After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

Chapter 496 Imperial Edict
Murong Chen smiled knowingly, revealing eight teeth. "Thank you for your concern, Fourth Sister-in-law. The children started making a fuss after staying in the palace for a while, so the Consort had to take them back to her residence first. It was agreed that she would go to the palace after settling the children, but she hasn't come yet. She's probably been bothered by something. I'll apologize to my grandmother, father, and mother later."

When the child was mentioned, the Fourth Prince's wife's smile became somewhat forced, and she lost interest in continuing to care about Shen Tian.

Everyone has different thoughts.

In this situation, the emperor, expressionless, entered the main hall surrounded by palace attendants.

The voices stopped abruptly, and everyone rose to their feet and bowed in worship.

The emperor waved his hand, instructing Zhou Song to read the imperial edict.

Zhou Song stepped forward and shouted loudly: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Cen Yingfan, a sixth-rank patrol guard, has formed cliques, abused his power, fabricated lies, and deceived the Emperor. He is hereby imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice and executed in the autumn. From this day forward, all the property of the Cen family shall be confiscated. All members of Cen Yingfan's nine clans who hold official positions in the court shall be dismissed. This is the imperial decree!"

Everyone's expression changed drastically, and they knelt on the ground, wishing their heads were touching the ground.

The imperial edict listed all of Cen Yingfan’s major crimes, but did not specify in detail what he had done. His property was confiscated, he was beheaded, and his entire family was implicated. This was to make Cen Yingfan bear the infamy for generations and not find peace even after death!
Such a cruel punishment is not at all like the behavior of a benevolent ruler. So what exactly did Cen Yingfan do?
The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

At the emperor's signal, Zhou Song read out the second imperial edict: "By the grace of Heaven, the emperor decrees: The Second Prince Murong Xu has formed cliques and engaged in clandestine activities, abusing his power and influence, engaging in deception and fraud, lying to the emperor, indulging in debauchery, and being unfilial and disrespectful to his brothers. He is hereby stripped of his princely status, demoted to a commoner, and removed from the imperial family genealogy. This is the imperial decree!"

"Your Majesty!" Several key ministers could no longer remain seated and stepped forward, ready to offer their advice.

With a wave of his hand, the emperor spoke words that struck the hearts of his officials like heavy stones.

"The things Murong Xu has done are numerous and countless. Such a cold-blooded and vicious person does not deserve to bear the surname Murong! Anyone who dares to plead for the commoner Xu will be considered an accomplice!"

Zhao Taifu swayed and immediately fainted.

The surrounding ministers were all startled and rushed forward to help him up.

The emperor gave the unconscious Grand Tutor Zhao a deep look, but did not utter any words of concern or sympathy.

The ministers who followed Zhao Taifu felt both chilled and panicked.

The third and fourth princes were overjoyed and wished they could set off firecrackers to celebrate.

As soon as the emperor left, they immediately began drinking and making merry.

Those ministers who favored the third and fourth princes immediately went over to offer them wine and say flattering things.

Murong Chen shook his head, feeling utterly bored, and left the banquet to go to the Empress's palace.

The Empress's bedchamber was brightly lit with candles late at night.

The Empress removed her fine clothes and precious jewelry, dressed in plain clothes, and knelt in the Buddhist hall to chant scriptures.

Murong Chen bowed and stepped forward lightly, kneeling with the Empress. "Mother, it's late and the dew is heavy. Why are you kneeling here instead of attending the palace banquet or resting?"

The Empress slowly opened her slightly red and swollen eyes, turned her head to look at Murong Chen, who was a head taller than her, and said with tears in her eyes, "Chen'er, your mother is useless and has failed in raising her son. I request to stay here and worship Buddha for half a year. You and Consort Shen should live a good life together and never follow your second brother's example!"

"Mother, what exactly did Second Brother do? Father just issued an edict at the palace banquet to punish Cen Yingfan and Cen Shi, and even demoted Second Brother to a commoner." Murong Chen asked frankly, expressing his confusion.

The palace maids and eunuchs guarding the Buddhist hall withdrew at the Empress's signal. With no servants around, the Empress no longer needed to maintain her composure, and her whole body went limp. She leaned on the prayer mat, panting heavily. "Jing'er witnessed the Second Prince and Chun Tao talking in private and was almost beaten to death by the Second Prince. Consort Li was implicated. If it weren't for your grandmother forcing them to see each other today, I'm afraid Consort Li and Jing'er would have died after the New Year."

Furthermore, the second son and Cen Mingzhu did indeed have a child, Ru'er, who was raised by the concubine Cen Shi. However, Cen Mingzhu was kept in the dark, and Cen Yingfan chose to sacrifice his own daughter to protect the second son in order to gain wealth and status.

Neither of these two things can be tolerated by your father and grandmother. The second son has essentially cut off his own path to survival.

The Empress Dowager was truly terrified. "Son," she said, "you must listen to me. You must be completely obedient and dutiful. You absolutely must not interfere in political affairs, and you must not have too much contact with court officials. Do you understand?"

Murong Chen nodded heavily. "Mother, I have always been like this. I will continue to do so in the future. I will also remind Consort Shen to try not to go out for social engagements."

The Empress breathed a sigh of relief. "Consort Shen is a smart woman, and her background is too low. Your father is not afraid of her. In addition, the second son's family targeted her before. Your father knows her situation well. He can understand it even if he doesn't go out."

"Alright, go see the Empress Dowager first, then leave the palace. The more discreet you are, the better."

Murong Chen carefully noted down the Empress's words and soon left.

Although the Empress Dowager did not request to worship Buddha herself, she was sleepless because of Murong Xu's matter.

Murong Chen came over leaning on his cane, and immediately felt extremely distressed. "Grandmother, I just went to see Mother and I already know about Second Brother's situation. Please don't be sad. Second Brother is gone, but you still have Third Brother, Fourth Brother, and me."

Your grandson will often come to the palace to keep you company and relieve your boredom.

The Empress Dowager looked at Murong Chen with satisfaction, but also with some regret. "You are a good child, your grandmother knows that! Your grandmother is alright, you should go back quickly. It's probably going to be very difficult for the concubine to take care of two children by herself."

Murong Chen nodded obediently, "Then Grandmother, please rest early. I will take my leave now."

After Murong Chen left, Granny Gui stepped forward and whispered, "Empress Dowager, after the imperial decree was issued, the Sixth Prince went to the Empress's palace to pay his respects and inquire about the Second Prince's affairs. He then came to you immediately and is now heading out of the palace."

The third and fourth princes haven't left their seats yet; they're probably going to drink themselves into a stupor.

The Empress Dowager's face grew darker and darker as she listened.

At the same time, the emperor also received information about the movements of his sons.

He was somewhat relieved to learn that only the Sixth Prince went to visit the Empress Dowager immediately and left the palace early, and he did not comment on the behavior of the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince.

When he stepped into the Buddhist hall, he saw the Empress kneeling there, dressed in simple white robes.

With a hint of melancholy, he said, "Zitong, why bother? I've already said that the Second Prince's affairs are none of your business."

Two lines of tears slid down the Empress's face. "Your Majesty, I know you care about me, but it is precisely because I have repeatedly protected him that the Second Prince has become increasingly audacious. Now that he has committed an unforgivable crime, I cannot shirk my responsibility!"

The emperor stepped forward and, without saying a word, helped the empress up. He said earnestly, "You raised the second and sixth sons. You were truly devoted to the second son and placed high hopes on him, but you spoiled and indulged the sixth son. Logically, if anyone should have gone astray, it should have been the sixth son. But the sixth son is kind-hearted, respectful, and filial."

On the other hand, the second son is selfish, vicious, and unscrupulous. He can even be cruel to young children. What else is he incapable of doing?

The ancients said, "At birth, human nature is good," but in the case of the second son, I only see the inherent evil of human nature! He is beyond saving. If it weren't for the bond between father and son, I would have killed him long ago!
"Empress, remember this: from this day forward, you only have one son, the sixth prince. The second prince has no relation to you whatsoever!"