While Huayang was filing a complaint with the emperor, Prince Xiang was not idle either. On the day when Wu Run took the prisoners away from Lingzhou, Prince Xiang summoned two advisers, and the advisers read the text carefully and quoted from classics. He personally wrote a heartfelt letter of apology.
This is to apologize for accidentally teasing Huayang.
When the people flocked to Ningyuan to file a complaint against him, and seeing that Huayang had sent an urgent letter over a distance of 600 miles, the King of Xiang quickly called his advisers and wrote a second letter to defend himself. He was not stupid and admitted some "minor crimes", such as the tenants of the palace accidentally occupying the people's fields, and then denied the major crimes of abducting women and killing civilians one by one.
His two letters arrived only half a day later than Huayang's two letters.
But it was impossible for Emperor Jingshun to let Prince of Xiang go.
The princes and relatives of the various clans were fat borers scattered throughout the dynasty, occupying nearly 10% of the country's arable land. This was still the registered data. Only they themselves knew how much land they had secretly occupied from the people.
The princes did not have to pay taxes on their farmland. At the same time, they could receive a large salary from the court every year. The money and taxes collected by the court from the people were barely enough to support these princes and their relatives!
If he could do whatever he wanted, Emperor Jingshun would have wanted to remove all the princes and confiscate all the private property in the prince's palaces!
If he couldn't withdraw, he would endure it. If the princes made some minor mistakes, he could tolerate it in order to show the emperor's kindness to his relatives.
However, this time, the Prince of Xiang was about to lay his hands on his daughter. If he continued to endure it, he would be completely throwing the emperor's majesty at the feet of the princes and relatives, letting them trample on him at will!
Before the two imperial envoys set off, Emperor Jingshun only gave them one sentence, asking them to act impartially.
The imperial envoys rode at full speed and arrived at Lingzhou City on April 9th. The first thing they did after entering the city was to go to Ningyuan to pay a visit to Princess Huayang.
Chen Jingzong was in the guard post. Huayang changed into a bright yellow dress and summoned the two imperial envoys accompanied by two maids, the guard commander Zhou Ji, and Wu Run, who had returned half an hour earlier.
When the imperial envoys introduced themselves, Huayang realized that these two people were actually the two who came to investigate Prince Xiang in his previous life. One was Shi Yao, an old friend of his father-in-law, and the other was Zheng Hong, who did not get along well with his father-in-law.
It goes without saying that Huayang admires her father-in-law, but she does not regard all of his political enemies as bad people. For example, Zheng Hong in front of her, in his previous life, he agreed with the thirteen charges that her father-in-law had brought against the Prince of Xiang, but he insisted that the Prince of Xiang had no intention of rebelling.
The Prince of Xiang really had no intention of rebelling. He was foolish to raise the "banner of appealing for injustice", so it was not unfair for Shi Yao to accuse him of treason.
In the final analysis, neither of the two imperial envoys was wrong, only the Prince of Xiang was wrong.
After greeting, Zheng Hong took a long box from his attendant. Shi Yao took out a bright yellow imperial edict and said to Huayang, "Princess, the emperor has an order."
Huayang then left his seat and knelt down to listen to the order.
The Emperor Jingshun said three things in the imperial edict. First, he comforted his daughter's grievances, then he praised his daughter's benevolence and righteousness in redressing the grievances of the people, and finally, he gave his daughter a whip, which allowed her to whip anyone who offended or disrespected her or harmed the people, from the vassal kings to the subjects. The whip was of great significance, and the Emperor Jingshun hoped that his daughter would use it with caution. If it was proven that she had been wrongly beaten more than three times, the emperor would take back the whip.
Although Emperor Jingshun set conditions for his daughter to use it, this was the first time that an emperor of this dynasty bestowed the whip on his daughter, which shows how much favor Huayang had.
This "whip for beating the king" was very appropriate, because Huayang was indeed molested by a vassal king and then beaten with a whip.
Emperor Jingshun wanted to use this method to tell the people of the world that his princess fought well and that he, as a father, fully supported her!
"I thank you for your grace, Father."
Huayang liked this gift very much, even though she might not use it many times in her life.
Huayang took the long box containing the whip with both hands and stood up with the help of two maids.
Zheng Hong said solemnly, "Princess, we still have to go to the Prince of Xiang's mansion to investigate a case. We cannot stay here for long. We will take our leave now."
Huayang: "Go ahead, the adults should conduct the trial impartially. Don't wrongly sentence the King of Xiang just because I sued him, and don't let the people suffer injustice just because he is a vassal king."
"Princess, you are wise. We will keep it in mind."
Wu Run went to see off the two imperial envoys.
Huayang ordered Zhou Ji: "Send someone to the Xiangwang Mansion to check. If there is any unusual movement, report it at any time."
Zhou Ji took the order and left.
Huayang then placed the long box on the table and opened it.
There were also examples in previous dynasties where emperors rewarded their virtuous ministers with the royal whip. It was called a whip, but it was actually a mace, a long, bladeless four-sided weapon. It looked majestic and was actually quite heavy. Only heroic men like Chen Jingzong and Zhou Jina could wield it with ease.
The emperor must have taken this into consideration, as the whip he gave her was a leather whip made of ox tendon, with a red gold dragon head on the handle, and the whip was about seven feet long.
Huayang tried to shake it and it worked quite well.
Chao Yun smiled and said, "If the princess had obtained this whip earlier, she should have whipped the King of Xiang a few times with her own hands that day."
Huayang: "He doesn't deserve it."
She liked this whip, but not everyone who wanted to be whipped by her could get it.
"Put it away."
.
Near dusk, Zhou Ji came to report that the people he sent out had been watching outside the Prince of Xiang's mansion for half a day and had not found anything unusual.
Huayang recalled the files he had seen in his previous life. At that time, the imperial envoys had not yet arrived in Lingzhou City, but the King of Xiang had already raised the "banner of injustice" high up, and all the people in the city could see it.
Why is the Prince of Xiang impotent in this life
It was nothing more than a matter of taste. When his father-in-law sued him, he dared to cry out for injustice, but when it came to Huayang, he dared not act recklessly. Moreover, this time the prince of Xiang and more than 20 guards were taken to the capital first and handed over to the Jinyiwei for trial. Jinyiwei was a place where they could find out how many bowls of wine the king of Xiang drank on a certain day. The king of Xiang probably knew that he was guilty and could not defend himself, so he accepted his fate.
Without the issue of "rebellion", the charge of "falsely accusing the vassal" against my father-in-law was completely eradicated.
Huayang is in a good mood.
She did so much not only to ensure a good ending for everyone in the Chen family, but also to allow her brother to leave a good name in history.
“When the birds are all gone, the bows are put away; when the rabbit is dead, the dog is cooked.” These are all words that sympathize with the meritorious officials and criticize the king.
In Huayang's opinion, his younger brother's treatment of the Chen family did nothing but bring him bad reputation. Perhaps his younger brother wanted to take back the power that was once held by his father-in-law, but his father-in-law was dead, and the ministers he left to his younger brother were all worthy of reuse. They were the pillars of the country who would help his younger brother to create a few years of prosperity. When his father-in-law was alive, they might have followed his lead. Once his father-in-law died, his younger brother took power again. If he used his power, these people would naturally listen to his younger brother. Why did he have to use such an extreme method to eliminate his father-in-law's party
Huayang cherishes those years of peace and prosperity. The revival of the country was brought about by his father-in-law's reforms. Those ministers who took advantage of his younger brother's youth and vigor and supported and instigated him even wanted to abolish his father-in-law's reforms. They simply wanted to continue on the path of corrupt officials and amass the people's wealth for their own use.
Huayang has no ambition. Her parents' family and her husband's family are her small families, while the world is her big family as a princess.
The only thing she wants is a harmonious family and prosperity.
When Chen Jingzong stepped into the Qifeng Palace, he saw Huayang leaning comfortably on a rocking chair, closing his eyes contentedly, swinging gently under the shade of a tree.
She had a pink peony in her hair and no other jewelry.
The brilliant sunset shone from the west and only climbed up her red skirt.
The petals of the peony are delicate and pink, perfect, but her beautiful face with white and pink skin is more attractive than the peony.
There was a small stool next to the rocking chair. Maybe the maids sat there to talk to her.
Chen Jingzong sat on a small stool, his elbows resting on his knees, his upper body slightly leaning forward, his eyes gradually moving from her eyebrows downwards.
Her skin was whiter than snow, and her lips were red as fire and moist.
Chen Jingzong looked away. He didn't want to be disliked by her every day, but with the way she looked, which man could resist thinking about her
Not to mention men, even women and children would be dazed when seeing her.
Huayang opened her eyes and saw Chen Jingzong sitting next to her. He tilted his head and looked at the tree trunk behind her, wondering what he was thinking.
"came back?"
This rocking chair was very comfortable, so Huayang continued to rock lazily and talked to him.
Chen Jingzong looked over again and said, "The two imperial envoys have also called Xiang Baoshan, Wang Feihu, and Lin Yan."
Huayang was not surprised at all: "Looking at how they messed up the garrison, I know they are not good officials. One is the son-in-law of the King of Xiang, one is the brother-in-law of Xiang Baoshan, and the other is a fat man with a big belly."
Chen Jingzong laughed: "Let's not talk about Xiang Baoshan and Lin Yan first, just talk about Wang Feihu. You can't doubt that he is not a good person just because he is fat."
Hua Yang glared at him: "Who said I judge people by appearance? Did he treat you to a drink or bribe you?"
Chen Jingzong: "You have kept all the accounts. What would you have done if I had listened to them and drank wine that day?"
Hua Yang smiled and said, "Then I will whip you a few times. It just so happens that my father has rewarded me with a new whip today."
Chen Jingzong just found out about this and told Chaoyun to get out the whip.
That was bestowed upon the princess by the emperor. The prince consort's words were of no use, so Chao Yun looked at his master for instructions.
Huayang nodded.
Chao Yun then went to get the whip for beating the king.
When Chen Jingzong saw that the whip was only seven feet long, he was very annoyed and immediately gave up the idea of trying it out. He played with the whip handle carved with a dragon head for a while and asked Huayang: "The whip is a good one, do you know how to use it?"
Huayang: "Isn't this simple?"
Other weapons require practice, but a whip is too simple, just swing it.
Chen Jingzong pulled her out of the rocking chair and asked her to hit the tree with a whip.
Huayang felt sorry for the tree: "Why would I hit it when it was doing nothing?"
The trees that can be planted in the Qifeng Palace are both precious and elegant. Huayang is reluctant to waste any beautiful things.
Chen Jingzong raised his eyebrows: "Then hit me?"
Huayang smiled, holding the whip handle in one hand and stroking the whip with the other, and circled around Chen Jingzong, seemingly thinking about where to hit him.
Finally, she gently touched Chen Jingzong's butt.
Chen Jingzong: "If you hit the King of Xiang like this, he will think you are playing some tricks on him."
Huayang was disgusted by him. He walked to a corner of the yard and angrily whipped the large water tank there.
The whip hit the water tank and bounced back quickly.
Before the whip hit Huayang, Chen Jingzong grabbed it in time.
Huayang stared blankly at the whip in Chen Jingzong's hand.
Chen Jingzong: "Is it still simple?"
Huayang pursed his lips.
Chen Jingzong stopped laughing at her. He handed the whip to her and began to teach her how to whip it.
Huayang studied with great interest for a quarter of an hour, then his arm felt sore and his palm turned slightly red from the recoil of the force.
The whipping lesson was over, and the couple went to the main room to wash their hands and eat.
After nightfall, Huayang came out of the shower and found Chen Jingzong leaning on the couch in his middle clothes, holding the whip in his hand.
"Why did it come out again?" Huayang asked puzzledly. In an ordinary family, such a gift from the emperor would be treated with respect, and Huayang did not intend to take it lightly.
Chen Jingzong looked at her, then lowered his eyes. After a while, he put the whip back.
Huayang thought he was weird.
After two quarters of an hour, Chen Jingzong held Huayang's wrists tightly and whispered in her ear: "Sometimes, a whip can be used as a rope."
Huayang: …
She gritted her teeth: "You dare!"
Chen Jingzong kissed her flushed face and said, "Of course I don't dare to do that now. I'll tell you when you are willing in the future."
(End of this chapter)