Chapter 634 - Chapter 634: Expelling the Duke from the ancestral chart
Chapter 634: Expelling the Duke from the ancestral chart
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
However!
Yu Zongzheng had been in the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs for a few years. Now that he was an official, he had become more ambitious.
Yu Zongshen said calmly, “Recently, the emperor has been taking medicinal
pills every day and is becoming more and more temperamental. As officials in the court, we still have to be cautious. The matter of choosing an heir ultimately depends on the emperor.”
Yu Zongzheng had no choice but to temporarily give up on this idea. However, only he knew what he was thinking.
The next day, Yu Zongzheng attended the morning court assembly.
It wasn’t until noon that there was news from the palace that the emperor had angrily reprimanded Duke Rong for humiliating his ancestors. Hence, he retracted his title, removed his ancestral plate, and demoted him to a commoner.
Duke Rong seemed to have been struck by lightning and fainted.
He had thought that the Princess Consort of Duke Rong’s Residence had taken all the blame, and Fifth Miss had also lost her life. At most, the emperor would seize his title and give the Yu Residence an explanation.
All these years, the old princess consort had managed the family’s business very well. With a livelihood, they could also become a wealthy and idle imperial family.
Unexpectedly, not only did the emperor want to seize his title, but he also wanted to remove the name of the Duke Rong’s Residence from the ancestral list.
From now on, he would no longer be a member of the imperial family.
When Yu Youyao heard this news, she was more or less surprised.
Expelling him from the ancestral chart was the same as expelling someone from the clan. Unless they had done something outrageous, treasonous, and unfilial, they could not be expelled easily.
Wasn’t this a little too serious?
On second thought, since Imperial Consort Xu and the Third Prince had both been imprisoned, what really angered the emperor was probably not the rotten character of Duke Rong’s Residence, but the fact that he had joined forces with Imperial Consort Xu and coveted his territory.
The dog emperor would do anything for the throne.
How could such a selfish and ruthless person hand over his territory so easily?!
He did not choose an heir because he did not want to.
He would eliminate anyone who threatened the imperial power without hesitation.
Yu Youyao was surprised for a while, but she did not pay much attention to it. In a few days, it would be the Dragon Boat Festival. She called Concubine Jiang over to discuss the arrangements for the Dragon Boat Festival.
Yu Youyao said, “Grandmother was sick in the past and hasn’t gone to the moat to watch the dragon boat race for many years. She has to go and take a look this year. I’ll have to trouble you to take care of the family matters.”
Concubine Jiang quickly agreed. “That’s only right. Although Matriarch is old, she can’t stay at home all the time. She should take advantage of the festival to go out for a walk to relax. If you need to prepare anything, just tell me. I’ll go down immediately to make preparations.”
She had been a household manager for a year or two, so she knew about the rules.
However, as a concubine, she still had to ask the eldest daughter of the first wife about many things. Only then would it be more appropriate When the eldest daughter of the first wife was satisfied, she could stabilize her position at home.
Yu Youyao instructed them on how to arrange the family during the Dragon Boat Festival. They needed to prepare everything when they went out. They also had to occupy the location at the moat in advance and build a temporary shed.
After everything was explained, Concubine Jiang rushed to prepare it.
Yu Youyao went to the incense room, planning to personally mix some incense powder and fill a sachet during the Dragon Boat Festival.
In the afternoon, Xia Tao ran into the house excitedly. “Young Miss, the emperor has sent the imperial guards to surround King Rong’s Residence. Eunuch Zhu personally went to King Rong’s Residence and took out the warrant. He kept an eye on the entire family in King Rong’s Residence and took away the python robe, luxurious clothes, and jewelry. Not a single one was allowed to stay. In the end, he ordered someone to personally search them.”
Yu Youyao nodded and said nothing.
Xia Tao continued, “I heard that the eunuch found 5,000 taels of silver in Yin Huaizhang’s boots. The eunuch who searched his body immediately wanted to confiscate the banknotes. Yin Huaizhang refused to hand it over and even pushed him. Eunuch Zhu immediately ordered the imperial guards to press Yin Huaizhang to the ground and hit him 20 times with the cane. The Princess Consort of the Rong Residence was eager to protect her son and wanted to take the punishment on behalf of her son, but she was also hit ten times.”
After being expelled and losing her family’s wealth, she was even worse than ordinary people. In the future, her family would no longer have any land or a livelihood. How could someone who had been pampered in the past endure the feeling of hunger?
It was normal for her to take the risk.
Yu Youyao remembered that Eunuch Zhu seemed to be the godson of the emperor’s favorite, Eunuch He. He was also the emperor’s favorite. Previously, her cousin had gone to Shandong to quell the rebellion, and he had accompanied Eunuch Zhu.
Her eyes flashed. Why did this feel a little like her cousin’s style?!
No, no, no, this must be an illusion!
Xia Tao continued, “I heard that Yin Huaizhang was beaten until he was on his last breath, and the Princess Consort of Duke Rong’s Residence was also seriously injured. The entire family of Duke Rong’s Residence turned white and was escorted out of King Rong’s Residence by the Imperial Guards and thrown onto the streets. All these years, the imperial family was domineering and bullied others. Many commoners ran to Duke Rong’s Residence to watch the commotion. Some even threw stones at them…
Thinking of what had happened to the Duke Rong’s Residence, Xia Tao gloated.
They deserved it!
They did this to themselves. It was fine if a person lacked anything, but they couldn’t lack virtue. Otherwise, they would suffer retribution.
Xia Tao sighed again. “Young Miss, the entire family of Duke Rong’s Residence is penniless. They were chased out just like that without even a place to stay. How are they going to live?
Yu Youyao said calmly, “Don’t they still have the maiden family of the Princess Consort of Duke Rong’s Residence? Although a married daughter is like spilled water, they have to more or less help her in her current situation. Otherwise, they would be exposed.”
As for how much help she would receive, it wouldn’t be so bad that she wouldn’t even have a place to stay or food to eat.
But that was all.
They probably would not get anything else.
The emperor had demoted the family of Duke Rong’s Residence to commoners not to let them enjoy life. Wouldn’t anything additional be disobeying the emperor?
They could barely fill their stomachs and live a good life.
Xia Tao was enlightened.
Yu Youyao’s heart did not waver much. “What happened after that?”
Xia Tao quickly said, “After that, the Imperial Guards confiscated the Duke
Rong’s Residence. The gold, silver, treasures, and many valuable things were directly carried back into the palace.”
After the Duke Rong’s Residence was reinstated, he made use of the Xie familys connections. Using his status as an imperial relative, he had managed many businesses over the years and accumulated a lot of assets.
Now, all his wealth had been confiscated and fallen into the hands of the dog emperor.
Yu Youyao even suspected that the dog emperor was eyeing the wealth of Duke
Rong’s Residence.
At the thought of this, she couldn’t help but think of the Xie family.
Yu Youyao’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly went to the study, spread out paper and ink, and wrote a letter to the Xie Residence.
She wrote down everything that had happened at the flower festival, the commotion in the harem, as well as the outcome of the Duke Rongs Residence. She was worried that someone would investigate the letter, so she did not write too many sensitive words. It was more of a show of indignance. The Duke Rong’s Residence had used the Xie Residence’s channels to obtain many benefits, but in the end, they actually wanted to harm her.
When others saw this, they would only think that she had suffered grievances and was complaining to her distant family..