In mid-July, Chen Tingjian's letter of apology and three letters from Huayang were delivered to the imperial study.
Emperor Jingshun first picked up the three letters from his daughter. When he saw the words "Written personally by the Emperor Father" on the first letter, he smiled with relief.
In May, his daughter also wrote letters back, one to the empress and one to the prince, but there was no letter to him. Although the letter to the empress also mentioned her concern for him, Emperor Jingshun still felt a little uncomfortable.
He had few children, only two sons and two daughters, born to the empress and the imperial concubine respectively.
Among these four children, in addition to having different expectations for his sons, Emperor Jingshun actually loved his youngest daughter Huayang the most.
The queen is a beauty rarely seen in places like the imperial palace. Huayang is even more beautiful than the queen. She has been beautiful and lovely since she was a child. She is the kind of beauty that even if she slaps someone with a stern face, the person being slapped would worry about whether her hand will be hurt.
In the eyes of Emperor Jingshun, his daughter was like a magical fruit that could make people forget their worries and refresh their spirits. No matter what was bothering him, as long as he saw his daughter, his body and mind would feel relaxed.
When his daughter was little, she was very attached to him. She always liked to run to his side to play, calling him "Daddy" all the time, and her voice sounded more sweet than that of a precious lark in a cage.
Unfortunately, he later got drunk and forced himself on a palace maid, and only later discovered that the scene might have been witnessed by his daughter.
From then on, his daughter seldom came near him again. Emperor Jingshun pretended not to know the truth, but in fact he was too ashamed to take the initiative to look for his daughter again.
But Huayang is still his favorite child.
"Send these two to the Queen and the Crown Prince."
Emperor Jingshun compared the thickness of the three family letters again and found that the one addressed to him was the most important. He smiled and handed the other two to the eunuchs serving beside him.
The eunuch went out with the letter, and Emperor Jingshun cut open the envelope and took out the letter.
As he read, Emperor Jingshun frowned, put aside his daughter's letter for the time being, and opened Chen Tingjian's memorial.
Now Emperor Jingshun understood that it was Chen Tingjian's younger brother and sister-in-law from his hometown who had embezzled more than 20,000 taels of silver and some land and shops without the knowledge of their family.
In addition to writing a letter of apology, Chen Tingjian also sent a box filled with the gold, silver, jewelry, land deeds, and house deeds that Qi had coveted.
During the reign of the previous emperor, corrupt officials were in power and the treasury was always short of money. After Emperor Jingshun ascended the throne, he vigorously punished corrupt officials and promoted capable officials to improve people's livelihood. The treasury's accounts looked better, but the court's expenses were still tight. Now that he has received more than 20,000 taels for free, even if it is only a small amount compared to the national needs, Emperor Jingshun is very happy. Those officials and gentry under him, who have money but are unwilling to help the court, and privately give to others, will eventually be handed over to him
As for Qi, a woman, Emperor Jingshun didn't take her seriously at all.
Emperor Jingshun called a eunuch to dictate a reply to Chen Tingjian.
The first thing was about the bribes. Since the amount of bribes given by each official was not high, Emperor Jingshun decided to demote each official by two ranks and fine him ten times the amount of the bribe as a warning to others. For landlords and gentry, each family head was fined twenty lashes and ten times the amount of the bribe.
In this way, just by punishing the officials and gentry related to the Chen family, Emperor Jingshun could earn more than 200,000 taels of silver for the national treasury.
The second thing is that Emperor Jingshun praised Chen Tingjian for his selflessness, his initiative to apologize, and his contributions to flood prevention, and comforted Chen Tingjian not to blame himself too much.
The third thing is that according to the law, Qi committed two crimes, corruption and being unfilial to her mother-in-law, and should be hanged. The Chen family can just hand Qi and his accomplices over to the Lingzhou prefectural government. As for Chen Tingshi's poor management of the family, that is the Chen family's family affair. As the elder brother, Chen Tingjian can discipline and punish Qi and prevent him from committing the same crime again in the future.
"Your Majesty is so kind. Elder Chen will surely be filled with gratitude when he receives your decree."
The chief eunuch, Eunuch Ma, flattered with a smile.
Emperor Jingshun stroked his beard. Chen Tingjian was a pillar of the country, so he would naturally not punish him for such a small matter.
After finishing his business, Emperor Jingshun continued to read his daughter's letter. All it wrote was about Qi's corruption and the disaster in Shiqiao Town. It only asked him to take care of himself at the end.
Such family letters are tasteless.
Emperor Jingshun went to the Queen's Fengyi Palace.
Empress Qi was reading a letter from her daughter so intently that she didn't even notice Emperor Jingshun coming in.
Emperor Jingshun was already in his early fifties, but Empress Qi was only thirty-five years old. She not only maintained the beauty of her youth, but also had the charm of a mature woman. It was precisely because of her beauty that Emperor Jingshun appointed her as his new favorite after the throne had been vacant for many years.
"What did you write? You smiled as if you had eaten honey."
Emperor Jingshun sat next to his wife. If Empress Qi looked closely, she would have seen a hint of envy on his face.
But at this moment, Empress Qi was thinking only of her daughter and son-in-law. She smiled and moved the letter paper towards her husband, the emperor. "Since Huayang got married, every time she came to the palace, she would complain to me that her husband was rude and unromantic. Now the couple is finally together."
Emperor Jingshun narrowed his eyes slightly and saw what his daughter said in the letter: "Both of my husbands are scholars. It is difficult for them to walk alone in the wind and rain, and they don't have much energy to take care of their wives. But the prince consort carried me on his back as if I were walking on flat ground. Now my daughter knows that warriors also have their merits."
The simple narration does reveal a bit of the sweetness of a little girl.
Emperor Jingshun also smiled. He naturally hoped that his daughter and her husband would love each other and live a happy life.
The emperor and empress read the letter side by side, talked about the family affairs of the Chen family, and finally returned to their daughter. Emperor Jingshun stroked his beard and said, "Lingzhou is a remote place after all, and the town is even poorer. It will be inconvenient for Huayang to live there. After the funeral of the prince consort is over after the New Year, I will transfer him back to the capital immediately, so that Huayang can come back soon."
Empress Qi thought for a moment and said softly, "Your Majesty, the family of Chen Ge Lao are all filial people. When the news of his death came at the beginning of the year, many people speculated that Chen Ge Lao would find a way to stay in the capital, but Chen Ge Lao resolutely went to the palace to resign, eager to return home. This time, he and his wife will definitely stay in their hometown to mourn for the whole time. Although the three brothers, the prince consorts, only need to serve for one year, they probably don't want to leave the two elders behind and return to the capital to serve as officials first."
Emperor Jingshun: "What do you mean?"
Empress Qi smiled and said, "Officials in mourning will report to the court in advance before the mourning period is lifted, asking the court to arrange official positions in a timely manner. Why don't we wait and see what the three brothers, the prince consorts, say in their memorials. If they want to return to the capital immediately, you can agree. If they want to stay in Lingzhou so that they can perform filial piety in front of the two elders, then you might as well prepare three vacancies in Lingzhou for them. It will be beneficial for the three young brothers to gain experience in the local area for a year or two."
Emperor Jingshun: "If this is true, won't Huayang have to stay outside for two more years?"
Empress Qi: "She will stay for an extra year and three months, and she can return to the capital in the summer of next year. She is now the daughter-in-law of the Chen family, and has already spent a year in mourning. If she stays for another year and a half, she can share the reputation of a filial daughter-in-law with her two sisters-in-law. Why not?"
Emperor Jingshun: "Okay, then let's send more rewards over there. We can't let her suffer over there."
Empress Qi was not worried because the Chen family would not dare to wrong her daughter.
East Palace.
The prince was studying with a teacher. Although the teacher was not as strict as Lord Chen, according to the rules, no one could disturb him during class unless something serious happened.
It was almost noon and the class finally ended.
The gentleman glanced at him and did not accuse the prince of his indecent manners like Lord Chen did. He cleared the table, bowed and left.
After the gentleman left, the prince's chief eunuch Cao Li came in with a smile on his face and his back bent.
The prince raised his eyebrows slightly: "What's the happy news that makes you smile like this?"
Cao Li immediately took out a letter from behind his back and said as if presenting a treasure: "Your Highness, the princess has sent another letter!"
The prince's eyes lit up, and he couldn't wait to get up from his seat and snatch the letter from his sister.
His father and mother were strict in their teachings and never allowed him to leave the palace. If he wanted to know what was happening outside the palace, he had to ask the eunuchs around him. His sister was the first person to write to him from outside the palace.
The prince missed his sister very much and also wanted to know if she had encountered any new things in Lingzhou.
He sat down by the window and read the letter eagerly.
Cao Li was standing diagonally opposite. When he saw the young master gradually frowning, his heart skipped a beat. He was worried that the young master was in a bad mood and would become difficult to serve.
Fortunately, the prince's brows soon relaxed, and he finally looked out the window, as if thinking about something.
Cao Li asked curiously: "Your Highness, what are you thinking about?"
The prince came back to his senses and asked him, "Have you ever seen a flood?"
Cao Li was startled. "Why did your highness suddenly mention the flood? Did Lingzhou have a flood? Is the princess injured?"
The prince shook his head and handed him the letter.
Cao Li quickly read it and patted his chest several times: "Fortunately, fortunately, the princess is lucky and did not encounter the flood."
Cao Li is eighteen years old this year. His parents died in a flood in his home. He then drifted to the capital and was brought into the palace to become a eunuch.
Since the prince was interested, Cao Li told him about the severity of the flood.
The prince: "Doesn't the imperial court allocate money every year specifically for building river embankments?"
Cao Li: "That's all used to repair the big rivers. The small river sections in the countryside will not flood for many years. They only flood once in a year of heavy rain. It's not worth it to reinforce the embankments."
The prince: "What if father insists on practicing it?"
Cao Li looked outside, leaned over to whisper in his ear, "That depends on whether the treasury has that much silver."
The prince pursed his lips. The national treasury was not well-off and he often saw his father worrying about money.
Cao Li: "Are you worried about the princess? No, look at the princess, she still has the heart to praise her husband, which means the flood over there is not serious."
The prince looked at the letter again, and a handsome and tall figure emerged in his mind. That was Chen Jingzong, the fourth son of Chen Ge Lao and also his brother-in-law.
The prince had not met his wife's husband many times, and the impression that the wife's husband gave him was that he was good-looking and his looks were just barely worthy of his sister.
"Your Highness, it's time to have dinner." Cao Li reminded with a smile.
The prince nodded and walked out first.
The lunch in the East Palace was very sumptuous. After all, even if the treasury was empty, the nobles in the palace would not be treated harshly. The prince's meal alone had eight dishes and two soups.
His sister hoped that he would keep fit, so the prince ate an extra bowl of rice. Deep down, he also wanted to grow up to be a brave man who could walk on a mountain road in the pouring rain as if it were flat ground.
After dinner, the prince had half an hour of rest. After thinking for a while, he went to look for his mother.
"Mother, did my sister write to you as well?"
Empress Qi: "Yes, do you want to see it?"
Prince: "Well, the letter to me is only one page."
Empress Qi smiled and asked the palace maid to bring her daughter's letter, which was three full pages.
Huayang wrote three letters. The one to his father only mentioned official matters, the one to his younger brother only talked about family matters, and the one to his mother contained both.
Empress Qi took the opportunity to teach her son a lesson: "Mr. Chen is a simple and upright person. Even if something like this happened in his family, he would rather reveal his own family's shortcomings than help his brother cover them up."
The prince faced the letter and said nothing.
Empress Qi: "Although he was at home in mourning, when the people were in danger, he set an example and stood with the people regardless of the danger. He was a good official who truly cared for the people."
The prince finally said, "My mother knows how to appoint the right people to the right positions, and she has chosen a good teacher for my son."
Empress Qi smiled, touched her son's head and said, "Mother knows that Elder Chen is a bit strict, but since ancient times, strict teachers have produced excellent students. You just need to remember that Elder Chen was entrusted by our father and mother, and even if he disciplines you, it is for your own good."
The prince lowered his eyes: "Son understands."
Empress Qi put away the letter and said with concern: "Just take a break here, and go to class directly later."
The prince obediently followed the palace maid to wash his hands and face.
Lying on the bed, the prince could not sleep at all. He wondered what the flood in Shiqiao Town was like, and then he thought of the extremely strict Lord Chen.
My sister said that the top scholar and the second top scholar of the Chen family were both weak and frail, and they almost fell down while walking on the mountain road. What about Lord Chen, who is both weak and old, did he also fall down
The scene of Lord Chen falling into a mud pit and unable to get up appeared before his eyes. The prince smiled and fell asleep contentedly.
(End of this chapter)