The capital city has been very busy recently. Zhou Shuren caused a scene in the main hall, so the case was handled very quickly. The calculations behind it left traces, and the investigation was also carried out quickly.
Zhulan is following the progress of the case, and so are the children at home. Mingteng has been busy lately, and Mingrui is at home now. The grandchildren have discussed the case a lot, and all the children went to the trial day.
Zhulan did not go out, but waited for news at home. As for the subsequent matters, Shuren did not interfere or add fuel to the fire at all. He made it clear that it was all up to the emperor to decide. The less he interfered, the more ruthless the emperor would be.
In the teahouse, Ming Teng sat in a private room upstairs. The room faced the street and he could see the crowd in the distance from the window.
Mingrui narrowed his eyes, "I thought the Wen family's young master wouldn't come, look who I saw, the sixth young master of the Wen family."
Ming Teng stood up and walked to the window. He saw the man getting off the carriage and his face turned cold. "The one who stepped on Minghui to get attention?"
"Well, this guy is very thoughtful. He has been kept in the care of his stepmother for many years, but he won't let go once he gets the chance. Since he stepped on Minghui to gain attention, and passed the imperial examination this year, his position in asking for the price has risen a lot."
Ming Teng sneered, "This Sixth Young Master is indeed quite capable. The Wen family has many illegitimate sons, and not everyone can come and keep an eye on them."
This is a trust and also a respect.
Mingrui played with the jade pendant in his hand, "I don't have any contact with it."
“You have no chance of contact.”
Mingrui smiled. Yes, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children is so clear. Legitimate children will never be seen in the circle of legitimate children, and illegitimate children will never be seen in the circle of illegitimate children. Even the marriages in the various mansions are the same. When a illegitimate child gets married, the lady of the house will never go to the wedding ceremony in person, and the daughter-in-law sent by the wife is always a daughter-in-law born out of wedlock.
The Zhou Marquis's Mansion had no illegitimate sons, so such a ceremony had never been performed, and no one dared to send such a letter to the mansion.
It is difficult for a bastard's son in the capital to make a name for himself. It's okay for those who don't have a legitimate son in the family, but for those who have a legitimate son, well, don't say that women don't make things difficult for other women. Women are also mothers and can do anything for their sons.
As he was talking, the servant outside the door knocked and walked in, "Sir, Master Ning Ming is outside."
Ming Teng, "Please invite someone in."
Ning Ming walked in, "I saw the Marquis's carriage outside. A waiter knew you were upstairs, so I shamelessly came up. There was really no room downstairs."
Ming Teng smiled and said, "If I had noticed you earlier, I would have personally invited you up. Come and sit down."
Ning Ming greeted Ming Rui again, sat down and asked, "Why are there only the two of you? Where are Ming Hui and the others?"
Mingrui explained: "They disliked the distance here, so they went to the front."
Ning Ming laughed, "Uncle Changzhong took them there, right?"
Ming Teng shook his head, "You really guessed wrong, my uncle is not with Minghui, he is with the Fourth Prince."
Ning Ming was stunned for a moment, "I heard that the Fourth Prince and Uncle Changzhong are good friends, it seems that it is not a rumor."
Mingrui poured himself a cup of tea and said, "Well, we can play together."
It means playmates only.
Ning Ming smiled and thought about himself again. His great-grandfather was not dead yet, so he was the young master of the Duke's Mansion. After the family split up, his father was a commoner. Now his reputation was not very good either. He had a lot of troubles and his face became a little gloomy.
Ming Teng and Ming Rui looked at each other. They knew that Ning Ming's life was not easy. His father was not capable of handling the matter, and he was entangled by the Yu family, which also affected his marriage.
Ming Teng thought of this and said, "Grandma is looking after you."
Ning Ming knew it, and thanked her, "Thank you for your help, old lady."
Time passed little by little, and many people were waiting for the result. The evidence was conclusive and irrefutable. The petition was indeed true. Old Master Wen had no guarantor. A member of the Wen family, who held the fifth rank, was stripped of his official position, his property was confiscated, and he was exiled.
The news spread very quickly, and the case was handled so smoothly because the Wen family took the initiative to surrender. They were originally quite passive, but surrendering themselves made them much more proactive.
At the next morning court, Lord Wen looked as usual, because the losses were stopped in time and the impact was not great. In addition, the emperor did not expect to conduct a thorough investigation, and many clues that could be further investigated were cut off, so the Wen family did not suffer any damage.
Old Lord Wen stood at the palace gate, glanced at the ministers waiting to enter the palace, and then retracted his gaze. He had not been idle these days.
At the morning court today, the emperor dismissed the third prince's in-laws from their official positions. There weren't many promising people in the Du family to begin with, and their current official positions were only because of the third prince's face. This time, no one will be held responsible.
Zhou Shuren was surprised. The Third Prince was such an unknown person and now was the time for him to get engaged. How could the marriage be good if he was embarrassed like this
Afterwards, the emperor demoted the second prince's second uncle. That was not all, Huifei's second brother was also demoted.
Zhou Shuren sneered in his heart. The emperor made the decision for him, and he also took the opportunity to threaten the maternal families of several princes. It didn't matter who was scheming against him. Anyway, his goal was achieved. The Liu family didn't suffer much loss, but the Wang family suffered the greatest loss. Lord Wang Er was demoted, and he was no longer the head of the pharmacy.
Many of the ministers in the court secretly glanced at the prince, and even if the queen was resting, it would not affect the prince.
Zhou Shuren glanced at Old Man Wen out of the corner of his eye and thought, well, no one benefited from this. Ahem, of course, because of him, so many people were involved.
After the court session, Wang Ju whispered, "It's over."
"Well, it's over."
Wang Ju said quietly, "You have offended many people."
Zhou Shuren sneered, "Before the emperor ascended the throne, I also offended many people, including the King of Qi and the King of Chu. I was not Marquis Zhou at that time. Do you think I would care?"
Wang Ju smiled and said, "I worried for nothing."
Zhou Shuren snorted, "Don't worry, I won't bear a grudge against me."
They would only want to win him over more, and he profoundly told everyone how much the emperor valued him.
After leaving the palace, Wang Ju saw Lord Liu talking to Zhou Shuren. Lord Liu left with a smile, and Lord Wang came over again. He didn't hold any grudge at all, and what he wanted to express in his words was that he wanted to make friends.
After Wang Ju and the others had left, he said, "The third prince's mother's family is too miserable."
Zhou Shuren, "You want to say that the Third Prince is too miserable."
His mother had no favor in the palace, and he was an invisible prince. His maternal family was originally unreliable, and now it had become a burden.
Wang Ju touched his nose and said, "Hehe."
Zhou Shuren gestured to go first. After getting on the Ministry of Revenue's carriage, Zhou Shuren smiled meaningfully. He didn't think that the third prince's mother's family was innocent. If they were really innocent, the emperor would not be so cruel. Obviously, he was involved.
Of course, the third prince’s mother’s family was also a scapegoat and took most of the responsibility.
In the evening, Zhulan heard that "the third prince's marriage is difficult."
"He is a prince after all. No one can refuse the emperor's order except important officials."
Zhu Lan thought the same thing, "Bring it to the Emperor and hope the Third Prince will behave himself."
Zhou Shuren, "Yeah."
After the morning court session the next day, Zhou Shuren stayed in the palace. Zhou Shuren was not alone. They discussed the bridge repair in the study. At noon, Zhou Shuren stayed alone.