bookcurios Chapter 191 Ashamed to speak out
Chapter 191 Ashamed to speak out
"what?"
It was like a bolt of thunder. Jiang was the first to jump up, her voice rising, obviously not believing her ears. The old lady also sat up straight:
"What are you talking about?"
Mu Lianzhi was actually slightly startled. She looked up and saw that Sang Xi, who had been pretending to be sick and hadn't said a word behind the screen, was also motionless. It was obvious that she had been paying attention to the commotion outside.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, the butler kept nodding while panting:
"it is true."
"The eldest young master is still in the courtyard. He was carried back by the eunuch Li from the palace. The eldest young master has disheveled hair and looks very disheveled and dazed. He doesn't look well. He is now in the main hall."
"I can't explain the specific situation. They only said that they were ordered to send someone back. The master was punished to reflect on his mistakes. There should be someone else to convey the order later."
"I managed to persuade them to stay for a while longer, but I only heard that something happened in the palace last night and a fire broke out, which implicated the young master. Then, during the morning court session, the old master was implicated as well."
"Then, they were all dismissed and suspended."
"There is no one in charge in this mansion right now. Young Eunuch Li is still checking. I dare not ask the Second Master to receive you, so I can only come here in person to invite you..."
The butler spoke half-clearly, and this time, everyone stood up in surprise, and then everyone went out with a loud bang.
As soon as she arrived at the front yard, Mu Lianzhi saw Ling Shaochong lying on his side on a wooden board. His hair was disheveled, his eyes were hollow, his clothes were a little messy, his body was in a hunched posture, and he was covered with a piece of white cloth, motionless.
If you don't say this, you can pretend to be a dead person if you cover your head with it.
Seeing that he looked like he had lost his soul and was in this posture again, Mu Lianzhi probably guessed something.
"Chong'er, my Chong'er, what's wrong with you?"
When Jiang saw this, she broke down and burst into tears. Just as she was about to rush over, the old lady grabbed her and said:
"Jiang, you must not be rude."
While they were pausing in the courtyard, the eunuch who was drinking tea in the hall came out upon hearing the noise. However, before they could say anything, the eunuch who was delivering the imperial edict also arrived, and the group knelt down in panic.
"It is destined to be blessed by heaven, the emperor decreed..."
The general meaning of the imperial edict was that Ling Shaocong had behaved improperly and had poor personal ethics while working in the Imperial Palace Hanlin Academy. He also frightened the imperial concubine, the empress dowager and foreign envoys, bringing shame to foreign countries. He was unworthy of the position and was dismissed from office and would not be employed again.
Ling Yuchi was beaten with thirty sticks in court for his poor teaching, offending the emperor, not reflecting on himself and making groundless accusations. He was sentenced to reflect for a day and a night in the prison of the Ministry of Justice and was suspended from work for half a year to see the effect.
"Your Excellency, please accept my order and express your gratitude!"
When Eunuch Defu closed the imperial edict, the female members of the marquis's family almost collapsed to the ground. In an instant, the whole sky seemed to have collapsed. After a moment of dead silence, the old lady and the group of people tremblingly took the imperial edict.
When they stood up, everyone was still half confused. The old lady and Mrs. Jiang couldn't understand what kind of impoliteness could be so serious?
So, when the group of eunuchs were preparing to evacuate in an orderly manner, the butler called Eunuch Defu and secretly stuffed several silver bills into his pocket before letting him stay for a while longer.
The old lady also stepped forward in person, bowed and asked for help:
"Sir, please tell me a few details. Can I have a word with you?"
Raising his hand, Eunuch Defu did not leave, but also refused the request to enter the house:
"Madam, some things are not secrets. You don't need to know from me. I can't hide them even if I want to. I can't stay here for long. If you have any questions, please ask them. I will tell you everything I can. If I can't tell you, I will tell you everything I can.
The old lady understood and lowered her voice again:
"I wonder what the truth is, is there something fishy going on? Is there any room for maneuver?"
In the old lady's opinion, the mistakes in moral conduct and manners should not be so serious, and the two people had accidents one after the other. Thinking of the upcoming public trial, she couldn't help but think too much.
If this was a frame-up, they still had a chance to turn the tables; if the emperor was determined, they could not act rashly, at least this way they could still protect one person in half a year.
Everyone present was a smart person, so how could Eunuch Defu not understand? He shook his head almost imperceptibly:
"It's set in stone, old lady. It's a good thing to know your mistakes and then improve them."
After nodding, Eunuch Defu turned and left.
Her body swayed slightly, and the blood color on the old lady's face faded away in an instant, and even the Buddhist beads on her wrist fell to the ground.
boom!
There was a crisp sound, jade flew everywhere, and the faces of the people present changed drastically again.
"Mother?"
Looking at the ground, Jiang's lips were trembling and her face looked uglier than a dead person. A bad premonition was growing wildly in everyone's heart.
At this time, after sending the eunuch out, the housekeeper also came back. He first waved his hand to chase away the maids and servants who were watching the excitement from a distance, then looked at the people on the wooden plank, and then hurried to the old lady:
"Madam, should we send the eldest young master back to his room first? The second young master seems to have gone to visit the old coroner and hasn't come back yet. Should we send someone to call him?"
This is a huge mess waiting to be dealt with.
"Well, go... go and make the arrangements and ask what happened."
Although her mind was blank, the old lady was not indifferent. She vaguely knew that there must be something difficult to talk about, otherwise, Eunuch Defu would not be willing to stay and take the money without saying a single extra word.
After thinking through countless possibilities in her mind, the old lady finally moved her lips a few times, waved her hand, turned around and led a group of female relatives into the house.
This time, everyone followed in silently.
Inside the house, everyone found a seat and sat down. There was a long period of dead silence. Even Sang Xi just sat at a distance, not even bothering to cover her belly.
Everyone had a solemn look on their faces and dared not breathe until the sound of hurried footsteps was heard again.
The housekeeper came back, his forehead sweating again, his face looking even uglier:
"Old lady——"
Touching her forehead, the old lady's eyelids were still half drooped:
"Go ahead."
"Madam, here, here... I am really afraid of polluting the ears of the masters, right..."
In fact, when he sent the father-in-law out, he bribed the young eunuch to know the details. However, he did not expect that after settling the eldest young master, he found that things were worse than he thought. He was hesitant to speak, and this move was really well-intentioned.
Unexpectedly, Jiang got anxious first:
"It's already this late, why are you still keeping it a secret?"
Catching this expression again, the old lady's nerves jumped for a moment, and finally, under Jiang's urgent urging, she raised her hand in a trance.
"Madam, the eldest and youngest master participated in the debauchery of the inner court and is suspected of dereliction of duty. There are many people involved. He was caught on the spot by the empress dowager, the imperial concubine, foreign ministers and even the princess of a foreign country..."