, footsteps were heard outside the yard, and Song Ruyan rushed in hurriedly.
"Madam! I saw so many palace maids and so many boxes outside just now. Did something happen?" Song Ruyan looked curious.
Doctor Qian followed closely behind with a helpless look on his face. It was obvious that he was being pulled by Song Ruyan to jog all the way here.
Chu Ruohan gestured to Yuling to briefly explain the situation.
After hearing this, Song Ruyan opened her mouth wide: "Wow! The emperor is so generous!"
She rolled her eyes, moved closer to Chu Ruohan, and said with a smile, "Madam, with so many good things, can you give me a pair of gold hairpins?"
Chu Ruohan laughed and reached out to gently tap her forehead.
"Imperial gifts are not acceptable. You can choose from the items in the warehouse. Haitang and Yuling, you two can also pick a few."
"Okay!" Song Ruyan achieved her goal and pushed Yuling to open the warehouse, not forgetting to drag Doctor Qian along.
Chu Ruohan and Gu Junze smiled at each other. The mansion was becoming more and more lively.
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