The court officials knew that His Majesty would not easily punish General Yan.
Once he submits a memorial to apologize, he will have people speaking up for him.
Of course, some people will try to take advantage of the situation and bring him down, but most people will target Rong Ning instead.
Since General Yan himself has said so, it means he has no qualms about it.
Soon, more memorials impeaching the eldest princess were sent to the Beichen Palace.
After all, she was the eldest princess, the late emperor's own sister, and deserved to be treated this way.
Inside Ruining Palace, the Empress Dowager sipped her tea: "Now I understand. Yan's fierce words earlier were all for today, weren't they?"
"Yes, Consort Yan is quite shrewd," said Granny Fei with a smile.
"Hmph! Rong Ning has been arrogant and domineering for so many years, and it's not a bad thing that she's finally fallen. Consort Yan also has some nerve, daring to make her a concubine." The Empress Dowager sneered.
"I suppose His Majesty tacitly approved it. After all, General Yan has never made a mistake over the years and has been utterly loyal. When Consort Yan entered the residence, the situation was still unclear. It was a different story," said Granny Fei.
"Yes, the Yan family is indeed loyal. As for Consort Yan, she has a bit of a temper, but she's not one to cause trouble." The Empress Dowager was fairly satisfied, mainly because she couldn't stand in Consort Ye's way.
"In your opinion, how should His Majesty handle Rong Ning's matter?"
"In my opinion, it seems we'll have to go with the flow. Princess Rongning has really done nothing good these past years. The Yan family has completely abandoned her," said Granny Fei.
"It's not like now, they've long since grown tired of her, haven't they? Just you wait and see, Consort Yan probably won't let this go. There might even be something fishy about the cause of Lady Lan's death back then. I investigated it all back then, and it was all their scheme to marry Consort Yan into the Meng family. They schemed and schemed, and she's still alive, but they've offended her deeply. I bet they never imagined that Consort Yan would be able to enter the Crown Prince's residence." The Empress Dowager laughed.
“Yes, I still remember that when you issued the decree, she rushed into the palace to see the late Emperor,” said Granny Fei.
"Hmph, the late emperor. Back then, the late emperor trampled the face of the Lan and Yan families to the ground. He sent that troublemaker to the Yan family and caused Lan's early death. I don't know how much Yan Lingyun hates her. Now, with such an opportunity, it's no wonder that Yan Lingyun disregards his reputation and is willing to submit a memorial."
Granny Fei smiled ingratiatingly, thinking to herself that seeing her in such a bad situation was truly delightful.
Dai Yangguang, after inspecting the area, had just finished washing and changing clothes when Yan Lingyun, who had returned to the mansion, was served by his concubine, Miao.
She was over thirty years old, not exceptionally beautiful, but possessed a serene and gentle temperament.
However, she was drugged by Rong Ning back then, rendering her infertile. She still has no children.
Yan Lingyun has had two concubines at the border over the years, one surnamed Miao and the other surnamed Qi, neither of whom are young anymore.
Both of them are relatively quiet by nature. Although there are bound to be some comparisons and jealousy, they are very limited.
"Master really submitted a memorial? Why bother..." Madam Miao served him tea while wiping his hair.
"If Nan Gui wants it, let her have it. I've wronged her too much over the years." How could he not know what happened at the palace banquet?
He knew perfectly well that this was what his daughter meant.
She harbored resentment towards him and hatred towards Rong Ning.
“The eldest daughter… has had it tough too.” Madam Miao had served him for over a decade; how could she be completely unaware?
It's just that I've been away from home all these years.
"It's my fault as a father that I've failed my child," Yan Lingyun said, and then stopped talking.
Miao was sensible and naturally didn't ask any questions.
But she knew in her heart that her husband had also hardened his heart.
Shu Chengfeng's reply to Yan Lingyun's apology was very simple: although the Yan family had indeed been in some chaos in recent years, the general was leading troops in the field and could not attend to it.
Moreover, matters concerning the inner quarters are not something a general should concern himself with.
Since things are in chaos, let's set things right. From now on, Rong Ning can no longer be called a wife, but only a concubine.
However, since she was a royal princess, she did not need to perform the rites of a concubine.
However, Chengqi cannot be recorded in the Yan family genealogy.
Back then, in order to curry favor with her, the Yan family practically treated her as equal to the Lan family, and she wasn't even considered a second wife anymore.
If Lady Lan hadn't given birth to two legitimate sons and one legitimate daughter, she probably would have been recorded as a concubine.
Now that everything has turned out the other way around, Rong Ning naturally refuses to accept it, but what can she do?
The Empress Dowager and His Majesty have made up their minds; she will become the biggest laughingstock.
On the day the imperial edict was issued, Yan Nangui sent Yuanhua and Baiwei Shuanzi, along with the old women from the village.
They went to Yan's house together.
"Her Highness Consort Yan has said that now that the chaos has been set right, there should be rules in the household. The Old Madam is the most respected. Currently, the eldest branch of the family has neither a legitimate wife nor a legitimate daughter. However, they do have a daughter-in-law. Since the daughter-in-law is not present, the Second Madam will temporarily act in charge. The power to manage the household affairs can be either exercised by the Old Madam herself or by the Second Madam. But everything must be thoroughly reviewed. The rules cannot be disrupted."
Yuanhua smiled and said to the old lady, "Consort Yan said that everything in the house is still up to you, Madam. If you have no objections, we are just taking stock of the late Madam's belongings and looking after the affairs of the eldest son's family."
"Of course, it's only right." Regardless of what she was thinking, the old lady appeared quite pleased.
Rong Ning had already fallen ill from anger and still hadn't gotten up.
Yan Jinsi and Yan Jinfei were both there, and their faces were both quite grim.
"So this is Consort Yan! No matter what, my mother is still the eldest princess! Does that mean the royal family is no longer legitimate?" Yan Jinsi said angrily.
"Princess, please calm down. The position of the Eldest Princess is naturally secure. However, what we are discussing now is the Yan family's affairs. If the Eldest Princess is no longer willing to be a concubine of the Yan family, then it is the Yan family that will release her," Bai Wei said calmly.
Yan Jinsi was so angry that her vision blurred: "You dare to come here! You wretched servant!"
He was about to hit her.
Bai Wei dodged, saying, "Princess, I am a palace maid. If anything happens to me, even though I am just a palace maid, it will still be considered. You are already walking on thin ice, so there is no need for you to do this."
"You...you! What have I done wrong to you? You treacherous, lowly servant!" Yan Jinsi was furious.
“Princess. You have never treated me badly, but have you forgotten Liu Shi? The Liu Shi who drowned. I was almost beaten to death for a mistake I made back then. If she hadn’t saved me, I wouldn’t be alive. I’m not a good person, so I betrayed you. From the beginning, I never intended to treat you as my master. You are foolish and arrogant. If it weren’t for you, you wouldn’t be living like this.” Bai Wei looked at her coldly.
Yan Jinsi was stunned for a moment: "You...you are actually..."
"Of course, that's not all. I know there's no future in following you, and it'll all end badly sooner or later. Think about it yourself, where have all those people who served you gone?" Bai Wei said calmly.
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