~ THE PLUMMETING SU FAMILY ~
Seeing that the Emperor was so angry that he couldn’t say a word, Grand Princess Yi De looked at Su Wenyuan and said, “Su Wenyuan. Although the Sixth Princess wants to marry into the Su family, the Su family must not go unpunished for making mistakes. The evidence of Lady Meng’s frame of murder is conclusive. The crime was really sinister, and her conduct was not fit to be a princess’ mother-in-law. Otherwise, if others were to say it out loud, it would make people laugh for no reason. Do you understand what I mean?”
Hearing the Grand Princess’s words, Su Wenyuan gritted his teeth and nodded, “Reporting to the Grand Princess, this humble subject understands.”
The Emperor took a few deep breaths before calming himself down, “The Grand Princess is right. For the sake of the Sixth Princess, I am giving your Su family face. Lady Meng may not be dealt with according to the law, but she can’t be the princess’ mother-in-law. In addition, you behave in an improper manner, so you will be punished as an Imperial Court official. From today onwards, you will be removed from the position of Minister of Public Officials and demoted to that of a bachelor’s degree in the Cabinet. If you do anything again, do not blame me for not showing any affection.”
Su Wenyuan trembled as he kowtowed to express his gratitude. “This humble subject thanks Your Majesty for his grace.” It doesn’t matter if he is demoted, as long as he could protect the Su family. He would definitely have the chance to make a comeback in the future.
“As for Jin Wang, put all your time into helping me with my errands. Don’t spend all your time thinking about anything else, just finish your duties in work department and don’t meddle in other matters in the Capital. Do you remember?”
Jin Wang quickly nodded, and his heart sank. After this matter, he was afraid that he would have to stay in the work department for a while. “Yes, this son will remember.”
“Yue Wang, you are not wrong. As a dignified prince, you barge into Imperial Court official’s residence openly. Although there is a reason for the incident, I can’t let you get away with it! The punishment is half a year’s pay and ten days of seclusion. Do you have any objections?”
“This son has no objections. Thank you for your tolerance, Imperial Father.”
“All of you can leave now. It’s so noisy. I really don’t like it.”
“Yes.”
After the crowd left, the Emperor rubbed his glabella tiredly. “All of these people do not allow me to have any peace of mind.”
“What you should worry about, you can’t escape no matter what. Now that it has been dealt with properly, you don’t need to take it to heart. The children and grandchildren have their own blessings. Everyone’s fortune is decided by the heavens, so just let them be.”
“I also can’t be bothered with them. It’s just that Huaiyang has fully disappointed me. I love her so much, but she is disobedient and rebelled against me because of a Su Qingwu....”
“Although Su Wenyuan is outrageous, but his son Su Qingwu seems to be pretty good. Otherwise, Huaiyang wouldn’t be so determined. Who knows, maybe the two will have a surprisingly good life in the future?”
“Sigh, since I have promised, I will grant her wish.”
“The Emperor should go and change his clothes. Didn’t Imperial Brother say that you was going to Yuhua Palace a meal? I think you have a bad appetite these past few days. Thus, I asked someone to specially prepared some medicinal food for you. Imperial Brother, you accompany me eat it.”
“Alright.”
After dinner, the brother and sister ad a good time. After finishing their meal, the brother and sister spoke in a quiet voice, “Imperial Brother, I’ve been back to the Palace for quite some time now. The princess’ estate has been empty the entire time, so I’ve decided to move out for a while.”
“Isn’t Yuhua Palacea good place to live? Why does the Imperial Elder Sister want to move out all of a sudden? Who dares to displease you?”
“The Palace has almost given me up, and no one has ever dared to come in front of me to look for trouble. I have not returned to the princess’s estate for many years. Since I’ve decided to stay in the Capital for a period of time, I should go back, take a look, help Xu Yan with incense sticks and wipe the memorial tablets.”
Hearing this, the Emperor knew that Princess Yi De had made up her mind. Fortunately, the princess’s estate wasn’t too far away from the Imperial Palace, and it was convenient to see her whenever he wanted to. “Well, I’ll have someone check it carefully. When will Imperial Elder Sister decide to move out?”
“It’s best to be early rather than late. I guess it’ll be in the next two days.”
“Are you in such a hurry? That’s fine too. I’ll get people to prepare them when you get back.”
Two days later, Grand Princess Yi De moved out of Yuhua Palace and entered the princess’s estate.
After carefully reading the drawings for two days, Mu Yunyao finally selected a garden. The garden wasn’t too big. It was just like the layout of her home in Jingling City. There are two courtyards in front and back. However, the front and back courtyard was much larger, and the scenery was quite beautiful. In particular, a large lotus pond has been dug out in the front yard. Right now is looking depressed in the winter. However, the lotus leaves and lotus trees are swayed in the summer. It’s beautiful just to think about it.
Mu Yunyao and Su Qing walked around the garden, feeling very satisfied. Mother Qu, who accompanied them, said hesitantly, “Madam, Miss, isn’t this garden a little too small?” She did not even notice when Yue Wang took away the drawing. She remembered that when she searched, she saw that the area of this garden was too small and directly screened it out.
“Mother and I only have two people, and this garden is not small either. The scenery here is also remarkably artistic, and the lotus pond is suitable for growing Cinnabar Osmanthus. When spring begins next year, if the Osmanthus from the Su family is still alive, we will move it out and plant here. When it comes to the golden autumn season, it will definitely be like a fairyland.”
“That’s fine too. This place is very close to the princess’s estate. Thus, it will be convenient for Madam and Miss whenever they want to go there.”
Su Qing smiled and nodded, “I’ll have to trouble Qu Mama to accompany us everywhere we go.”
“Madam, isn’t this duty of a servant? Being able to accompany Madam and Miss is a blessing in the life of a servant.”
After choosing this courtyard, Su Qing and Mu Yunyao planned to move out from Ni Yun Fang and not delay spreading the embroidery needle technique. After that, Ni Yun Fang would be in a state of chaos. So, it was indeed inconvenient for her and her mother to live there.
Within the Capital, many people were paying attention to the Su family and Mu Yunyao, who were both in the midst of rumors.
As everyone thought, although the Su family did not fall to the end because of the pleading of the Six Princesses, Su Wenyuan was demoted from a Second Rank Minister to a Fourth Rank Cabinet Attendant. The Old Madam was bedridden with illness and could not speak a word, and the most criticized Viper Lady, Lady Meng, felt that she had sinned deeply, so she actually asked to be abandoned. Although she was temporarily staying in the Su family, his status was still inferior to a concubine…
This time, it could be said that the Su family had suffered an enormous loss. If they did not have the chance to obtain credit in the future, it would be difficult to recover.
On the other hand, Su Qing and Mu Yunyao were out of everyone’s expectations. After the two of them left the Su family, they were not affected in the slightest, especially Mu Yunyao. Mu Yunyao was valued by Grand Princess Yi De. She personally admitted that she wanted to recognize Mu Yunyao as a granddaughter in the name of the lost daughter of Grand Princess Yi De. The overseer of the Imperial Court was already selecting the day. She was only waiting for the auspicious day when she could recognize Mu Yunyao as a relative. It could be said that he had ascended to the heavens in a single step.
In the past few days, there has been a lot of visitors to Cao Yunnian’s residence. They often mention Mu Yunyao in their words and have the intention of making friends with him.
After Cao Yunnian sent off a group of guests, he held Lady Jin’s hand and said emotionally: “It seems like Madam has good eyes. Not only did you acknowledge Yunyao as your adopted daughter, you even asked Yunyao to help named Zhiwen. As long as Mu Yunyao continues to walk with ease and smoothly, our son will be able to go much smoother just with this name alone.”
Lady Jin also sighed with great emotion, “When I first met Yunyao, I already felt that this girl was amazingly talented, and that her future was limitless. Who would have thought, in just a short period of time, she would actually soar into the sky, and we, who used to carry her in the past, can only look up to her now.”
“That’s right. It’s just a pity for the Su family. The Su family treated Su Qing and Yuyao poorly and even framed them time and time again. Otherwise, they would have been even more fascinated than us. Cao Yunnian patted Lady Jin’s hand. “Madam is still the best. Many colleagues outside now are all envious of my good luck being able to marry Madam. It isn’t like Su Wenyuan, who married Lady Meng, a troublemaker.”
A trace of shyness flashed across Lady Jin’s face. “What nonsense are you spouting outside? Old Master, please don’t take it to heart. It’s my good fortune to marry Old Master. On the other hand, Lady Meng had her title taken away by the Emperor and now was abandoned by Su Wenyuan. At this age, they were truly pitiful.”
“You can’t live by committing a crime, so she deserves it.”