102. Trouble

"Xi Yan is really something. Just for a woman, the entire Xi family has almost become a topic of conversation among the nobles in Jinjing." Cao Haoyun complained to Rong Jing in the palace. He and Liu Yuanyuan's marriage was hastily arranged, and the formalities were quickly completed. They just got married the day before yesterday, but he had a knot in his heart and refused to even have sex. At this moment, he was even more disdainful and said, "Everyone knows about the Xi family's little things. Xi Chaoyi was the same. He played himself to death on a woman's belly. This family, tsk."

Although Liu Ran had a disabled leg, she became the head lady of the Xi family. She didn't care at all what the noble ladies in Jinjing thought of her. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, she insisted on holding a tea party in her mansion. The invitations were sent all over Jinjing, and even the Cao residence received them. Cao Haoyun naturally ignored them, but the marriage had been decided, and his mother had to go to join in the fun for the sake of friendship. When she came back, her face was blacker than ink, and she looked extremely ugly.

She came from a humble family and was a concubine, yet she was so complacent that she really thought she was on par with other ladies.

Cao Haoyun heard from his mother that the noble ladies who had come for the appointment were not very happy.

Rong Jing himself was already upset enough. He had ascended the throne for several months but had not yet taken charge of the government. Now the regent was in power. Even though he had to be respectfully addressed as the emperor's uncle, he was actually two years older than Rong Se.

Cao Haoyun took a sip of warm tea, frowned in disdain, and said angrily: "And that Liu Yuanyuan, she tried to seduce Dingbei Hou in public, but she let him be tied to a tree as an assassin. Who in Jinjing doesn't know about it? She is worthy of being forced into my courtyard to be my principal wife?"

When mentioning Marquis Dingbei, Rong Jing's eyes darkened, with a flash of hatred and jealousy.

"You don't like this Liu Yuanyuan?" Rong Jing asked.

Cao Haoyun nodded irritably, "Yes, she is pretty, but the Marquis Dingbei didn't want her, and there was a scandal. If my father likes that woman, why doesn't he take her as a concubine? My mother doesn't care about this. If she comes to my father's yard, I guarantee she will be completely obedient!"

"Okay, let's focus on the overall situation." Rong Jing advised calmly, "She's just a woman, don't make a fuss like the Xi family did."

"Hey, cousin, don't worry." Cao Haoyun waved his hands and sneered, "If she is willing to marry, then marry her. As long as she behaves well, everything will be fine as long as she is honest and obedient. Although I don't understand the affairs of the court, my father also said that as long as she is given a status, this status will be regarded as a favor to my cousin and me."

Cao Haoyun was naturally not a good person as he could hang out with the playboys from Jinjing. He knew that sooner or later he would have to marry an educated and well-mannered lady from a noble family as his principal wife, and he never had many requirements for marriage. However, Liu Yuanyuan failed to seduce Marquis Dingbei, and the scene was so embarrassing in public that he felt ashamed and went to the palace to complain to Rong Jing.

Besides, the rotten stall of the Xi family is now a laughing stock in the capital of Jin. When mentioning the Xi family, there must be the Liu family, and when mentioning the Liu family, there must be that big bastard Cao Haoyun, who married a shameless woman who tried to seduce Marquis Dingbei but was rejected by others.

Hearing him say this, Rong Jing felt relieved and said with a smile, "My father and I have loved you for a good reason. We have not loved you like an ungrateful person."

Cao Haoyun naturally knew who Rong Jing was talking about. It was Liang Shenyu and Rong Zhixu who were now living in the Regent Palace. He wanted to agree with him, but he suddenly remembered the slightly mocking warning from Dingbei Marquis that day. In addition, Rong Zhixu's situation in the Xi family made him unable to say anything for a while. He hesitated for a moment before nodding and saying, "Of course."

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The imperial mausoleum was remote, with only a few lonely bird calls to be heard at night. There was a room in the mausoleum keeper's house with sealed doors and windows, so there was no sunlight at all.

The guard stood outside the door and spoke in a loud voice: "The coffin of Concubine Yan Gui has been placed in the tomb of the late emperor, and even the tablet has been placed in the imperial temple to enjoy incense and offerings."

It was obvious that he was speaking intentionally for the people in the room to hear.

After a while, there was a noise of smashing things inside, accompanied by a hoarse and sharp roar of a woman: "What imperial temple, what imperial mausoleum, impossible! Impossible! She doesn't deserve it!" As she spoke, the person seemed to be in chaos and confusion, and her voice became lower, "No... No, she has been ground to dust a long time ago, and the wild dogs outside the city have eaten her until there is nothing left! She is dead, yes, she deserves it... And that bastard, that whore..."

Then there was a constant stream of humiliation and scolding, but the words were incoherent, as if the person inside was no longer in his right mind.

"Crazy woman." The guard outside cursed, and said sarcastically, "What's impossible? Her coffin was put into the imperial mausoleum. Oh, yes, it's the mausoleum of Master Yuan Guang. She is the noble concubine. Everyone knows that Concubine Yan died unjustly. Oh, and, Your Majesty, what's the use of being an emperor? He is still a decoration. No one in the court listens to him. The people all praise the Regent. Who still remembers that there is an emperor?"

This person's words were full of thorns, deliberately hitting the sore spots, and soon, a hoarse and sharp insult was heard from inside.

The guard snorted and laughed, and walked away without saying a word, regardless of how crazy the people inside were.

No one could have imagined that in just three months, the once graceful and elegant Empress Cao - now the woman who should be called the Queen Mother - would become the insane and crazy woman inside.

Normally they couldn't pay any attention to the person inside and wouldn't say a word to her. What they said today was naturally in line with the above meaning.

After Yun Chu reported this to Rong Se, he only got a snort of laughter in return.

"She's crazy but still doesn't forget to curse, and she's quite targeted and skillful." Rong Se's tone was indifferent, as if it wasn't him who drove Cao Yumin crazy. He didn't feel the pleasure of revenge, nor did he get angry because of the insults. He was very calm from beginning to end, as if he was an outsider. He said calmly, "It's obvious that she's not completely crazy yet. Just let her know, don't pay any attention to it, don't let her die."

Rongse always knew what he should do and could distinguish right from wrong, and he had no sympathy for Cao Yumin.

How she treated Yan Shuang and her son, how she tortured and killed Yan Shuang, all had to be paid back. Punishing one's heart could make people suffer more. Killing a person was too easy, and revenge was too easy. But true revenge was not only about physical torture.

It is also necessary to break her pride, destroy her will, and make her endure the pain of having her heart and bones cut out. Only by truly experiencing it can one understand what it means to be worse off than death. This is heartbreaking.

Rong Se seldom retaliated like this, because he usually solved his grudges at the time. Even his biological father got nothing good out of it, as he sent him directly to prison. But Yan Shuang was dead, and Cao Yumin had to pay off this debt in order to atone for her life. She knew that Yan Shuang was unwilling and that she was forced to sleep with him, but she still directed all her anger at an innocent woman, and even joined forces with the court to damage her reputation and tortured her to death.

In Rong Se's opinion, this behavior is no different from Xi Chaoyi's, and is even the same as those of the thugs on the street who intended to bully Yu Qingmei. They just rely on their own power and influence to make things happen at will.

When she does not treat people as human beings, she herself becomes a monster that is not worthy of being a human being.

After Yun Chu left, Rong Se lowered his eyes and looked at the six memorials in front of him.

They were all sent by Liang Shenyu. Yu Qingzhou had mentioned before that these memorials would be needed tomorrow.

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Rong Se always checked the time before going to court. He would not enter the Xuanzheng Hall until the emperor was firmly seated.

The same is true today.

Hundreds of officials lined up inside the Xuanzheng Hall and in front of the Xuanzheng Gate. The Regent Prince then slowly entered the hall with the Marquis of Dingbei. However, today he was carrying a stack of memorials in his arms, and he just brought them to the Xuanzheng Hall with a calm expression, and it was impossible to tell what was going on.

The ministers lowered their voices and began to whisper to each other. All memorials approved by the emperor would be sent back to the Secretariat, but today the Prince Regent brought it to them personally, and it had not been reviewed by the Secretariat yet. That meant there must be something else going on!

As expected, the Regent King sat on the Kirin Throne holding the memorial, his face no longer smiling. He glanced at the ministers lightly. He did not look very majestic, nor was he as violent and cruel as before, but his status was so pressing that all the ministers trembled.

"Uncle, what are you doing?" Rong Jing glanced at the memorials, his eyelids twitching slightly, and he had a bad feeling.

"Your Majesty, do you want to read it?" Rong Se generously took out a book, flipped through it, and said with a half-smile, "If Your Majesty wants to deal with it personally, I will be happy to do it."

Rong Jing couldn't help but think of the memorials placed in front of him after the incident between Xuan and the princess, and hesitated for a moment.

However, Rong Se had already thrown the first one to the steps in front of the palace, and said coldly: "This is the first one. Refer to the Shangshu Ling Xi Yan, who is idle in his position and neglects his duties, causing the Shangshu Province to be full of evil winds. He is in his position but does not do his job. His virtue is not worthy of his position, and he only knows how to flatter and seek profit."

The resounding rebuke echoed throughout the hall. After a brief silence, all the officials were outraged.

Xi Yan himself could hardly believe it. He stepped forward and picked up the memorial. His fingertips trembled slightly, but he knelt down without hesitation and cried out his injustice: "This, this is completely false! I am innocent!"

"Unjust?" Rong Se threw down another memorial, which happened to land at his feet. "This one is about Shang Shu Ling Xi Yan, who forced his subjects to pay tribute in the name of the Ministry of Personnel's examination. Otherwise, they would not be promoted, and even their official hats would be lost. Several officials reported you for this crime. It clearly states the bribes you received, as well as the list of officials who were demoted for not having the money to pay tribute. I took a quick look and found that you received at least several million taels of silver. Lord Xi, you really made a fortune. The officials who were demoted for no reason jointly submitted a memorial, and the evidence is solid! What else do you have to say?!"

Xi Yan broke out in a cold sweat. He was the Minister of the Chancellery and also the Minister of Personnel. This was always the case in the court. Naturally, he was not innocent. Every single one of these things was true.

"Your Majesty..." Xi Yan gritted his teeth and said, "I am in office here, so it is inevitable that I have offended my colleagues. How can I know that they have teamed up to slander me? I am innocent!"

"Okay." Rong Se threw the remaining books down and said in a cold voice, "You abused your power for personal gain, imposed heavy taxes, and bullied your powerless colleagues. You don't admit it. Two years ago, a long-term worker in your house died inexplicably. You said to the outside world that he died of a sudden death. But this person worked in Madam Xue's courtyard. Liu was arrogant and beat this person to death. You are so careless about human life and still want to cover it up. Lord Xi, do you admit it or not?"

Without waiting for Xi Yan to refute, Rong Se said clearly: "The evidence is there, it doesn't matter if you deny it. I will hand it over to the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple for trial."

He came prepared, and the mere charge of accepting bribes and manipulating the demotion or promotion of officials was enough to get him killed a thousand times.

Xi Yan's expression changed completely, and his forced calmness turned distorted and pale.