In a way, the Duke of Xiangguo's Mansion was lucky. The Empress Dowager's 70th birthday was celebrated, and a banquet for thousands of old men and women was held. A general amnesty was certain. Of course, the Duke of Xiangguo's Mansion was not the only one that was lucky.
However, some people would not feel lucky at all. What they see is only the collapse of the Xiangguo Mansion. The former glory is no longer there. They were high and mighty, but fell into the dust. They were the center of attention, but were ridiculed and mocked. They lived in luxury, but now have to eat coarse food. The gap is too big. Perhaps some people simply cannot accept it and go crazy and die.
Even though those who would not be implicated by the Xiangguo Mansion but still needed the support of the Xiangguo Mansion would probably be crying and wailing as well.
In this case, what difference would it make whether the "useless" Duke of Xiangguo and his son died or were exiled
These things have not happened yet, but Wei Tingyu has already predicted the outcome.
In fact, after the evidence was taken back, Liang Ming was thrown aside. Even though he shouted in prison that he was innocent and framed - he had been tortured before for fear of implicating Li Ruoshui, but he refused to reveal the origin of the storybook - no one paid attention to him. After all, "treason" in one sentence and the proven evidence of killing civilians to claim military merit and taking advantage of the opportunity to plunder and enrich himself are completely different in nature.
As for the former, Emperor Xuanren would at most be angry that the imperial power was challenged. He basically had an idea of the situation in the Duke of Xiangguo's Mansion. He did not believe in treason or ill intentions, but those who should be punished must be punished. If he let them off lightly, others would follow suit, despise the imperial power, and show off from time to time. Then where would the majesty be
In the end, the Duke of Xiangguo might be demoted, rather than stripped of his title. Liang Ming would not escape the blame, and his father would also be implicated, but the impact on other people would not be too great. Emperor Xuanren had almost thought about what to do.
The situation of the latter was completely different. After seeing it, Emperor Xuanren was furious, his face was so gloomy that people nearby dared not breathe. He has always been kind to the people, and disasters among the people have always been his top priority. Under such circumstances, his ministers dared to do such inhumane and cruel things. No matter how great their contributions are or what their ancestors were like, he will never forgive them easily!
"Trial, trial immediately, trial strictly!"
The good mood of the festival was completely gone. In previous years, he would occasionally go out of the palace to have fun with the people, or hold a banquet to entertain the ministers, but this time there was nothing. So, the rewards were given out yesterday. Otherwise, no rewards would be equivalent to "lack of favor", and the Duke of Xiangguo's Mansion would be hated by many people.
Thus, the real three-court trial began. No matter the Minister of Justice or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, all those who were not involved in this matter showed up. When the Duke of Xiangguo was escorted out of the cell and saw that scene, his heart sank, it was over!
At this time, Li Ruoshui, who had just come out from visiting the prison, was still thinking about how to enter the Mansion of the Duke of Xiangguo. The Mansion of the Duke of Xiangguo was blocked, and people were allowed to enter but not leave. It targeted the people in the mansion, and they were not allowed to enter.
After thinking for a long time without any clue, he decided to go over and see if he could act according to the circumstances. However, the Xiangguo Mansion, which originally had only a few gates guarded, was completely surrounded. The servants who had been able to go out to purchase things before were all driven back. Anyone outside who showed any tendency to get even a little closer would be immediately targeted. Li Ruoshui pretended to leave as if nothing had happened, but his heart was pounding and he was extremely panicked. What was going on? What had happened in such a short time
Li Ruoshui thought of the study room mentioned by his grandfather. Could it be related to that
Thinking of this possibility, he urged the driver to go faster and leave as soon as possible. He no longer wanted to help, but wanted to get as far away from him as possible.
Only a few people knew about this, so it naturally did not affect their happy holiday.
Except for Wenren Xiang who was still under house arrest, all the other members of the Wenren family, including the old lady Wenren, were mobilized. This was really rare. For the people in the first house, the only regret was probably the absence of Wenren Xu and the other four.
But this is not a big hindrance.
During the Dragon Boat Festival, dragon boat racing is definitely the most indispensable program.
The huge Tianshui Lake was divided into countless areas. Not only did the dignitaries bring out their dragon boats, but ordinary officials, even merchants and common people could organize their own dragon boat races. This was only possible after Emperor Xuanren ascended the throne. You know, in the past, dragon boat races in Tianshui Lake were only a show for the upper class. Not to mention businessmen and common people, even ordinary officials could only watch and join in the fun.
Because Emperor Xuanren implemented the principle of "sharing happiness with the people", he divided the areas into different areas for the common people to participate. No money to make a dragon boat? No problem, he paid for it and divided the entire imperial city into different areas. Each area had a dragon boat. Of course, people could also pool their money to make it together, and there would be competitions between different areas. The winners would also get prizes set by the court.
Not only that, the competitions that ordinary people prevented could also be watched by the upper class. From an unknown year on, a young master from a certain family enjoyed the competition so much that he gave a large sum of money as a reward.
For ordinary people, what could be more "exciting" than this
As a result, the folk competitions became more and more exciting. Everyone put in all their efforts, not only wanting to win first place, but also playing all kinds of tricks just to attract more attention. - If you are favored by the noble, even if you come in last in the competition, you may still get the most money in the end.
Fortunately, larger areas were divided above the small areas, and the larger areas were basically divided into "outer four cities" and "inner four cities". The top three in each large area would be decided, which was a fixed reward given by the court. The eight first places would compete again, and the reward for the top three would be directly increased tenfold.
Xiaocao had long known that the Imperial City was extremely lively during the Dragon Boat Festival, and she had wanted to come and see it in the past two years. However, there were so many people that it was daunting, and she was alone, so she finally chose to leave.
This year is different. Even though there are many privileged people, the area is large enough. If this place doesn’t have the best location, there will always be the best viewing area somewhere else.
The entire Zhou Mountains, near the Tianshui Lake, were filled with people standing everywhere. Therefore, the many traces of artificial carvings and the various pavilions that were much more densely packed than elsewhere were really not a waste of money and manpower.
Xiaocao truly felt this lively atmosphere. Although there were still clear class distinctions in a small area, the overall class environment seemed to be blurred. Wherever he went, there seemed to be thunderous cheers.
In the past, China was a major flower-growing country with a relatively small population. During holidays, tourist areas were crowded with people. It is certainly not that exaggerated now, but there is indeed a familiar and nostalgic feeling.
So Xiaocao had a lot of fun the whole day. Even though the dragon boat race was over, it didn’t stop her from watching or even participating in other activities. Then, not only Wen Renying, but also the other brothers and sisters of the Wen family saw Xiaocao’s terrifying physical strength. Everyone else was exhausted, but the people around her changed one after another, but she was still full of energy. Even though the heat came relatively late in recent years, everyone was sweating a lot, but Xiaocao was still cool and refreshing...
It's rare for her to be so playful, so naturally she was allowed to have fun. However, as there were so many people today, she was worried that it would be unsafe if no one was around. It would also be inappropriate if only servants followed her, so she was allowed to have other brothers and sisters accompany her. They were not unhappy about it, but they were really tired!
No one said anything, but Mrs. Ge looked at her son's flushed face and said, "How can a good girl be so crazy and wild? Do you know how to write the word chastity? It was fine before, but now she still has no sense of propriety..."
Perhaps it was because of what happened last time. Although they didn't completely break up, Ge was no longer like before and was more restrained. Perhaps in her opinion, no matter what, Han must give her what belongs to her, and even if she was too respectful to her, she would not give herself more benefits. So why should she be so servile
"How about girl Xuan? It's your turn as an aunt to take care of her. If you don't want to stay, go back. No one is forcing you to stay." The old lady glanced at her lightly and spoke indifferently.
If it were someone else, Ge might have dared to talk back, but facing the old lady, she could only shut up.
As for the others who were annoyed by Ge's words, the old lady spoke and then said nothing more, but the look in her eyes when she looked at Ge was clearly somewhat unfriendly, especially for Han, who looked a bit chilly in this May day.
They were staying temporarily in Guanyin Temple. It was already late in the afternoon and there were only a few people who had not returned yet, so there were basically no other people here. The men headed by Wenren Taibo were on the other side. Wenren Taibo was playing chess with his fifth brother to pass the time. His sister-in-law was a girl, so as the eldest uncle, he naturally couldn't say anything. He just glanced at his fourth brother Wenren Jili.
Wenren Jili also looked at Wenren Taibo almost at the same time, but he quickly looked away after just one glance, feeling annoyed in his heart that Ge was that idiot. Not only did he make mistakes himself, but he also dragged him down with them. They had to muddle along and depend on their brother for a living. If he got angry one day, he would just separate them. How could they have a good life
Don’t say that the family will not be divided as long as the parents are alive. When the father passed away, the mother proposed to divide the family, but because the eldest brother did not agree, they have been living under the same roof. However, only the brothers and the eldest sister-in-law knew about this.
In comparison, the fifth master of the Wen family, who was in his thirties, looked a little lazy and careless. He twirled the chess pieces in his hands, glanced around, and then smiled, as if he was watching something funny, like a person who was isolated from this big family.
The fourth room had the most children, but Mrs. Ge only had one son. This young master was the seventh child. Compared with his father's romantic and fickle heart and his mother's mean and short-sightedness, this child was actually quite simple and kind. Although he was tired today, he actually had a lot of fun. After all, his mother only had him as her child, and she was very strict with him. Even if he came back from the academy, he would still be locked in his room to study most of the time.
Therefore, listening to her mother's words was somewhat embarrassing, but with so many people around, he couldn't say anything.
Everyone in the family is very nice, and the fourth sister is also very nice, but why is his mother just... He sighed helplessly in his heart.
After this little episode, Xiaocao came back not long after. As the younger sister with the best relationship, this was the second time that Wen Renying "sacrificed herself to accompany her sister", but she basically came back with Xiaocao's help.
Xiao Cao pinched her face and said, "I told you not to follow me, but you refused to believe me."
Wen Renying lay on her and didn't want to talk. Xiaocao didn't know that everyone was waiting for her. She just saw that everyone was there and thought that they were all playing by themselves and just gathered together earlier than her. She was still a little embarrassed, "Look, we are the last to come back. Sorry for keeping you waiting."
Ge opened her mouth to say something, but Han, who was very prescient, gave her a cold look that clearly showed her ill intentions. Ge was still frightened and swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth.
When Han looked at her daughter, she smiled lovingly, "It won't be long, so it's a good time to take a break. Xuan'er, you guys should also take a break, we'll go back when it's almost time."
Xiao Cao nodded, "Okay."
Xiao Cao went to change her clothes, and she didn't need to rest, so she stayed for about a quarter of an hour before packing up and preparing to go home. On the way back, they were still talking and laughing, which made Wen Renying feel that her fourth sister really liked the freedom outside.
But after returning home, he couldn't laugh anymore, because the servants reported that their sixth daughter, Wen Renxiang, also went out after everyone else did. Because she asked her maid to help, the gatekeeper didn't have time to stop her. Moreover, she was a lady from a wealthy family and she only had a maid with her.
Another maid who helped her stop the concierge knelt in front of everyone, her body trembling. "The girl said that she would be back in an hour at most, but, but now..."
One hour? If they left first and she left right after them, it would have been almost four hours.
"Where has she been?" As the stepmother, Zhang asked sternly with a dark face.
"The girl said, go find your future son-in-law."
Taking a maid to secretly go to see her fiancé? Let's not talk about whether this is what a lady from a noble family should do. Everyone in the Wen family knows that she is actually very dissatisfied with her fiancé. Even when there is an opportunity to meet and talk openly, she seems to be very perfunctory. Going to see her fiancé alone? You must be kidding!
"Send someone to look for him, but don't let anyone know," Han said, pausing for a moment. "First, go find out what's going on at Lord Zhang Chengen's mansion."
In fact, Han was referring to Zhang Junliang. He was just putting it in a more euphemistic way and did not give Wen Renxiang any face.
Not many people in the Wen family knew about Wen Renxiang's affair with Zhang Junliang. They only knew that she was under house arrest because she made a mistake. Now, they seemed to know something extraordinary.