novelcrest Chapter 426 Autumn Birthday
Chapter 426 Autumn Birthday
A few days later, a rosewood box with gold trim was presented to the Minister of Justice. No one knew who sent it, but it contained evidence of the Duke of Lu's crimes.
Meanwhile, the eldest princess also went to the palace to see her mother and told her about the scheme she had devised with Granny Hao. "I heard that the Prince Consort has collected evidence of the Duke of Lu's crimes and has arranged for it to be sent to the Ministry of Justice. It is a great treason for a son to accuse his father. I am worried that the Emperor will punish the Prince Consort. If the Duke of Lu's title is lost, wouldn't I be guilty of a heinous crime?"
It's okay to harm that shameless father-in-law, and it's also to avenge the mother-in-law you've never met, but it's really not right to take away someone's ancestral title.
The eldest princess was extremely uneasy. She shouldn't have listened to her second brother's impulsive decision and taken such a bad step.
Shen Shixi didn't expect things to move so quickly; the eldest princess has grown up quite fast.
"You don't need to worry. As long as you and your husband are still husband and wife, your father will not take away your title. In the future, your children will inherit the title."
The eldest princess's expression immediately darkened with sorrow. "Mother, am I still worthy to be a mother?"
Shen Shixi felt a pang of pity looking at her. She was just a girl who was not even twenty years old. In later times, she would still be enjoying university life. "It is a great thing to know your mistakes and correct them. You have gone down the wrong path. You have only harmed yourself and not others."
You have a long life ahead of you. Live a peaceful and quiet life, don't bring shame to your father, and don't make things too hard on yourself. No one's life is worth sacrificing for, not even your own brother.
The eldest princess burst into tears, which startled Shen Shixi.
Granny Hao hurriedly knelt down to apologize to Shen Shixi. Shen Shixi waved her hand, and only then did the eldest princess realize that she had lost her composure. She hated that she did not have the same fate as Xihe. She hated that she had listened to her mother and thought about how to help her fourth brother all day long, and paid such a heavy price.
She thought of her mother's disdain for her, and of how she had drunk that abortion medicine alone, lying on the cold bed, writhing in pain, while her fourth brother hadn't come to visit her even once.
"Your subject will never let down Father and Mother again, and will never bring shame to the royal family again!" She knelt down and performed a grand salute to Shen Shixi.
Shen Shixi asked Qiu Heng to help her up. "The past is the past. You're still young. Look forward and don't dwell on it."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will follow your teachings."
After the princess returned from the palace, Tang Yi had dinner with her, and then he said he was going to see his father, so he went to the Duke of Lu's study.
Tang Yi informed his father that the princess had learned from the palace that the Ministry of Justice was investigating him. She also mentioned several past dealings between the Duke of Lu and Prime Minister Pei, as well as the fact that they had once planned to arrange a marriage between Tang Yi and Yang Shougui.
These two are traitors!
The Duke of Lu was drenched in cold sweat. He said, "Yi'er, I wronged your mother back then, but there were reasons. I didn't know that your mother's difficult childbirth was due to... But your younger brother Wei'er is innocent. Can you... spare his life?"
The Duke of Lu looked at Tang Yi pleadingly.
Tang Yi turned his face away and looked out the window. "Father, it hasn't come to that. Someone must be trying to harm you. The current emperor is a wise ruler and would not wrong any good minister. You don't need to worry."
However, if you were to actually do such a thing, your title would be lost, and in a collapsing nest, no egg remains unbroken. Whether it's exile or beheading, your son would always go with his father.
That night, the Duke of Lu hanged himself. With his death, the investigation was dropped. Since he was also the emperor's relative by marriage, the Ministry of Justice sealed the case file and Song Yan personally reported it to the emperor.
The Emperor decreed that Tang Yi should inherit the title. In order to save face for both families, the matter was not pursued. However, the fact that he was not posthumously honored or given any posthumous honors was ultimately an unseemly thing.
For this, Tang Yi was especially grateful to the eldest princess. If he were not the princess's husband, the Tang family's affairs would not have been handled so lightly.
The couple's relationship warmed up, and the following year, their eldest daughter became pregnant.
The moment she learned she was pregnant, tears streamed down her face. At that moment, the only person she was grateful to was her mother.
In the twentieth year of Yongxi, the Empress's birthday was celebrated. In that year, Shen Shixi turned thirty. The mourning period for the Empress Dowager had ended, and Li Yuanke held a grand celebration for the Empress's birthday.
A grand banquet was held in the palace, and people from all over the country presented their birthday gifts to the Empress. Since Shen Shixi had previously said that whoever sent the most valuable gift would be dismissed from his post, and Cen Yin had arranged for unscrupulous people to go to the local areas, no one took advantage of the Empress's birthday to make money.
Apart from Xu Murong and Li Sihe, who were under house arrest, all the concubines in the harem attended the banquet, and this was their chance to show off.
Consort Shu toasted Shen Shixi three times in succession, as excited as if it were her own birthday celebration.
Consort Xian also respectfully toasted Shen Shixi, saying, "Without Your Majesty the Empress, I would not be where I am today. I will be grateful to Your Majesty the Empress for the rest of my life!"
Consort Guo and Consort Yuan were deeply grateful. They were originally palace maids, and if nothing unexpected had happened, they would have died in the palace in low positions. But now they were able to hold high positions. Although raising their children had been hard work over the years, it was still much better than the loneliness of the deep palace.
"Your Majesty's kindness is something we can only repay in our next life. We wish Your Majesty many happy returns of the day!"
Needless to say, Consort Yuan and Consort Xu wanted to use this birthday celebration to elevate their ranks, so their toasts were especially sincere.
The gifts sent by the concubines were all carefully selected, for fear of being outshone by others.
Li Yuanke's temples throbbed with excitement. In all his years of celebrating the emperor's birthday, which concubine had ever given him such a heartfelt gift? It wasn't that he craved gifts from concubines; he simply couldn't understand it.
Whose concubine was she?
This is absolutely outrageous!
Not only did the emperor find it unbelievable, but the ministers and noblewomen were also astonished. Good heavens, the emperor is truly blessed! The harem is so harmonious; no one in their own secluded mansion could ever witness such a scene.
However, isn't the emperor's number of concubines a little too small?
There are only a few people here.
Before you know it, it's been many years since the Emperor last selected a concubine. However, at this point, no one would be so foolish as to step forward and bring it up.
Looking at the princes and princesses, the eldest princess sincerely wished her mother a happy birthday, presenting her with a pair of fine jade bracelets that she had searched for a long time and had her husband look everywhere for.
Needless to say, the second prince and his wife spent a lot of time and money to buy the double-sided embroidered screen, which depicts the beautiful rivers and mountains of China. The embroidery is exquisite and the picture is grand, making it a rare find.
The third prince is already fourteen years old. So far, neither his father nor his mother has assigned him any work. He seems to have been forgotten. He has been studying at Chongxian Academy, and his teachers don't seem to care much for him.
He presented her with a copy of the Classic of Filial Piety. Shen Shixi merely nodded, showing no praise as he had for the eldest princess and the second prince.
The third prince felt that his mother was greedy and looked down on the worthless gifts he gave her.
The fourth prince has gotten increasingly fat. He drew a picture himself and presented it to Shen Shixi. Shen Shixi glanced at it but couldn't figure out what it was. She said, "Fourth prince, you should lose weight."
Whether it was because the fourth prince had grown up and become a little smarter, or because the eldest princess didn't care about him, he caused trouble several times and went to the eldest princess, but she ignored him. He also realized that no one would protect him anymore, and now he no longer associates with the third prince.
Shen Shixi casually mentioned something, and he was overjoyed, as if he had been given a bowl of chicken soup. "Yes, Mother, I will start dieting from today."