Shu Zhongjing's personality was very flawed.
There's no doubt he's suspicious. He's also vain; he's capable of disgusting things, yet he still cares about his reputation.
Therefore, he couldn't do many things too thoroughly.
This led to a situation where, over the years, he was initially evenly matched with the Ye family and other senior officials. Now that the Crown Prince has grown up, even he is finding it increasingly difficult to compete with him.
The situation is right in front of us: should we compromise or stand firm?
Insisting that there was no evidence only further enraged the Ye family and the Crown Prince.
Even though Shu Zhongjing had a thousand desires to depose the empress and the crown prince, he had no way to explain it.
An emperor cannot do whatever he wants.
According to ancestral rules, the eldest son succeeds to the throne.
The principle of primogeniture in the absence of a legitimate heir is an ironclad rule.
There is no way to select the most virtuous among the princes, because you don't know who is virtuous.
People all over the world have different ideas.
So he could only start by weakening the influence of the Empress and the Crown Prince. But this time, it was clearly unsuccessful as well.
The Empress's false accusation and confinement led to Consort Zhou's downfall.
If His Majesty refuses to punish Consort Zhou, then he will inevitably have to give the Empress's lineage an explanation.
Shu Zhongjing smashed half of his study in anger, but in the end, he had no choice but to issue an imperial decree.
"Consort Zhou plotted to murder the imperial heir..."
He paused for a long time: "Demoted to Attendant-in-Ordinary. Residing in the Jade Pavilion."
Fu Yu Ge is located at the northernmost part of the palace.
That was the most remote and coldest place in the palace. It was also known as the Cold Palace.
Once you're inside, you basically can't get out.
Consort Zhou suddenly became a palace attendant, which was a complete fall from grace.
And the person behind it all won this time.
The Empress recovered well, and Consort Zhou was sent to the Cold Palace.
The seventh and eighth princes' status plummeted instantly.
Consort Zhen could only recuperate from her illness.
At the Seventh Prince's residence, Shu Yufeng used his sword to chop a tree in the courtyard into pieces, and the sword was also ruined.
That was a gift from His Majesty a few years ago.
He leaned wearily against the pillar, but didn't say a word.
The eunuch could not bear to watch any longer and sent someone to invite Cheng Yuluo over.
By the time A Luo arrived, Shu Yufeng had already calmed down.
He saw A'Luo and waved: "A'Luo is here."
"Your Highness... I know about what happened in the palace. Please take care." A'Luo looked at this man, who was calm but dejected, and couldn't quite describe the feeling in her heart.
Shu Yufeng smiled and said, "I've already been disfigured, what is there to look forward to?"
In truth, Shu Yufeng felt more frustrated than anything else.
He wasn't feeling sad. He knew he was wrong, but he didn't know how to control his emotions.
“Perhaps… His Majesty’s anger will subside in time, and the Empress will be alright,” A’Luo said.
She thought to herself that all of this might be a scheme by the Empress and the Crown Prince.
Her master is the crown prince; she should be happy.
The Seventh Prince is truly useless now.
But the truth is, she couldn't be happy.
Shu Yufeng said nothing, but simply led her into the house.
All A'Luo could do was stay by her side; she couldn't say anything.
The Crown Prince's residence is a completely different place.
In the past few days, Consort Ye had been somewhat uneasy. After all, the Empress's incident could only be detrimental to her.
Now that the Empress is alright, she naturally feels relieved.
The people in the Crown Prince's residence were unaware of what had happened.
But now I know.
Consort Zhen suffered a miscarriage, and His Majesty began to suspect the Empress.
However, it was later found out that it was Zhou Jingfei who did it.
As for how it was found out, how many people really care?
However, from then on, Consort Zhou was no longer in the harem.
This is truly a case of additions and subtractions; just as Sang Wanfei was added, Zhou Jingfei was lost.
The unlucky ones were the seventh and eighth princes, so the families in the Crown Prince's residence didn't care anymore.
From these events, the geese flying south pieced together an answer.
The conclusion was drawn that the Seventh Prince had been completely deposed.
As for the Eighth Prince, unless he can act like that, he's useless.
Over the years, the Empress has been suppressed by His Majesty, and among the older members of the harem, it is inevitable that some people look down on her.
But through this experience, they understood a truth: an empress is always an empress.
As long as Lady Ye and the Crown Prince remain in power, her position is unshakeable.
Everyone was much more polite when they greeted the Empress.
As for the newly arrived Consort Wan, she was extremely respectful.
Consort Zhen was the first to suspect the Empress, and she was naturally dissatisfied with the outcome.
We'll have to investigate thoroughly behind the scenes.
His Majesty also wants to investigate, putting him in such a passive position, so he has no choice but to investigate as well.
Whether it can be found out, or whether the found out is true, depends on time.
The wild geese returning south don't care about these things.
Because the old lady of the Li family eventually had to go to the estate to recuperate.
Meng Jianghe submitted a letter, deeply reflecting on his mistakes, including lax management of his household.
The memorial was written with earnest words, expressing a desire to kowtow to His Majesty.
Shu Zhongjing was naturally satisfied with what he saw.
After all, Madam Li was the matriarch of the Meng family and had given birth to two sons, so sending her away was only a temporary measure.
After some hesitation, Li decided to go with them anyway.
After all, staying in the Meng family would likely mean being tormented to death.
Once she left, she would never have the chance to return to the Meng family.
The last thing Du Juan did for Yan Nangui was to give Old Madam Li a medicine.
It wasn't a deadly poison, and it was even similar to what Yan Nangui had drunk back then; it was something that could cause a woman to have incessant menstruation.
If a woman is pregnant, she may miscarry; if she is not pregnant, it will severely damage her vital energy.
The geese flying south carried double the amount of blood, enough to cause both Li's aunt and niece to experience continuous menstruation.
However, since she was not pregnant, she would not suffer a severe miscarriage that could lead to massive bleeding and death.
Yes, even though Madam Li is called "Old Madam," she's only in her forties. Even if she's gone through menopause, she can still have her period again.
The cuckoo departed silently. Leaving the village was all too easy.
She received a sum of money, moved her entire family to the south, and never returned.
When she left, she left only a letter. That letter was written by Yan Nangui himself.
There's only one sentence: If only you had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place?
When Madam Li and Madam Li saw these words, they almost fainted.
Even after consulting a doctor, it was impossible to salvage the situation completely.
Both of them need to undergo a long period of recuperation.
Especially for Ms. Li, whose health was already ruined last winter, this is now the worst of her life.
Even if her aunt was Madam Li, how could she bear to take such meticulous care of herself, like a wild goose returning south, with ginseng soup constantly on her lips?
She was destined to be a pawn.
Hate, or perhaps regret, you must bear it all yourself.
As for Madam Li, she might be able to return to the Meng family, but she will never be the noblewoman she once was.
The past grievances of the returning geese have been somewhat resolved and some avenged.
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