Most of the people present did not know the secret of Dingyuan Marquis Mansion until this time, but there were two or three people who had heard the conversation between Madam Gu and Gu Yuan at the Meridian Gate before.
Now thinking back on the emperor's "No wonder", these people couldn't help but think deeply.
No wonder Madam Gu submitted a memorial to impeach Gu Yuan!
No wonder when the news of Gu Ce opening the city gates to surrender to the enemy came eight years ago, even before the late emperor made a judgment, Madam Gu submitted a memorial to ask Gu Ce to separate from the Marquisate, and every mansion in the capital knew about it...
At that time, everyone believed that Mrs. Gu made such a difficult decision for the benefit of the entire Gu family and to cut off her tail in order to survive.
But if Gu Ce was not her biological son, then her choice back then would have to be thought-provoking, especially when considering the letter of apology she wrote today, her thoughts were already obvious.
This Madam Gu is truly a cold-hearted and ungrateful person!
Madam Gu was drenched in sweat, as if she had just been fished out of the water.
She was a perceptive person and had sensed the emperor's dislike for her from his "No wonder", and her pupils shrank sharply.
What happened today was completely beyond her expectations, and she had a very bad feeling, and her heart was beating like a drum.
Madam Gu dug her nails deep into her palms, almost breaking her skin, but she didn't feel any pain.
As she was feeling anxious, she heard Zhao Rang's sharp questioning voice again: "Madam Gu, what is going on?"
"The former Marquis of Dingyuan, Gu Ce, was not born to the Madam Dowager, but he inherited the title. Could it be that the Gu family used a concubine to succeed the legitimate wife?!"
Even when questioning, Zhao Rang's voice was still slow and unhurried, but these few words revealed a thunderous power that seemed to vibrate the air in the water pavilion.
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room was in an uproar.
Everyone looked at the Gu family members present with subtle expressions, and it was unclear whether they were more shocked, more contemptuous, or more pity.
No one expected that in just one day, after the Feng family and the Yu family, another family was facing the crisis of collapse.
Gu Jian's face changed drastically, and he felt something was wrong.
Patriarch Gu, who was standing aside with his hands hanging down, trembled violently, felt anxious and sweated profusely.
To make a concubine the legitimate wife disrupts the status of wives and concubines; to make a concubine succeed to the throne is not legitimate and is a great crime.
This law was set by Emperor Taizu himself.
Emperor Taizu was a romantic man throughout his life and had many children. He treated both legitimate and illegitimate children equally, including his own princes, and he always believed that the position should be given to the most capable one.
However, after the establishment of the Dajing Dynasty, some noble families followed suit and made it unclear who was legitimate and who was illegitimate.
Later, the descendants of the Yongcheng Marquis's Mansion caused a murder. In order to gain the title, the fourth concubine's son first poisoned his two legitimate brothers and one illegitimate brother, and then assassinated his brothers' grandchildren one by one, leaving only the fourth branch of the male family in the mansion. Finally, because his legitimate mother gave birth to a younger brother, he even poisoned his biological father because of his cruel heart.
Emperor Taizu and Yong Chengbo were close friends. When he heard the news of Yong Chengbo's death, he was extremely sad. He felt that Yong Chengbo was in good health and his death was too sudden, so he ordered the imperial physician and the coroner to perform an autopsy. Only then did the truth come to light, causing an uproar across the country.
After that incident, Emperor Taizu reflected for a long time and finally accepted the advice of several great Confucian scholars and used the law to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate children to serve as a warning to others.
In a royal family or noble family, the title should be inherited by the legitimate son. If there is no legitimate son, the title will be inherited by the illegitimate son, and the title will be downgraded by one level. For example, a duke will be downgraded to a marquis, and a marquis will be downgraded to an earl.
If anyone passes a concubine's son off as a legitimate wife, his title will be taken away.
Emperor Taizu was always decisive and resolute in his conduct. Once he established a law, there was no room for negotiation or evasion, and he himself set an example.
Taizu had a illegitimate son, the tenth son of the emperor, who later became Prince Cheng, Chuchi. Although he was not as brilliant as Taizu, he was quite talented and capable of both literature and martial arts compared to his other brothers. However, Emperor Taizu gritted his teeth and gave the throne to his only legitimate son, the late Emperor Chuluo.
For example, in the Weibei Marquis's Mansion, because the old marquis had no legitimate son but only two illegitimate sons, he had no choice but to adopt the eldest son of his second legitimate brother when he was sixty years old and asked for the title of crown prince for his nephew.
This is the case with other palaces, and Dingyuan Marquis Mansion is naturally no exception.
If the late Marquis Dingyuan Gu Ce was the son of a concubine, then the Marquis Dingyuan's mansion was using a concubine's son as the legitimate heir.
The clan leader's entire body was shaking. He looked at Madam Gu with almost resentment, with surging anger in the corners of his brows and eyes.
Is this woman crazy?!
Can you say such things casually?! Madam Gu also thought of this and panicked. Her half-closed eyes were wandering. She didn't dare to look up, let alone look at the emperor.
When she said those words to Gu Yuan before, she never thought that she would have to confront him in front of the emperor. She just wanted to humiliate Gu Yuan and make him be criticized by others.
But now that I'm in front of the emperor, I can't say these words casually.
Madam Gu didn't know how to respond for a moment.
Zhao Rang kept smiling, and in a gentle tone, he reminded her, "Madam Gu, the emperor is asking you a question."
Madam Gu: “…”
She didn't dare to look up at the emperor. She could only hear the parrot quacking, as if mocking her. The looks from other people around her made her feel uneasy.
The emperor said nothing and looked indifferent. He picked up the teacup and slowly used the tea lid to wipe away the foam on the tea.
"Are you saying those angry words in front of the emperor?" Zhao Rang's tone suddenly turned cold.
"..." Madam Gu was speechless again, feeling uneasy.
She knelt in front of the palace gate to plead guilty to the emperor on behalf of Gu Yuan, so the words she said in front of the palace gate were actually equivalent to those she said in front of the emperor.
This is a breach of etiquette in front of the emperor.
Zhao Rang casually swung the long silver whisk in his hand and reminded her coldly, "Madam Gu, you'd better think about it before answering."
Boom boom! Madam Gu's heart was beating wildly in her chest, each beat faster than the last. Her pupils were throbbing, and her forehead was covered with cold sweat.
The expression on her face changed wonderfully, and her conflicted emotions were obvious. Almost everyone present could see it and had a rough idea of what was going on.
Even the question of whether Gu Ce is her biological son can be so entangled, so there is only one answer -
Gu Ce was indeed not born to Madam Gu, but was a concubine's son who inherited the title as the legitimate son! Everyone had different and complicated expressions.
No one had expected that a memorial from an ancestor to his grandson would lead to such a secret of the marquisate. In front of the emperor, even if the Dingyuan Marquisate wanted to cover it up, it would be impossible.
The clan leader at the side quickly lifted his robe and knelt down, kneeling between Gu Yuan and Madam Gu.
"Your Majesty," the clan leader said anxiously, his breathing disordered, "Gu Ce is not a concubine's son, but the son of the old marquis's first wife."
"This little Qi is just..." He frowned and thought for a long time before slowly uttering two words, "second wife."
No, she is not. Madam Gu shouted and retorted in her heart, her dry and white lips moved slightly, and these words were just on her lips, and she was about to shout them out.
The familiar yet unfamiliar voice and appearance of her elder sister appeared in Mrs. Gu's eyes again, and her heart ached.
When she was fifteen, she met Gu Xuan. She liked him at first sight, but Gu Xuan only had her elder sister in his eyes and heart.
She really didn't understand what was so good about her elder sister, and couldn't figure out why Gu Xuan liked her elder sister. She was troubled by this every day, and even after her elder sister died, it was still a thorn in her heart.
The demon of her life!
There was confusion in Madam Gu's cloudy pupils and her emotions were close to insanity. A terrible storm was brewing rapidly. Her body was shaking like a sieve, and even the pearls and jade on her head trembled constantly, making a slight rustling sound.
The drama suddenly took a turn for the worse.
Everyone else in the water pavilion was silent, watching quietly and coldly, and the Feng brothers were busy with their own affairs and had no intention of paying attention to the troubles of the Gu family.
"Second wife?" The emperor raised his eyebrows slightly, his expression indifferent, no one could tell whether he was happy or angry. He just turned around and asked the chief eunuch Zhao Rang, "Did Gu Xuan remarry?"
Zhao Rang frowned slightly, pretending to recall something, and shook his head: "No."
Gu Xuan did not need to report his remarriage to the court, but if he wanted to request an imperial decree for his second wife, he had to submit a memorial.
The emperor sneered softly, looked down at the clan leader kneeling on the ground, and said in a deep voice: "Do you know that lying in front of the emperor is a crime of deceiving the emperor?"
The others also had doubts in their hearts and looked at each other.
After all, no one had ever heard that the old Marquis Gu Xuan had a "original wife". Obviously, it was Gu An who wanted to avoid the charge of "using a concubine as the legitimate wife" and was afraid that the Marquis's mansion would be stripped of its title, so he insisted on saying that the concubine was the original wife.
Only Chu Yi, who was sitting opposite the emperor, looked calm and composed, with a faint smile on his lips, as warm and gentle as the gentle breeze and bright moon.
His eyelashes drooped slightly, as if he was looking at the chess game on the board, making it impossible to see his eyes clearly.
"Your Majesty..." The patriarch wanted to explain something, but the emperor didn't want to listen.
The emperor frowned his gray eyebrows, and when he glanced at Madam Gu, Gu Jian and Chief Gu, his indifferent and ruthless eyes seemed as if he was looking at ants, and there was no emotion on his face.
The emperor said coldly: "The Gu family not only passed off a concubine as the legitimate heir, but also committed the crime of deceiving the emperor. This is an indisputable crime."
Zhao Rang sighed and shook his head, as if to say that the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion was simply too bold and had no idea of their own life.
“……” Madam Gu and Gu Jian seemed to be strangled by the neck. They wanted to explain but could not utter a word.
The same despair was written on the faces of both mother and son.
"Father, since he has committed crime upon crime, in addition to being dealt with according to the law, he should be given another punishment. His descendants for three generations shall not be allowed to take the imperial examinations and enter the court. What do you think?" Chu Yi's voice was warm and mellow. He casually made a move. The black piece on the chessboard looked aggressive, which was totally inconsistent with his elegant and gentle appearance.
(End of this chapter)
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