When Emperor Jingming asked this question, the looks his ministers gave him suddenly became subtle.
Your Majesty’s question is a bit broad.
Generally speaking, what kind of status can a woman who is a man's mistress have? Well, she is the daughter of a poor family, and most of them are not from a decent family.
When this happens, the key is how to deal with the man in the official career. Who would care about the background of a mistress?
There was another reason for the subtle looks in everyone's eyes: the rumor among the people was that the concubine's surname was Cui, and she was dressed like a young girl. Now there was a saying that the woman was Miss Cui, the daughter of Princess Rongyang.
This rumor was somewhat bizarre, and both the Zhu Mansion and the Dongping Marquis Mansion remained silent about it.
But there is no smoke without fire. Who knows?
Of course, whether it was true or not, they would not bring up their identity as women in such situations.
Emperor Jingming looked at his ministers coldly, not feeling embarrassed at all.
What's wrong? Isn't it okay for him to ask out of curiosity?
Emperor Jingming did not get an answer in the end, and left the court in annoyance amid the strange silence of his ministers.
After returning to Yu's study, Emperor Jingming sat on the dragon chair. The more he thought about it, the weirder it seemed.
The attitudes of those old guys are a bit strange.
After thinking about it, Emperor Jingming called out, "Pan Hai."
Pan Hai hurriedly said, "The servant is here."
"This matter is so hot, many people must know about it, right? Go and find out the details."
Pan Hai was the commander-in-chief of the East Factory, so gathering intelligence was no problem for him. He soon came back with a strange look on his face to report.
"What's wrong?" After years of companionship, not only did Pan Hai understand Emperor Jingming, but Emperor Jingming also understood Pan Hai. As soon as he saw his expression, he knew there was a problem.
Pan Hai was silent for only a moment, then he reported truthfully: "Your Majesty, the woman involved with Zhu Ziyu is the daughter of Cui Xu and Princess Rongyang..."
Seeing that Emperor Jingming did not respond for a moment, Pan Hai added considerately: "Your niece..."
Emperor Jingming almost grabbed the inkstone on the dragon table and smashed Pan Hai's head with it.
Pan Hai, this idiot, do you think he is too old and his brain is not as good as before? Of course he knows that Rong Yang's daughter is his niece!
Emperor Jingming stood up and paced back and forth in his study in anger at the news. Even the notebook hidden under the pile of memorials lost its appeal.
What's the point of a storybook? Is it more shocking that the niece of a king is mixed up with a married man?
If such a story appeared in a novel, he would laugh and call it ridiculous.
"Are you sure?" Emperor Jingming asked with an embarrassed look on his face.
Pan Hai lowered his head: "Princess Rongyang went to the Zhu family, and someone from Cining Palace went to the Dongping Marquis's mansion..."
Emperor Jingming was surprised again: "What does this have to do with the Dongping Marquis's Mansion?"
Recently, the Dongping Marquis's Mansion seemed to appear in his ears frequently, so much so that he was impressed by the Xunchang Marquis's Mansion. He even remembered that there was a fourth lady in their mansion who had won his jade ruyi.
I don't even know if that unlucky girl is married yet - Emperor Jingming suddenly felt that he was worrying too much and came back to his senses in embarrassment.
Pan Hai also looked strange when he mentioned the Dongping Marquis's Mansion: "Your Majesty, Zhu Ziyu's first wife is the eldest daughter of the Dongping Marquis's Mansion. After the incident, the Dongping Marquis took his daughter back to the mansion."
Emperor Jingming was silent for a while, then stood up and went to Cining Palace.
People become afraid of cold as they get older. When the weather gets cold, the queen mother stays in the room with a dragon burning and never goes out.
In the past, she would listen to a play, copy a scripture, and eat fresh fruits and vegetables that were not available outside. Her life was peaceful and comfortable. But today, the Queen Mother's mood was like a cloudy day in winter, extremely bad.
"The Emperor has arrived—"
The empress dowager, who had just closed her eyes to rest, immediately opened them at the sound of the message.
Emperor Jingming strode in.
"Is the Queen Mother resting?"
The Queen Mother calmed herself down and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, please take a seat."
Emperor Jingming sat down next to the empress dowager, picked up the thin blanket that had fallen to the ground and covered her knees with it.
Even in a house as warm as spring, the Queen Mother's knees could not bear the cold in winter.
Emperor Jingming remembered why.
At that time, he was still a helpless prince. Because of the slander of the treacherous concubine, his father was furious and was punished by being forced to kneel in the snow.
It was the Empress Dowager who heard the news and rushed over, kneeling beside him to plead with the Emperor for a full hour, and finally persuaded the Emperor to change his mind.
But from then on, the Queen Mother suffered from a leg disease.
Emperor Jingming thought about this and silently swallowed all the questions. He reached out and gently squeezed the empress dowager's legs.
"Why is the Emperor here at this time?"
"Nothing, I just miss my mother."
Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother's brows relaxed and smile wrinkles appeared at the corners of her eyes.
Emperor Jingming didn't say anything. He just sat with the Empress Dowager for a while and then got up and left.
As soon as Emperor Jingming left, the empress dowager's relaxed brows wrinkled and her face darkened.
No one knows a child better than his mother. Although the emperor is not her biological son, she has brought him up since he was young. Now, at a suitable time, not too early or too late, not too late or during festivals, the emperor suddenly came and left without saying anything. There must be something wrong.
The Queen Mother thought about it for a moment and figured out the reason.
The emperor must have heard about Mingyue.
When she thought of Cui Mingyue, the Queen Mother's face turned cold.
This girl is so bold and reckless, she is extremely disappointed!
"Empress Dowager, Princess Rongyang and Miss Cui are here to see you."
The Queen Mother waved her hands and said coldly, "Let them go back."
Princess Rongyang never needed to be informed when entering the palace. This was the first time she was sent back without meeting the empress dowager.
When they returned to the Princess's Mansion, Princess Rongyang immediately became furious. She picked up the teacup at hand and threw it at Cui Mingyue, angrily scolding: "Look at what you have done!"
Fortunately, the teacup was empty and no tea splashed on me.
Cui Mingyue endured the pain and cried aggrievedly: "Mother, I really know that I was wrong. Do you, grandma, never want to see me again?"
Princess Rongyang glared at her daughter angrily: "You have done such a shameful thing, and you still expect the Queen Mother to treat you as the apple of her eye? Give up this delusion as soon as possible, stay in the mansion and don't go out to embarrass yourself!"
Cui Mingyue bit her lip hard and then regretted it.
If I had known earlier, I would have secretly helped Yang Houcheng and Jiang Zhan to get to know each other, and it would have been much safer to hide behind rather than do it myself.
"My daughter was confused for a moment. Who would have known that a man who looked gentle and reliable could be a liar..."
Princess Rongyang's eyes suddenly flashed with coldness. Thinking of the fate of the Zhu family being impeached by the historians, she suppressed the violence in her heart.
At this time, the Zhu Mansion was filled with gloom after receiving the imperial edict.
When Zhu Ziyu heard the decree that he would "never be employed for life", he fainted immediately. He was like a dead fish that had been brought ashore, lying straight under the sun, emitting a disgusting stench.
No one was there to help him.
Mrs. Zhu suffered from angina and she slowly slid to the ground, holding her chest, causing the maids and servants to scream in surprise.
Zhu Shaoqing walked up to Zhu Ziyu in a daze and kicked him hard but he still felt unsatisfied.
The official position was demoted by two ranks, the eldest son with a promising career was cut off, and the Zhu family became the laughing stock of the entire capital...
What evil had he done to give birth to such an evil son!
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