It was already the second day of August when Emperor Jingshun's reply and reward arrived at Shiqiao Town.
It has been more than a month since the heavy rain. The flood has long since receded, the streets in the town have been cleaned up, and the people are preparing for the autumn harvest.
Noticing that a group of people were heading towards the Chen family's direction, the people in the fields began to murmur some discussions.
"I seemed to see a eunuch. Could it be someone from the palace?"
"I heard that Qi embezzled a lot of money. Did the whole Chen family be implicated if the truth was revealed?"
"No way. Lord Chen is a good official. How can what Qi did be blamed on him?"
"That's right. Qi stole the old lady's ginseng and gave her fake medicine. The Chen family sent the divorce letter to the Qi family a long time ago. The Qi family was in the wrong and dared not say a word."
That day, the prince consort beat his uncle and the second wife's Chen Jizong, who cried out for justice. Many people heard it, and later some rumors came out from the Chen family.
Some brave people even followed the group of people towards the Chen family's ancestral home, hoping to see some excitement.
Chen's house.
Each family was mourning in their own way. When they heard that the imperial edict had arrived, Chen Tingjian and Sun hurried to the front yard and sent someone to inform the east and west yards.
News of Qi's actions had long been spread throughout the Chen family, and all branches knew that Chen Tingjian had submitted a letter of apology to the palace, so they were not surprised that an imperial decree would come.
Huayang and Chen Jingzong left Siyi Hall and met the families of Chen Bozong and Chen Xiaozong in the corridor.
Everyone else was fine, but Luo Yuyan was due in the next few days. Her belly was bulging out above her skirt and she looked very distressed.
"Let's go."
When all three families arrived, Chen Bozong spoke.
When we arrived at the front yard of the main house, we saw that in addition to Chen Tingjian and his wife, a family of five from the east yard had also arrived, but Qi had a rope tied around her hands.
During this period, Qi and her cousin Manager Yang were both imprisoned in the woodshed in the east courtyard. Now they are thin and haggard, and have long lost the arrogance they once had when they walked around the town.
"This servant has met the princess."
Eunuch Xiao Ma was chatting with Chen Tingjian when he saw the princess coming out of the corner of his eye. He immediately left Chen Tingjian, trotted over to Huayang, and knelt down to kowtow.
He was the godson of Ma Gonggong, the eunuch beside Emperor Jingshun, and he was considered to be well-respected in front of the emperor. Huayang naturally recognized him and asked in surprise, "Why did they send you here?"
Eunuch Xiao Ma raised his head and replied with a smile: "The emperor and the queen missed the master, so they asked me to bring you a reward. Before leaving, the emperor also repeatedly told me to take a good look at the princess to see if she has lost weight."
As he spoke, he actually looked at the princess carefully.
These eunuchs in the palace are good at trying to please people, and they do it very naturally, without any sign of embarrassment, awkwardness or affectation.
Huayang smiled and asked him to stand up and talk.
Eunuch Xiao Ma wanted to take a few more looks and turn around to say a few more words in front of the emperor, but suddenly a sharp gaze shot over. Eunuch Xiao Ma looked over and met the stern face of the prince consort.
Eunuch Xiao Ma secretly complained in his heart, he was an incomplete man, and he was ordered to care for the princess, so why was the prince consort so petty
"Everyone is waiting, you go first to announce the decree."
Huayang did not waste too much time with eunuch Xiao Ma, and took Chen Jingzong to the row behind his father-in-law and mother-in-law.
Eunuch Xiao Ma also became serious and walked in front of everyone in the Chen family with the imperial edict.
Chen Tingjian led his family members and knelt down.
Because Luo Yuyan had a big belly, she was still a step behind everyone else even with Chen Xiaozong supporting her, and her face showed signs of pain.
Eunuch Xiao Ma didn't care. Seeing that everyone was kneeling, he read the imperial edict aloud.
When Qi heard that he was sentenced to death by hanging, his eyes went dark and he fell to the ground.
After all, Chen Tingshi had been married to her for more than 20 years, and no matter how much he resented and was angry, he still loved her for more than 20 years. When he heard that Qi had ended up like this, he felt cold all over and his face turned pale, as if his soul had been taken away by a ghost. Chen Jizong lowered his head, wanting to cry but not daring, tears streaming down his face.
"I am grateful for your forgiveness, Your Majesty. I thank you for your grace."
Chen Tingjian kowtowed to the leader and accepted his order.
Eunuch Xiao Ma handed him the bright yellow imperial edict, and relayed a few words of encouragement from Emperor Jingshun to Chen Tingjian, then turned his gaze to Huayang again.
Huayang then said to Chen Tingjian, "Father, I will take Eunuch Ma to Siyi Hall for some tea."
Chen Tingjian nodded.
Eunuch Xiao Ma followed with a smile. Chen Jingzong guessed that Huayang wanted to ask him about the affairs in the palace, so he tactfully did not go back immediately.
The prefect of Lingzhou sent an official to escort Qi and Manager Yang away after they had a greeting with Chen Tingjian.
"mother!"
Chen Jizong could no longer control himself. He rushed over and hugged Qi's legs, tears streaming down his face.
Qi looked at the brothers Chen Tingjian and Chen Tingshi with despair and numbness. Suddenly, she smiled meaningfully, dragged her tired body, and obediently followed the officials.
A group of people gathered outside the Chen family to watch the fun. They had heard the imperial edict clearly and were now pointing fingers at the Qi family.
The servant closed the door of Chen's house to keep the noise out.
Chen Tingjian looked at the family members solemnly and said sternly: "The disaster of the Qi family today should be taken as a warning by all of you. If anyone commits the same offense again, I will still punish them according to the law. No one should expect me to show leniency!"
Chen Tingshi felt that his elder brother was scolding him, and that the imperial edict also required his elder brother to punish him. His legs trembled with fear and he knelt down again.
Sun quickly winked at her sons.
Chen Bochong and Chen Xiaozong walked over quickly and helped their uncle up.
Chen Jingzong smiled, turned and walked towards the west courtyard.
Qi deserved to die.
The laws of this dynasty severely punish unfilial children, including daughters-in-law. Not to mention Qi's corruption, the fact that she dared to feed the old lady fake medicine has already constituted a serious crime of unfilial behavior.
.
Eunuch Xiao Ma had to hurry back to Beijing, so he left Huayang four boxes of rewards and three letters home before saying goodbye.
The family letters came to the emperor, empress and prince respectively. Huayang leaned on the couch by the window in the second room and read them with great interest.
Chen Jingzong came in.
Huayang moved inside cautiously, picking up the other two family letters at the same time, as if he was trying to prevent Chen Jingzong from peeping.
"Your Majesty and His Majesty really love you and are afraid that you will suffer here."
Sitting on the chair, Chen Jingzong made sarcastic remarks to the princess on the couch.
Huayang looked at the letter and said nonchalantly, "Who made me so lovable? Unlike some people."
The treatment that the couple received from their respective parents was completely different.
Chen Jingzong drank his tea calmly: "No matter how much you are loved, you still have to marry me."
Huayang: …
Is he self-deprecating or arrogant
That night, the couple was sleeping soundly when they were suddenly awakened by a loud noise.
Chen Jingzong listened attentively and guessed, "Third sister-in-law is probably about to give birth."
Huayang blinked.
She knew that Luo Yuyan was carrying a daughter, but she didn't remember the exact date of her birth. Not to mention her niece, she even wrote down Chen Jingzong's birthday after his death.
Why do we remember it? Because Chen Jingzong’s death anniversary and birthday are on the same day.
When he was alive, she didn't care about it, and her family wouldn't celebrate the birthday of a man who had established a family. In the first year after Huayang got married, her mother-in-law mentioned it to her. Huayang gave her mother-in-law face and asked the kitchen to make longevity noodles for Chen Jingzong that night. This guy actually thought she was hinting at something, took a good bath, and tormented her until midnight.
The next year, the mother-in-law reminded Huayang again in a tactful way, but Huayang was afraid that Chen Jingzong would do something wrong again, so she pretended not to know. Chen Jingzong also seemed to have not remembered it at all, and continued to work from morning till night.
Later he died on the battlefield. When the bad news came, Huayang heard his mother-in-law crying and asking why it was this day, and then he realized that he died on his birthday.
How can there be such miserable people
In the darkness, Huayang hugged Chen Jingzong sympathetically.
Chen Jingzong was stunned for a moment, then immediately hugged her back, brushed aside her messy long hair with one hand, and kissed her neck.
Huayang: …
She twisted his arm.
Chen Jingzong took a deep breath, propped up his upper body, looked at her and said, "I thought you wanted it."
Huayang: "Giving birth is like going through the gates of hell for a woman. Since I knew that my third sister-in-law was about to give birth, how could I have such thoughts?"
Chen Jingzong: "She didn't give birth to you, what does it have to do with you?"
Huayang just pushed him down.
Chen Jingzong was overjoyed and lay on his back, facing the ceiling of the tent to calm his body.
It was quiet here, but the noise in Fucuitang in front was getting louder and louder. Not long after, Luo Yuyan's screams of pain were heard.
This was the second time Huayang heard her scream, and it made her feel uncomfortable. She was even afraid of Chen Jingzong's thing and couldn't imagine how painful it would be to give birth to a child.
She was anxious to divert attention, so she reached out and patted the man next to her.
Chen Jingzong: "If you don't want to, stop touching me."
Huayang took back his hand, lay facing him, and whispered, "I'm afraid of pain. Let's just have one child in the future. What do you think?"
She didn't like to be close to other people's children, but wanted to have her own flesh and blood. However, one was enough, no more.
Chen Jingzong's breathing, which had just calmed down, immediately became heavy again: "You really want to talk to me about this in the middle of the night?"
Huayang: "I'm talking to you seriously."
Chen Jingzong: "Can you give birth to a child?"
Huayang: …
She turned away angrily.
Chen Jingzong came closer and hugged her tightly with his long and strong arms, not allowing her to hide.
He bit her earlobe gently, taking all her strength away.
After a moment, he asked, "Do you really want to give birth to a child for me?"
Huayang's breath was unstable: "What do you mean by giving birth to you? That's my child too, I gave birth to it for myself."
Chen Jingzong: "Okay, as long as the child is mine, you can have as many as you want. One is not too few, and ten is not too many for me."
These words are full of impropriety. She only has one prince consort and the child is not his. Is it possible that she would cheat on him
Huayang continued to twist him.
Chen Jingzong held down her hands. He knew it was impossible, but he still wanted to waste his energy.
Huayang's undershirt was also made of brocade, very thin. If he rubbed it, it would be so embarrassing for the maid to see it.
"That's enough." She tried to sound like she didn't like it at all.
Chen Jingzong stayed in bed for a while longer, then lay down to the side with a heavy breath.
Huayang looked at the blurry outline of his face, unable to sleep, and thinking about a lot of random things.
After a while, she touched Chen Jingzong's arm and said, "I want a child, but I don't want to have one too early. Can we wait a few more years?"
Chen Jingzong turned his head and said in a slightly cold voice: "What do you mean? You didn't allow me to touch you in all these years of waiting?"
Huayang: "No, it's just that I want to have the baby later. There are always other ways to prevent pregnancy."
Her aunt, Princess Anle, lost her husband a long time ago, and she had a constant stream of lovers in the palace. Her aunt must have a good idea on how to prevent pregnancy without hurting her body.
After the New Year, when the funeral was over, she wrote a letter to ask about her aunt.
Let it go now, lest her aunt think that she was not wanting to have a baby soon, but was really feeling lonely due to the mourning.
(End of this chapter)