Chapter 54
"I will accuse the Empress's father, Lord Tong Zhiqiu! He did not discipline his students properly and produced a vicious person!"
The Minister of Justice, with tears and snot running down his face, knelt before Emperor Xiao Yunzhou, accusing the Empress's father of not disciplining his students properly, resulting in a scoundrel in the world.
The officials in the field were all shocked.
Even the lobbyist Hong Xing, who had just been splashed with scalding hot tea, was dumbfounded and almost passed out from anger.
"What is going on?"
"The Zhou family, Zhou Wuxin is a lecherous and dishonorable person, and his grandson is the same?"
"This is outrageous... Zhou Wuxin was a disciple of Old Lord Tong when he was in office, and Tong took him as a jinshi (imperial examination passer) that year."
"Oh, Old Lord Tong later returned to his hometown in his old age and opened the Baisha Academy. I remember Zhou Wuxin sent his only grandson all the way to the Baishan Academy to study!"
"My goodness, did Lord Fang not wrong Old Lord Tong? He really raised a pair of vicious grandfather and grandson!"
The ministers dining in the field today were all famous officials in the capital.
In addition, there were eunuchs, palace maids, and imperial guards accompanying them.
Suddenly, their expressions changed, and they began to discuss animatedly.
Hong Xing, wiping the tea off his face, was about to vomit blood.
He had just been lobbying Lord Fang, and it was clearly going to succeed.
He could see Lord Fang's hesitation!
Just as the other party was about to agree to stand with the Crown Prince and the Empress, the Zhou family, who were on the Empress's side, did such a thing to his daughter!?
Hong Xing's current third-rank position was all thanks to the promotion by the Empress's party.
But now, he wanted to scold the Empress's father, Old Lord Tong.
That old man was blind, what kind of students did he take in!
How could he drag them down like this!
"I beg the Emperor to stand up for my daughter, imprison Zhou Muxin, and investigate thoroughly!"
"The Zhou family has improper conduct, disgracing the literati, please the Emperor strip them of their titles!"
Lord Fang, the Minister of Justice, obviously had a weak spot, and it was his beloved daughter.
Emperor Xiao Yunzhou immediately had someone help him up and sent people to investigate immediately.
"Lord Fang, please stand up first, if the Zhou family is truly as you said, committing evil deeds, I will not let them off lightly."
"Any person in the world must obey the law!"
"Bullying the common people, bullying my daughter, I will not let them off lightly!"
Only then did Lord Fang, wiping his tears, shakily stand up and thank the Emperor. He then quickly walked up to Master Liu.
The officials looked at each other in amazement.
Even Emperor Xiao Yunzhou was puzzled.
But they saw Lord Fang respectfully prostrate himself before Master Liu, "Today, my daughter has woken up, and I also need to thank Lord Liu, thank Concubine Liu."
The officials were shocked.
What's going on with the Liu family?!
It turns out that the Liu family was prescient!
How come they were always the first to get involved, know about it first, and take action?
The officials were speechless.
Soon, the eunuch sent by the Emperor came back to report.
"Your Majesty, the matter is true."
"Concubine Liu and Old Madam of Liu Family organized the ladies today to make winter clothes for the refugees. As they worked, Old Madam of Liu was chatting with Concubine Liu, saying that they saw the Zhou family's servants buying ice to take back this morning."
"Concubine Liu didn't think much of it at first, but later she saw Zhou family's daughter-in-law, Lady Min, and heard her say that her child had a high fever a few days ago and suddenly caught a cold."
The officials, hearing this, had changing expressions on their faces. They were all shrewd, and after connecting the front and back parts, their imaginations ran wild.
Sure enough, the eunuch continued, "Concubine Liu immediately felt something was wrong, and led Lady Min and Consort Min to the Zhou mansion."
"Who would have thought that after entering the mansion, they saw the Zhou family's daughter being soaked in ice water by the Zhou family's wife."
Wow!
The officials exclaimed in an uproar.
Even though they had vaguely guessed it just now, hearing it now still shocked them by the cruelty of the Zhou family.
"Concubine Liu was furious and immediately questioned the child's father about why his mother-in-law was so ruthless."
"It turned out that the servant said the father had gone to Lan Shan Temple, so Concubine Liu took people to look for him."
"Who would have thought, they saw Zhou Muxin there, deceiving the daughter of Lord Fang, the Minister of Justice, behind the Buddha statue."
The officials were so shocked that their jaws dropped.
What kind of show was the Zhou family putting on, even more outrageous than what was performed on the stage!
Lord Fang, the Minister of Justice, heard more and more, his face growing darker.
He looked at Hong Xing, who had asked him to help the Empress, and directly spat heavily!
"I, Fang, am ashamed to associate with such scoundrels!"
"Your Majesty, I failed to discipline my daughter, I request to return home!"
Emperor Xiao Yunzhou helped him up, thinking of his own little princess, and also felt that Lord Fang had not cared enough for his daughter and failed to educate her.
He then nodded, "Go home and you are excused, but I will punish you by transferring you to serve as the prefect of Zhe Province, and during your transfer, I order you to teach your daughter for one hour every day."
Lord Fang was amazed when he heard this, and then tears flowed down his cheeks as he kowtowed. This was the emperor doing him a favor!
In the capital, the scandal of his daughter could no longer be concealed, being transferred to the outside of the capital, his daughter could start anew!
"I will be loyal to Your Majesty with my life!" Lord Fang was deeply moved.
He then went to bow towards Master Liu in the distance.
After the meal, the officials followed the Emperor back to the inner city.
On the way, Xiao Yunzhou found Master Liu and spoke with him, his expression quite appreciative, "It seems Concubine Liu has also inherited Master Liu's keen perception."
Master Liu's heart was pounding, giving a chuckle. Where did he inherit it? Just the ability to understand the little princess's heart?
*
Outside the palace, in the clothing workshop.
Concubine Liu saw that it was getting late and prepared to take her daughter Chu Chu back to the palace.
Xiao Chu Chu had already fallen asleep.
She had forcibly stayed awake to watch the excitement at the Lan Shan Temple, and now she could no longer hold on, sleeping sweetly in the carriage.
"I'll go up to the carriage first to read some Buddhist scriptures." Consort Min considerately left the room for Concubine Liu and Old Madam of Liu to have a private conversation.
The palace maids, nannies, and Zhang Jia all left the room.
Concubine Liu and Old Madam of Liu sat there, looking at each other.
"Mother... I told people it was you who informed me about the Zhou family buying ice, so I discovered the Zhou family's wrongdoing." Concubine Liu gritted her teeth and said.
Old Madam of Liu took a deep breath, her gaze struggling to remain calm.
After a while, she tentatively lowered her voice and asked, "My dear, can you also hear the little princess's heart?"
Concubine Liu was startled, hastily checking the windows to make sure they were closed.
After confirming that no one else could hear, she looked at her mother in amazement, "You can also hear it?"
"Ah, of course!" Old Madam of Liu excitedly slapped her thigh, "Your father can hear it too!"
Concubine Liu was shocked, her father had disguised it so well that even she was deceived.
"Ah, we have to pretend, not to let the Emperor know," Old Madam of Liu said worriedly after the excitement.
Concubine Liu also frowned.
Mother and daughter silently understood, Emperor Xiao Yunzhou, like other historical emperors, was suspicious in character.
After learning that Consort Fu wanted to use poison pills to harm him and seize the throne, Xiao Yunzhou inevitably became more suspicious of others.
"My dear, you must be very careful in the palace, never let the Emperor know that you can also hear the little princess's heart."
Old Madam of Liu warned.
Being close to the Emperor is like being close to a tiger, they seemed to have a bright future ahead.
But unless their grandson Cheng Qian ascended the throne, their lives and deaths would still be in the Emperor's hands.
Emperors can make the clouds turn and the rain fall, their joy and anger only depend on a single thought.
"Besides us few, who else can hear the little princess's heart?" Old Madam of Liu asked cautiously.
Concubine Liu held her hand, "Cheng Qian can also hear it."
Old Madam of Liu breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good. Let him be careful too, the position of Crown Prince is more likely to make the Emperor suspicious."
Concubine Liu nodded with worry.
Seeing that the time was not early, they could not continue to chat.
They agreed to meet again the next day to continue making winter clothes in the small courtyard, and Old Madam of Liu asked what the little princess liked, reluctantly sending her daughter and granddaughter back to the palace in the carriage.
Concubine Liu held the adorable sleeping Chu Chu all the way, not letting go until she slowly woke up.
But as soon as they entered the palace gates, they saw the imperial favorite Wei Zheng by the Emperor's side.
"Concubine Liu, the Emperor has instructed me to wait here for you," Wei Zheng said with a smile on his face.
"He misses the young Miss and wants you to bring her directly to his study."
Concubine Liu immediately grew wary and clutched the sleeping infant in her arms protectively.
"Madam, don't worry. Not only is the Emperor there, but the Princes are also present, so the young Miss will be in good hands."
Concubine Liu did not dare to relax her guard at all as she followed Wei Zheng and rode the sedan chair to the Imperial Palace.
As soon as she carried her freshly awakened daughter into the palace, she nearly stumbled at the threshold.
[Ah, I'm back at the palace? Hmm, are these my other brothers?]
Xiao Chuchu, carried in by Concubine Liu, caught sight of the line of Princes standing before the Emperor's desk.
This was the first time she had seen them.
The sight immediately startled her. [Oh my goodness! The Fourth Prince's intelligence is only 49, he's failing!]
Emperor Xiao Yunzhou's smile froze on his face the moment he saw his daughter.
Concubine Liu's mouth twitched, and she nearly turned back.