On this day, Princess Lin's family entertained guests.
Zheng Yuanniang woke up before dawn. As soon as she got up, the curtain was raised. It was Hua Niang, the little maid of the Wang family.
Hua Niang is thin, small, and chapped, and her eyes are bright at this moment: "...Sister... No, it's Miss Jun... Miss Jun, the hot water has been brought, do you want them to bring it in?"
"
Zheng Yuanniang raised her hand and touched Hua Niang's hand, "Why are you up so quickly?"
"I can't sleep." Hua Niang grinned, "I'm happy to see that you finally got over it."
Zheng Yuanniang smiled and said nothing. She grabbed some clothes and put them on. Then she asked Hua Niang to help her, "Don't be afraid! I will take you with me wherever I go."
Ai! Don’t be afraid!
"Ask them to come in."
Wang Yirong came in personally carrying the toiletries and quietly placed them on the shelf, "Cousin, let me serve you!"
"I don't dare take it." Zheng Yuanniang took the handkerchief from her hand and turned around to go to the copper basin.
Wang Yirong looked at Zheng Yuanniang who turned her back to wash her face, sneered, and waved her hand to tell everyone else to leave.
Hua Niang stood still, Wang Yirong glanced at Hua Niang and Zheng Yuanniang, "Hey! The dog has learned to rely on human power! Don't forget whose food you grew up on, let alone
Forgot who to rely on..."
Zheng Yuanniang's hands didn't even pause, and she continued to wash her face seriously.
Hua Niang said angrily: "My wife has twenty taels of silver every year. This money can be used to raise not only one wife, but also three or five..."
Wang Yirong was embarrassed and raised his hand to slap Hua Niang in the face. Zheng Yuanniang raised her hand and grabbed Wang Yirong's arm. She said nothing and looked at him coldly.
Wang Yirong sneered: "You are not the eldest princess yet! Whether you can successfully become the eldest princess or not depends on what my family says! When I was pressed, I twisted my mouth and said I shouldn't
You said, I want to see if you can get married smoothly."
Hua Niang turned pale instantly and looked at Wang Yirong in astonishment.
Wang Yirong looked at Zheng Yuanniang: "I'll see if the royal family is willing to have you!"
Zheng Yuanniang looked at him with a cold face, "Then you go ahead...just tell the public. See if I frown."
Wang Yirong squinted at her, "You think I don't dare?"
"Then you think I'm afraid of your threat?" Zheng Yuanniang snorted coldly, "Go ahead! As long as everyone knows about the trouble..."
Just as Wang Yirong was about to leave, he heard hurried footsteps outside, and a nanny rushed over, "Madam, it's not good! There are rumors outside that you and Erlang Jun have been engaged for a long time..."
Wang Yirong was stunned for a moment, then looked at Zheng Yuanniang: "It's not me!"
It doesn’t matter who it is! Zheng Yuanniang’s heart felt more at ease now, as if a boot had finally landed. She sat in front of the dressing mirror and said, “Take care of it! Don’t be stunned.”
Wang Yirong sneered, and then rolled up his sleeves, "Let's just say, he is always running around, and his relationship is hooked up with Ruyihuangjun! Regardless of whether he is a royal or someone else, the crime of stealing a wife's wife will be carried by the eldest prince.
I'm sorry! You are engaged, but you seduced the eldest prince behind his back. You are a vain, treacherous, and ungrateful person. How can the royal family tolerate you?! Don't end up having a dream of unparalleled wealth. When you wake up from the dream, it will be in vain.
." After saying that, he flicked his sleeves and turned around to leave.
In an instant, it was deserted in front of the door, and only she, the flower girl, and the nun who reported the news were still left.
Hua Niang burst into tears, "Madam... the Wang family has gone too far to bully others!"
Zheng Yuanniang sat in front of the dressing table and slowly combed her hair. She called Hua Niang, "Bring me the cloak. It's time to go. Let's go out for breakfast. Everyone in the main hall is waiting for me to bow my head."
, waiting for me to beg them to open their mouths to defend me... they will surely not remember that we have not had breakfast yet."
Lady!
Zheng Yuanniang pointed to the box, "Open the box, take out the baggage, take it with us and leave."
The bag contained only underwear and nothing else.
The flower lady was stunned: "Madam?"
Zheng Yuanniang looked at Nanny Tan and said, "If you dare, please come with me! I will always find a way to get your body bond with me."
Grandma Tan was stunned for a moment, then she agreed. She went to the small dark room and touched the half piece of silver hidden there. After a moment of hesitation, she didn't take anything else with her, so she came out and stood at the door waiting.
Zheng Yuanniang walked out of the Wang family's courtyard step by step with a rough nun and a thin maid.
No one from the Wang family stopped them, and no one arranged any carriages.
The flower girl had a look of panic on her face, "Madam, where are we going when we leave the house?"
Zheng Yuanniang was speechless. It meant that the royal family regretted the engagement, which also saved her.
The so-called engagement was proposed last year after Erlang of the Wang family fell off his horse and became paralyzed. He never agreed to it, and kept delaying it on the grounds that no one else could interfere with the marriage of the orphans of the Lin family's dead soldiers. It wasn't that he didn't want to leave.
, I have no chance to leave, I have no money, I have traveled thousands of miles, and I can’t go back on my own.
Last winter, when Duke Beiyi returned to the capital, it was his chance. Coincidentally, on a cold day, the window was pushed open and the charcoal fire in the room was extinguished. He was so cold that he had a high fever and almost died.
I couldn't survive. I wanted to ask the Duke of the country but couldn't!
Accompanying Wang Yirong to attend the Chrysanthemum Appreciation Banquet was another opportunity that he had won with great difficulty. On that day, his goal was Princess Lin's family. It was not the best idea to go to someone to cry and beg. He carried a letter with him.
, it was written to Princess Lin. I had already identified the female guards and maidservants who were following the princess! Why did Wang Yirong rush to greet the princess rashly? She didn’t have the courage. She was the one who instigated it, as long as she went
, will not keep him around to serve, for fear that he will take the opportunity to say something.
As long as you dismiss yourself, you will be free. Once you are free, you can take the opportunity to find the princess's maids and female guards.
The calculation was quite good, but who knew that the master's family had arranged a treasure hunt.
As long as you find it, you will have money. As long as you have money, you will definitely go.
Therefore, sending a letter for help has become the second option. When a person can save himself, don't ask for help. If you are really out of luck and can't find anything, it's not too late to ask for help.
Xu Shi was really blessed by his parents, and he actually met the princess of the Lin family.
She went to hunt for treasure, but she didn't drive herself away from there.
I found the guqin and asked her to keep it for me and trade it into silver. She agreed without hesitation for a moment. She seemed to be able to understand her own difficulties, but she never got to the bottom of it.
She asked her about her plans, and she said at that time that she wanted to go back to the northwest. That was a clue she left behind!
In fact, at that time, how could I know when I would be able to escape?
Then, he chose a time when it was about to rain and sneaked out from the back door and went to the Lin family. In fact, he was taking advantage of the princess's compassion and caring for the orphans of the Lin family's soldiers who died in the war.
That day, the princess asked her to stay because the rain was too heavy. As long as she stayed, it would prove that she could take advantage of the Lin family's influence in the Wang family!
But he couldn't do it. He was already plotting against others, so how could he pull them off? It was already a fluke that he could agree to follow the Lin family's motorcade to the northwest.
In fact, as long as he followed the Lin family's motorcade to the northwest, the Duke's Mansion would take better care of him.
This is also my own selfishness.
But did the princess not think of this? Or did she never care about this? She didn't ask a question, but arranged for someone to drive her back. She didn't dare to ask the Lin family's carriage to go to the front door.
Went down the alley at the back door and returned to Wang's house.
What would I have been like without this gift of marriage? I tried my best to escape back to the northwest... The Wang family has several other people in the northwest. If I ran back, the Wang family would have to tell people everywhere that they had promised to marry. This couple
What influence does one have? Of course it does. If the character is bad, marriage will be difficult. If you can be lucky enough to be a housekeeper, find someone who doesn't mind the past to live with you, or adopt a few orphans like yourself, and then be alone.
To die...this is my own ending.
Yes! Once you pass this level, you will have a future that you never dared to hope for.
If you can't get through this level, you can actually use it as a springboard to drag the Wang family into hell. Once the Wang family falls, there will be no chance of getting back up. I have completely ruined my reputation, but in the northwest, because of my father's war
For the sake of death, I can still live a safe life! The worst outcome is not much different from the originally expected worst outcome.
Therefore, the moment she stepped out of the Wang family's door, she felt that God still took pity on her.
After exiting the gate, the road leads to east and west, heading east or west?
Heading east, he went directly to Lin's house for the banquet.
Heading west, you go to the Yamen, where you can beat the grievance drum, kill fish, and drag the Wang family into hell.
She only hesitated for a moment, then walked down the steps and headed west.
But after taking only two steps, a carriage turned into the alley in front of her, with the sound of horse hooves. Judging from the size of the carriage...she had a vague guess in her heart.
When she arrived, she was really stunned when she saw a group of guards following the carriage.
It’s really the eldest prince! It’s really him who is here.
The groom got off the carriage, opened the door, and the eldest prince stepped out of the carriage, then stretched out his hand, "Come up!"
Zheng Yuanniang looked at the hand, then raised her head to meet a pair of warm eyes. Her fists were clenched, and her heart was churning. It was early in the morning, and the news hadn't reached the eldest prince's ears yet?
She lowered her eyelids and did not grab the hand, but stepped up on the stool step by step.
The eldest prince gently helped her and then withdrew his hand. The carriage was very spacious, so she chose to sit as far away as possible from the eldest prince. Both grandma and Hua Niang sat on the shaft of the carriage, and the carriage started moving again.
.
Zheng Yuanniang felt that this matter could not be kept secret. Even if the eldest prince had not received the news, he should still be informed! Perhaps the eldest prince was the one who was most affected by this incident.
After several hesitations, she still spoke, "Your Highness!"
The eldest prince looked at her, "Huh?"
"Your Highness, does he know about the rumors outside?"
Rumors? The eldest prince was stunned for a moment, "Rumors?"
Sure enough, I didn’t know! The little bit of luck and extravagant hope in Zheng Yuanniang’s heart was shattered in an instant, and the warm feeling in her heart disappeared again. She said with difficulty, "...I also just found out, outside.
It is rumored that I have a marriage contract, and my husband is Wang Erlang of the Wang family who is paralyzed in bed... They say that you have stolen a wife and have bad personal ethics! They say that I am ungrateful and treacherous... I am greedy for vanity and abandon the engagement to seek a higher career...
"
Of course the eldest prince knew how this bullying marriage contract came about, and he would find out as soon as he investigated the matter. But he did not expect that this matter would spread everywhere so quickly.
He looked at this girl from the Zheng family, "What do you want to do?"
"Whatever I want to do... can be done?" Zheng Yuanniang looked at the eldest prince, as if she wanted to see through him.
The eldest prince nodded, "Yes! You can do whatever you want?"
Zheng Yuanniang felt like there was a fire burning in her chest, "What if I... what if I want to file a lawsuit! I want to file a lawsuit against the Wang family for bullying the weak and coercing the marriage..." The eldest prince shouted out: "Turn the horse's head,
Go to the capital government office."
Zheng Yuanniang looked at the eldest prince in astonishment, then opened the curtain of the car window and looked out, really turning her horse's head, really going to the government office.
Her expression changed and she looked at the eldest prince, unable to say a word for a moment. She wanted to ask: Do you know that if you let me do this, not only will the current rumors be suppressed, but this may also be called this.
It spreads even more widely, and even has to be written in the annals of history for anyone to praise or criticize. What is your status?! What is the status of the Wang family?! Some people say that the Wang family is hateful, and there will inevitably be people who use this to slander you, saying that you just took away the family.
My wife. Don’t think that once you are reasonable, you will always be reasonable. You have seen a lot of the evil of human nature since you were a child.
But before she could ask a question, she heard the eldest prince calling outside: "Hurry to the uncle's house and tell the princess that she may not be able to go to the banquet. I am taking the wife of the Zheng family to the government office."
.”
yes!
Someone answered outside and turned around to hear someone galloping away on horseback.
Zheng Yuanniang looked at the eldest prince in confusion: "Why should we tell the princess where we are going?"
The eldest prince looked at her and said, "First, she is a sworn sister, no matter what happens, don't hide it from her; Second, my father-in-law did die in the battle, and he was a subordinate of the Lin family. If you are in trouble, please ask the Lin family for help. This is a sign of trust in the Lin family."
. Or maybe you asked for help, but the Lin family never took care of you?"
No! The Lin family took care of it! If the Wang family didn't take me away, I could live a good life in the northwest. It was not the Lin family's fault that I asked myself to follow the Wang family. It was my father's robe. He thought that the girl had something to rely on, and it was better than the Lin family.
It was better to be an orphan. He felt that if the Wang family raised him, he would develop feelings and he would be able to rely on him in the future. The uncle's idea at the time was right, but it was just that people's hearts are hard to calculate.
After thinking this way, Zheng Yuanniang realized that the eldest prince called his father father-in-law.
Didn't he ever think about regretting the marriage?
After marrying and divorcing a concubine once, is it even more unwise to regret the marriage again?
I heard the eldest prince say: "I know what happened to your engagement, and the palace also knows it! But I didn't expect that someone would spread the news so soon."
He even knows this! Then he plans step by step how to use the princess. Does he know? Does the palace know?
She suddenly became panicked, "I...I...am not a gentle and gentle woman?"
I know!
"I...wanted to take advantage of the princess...in fact, I have already taken advantage of it..."
My adopted sister must know!
Yes! How could Tongtong not know? But, it’s just using your strength to save myself, so why not ask her to use it?
Now when she heard that she had gone to the government office, she frowned and asked Liu Yun first: "Send someone to ask to see if anything happened?"
Before Liu Yun left here, Manager Chen sent someone to deliver a letter, and his message was very detailed. Only after Tongtong took a look did he know what had happened.
Rumors? There have been so many rumors overnight. This is not something that the Wang family can do.
After all, someone still took action against the eldest prince.
If the eldest prince regrets his marriage due to rumors, what will everyone think of him? If one wife is not good, but two wives are not good, then it is him or others who are not good. With such a reputation on his back, the censor's impeachment
It will be placed on the Holy Emperor's desk tomorrow.
But if the eldest prince does not regret the marriage, then he will be suspected of stealing his wife. This is the case. If the yellow mud falls on you, it will be difficult to clean it off.
However, for such a matter, they go to the Yamen, which is a courageous but unwise choice.
Because this will not eliminate the rumors, but will cause the matter to spread to a wider area. Once there are rumors, they are uncontrollable in the capital, not to mention that in a territory as large as Dachen, there is no telling how it will be spread in the end.
Tongtong burned the message and said to Liu Yun, "Send people to inform the guests from door to door. Just say that there is something urgent today and we can't entertain guests. I will definitely come to the door to apologize someday."
Qingya hurried back to the house and brought a cloak to the princess.
Lin Yutong grabbed the cloak and wrapped it around him, then walked away.
"Take a carriage?"
No! Ride a horse! If you ride fast, it’s always too late!
yes!
In front of the government office was the government office, and the carriage stopped. Just when Zheng Yuanniang was about to speak, she heard the eldest prince say, "The government office is here! Get off the carriage!" After saying that, he stood up and got off first. Then he stood beside the carriage,
Wait for yourself.
At this moment, Zheng Yuanniang hesitated. She stood up slowly and got out of the carriage slowly, but her heart was tangled!
Looking at the eldest prince standing there as firm as before, she was thinking whether her stubborn behavior was too selfish. Once she sued, she had no way of knowing what consequences it would bring to the eldest prince. And whether this consequence would
It's just as I imagined...if it's different and it brings trouble to others, will my conscience be able to live with it?
She looked at the eldest prince, who looked at her encouragingly, "Go!" The drum was right there.
Zheng Yuanniang hesitated, then mechanically moved forward step by step, looking back at the eldest prince from time to time.
The eldest prince was still standing there, raising his chin: Just go! Whatever you want to do, you can do it.
Zheng Yuanniang walked to the Injustice Drum, but she couldn't raise her arms to beat the drum! The eldest prince was a very good person. He could drag the Wang family to hell, but he couldn't get the eldest prince into unknown trouble.
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but take a step back, but at this moment, she heard the rapid sound of horse hooves, and then a woman in a white cloak came with a group of people on horseback. When she got closer, she saw clearly that it was
A princess.
I saw her jump off the horse, glanced this way, and then shouted to the eldest prince: Brother.
Without waiting for anyone to say anything, she walked towards this side. Zheng Yuanniang took two steps back: I won't sue this case! How can we reduce the impact? Just deal with this matter!
Who would have thought that just when she was about to talk to the princess, the princess from the province came to persuade her, but she saw that the princess didn't say a word or ask a question. She raised her hand and grabbed the drumstick, and then banged the drum with all her strength.
There was a drumbeat of injustice on the other side.
Boom--boom--boom--
The sound was dull and long!
When the drum of grievance is sounded, officials must be summoned to court to show convenience and virtue. But in fact, the drum of grievance cannot be beaten casually! The complaint should be submitted in accordance with normal procedures. If the court official does not accept the case, or feels that he has been wronged
Yes, you need to appeal to higher levels before the drum of grievance can be sounded.
This is an encouragement to officials and a way for people to redress their grievances.
But in the early days, in order to prevent someone from beating the drum indiscriminately, there was a rule that as long as someone did not follow the procedures and beat the drum without asking whether it was right or wrong, they would be beaten twenty times first.
Taizu canceled the rule of beating the drum, but also said that after the case is heard, if it is found that the drumming has other purposes than simply to complain about grievances, then he may face imprisonment.
Being in jail means you are not innocent and will affect your descendants for three generations. Therefore, not many people dare to beat this drum at will.
But once the drum sounds, it spreads very far, and it spreads in a blink of an eye. The case has become a case that the public will focus on. Just like now, before the drum beats down, there is already a prospect of watching the excitement.
Come and watch the fun.
The officer guarding the drum ran in early to report it, and now he has come out!
The gate of the government office was open, and two teams of government officials stood in two rows from the inside to the outside.
A clerk came out, first bowed to the eldest prince from a distance, and then bowed to the princess again. Then he stood up straight and asked: "Is there anyone playing drums to complain?"
"Yes!" Tongtong stopped Zheng Yuanniang, who was about to speak, and answered the other party's words first.
Zheng Yuanniang looked at Tongtong in confusion: "What grievance does the princess have?"
Tongtong looked back at her, "I have no complaints! But the Lin family has grievances! The orphans of the soldiers who died in the northwest war were not taken care of well. In the northwest, they should be dealt with according to military law. Now, the Lin family is not empty in the capital. How could they deal with such a thing?
Ignore it?"
With that, he read the book: "Please report to your lord, Princess Yongkang, on behalf of Duke Beiyi, to lodge a complaint for the orphans of the Northwest Frontier Army! This case should have been litigated in the northwest, but the defendant is in the capital, and the northwest is far away.
Thousands of miles away, we have to leapfrog across borders to beat drums and complain, and ask your Excellency to convene a court to accept the case."
Zheng Yuanniang's chest was heaving. She looked up at Princess Lin who was standing in front of her, and then looked back at the eldest prince who was standing silently behind her. Her tears fell down.
The Lord ascended to the throne room, but the only one who was brought in first was the princess.
She looked at the eldest prince in fear: What should I do?
The eldest prince said: "She is standing in front of you because your father did die fighting in the northwest. You are an orphan, and it is the responsibility of the Lin family to take care of you. She is standing in front of me to block the trouble that may arise from the complaint. This is
Because he is my adopted sister."
We are sworn brothers and sisters, share the same joys and sorrows, and live and die together.
Zheng Yuanniang nodded silently: This is why the eldest prince stood still! He had to tell himself to remember that those were his siblings of the opposite sex! He also told himself that as long as it was about responsibility, he had to do it!
