The scumbag ran away from marriage, I remarried on the spot

The marriage between the third prince of our dynasty and the seventh princess of Anguo was decided. The envoys of Anguo did not stay in Zhao any longer, but set off back to Anguo to prepare for the seventh princess's marriage.

Just a few days after the An Guo envoy left, something happened in Zhao State that shocked the government and the public.

The Xiao family was sentenced to execution for plotting to murder Prince Huizhao, taking bribes, committing corruption, forming a clique for personal gain. Ministers who were close to the Xiao family were punished to varying degrees according to the severity of their crimes. For example, Mrs. Xiao's family was dismissed from office and exiled to Lingnan for serious corruption, and their descendants were not allowed to take the imperial examinations.

As for the second prince, Emperor Jingwen spared his life out of consideration for the relationship between father and son, but gave him eighty strokes of the cane, demoted him to a commoner, and imprisoned him in the clan house, where he was not allowed to step out of the house for the rest of his life. His biological mother, Concubine Xiao, was stripped of her title of concubine and banished to the cold palace.

Originally, Crown Prince Huizhao was assassinated, and many ministers believed that the Second Prince, who was in the limelight, would most likely become the next emperor. Who would have thought that he was the mastermind behind the murder of Crown Prince Huizhao?

The Xiao family was either confiscated and exiled, or demoted, and the power of the Second Prince collapsed in an instant.

Those ministers who originally supported Crown Prince Huizhao and joined the Second Prince's camp after his death, but were not caught and punished, were frightened and broke out in cold sweats. At the same time, they were secretly glad that the Second Prince was deposed now instead of after they took action, otherwise they would definitely suffer.

The court was already full of twists and turns, with huge changes. The ministers who had been in officialdom for a long time had long since adapted to it, but what happened today still stirred up huge waves in their hearts.

The second prince, who was originally considered a likely candidate for the throne by many ministers, was demoted to a commoner. Everyone began to speculate which of the remaining princes had a better chance.

The third prince is going to marry Princess Anguo, but since he has mediocre qualifications and his mother's family is weak, he can be ruled out.

The fourth prince is gifted but he is a sickly person. He is weak and often falls ill. Once he falls ill, he will be bedridden for at least ten days or half a month. The future ruler of a country cannot be a sickly person, so he can be ruled out.

As for the fifth prince, the sixth prince, and the seventh prince, they are not very old, especially the seventh prince, who is only three years old.

Therefore, many people speculated that the Sixth Prince would be the next Crown Prince. After all, the Sixth Prince was the legitimate son of the Empress. Those who originally supported Crown Prince Huizhao and then supported the Second Prince after Crown Prince Huizhao's death are now active again.

After the court session, everyone left the Golden Palace with different thoughts.

Minister Yu walked with Gu Jingxi. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and whispered, "Master Gu, the case has finally been closed. The days of anxiety are finally over."

Gu Jingxi nodded slightly: "Yes, but I don't know which kind-hearted person provided the evidence."

Lord Yu replied, "It doesn't matter who it is. What matters is that the case is closed." He hadn't been able to enjoy his meals these days because of Prince Huizhao's case. Now that the case was closed, he could finally sleep well tonight.

Gu Jingxi agreed: "That's true."

Lord Yu added, "Lord Gu's previous guess was correct. The Emperor did not punish the Second Prince in the beginning because he was concerned about his reputation. Now that the Anguo envoy has left, he has punished the Second Prince and those related to him."

Gu Jingxi said calmly: "Master Yu, let's not mention this matter anymore. The case has been closed and the matter is over."

Lord Yu nodded, changed the subject and chatted with him for a few words, and then they parted ways and returned to their respective offices.

-

The next day.

News came from the cold palace that Xiao, who was stripped of her title of imperial concubine, hanged herself in the cold palace last night. She was discovered this morning when the palace servants went to deliver food. However, this incident did not cause any stir. After all, the Xiao family fell and the second prince had been demoted to a commoner. It didn't matter whether Xiao was dead or alive.

However, Emperor Jingwen has been in a bad mood since yesterday, probably because of the incident involving Crown Prince Huizhao. The palace maids served him carefully, and the ministers acted even more cautiously, for fear of accidentally offending Emperor Jingwen, who would at the very least be fined in salary, or even demoted. Everyone had worked hard to climb up, and if they wanted to be promoted again after being demoted, they would need opportunities.

The court was shrouded in dark clouds, but it did not affect the situation outside the court.

Changxing Hou Mansion.

Ning Dong came in with a card and presented it to Meng Jinyao: "Madam, this is a visiting card from the Yongchang Earl's Mansion."

Her family home?

Meng Jinyao was slightly stunned, then reached out to take the visiting card and took a look at the contents. This was a card sent by her stepmother Zhao, asking her if she was free tomorrow. If she was free, she would visit her tomorrow.

Meng Jinyao was somewhat curious as to why her stepmother suddenly came to visit. After Zhao married into the Meng family, she had only met her once on the wedding day. She had never returned to her parents' home since then, and Zhao had never come to the Gu family to find her.

Ning Dong asked softly, "Madam, do you want to see him? The maid who delivered the visiting card is still waiting."

Meng Jinyao nodded and said, "Reply to her and tell her that I'm free all day tomorrow and mother can visit at any time."

Ning Dong responded and stepped back to reply to Zhao's maid.

Not long after, Ning Dong came back and asked curiously, "Madam, why do you think she suddenly wants to see you? According to what we learned before, she was not bullied in the Meng family, and the old lady stood on her side. The only one who was wronged was the uncle."

Meng Jinyao said: "Maybe he just came to see me."

Ning Dong shook her head slightly: "I don't think it's that simple. No one would come to see her for no reason. She must have something to do."

Meng Jinyao didn't care much and said, "It's none of her business. Just watch and deal with it. But if she wants to cause trouble for my father and grandmother, then I will take care of it."

Ning Dong saw the evil smile on her face and chuckled, "Madam, if the uncle and the old lady knew what you were thinking, they would probably be furious."

Meng Jinyao laughed softly: "Don't they already know what I'm thinking? After all, I've never let them get what they want."

Hearing this, Ning Dong fell silent, stopped smiling, and said, "They don't deserve to have their wish come true."

Meng Jinyao paused, and when she raised her eyes, she looked at Ning Dong. Seeing the pain and anger in Ning Dong's eyes, she softened her tone: "Ning Dong, those days of being controlled by others are over. They won't be able to cause any trouble in the future."

Ning Dong remained silent. Things had passed, but the damage had already been done. Their master had put in so much effort so that she could live to get married and leave the Meng family. Many times, she had almost let them succeed.

Meng Jinyao added: "Okay, we don't want to think about unhappy things anymore."

Ning Dong nodded and obediently changed the subject: "Madam, I have learned a new dessert from Chun Liu. I will make it for you right away."

Meng Jinyao asked with a smile: "Little greedy cat, are you making it for me or for yourself?"

Ning Dong smiled and said, "Of course I made it for you, Madam. If you can't finish it, I'll help you."

Meng Jinyao glared at her and said, "Okay, then go ahead and do it."