Chapter 133: Emperor Qing's bestowal of marriage is an act of imperial disdain for the common people.
"Zhaozhao!"
By the time Chen Junbo realized what was happening and shouted out, it was already too late.
Emperor Qing suddenly laughed and said, "Your drumming and pleading for justice today, as well as all that has happened before, deserve my reward. What do you want?"
Li Yang was taken aback for a moment, "This humble woman has no other requests."
Emperor Qing smiled and said, "You have made a great contribution today. If I don't reward you, wouldn't it be a sign that I, as the emperor, have failed to recognize talent?"
"But you have severed ties with the Prime Minister's household and divorced Chen Ziqian, so I cannot bestow upon you the title of Princess of the County or Princess of the Prefecture."
Li Yang smiled and said, "Your Majesty is wise. I only wish to return to my hometown and live a peaceful life."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Qing frowned slightly, as if pondering, and then said, "I noticed that the Crown Prince was quite biased towards you today, so the two of you must have had a very pleasant conversation."
"In that case, I hereby bestow marriage upon you two, and you shall marry into the Crown Prince's household as a secondary consort."
The emperor's words are like a thunderbolt striking the sky.
The atmosphere in the Imperial Study was heavy. Emperor Qing sat upright, his black dragon robe trailing on the blue brick floor.
Li Yang sat blankly on the stool, coldly looking at Emperor Qing.
His brows gradually relaxed amidst the swirling smoke, revealing the aura of an emperor surveying his subjects.
The person in power watched her silently, a slight smile playing on their lips. It was a warning, a provocation, and a way of toying with her helplessness.
Li Yang felt his stomach churning.
Having repeatedly challenged the emperor's authority today, she anticipated a retaliation. Therefore, she had already severed ties with the prime minister's residence and willingly left the capital to become a commoner.
Clearly, that's not enough!
This imperial decree of marriage was a way of demoting herself to the status of a concubine, a warning to the Crown Prince, and also...
The words the Fourth Prince had whispered in her ear in the hall still lingered in her mind.
Li Yang glanced at Chen Junbai, whose gaze was deep and unwavering, as if he had a thousand words to say. Li Yang smiled at him, then rose and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Zhaozhao..." Chen Junbai's voice was drowned out by Li Yang's words of thanks, and Emperor Qing seemed not to have heard it at all.
As Li Yang thanked the emperor, the smile on Emperor Qing's lips grew wider. Seeing this, Li Yang lowered her head and remained silent. She thought to herself, "So be it. This life has been so meaningless. Let it be."
Despite her clear understanding, she couldn't hold back her tears; one fell onto the blue brick, leaving a speck of ink plum blossom.
In the main hall, Xu Fangtong read out the imperial edict.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees that Crown Prince Li Zhen and Chancellor Zhuang Ziyang, together with the Ministry of Personnel and the Court of Judicial Review, shall jointly re-examine the salt certificate case."
"Your subject thanks you for the imperial decree's great favor."
"...By the grace of the Empress Dowager, Zhuang Shutong's daughter, with her virtuous character and gentle heart, and her virtuous conduct, is naturally chaste and obedient, and her demeanor is exemplary. She is suitable to serve in the imperial harem, ensuring the prosperity of future generations and fulfilling this noble purpose. Therefore, she is hereby appointed as the Crown Prince's secondary consort. Go forth and obey!"
A moment of silence fell over the main hall.
Xu Fangtong: "Prime Minister Zhuang, His Majesty said that since the Li family has severed ties with the Prime Minister's residence, there is no need to accept the imperial decree."
"Your Highness, please thank the imperial decree."
Reminded by Xu Fangtong, Li Zhen hurriedly thanked the imperial decree.
Holding the imperial decree bestowing the marriage upon him, Li Zhen looked at Zhuang Ziyang, the former with an inscrutable expression, while the latter seemed even more surprised.
Under the management of Li Zhen and Zhuang Ziyang, the amounts in the ledgers that Chen Junbai and others had previously silently recorded were basically consistent with the amounts in the treasury and the amounts in silver dollars in the accounts of the various salt merchants.
Soon, they seized banknotes, land deeds, and other items of dubious origin from Zhang Youdao's home.
On the day of the court session, several ministers met in front of the palace. One of them said, "If I hadn't been in charge of this case, I would never have imagined that a third-rank official could have embezzled such a huge sum of money in just three years."
At this moment, Li Zhen passed by and overheard their discussion, so he said, "My lords, you have worked hard on the case these past few days."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the group went up to the imperial court.
The palace of Consort Li was not peaceful at the moment. Lady Ji sat to one side, her handkerchief twisted into a ball, but she could only lower her head and occasionally glance at Consort Li out of the corner of her eye.
Consort Li looked at the gemstones inlaid on the nail guards, which seemed to be covered with a thin layer of dust. She then exhaled a light breath, as if she was satisfied.
Her gaze remained fixed on her fingers as she softly said, "Why are you in such a hurry to reopen the salt certificate case?"
"Your Majesty." After receiving the message, Madam Ji was finally able to turn around, one hand on the armrest of the chair, leaning forward. "I heard that Zhang Youdao's mansion has been confiscated, and Zhong Zhengyuan is currently in prison. I don't know what will happen to him."
She watched as Consort Li continued fiddling with her hands, as if her fingernails were the most important thing in the world. Inwardly, she cursed her as a 'foolish woman,' but outwardly remained devout and respectful. "If we trace back to the previous one, then my husband will..."
Consort Li remained unconcerned, saying, "His Majesty didn't say anything about going back in time, so who would investigate?"
These words reassured Madam Ji somewhat.
During these days, Jiqing returned to the manor at a set time every day, no longer going to banquets or brothels, and would immediately lash out at her upon returning home. After several such incidents, she roughly understood that it was because the case presided over by Zhang Youdao had been overturned, and was now being presided over by the Second Prince and Prime Minister Zhuang.
Madam Ji had no idea what Ji Qing was doing outside, but ever since he took office as the salt merchant of Lianghuai, his eating, clothing and daily necessities had been different from before, and Madam Ji had seen all of this.
Although the man's wealth did not improve his life, he added several more rooms to his backyard. In fact, it could be said that his wife's life became even more prosperous after he acquired the money.
However, since it was an arranged marriage, their fates were now intertwined, and no matter how much she disliked him, she still had to make this trip for him.
So she tentatively said, "I've only heard that the leader is investigating the Second Prince and Prime Minister Zhuang this time, and they..."
Consort Li polished her nails again. "What's the big deal? Isn't Zhang Youdao your brother-in-law? As long as he shuts up, what are you worried about?"
Lady Ji frowned upon hearing this. What did Consort Li mean by this?
Did she send someone to find her sister and instruct her brother-in-law not to implicate her? Or did the Fourth Prince...?
Seeing her eyes darting around, Consort Li lowered her hand and sneered, "Don't overthink it. Zhang Youdao has been an official for many years and naturally knows what to say and what not to say."
"It's time to see the guests off," Madam Ji hurriedly replied, "Yes, yes, Your Majesty is right."
After leaving Consort Li's palace, Lady Ji turned and got into her carriage, ordering it to speed back to her residence.
Despite Consort Li's confident assertions, the carriage had already reached the Second Prince's side. In the capital, everyone knew that the Second Prince and the Fourth Prince were sworn enemies, and her husband's family was firmly aligned with the Fourth Prince's faction. Did they really think they would let this opportunity slip by?
She was not as confident as Consort Li, and her unease spread like ripples in her heart.
When she returned home, Jiqing was indeed waiting for her after court.
Madam Ji hurriedly told Ji Qing about her conversation with Consort Li, "Is everything really alright? I have a feeling this isn't as simple as it seems."
Ji Qing narrowed her eyes, her gaze sweeping over Madam Ji's head, a slight smirk playing on her lips. "Of course it's not that simple. Sister is reminding us..."
Mrs. Ji: "What do you mean?"
Ji Qing only said, "Don't worry about it," and then hurriedly left.
On this sunny day, the seal on Chaoyang Teahouse was lifted, but the doors remained tightly shut.
Inside the second-floor private room, everyone sat around a round table.
Li Yuhan raised her glass first, "Ziqian, congratulations on clearing your name today. I'll drink to that first."
Liu Yi sat down next to him, glancing at him sideways. "Tch, he's really trying to curry favor now."
Li Yuhan ignored him and downed her drink. "Ziqian, you've suffered a lot lately. If you ask me, this time it's all thanks to your wife."
Upon hearing this, everyone started to jeer.
Chen Junbo looked embarrassed and didn't respond. A moment later, he looked at Li Yang, who also had an indifferent expression.
Ziyan put down her wine glass, glanced back at Zheng Qingbo beside her, and winked at him. Zheng Qingbo pursed his lips, "What's wrong? Ziqian doesn't seem to be in a good mood today. Are you tired?"
Before Chen Junbo could respond, Li Yang raised his glass first, "I'd like to toast everyone. If it weren't for everyone's great help that day, we wouldn't have the opportunity to gather here today. Thank you."
After speaking, he tilted his head back and drank the wine in his glass, then flipped his wrist and drew a circle with the empty glass as a gesture.
Interrupted by her, Zheng Qingbo didn't dare to bring up the topic again, and the others just awkwardly drank a cup with her.
Seeing Chen Junbo looking at him out of the corner of his eye, Li Yang poured another full glass, raised it, and turned to the side, saying, "General Manager Chen, this glass is to you, for the bitter times have finally come to an end."
The moment the words "General Manager Chen" were uttered, the atmosphere in the room froze. It wasn't long ago that whenever everyone gathered together for a meal, these two were always inseparable. Even if Li Yang was offered an extra cup of wine, Chen Junbo would snatch it away and drink it for her.
The scene today was truly bizarre; the group exchanged glances. At this moment, Li Yang slowly spoke, "General Manager Chen had previously written a letter of divorce. After His Majesty learned of this, he bestowed a marriage upon me, granting me the title of Crown Prince's concubine. Tomorrow will be the day of my marriage to the Crown Prince."
Her gaze never left the wine glass in front of her, but her tone grew colder and colder, "Ladies and gentlemen, aren't you going to wish me a happy marriage?"
Everyone in the room was utterly dumbfounded.
It's no wonder they were unaware of this matter. After the imperial decree was announced that day, Li Yang and Chen Junbai remained silent, just as they are today, so the people in the teahouse had no way of knowing about this marriage.
Today, Li Yang chose this occasion to discuss the matter, and only then did the others realize why the two had been acting strangely these past few days.
Little Deer glanced at Bi Fang, only to see that the other party was equally bewildered. She quickly turned to Zi Yan for help. The latter's eyes lit up, and she slammed her hand on the table, exclaiming, "How could this be! Doesn't the Emperor know you are a member of the Chen family? How could he bestow such an absurd marriage upon you!"
Zhao Zhao, don't worry. If you're unwilling, we can think of another way together. At worst, we can beat the petition drum again…
Before she could finish speaking, Zheng Qingbo pulled her down to sit, saying, "Do you think the Dengwen Drum is your stove pot that you can bang on whenever you want? Stop talking nonsense."
"How could I say such nonsense? Are we just going to watch Zhaozhao become that damned Crown Prince's concubine?" Ziyan glared angrily at Zheng Qingbo. "They call it wealth and honor, but isn't it still being a concubine?!"
On this matter, the men naturally had no grounds for discussion. Ziyan spoke with absolute certainty, and Zheng Qingbo couldn't say anything. Having known each other for so many years, he knew Ziyan's temperament all too well.
Seeing this, Li Yang forced a smile and tried to smooth things over, "Sister Ziyan, I know you're doing this for my own good."
The latter looked at her with concern and nodded earnestly, as if to say that if she didn't want to, he would definitely not let her marry into the Crown Prince's household.
Li Yang glanced at Chen Junbo again, then turned to Ziyan and said, "Grandpa also asked about this, and I agree."
"What?" Ziyan was taken aback.
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