Lord Wen sneered contemptuously. "Lord Liu, it's rather strange the way you've been doing your job as the Magistrate of the Capital. His Majesty clearly ordered to invite Rong Xuan into the palace for investigation. How come it became an arrest in your words? Moreover, Your Majesty, I didn't find Rong Xuan in the out - palace. Today, the fifth son of the Dong family wasn't feeling well, so Rong Xuan switched shifts with him. It was the fifth son of the Dong family who was guarding the out - palace, while Rong Xuan went to the East Gate of the Capital. I found him there."
Just then, Lord Gong, an imperial censor from the Censorate, entered the grand hall with a man and a woman, two imperial guards, a maid, and a severely injured soldier wearing the uniform of the Military and Horse Bureau.
Shi Ning'an was still wondering who the fifth son of the Dong family was. Although she had some pre - knowledge, the subsequent matters were arranged by Rong Sui and Rong Xuan, and she didn't know much about them. Who was this fifth son of the Dong family who had switched shifts with Rong Xuan?
When she saw the rather plump man waddling into the hall, Shi Ning'an couldn't help but widen her eyes.
After all these twists and turns, the people who appeared in her past life still showed up in this life! Wasn't this fifth son of the Dong family, Dong Ningcai, the bastard son of the Dong family who was supposed to be engaged to Shi Ningxin in her past life? In her past life, Shi Ningxin disliked Dong Ningcai so much that she tried every means to get into Rong Xuan's bed.
But when she glanced at the woman beside him, who looked heart - broken and on the verge of collapse, Shi Ning'an was even more shocked.
The woman was wearing a green dress and was dressed coquettishly. However, her hair was obviously just tidied up, and traces of its previous dishevelment could still be seen. Wasn't this charming young girl Zhao Yiyi?
Not only Shi Ning'an, but even Concubine Zhao also stood up in surprise and called out, "Yiyi."
Zhao Yiyi had been in a daze all the way. She had no idea what was going on. She was forced by Lord Gong to enter the palace. Along the way, except for her personal maid, there was not a single familiar face.
Hearing her elder sister's call, although they didn't have the same mother and were not very close during their boudoir days due to the age gap, at this moment, she still cried with red eyes and hoarsely shouted without caring about the occasion, "Sister..."
Concubine Zhao couldn't hold back any longer. She rushed down quickly and hugged her sister tightly. "Yiyi, what happened? Tell sister."
Lord Gong told the emperor in a formal manner what he had witnessed before. He said that when he led his men to the villa, they were blocked by some of the fifth son of the Dong family's servants and not allowed to enter. Moreover, one of the servants was oppressing this Miss Zhao's maid. The maid cried for help desperately but couldn't get free.
It was the soldier from the Military and Horse Bureau beside them who was indignant at the Dong family's master and servants for bullying the good people. He resisted the servants of the fifth son of the Dong family, but unfortunately, he was outnumbered and beaten to the brink of death.
The two imperial guards who were brought in were so scared that they knelt on the ground and stammered, not daring to say a word.
Lord Gong, who had always been honest and upright, was extremely angry at this moment. He continued, "I've been an official for many years, and this is the first time I've seen such a bold and lawless person. Dong Ningcai raped a good - born woman, and his servants didn't try to dissuade him. Instead, they followed his example and bullied this maid! Moreover, as imperial guards, allowing such a thing to happen in the imperial out - palace is simply unheard of!"
Lord Dong was sweating profusely. He quickly stood up and knelt down to plead guilty.
Concubine Zhao's eyes were red from crying. She knelt on the ground and kowtowed desperately. "Your Majesty, please seek justice for this concubine. Although my maternal family is humble, they are all cautious and ordinary people. My younger sister is not a woman from the brothel. Just because the Zhao family is in a weak position, should she be bullied like this? My father has been dedicated all his life. Although he was a merchant, he had a kind nature and never did anything unrighteous for profit!"
Zhao Yiyi finally came to her senses a little at this moment. She hugged her sister and cried again. "Sister, save me."
Concubine Zhao held her sister's face in her hands. She was so heart - broken that she couldn't control herself. Suddenly, she reached out and took off the jade pendant from Zhao Yiyi's neck. She knelt and crawled to the emperor, holding the jade pendant up. Her voice was full of sobs.
"Your Majesty, the rise of the Zhao family started because of this jade pendant. Over the years, my ancestors have been extremely careful to guard the glory bestowed by the founding emperor. But it was this jade pendant that my ancestors guarded that made my younger sister suffer so much. Please, Your Majesty, take back this jade pendant!"
Shi Ning'an frowned slightly. She didn't know what was so special about this jade pendant.
Concubine Zhao lowered her head and sobbed. "Your Majesty, this jade pendant represents the founding emperor's grace to my maternal family. The most noble legitimate daughters of the Zhao family for generations have worn it on their chests to show the emperor's favor. But I didn't expect that for Yiyi, it would be a death sentence! There have been several assassination attempts. Fortunately, the Imperial Guards in the imperial city protected her and kept her safe. I didn't expect that the villains would come up with such a vicious plan to ruin her!"
She turned around and looked at Zhao Yiyi heart - brokenly. "Yiyi, I wrote a letter to our family and told you not to wear the jade pendant anymore. Why didn't you listen? Why?"
Zhao Yiyi lay on the ground, crying uncontrollably.
In a split - second, Shi Ning'an always felt that something had flashed by, but she just couldn't figure out why.
Hearing his favorite concubine cry so heartbreakingly, the emperor's anger reached its peak. He stood up, walked up to Dong Ningcai, and kicked him hard. "Who gave you the courage!"
Lord Gong, not afraid of causing more trouble, bowed and continued, "Your Majesty, when we went there, these two imperial guards even tried to stop us. They said that the Dong family was so powerful and that Concubine Dong was comparable to the empress. They told us to think twice before acting!"
The emperor laughed out of anger. "Comparable to the empress? What a comparable to the empress! I didn't expect that my imperial guards would speak for the son of a subject and disregard the laws and regulations!"
Concubine Dong was stunned. She had no idea how the well - planned thing had turned out like this.
She quickly knelt on the ground trembling. "Your Majesty... This concubine doesn't know..."
The emperor wouldn't listen to her at all. He immediately shouted, "Deprive Concubine Dong of her title and demote her to a noble lady!"
Concubine Dong let out a scream and slumped to the ground.
Just then, Minister Wen of the Court of Judicature bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I still have something to say."
"Speak!"
Minister Wen took out a stack of petitions from his sleeve and presented them to the emperor. "Your Majesty, these petitions were given to me by Young Master Rong when I invited him into the palace today. Originally, I thought I should discuss them with the vice - minister of the Ministry of Justice and Censor Gong first and then submit them to Your Majesty. But..."
Before he could finish, the emperor took the stack of petitions and flipped through them one by one. They were all evidence of the Dong family's illegal money - printing business. He was even more angry. Without finishing reading, he threw the petitions, making them rustle. He pointed at Rong Xuan.
"Where did these come from?"
Rong Xuan felt his legs go numb. Hearing this, he quickly knelt up straight and replied, "Your Majesty, my subordinates and I received these petitions some time ago. We originally wanted to hand them over to the Court of Judicature for handling. But one of the petitioners was a family member of a tenant farmer on my family's estate. He said that he had sent this petition to the Magistrate of the Capital, but the magistrate didn't accept it, and the tenant farmer was beaten up by the money - lenders. I thought that since we had received the petitions, we couldn't just hand them over and be done with it. So I asked my third brother to help investigate during his official duties. Only then did we find out that all these things were closely related to the Dong family. And recently, when I went to the East Gate of the Capital, many tenant farmers gave me their petitions!"
Hearing this, Lord Gong also bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I submitted a memorial some time ago about this very matter. Moreover, my colleagues and I in the Ministry of Justice have discussed this. We heard that this is not only happening inside and outside the capital but also all over the Great Zhou. It has even forced many farmers to sell their children in order to survive. There are also many old people who, because of the family burden, voluntarily went into the mountains to seek death. Such things are everywhere, just to relieve the burden on their families!"
The emperor was so angry that he couldn't say a word. He turned around and walked back to the throne. He gritted his teeth so hard that tears welled up in his eyes. "The peaceful and prosperous era left to me by my late father has been managed like this by me. Mother, how can I have the face to see Father after I die!"
The empress dowager had been closing her eyes. Hearing this, she slowly raised her head and advised, "Your Majesty, there have always been people whose merits overshadow the ruler since ancient times. Your Majesty is still too kind!"
Lord Dong knelt on the ground, kowtowing continuously and wailing, "I am guilty. I implore Your Majesty to give me some time to clean up my family..."
The emperor sneered. "Let you clean up? Or let you find someone to take the blame?"
Lord Dong's body trembled violently. He gritted his teeth and replied, "I am guilty. Please punish me, Your Majesty. Please... deprive me of my title!"
Concubine Dong was extremely shocked. "Father..."
Lord Dong's face was ashen. He pretended not to hear and didn't say anything more.
The emperor waved his hand. When Lord Dong got up, he stumbled but managed to steady himself. He looked up at the eldest prince, let out a long sigh, and led the Dong family out.
The Court of Judicature also took Dong Ningcai and the two imperial guards away. Only Zhao Yiyi and her maid were left kneeling on the ground, crying non - stop.
The emperor pointed at the severely injured soldier from the Military and Horse Bureau and said, "This man... is not afraid of power. Reward him... from now on, appoint him as the officer of the Military and Horse Bureau."
The soldier was shocked. He was originally just an ordinary soldier with a humble background. He never thought that by doing things with a clear conscience today, he would have such an opportunity. Immediately, he was overjoyed and knelt down to thank the emperor.
The emperor personally helped Concubine Zhao up. He put the jade pendant in her hand back on her and wiped the tears from her face. "My love, don't cry anymore. I will definitely re - examine this case and will never let such a thing happen again! Someone, convey my order. The sons and nephews of the Zhao family are allowed to take the imperial examinations and enter officialdom!"
The reason why merchants were looked down upon was that no matter how much money they earned, as long as they were in business, their descendants were not allowed to become officials in the court. This was to prevent the selling of official positions. Unexpectedly, now, the emperor had broken this precedent because of Zhao Yiyi.
But Concubine Zhao still felt heart - broken for her younger sister and didn't seem to care about this. The Zhao family was not allowed to enter the hall, so there was no one to thank the emperor for this favor.
Fortunately, the emperor didn't care at all. He took Concubine Zhao's hand and let her sit with him, completely suppressing Concubine Dong, now the Noble Lady Dong.
Shi Ning'an looked up and thought that the way Concubine Zhao looked at Zhao Yiyi was not as caring and intimate as she showed.
The emperor looked at Rong Xuan again. "Has Young Master Rong given up his bad habit of drinking?"
Rong Xuan quickly lowered his head. "Your Majesty, I plead guilty! In the past, after getting drunk, I often said some nonsense complaining about the unfairness of fate. It was not my real intention. Thinking about it now, I feel extremely ashamed. Please punish me, Your Majesty!"
The emperor's eyes flashed. He asked, "What kind of nonsense?"
Rong Xuan blushed and replied in a low voice, "Sometimes I thought I was a fine horse, but Your Majesty was not my伯乐. Sometimes I complained about my fellow clan brothers. As the eldest son, I was not as good as my two younger brothers. I also often complained about my bad luck and thought that the Great Zhou now valued literature over martial arts."
The emperor chuckled. "Is this really nonsense?"