Guan's suicide caused an uproar in the country, and the Lu family lost all face. However, the situation was suppressed a little because Lu Chongyuan suddenly returned to the court. Instead, the news that Princess Chen divorced Prince Chen and was conferred the title of Lady of Rong State became more lively.
The clan members couldn't believe it and requested to see Emperor An one after another, but they were turned away by Eunuch Feng before they could even see him. Some old-fashioned people in the court also said that Princess Cheng's behavior was too excessive. Not to mention that there were no divorces in the royal family, even if there was a divorce, it had nothing to do with the man's marriage and the woman's remarriage. After the property of Prince Cheng's palace was confiscated, it should be returned to the national treasury.
The Censorate received a lot of dissenting opinions, both openly and covertly, and some people instigated impeachment. Cao Dejiang met with several old ministers in succession, but he turned a deaf ear to their doubts.
"Lord Cao, are we really not going to care about the matter of Princess Cheng?"
"How do you want to manage it?"
"But she...is not in accordance with the rules..."
Cao Dejiang looked through the memorials in his hand and handed one to the man who spoke: "Take a look."
The man was stunned for a moment, took a look at it, and then his eyes widened in the next moment. He suddenly raised his head and said, "How can the King of Cheng be executed directly when his case has not even been heard in court?"
That was drawn by the emperor himself, and Prince Cheng was beheaded at Caishikou five days later.
The man looked at Cao Dejiang: "Prince Cheng is a prince, his case is no more than the Zongzheng Temple..." It was said to be treason, but in the end it was just collusion with the Ministry of War and secret storage of military equipment.
In the past, if this kind of situation happened, most people would just be stripped of their titles and imprisoned, or demoted to commoners. Why did King Cheng execute him directly?
Cao Dejiang lowered his eyes and sneered, the case of Prince Cheng had been delayed for so long, and was also related to the Lu family. Given the mind of their Majesty, it would be strange if he didn't make a big fuss about it. But now that Lu Zhao has been transferred to the Ministry of Justice and Lu Chongyuan has suddenly returned to the court, he is in a hurry to execute Prince Cheng.
There was an inexplicable sense of guilt that he didn't want anyone to investigate further.
Cao Dejiang thought it was ridiculous, but he spoke coldly: "Since your majesty has already convicted her, there is no possibility of further debate. The imperial edict to confer the title of Princess Cheng was issued by the palace. Are you saying that Princess Cheng should not have received the imperial edict, or that your majesty should not have issued the edict?"
The man's face changed.
Cao Dejiang said, "After all, the property of Prince Cheng's Mansion is the private property of the royal family. Even if someone really asks about it, it is the business of the Zongzheng Temple, and it is not the turn of the Censorate to intervene. Instead of staring at an innocent woman who was deceived and finally freed, you might as well pay more attention to the Lu family."
"The eldest son of the Lu family is corrupt, and the eldest daughter-in-law has an affair, confusing the royal bloodline for many years. There has been unrest in the family. During this period, the Lu family has been involved in scandals one after another, but Lu Chongyuan is still staying in the court. The Censorate is responsible for clearing up discipline and investigating and impeaching. Now all eyes in the capital are on us."
"If you have time to take care of Mrs. Rongguo's affairs, you might as well think about how to prevent the Censorate from becoming a mere decoration."
Cao Dejiang's words made the surrounding imperial censors look unhappy. Someone said, "Lord Cao, it's not that we haven't impeached the Lu family before, but you have also seen the attitude of His Majesty."
It has been four days since Lu Chongyuan returned to the court. They have impeached the Lu family and Lu Chongyuan before, but His Majesty suddenly fell ill and suspended court for three days. When he finally returned to court, they started to mention the Lu family, but His Majesty said that they would bring up the matter again after the Ministry of Justice concluded its trial.
An imperial censor looked indignant: "I don't know what's going on with your Majesty. You were obviously cold to the Lu family in the past, but this time you seemed like a different person. The impeachment memorials were kept, and those people in the court changed their attitudes according to the situation. Now some people are even trying to please the Lu family..." It's really ridiculous!
Cao Dejiang's face was slightly cold: "Since it is kept in the palace, then go up again. The duty of the censor is to advise the emperor. As for the matter of Mrs. Rongguo, if anyone mentions it again, let them go to Prince Huan. Let the Zongzheng Temple handle the private affairs of the royal family. The Censorate cannot handle such trivial matters."
With just one sentence, he characterized the divorce of Prince Cheng as a private matter of the royal family.
The silence of the Censorate, Emperor An's indifference, and the fact that the clan members repeatedly went to the palace without any results and Princess Chen still became the Lady of Rong, made many people who originally wanted to add fuel to the fire calm down.
The people in Jiyun Lane completely ignored the outside discussions and only sent people to start liquidating the property of Prince Cheng's Mansion. Seeing box after box of things being carried out of Prince Cheng's Mansion, the news of Prince Cheng's execution also spread, and those who had originally planned to wait and see knew that the matter of Mrs. Rongguo was a foregone conclusion.
Jiyun Lane became more and more lively, and more and more women from various mansions came to visit the Tang Mansion. Some came to give gifts, some came to congratulate, and they almost broke down the threshold of the Tang Mansion.
Rong Yue only met a few people from the wife of Marquis Wenxin who were close to her in the past, and kept everyone else outside the door. Then, the news that Mrs. Rong would host a banquet in Jiyun Lane to entertain the ladies of various mansions in a few days spread, and the shocking coincidence was that the time when Mrs. Rong hosted the banquet was exactly the second day after Prince Cheng was executed.
"Are you really going to hold a banquet on that day?" Marquis Wenxin's wife looked at Rong Yue hesitantly, "Prince Cheng was executed on the first day, and you held a banquet for everyone on the second day. I'm afraid someone would gossip about it, and you haven't recovered yet, otherwise you should postpone the banquet..."
Rong Yue shook her head: "No, let's set that day."
"But…"
"It's fine."
Rong Yue's face was no longer as pale as before. Although she was a little thinner, she was in good spirits. She knew what Madam Wenxin was worried about, and said to her:
"The time for the banquet was set long ago. At that time, the imperial decree to execute Xie Tianyu had not yet been issued. Besides, he and I no longer have any relationship. Whether he lives or dies has nothing to do with me. Tang Ning had people send the invitations to various governments. If we cancel it at this time, it will give people something to talk about."
Madam Fu liked Rong Yue's personality. Upon hearing this, she said, "Madam Rong is right. The matter in Prince Cheng's Mansion was not her fault. She has already divorced and has a clear conscience. There is no need for her to deliberately avoid other people's affairs. It will only make people think she is overthinking."
"There is already a lot of discussion outside, saying all kinds of things. It would be better to hold a banquet early to shut them up. It will also let people see how good it is for you to leave Prince Cheng's Mansion."
Madam Qian also said in a gentle voice: "People who gossip will gossip no matter what. If you don't care, there is no need to pay attention to them. I see that Madam's complexion has improved. I think it will be no problem to host a banquet after a few more days of rest. When the time comes, let the servants take care of her more. Madam Wenxinhou and I will come over early to help, so that Madam will not be too tired."
When Lady Wenxinhou heard this, she saw that they all supported Rong Yue and Rong Yue had made up her mind and did not want to change it, so she did not say anything more.
"Then shall I call a few maids from the mansion?" She pulled Rong Yue's hand.
Rong Yue smiled and said, "Then I won't be polite. It just so happens that I don't have many people under my command."
The wife of Marquis Wenxin glanced at her in disapproval: "Why are you being so polite to me?"