Consort Ning shook her head: "I don't know either. The Ning family is now sealed off, so there's no way for you or me to ask. We should just keep to ourselves..."
At the same time, the Ning family felt as if the sky had fallen.
The Duke of Ningguo sat there without saying a word.
"Father! Please say something!" Empress Ning Guozhong, the emperor's father, pleaded anxiously.
Now, his wife and daughter are both dead; he is filled with anxiety, anger, and bitterness.
"Why……"
The Duke of Ningguo stood up: "What are you saying? A palace maid, with just a few words, managed to get His Majesty to order the Ning family to be sealed off. Don't you understand?"
“Father, this…” Ning Guozhong was shocked.
"Does His Majesty intend to... to... to destroy the Ning family?"
"Over the years, His Majesty has suppressed the family several times. It's not just because the Empress is out of favor and has no children. The Ye family has no successor, while the Ning family is still thriving. I'm afraid His Majesty doesn't want to see this situation," sighed the Duke of Ning.
"But... if Her Majesty the Empress were truly poisoned, it would be a miscarriage of justice. How... how could we be so stupid as to poison the Empress?"
"Let's see what happens. His Majesty might find out, or... or he might not." The Duke of Ningguo didn't know what His Majesty intended to do. But all he could do was wait.
Now, the innocent are innocent, but if they do something, they might anger His Majesty.
After a month of mourning, the empress's body was finally sent to the imperial mausoleum.
She was to be buried with the emperor in the future.
Even after the Empress has left, the palace cannot be quiet. We still have to remain in her place for twenty-seven months.
Of course, an emperor only needs to serve for one year, but as long as he is not too immoral, he will still hold onto that number.
Fortunately, the princes were all young and not yet of marriageable age, so it didn't cause any problems.
Among our relatives, those who were supposed to get married this year have already done so, and several who weren't yet engaged have also made their engagements.
This batch of young women were unlucky to enter the palace at this time. Although His Majesty could not possibly stop sending women to serve him in bed for the next few years, he could not have them give birth for at least a year or two.
It's all about timing, luck, and fate; there's nothing more to say.
After the Empress was sent away, the case was still under investigation, but the Ning family's garrison was withdrawn.
They didn't say anything, they just removed the gatekeeper.
As for the internal situation, that's something the Ning family has to figure out for themselves.
Shu Chengfeng arrived at Zhaochun Palace. Inside, the Seventh Princess was in the courtyard, being held by her wet nurse and looking at the leaves.
It's already September, but it's not cold right now.
The seventh princess didn't react much when she saw her father, the emperor.
This is quite common.
After everyone paid their respects, Shu Chengfeng touched his daughter's little hands and face and went inside.
Yan Nangui came over to greet her: "What's wrong? You look preoccupied?"
Shu Chengfeng took a deep breath, said nothing, and simply shook his head.
After drinking tea for a while, he said, "The Ning family's garrison has withdrawn."
"I've got it. You can't just execute the entire Ning family because of what a palace maid said." To say that the emperor would let the Ning family off the hook would be a joke.
The Ning family has truly fallen.
Yes, the troops have withdrawn now, but they haven't clarified what happened to the Empress.
What's going on outside, I don't know, but those in high positions of power in the court, and our relatives, always know.
This does not mean that the emperor did not care about this matter.
This doesn't mean the emperor won't pursue the matter.
Rather... it means the Ning family has fallen out of favor.
A family that can be shut down at any time means that the emperor no longer trusts or values you.
This is a signal.
Sometimes, the downfall of many large families originates from a single word or action by someone in power.
You'll gradually find things becoming increasingly difficult to handle.
This vicious cycle made life increasingly difficult.
After drinking the tea, Shu Chengfeng changed his clothes, lay down in the outer room, and closed his eyes.
Perhaps he was tired and didn't want to talk. He just wanted to lie down peacefully and listen to the occasional laughter of the Seventh Princess coming from the courtyard.
Her giggles are so heartwarming.
He dozed off for a while, but Yan Nangui didn't say anything, so he opened his eyes and looked over.
The man was looking at the account books, seemingly lost in thought.
"Why haven't you asked me? Do you really not want to know?"
Yan Nangui put down the account book, waved to Yuanhua, and said, "If you don't want to talk about it, why should I ask you? It's painful for you. Besides, I've already thought of that."
Yuanhua brought a damp cloth to wipe her hands, then led the others out.
"You've figured it out?" Shu Chengfeng looked at her.
"If it was done by a woman from the harem, His Majesty will certainly not show any mercy." Poisoning the Empress deserves immediate execution.
“Although the Empress Dowager has many ideas, there is no need for her to take action against the Empress. There is only one person who could do this and involve the previous dynasty. That person is gone, and His Majesty doesn’t want to mention it anymore, so why should I ask?” Yan Nangui said.
"Heh, you certainly know how to think." Shu Chengfeng lay back: "Grandfather, you must harbor resentment."
"It's not necessarily hatred. But there's always resentment. If you're the ruler and he's the subject, there's nothing to say. But if you only consider that he and the late emperor were related by marriage, and that you're the elder and the younger, then this resentment is understandable. Regardless of the Empress Dowager's character, in the Duke's eyes, she's wasted half her life and will continue to waste it. The affair between the late emperor and Consort Zhen was also a humiliation. Now..."
"Now that Consort Jing has passed away so young, regardless of the grievances involved, the Ye family's daughters have been ruined in this way. It's understandable that he would resent your Shu family."
"Hmph, you seem to see through everything. Or is it that I'm not good enough?"
"Whether you are good or not is another matter, the Duke's move was a way of venting his anger. But in the end, it also helped the Ning family. It's not good for powerful families to become too strong. The Ning family already has half of the civil officials in the court."
“The Ning family. Why don’t you mention that he also wronged the First Prince?” Shu Chengfeng closed his eyes.
“I believe you chose the crown prince based on ability, not on his maternal family.” Yan Nangui crumpled up a handkerchief and threw it over. “Without Duke Ye, the new emperor cannot become emperor. Without Duke Ye, you cannot become emperor either. Even if you don’t like this, if you ask me, I can only tell you the truth. Your maternal grandfather slapped you, but he also conveniently handed the Ning family to you. If I were you, I would accept it.”
Shu Chengfeng covered his face with the handkerchief and remained silent.
He wasn't particularly upset about being schemed against by his grandfather.
He just started to reminisce, reminiscing about when he was the crown prince, and reminiscing about after he became emperor.
"I... have sometimes been too harsh on the Ye family. Now that I think about it, I have wronged them."
"Do you want to listen to my advice?" Yan Nangui asked.
Shu Chengfeng chuckled a few times: "Let's try to persuade him."
Yan Nangui lay down next to him and said, "First of all, you have to admit that you are also a human being."
Shu Chengfeng put his arm around her waist: "Hmm, and then?"
"Then, as a human being, one will be afraid. The smarter one is, the more one will worry. And emperors always think more than others."
"The late emperor was a bad person, and he did things unethically. But he was still the emperor, the master of the Dayan Dynasty. Yet, because of the Ye family, his ambitions were suppressed. Without the Ye family, things would be even more difficult for you."
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