The emperor thought the crown prince's suggestion was excellent. Arranging Young Master Yu's marriage along with those of the princes also showed due respect.
Seeing this, Young Master Yu's eyes darkened slightly, but he said nothing. He just bowed and said, "Your subject is willing to follow the will of the crown prince."
Shi Ning'an loosened her grip slightly, her mind racing. This Young Master Yu clearly came for her. His intention to marry her was surely not out of love, but rather to avenge Wei Hongmiao.
Wei Hongmiao had been so calculating in his comeback. It seemed that it was time to settle the scores from both past and present lives.
Shi Ning'an clenched her fists and squinted slightly, then regained her calm expression. There was still time. After the banquet, she would figure out how to deal with this.
The music and dance started again. The princes and imperial relatives began to present birthday gifts to the empress dowager. All kinds of magnificent items were brought in front of the crown prince, dazzling everyone.
After the imperial relatives had presented their gifts, it was the turn of the two dukes' mansions.
Shao's face turned even paler. Shi Ning'an held her hand, and the two exchanged glances, both breathing a sigh of relief. The storm was coming, and it was inevitable.
When a piece of music and dance ended, it was time for the Duke of Rong to present his gift. An official behind the hall stood up, strode forward, knelt in front of the emperor and the empress dowager, and shouted, "Your subject has something to report."
The emperor frowned and asked, "Lord Liu, today is not a court session day but the empress dowager's birthday. We won't handle court affairs today."
This official was none other than Lord Liu, the magistrate of the capital. He knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, your subject has an urgent and important matter that needs your Majesty's decision."
The emperor threw the string of beads in his hand on the table and looked at Lord Liu impatiently.
Concubine Dong smiled gently and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Liu looks so urgent. He must have an urgent matter that he can't decide on his own. Given the urgency, your Majesty might as well listen to him."
The emperor waved his hand and said, "Speak."
Lord Liu was sweating like rain, and his voice trembled slightly. "Your Majesty, some time ago, many common women and their families from the suburbs and inside the capital reported that they had been bullied and had nowhere to turn for help. Your subject sent people to investigate, and there were indeed one or two cases, but the family involved was of high status. Your subject..."
The emperor roared angrily, "Such a trivial matter is worth bringing up in the main hall? I've said that even the son of heaven shall be punished as a commoner if he breaks the law. Just because the family is of high status, you dare not arrest the person? Who is that person?"
Lord Liu shook his head repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, it's not like that. In the two cases that your subject investigated and confirmed, your subject found that the two families had been bribed to keep silent. The other families had no solid evidence. Your subject was really in a dilemma. Today..."
"Who is it!" The emperor flung the string of beads on the table, making them rattle.
Lord Liu trembled and said, "Your Majesty, this person... is the eldest young master of the Duke of Rong's mansion, Rong Xuan, an official in the Military and Horse Bureau."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present was in an uproar.
Rong Jian was so excited that he stood up. Looking back, he saw that Shao, Rong Xuan's wife, was pale and on the verge of collapse. He was so angry that he almost spat out a mouthful of blood. Rong Feichi quickly stepped forward to support him.
Rong Jian slapped Rong Feichi across the face and asked, "Is what he said true?"
Rong Feichi had no idea. He looked back at Shao blankly.
Shi Ning'an tightly held Shao's hand in her sleeve, as if giving her strength.
Shao stood up tearfully and gently shook her head. "No, no, no, grandfather. What this lord said is not true."
Lord Liu immediately asked, "Madam says that what I said is not true. Then may I ask Madam a few questions?"
Shao nodded slowly.
Lord Liu then asked, "In the middle of last month, did the family of a girl named Lü'e come to the duke's mansion? Is that true?"
Shao averted her eyes and stammered, "That was... that was..."
Lord Liu said, "You just need to answer yes or no."
Shao lowered her head and said, "Yes."
Lord Liu asked, "They said that your husband molested the girl when he was drunk. Is that true? And what did you do then?"
Shao lowered her head and said, "It's true. Because I was afraid that my grandfather-in-law and father-in-law would punish my husband if they knew about this, I gave them some silver to send them away..."
Lord Liu asked again, "What about before that? The girl named Qiao'er in the early part of last month?"
Shao nodded and said, "It was the same. I also gave them some silver to send them away."
Lord Liu bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, your subject has never framed anyone."
Shao quickly defended, "But there were only these two times. There were really only these two times. My husband also told me that he would never do it again..."
Lord Liu didn't say anything else, but the officials and their families beside them exploded. They were all saying that Rong Xuan looked like a gentleman on the surface, but unexpectedly, he was such a shameless person in private.
Some familiar people showed disdain and said, "Rong Xuan? That's normal. He usually looks decent, but he's a different person when he's drunk."
There were also those who defended him. "But he usually just talks nonsense when he's drunk. We all know that. It seems to be the first time we've heard that he's interested in women."
The deputy commander of the Military and Horse Bureau, who had a good relationship with Rong Xuan in the same bureau, stood up and said, "Rong Xuan is ambitious. He often likes to drag us out to drink and have fun. That's fine. But every time he gets drunk, he likes to say some disrespectful words. He said that he was the future Duke of Rong. Why should he be subordinate to others and be just an official in the Military and Horse Bureau? He also said that those in high positions didn't value talent, and that he, a pillar of the country, wasn't being reused..."
For a moment, there were only "tut-tut" sounds in the main hall.
Rong Jian stepped forward and knelt down, looking like he was crying bitterly. "Your Majesty, your subject begs your Majesty to summon this unfilial grandson into the hall. Your subject wants to question him properly!"
The emperor squinted his eyes, sizing up everyone, but said nothing.
Lord Liu continued, "Your Majesty, this matter is not over yet. There's also today's matter."
Rong Feichi glared at him angrily and asked, "What else?"
Lord Liu flinched and didn't dare to say a word.
Lord Dong sneered and said, "Is the heir of the Rong family going to intimidate a court official in front of the emperor in the main hall?"
Rong Feichi was so angry that his heart was surging, but he was helpless.
Lord Liu continued, "Your subject is really in a dilemma for disturbing your Majesty and the empress dowager's peace in the main hall today. It's really because your subject heard the news that Rong Xuan was so shameless that he neglected his duties... and molested a good woman..."
Rong Sui finally spoke slowly. "Lord Liu said that my elder brother neglected his duties today?"
Lord Liu was taken aback and replied, "Yes."
Rong Sui asked again, "Today, you and I are in the main hall, while my elder brother is on duty in the city. May I ask, my lord, how did you know what happened outside the imperial city? Could it be that you, my lord, are in communication with those outside the imperial city while inside the imperial city? Or do you have extraordinary abilities?"
Lord Liu stammered, his eyes wandering. Soon, he gritted his teeth and said, "It was reported by my subordinate when your subject entered the palace."
Rong Sui said "oh" and didn't say anything else.
The crown prince then said, "Lord Liu's words are very interesting. It should be about two hours since you entered the palace until now. Why did you delay until now?"
Lord Liu shook his head and sighed. "Third Young Master Rong is a member of the Rong family and also a guard of the crown prince. When the crown prince asks a question, your subject naturally doesn't dare to argue at all."
This was shifting the blame.
Shao looked up with red eyes and asked, "Lord Liu's words are full of loopholes. Otherwise, why would he be afraid of others' questions? You keep saying how despicable my husband is, but the two girls, Qiao'er and Lü'e, you just mentioned are both prostitutes. It's inappropriate for my husband to go to a brothel when drinking with friends, but he didn't break the law. I hid it for him just because I was afraid of being scolded by the elders in the family, not because I was afraid of him being caught by you!"
After saying that, she said firmly and kowtowed three times to the emperor. "Your Majesty, it's true that your subject's husband likes to drink a little. But as a member of the Rong family, he will never do such a thing as molesting a good woman. Your Majesty, your subject believes in him."
Lady Dong couldn't help but sneer. "Oh, madam's words. Does it mean that as long as a criminal's family says they believe in him, the case can be closed? Madam keeps saying that she believes in him. Then why are you so haggard?"
Shao's face was pale, and the dark circles under her eyes couldn't be hidden. She really did look haggard.
Just then, for some reason, a strange smell wafted over. Shao's face turned even paler, and she suddenly fainted.
Shi Ning'an exclaimed softly and supported Shao. She looked at Lady Dong in a naive and straightforward manner. "Madam, since you know that my sister-in-law is in poor spirits, why do you still stimulate her like this? Do you really want to force my sister-in-law to behave inappropriately in front of the hall?"
Lady Dong didn't expect Shao to faint just like that. She was stunned on the spot and didn't dare to say anything else.
It was the empress dowager who was kind-hearted. She asked the female doctor beside her to come and examine Shao.
The female doctor felt Shao's pulse and couldn't help but widen her eyes. She felt the pulse carefully again and looked at Shao seriously. Then she said, "Congratulations, madam... you're pregnant."
Shao leaned weakly against Shi Ning'an and couldn't believe it. "Pregnant?"
The female doctor nodded. "The pregnancy is still in its early stage, but madam hasn't taken good care of herself and has agitated the fetus."
Shao let out a sigh. "These days, my three-year-old child has been sick and cries at night and only wants me to hold him. After all this tossing, I've been a bit out of sorts."
The female doctor continued to nod. "A fussy child will surely make you unable to rest well. Later, please ask a doctor to prescribe some medicine to protect the fetus. Just rest well and there will be no problem."
The entire Rong family looked at each other in dismay. For a moment, they didn't know whether to be happy or sad.
Shi Ning'an laughed crisply. "Sister-in-law, you're going to have another child. When elder brother knows about this, he will surely be overjoyed."
A shy look appeared on Shao's face, and the haggardness just now seemed to disappear completely.
Seeing this, the empress dowager waved her hand and said, "The ground is cold. Since you're pregnant, don't kneel anymore. Hurry, girl Ning'an, why don't you help your sister-in-law sit down properly?"
After saying that, she said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, you men's affairs shouldn't involve the women in the inner house. It's obvious that the young madam is haggard because of taking care of the child. Why do you have to say that there's something wrong with their marital relationship and that it's because of her husband's womanizing?"
The emperor twirled the string of beads and showed a smile. "Duke Rong, congratulations on expecting another great-grandchild."
Rong Jian quickly kowtowed to express his gratitude and said seriously, "Your Majesty, your subject's granddaughter-in-law has made contributions to the Rong family. But if your subject's eldest grandson really has made mistakes, he can't be indulged. Please, your Majesty, handle this case carefully!"