novelhk Chapter 790: The Hunter Lady is the Savior of the Powerful Official 51
Chapter 790: The Hunter Lady is the Savior of the Powerful Official 51
At times like this, Miaomiao naturally brought Xiao Yunzhou to a place not far from the Prince's Mansion. Looking at the Prince's Mansion surrounded by the people, Miaomiao patted Xiao Yunzhou's arm to comfort him.
Yesterday, he hugged her and cried. Miaomiao knew that at this moment, his heart must be filled with hatred and joy.
Outside the Prince's Mansion, the guards' armor gleamed coldly in the sunlight, but it could not stop the rotten vegetable leaves and animal feces thrown by the people.
The vermilion palace walls were covered in dirt and spots, and a sour smell drifted across half the street on the wind.
Waves of angry curses hit the already shaky Prince's Mansion. "Traitor!" "Give the Xiao family justice!" roars rose one after another. Even the soldiers who came to maintain stability with swords in hand looked embarrassed. It was obvious that they could not suppress the rioting crowd.
Because of the prince's collusion with the enemy, the court was in an uproar.
The ministers were outraged, and the censors even began writing memorials on the spot, recounting the prince's absurd deeds over the years:
He embezzled disaster relief funds to build his own treasury, shielded his servants from abducting women, was narrow-minded and deliberately suppressed court officials, was involved in the Jiangnan smuggling salt case, and planted his cronies in the imperial examinations...
All these incidents were dug up by the excellent memories of the imperial censors, and were entangled with the charge of "collaborating with the enemy", becoming a rope tightening around the prince's neck.
Seeing that the public outside was infuriated and the ministers were going crazy one by one, His Majesty finally slammed the table in the Yangxin Palace.
The Gao family was directly sentenced to execution, and the smell of blood from the execution ground lingered for three days.
The crown prince was directly deposed from his position as heir apparent and confined to the prince's residence for half a year, not allowed to communicate with the outside world.
After receiving the news from his father, the prince, who was kneeling outside the palace, was so exhausted that he fell to the ground. There were mud spots on his trouser legs and boot soles, which was completely different from his usual splendor.
The prince did not expect that he would fail so quickly and completely. This was just the most insignificant thing among the countless things he had done that year, but because of this incident, he lost everything.
No one knew that in the Yangxin Palace, the old emperor stared at the decree to depose the crown prince, with two emotions, reluctance and relief, flashing in his eyes.
The prince was his first son, and he had placed high hopes on him. The prince was the only one he had personally taught.
The old emperor did not kill the prince after all. He confined him to his house for half a year to allow him to work off his uncontrollable anger. When the turmoil in the capital subsided and the people forgot about the matter, he would see if his son had any chance of turning back.
After all, this was the crown prince that he had appointed with his own hands. How could the blood ties between them be severed so easily?
Unfortunately, the prince could not understand the old emperor's thoughts. From the moment he saw the sour, smelly and dirty things outside the mansion, his heart was filled with resentment.
Especially those who had benefited from him in the past, but now used the benefits he gave them to impeach him for being incompetent and immoral in front of his father and even the third brother, which made him see the coldness of the situation.
When he's in power again, he'll make them feel the pain! The prince punched the wall, bleeding profusely, but no one rushed over to bandage his wound...
Compared to the defeat of the Crown Prince and the Gao family, the matter of the Xiao family was also put on the agenda. His Majesty originally thought that there was no one left in the Xiao family, after all, they were all executed at that time, but the Third Prince said that he had found a way to keep Xiao Yunzhou at that time.
The Third Prince explained directly in front of His Majesty and everyone that he had kept the descendants of the Xiao family. However, he was unable to find any evidence at the time, so he was forced to keep the people, but he also voluntarily accepted the punishment.
Now that the merits and demerits have offset each other, His Majesty has nothing else to say. Even the people and ministers look up to the Third Prince even more for his righteousness.
In this way, Xiao Yunzhou's existence became rationalized. It was not the Xiao family's self-protection, but the third prince's life-saving rescue, without any stain.
On the day when the decree exonerating the Xiao family was announced, Xiao Yunzhou wore a plain brocade robe and knelt in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony to receive the decree.
His Majesty took into consideration that the Xiao family had been loyal ministers but had been framed, so he not only returned all the confiscated properties of the Xiao family, but also granted them a thousand acres of fertile land and a thousand taels of gold, and posthumously conferred posthumous titles on the father and son of the Xiao family. However, all these honors could not bring back the lives of the entire family.
But in this era, there is a saying that is almost engraved in everyone's bones, that is, "If the king wants his subjects to die, the subjects have to die", so for most people, this is already the emperor's great grace.
When Xiao Yunzhou accepted the order and expressed his gratitude, his voice was so calm that no emotion could be heard. When he turned to leave, his wide sleeves swept the dust in front of the steps, as if to wipe away all the past.
The blunt knife only cut halfway through the meat. The prince is guilty, and the emperor, watching coldly and knowingly but not stopping it, is equally guilty...
Xiao Yunzhou's appearance allowed the nobles in the capital to see the appearance of the orphan of the Xiao family clearly. He had a face as handsome as jade and eyes as bright as stars. Standing there, he looked like a carefully drawn ink painting.
What is even more rare is that the Xiao family now has no elders or children. Xiao Yunzhou also holds the Xiao family's property after rehabilitation and the property recovered by His Majesty. These things are even more than the property of several other families combined, which is really rich.
Moreover, Xiao Yunzhou is good friends with the Third Prince, who is currently in the limelight. He is a perfect match for the marriage.
From then on, the threshold of the Xiao Mansion was almost broken down by matchmakers.
Every morning, as soon as the doorman removed the bolt, all kinds of invitations were handed in. It was either the flower banquet hosted by the eldest daughter of Zhang Taifu's family, or the poetry gathering hosted by the daughter of Li Shangshu's family. The words between the lines revealed the intention of soliciting.
Miaomiao, her sworn sister, had only lived in the Xiao Mansion for three days. Apart from the dozens of servants given by the Third Prince, she was the only outsider there.
However, everyone in the mansion knew that she was Xiao Yunzhou's sister, whether biological or artificial, and they all respected her very much. It was just because of the words of the third prince that Miaomiao's identity was not suitable to appear in public.
But that didn't stop her from staying at the Xiao Mansion, comforting Xiao Yunzhou, who was obviously emotionally unstable after returning, and watching the new housekeeper busy dealing with various posts. Just watching made her feel overwhelmed.
"Go live on the farm for a few days. It's full of blood-sucking leeches."
Xiao Yunzhou threw the last gold-embossed post into the brazier. After watching the flames lick the name on it, a dark light flashed in his eyes.
These days, Xiao Yunzhou still drank the bitter medicine every day, but the effect seemed not as good as before, especially after returning to the Xiao Mansion. Miaomiao felt that Xiao Yunzhou was obviously lacking in security, even worse than before.