62Chapter 62 Guantao ends, the Queen Mother is furious
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The person in front of Princess Guantao had no doubts about her words; after all, in his eyes, Princess Guantao was a very reliable and honest person.
In the past, he had a friend who also sought Princess Guantao's help, but his friend didn't find the right person and instead approached Princess Guantao's son—that son failed to get the job done but still took his friend's money.
At the time, his friend was very depressed, feeling that his money was wasted, but he dared not ask Princess Guantao's son for it back, as he was, after all, a genuine imperial relative!
If he dared to engage in selling official positions, do you think he wouldn't dare to kill you?
But... the subsequent development of events was unforeseen by anyone.
Princess Guantao somehow learned of the matter, not only returning the money to the man but also saying that if he still needed to buy an official position, he should speak to her and not her useless son.
In his panic and unease, the man chose to buy an official position again, in fact, just to return the money to Princess Guantao, fearing her retaliation.
Unexpectedly, Princess Guantao truly made it happen afterward, and the fee was considerably lower than what her son charged.
As Wang Ze thought of his friend's experience, countless joys surged within him.
In his opinion, having found Princess Guantao, this matter was bound to succeed—was it not just a bit of money? This money was but a minor issue.
"Then I shall entrust everything to Your Highness."
Princess Guantao waved her hand dismissively, and only after the person had left did she look at the valuables before her, a hint of joy on her face.
In reality, for merely a county magistrate, the money wasn't much; she simply valued every "business" transaction, which was why her reputation in the industry was so good.
"Thump, thump, thump—"
A series of footsteps sounded, and the Chief Steward of the Princess's residence walked over, his face respectful, but his eyes held a hint of worry: "Your Highness, Emperor Jing has summoned you. The Inner Attendant who delivered the imperial decree said to enter the palace quickly."
He continued, "That Inner Attendant is familiar with you, so he risked his life to give a subtle hint: this summons from Emperor Jing seems ill-intentioned."
"Before you enter the palace to see Emperor Jing, would you like to see Empress Dowager Dou first?"
Princess Guantao frowned slightly, her face perplexed, but her steps were not slow as she said, "Have A Jiao go find Empress Dowager Dou, and have Chun Hong subtly hint to Empress Dowager Dou that I am likely in trouble."
She sighed deeply, her mind working quickly.
It was probably true trouble.
...
In Weiyang Palace,
Princess Guantao, who had just arrived in Weiyang Palace, was about to make a few jokes when she saw all the officials standing there, with Chen Xi at the forefront, his face solemn, and among the surrounding crowd, those officials who had once had "dealings" with her were all bowing their heads, covered in sweat, their faces filled with fear and despair.
She instantly understood the problem.
It was likely that the matter of selling official positions had been exposed.
She immediately prostrated herself on the ground and then bowed, her expression still very calm, as if she didn't know that selling official positions was a capital crime—which was indeed the case; no imperial family member had ever died for this reason.
Moreover, she was Emperor Jing's own elder sister!
At most, it would be house arrest? Or perhaps demotion.
But Princess Guantao did not fear these things, after all... she wasn't the only one selling official positions.
Chen Xi's reprimanding voice reached her ears. Princess Guantao closed her eyes slightly, sighed heavily in her heart, and then said, "That's right, these are indeed things I did."
"What if I admit it?"
She knelt there, taking all the responsibility upon herself, and then, with a cold expression on her face, she fully adopted the demeanor of a princess.
Chen Xi looked at Princess Guantao kneeling there, the coldness in his eyes growing more intense. He said in a low voice, "Your Highness's actions violate the law and are extremely heinous."
He looked at Emperor Jing on the throne and said, word by word, "This subject believes that she should be dealt with according to the law!"
This was his duty as the Grand Judge, so he spoke with conviction.
Emperor Jing merely frowned and sighed, "After all, she is my own elder sister. How can I bring myself to punish her?"
He looked around at the many ministers and said, "Most of the official positions sold were not key positions, but merely some peripheral, clean government posts. For my sake, and for Empress Dowager Dou's sake, spare Princess Guantao's life."
People looked at each other, their expressions unchanged.
Emperor Jing said it this way, claiming it was to save face for him, but in reality... who would dare to oppose Emperor Jing?
Chen Xi looked into Emperor Jing's eyes, seeing through the emotions contained within those outwardly benevolent but inwardly cold eyes, and then slowly sighed, his voice tinged with a hint of lament.
"As ancient sages once said, if a prince breaks the law, he is to be punished the same as a commoner."
"Now that a princess has broken the law, how can she be pardoned? If such a precedent is set, what will the laws of the great Han become in the future? I implore Emperor Jing to reconsider."
Emperor Jing frowned, "Then, according to Chen Qing, how should she be dealt with?"
"Execute her?"
Chen Xi merely said indifferently, "That is not necessary."
"According to the law, her property should be confiscated, and she should be tattooed and exiled."
At these words, Weiyang Palace fell silent.
Tattoo the imperial princess, Emperor Jing's own elder sister, and exile her?
Had he gone mad?
Before Emperor Jing's anger could erupt, Chen Xi continued, "However, as Princess Guantao is a member of the imperial family, the imperial family's reputation must naturally be considered, so tattooing and exile can be set aside, but confiscation of her property and removal of her title and fiefdom are necessary."
Chen Xi said, "Furthermore, although she cannot be exiled, Princess Guantao cannot be allowed to come and go as she pleases. She should become a Taoist nun at the Taoist temple outside the city."
Much of the anger on Emperor Jing's face disappeared.
After all, tattooing and exile would be a slap in his face, but becoming a nun... that wasn't a big deal. He could just provide more support.
However, just as Emperor Jing was about to nod, footsteps sounded, and then a figure slowly appeared outside Weiyang Palace.
"I'd like to see who dares to confiscate my daughter's property and send her to a Taoist temple to become a nun?"
With that, Empress Dowager Dou's trembling figure appeared in Weiyang Palace, holding a walking stick, her face filled with towering rage.
She stared directly into Emperor Jing's eyes, yet every word she spoke was directed at Chen Xi.
"Princess Guantao is your own elder sister! How could you be so cruel as to indulge a treacherous official and allow her to be stripped of her property and confined in a temple?"