Noble Lady

After Madam Han finished scolding, she turned around and asked, "Now you understand why I didn't let you marry him back then, right?"

Mother Zhou smiled bitterly, "The old lady treats Caiyun well. Caiyun is grateful to the old lady no matter what."

Well, she is not too stupid after all, Mrs. Han nodded with satisfaction.

"Mother Zhou, please pass on the message. From now on, you don't have to worry about Han Hongyue anymore. Just clean up the stupid things he did."

Want to share the Han family's prosperity and adversity? He's not worthy of it!

Old Madam Han was extremely angry and was thinking about how to get rid of the idiot Han Hongyue from the Han family. However, she did not notice that although Mother Zhou beside her responded respectfully on the surface, there was a flash of hatred in her eyes.

……

What happened next was even smoother than Xue Chenyu had imagined.

When the Sixth Prince returned to the palace, he reported to Concubine Chen the rumors that slandered Mr. Lu. Concubine Chen was furious when she heard it, and asked how such a great scholar could be humiliated in this way. Then she hurried to see His Majesty.

Although Mr. Lu has retired now, his books are still widely circulated and the students he taught still hold important positions in the court.

For a time, his disciples and former officials also submitted petitions to express their grievances on behalf of their teacher.

The words were so fierce that even His Majesty dared not look directly at them, which shows from this.

Your Majesty has always valued scholars. Such behavior of spreading rumors and slandering a great scholar based on mere hearsay is absolutely intolerable.

What's more, this matter involves not only Mr. Lu, but also Marquis Xue, who had made great military achievements for the court and the country in the past, and the eldest daughter of the Xue family who donated a huge amount of money during the severe drought in Lingnan last year and was also named the Princess of Anping County.

This is simply a disregard for the imperial court.

His Majesty immediately ordered the Ministry of Justice to work together with the Dali Temple and Jingzhao Prefecture to conduct a thorough investigation.

"You must find out for me who is behind this. They are spreading rumors and severely damaging the reputation of the Marquis of Wu'an Mansion and Mr. Lu!"

"You are all the pillars of the country and the backbone of the nation. If even they can be insulted and abused at will, where is the dignity of the Great Sheng court?!"

The Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple and the Jingzhao Prefecture took joint action, and the investigation first found Cui Hua, a failed candidate.

It was he who found many street thugs and beggars, and bribed some unscrupulous storytellers to spread rumors everywhere and slander the reputation of the Marquis' Mansion and Mr. Lu.

Cui Hua was arrested and thrown into jail by the yamen runners of Jingzhao Prefecture that same day.

As his legally married wife, He Ruyi had prepared the divorce papers early on and sent all her dowry back to the courtyard where Xiaocao lived.

Because his identity as the concubine of Mr. Cui Erye was exposed, Cui Hua had no choice but to sign a divorce agreement with her, and from then on they had nothing to do with each other in terms of marriage and funerals.

But the matter does not end there.

As soon as He Ruyi left the Cui residence, someone anonymously reported that the failed candidate Cui Hua was the concubine of Cui Erye, the second master of the Cui family's East Mansion, and a singing girl.

The second master of the Cui family, who has been famous for loving and protecting his wife over the years, actually has a concubine!

Moreover, the concubine's son is already in his early twenties, older than the children born to his wife, Princess Mingyue, who was married to him in a formal ceremony with eight people carrying a sedan chair.

This news was enough to shock the capital.

The good reputation that Mr. Cui had built up over the years was ruined in one day. When Princess Mingyue learned that he had such a concubine, she broke off all ties with him in anger and returned to her parents' home in the palace with her son and daughter.

As for Mr. Cui Erye, who was involved in the case, although he was a member of the Cui family, the Cui family's West Mansion did not want to be involved and cut ties early on. He was then sent to the Dali Temple prison.

……

During this period, Concubine Chen also passed on some news through Chen Lizhu. His Majesty had indeed summoned the medical officer several times, and the place he went to was kept secret and no one was allowed to mention it.

Xue Chenyu felt more and more that the Daling County Magistrate Cai Jinxue might still be alive.

……

When rumors of Xue Chenyu's divorce, the past affairs between Madam Xue and Marquis Xue, and Mr. Lu receiving improper benefits from the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion were spreading widely, Situ Zhen, the secret pusher, also swaggered back to Prince Cheng's mansion.

As soon as he entered Songyu Courtyard, before he had time to change his clothes, Prince Cheng, at the instigation of Princess Cheng, came to question him.

"Look at what kind of trouble you've caused. Is the daughter of Marquis Wu'an a good person?"

Situ Zhen paused, looking up and down at Cheng Tianfu, the idle Prince Cheng, and said, "If you have something to say, just say it. Why are you talking about others?"

"You bastard, do you still have me, your father, in your eyes? Is this the tone you should use towards your elders?" King Cheng was furious.

Situ Zhen just pulled the corner of his mouth, "If you want to hear nice words, go find your second son. You want to hear them from me? No!"

"If you are truly dissatisfied, then go to the palace and ask His Majesty for an imperial decree. As long as His Majesty clearly orders me to speak politely to you from now on, I will definitely comply."

"You!" King Cheng was so angry that he was fuming.

Princess Cheng quickly advised, "Your Highness, these are just trivial matters. Don't forget the important matters."

Upon hearing this, Situ Zhen looked at her again and ignored her.

But Prince Cheng was persuaded and said, "If you really want to know about Marquis Xue's injuries, you can just send a servant to the Marquis's mansion to ask. Why do you have to get involved with a divorced woman?"

"Do you know how bad the rumors are? They say she's unlucky. The He family, a family of three generations of Hanlin scholars, has been ruined by her. If you really get involved with her, what will happen?"

Situ Zhen scoffed. "Nonsense!" He himself was violating the law of nature, so what did a woman have to do with him? Blaming women for everything is just a common way to evade responsibility.

"It is better to believe it than not to believe it. You are so stubborn, are you willing to sacrifice our palace before you are satisfied?" Prince Cheng was furious.

Situ Zhen sneered again.

Princess Cheng continued to advise, "I know you don't believe in evil, but since everyone out there is saying this, there must be a reason."

Seeing Situ Zhen's expression of surprise, she quickly changed her words and said, "Even if you don't believe this, the title of Wu'an Marquis was earned through military merit. A bunch of vulgar people who practice martial arts are not worthy of being befriended by such a noble person as the prince."

"That's right. Marquis Wu'an is just a title earned through military merit. How can it be compared with our royal family? Even if you want to associate with others, choose those with good family backgrounds. As for Marquis Xue, there's no need to associate with him in the future."

Situ Zhen couldn't help but sneer: "Are you finished?"

Princess Cheng said proudly, "It's great that the prince listened to me. The painstaking efforts of the prince and I have not been in vain."

Situ Zhen's expression suddenly turned cold, "Get out of here now!"

"Situ Zhen! Do you know who you are talking to?!" Prince Cheng roared, "This prince and the princess are your father and mother!"

"How can you be considered my father's mother?!" Situ Zhen angrily threw a cup of tea.

Broken porcelain flew everywhere, and the light yellow tea soup spilled all over the floor.

"From childhood to adulthood, have you ever cared about what I like or don't like? Really, why would you care? You don't even care whether I live or die!"

"I was raised by the Imperial Grandmother. When I grew up and returned to the palace, you told me again and again that you and the Second Brother were the family, and I was just an outsider."

"I've accepted it all, and I don't care. But the one who taught me skills since I was a child was Marquis Xue, and the one who saved me when I was on the verge of life and death was also Marquis Xue's family."

"They are my benefactors. To me, they are much closer than your so-called blood relatives. With just a few casual words, you want me to sever ties with my saviors. How dare you?"

"You, how dare you!" Prince Cheng was so angry that he smashed a vase in anger. "How dare you, a rebellious son, speak to me like that? Do you still have me as your father in your family?"

"Yes, Prince, you can say that about me, but how can you say that about your father? It was the Queen Mother's idea to bring you into the palace to be raised. How could we have the final say?"

"We've never lacked food or clothing for you over the years, and your father requested that you be crowned Crown Prince before you even reached adulthood. How could you be so ungrateful and say such words to chill the hearts of me and your father!"

Situ Zhen was so angry at Princess Cheng's shamelessness that he laughed, "Don't you know why the Empress Dowager wanted to bring me into the palace?"

"Isn't it because you've disliked me since I was born? You even brought a charlatan into your house, saying I was a disaster, and you've tried to strangle me to death in my cradle time and time again?"

"The Imperial Grandmother couldn't bear to see me suffer, so she took me into Ci'an Palace to raise me. Now, you're saying it's the Imperial Grandmother's fault."