The deposed empress married a prince, and the dog emperor wept with regret!

Chapter 136 The Grand Wedding of Prince Yong

Song Yaozhu was reading the letter Yu Gong had sent back in the study when she saw Xie Liwei stroll in in a good mood. She guessed that he might have received some benefits from Mr. Wang.

She didn't say anything, but handed him the letter.

"Lord Yu is currently in Jiangnan and has encountered some interesting things."

Xie Liwei took the letter and read it carefully. The letter described an incident in Jingshui County, Jiangnan. A wealthy family named Lin was reported for encroaching on farmland. Although they were a small family in Jingshui County, they owned more than 200 hectares of farmland in Jiangnan. This was not land that a family of Lin's status could possess.

In his letter, Yu Gong wrote: "Upon my investigation, I have found that local farmers have fled to wealthy households to avoid taxes, leaving thousands of miles of small farmland untouched. To my knowledge, the Lin family has three members who have passed the imperial examinations, thus qualifying for a 30% tax reduction and exemption from corvée labor..."

It was an open secret that farmers sought the protection of officials or those with official titles to evade taxes. No one in the Ministry of Revenue spoke of this to the emperor, nor did anyone dare to expose it, because they themselves owned numerous such estates and properties.

The plaintiff in the lawsuit against the Lin family was a farmer named Chen Ming. He was poor, owning only a small plot of land. His parents had died, and he was unable to afford a marriage. Inside the county government office, he wept uncontrollably, saying that the Lin family was using debt to coerce him into giving up his land and house, and that they wanted him to become their slave.

The laws of the Great Chen Dynasty stipulated the number of slaves allowed per household. Although everyone exceeded the limit, no one dared to speak out, and so no one complained. Furthermore, the laws of the Great Chen Dynasty prohibited forcing people into slavery. Therefore, this matter stirred up a hornet's nest in Jingshui County. The scholars rallied to Chen Ming's defense, causing a disturbance at the county government office.

What followed escalated into the destruction of the Lin family's home, and things spiraled out of control.

The county magistrate demanded a thorough investigation of all the Lin family's land holdings, convicted the Lin family of abusing their power, and submitted a memorial requesting the stripping of the Lin family's father and three sons of their official titles.

"Guess who will end up with these lands," Song Yaozhu sneered.

Many officials came from the Jiangnan region, but that doesn't mean that only these people did the job.

"Regardless of who gets the land, these people in the Ministry of Revenue must be dealt with."

If they hadn't turned a blind eye, land grabbing wouldn't have been so severe. The taxes they evaded were public funds; they were taking money from the national treasury and putting it into their own pockets.

"I'll write a letter back to Lord Yu." Song Yaozhu picked up her pen to write the letter, and Xie Liwei conscientiously ground the ink for her.

"No matter who ends up with these fields, we can find a way to give them to Tong Qian."

Tong Qian isn't aloof; if a pie falls right in front of him, he'll naturally pick it up and take a bite. This will inevitably cause the person behind the scenes to resent Tong Qian, leading to a power struggle between the two sides and creating quite a spectacle.

In the crisp autumn air of August, the Prince Yong's mansion was filled with guests. Song Yaozhu was dressed in a dark blue osmanthus-patterned horse-face skirt, adorned with twelve gold hairpins. The hairpins were dazzling, but even more striking was her exquisite face, which prevented her from being overshadowed by the magnificent jewelry.

She sat with a group of female guests, so bored that she stared blankly at the patterns on the screen.

"Princess Zhai is so lucky! She hasn't even entered the manor yet, and she already has a concubine to help manage the affairs of the inner quarters. She won't have to worry about anything in the future. She can just focus on giving birth to the little prince!" the madam said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Song Yaozhu looked over. The lady was quite old, like the matriarch of the family, but she had a kind face and spoke in a gentle tone, without any intention of stirring up trouble.

The more they do this, the more they stir up trouble.

As expected, Consort Zhao's mother, Madam Zhao, looked grim, with Madam Zhai standing beside her.

Madam Zhai smiled insincerely and said, "That's impossible. Before Princess Yong got married, she spent a lot of time learning how to manage household affairs and be a qualified wife. She's not like some women who only need to recite some sentimental poems to please men."

Madam Zhai was clearly criticizing Zhao Ying'e by name, but Madam Zhao dared not speak out, as her daughter would be relying on her for a living in the future. Grand Secretary Zhai held a prominent position in the cabinet, and since her husband was not in the capital, offending the Zhai family would not be good for her own family.

Once the exchange had passed, everyone resumed their banter and laughter, as if nothing had happened.

Then they were invited out to witness the ceremony, watching wave after wave of rewards being bestowed upon them from the palace. Many ladies looked on with envy, regretting that their daughters hadn't been married off to the palace.

Song Yaozhu drifted along, utterly bored, only thinking about finishing the banquet quickly and going home.

"Your Highness!" A clear and melodious voice rang out from behind her. Song Yaozhu turned around and saw that it was Shen Qingyu.

After leaving the Fang family, Shen Qingyu looked much better. She changed into a bright and beautiful dress and looked as ethereal as a young girl.

"When did you arrive? I'm only just now seeing you."

"I just arrived." Shen Qingyu stood in front of Song Yaozhu, somewhat reserved. But the joy in her eyes was uncontrollable, like a puppy that had been away from home for a long time finally seeing its owner. Even though she was still trying to restrain herself, her tail was already wagging.

"Your Highness, the palace has set out gifts in the bride's courtyard. You may go and take a look."

Song Yaozhu was hesitant to refuse. A wedding was a chaotic affair with many people; who knew if they'd be held responsible if something went missing or damaged? But looking at Shen Qingyu's bright eyes, she thought, "Okay, let's go..."

As soon as I stepped into the courtyard, I heard an exaggerated voice saying, "The quality of this bushel of pearls is amazing! They're so big and so full, I've never seen such fine pearls before!"

Then he saw Madam Zhai standing in front of the rewards, her younger brother and sister-in-law speaking, while Madam Zhao stood to the side with a forced smile.

Song Yaozhu and Shen Qingyu only glanced at the rewards before leaving.

Those palace items were indeed exquisite, but not the best. Take that Eastern pearl, for example. The last time she saw Peng Er bring a pearl with a purple sheen, as big as an eyeball, to see Mr. Wang, asking him what ingenious ideas he had to make into a gift for his wife.

......

"This is the first time I've attended a banquet since I returned home." It wasn't that her family wouldn't let her out, but she was ashamed to face people, fearing that her status as a divorced woman would damage the reputation of the girls in her clan.

"It's good to get out and about more; why confine yourself to a small space?"

Shen Qingyu nodded, took a few more steps, mustered her courage, and said, "I've been preparing for the Tzu Chi Foundation's exam these days. If I pass, I can start teaching at the Tzu Chi Foundation."

“Then you should prepare well. If there is anything you don’t understand, you can ask me…” After saying that, Song Yaozhu thought of her current situation and changed her words to “my husbands.”

"Yes, my brother and I went to Shangbei Academy a few days ago. They even have a girls' school. I've been auditing classes there and have benefited a lot."

Song Yaozhu laughed too. She had only mentioned the girls' school casually, but she hadn't expected the girls to actually make such a fuss.

As the two were chatting happily, a young maidservant rushed over from behind and said, "Please wait, gentlemen. Did you just come from Wutong Courtyard? There is an item that the Emperor bestowed upon us that has gone missing in the courtyard. Please come back with me."

Song Yaozhu raised her eyebrows slightly, thinking unhappily: They really got involved.