Selling wife for fame? Kick out the scumbag and marry the new emperor to enjoy the harem of favors

Chapter 213 What other trump cards are there?

"I'm only injured on my face, but my hands and feet are fine, so I can get out. Everyone in Jingming Palace is one of our people, so I'm not afraid of them seeing my injuries." Qingfang squeezed Xie Jiu's hand back. "But Your Highness, I'm afraid that Consort Chen will hold a grudge, which will be detrimental to Your Highness's plans."

Xie Jiu looked at Qingfang with heartache, "Don't worry, she wouldn't dare. The child in her womb is her last bargaining chip to turn things around. She will protect it tightly and would never risk it."

After speaking, as if to comfort Qingfang, he said softly.

"Furthermore, the Chen family's loss of power is also a good thing for me. When I seek a way out for my brother, there will be one less voice of opposition in the court, or even more, which will reduce the obstacles for me."

Hearing this, Qingfang nodded with tears in her eyes.

"Your Majesty is so kind to me, I have no way to repay you in this lifetime."

"Since we can't repay you in this life, let's be sisters again in the next life." Xie Jiu smiled and took Chun Rong's hand again.

The master and his servant huddled together.

However, the atmosphere between Zhao Xingjin and his servant Yang Zhian in Chengming Hall at that time was not so warm.

Chen Meiren's cousin-in-law is a spineless coward. He was imprisoned today, and after a little torture, he confessed everything.

He revealed a considerable number of officials who had obtained their positions through bribery, and it turned out that, besides him, there were other high-ranking officials' relatives who were also involved in this business of recommending talent.

There were those who offered bribes, and there were those who accepted them.

Some were audacious and dared to appoint anyone, while others were more cautious and at least confiscated the good-for-nothings.

Among these people were Zhao Xingjin's younger brother, Prince Heng, his brother-in-law, the consort of Princess Yushu, and others who had followed him since his time as a prince, helping him achieve his goals and making contributions.

This is to be expected. Throughout history, how many of the imperial relatives, high-ranking officials, and nobles have truly been clean-handed? As long as they don't go too far, it's fine.

The problem is that Zhao Xingjin has only been on the throne for a short time, and a group of corrupt military officers and officials were executed in the court just half a year ago. Now, problems have arisen among the civil officials. How could Zhao Xingjin not be angry?

“These people still haven’t learned their lesson. If the Chen family isn’t severely punished this time, I’m afraid the court will follow suit and the atmosphere will become even more corrupt.” Zhao Xingjin slammed the memorial in his hand to the ground, his eyes dark and gloomy.

Yang Zhian hurriedly picked it up and respectfully handed it back to Zhao Xingjin. "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has sent word that Consort Chen is pregnant. Your Majesty should be mindful of her and not let her be too frightened or heartbroken, lest it harm the fetus."

"With the imperial concubine selection imminent, if I were to leniently punish the Chen family because of Consort Chen, wouldn't that give those ministers the wrong idea that as long as they send women into the harem, I can let them off the hook if they encounter any trouble in the future?!"

Zhao Xingjin said angrily.

Yang Zhian immediately lowered his head even further and said carefully, "This servant would never dare to have such an intention. It was the Empress Dowager who instructed me to tell the Emperor that the Chen family has followed the Emperor since the time of his princely residence and has made many contributions. Although they should be punished, they should not be too ruthless and dishearten the meritorious officials."

As Yang Zhian said these words, he felt as bitter as a gourd, but since the Empress Dowager wouldn't come and insisted that he deliver the message, he had no choice.

Fortunately, although Zhao Xingjin was angry, he listened to some of what was said.

After a long silence, he spoke, "He may be spared the death penalty, but he cannot escape punishment. Issue an order to remove Chen Quan from his position as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and exile his entire family to the southern frontier."

As for Consort Chen's cousin-in-law, needless to say, he had no face left after being sentenced to death.

When the news spread, the Empress Dowager personally summoned Consort Chen to Fukang Palace and spoke to her about it.

She was bound to find out sooner or later, and besides, Lady Chen was already mentally prepared. It's better to tell her now, so as not to keep her anxious for too long, which would only worsen her health.

As expected, Consort Chen still cried in front of the Empress Dowager, but she remained rational and did not say anything she should not have.

She simply thanked the Emperor for his great kindness in sparing her father and the rest of her family's lives.

However, she was naturally filled with hatred for the person who had betrayed her family. But no one paid any attention to her now, and she didn't want to go out and be ridiculed, so she stayed in Fukang Palace and didn't move.

Weiyang Palace.

Just as the Empress finished reading the booklet sent by the Ministry of Rites concerning matters related to the imperial concubine selection, Tingyun served her a cup of tea at the opportune moment.

"Your Majesty, Consort Chen still hasn't made a move."

Upon hearing this, the Empress lifted her eyelids slightly, then took the teacup and sipped it.

"After all, she lives in Fukang Palace, so the Empress Dowager takes care of her to some extent. If it weren't for the Empress Dowager keeping her in check, she would definitely have dragged her pregnant belly to Chengming Hall to kneel and beg."

Tingyun nodded, "That's right. I heard that this time, not only did he not go to the Emperor to plead for him, but he also sent his personal maid to Chengming Hall to express his gratitude, saying that his father had committed a serious mistake, but the Emperor was still willing to spare his life, and she kowtowed to thank the Emperor for his kindness."

"Easy for you to say," the Empress scoffed, a hint of mockery in her eyes. "She's probably seething with hatred inside."

"I wouldn't dare to hate the Emperor, would I?" Tingyun whispered.

The Empress raised an eyebrow and glanced at her. "Of course she wouldn't dare, and she wouldn't. She would only hate the person who reported her family for accepting bribes."

"This servant suspects that it was mostly Consort Jin who was behind it all."

Tingyun leaned closer, her eyes gleaming.

"That day in the Imperial Garden, Consort Chen wanted to use the matter of Lü Weixing and Consort Jin's ex-husband Wu Que to mock Consort Jin, but in the end, she was scolded by Consort Jin. She held a grudge and the next day deliberately found a pretext to smash the face of Consort Jin's maid. Consort Jin was furious and may have been retaliating against Consort Chen for this incident."

The Empress knew about these things to some extent, but she was somewhat uncertain about them at the moment.

"Chen Meiren's father is, after all, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. He wouldn't be so shrewd as to be caught so easily. It's only been two days, and the Chen family has collapsed just like that. The evidence presented in court is very conclusive; it doesn't seem like it was discovered in a short time. Could it be..."

The Empress suddenly felt a chill run down her spine as she thought of something.

"Could it be that Consort Jin already had something on Consort Chen, but just kept it as leverage?"

These words made Tingyun's heart tremble. "If that's really the case, Consort Jin is hiding her true intentions too well. What other trump cards does she have up her sleeve?"

For a moment, the Weiyang Palace fell silent.

After a long pause, the Empress said, "There's no need to scare yourself. If she really had any trump cards that were detrimental to me, she would have used them long ago. Besides, my maternal family is not like the Chen family."

Tingyun nodded and said nothing more.

Then the Empress chuckled softly, "It's good that Chen has lost her family's support; she'll be more obedient to me from now on."

“That’s right.” Tingyun thought of this and immediately smiled as well.

The Empress and her servants were the subject of much speculation, but Xie Jiu didn't care about them at all in Jingming Palace.

The matter concerning Consort Chen's family has caused some ripples, but the marriage of Princess Heyi and Prince Xichiyi is the most important matter at present.

So while the Chen family's antics were entertaining, the court was still preoccupied with this marriage alliance.

It was precisely because everyone's eyes were on the city that Xie Wei found an opportunity to sneak out of the city and go to Xie Mingshen's private estate to gather information.

This trip turned out to be quite alarming, as they happened to stumble upon several villages that, under the guise of buying farm tools, were secretly smuggling in a considerable number of weapons.