novelhk Chapter 325 What a Huge Loss
Chapter 325 What a Huge Loss
The person in charge of the Han family is Madam Han.
Upon hearing that Prime Minister Cui wanted to see her, she cried, "Fellow villagers, brothers and sisters, you all see, Prime Minister Cui wants to see a widow like me. I should go see him, but how can I, a person who doesn't even want to live anymore, go see him?"
After she finished speaking, she leaned over the coffin and said, "If Prime Minister Cui wants to see me, let him come!"
Just because that old geezer Cui Fangli wants to see her, does she have to go and see him like that?
"Or, you can carry me in to see him!"
If you bring it in, you have to bring the coffin in too. The old lady in the family is already extremely superstitious about it, so who would dare to bring the coffin into the house?
But from the perspective of ordinary people, this is bullying!
Why are you putting on airs? Can't you even come out and say a few words?
Now who saw Han Xiao hitting people? Besides, even if he did, it wasn't them he hit. They only saw Prime Minister Cui bullying people. You, a dignified prime minister, don't think about doing something practical for the people. You only do some trivial things, like interfering with widows' infidelity and divorces and remarriages. Who respects you?
You even invited two women to your home to see you. What are you trying to do?
So when Prime Minister Cui was forced to come out, he was stunned by the angry looks of the people!
He's the one who got beaten up, and now he has no sense of justice?
"Madam Han, you must know what happened. I don't need to elaborate on what your son and daughter-in-law did before their marriage. I brought this up before the Emperor because of the censor's impeachment that Vice Commander Han's actions were immoral..."
Madam Han let out a loud wail, "My lord, why did you die so young? With your death, you've left us, a widow and her children, to be bullied like this..."
Madam Shen then launched into a tirade, "Cui Fangli, don't spout such useless nonsense here. How have my niece and nephew-in-law committed any immoral acts? Ah, did they steal or rob? One is unmarried, the other is divorced. With us elders watching over them, can't they even get married?"
"You're the Grand Secretary, you hold a high position, does that give you the right to interfere in the bedroom affairs of other couples?"
Cui Xiangdao said, "Why don't you take a look at when their marriage certificate was signed? It's only been a few days since the marriage certificate was signed, and your niece gave birth? Deputy Commander Han was sent by the Empress herself; how do you know that this wasn't instigated by the Empress behind the scenes!"
These words truly inflamed public outrage. Someone shouted, "Fellow villagers, he's here for the Empress! So, he dares to bully the Empress! Everyone, charge with me!"
Some people rolled up their sleeves and stepped forward, ready to fight. Cui Xiang was so frightened that he retreated back into the house. Fortunately, there were guards in the house who came out with weapons. But the common people didn't fight back. Instead, they picked up clods of dirt and threw them at him. Cui Xiang was hit several times and finally had no choice but to retreat to the threshold.
There was trouble here, and no one from the Southern Palace Imperial Guards came to maintain order. The deputy commander and his wife were both scolded by Prime Minister Cui, so they deserved to be killed.
They made a scene for three days straight.
Cui Lian didn't attend court. Since he didn't attend court, the previously planned impeachment of Han Xiao by civil officials disappeared, because at this point, public sentiment and anger were the most important factors.
No matter how right you are, even if you say you were beaten, didn't you deserve it? They're a couple with a child, and now you're bringing up their premarital affairs and dragging the Empress into it. Aren't you just asking for a beating?
Any man would have done the same.
Cui Xiangbai was beaten, and not only that, he also brought a whole cart full of gifts to the Han family to apologize to Du Hanyun.
Madam Han was exhausted these past three days, and crying and wailing were also bad for her health, but the result was good!
She was overjoyed and said to Han Xiao, "Your Majesty's method is truly effective! How did you come up with that? When I heard you had beaten Prime Minister Cui, I was almost frantic with worry, but now he's come to apologize!"
The Han family did not make things difficult for Prime Minister Cui. Although he apologized reluctantly, the Han family was quite magnanimous and accepted his apology politely, even offering to host a banquet for him.
Cui Xiang politely declined; how could he possibly eat?
He went back and lay down. When Liang Ji and the others came to visit him, they were all furious.
They finally managed to win Xu Gongmao over, but in one round, Xu Gongmao was imprisoned and is expected to be exiled three thousand miles away before the end of the year.
Although none of his matters were major, there were quite a few of them, and they even led to a case of "slaughtering a white duck".
This refers to the corrupt practice of wealthy families paying large sums of money to poor children to take the place of the condemned.
The Emperor was furious. It was only because the "white duck" had not yet been executed that Xu Gongmao's life was saved.
Cui Xiang's wife and daughters were humiliated, and he hated Shen Shixi so much that he gritted his teeth. He seized this opportunity, which was not exactly a chance, and originally had no chance of winning. However, Han Xiao turned out to be their accomplice and beat him up.
I thought the opportunity had finally arrived.
In any case, this time they must implicate the Empress. Even if Han Xiao assaulted someone, they can claim it was the Empress who instigated it. Once they bring down Han Xiao, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards, they will have a winning chance.
Little did I know, I would suffer a huge loss in silence!
"This woman is really hard to deal with!" Liang Ji said.
Prime Minister Cui slumped on the couch, utterly listless. "We can't let her win again. It seems her goal isn't just the three provinces; she's after the Five Clans and Seven Powerful Families!"
Liang Ji was not one of the Five Families and Seven Noble Families, but his deceased wife was.
"I hadn't thought of that before, but that day, when the Han and Shen families came to visit, I mentioned the Empress and they were all indignant. That's when I realized that the Empress's prestige is far too high!"
Furthermore, look at her national policies: opening special trade zones and raising the treatment of merchants several times. Now, which merchant in the world doesn't praise her?
And those ordinary people, back then, many prefectures and counties in Henan and Hebei provinces suffered great disasters, and it was her measures that saved many people. I heard that the locals erected a longevity tablet for her.
The Xie family's land was confiscated; the Pei family, the Prince of Jin's Taiyuan Wang clan—which of those families whose property was confiscated and whose clans were exterminated didn't have their land seized by the Ministry of Revenue? Who owns these lands now?
Liang Ji broke out in a cold sweat. "They're all in the hands of those commoners! What is the Empress trying to do?"
Cui Fangli gritted his teeth, "She wants to wipe us all out, to take back all our land, and put it all in the hands of the imperial court. Or perhaps, she wants it to eventually fall into the hands of the royal family!"
The national treasury and the emperor's private treasury are two different things; only a foolish ruler would divert silver from the national treasury for his own use.
For example, Emperor Jiajing and Empress Dowager Cixi.
These words are an insult to Shen Shixi.
After much discussion, the group concluded that their only remaining ally in dealing with Shen Shixi was the Empress Dowager.
In the dead of winter, a stalk of lush, verdant bamboo miraculously grew in the Cui family's well. This bamboo was then sent to the Empress Dowager's palace, where it was placed in a large vat and kept in the warm room of the Cining Palace.
The Empress Dowager was overjoyed and personally promoted Cui to the rank of Consort Jiu, and also had the Emperor bestow a title upon Cui.
Li Yuanke asked the Imperial Household Department to draft several proposals, which were then presented to the emperor. The emperor, however, was too lazy to look at them and simply ordered them to be sent to the Empress Dowager.
As Consort Cui massaged the Empress Dowager's legs, she looked at the titles bestowed upon her and said shyly, "I feel that all the words in the world are inferior to this one. I wonder if I am fortunate enough to be a dutiful, respectful, and cautious concubine?"
She was referring to the character "恪" in Li Yuanke's name. Didn't Shen Shixi use the character "元" back then?