jdhmnovel Chapter 729 The Fate of the You Family
Chapter 729 The Fate of the You Family
Without Magistrate Jiang's knowledge, the three of them, while drinking tea, made the decision to send Jiang Wenqing to sea in place of Jiang Xiaoqi.
By the time the two left the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace, the moon was already high in the sky.
Qiu Cheng still rode in Jiang Xiaoqi's carriage. Jiang Xiaoqi sent Qiu Cheng back before returning to his own home. Fortunately, the two families were not too far apart.
Ten days have passed since the eunuch and ministers were struck by steel needles, and the verdict regarding the You family and the tenth prince has finally been issued.
Despite the You family's protests of innocence, the Dali Temple officials imprisoned the entire You family, including the women and children.
If even Qiu Cheng and his son could guess that there was something hidden, how could the Dali Temple and the Emperor not know or be able to find out?
Moreover, Ouyang Zheng had already hired a professional coroner to perform an autopsy, so the death of the Tenth Prince was highly suspicious to begin with.
However, the emperor ultimately issued an edict to imprison the entire You family, which is somewhat puzzling.
However, the imperial decree had already been issued, and that was something that could not be changed. Although Ouyang Zheng, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, couldn't understand it either, he still told himself not to think about it.
After all, the Empress Dowager had given him a hint about this matter, telling him to just do his job well.
He didn't know whether he had done his job well or not.
In any case, all the findings and evidence have been presented to His Majesty. How to proceed and how to make a judgment is indeed His Majesty's business.
"Sir, what are you daydreaming about?"
Madam Ouyang brought ginseng tea into Ouyang Zheng's study. As soon as she entered, she saw her husband standing motionless like a statue, his eyes glazed over.
"No, I was thinking about court affairs. Why isn't Madam asleep yet?"
"My lord, how can I sleep with you burning the midnight oil like this? Here, my lord, have some ginseng tea to clear your head."
Ouyang Zheng took the ginseng tea and drank a few sips, seemingly relaxing completely.
"Master, were you thinking about the You family just now?" Madam Ouyang asked softly.
Ouyang Zheng put down his teacup and sighed, "His Majesty has always been wise and sagacious. Perhaps there is another deeper meaning behind this, which is beyond our comprehension."
Madam Ouyang nodded and said, "Now that things have been settled, sir, there's no need for you to worry about it anymore."
Ouyang Zheng frowned slightly. "Yes, the affairs of the court are inherently complicated, and not something I can easily see through."
"Master, you should spend more time thinking about your children's affairs. Our daughter's marriage can't be delayed any longer. The Fifth Prince has no intention of giving up. We should make plans as soon as possible."
"The Fifth Prince is absolutely out of the question!" The Fifth Prince is a huge trap!
Ouyang Zheng's reaction was a bit too much, which startled Madam Ouyang.
"Yes, of course not. Even without the Empress Dowager's order, we parents would not agree, but the Fifth Prince is pressuring us."
"Sigh~ We've already used so many excuses. Using delaying tactics is not a solution. The right thing to do is to arrange a marriage for our daughter as soon as possible, which will also completely sever the Fifth Prince's desire to be tied to the Ouyang family."
Ouyang Zheng knew, of course, that the Fifth Prince did not like his daughter. If his daughter were not the legitimate daughter of the Ouyang family, the Fifth Prince probably wouldn't even give her a glance.
Why would they bother to get close to them, or to try to please them?
Wasn't that storyteller living in the side courtyard a special gift from the Fifth Prince to please his daughter?
However, it seems that the daughter has completely forgotten about the storyteller.
Since joining the Ouyang family, this storyteller has never told a single story or recited a single tale.
"Sigh~ It's easy to say, but a suitable fiancé isn't something you can just pick out of cabbage. It's something you can't just find by chance. Where are we going to find one in such a short time?"
Madam Ouyang was also worried. She had tried to contact several families before, but her daughter was stubborn and wouldn't listen to her at all.
Although it was supposed to be a marriage arranged by parents and matchmakers, the child still had to agree to it.
Although the two sides cannot have too much contact, they should at least take a look at each other from a distance.
But what about her daughter? She doesn't even want to look at her or see her. Every time the topic comes up, she changes the subject.
Whenever asked if he had someone he liked, he would stammer and give no clear answer.
Suddenly, the image of a young man appeared in Ouyang Zheng's mind. After thinking about it, he shook his head.
"What's wrong, sir? Do you have someone in mind? If so, just say so. Don't you realize what a critical moment this is?"
"Sigh, after thinking about it, it's not really suitable, so I'll just forget about it."
"Who is it? Which family's young master is it?"
Madam Ouyang pressed further, saying that if it was a lady she knew, she would ask her sister-in-law to sound her out.
While the woman shouldn't be too proactive in this kind of situation, taking a roundabout approach usually leaves no room for criticism.
"Oh, you know her too? Do you remember that old lady your mother used to frequent?"
"Madam? You mean, Madam Jiang?"
"Yes, my mother has always been easygoing and doesn't place too much importance on family background or status in the capital when interacting with people."
The old lady Jiang and my mother got along very well. My mother liked the old lady Jiang's personality and character very much, so they started to contact each other more often.
This old lady Jiang was no ordinary person. If it were anyone else who could meet with the old lady of the Ouyang family so often, they would have brought their unmarried granddaughters and great-granddaughters with them long ago.
But this old lady Jiang only ever brought one or two servants with her, and only on one or two occasions did she bring younger members of the family, and that was only after our mother specifically instructed her to do so.”
Madam Ouyang remembered that she had accompanied the two old friends to meet once or twice, and then the two old friends met on their own.
"I know this old lady. Hey~ she's called an old lady, but she looks very young. She looks only about ten years older than me."
However, this Madam Jiang was somewhat different from the women of other families, which explains why my mother liked to associate with her.
"Eh? Master, why are you suddenly mentioning Madam Jiang? Could it be that the person you were just thinking of was a member of the Jiang family?"
"Sigh~ After thinking about it, it's still not suitable."
"Oh dear, why is it inappropriate? Young Master Jiang, oh no, I should say Lord Jiang, Young Master Jiang, he was the youngest top scholar in the imperial examination back then."
Hey, what do you mean "back then"? He should be called the youngest top scholar since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty. He was as handsome as Pan An and even surpassed the third-ranked scholar in appearance.
If it weren't for his exceptional talent, His Majesty would surely have chosen him as the third-ranked scholar. Such a brilliant young man, and the master is still not satisfied!
Ouyang Zheng felt somewhat helpless. Was he dissatisfied?
Such outstanding individuals are extremely rare, even with a lantern.
The key issue is that his daughter and that man are not a good match. As far as he knows, Jiang Mingfei is the only son in four generations.
She will bear the heavy responsibility of continuing the Jiang family line in the future. If her daughter cannot give birth to a son, the other party will definitely take a concubine.
Even if one's own family has great power, they cannot prevent others from having sons and cause them to have no descendants!
But I really don't want my daughter to suffer in the future. A wife without a son to rely on has to fight with concubines for the rest of her life.
Moreover, he had a premonition that Jiang Mingfei's future was limitless.
Both the Chiang family and the imperial court attached great importance to him.
This person will inevitably rise to the highest position among ministers and become the leader of the entire clan.
Can a daughter with such a childlike mindset really be a good wife and a good matriarch?
Having to be considerate in everything and accommodate everyone in every way makes life too oppressive!