The Crown Princess is related to the reputation of the royal family and even more to the succession of the emperor. Emperor Jingming is very concerned about these rumors outside the palace.
In order to quell the rumors, he originally planned to let Jinlinwei commander Han Ran send Lu Chuchu back safely. Regardless of whether this princess was a real princess or a fake one, at least a simple statement of "you've made the wrong choice" would quell the people's discussions.
There is an endless stream of gossip in the capital, and I'm sure the people will forget this one soon.
Who would have thought that the Northern Qi envoy living in the embassy heard the news and ran over to identify her, and burst into tears when he rushed in front of Lu Chuchu, completely confirming her identity as the Princess of Northern Qi.
In this case, Emperor Jingming not only had to accept it reluctantly, but also had to agree to the request of the Northern Qi envoy: ask the Great Zhou to send soldiers to escort Princess Qiluo back to Northern Qi.
In terms of comprehensive national strength, the Great Zhou was naturally superior, but the Northern Qi people were warlike, and when a war really broke out, the Great Zhou would often suffer great losses and spend a lot of money.
Fortunately, although there have been constant minor frictions between the two countries over the years, a large-scale war has never broken out, which has given Da Zhou the energy to deal with Nanlan with all its strength.
Under such circumstances, Emperor Jingming certainly did not want to offend Northern Qi. After a little thought, he ordered Jiang Zhan to escort Princess Qiluo back to Northern Qi and quickly get rid of this hot potato.
The team escorting Princess Qiluo did not make a big fuss, but was still discovered by the sharp-eyed citizens of the capital.
This only intensified the rumors.
What no one noticed was that Miss Xiu, the head shopkeeper of Lushengxiang, who had already closed her shop, filed a complaint to Shuntian Prefecture.
The complaint was a bit strange. It was against the person who started the rumor, accusing him of having ulterior motives and damaging the reputation of the owner of Lu Sheng Xiang, which led to the closure of Lu Sheng Xiang.
However, there is no specific defendant in the case.
Shuntian prefect Zhen Shicheng actually accepted this petition and took the case seriously.
In the blink of an eye, more than a month has passed, and it is already March in the spring, and even the once-in-three-years spring examination has passed.
Logically speaking, at this time, the people in the capital should be most concerned about the parade of the top scholar, the flower picking of the second place, or talking about the eldest son of the Dongping Earl's Mansion, Qiong Lin, who got drunk after the banquet and fell off his horse on the way home and broke his leg, thus severing his chance of official career from then on.
However, the trouble with the Crown Princess not only did not pass, but it became more and more serious.
The first crime of the Crown Princess was that she colluded with Northern Qi's spies, the second crime was that she had a blemish on her reputation because she had rejected an engagement, and now the third crime has occurred: droughts have occurred in many places since last year, and until now even the capital has not seen a drop of rain. This is a warning from God that he is dissatisfied with the Crown Princess.
Jiang Si was delighted to hear this rumor.
Ah Man stamped her feet in anger: "Why are you still laughing? It's because you are in the palace and it's inconvenient to go out, otherwise I would tear those people's mouths apart!"
Jiang Si glanced at her and said calmly: "Can you tear the mouths of everyone in the world with just one hand?"
"What should we do? Should we just let them slander your reputation? I have heard that someone has already impeached you during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong..."
"You are well-informed. Well, these things are none of your business. Calm down."
Seeing Jiang like this, Ah Man had no choice but to give up.
Emperor Jingming really began to have a headache because of the censors who were jumping around and the officials who were ready to make moves.
He knew in his heart that this was inseparable from the problem that had suddenly been decided upon and left behind by the crown prince.
When the imperial edict was issued, all officials dared to be angry but not to speak out. Later, when the prince avoided the fate of the dog swallowing the sun and it was believed that it was destiny, no one dared to say anything.
But keeping silent doesn't mean you have no ideas.
Now, whenever the Crown Princess encounters trouble, they all sharpen their knives.
If we can't take action against the Crown Prince, can't we take action against the Crown Princess?
Besides, the crown prince is so young and handsome, and the emperor has dealt with all the princes, so the crown prince's position should be secure. If the crown princess is killed, his daughters (granddaughters, nieces) will have a chance.
Thinking of this, the ministers became even more motivated.
Emperor Jingming was sitting on the dragon chair, listening to a censor impeaching the Crown Princess with spit flying all over his face, and he felt drowsy.
It's nothing, I've heard this kind of talk too many times these days and my ears are numb.
Emperor Jingming was not without anger.
The Crown Princess is colluding with Northern Qi spies?
It is said that Princess Qiluo would get a sticky tooth even when drinking cold water. If Northern Qi had sent such a person as a spy, the country would have been destroyed long ago.
Even such trivial matter as the Crown Princess breaking off the engagement was brought up to upset him. Have these idiots forgotten that he was the one who gave the nod to the marriage when the Seventh Prince was still the Prince of Yan?
Didn't he know that the Crown Princess had broken off the engagement at that time?
He was now bringing up a marriage that he approved of. Was this aimed at the Crown Princess? This was a slap in his face!
As for the drought, it is even more ridiculous. They talk as if there is good weather and good harvest every year. It is nothing but finding excuses to accuse someone of a crime.
When the third censor came forward to list similar crimes against the Crown Princess, Emperor Jingming could no longer bear it and interrupted, "The Crown Princess is just a weak woman, how could she collude with the Northern Qi people? My dear minister, you worry too much--"
Unexpectedly, the famous censor was impatient and banged his head against the pillar before Emperor Jingming could finish his words.
What was even more unexpected was that there was a group of people standing next to the censor, and no one reacted quickly enough to pull the man back. The censor's head was immediately broken and bleeding, and he was actually killed.
After this happened, it would not be so easy for Emperor Jingming to deceive the Crown Princess.
At this point, it no longer matters whether the Crown Princess is colluding with the Northern Qi people.
Rumors can melt gold, and people's words are scary. If everyone says you are guilty, then you are guilty. If everyone says you caused the drought, then you are the culprit of the drought.
Emperor Jingming glanced at the bloodstains on the golden brick, then walked away with a gloomy face.
The news that the Crown Princess had died by hitting her head against a pillar in the hall spread quickly.
Someone came to Cining Palace and invited Emperor Jingming to come over.
Seeing the Queen Mother, Emperor Jingming suppressed his annoyance and forced a smile: "What do you want from me, Mother?"
There was a cup of tea, still steaming, in front of the Queen Mother.
She picked up the teacup and said in a low voice: "I heard that You Shi died because he impeached the Crown Princess and hit the pillar--"
"Has your mother also heard about it?" Emperor Jingming was very upset when he mentioned this.
Don't think he doesn't know that those censors are always seeking death because they are upright and incorruptible?
Haha, it's just to gain a good reputation by stepping on him, the monarch.
It makes one angry just thinking about it, but the person is dead, what else can he do? If he makes a fuss about the censors' family, he will be immediately labeled as a tyrant.
The Queen Mother's eyes flickered: "The Crown Princess's affair has been making a lot of noise. I am not deaf, how could I not have heard of it?"
Emperor Jingming sighed: "I have made my mother worry again."
The Queen Mother took a sip of tea and said calmly, "It doesn't matter whether I am worried or not. What matters is what the Emperor plans to do."
Seeing that Emperor Jingming was silent, the Queen Mother put down her teacup and said earnestly, "Your Majesty has just chosen the crown prince, and the Crown Princess has caused such a disturbance. It is more difficult to prevent the people from talking than to prevent a river from flooding. It may not be easy to calm the people's discussions. Your Majesty should think carefully about how this matter will end."
"My son understands." Emperor Jingming left Cining Palace with a heavy heart.