Yan Wan is reborn as a legitimate wife: Curing Ruyi's Douyi syndrome

Chapter 129 Ruyi is Expelled

A month passed quickly, and Jingqin kept receiving letters from imperial envoys from all over the country, stating what to do if a woman sneaked into the examination room.

Jingqin thought for a long time, and just picked up the pen to write down that if there is a personal confession (candidate information form), a mutual guarantee (candidate commitment letter, which requires five candidates taking the exam to make a commitment together, promising that if one person cheats, all five will be held responsible), and a guarantee (ask the household registration scholar to provide guarantee information), then you can take the exam.

If these three pieces of evidence are missing, the first case will be forgiven due to the new emperor's accession to the throne and a general amnesty. The second case will be dealt with according to the law.

The imperial envoys were also very anxious. They were ordered to go to various prefectures and found that there were women next to the notice who came to inquire about the special examination. In order to prevent chaos on the day of the county examination, the leading imperial envoy decisively sent a letter to the capital.

The imperial envoys from all over the country had Jingqin's personal soldiers, and they all took the same approach without prior agreement. Finally, they received Jingqin's reply one month before the county examination.

Jingqin considered more. Although she had the intention to open an imperial examination for women, she was a new emperor after all, and it was not appropriate for her to benefit women right after ascending the throne. She could only hint at it secretly.

This way, she would not let men think that the new emperor was too selfish, and would also allow some smart people to understand her thoughts, making it worth her while to go against public opinion and let Jingse and Huanian be in charge of the imperial examinations.

The imperial envoys were relieved after hearing the news. Instead of worrying about whether women should take the imperial examination, they were more concerned about whether they would mess up the mission appointed by the emperor.

With the new emperor's tacit approval, the official who explained the notice changed his tone. When faced with the woman who came to question him, he stopped hesitating and simply said, "If you can personally confess, give a mutual guarantee, or give a pledge, you can participate in the county examination."

A single stone stirs up a thousand ripples, and all the ambitious women are moved. But it is easy to say, but how easy is it to get a mutual bond and a pledge?

Jingqin had no choice. She tacitly agreed to allow women to take the imperial examinations because the rules did not specify that only men could participate, and the ministers did not want to make a big deal out of it.

However, personal confession, pledge, and mutual pledge were rules that had existed since the previous dynasty. It was impossible for her to change them as soon as she ascended the throne. These difficulties could only be resolved by the women themselves.

In order to obtain mutual agreements and pledges, women used all their talents. The most famous among them were merchant girls. Compared with the embarrassment of peasant girls and the rules of official girls, merchant girls were much more unrestrained.

Not only did the merchant's daughter have her maids ask people under notices everywhere if they were willing to marry each other, but she could also pay to get a pledge.

Compared to parents from farming families and official families, parents from merchant families are more open-minded and have a clearer view of the situation. Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants have been looked down upon for a long time, and the daughters of merchant families are considered the lowest class when it comes to marriage. It would be better to try hard and gain fame and fortune, and maybe they can marry into a higher position...

The merchant's parents' calculations were clattering: if their daughter passed the exam, she would have no trouble marrying off, and she might even become an official. If she failed, she would be the worst off anyway, so what could be worse?

The ministers also found something wrong. Compared with the women in the prefectures, the women in the capital were more outstanding and received much better education. What's more, some even set up schools for girls and hired teachers to teach girls to read and write at home.

The women in the capital could no longer bear this change and no longer stayed at home. They secretly sent people to make friends with each other.

Some people could tell Jingqin's pulse accurately and acquiesced. Others couldn't and would just sit there fuming and glaring.

Gu Yushi was the best among them. As the master of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, Gu Yushi hated women showing up in public the most, and he was quite critical of Jingqin's ascension to the throne.

However, Gu Yushi was just a civil official. Although he was a bit pedantic and old-fashioned, he had no intention of rebelling and usurping the throne. He just had many grievances in private.

For this reason, Gu Yushi not only criticized this "evil trend" in the court, but also ordered his daughter not to get involved with such "self-deprecating people" at home.

Gu Jing nodded, indicating that she was determined to stand on the same front with her father and not go out of the house. She secretly nodded and accepted the invitation from the merchant girl Ling Yun.

early morning

The ancient censors started a debate again on "how women can take part in the imperial examinations".

Jingqin sat at the top and listened to the ancient censor talk about "zhihuzheya" and "gewuzhizhi", feeling helpless.

She had been very busy these past few days. First, she had sent Fucha Langya and others to the Old Summer Palace, then she had to reply to letters from imperial envoys from various places. She had to help Jingse and Huanian with the imperial examinations, deal with the rebels, and keep an eye on the Mongolian affairs.

At the last morning court session, Jingqin had to listen to the censor's endless talk about benevolence, righteousness, and morality, and also had to deal with some trivial matters, which made Jingqin very annoyed.

Jingqin looked helplessly at the courtroom that had suddenly turned into a market, and said helplessly, "Well, since the imperial examinations have never banned women from participating, I can't impose orders on the people. As long as they follow the proper procedures, then let them do what they want."

Upon hearing this, the arguing ancient censor wanted to bang his head against the wall. Although the imperial examinations had never prohibited women from participating, it had been a custom for thousands of years!

But Gu Yushi only dared to criticize her in his heart and never dared to threaten Jingqin.

His former superior once hit his head against a pillar to express his dissatisfaction because a female official went to court. The current emperor seemed kind-hearted, so he sent people to drag him away on the spot. Later... later he came to power!

It would have been fine if Jingqin had succeeded smoothly, but Jingqin thwarted the rebellion and ascended the throne forcefully. When Prince Kang was executed the next day, even the most rebellious members of the royal family dared not say a word; everyone was as obedient as could be.

Seeing that no one dared to refute, Jingqin waved her hand and asked everyone to disperse.

Censor Gu did not insist and left quickly. He made trouble every day just for the sake of his duties as a censor, but he did not go to the point of risking his life to make his point.

Jingqin naturally knew what Censor Gu was up to, so she was waiting to find someone to teach him a lesson later.

The harem had been renovated, with corner gates opened in Qixiang Palace and Yongshou Palace to facilitate access to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. The Imperial Household Department also quickly replaced the furnishings of the retired emperor in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Jinbao and Wang Qin followed Hongli to the Old Summer Palace, and Yuhu and Jinzhong were left behind by her. Although Yuhu was not very capable, he was a close friend who had been with Hongli since childhood. Jingqin could not let Yuhu go back to contact Hongli.

It just so happened that although Wei Yanwan was promoted to a female official, she was not familiar with palace affairs. Jingqin appointed Yu Hu as a deputy palace maid to assist Wei Yanwan, and of course to supervise the execution of Ruyi.

Ruyi's punishment was the last decree issued by Hongli before he regained consciousness, and Jingqin couldn't change it. Of course, Jingqin didn't want to change it either. It was a good thing she didn't add insult to injury. Could she really expect her to show mercy and save Ruyi? How could that be possible?

Yu Hu also acquiesced to this arrangement. Being the head aunt of the retired emperor who had suffered a stroke was no match for being a female official in charge of the harem. Moreover, she held a third-rank official position, which made her even more reluctant to leave. Hongli had long been forgotten by her.

Yu Hu's daily routine now is to wander around, monitor the movements of the harem, and then go to the Ministry of Punishment to see Ruyi.

Let's talk about Ruyi.

Ever since Hongli ordered her to be drugged, Ruyi has been a little confused. She doesn't understand why Hongli treated her like this when she had done such a small thing wrong?

When Ruyi asked this question, Rong Pei's eyes turned red with anger. A trivial matter? You call it a trivial matter when he almost poisoned the emperor? You call it a trivial matter when he caused her to never rise up in this life? Then what is a big matter? Is your young man leaving you?

Yu Hu sighed endlessly, with hatred towards Ruyi in her eyes. She had been very happy as the head aunt in front of the emperor, but because of Ruyi's dirty tricks, her carefree days were gone!

After hearing Yu Hu's report, Jingse almost spit out the tea she had drunk, and she couldn't suppress the smile on her lips. The same was true for Jingqin. She was so mean that she asked Yu Hu to report to Hongli.

Changchun Palace

Jingqin came in hurriedly with Jingse. Langya, Zhuer, Yonglian and Shushu were playing mahjong.

Zhu'er was very bored after entering the palace. Apart from taking care of the children, he just wandered around. Now that the children all went to the Shangshufang, he had nothing to do. Seeing this, Yonglian called Zhu'er to come to Changchun Palace to play cards.

As soon as she sat down, Jingse couldn't stop laughing and said, "You don't know, there's such a big commotion in the Ministry of Punishment!"

Yonglian put down the cards in his hand and asked curiously, "What's the excitement?"

Jingqin also had a smile on her face. Jingse suddenly fell into Jingqin's arms, pouted, pinched her fingers and said, "I just did a small thing wrong. Why did the emperor treat me like this?"

Jingse had been accompanying Jingqin in handling state affairs these days, and she no longer wore armor. Langya watched for a long time before she realized that Jingse was imitating Ruyi, and she laughed and scolded, "Mischievous!"

Yonglian also reacted, feeling helpless. He was a prince and rarely saw Ruyi, so naturally his hostility towards Ruyi was not as strong as that towards his mother and sisters. He sighed, "I'm afraid the emperor would be so angry that he would stand up after hearing this..."

Jingse covered her mouth and laughed, "Brother guessed it right. You don't know, just now after Aunt Yuhu told the emperor, the emperor was so angry that he could hardly speak, and he even raised his hands!"

Although Langya wanted to laugh, she felt even more sorry for Hongli, saying, "The Emperor dotes on her so much, yet he's teaching her to become increasingly cruel and inhumane. She even treated poisoning the Emperor as a trivial matter... Well, I'm afraid the Ulanara family is finished."

Jingqin sneered, "That's just her nature. The Emperor used to think she was so good, completely ignoring her cruelty and cold-bloodedness. But now that she's been punished, she thinks she's vicious."

Jingse also nodded and said, "Your Majesty, you raised a tiger to harm yourself, and now you are being torn apart."

Langya sighed and said nothing more. She had also loved Hongli and envied the childhood sweetheart relationship between Hongli and Ruyi, but she didn't expect that this would be the ending.

Jingqin: "Tomorrow, Ulanara and Ruyi's mother's clan, Langjia, will be escorted to the capital."

Langya was surprised: "Then..."

Jingqin: "The last decree issued by the Emperor was to deal with Ruyi's three clans. Her paternal and maternal clans have already fled to the capital, and her husband's clan... let's just consider it as the Emperor's punishment on her behalf."

Jingse: "Does the Ulanara family want to watch the execution?"

Jingqin shook her head and said, "The Emperor didn't say anything. I meant to say no. Ruyi is cold-hearted and will not repent even if she sees it. Why bother provoking her paternal and maternal families?"

In her previous life, she plotted to anger Ruyi's mother to death, but Ruyi remained indifferent when she heard the news, which shows that Ruyi's parents were not very important to her. She had already owed Ruyi's mother the sin of killing in her previous life, and in this life, she just raised her hand slightly, which was considered to be repayment.

Jingse had been born into a life of luxury, so naturally she couldn't understand Ruyi's cold-heartedness. She said, "Her biological parents were convicted because of her, and she doesn't care?"

Jingqin said calmly, "Narbu fell off a cliff and nearly died. Do you think she cares? People like her only care about love. Parents and family are nothing to them."

Jingse was speechless.

Second day

Before his execution, Narbu shouted, "I, the guilty minister, have given birth to such a rebellious daughter, and I am willing to accept the punishment. In the name of the head of the Ulanara clan, I expel Ruyi from the Ulanara clan. From now on, she is no longer a member of the Ulanara clan!"

Langjia was in tears. Ruyi was her eldest daughter. Although her family had fallen on hard times when she married into the Ulanara clan, she still had the support of the empress and the queen mother in the palace, so her life was pretty good.

She married into the Ulanara clan as a high-ranking official, so she had to listen to the empress and the queen mother in everything. They often brought Ruyi into the palace to teach her. It can be said that Ruyi shouldered the glory of their Ulanara clan.

Ruyi has lived a life of luxury since she was a child. She has always been a very opinionated person. Sometimes, even her mother did not dare to interfere in her upbringing, for fear of upsetting the two empresses in the palace.

Ruyi's younger brothers and sisters were born when the Empress fell from power. They were too young and not as old as Ruyi. Naturally, they were not as valued by the Empress as Ruyi, and their lives were not as noble and respectable as Ruyi's.

She never imagined that her daughter, who was raised in such a precious way, would be so audacious as to poison the emperor! Lang Jia regretted her decision and wished she could stuff Ruyi back into her stomach.

Narbu was so angry that he vomited blood. He had known for a long time that Ruyi was cold-blooded and did not care about their parents and relatives. So after escaping death, he did not pin his hopes on her, but stayed away from her instead.

Everyone around him laughed at him for being honest and old-fashioned. He had a favorite concubine at home, but instead of getting close to her, he kept sending her away. Only he knew that he was afraid that Ruyi would go crazy and implicate her relatives, so he tried his best to distance himself from Ruyi.

Unexpectedly, Ruyi, who had lost all conscience, not only ruined the reputation of the entire family, but also poisoned and murdered the emperor, causing one of the eight great families of the Qing Dynasty to fall into the fate of being executed!

Narbu sighed deeply as he looked at his weeping relatives. Fortunately, the new emperor was merciful and spared his married daughter. Upon receiving the news, his daughter-in-law returned home with her property and children. At least some bloodline remained.

For the sake of his remaining bloodline, Narbu had no choice but to risk his reputation by removing Ruyi from the execution platform, begging the retired emperor and the new emperor for mercy...

Although the Ulanara clan was severely damaged by Ruyi's incident and completely lost the title of one of the eight major Manchu clans, fortunately, Narbu sacrificed his own clan to save his own and kept some of his clansmen.

The successor to the patriarch was a member of the Ulanara clan's side clan. After Narbu and others were executed, they opened the ancestral hall openly and removed Ruyi's name from the family tree.

Ministry of Punishment

Ruyi didn't know what was happening. After drinking the medicine she took daily, she struggled on the ground in pain.

Rong Pei looked at Ling Yunche and asked, "I heard from Mammy that today is the day for the execution of the Ulanara clan."

Ling Yunche said nonchalantly, "Yes, judging by the weather, the execution has probably already taken place."

Rong Pei shook her head and said, "You didn't teach your son well, and you deserve this fate."

Ling Yunche: "Who said it wasn't?"

Ruyi heard Rong Pei and Ling Yunche's discussion, but she remained curled up and said nothing. It was obvious that she did not think that the fate of the Ulanara family had anything to do with her.

Rong Pei and Ling Yunche naturally understood Ruyi's little thoughts, but they didn't want to explain to Ruyi. They just waited for the effect of the medicine to take effect, and then they supported Ruyi on both sides to help her drink the antidote.

Yu Hu waited for Ruyi to drink the antidote before rushing in and told Nanny Jingqi, "Don't mention Ulanara in the testimonies or records anymore. Just mention the guilty slave Qingying."

Hearing this familiar name, Ruyi struggled and threw herself towards the prison door, but she could do nothing but cling to it.

Aunt Jingqi asked in confusion, "Aunt, what happened?"

Yu Hu explained, "Wu... The parents and relatives of the deposed Concubine Qingying were executed at noon today. Before her father died, as the clan leader, he expelled the deposed Concubine Qingying from the clan. Now, she is no longer a member of the Ulanara clan."

Ruyi rasped in disbelief, "Impossible... My aunt said I'm the most honorable princess of the Ulanara clan. Father would never treat me like this!"

Yu Hu ignored him and continued, "The Empress Dowager felt that the convicted slave Qingying was too rebellious and unworthy of the good name she had been given, so she revoked the name. From now on, there will be no more Ulanara Ruyi in the history books, only the deposed concubine Qingying."

Nanny Jingqi nodded and said, "Yes, I will remember it."

Ruyi... no, it's Qingying now.

Qingying was still clinging to the cell door, screaming that it was impossible. She had been the apple of the Ulanara family's eye since she was little, and it had always been the Ulanara family who had always covered for her and taken the blame for her. She had never imagined that now she had become the Ulanara family's abandoned child...

Qingying couldn't bear the blow, spit out blood and fainted on the ground.

Rong Pei and Ling Yunche exchanged a glance and said helplessly, "She killed her entire family without shedding a single tear. Now she fainted upon hearing she was expelled. Does that mean her family's lives aren't as important as her reputation?"

Ling Yunche said disdainfully, "This is your first day meeting her? The sky and the earth are not as great as her dignity. I don't know how the Ulanara family taught her to raise such a selfish and hypocritical fool."

Before Qingying regained consciousness, she heard these comments from her "spiritually connected" friend, and she fainted from anger.

Ling Yunche and Rong Pei had no choice but to arrange for Qingying's treatment. After all, the Supreme Emperor had issued a special decree that Qingying should not be allowed to die easily, and they could not stand by and watch her die.

Changchun Palace

Jingqin, Jingse and the others were speechless after hearing Yu Hu's report. Every time they thought Qingying's behavior was inferior, Qingying always behaved even worse...

Jingqin said helplessly: "Aunt Yuhu, please go to the Yangxin Palace and talk to the Emperor."

Yu Hu nodded and said, "Yes, I'll take my leave."

The few of them were speechless, and finally decided to skip the love-hate relationship between Ruyi and Hongli, and started talking about other interesting things.