Even though she had taken the antidote beforehand, Su Wanwan's body was still somewhat damaged, and she had to rest in bed for several days.
However, precisely because of her poisoning, there were no rumors circulating that she poisoned the emperor's birth mother.
When Madam Yu came to see her, her eyes were full of sympathy: "There are rumors circulating in the market that the Empress is jealous and wants to poison you and Zheng Jinlian together."
Su Wanwan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
It was worth it for her to drink the poisoned wine and use the self-inflicted injury to clear herself of suspicion.
Now the empress has shot herself in the foot; she can't clear her name no matter what she does.
The beauty of this is that it's just hearsay, and it's very difficult to prove or disprove.
Those who were implicated ended up getting themselves into a mess.
The rumors that Su Wanwan wanted to poison Zheng Jinlian are completely unfounded.
As the Empress was in charge of the inner palace, it was naturally much easier for her to enter and leave the laundry department than for Su Wanwan, a commoner.
Besides, Zheng Jinlian had raised Su Wanwan, so Su Wanwan had no motive to poison Zheng Jinlian.
Moreover, how can someone be poisoned to death while also poisoning themselves?
The Queen's attempt to frame her ended in failure.
"The Emperor is very disappointed with the Xia family. I heard that he has become infatuated with Consort Yu, who is at odds with you. He has taken her to Yongshou Palace and spoiled her rotten, even allowing her to ride horses in the palace."
Madam Yu lowered her voice, her expression somewhat grave: "As a result, the Empress was startled by Consort Yu's horse and suffered a miscarriage."
Su Wanwan was somewhat surprised: "Is that so?"
The Empress Dowager was no pushover; how could she possibly tolerate Yu Ji's audacity?
"The Empress Dowager was furious and wanted to severely punish Consort Yu. This time, she was at odds with the Yu family."
"But the Emperor is backing up Consort Yu, and the Empress Dowager has tried to intervene several times, but I heard she hasn't succeeded each time. Consort Yu is becoming more and more favored." Madam Yu said with certainty.
Yu Yongna is currently a highly favored minister of the emperor, and now his daughter has also gained the emperor's favor, making him the most popular man in the world.
Su Wanwan thought of Yu Ji's arrogant and domineering face, remained silent for a few moments, and then changed the subject.
"What's the situation with the Emperor's birth mother?"
Madam Yu casually spread her hands, a hint of regret in her smile: "What else can we do?"
"His Majesty has increased the salary of Marquis Anren, Wang Jun, so that it is now equal to that of Marquis Qingyang, Xia Ru."
"The Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review are both involved in the trial of this case. The preliminary charge is that Zheng Wang is guilty of spreading seditious rumors. We are just waiting for the Emperor to issue the final decree."
Su Wanwan raised an eyebrow, "Haven't you decided yet?"
Nothing is finalized yet, and things could change sooner or later.
This is no longer a question of whether the emperor acknowledges his birth mother.
Rather, it involved the fact that officials from the previous dynasty had to choose sides.
The faction of Xie Qian, the former second-in-command who had been heavily suppressed by the emperor, was clearly on the opposite side of the emperor.
The Xie family's influence among literati in Jiangsu and Zhejiang should not be underestimated.
Madam Yu whispered, "Isn't that right? I reckon there'll be a long road ahead."
"Duke Yansheng Kong Wenshao also submitted a memorial to join in the fun, requesting that his stepmother Yuan and his birth mother Jiang be granted titles."
"The Duke Yansheng is a descendant of Confucius and holds an extremely high position in the hearts of scholars throughout the land. With his call to action, there will likely be more or less people in the world who support the emperor in recognizing his birth mother."
Judging from this, the Duke Yansheng has sided with the emperor.
In other words, the emperor has won the support of the civil officials.
Su Wanwan raised an eyebrow: "The Duke Yansheng, isn't he the son-in-law of Grand Secretary Li Dongqian?"
Madam Yu nodded, then sighed sadly:
"Zheng Jinlian was also unfortunate. She was about to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but she still failed at the last moment and died."
Su Wanwan thought to herself, sometimes, you have to die to live well.
The palace, that place that devours people without spitting out the bones, is not a place everyone wants to be imprisoned for life.
There was no need to say these things to Madam Yu.
The two then discussed some progress in disaster relief efforts.
It is said that the Ministry of Revenue started with the grain transport system, and ordered the warehouses, where grain losses were as high as 40% and grain had been stored for a long time and was rotting, to send 350,000 shi of grain, converted into silver at six qian per shi, for a total of 210,000 taels of silver, to the capital.
As a result, 350,000 shi of grain suddenly appeared on the market. Merchants who wanted to hoard grain during the drought in Shandong lost their profit-making opportunities and began to sell their grain at the market price.
This fundamentally solved the problem of food shortage in Shandong.
It must be said that this "using minimal force to achieve maximum effect" tactic is far more sophisticated than the imperial court spending vast sums of money on disaster relief or unscrupulous merchants profiting from the national crisis.
"So recently, there have been fewer disaster victims in the capital because food prices are cheap, and there are more wealthy households in the area willing to distribute porridge."
Su Wanwan knew that the conflict was only temporarily shifted, not completely resolved.
Most of the grain transported by the canal was destined for the nine border regions.
The lack of food in the nine border regions will inevitably lead to major problems sooner or later.
She hoped that the managers she sent overseas would be efficient and return with a full load of grain.
After seeing Madam Yu off, Su Wanwan lay listlessly on the bed, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
These days, Su Wanwan has been recuperating at the Su family home and has not gone out.
Lu Xingjian left after their last falling out and has not shown up since, nor has he sent anyone over.
Even the sentry posts and patrols that used to be stationed on the nearby streets have all been removed.
My enthusiasm and interest in her have completely vanished.
Su Wanwan was not surprised.
He was extremely disappointed in her and had found a new love, so naturally he no longer cared about her.
She was still very worried about her father and cousin Wan Ying, who were still missing.
November arrived in the blink of an eye.
When Heying returned home that day, she looked flustered: "Miss, the Zheng Wang seditious case that you were concerned about has been decided. Zheng Wang and Wang Xi were convicted of spreading seditious rumors and sentenced to beheading, exactly the same as the late emperor's judgment back then."
Su Wanwan frowned slightly.
Although the emperor compromised, a rift had already formed between him and Empress Dowager Zhang.
The harmonious relationship between mother and son is unlikely to continue.
Moreover, this move would also undermine the confidence of the ministers who support the emperor.
This period is probably the most difficult time for Lu Xingjian.
Empress Dowager Zhang had cultivated her influence in the inner palace for many years, and she likely employed various methods such as poisoning and assassination.
The gatekeeper rushed in excitedly to report, "The Second Master is back!"
The second master is Su Nan.
Su Wanwan lifted her skirt and ran to the door, where her father and Wanying were getting off the carriage.
Su Nan was still wearing a cloth robe, and he looked much more refined. He seemed to have suffered some hardships, but his spirits were not bad. He nodded to Su Wanwan.
"Can we walk now?"
Su Wanwan's throat tightened slightly: "Yes. Did you encounter anything on the way?"
Su Nan's expression was somewhat cold, and he simply said, "I just stayed at an old friend's house for a while."
It looks like he's under house arrest.
As soon as Su Wanying got off the carriage, she hugged Su Wanwan with tears in her eyes: "Sister, I almost didn't get to see you again!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
