Several major events occurred at the morning court the next day. The first was that Chu Yuehou resigned from the post of Grand Admiral of the Jinying Guard, and the emperor approved it. This incident shocked the court and the public, and all the civil and military officials in the court did not understand why the Grand Admiral suddenly wanted to resign.
Before anyone could figure out why, the emperor issued several imperial decrees in succession.
The first imperial edict was to posthumously confer the title of Duke of Wei on the old Marquis of Changping. The old Marquis of Changping had passed away, and the title of Duke was passed down to the current Marquis of Changping.
The second imperial decree was to marry Princess Changle to Liang Ting, the son of the Minister of Personnel.
The third imperial decree was to sentence Prince Yong'an to death by hanging.
The fourth imperial edict sentenced the prince of Duke Cheng'en to death by hanging and stripped Duke Cheng'en of his title.
When the civil and military officials in the court learned what Prince Yong'an had done, they were shocked. Because Prince Yong'an had always been a learned, polite, and modest gentleman in front of everyone, no one expected that he would actually abduct several women and kill them.
This is how a beast in human form can be!
As for the fourth imperial edict, some people were surprised while others felt that the emperor should have done so long ago!
Of course, some people seemed to see the intention behind the emperor's move and began to feel insecure.
Today was the day when Xing Nong and Chu Tiankuo were going to return to their parents' home. After Chu Tiankuo came back from court, the two of them went to the Chen Mansion together with a generous return gift.
Xing Nong was not surprised to hear the content of the fourth imperial edict. She just asked, "Is the emperor starting to make big moves?"
Everyone knows that the Prince of Cheng'en is a playboy who has raped many women. However, the Emperor has always turned a blind eye to it. His sudden attack today is obviously a hint.
Chu Tiankuo knew that Xingnong was smart and could see the big picture from the small details.
He nodded. "In the past, the political situation was unstable, and there were many things that Father wanted to do but was powerless, fearing that a single move would affect the entire body. Now that there are no external worries, it is time to start dealing with internal troubles. Father intends to cut off the rotten parts of Chu one by one, and Duke Cheng En is the first piece of meat to be cut. It was also because he ran into it, the night before last..."
It turned out that on the night of their wedding, the Prince of Cheng'en got drunk and, after leaving the Queen, raped a woman in the street. The woman's husband stepped forward to stop him, but he ordered his men to beat him to death. He then declared that there was no woman in the world that he could not get.
In the past, although the prince of Cheng'en was a playboy, he would not do such a thing as robbing a commoner girl so blatantly. Afterwards, Cheng'en secretly threatened and bribed the victim's family to appease the matter. However, many people saw this incident, and the people from the Five Cities Military Department arrested the man and put him in jail on the spot.
The next day, many people who had been bullied and oppressed by the prince of Duke Cheng'en and people related to Duke Cheng'en's mansion went to the government office to file a complaint. The matter became a big deal, so the emperor naturally took the opportunity to clean up the mess.
Of course, I don’t know whether the emperor fanned the flames and made the matter worse.
Chu Tiankuo told Xingnong the whole story. He did not think that the affairs of the court had nothing to do with the women in the harem, nor did he have the idea that the harem should not interfere in politics. On the contrary, he enjoyed discussing these things with Xingnong.
The two talked about the affairs of the court all the way, and before they knew it, they arrived at the Shen Mansion.
At the gate of the Shen Mansion, Gu came out to greet them with Xingqing and Xinghui, their two uncles’ families, and several princes of the Jin Kingdom.
Xing Nong happily jumped off the carriage and greeted everyone one by one: "Grandma, Uncle,... Big Brother..."
Seeing that Xingnong looked very good, Gu was relieved. She said happily, "Come in quickly, it's windy here."
The two of them entered the house surrounded by the crowd.
The Crown Princess of Jin asked Xing Nong with a smile, "Are you used to living in the East Palace of Chu?"
The Crown Prince of Jin echoed, "If there's anything missing or you don't like, tell me and I'll replace it for you."
Several other princes echoed:
"If you don't like living in the palace, it's okay to move out to Hanyuan. We will talk to the King of Chu about this."
"Is there anyone in the palace who wants to embarrass my sister? If anyone dares to do so, please tell us! We will take care of it for you!"
... ...
After saying this, he glared at Chu Tiankuo with a warning look.
Chu Tiankuo looked back at them calmly, knowing that they were concerned about Xingnong, and did not bother with them.
Xing Nong smiled and said, "No, I'm fine in the palace, don't worry."
Everyone could see that Xingnong was really happy, so they didn't continue the topic and talked about other things. It was not until after lunch that Gu found an opportunity and pulled Xingnong into his room to question him.
Xing Qing knew what Gu was asking. They all knew about the four imperial edicts issued by the emperor this morning. She was also curious, so she followed.
Gu first asked Empress Dowager Xingnong whether she had made things difficult for her because of the matter of Princess Changle.
Xing Nong smiled and said, "No, the Queen Mother fainted from anger before she had the chance to embarrass her."
Gu: “…”
Xing Qing asked excitedly, "What's going on?"
Xingnong then told her what happened yesterday. Of course, Ruyi also told her what happened in the Cining Palace yesterday.
There is a man named Chu Tiankuo in the Cining Palace.
Xing Qing laughed when she heard that: "You deserve it!"
Gu was also completely relieved. With the emperor, the queen, and the prince protecting her, Xing Nong would not suffer any harm from the queen mother!
But then she thought of Xingnong's personality.
Xing Nong is not the type of person who will suffer any loss. If the queen or queen mother in the palace makes things difficult for her, she will definitely not submit to them obediently. If she does not make things difficult in return, she will already be giving face to Chu Tiankuo.
Moreover, Xing Nong was a princess of the State of Jin, with such a noble status that the empress dowager in the palace would have to think twice before making things difficult for her.
Thinking of this, Gu was completely relieved.
Then Gu asked again: "Xingnong, has Qian's daughter been found?"
Since Qian was rescued by Xing Nong, she has been helping in the workshop. Gu is also familiar with her and naturally cares about her. Gu understands Qian's heart as a mother very well. She has been worried for so long when Shen Ruolan married into the capital. Moreover, Qian's daughter was abducted and she didn't know what happened to her. As long as there was no news about her daughter, she would feel uneasy.
Gu knew this feeling very well.
Xing Nong shook her head when she heard this: "I can't recognize her. As for whether Aunt Qian's daughter is among them, we have to wait until she comes to Beijing to identify her."
The Ministry of Justice has already issued a notice, and local government offices in various places will notify those who have lost their children to come and identify them.
"It's a sin!" Gu shook her head, and regretted how she had misjudged people and married Shen Ruolan to you, Wen Ruiqing.
Gu never imagined that Prince Yong'an would have such thoughts about her own daughter. She was disgusted.
Of course, Wen Ruiqing has divorced Shen Ruolan now, and she is both angry and happy.
Yesterday, Chu Yuehou sent the person back to the mansion. Shen Ruolan was ill and was now recuperating in the backyard. She looked like she had lost all hope in life. Gu was angry when she saw her like that and wanted to ignore her, but since she was her own daughter, she couldn't bear to do it.
After knowing the whole story, Gu wanted to pick up a knife and chop Wen Ruiqing to death. It was all the fault of that bastard Wen Ruiqing!
But Chu Yuehou said that he would only teach him a lesson, so she gave up.
Xing Qing saw that Gu was angry again, and hurriedly said, "Grandma, my sister is coming home today, can't we say something happy?"
Hearing this, Gu thought of what happened yesterday and said, "Okay, let's talk about something happy!"
Then she looked at Xingnong again: "Xingnong, General Ren's mansion sent someone to discuss marriage yesterday, but I didn't agree immediately. Do you think this marriage can be accepted?"
Xing Qing blushed when she heard this and stood up: "I'm going out for a walk!"