jdhmnovel Chapter 457 is finished!
Chapter 457 is finished!
In fact, Zeng Fu was not sentenced to death. His punishment was just to be demoted to a lowly person and exiled three thousand miles away.
But...either in his own opinion or in the opinion of his "fellow villager" Fu Qingsu, the chances of him surviving exile were extremely low.
Zeng Fu, who was in a state of panic, had become as thin as a skeleton, with untidy beard and smelly body. Fu Qingsu was shocked at first, and then she walked to the prison door. The jailer and doctor who were guarding the family did not leave, but just walked to the other side as if to avoid suspicion. They watched from a distance as she took out wine and food from the food box she brought with her and handed it to Zeng Fu: "Have a good meal."
In fact, she didn't quite know what to say. Looking at the disheveled Zeng Fu, she couldn't help but think of the time when she went to her grandmother's house in the countryside when she was a child and saw the adults use tongs to pick out a rat that had eaten rat poison from the firewood pile.
She knew that mice were harmful to humans, but when she saw the mouse convulsing and rolling in the ditch in pain from the effects of the medicine, she still felt sorry for it. She felt a little pity, and a strange kind of sadness. Later, her mother told her that this was what it means to be unable to bear to see someone die.
Zeng Fu, who was as miserable as a rat in a sewer, raised his hand to knock over the food box and clung to the bars of the cell: "Save me! You must save me! Aren't you good friends with the Yongjia Marquis Mansion? You can definitely save me!!"
He said hurriedly: "Don't forget that we all come from the same place. If you don't save me..."
"I can still come to see you, it's because of us..." Fu Qingsu's faint sadness did not dissipate, but she still rolled her eyes, "You can talk nonsense, I guarantee you will die faster, and even if you say it, who will believe it?"
She raised her finger and pointed at herself: "I, the newly minted filial daughter, have been given the position you vacated. After I recover from my injuries, I will be a proper female official."
Zeng Fu looked incredulous: "A woman serving as an official?"
"Luckily you're from that place..." Fu Qingsu sneered, "This is all thanks to the Queen. Oh, by the way, there's one more thing I must tell you. Officials in this dynasty can redeem their sins with their official positions. If you hadn't cheated with Madam Zeng, but had really been filial to your mother, you might not have been demoted to a lowly person and exiled. After all, you weren't even born when Madam Zeng did all these things, right?"
"She's just... just a concubine!" Zeng Fu gritted his teeth and said, "My mother is Madam Zeng, and she's just... just a servant, who is here to share the risk of childbirth with me and my mother! What's wrong with me being filial to my mother? Do you really want me to be filial to a servant?!"
"The person who shared the risk of childbirth only gave birth to one child. Madam Zeng is old and still wants to have another child. What's the point of sharing the risk? Also, even if she is a slave or a concubine, she is your biological mother. It is still a serious crime for you to be unfilial to her!"
Fu Qingsu pouted, patted her sleeves and stood up: "Come on, I won't say anything more to you. Anyway, even if you survive the exile by chance, and are lucky enough to encounter amnesty and restore your civilian status, your descendants will not be allowed to be officials for three generations. This is what the queen said herself. You beast who abandoned your biological mother, learn how to be a human being first, and then think about being an official!"
After saying that, she turned around and left the cell, ignoring Zeng Fu's curses and pleas.
Walking under the sun, Fu Qingsu stretched briskly and said to Ai Suqiu in his mind: "Oh, now I feel much more relaxed."
"......That's good. I was afraid that you would cry. After all...after all, you two do have some connection." Ai Suqiu's tone was filled with worry.
Fu Qingsu turned her wrists and clenched her fists until they made a crackling sound. "I do feel sorry for him, but that has nothing to do with my not wanting to save him. He chose the path he has taken to this point. I'm not his biological mother, so I can't control so much. I've done my best by sending him a good meal."
"It's a pity for Auntie..."
"She must have realized at that time that Zeng Fu... was no longer the child she gave birth to."
Ai Suqiu said sadly.
Fu Qingsu hurriedly comforted her, "That aunt was not convicted, and the Madam gave her money to settle down, allowing her to live with the widows in the nursing home. She can take care of the children in the orphanage and earn some wages... This is much better than being tortured day and night in the Zeng family yard."
"If you're worried, we can go visit her more often in the future."
"She was able to hold on to Madam Zeng's side for so many years, and she was able to decisively turn against her after discovering Zeng Fu's abnormality. This shows that she is quite strong-willed. People like her can live a good life."
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He Mansion.
Several families who had separated long ago were gathered anxiously in General He's room.
The house and the yard looked shabby and had been searched.
General He sat in the center of the crowd. His already very old and thin figure looked as if he had shrunk even more in just one day. He Da, who was closest to him, could almost smell the deathly aura from him.
"Dad...what on earth happened? Why did His Majesty suddenly...and Marquis Anguo rolled his eyes, totally disregarding the friendship between teacher and student..." The eldest master of the He family stamped his feet and muttered.
Under normal circumstances, his behavior would have been reprimanded by his father, but General He, who was already powerless to discipline his son, simply glanced at him indifferently this time, and waved to He Dazhao, who was standing in front of his grandchildren: "Boss, come here."
"Grandfather." He Da stepped forward respectfully.
General He looked at him and sighed, saying, "After I die, you and your father must immediately ask for permission to mourn and carry the coffin back to your hometown!"
"grandfather!"
"Old Master!"
There were endless exclamations.
General He glanced at them coldly, and after everyone shut up, he continued, "Now that things have come to this, I have nothing to say. I just want you to know that you should be more restrained in your actions in the future. Don't think that my name can continue to protect you!"
He scolded everyone and ordered those people in other families other than the first family who held official positions to either apply for transfers to other places or simply resign. In short, they were not allowed to stay in the capital.
Then he pulled the only remaining person from the eldest house and said, "I don't want to hide it from you, but I can't say too much. I was indeed sorry for Anguo Marquis's Mansion and Ye Xiangjun's place, but don't mention these old things anymore. When you meet these families in the future, avoid them if you can. Boss, your father is useless. How this family will be in the future depends on you and your wife."
He took a quick breath and then said, "You must follow my instructions and take care of yourselves. As for the other rooms...if they are really in a mess, don't worry too much. Do you understand?"
The dying old man's eyes flashed with a terrifying murderous light. He Da was stunned. Chu Liupo trembled and pinched him before he reacted: "Yes, grandson understands!"
General He then slowly breathed a sigh of relief and placed his crutches across his knees: "Okay, you guys can go out too, and prepare everything you need."
Everyone retreated one after another.
It didn't take long.
News spread from the He Mansion that General He, who had retired only a few days ago, had passed away peacefully at home. His sons and grandchildren were not taken away and all returned to their hometowns to observe mourning.
in the palace.
"So, are you satisfied?"
The emperor and empress sat opposite each other playing chess. The emperor placed a piece in the circle surrounded by Xie Ruizhen and raised his eyebrows to ask.
"Since Your Majesty is willing to give it up, what else can I be dissatisfied with?" Xie Yuzhen happily took the chess piece, then reached her hand under the chessboard, hooked the emperor's little finger and scratched his palm.
General He was the late emperor’s white glove.
He has indeed made contributions to the country, the court and the king.
But... the emperor was not willing to pay attention to the late emperor's loyal ministers, favorite things, and even the emperor himself. He usually put them aside and left them there. After all, he was an old man who knew what was good for him and would not act recklessly by relying on his age. But if he could make his beloved wife smile, the emperor would certainly not begrudge his last bit of value.
He became more and more addicted to this sweet feeling, pushing power to Xie Yuzhen like a chess piece on the chessboard. Xie Yuzhen naturally grabbed it one by one without any hesitation, and gave the most appropriate response at the right time: "I treat Your Majesty the same way Your Majesty treats me."
When the emperor smiled and tried to reach over the chessboard to kiss her, Lu Weiyuan rushed in from the door, yelling, knocked over the chessboard between them, and fell into his mother's arms: "Mother, look, Auntie Yuan has embroidered a beautiful little fish for Yuanjun!"