Chapter 363: Returning Home
At the morning court session the next day, several major events occurred. The first was that Chu Yuehou resigned from his position as Grand Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. The emperor approved, and this matter shocked the court and the public. None of the civil and military officials understood why the Grand Commander suddenly wanted to resign.
Before everyone could figure out why, the emperor then issued several imperial decrees in succession.
The first imperial decree was to posthumously confer the title of Duke Protector of the Nation upon the late Marquis Changping. As the late Marquis had passed away, the title of Duke would be passed on to the current Marquis Changping.
The second imperial decree was to bestow Princess Changle in marriage to Liang Ting, the son of the Vice Minister of Personnel.
The third imperial decree was to sentence the Yong’an Heir Apparent to death by hanging.
The fourth imperial decree was to sentence the Duke Cheng’en’s Heir Apparent to death by hanging and to strip Duke Cheng’en of his noble title.
When the civil and military officials of the court learned what the Yong’an Heir Apparent had done, they were extremely shocked. Because the Yong’an Heir Apparent had always appeared to be a learned, well-mannered, and modest gentleman in front of everyone, no one expected that he would abduct several women and kill them.
A beast in human skin is nothing more than this!
As for the fourth imperial decree, some people were surprised, while others felt that the emperor should have done this long ago!
Of course, some people seemed to see the emperor’s intentions behind this move and began to feel uneasy.
Today was the day Xingnong and Chu Tiankuo returned to the Shen Residence. After Chu Tiankuo returned from the court session, the two of them went to the Shen Residence together with generous gifts.
Xingnong was not surprised when she heard the content of the fourth imperial decree. She only said, “Is the emperor about to make a big move?”
The Duke Cheng’en’s Heir Apparent was a wastrel, and he had done many things like forcibly abducting women from commoner families. Everyone knew this, but the emperor had always turned a blind eye to it. Today, he suddenly took action, which was clearly a hint.
Chu Tiankuo knew Xingnong was intelligent and could see the bigger picture from small details.
He nodded. “The court situation was unstable before, and there were many things Father Emperor wanted to do but was powerless to do, fearing that it would affect the whole situation. Now that there are no external worries, it is time to start dealing with internal problems. Father Emperor intends to cut off the festering parts of Chu, piece by piece. Duke Cheng’en is the first piece of meat to be cut. He also happened to run into trouble the night before last.”
It turned out that on the night of their wedding, the Duke Cheng’en’s Heir Apparent got drunk. After leaving the empress, he forcibly abducted a woman on the street. The woman’s husband tried to stop him and was beaten to death by his order. He even boasted that there was no woman in the world he couldn’t get.
In the past, although the Duke Cheng’en’s Heir Apparent was a wastrel, he wouldn’t do such a thing as forcibly abducting women from commoner families so blatantly. Afterwards, Duke Cheng’en would secretly threaten, bribe, and appease the families of the victims to suppress the matter. But many people saw this incident, and the Five Cities Patrol immediately arrested him and put him in jail.
The next day, many commoners who had been bullied and oppressed by the Duke Cheng’en’s Heir Apparent and those related to the Duke Cheng’en’s Residence went to the yamen to file complaints. The matter became a big deal, and the emperor naturally took the opportunity to deal with it.
Of course, it is unknown whether the emperor had fueled the flames and made the matter bigger.
Chu Tiankuo told Xingnong the whole story. He didn’t think that matters of the court had nothing to do with the women of the inner court, nor did he have the idea that the inner palace should not interfere in politics. On the contrary, he liked to discuss these matters with Xingnong.
The two talked about matters of the court all the way, and before they knew it, they arrived at the Shen Residence.
At the gate of the Shen Residence, Madam Gu, Xingqing, Xinghui, the two great-uncles’ families, and several princes from the Jin Kingdom came out to greet them.
Xingnong happily jumped out of the carriage and greeted everyone one by one. “Grandmother, Great-uncle, Eldest Imperial Brother…”
Seeing that Xingnong looked very well, Madam Gu felt relieved. She said happily, “Come in quickly, it’s windy out here.”
The two entered the house surrounded by everyone.
The Jin Kingdom Crown Princess smiled and asked Xingnong, “Are you used to living in the Eastern Palace in Chu?”
The Jin Kingdom Crown Prince added, “If you need anything or don’t like anything, tell Imperial Brother, and Imperial Brother will help you replace it.”
The other princes echoed one after another:
“If you don’t like living in the palace, it doesn’t matter if you move out to Han Garden. We’ll go talk to the Chu emperor about it.”
“Did anyone in the palace make things difficult for Imperial Sister? If anyone dares to make things difficult for Imperial Sister, you must tell us! We will stand up for you!”
After saying that, they even glared at Chu Tiankuo with a warning look.
Chu Tiankuo calmly looked back at them, knowing that they cared about Xingnong, and did not argue with them.
Xingnong smiled and said, “No, I’m doing well in the palace, you don’t have to worry.”
Everyone could see that Xingnong was truly happy and did not continue this topic. They talked about other things until after lunch, when Madam Gu found an opportunity to pull Xingnong into her room to ask some questions.
✿✿✿
Xingqing knew what Madam Gu wanted to ask. They all knew about the four imperial decrees the emperor had issued this morning, and she was curious, so she followed them.
Madam Gu first asked Xingnong if the empress dowager had made things difficult for her because of the matter with Princess Changle.
Xingnong smiled and said, “No, the empress dowager fainted before she could make things difficult for me.”
Madam Gu: “…”
Xingqing asked excitedly, “What happened?”
Xingnong then told her what happened yesterday. Of course, what happened in the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility yesterday was also told to her by Ruyi.
There were Chu Tiankuo’s people in the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility.
Xingqing laughed and said, “She deserves it!”
Madam Gu was also completely relieved. With the emperor, the empress, and the crown prince protecting her, Xingnong would not suffer at the hands of the empress dowager!
But then she thought of Xingnong’s temperament.
Xingnong was not one to suffer in silence. If the empress or the empress dowager in the palace made things difficult for her, she would definitely not just take it. It was already considered giving face to Chu Tiankuo that she wouldn’t make things difficult for them in return.
Moreover, Xingnong was a princess of Jin Kingdom, with such a noble status. The empress dowager in the palace had to think twice before making things difficult for her.
Thinking of this, Madam Gu was completely relieved.
Then Madam Gu asked, “Xingnong, has Qian Shi’s daughter been found?”
Since Qian Shi was rescued by Xingnong, she had been helping out in the workshop. Madam Gu had also become familiar with her, so she naturally cared about her. Madam Gu deeply understood Qian Shi’s heart as a mother. She had worried about Shen Ruolan marrying into the capital for so long, let alone Qian Shi’s daughter who had been abducted. They didn’t know what she had gone through. As long as there was no news of her daughter, their hearts would be uneasy for a day.
Madam Gu knew this feeling all too well.
Xingnong shook her head. “She couldn’t be recognized. As for whether Qian Daniang’s daughter is among them, we have to wait for her to come to the capital to identify her.”
The Ministry of Justice had already issued a notice, and local yamen in various places would notify those who had lost their children to come and identify them.
“What a sin!” Madam Gu shook her head, and she very much regretted how she had misjudged Wen Ruiqing and married Shen Ruolan to him.
Madam Gu couldn’t believe that the Yong’an Heir Apparent would have such thoughts about her daughter. She was disgusted.
Of course, she was both angry and happy that Wen Ruiqing had divorced Shen Ruolan now.
Yesterday, Chu Yuehou sent Shen Ruolan back to the residence. She was ill and was currently recuperating in the backyard, looking completely heartbroken. Madam Gu was angry when she saw her like that and wanted to ignore her, but she was her daughter after all, and she couldn’t bear to be heartless.
After Madam Gu learned the whole story, she wished she could take a knife and kill Wen Ruiqing. It was all the fault of that vile man Wen Ruiqing!
However, Chu Yuehou said that he would only teach him a lesson, so she gave up.
Seeing that Madam Gu was angry again, Xingqing hurriedly said, “Grandmother, Sister is back home today, can’t we talk about something happy?”
Hearing this, Madam Gu thought of yesterday’s events and said, “Alright, let’s talk about something happy!”
Then she looked at Xingnong. “Xingnong, yesterday someone from General Ren’s Residence came to propose marriage. I didn’t agree right away. Do you think this marriage can be agreed to?”
Xingqing blushed at these words and stood up. “I’m going out for a walk!”
