0p0 Chapter 287: Crime
Chapter 287: Crime
early morning.
Five watch.
It's still dark.
After the rooster crows to announce the dawn.
The morning court session is about to begin.
During the morning court session, which lasted about an hour, the court officials argued for most of the hour.
They had a huge argument, all over a woman.
At this critical juncture, the third daughter of the Lu family actually divorced Lord Jiang.
Civil officials are very good at nitpicking words.
Most people believe that if a woman divorces, she is no longer considered a woman who married out of the country.
There's no reason why she, a daughter of the Lu family, could have remained uninvolved and lived peacefully in a corner without the entire Lu clan being raided and exiled.
He should be reduced to slavery and punished along with his father.
He should be demoted to a government slave and his private property confiscated.
He should be demoted to a musician and sent to the Imperial Music Bureau.
They should be expelled from the capital and exiled.
……
The military officer was displeased upon hearing this.
So much time has passed.
Why can't they just let a woman go?
They firmly believed that General Lu would not embezzle military funds and must have been framed.
If they couldn't save General Lu's family before, what chance do they have now be that they can't even save General Lu's only daughter?
Then they would be unworthy of being human.
The court was instantly divided into three groups.
One group of officials had their daughters punished by the Emperor; no leniency should be shown, and no one should be allowed to escape.
A group pleaded for the Lu family's daughter, begging the emperor to have mercy and give her a way out.
One group is indifferent to matters that don't concern them.
Emperor Xuan rubbed his temples; he had a headache.
These old fogies have become pedantic from too much reading; they don't care about national affairs, but they're fixated on a woman.
Just how deep-seated hatred did he have for this woman?
However, he really didn't know what to do with this Lu family girl.
If this Third Madam Lu is really dealt with, the Lu family father and son will surely come after him to fight to the death.
I heard that Lu Huai'an cherishes his daughter very much.
Treat it with the same tenderness and care as if it were your own eyeball.
Even when their daughters got married, they would find a house close to their home as part of their dowry, which was practically supporting the son-in-law's entire family.
If he can't touch Lu Qingyao, then no one else can touch her either.
As long as the Lu family remains in the capital, there is no need to fear that Lu Huai'an will have any ulterior motives.
Judging by the days, we should be arriving in the capital soon.
Emperor Xuan glared at Jiang Yunze with hostility.
Look at this culprit.
This guy, why did he have to get a divorce now, at this crucial moment?
Perhaps they're living too comfortably.
What's most infuriating is that this guy just stands next to Minister Qi, acting like it's none of his business.
It needs some tidying up.
And those court officials who shouted the loudest, they all looked like Qi Shangshu's protégés.
That scoundrel! He's using the imperial court as a place for personal revenge.
Thinking of this, Emperor Xuan's eyes sharpened even more.
He gave the eunuch a look.
The eunuch quickly understood and made a note of these people.
Jiang Yunze originally had his head held high, but he always felt like he had thorns in his back.
It seemed as if many eyes were fixed on him.
It made his scalp tingle.
She looked up and met the Emperor's sharp gaze.
His complexion was also quite unpleasant.
He felt a chill in his heart.
Oh no, will Lu Qingyao drag him down with her?
But they've already divorced.
Then the Emperor called on him, "Jiang Yunze, Lu Sanniang was your first wife. Why don't you tell us how to deal with her?"
"Your Majesty, this..."
Jiang Yunze's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly stepped forward and knelt down before Emperor Xuan.
The air seemed to freeze instantly.
Emperor Xuan looked at him, and all the court officials looked at him.
Their eyes were unreadable, and they were whispering amongst themselves.
It wasn't until the emperor asked him, "What happened to your face?"
Jiang Yunze then remembered that his face looked like it had been scratched by a cat, and felt somewhat embarrassed.
His face, which had been raised, fell down again.
Women and petty men are the most difficult to deal with, and women are even more so.
He never expected that the usually gentle and quiet Tao Mei would be so fierce, like a shrew.
He took a few days off to recuperate, but the scars still haven't completely faded.
Even now, my body still aches faintly.
Right now, I just want to find a hole to crawl into.
Emperor Xuan sighed inwardly, thinking that the Third Sister of the Lu family was indeed formidable.
She truly is a daughter of a military family.
Looking at the person kneeling on the ground, he said, "Continue, what should be done?"
Jiang Yunze swallowed hard and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, my ex-wife, Madam Lu, is jealous of my taking a concubine, which is why she is making a fuss about divorcing me. Although she has left the Jiang family, she still has three sons with me. I beg Your Majesty to consider that the children are still young and not to drive her out of the capital."
At this point, Emperor Xuan and his court officials all believed it.
seeing is believing.
Everyone thought that Lu San Niangzi was jealous and a shrew, which forced Jiang Yunze to divorce her.
After all, he was born into a military family, so it's understandable that he's a bit tough.
Look at how Lord Jiang is still willing to plead for her; he's quite a man of honor.
However, his next words silenced the court officials.
"Your Majesty, if we must offend her, could we allow her to become a concubine or maid in the Jiang family? This would spare them the pain of separation from their child," Jiang Yunze said.
He didn't mind taking Lu Qingyao in this way.
For some reason, I wanted to see her filled with regret, to see her lower her noble head and grovel before him.
But Lu Qingyao was his first wife and the matriarch of the Jiang family.
She was demoted to a government slave and sent to the brothel.
That is absolutely unacceptable.
If that were the case, his face, and the face of the Jiang family, would be thrown to the ground and trampled on, and he would become a laughing stock among his colleagues.
Whenever a colleague visited the brothel, they would tell him, "I saw your ex-wife, and so on..."
Or perhaps your ex-wife was a slave in my house.
He couldn't imagine.
That would be his nightmare.
Moreover, with a mother like that, what future does Yan'er have to speak of?
The best solution is to let her stay in the Jiang family, even as a concubine, as it will not have a significant impact on the two children's careers.
She herself probably has nothing to say about it.
We might even have to be grateful to him.
Jiang Yunze thought this was the best idea, and that the emperor would agree, at least to some extent considering his reputation.
However, the emperor really wanted to slap him.
Not only the emperor, but also Prince Jing and Yan Huan wanted to beat him to death.
Although there were precedents of demoting the families of disgraced officials to government slaves and making them concubines for officials, it was a different story to demote his wife to a concubine and make his former wife a slave or maid for Jiang Yunze.
Fortunately he could figure it out.
It seems the cat scratches on his face were too severe, and he's holding a grudge against Lu Qingyao.
Prince Jing jokingly said, "Lord Jiang is truly a romantic and amorous man. You've just taken a new wife into your household, and even after the divorce, you can't let go of your ex-wife. You're enjoying the bliss of having two wives. Aren't you afraid that your second wife will get jealous and continue to find people to slander your ex-wife?"
Slandering his ex-wife?
Upon hearing what King Jing said, everyone suddenly realized the truth.
He remembered that Jiang Yunze had another concubine in his household, who was the daughter of Minister Qi.
No wonder, these rumors targeting the Lu family's daughter seem to have some basis in fact.
Emperor Xuan and his court officials all turned their attention to the father-in-law and son-in-law.
Qi Shangshu remained calm and composed, as steady as Mount Tai. Why should he panic over something so unfounded?
As the saying goes, experience is the best teacher; there was absolutely no clue about him.
On the contrary, Jiang Yunze is still young.
My palms were sweating from nervousness.
Jiang Yunze believed he had no grudge against Prince Jing, but the prince seemed to be deliberately making things difficult for him.
He couldn't figure it out.
However, he quickly realized that perhaps this guy was just too idle and was deliberately making fun of him.
"Your Majesty, I have something to report."
Just then, someone suddenly stood up; it was Cui Mao, the Minister of Revenue.
Cui Maonai is the second son of Cui Lao Taifu, who has retired to his hometown.
The Cui family held a very important position in the eyes of the civil officials. As soon as he spoke, the officials who had been whispering all fell silent.
"Speak," Emperor Xuan waved his hand.
“Your Majesty, I believe that this Third Madam Lu should not be punished. The other day, she donated 200,000 shi of millet to the Ministry of Revenue as military rations, and these past few days she has also had porridge distributed in the city. Such good deeds should be commended. If she is to be punished, wouldn’t that be disheartening?”
……