Noble Lady

The news of Situ Zhen's departure was blocked, and the only thing told to the outside world was that he went to Qinglong Temple to practice meditation.

And with his departure from Beijing, Princess An Ning also moved into the palace and lived in Ci'an Palace.

At this time, bad news came from the Han Mansion: Old Madam Han passed away.

When the news came out, the whole city was in an uproar.

The Han family has a queen and a prince, and is about to become the number one family in Dasheng.

The old lady of the Han family was a legendary figure, how could she have passed away just like that?

Moreover, generally speaking, if someone died of illness, they would say that they died of illness, and if it was an accident, they would say that it was an accident. However, the Han family just said that they died, and passed it over vaguely, as if there was another hidden story.

I heard that after hearing the bad news, the Empress in the palace burst into laughter, perhaps because she was too shocked.

"I've been trapped in this deep palace my whole life. This old woman is finally dead. From now on, I'm free. Hahahaha..."

After she laughed wildly like crazy, she dressed up and left the palace to pay her respects to the Han family.

Mrs. Han took care of the funeral affairs of the old lady Han, and everything was in order.

It’s just that Han Hongyue is nowhere to be seen. There are some reasons for this that the Han family has not announced to the public.

Han Hongyue's concubine started jumping up and down as soon as she saw the queen.

The Queen didn't even bother to look at her this time. "Drag her out—and beat her to death."

The concubine immediately let out a series of shrill screams, but her mouth was blocked by the people around the queen, and then her hands and feet were tied and dragged out.

Madam Han wanted to dissuade her, but she glared back at her coldly, "Why, a concubine who committed an offense, is my sister-in-law going to quarrel with me over her?"

It is indeed not worth it to do it for a concubine, but she has given birth to children for the Han family after all.

If it was the Han family when Old Madam Han was there, she would naturally not dare to be so presumptuous.

But now that Madam Han has passed away and Han Hongyue is nowhere to be found, the Han family is on the verge of collapse and will be shattered if they are not careful.

Mrs. Han couldn't dare to do anything to her sister-in-law.

After hesitating for a while, he stepped forward and gently reminded her, "Your Majesty, your mother has not yet rested in peace, and you are treating the Han family so recklessly. If she knew, she would die with regret."

"Who do you think you are? How can you be the one to teach me a lesson!" The queen sneered and slapped her in the face with her backhand.

"The old lady is gone, my eldest brother ran away, what is left of the Han family? Now the only one you can rely on is me!"

"That's not possible..." Being so rude in front of the old lady's spirit is disrespectful to the elders and the deceased.

Madam Han was about to retort, but was stopped by Madam Zhou, "Madam, there's no need to worry."

"Madam, you are the head of the Han family and the daughter-in-law of the old lady. It is only right that you take care of the old lady's funeral. Even if the queen is the mother of a country, she cannot interfere in the Han family's household affairs."

As she spoke, she handed over three incense sticks and said, "My Lady, please burn incense for the old lady as a married daughter."

He didn't say a word in favor of the concubine.

How could an ordinary person dare to speak to the Queen like that? But Mother Zhou did.

The queen glared at her, but perhaps she had thought of something, so she swallowed her anger and took the three incense sticks handed to her by Mother Zhou.

He didn't ask anyone else to help him. He lit the incense himself, bowed in front of the spirit, and then inserted the three incense sticks into the incense burner.

"Mother, now that things have come to this, you can rest in peace. From now on, I will take care of the Han family for you - you can rest assured."

It was not known whether the Queen relied on her status as Queen, or felt that no one in the Han family could restrain her, so she had nothing to worry about.

Mrs. Han frowned and remained silent for a long time.

After burning incense, the queen left, not even willing to stay a moment longer.

"Why is Mother Zhou stopping me? The Empress was raised by Mother single-handedly. Over the years, even if Mother has no credit, she has worked hard. Now she has passed away. If word gets out about her actions, it will be detrimental to the Han family."

Madam Han was a soft-hearted person after all, so even words like these, which seemed to be meant to accuse someone, came out softly and without any hurtful force.

Mother Zhou lowered her eyes and sighed, saying, "Please forgive me, Madam. This was originally instructed by the old lady. After the old lady passed away and Han Hongyue left, the Han family could no longer withstand any hardships—"

"Therefore, the old lady left a message, hoping that you would simplify her funeral arrangements, bury her quickly, and sever all ties with Han Hongyue."

Madam Han was stunned for a moment, then saw Madam Zhou hand over a letter, "This is the old lady's handwritten letter, Madam, you will know after reading it."

"...A letter from the old lady?" Mrs. Han's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that her mother had already anticipated this day?

This idea was really absurd, but when Mrs. Han saw the handwriting on the letter, she couldn't help but shed tears.

She took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and read word by word, fearing she would miss even a single word of the old lady's instructions.

When she finished reading, she was already in tears.

"...Mother Zhou, the old lady has already thought of a way out for the Han family?"

Mother Zhou gently nodded yes and handed over a small box containing the seal of the head of the Han family.

"This is what the old lady ordered to be handed over to you, Madam. From now on, the lives of hundreds of people in the Han family will all depend on your will."

Mrs. Han was shocked and felt deeply the overwhelming pressure.

The old lady has been holding on alone for so many years. It is the old lady who has had the hardest time.

……

Early in the morning, Xue Chenyu, Madam Xue, Xue Huai and Xue Luoyan sent Marquis Xue south.

On the way back, I heard that Madam Han had gone to Jingzhao Prefecture in person to file a complaint yesterday as the Imperial Madam and the acting head of the Han family.

The lawsuit alleges that General Han Hongyue, the Great Zhenbei, had killed his stepmother in a rage after an argument with Madam Han, and then severely injured a dozen servants and escaped without a trace.

With this report and the presence of witnesses and evidence, Han Hongyue has no chance of recovery.

Lord Mei of Jingzhao Prefecture was once again on pins and needles. Following the advice of Master Chen, he spoke about the matter in Chongzheng Hall this morning.

Your Majesty had actually heard some rumors, and Lord Mei's report made His Majesty even more furious.

Since ancient times, loyalty, filial piety, chastity and righteousness have been the most important things besides being loyal to the country.

"As an important official of the imperial court, Han Hongyue should have known the law and observed etiquette. However, he murdered his stepmother and absconded, disregarding the laws of the land."

"From now on, all Han Hongyue's positions will be revoked. An arrest warrant will be issued nationwide. This criminal must be apprehended and brought to justice in Beijing for trial!"

In addition, His Majesty also issued an edict to posthumously confer the title of Lady of Loyalty, Filial Piety and Righteousness upon Lady Han.

Madam Han kowtowed three times at the palace gate to thank the emperor for his grace.

Instead, the Empress in the palace was so angry that she started throwing things and hitting things.

Afterwards, Mrs. Han, acting as the head of the family, opened the ancestral hall and removed Han Hongyue from the family tree.

Afterwards, Madam Han’s funeral was handled quickly, but this did not prevent all the civil and military officials in the court from going to pay their respects.

Not long after, Xue Chenyu brought his younger brother and sister to pay their respects in the capacity of Marquis Wu'an.

Logically speaking, after the case of Han Hongyue and Xue Hou, the Han family and the Xue family should have never had any contact with each other.

But Xue Chenyu and others came to pay their respects in the name of the Marquis' Mansion, and Madam Han had to treat them with courtesy. Those who wanted to see them fighting each other had their hopes dashed once again.

After paying their respects, Xue Chenyu and her two siblings were about to leave.

But Mrs. Han called her back, and Xue Chenyu was invited to a quiet room to talk alone.

"Sister, you can't do that." Xue Huai said.

Xue Luoyan also said, "Yeah, who knows what they are up to."

"Mr. Xue, if Miss Xue is worried, she can just come along." Mother Zhou said.

"It's broad daylight, and there are so many people here to pay their respects. If Miss Xue had entered the Han family's gate and not left, we wouldn't be able to explain it."

Xue Huai nodded and followed Xue Chenyu closely.

Xue Luoyan hugged her elder sister's arm tightly, "That's better than the others. Don't even think about leaving my elder sister alone."

As she spoke, she shrugged her shoulders and the three-section spear on her back made a dull sound of iron clashing.

Xue Chenyu smiled slightly and said, "I'm sorry, my brothers and sisters are used to being impulsive. I was almost assassinated before, and they are very worried about me."

Mother Zhou said she understood and invited the three siblings in.

Mrs. Han and Xue Chenyu talked for a long time without avoiding the two younger ones, but they did not interrupt either.

It was already late when we left Han's house.

After getting on the carriage, Xue Huai asked, "Sister, how much do you think Madam Xue's words are to be believed?"

Xue Chenyu asked him, "What do you think, Xiao Huai?"

Xue Huai said, "Han Hongyue was convicted and absconded, and is now wanted nationwide. Although the Han family still has a queen in the palace, without the military power, they are no longer as powerful as before."

"None of the other Han family members are particularly outstanding, and there's no one who can take on the responsibility for the time being. I'm afraid that from now on, the Han family will be quiet for a few years."

"I think Madam Han is trying to show goodwill by saying this to my elder sister at this time."

"Where's Luoluo?"

Xue Luoyan: "I think he is leaving a way out for his family."

"Heroes see the same thing."

The three siblings smiled knowingly in the car.