Demoted from wife to concubine? Reborn, the mistress of a noble family plots another high-status mar

Chapter 636

Yun Xiyue must die!

A cold glint flashed in the Empress Dowager's eyes. "Get up! With me here, the Emperor will not be allowed to act recklessly!"

Then he passed on the message to General Zeng, and finally asked about the rebellion of Prince Rui of Jiuzhou City.

General Zeng simply repeated what Prince Rui had said.

Zeng Rou was involved.

He couldn't say that Prince Rui had rebelled, but he also couldn't make things up.

However, this was enough for the Empress Dowager to believe that the Emperor had made the wrong judgment for Yun Xiyue's sake.

"General Zeng, I can no longer control the Emperor. I am truly powerless to do so. I can only ask you to protect Prince Rui in the court."

"Prince Rui is the late Emperor's youngest son. Although he has made mistakes, they do not warrant death. Yet the Emperor wants to strip him of his title and exile him to the Southern Continent. That place is rife with poisonous creatures, and the Gu tribes near the Southern Qiang will likely face certain death there," the Empress Dowager sighed.

A cold glint flashed in Murong Chen's eyes, and he lowered his head without saying a word.

General Zeng glanced at him, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, this old minister has done his best."

After the two left, the Empress Dowager summoned Prime Minister Pei again.

They also hoped that Prime Minister Pei could step in and protect Prince Rui.

It's unclear how their conversation went, but in the end, Prime Minister Pei agreed.

The next morning at court, a heated discussion ensued regarding the punishment of Prince Rui.

Pei Xiang and General Zeng led the effort to protect Prince Rui.

General Xiao and Grand Tutor Zhou led the charge in advocating for the execution of Prince Rui.

They made a racket in the Golden Palace all day.

......

At this time, Yun Xiyue came to Funing Palace early in the morning to pay her respects.

The Empress Dowager disliked her intensely. Just a few days ago, she was fine; even if she didn't like her, she wouldn't stare at her with a sharp, murderous gaze.

Yun Xiyue felt unwell. "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

"Empress, I only have one son. If anything happens to you, I will not let you off, nor will I let your Yun family off the hook," the Empress Dowager suddenly said sternly.

Yun Xiyue frowned, "Mother..."

"Humph!"

The Empress Dowager didn't say much to her, just said, "You may leave now!"

The other concubines stayed behind.

Moreover, the Empress Dowager was kind and gentle to everyone else, and bestowed gifts upon them.

He stopped pretending with her altogether and drove her away with obvious disgust.

Yun Xiyue didn't want to come to Funing Palace to deal with the domineering old lady, so she left to save herself the trouble.

Back to Jiaofang Palace.

Murong Yu had already left the court and returned with a terrifying aura of murderous intent, frightening all the palace maids and eunuchs into kneeling on the ground, too terrified to even breathe.

Even the guards were sweating profusely and dared not move.

The chill had just begun to dissipate when Yunxi Yue entered.

"Ah Yue, did Mother scold you again?" Murong Yu turned around, saw her, and reached out to pull her to sit down together.

"No."

Yun Xiyue didn't want to bother him with such trivial matters. "And you? Is there no way to exile Prince Rui?"

Murong Yu's face was very sour. "The Empress Dowager consulted my uncle, but he suddenly switched sides."

"Furthermore, Prince Liang submitted a memorial pleading for his life, and the other princes also requested permission to return to the capital."

That means they're all threatening him!

Yun Xiyue was surprised. The late Emperor of Great Xia had seven sons. Besides Prince Rui, there were four other princes: Prince Liang, Prince Ling, Prince Jin, and Prince Yan. Originally, there were five, but Prince Cheng had died.

Prince Cheng was the eldest son of a concubine, followed by Prince Liang, Prince Ling, Prince Jin, and Murong Yu, who was the fifth son of the late emperor. Then came Prince Yan, and Prince Rui was the youngest son of the late emperor.

Only Murong Yu was the legitimate son.

Because he was made crown prince early on, and Murong Yu was too outstanding, other princes couldn't bring him down. It wasn't until the late emperor passed away and he ascended the throne that Prince Cheng couldn't accept it and rebelled.

Murong Yu personally killed King Cheng in front of everyone, which shocked the others.

The princes all relinquished their military power and requested permission to go to their fiefdoms.

Prince Rui also played a part in this matter, but Yun Xiyue was unaware of the details.

"So what crime was Prince Rui ultimately convicted of?"

Murong Yu said, "Princess Rui is pregnant. The Zhang family and others used this to plead for her, but there is no way to demote her to her fiefdom."

The stripping of his royal title was considered too harsh by Prime Minister Pei and others, who believed it was equivalent to the death penalty.

"In the end, he was punished with fifty strokes of the cane, to be carried out after his injuries had healed. In addition, his fief was confiscated, his salary was reduced for five years, and he was sent to guard the imperial mausoleum for three years."

Prince Rui's fiefdom was a wealthy place, which the Empress Dowager had fought for for him. The confiscation of the fiefdom was a severe punishment. Guarding the imperial tombs was also a life of hardship.

Yun Xiyue got up and rubbed his temples, then smiled and said, "Your Majesty, let's look at it another way. This kind of punishment also has its advantages. Prince Rui is good at arguing and has gained the Empress Dowager's trust."