Jiang Xuelin and Fu Hanlai brought this matter to light so that more women could avoid such suffering, not for their own reputation, and even more so because they did not want to see women who could have survived hardship but still managed to die because of this incident.
This is not what they want to see.
But whether it was Jiang Xuelin or Fu Hanlai, they both knew very well that someone would definitely take their daughter's life to protect their reputation.
This is normal.
Before Emperor Xuande abolished the practice of martyrdom, weren't there many people who forced their widowed daughters to die for the sake of their daughters' so-called reputation and family tradition?
It's considered shameful for a daughter to live on after her husband's death.
Even if she has young children to take care of, it's not okay. Even if the children lose their parents, they still have elders in the clan. It doesn't matter if they don't have a mother, but how can a wife lose her husband?
Jiang Xuelin naturally didn't remember these things, but she had heard about them. After all, she had been in contact with many ordinary people since she was a child, and the abolition of martyrdom had only been about twenty years ago.
Some women had their feet bound for so long that even if they were untied, they would suffer for the rest of their lives, and they would also have to endure the strange looks from others. Perhaps it would be better for them to die at this time, at least their miserable lives would end like this.
But this is absolutely no reason for Jiang Xuelin to disregard their lives.
If you want to die, you can die easily—all you need is a rope, a dagger, and a packet of arsenic… but living is very difficult.
Jiang Xuelin should at least try her best to ensure that those women who are still struggling to survive have a way out, instead of losing their lives because of her and Fu Hanlai's impulsiveness.
Prince Ping understood what Jiang Xuelin and Fu Hanlai meant and couldn't help but scrutinize his daughter-in-law, whom he hadn't had much contact with.
Jiang Xuelin is his daughter-in-law. As her father-in-law, he naturally doesn't have much contact with her, and there are many things he can't say. He did know Jiang Xuelin before, after all, Fu Hanlai talked about her all the time at home. But at this moment, he still couldn't help but look at her and then laughed.
"As expected of my daughter-in-law, as expected of Jiang Zi'an's daughter, you are very good."
Upon being praised like that, Jiang Xuelin felt a little embarrassed, "I am not worthy of Father's praise. It is something I should have expected. I am now troubling Father."
She doesn't have that much influence with the Empress Dowager; it's better to leave these matters to Prince Ping.
Oh, Fu Hanlai is fine too, but he's too young.
Of course, this matter could be handled by the Empress, who is the mother of the nation, instead of the Empress Dowager. However, even if this matter were to benefit the Empress's reputation, it would still be easy to drag the Prince of Ping's family into the Crown Prince's camp.
Jiang Xuelin knew very well that they couldn't get involved in the succession struggle over this matter, otherwise they would only face more trouble.
Of course, she actually felt that the Crown Prince's position was very secure, and if nothing unexpected happened, he would be the one to ascend to the throne. The princes below him were not worth worrying about.
Of course, even knowing all this, Jiang Xuelin never thought of getting involved or relying on her parents' favor to side with the Crown Prince. She wasn't good at that, so she just listened to her parents and stayed out of it, instead of thinking she could become a player.
After chatting in the garden, Jiang Xuelin and Fu Hanlai returned to Qiutang Courtyard and started to laze around.
She originally wanted to go to the shop to check on the progress of Bianni, but Fu Hanlai wouldn't allow it, saying that it was all because of her that he couldn't go out, so Jiang Xuelin couldn't go out either.
Jiang Xuelin felt her fist harden at that moment.
"Don't forget, I've already given you compensation. Fu Ashou, let me tell you, don't push your luck!"
If this continues, don't blame her for taking action!
Fu Hanlai: "...Hmph!"
After thinking it over, he decided not to continue provoking them.
After leaving the garden, Prince Ping instructed his servant to inform his wife before entering the palace.
He had visited the Empress Dowager just two days ago, and now he was here again. Although the Empress Dowager was surprised, she was also very happy. Then she heard what had happened from Prince Ping and fell silent.
"...Women seem to be born to be abandoned. Their lives are filled with too much pain and suffering. Yet, even so, there are still people who, for their own selfish reasons, want to add more suffering to women, to shackle them, and to use beautiful words to cover up their despicable behavior."
The Empress Dowager sighed. Now she was living a good life, with filial children and nothing to worry about. Everyone said she was lucky, rising from the daughter of a minor official to become the mother of the emperor. But who could understand how much suffering she and her two sons endured when they were young, surrounded by wolves?
Women...
"I agree to this matter. Ah Shou and Lin'er are both very good girls. Ah Rong, you don't need to make things difficult for them. As their father, you have to clean up their messes." The Empress Dowager was referring to the infamy that Fu Hanlai and Jiang Xuelin would have to face after this incident.
There will be upright people who stand up to support them, but there will also be many others who are furious and embarrassed.
She won't say who got angry or embarrassed.
King Ping: "..."
The old playboy said he wasn't very happy.
“Ah Shou is getting old. When other people are this age, their children are already running around. He should be responsible for his own words and actions. How can he always turn to his son when something happens!”
Mother!
My son is still young, and I don't want to clean up his messes at all!
The next morning, an imperial edict was issued from the palace.
The Empress originally wanted to issue an imperial edict upon hearing about this matter, but it was rejected by the Empress Dowager.
It's not that I'm afraid the Empress will use her reputation to gain favor with the Crown Prince, but rather that it's not suitable.
This matter is destined to be highly conflict-ridden, and the Empress's statement may affect the Crown Prince.
"I think the Empress can wait and show compassion for women in the world. Now, leave this matter to me. I am not afraid of the infamy."
This incident effectively prevented those wealthy and powerful families from destroying evidence and silencing witnesses. The truth would eventually come out when their daughters got married, and those families would obviously hate the Empress Dowager. Unfortunately, even if they harbored resentment, they dared not show it. Moreover, the Empress Dowager had no sons and needed to cultivate her reputation.
Her sons were a powerful ruler and a disgraced Prince Ping, whose reputation was already poor and who was impeached every few days, a situation that even the censors had grown numb to.
Being in the inner palace, she truly had no blind spots.
When the people in the capital heard the Empress Dowager's decree, they were initially puzzled as to why such a sudden imperial edict would be issued. However, within a morning, when the officials returned home after court and heard about the edict, they immediately understood what was going on.
At the Chengyi Earl's residence, the Chengyi Earl, who wasn't even qualified to attend court, accidentally smashed the teacup in his hand.
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