Chapter 197: Keeping a mistress
At the morning court session the next day, all the officials learned the real reason why Jin Yuanbo was arrested the night before. They listened to Hu Qian standing beside the dragon throne and reading the imperial edict again, and everyone looked at each other in surprise.
Some officials who were close friends with Jin Yuanbo wanted to plead for him, but when they saw Emperor Chengde's gloomy face, they dared not say a word.
Deceiving the king!
Don't end up not getting the favor you want but getting implicated instead.
More importantly, a shocking thing happened last night. That is, the fake Zhang family had an affair with the young lady of the Liu family in the Su Mansion, and was caught by the guests on the spot. There were many people present at the time, so even those who did not attend the banquet knew about it.
Didn’t you see that Prime Minister Liu, who was standing first among the officials, had a face that looked so ugly that ink seemed to drip out of it all morning?
The daughter who was brought up in pampering was ruined just like that.
Still a fake Zhang Xiaowen.
"Your Majesty is wise." Prime Minister Liu knelt down and shouted after Hu Qian finished reading the imperial edict.
Hundreds of officials followed closely behind him.
When the news reached the harem, Queen Song was so angry that she smashed a vase.
Shaohua came up nervously to check Queen Song's hand: "Your Majesty, please be careful not to hurt your hand."
"How dare such a thing covet my Xiangxiang? I am so pissed off, so pissed off."
Yun Lu served her tea and said, "If your majesty is angry, why don't you go and reprimand Miss Liu? As the legitimate daughter of the Liu family and a descendant of a famous family, she actually did such a shameless thing."
The matter of Liu Anyao was not mentioned explicitly at the morning court session, but everyone in the capital knew about it, and naturally the people in the harem had also heard about it.
Queen Song took a deep breath and asked Yunlu to grind ink.
Yes, she wanted to write down the decree and ask someone to read it out at the Liu family.
After writing it and stamping it with the phoenix seal, Queen Song called the head eunuch in the palace and ordered him to take people to the Liu family with great fanfare, and asked all the female relatives of Liu An to kneel down and listen to the announcement.
Therefore, all the way from the Imperial Palace to the Prime Minister's Residence, everyone along the way knew that the Queen was going to reprimand Miss Liu for being shameless. The gates of the Liu family were opened wide, and the people stood far away to watch the fun.
The eunuch in charge understood what the Queen meant, so his voice was particularly loud. At least when there was no noise, the people dozens of feet away outside could hear it. Madam Liu knelt on the ground, feeling ashamed and angry, and she hated Queen Song even more in her heart.
Originally, everyone only dared to discuss it in private, but the Queen wrote an edict in such a high-profile manner to reprimand her daughter for being immoral and shameless, and asked all the women in the capital to take it as a warning. This was simply stepping on the face that the Liu family had already lost.
It was not enough for Empress Song to announce the decree in Liu'an. She also summoned all the concubines in the harem to Jingren Palace and scolded Concubine Shu in front of them.
Shufei, who had been arrogant in the harem for many years, knelt in the center of the main hall of Jingren Palace. Her still charming face was full of shame and anger, and her face turned blue and white.
On both sides were all the concubines, even the lowest-ranking concubines were sitting there watching her make a fool of herself.
"Empress, this matter has nothing to do with Concubine Shu. Why do you have to humiliate her like this?" Concubine Xian hesitated for a while and said softly.
Queen Song glanced at her coldly and chuckled, "Xian Fei is really kind. Since you feel sorry for Shu Fei, come and kneel with her."
As she spoke, she looked around and said, "Come on, who else feels sorry for Concubine Shu? Stand up."
The virtuous concubine's face froze and she dared not say anything more.
The other concubines looked at each other and dared not speak.
"Why is it okay? Concubine Shu is Liu Anyao's aunt, so she has the responsibility to teach her. Moreover, she always calls her into the palace. I don't know what she has taught her over the years?"
The one who was speaking was Concubine Yi. She looked at Concubine Shu with gloating eyes and spoke without any mercy.
Is it because Concubine Shu has a son with a strong background?
She also has the support of her son's family and never needs to consider Concubine Shu's mood.
"Your Majesty is wise, and we, the concubines, are convinced."
Queen Song looked at Concubine Yi and smiled with satisfaction.
No matter what Concubine Guan Yi was thinking, she loved what she said.
The concubines all stood up and said, "Your Majesty is wise."
The virtuous concubine's gentle face could hardly hold back her anger, and the virtuous concubine was so angry that her face turned green.
…
People outside the palace didn't know about the Queen scolding Concubine Shu, but the incident involving Liu Anyao was enough to make people talk about it for a long time.
In Qixia Courtyard, Qiao Jingru sat cross-legged on Lu Xiang's couch, talking to her about Liu Anyao with relief.
"She deserves it. She won't be able to cause any more trouble now. Do you think the Liu family will let her die to prove her innocence or send her to become a nun?"
Lu Xiang said: "Madam Liu gave birth to three sons, and only has this one legitimate daughter. She will not be willing to let her die."
Qiao Jingru curled her lips regretfully: "That's a bargain for her."
As he spoke, Liangchen walked into the room and said, "Madam, the eldest young master is back."
Qiao Jingru quickly put on her shoes after hearing this: "Xiangxiang, I won't talk to you anymore. I'm going back first."
Lu Xiang smiled and said, "Yes."
As soon as Qiao Jingru left, Mu Jin came back.
Lu Xiang was surprised to see her return home: "Mu Jin, are you back from studying early?"
Mu Jin smiled embarrassedly: "Miss Third, please stop teasing me. I came back to see you for something."
"What's up?"
The second young master Qiao asked me to come back and tell the young lady that he would meet her at Furong Pavilion at 15:00 p.m.
Furong Pavilion is the silk shop that Lu Xiang plans to open, and it is also the business that will be handed over to Mu Jin to manage in the future.
Lu Xiang looked surprised: "Did you say anything?"
Mu Jin shook her head: "No, but I noticed that the second young master Qiao didn't look too happy, and he also told me not to let the eldest young lady know about my meeting with the young lady. Did something happen?"
Lu Xiang pondered and said, "Okay, I understand. I'll go out with you later."
Furong Pavilion is her shop, so it would be easier to meet there.
After lunch, Lu Xiang called A'man and went to Furong Pavilion with Mujin.
The shop was being renovated. It had two rooms and three floors. Lu Xiang also bought the house behind the shop to use as a workshop, and the embroiderers he hired also lived in the house.
When Lu Xiang went up to the inner room of the shop, he found that it was not only the second young master of the Qiao family who came, but also the third young master of the Qiao family.
"Third Miss." Qiao Yuanan clasped his fists and bowed to Lu Xiang.
Lu Xiang responded: "Second Brother Qiao, Third Brother Qiao."
"Sit down and talk." Qiao Yuanan said, then glanced at Ah Man and Mu Jin.
Lu Xiang turned around and said, "Wait for me outside."
Ah Man and Mu Jin should leave.
"Is there anything wrong, brothers?" Lu Xiang asked.
Qiao Yuanan was thinking about how to talk to Lu Xiang without startling her, when Qiao Zeran suddenly interrupted, "Lu Chao has a mistress, and my second brother and I found out."
Lu Xiang looked at Qiao Zeran in astonishment. She was not surprised that Lu Chao had a mistress, but she was surprised that the thing she had been worried about happened ahead of time.
Qiao Yuanan: “…”
I really want to beat him to death.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
