Her guards

Chapter 146 The Meaning of Good Luck

That child.

Although the emperor only uttered these three words, and although the Duke of Ding'an was in a state of confusion, he immediately knew who the emperor was referring to.

The emperor knows!

The emperor knows!

The Duke of Ding'an knelt on the ground, the words echoing in his mind.

The emperor lowered his eyes and looked at the food in front of him.

"I didn't know at first either." He seemed to be talking to himself. "I really thought it was the daughter of my second uncle's daughter, Zanjie. Zanjie is dead, and the child is being mistreated by her family. Just taking her away isn't enough. I have to do something about it..."

He chuckled as he said this.

"Upon investigation, it was discovered that the child had already been married off by her father."

Back in the countryside, Yang Shixing and his brothers separated from their families early on. Due to the war, his second uncle's children rarely visited each other after getting married. He had never even met his second uncle's son-in-law, the Duke of Ding'an, more than twice. After he was granted a title in the capital, they had no contact at all, and he couldn't even remember where his family lived.

His personal testimony, coupled with the presence of the Marquis of Yichun, was sufficient proof of his identity.

Unexpectedly, the emperor was convinced, but he didn't stop there; he also wanted to discipline Yang's son-in-law...

Even his relatives, whom he didn't care about, who would have thought that the emperor would actually want to discipline them?
Duke Ding'an didn't know whether to be excited that the emperor was treating them differently, or to complain about his bad luck.

"Indeed." The emperor chuckled again, his gaze falling on the Duke of Ding'an on the ground. "I also forgot, Yang Bin, what kind of person are you? You've been mean-spirited, selfish, and all bark and no bite since you were a child. Why would you care about things and people that don't concern you?"

The Duke of Ding'an sobbed, "Your Majesty, I am guilty." He then raised his head and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I... I did it all for Your Majesty. I dare not, and do not wish for, any gossip..."

After saying this, he bowed and kowtowed again.

The emperor picked up a bite of food with his chopsticks and ate it.

“Hmm,” he said, “I know why you did this, and I also know why Ji Ying did this…”

I chuckled to myself as I said this.

“Compared to Ji and Ying, you have not harmed the people or disgraced your official position. You have committed no crime. Get up.”

Duke Ding'an dared not believe it, nor did he dare to get up, as he listened to the emperor's voice coming from above.

"I will have the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice conduct a thorough investigation of Baima Town."

"Officials at all levels who ignored the grievances of the victims and tried to cover them up cannot escape their guilt."

“Those bandits who committed murder must also be wiped out and brought to justice.”

"You don't need to concern yourself with this matter."

The Duke of Ding'an was in a state of confusion, and upon hearing this, he hurriedly replied, "Yes."

Then he heard the soft clatter of bowls and chopsticks, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the emperor eating with his head down.

"Your subject... kowtows in gratitude for Your Majesty's grace." He said tentatively, bowing again, "Your subject takes his leave."

The emperor hummed in agreement, and the Duke of Ding'an carefully rose and retreated, restoring silence to the hall.

Actually, there was something else he didn't say.

The emperor thought to himself.

He sent someone to Baima Town to visit Yang Tong's grave.

The guard returned and said that the tomb was well-built.

However, he only allowed his guards to take a look from a distance, not daring to get too close, nor did he offer incense or make any offerings.

He was also afraid that she would be angry if she found out.

Unexpectedly, the murderer was never caught and was dealt with perfunctorily by Ji Ying and his gang.

She must be laughing at him from beyond the grave, for all those grand ambitions he spoke of as a child ended up producing such a group of officials.

How can he even have the nerve to eat?

The emperor raised his hand and overturned the table.

……

.......
Hearing the clattering sound coming from inside, both the eunuchs outside the palace and Princess Heisei, who had just arrived, were startled.

The eunuch did not go in to tidy up; he nervously stopped Princess Heisei.

"Princess, please don't go in," he whispered, "His Majesty hasn't invited anyone, so no one can go in."

Of course, in the past the princess could come in anytime, but now...

Princess Heisei looked at the palace gate, listened to the silence inside, and clenched her hands in front of her.

She knew that even if she went in now, her father wouldn't blame her. But while she could usually joke and cheer him up, she probably couldn't now.

She couldn't handle state affairs and political matters, nor was it something she could meddle in.

"That's enough," Princess Heisei said, turning and leaving.

"Did the Duke of Ding'an anger His Majesty?" the personal maid asked in a low voice, her eyes showing a hint of joy.

When they arrived, they saw that Duke Ding'an had withdrawn.

The emperor was busy just now, meeting with ministers one after another to reprimand them, but he did not get angry and still served meals on time.

Moreover, the emperor was always frugal and never wasted food; this was the first time he had overturned the table.

It's clear he was extremely angry.

Princess Heicheng shook her head: "No, the Duke of Ding'an's sister was a victim of the disaster in Baima Town. Father Emperor needs to comfort her."

Although she did not participate in court affairs, she was aware of what was happening in the court.

I just learned that among the victims in Baima Town was Ding'an Gong's younger sister, who had married out of the family years ago.

I had never heard of the younger sister of the Duke of Ding'an before.

But it's not surprising, because the ancestors of the Duke of Ding'an were not a large and prosperous family. The family was small, and the men and women in the family had been separated by the chaos of war long ago.

Moreover, with the rise of new dynasties and new elites, some people become rich overnight and their entire families rise to prominence, while many others, after becoming wealthy, forbid their relatives from visiting and seeking favors.

"That could be because the Duke of Ding'an is being unreasonable and making a fuss," the palace maid whispered.

Otherwise, why would the emperor be so angry that he overturned the table?

“Father is not the kind of person who gets angry over a few words from his subjects,” Princess Heisei said, glancing at the palace maid. “Don’t make these pointless speculations.”

The palace maid lowered her head and dared not speak.

Moreover, the Emperor would not be angry because of the Duke of Ding'an's noise. Princess Heicheng thought to herself, "The fact that the Emperor immediately called the Duke of Ding'an in his busy schedule shows how much he cares about him."

Among the victims was the younger sister of the Duke of Ding'an, who was also Yang Luo's aunt.

After this incident, the Emperor should feel sorry for Yang Luo and won't pursue the matter of her speaking recklessly to the Empress Dowager.

The literary gathering that my maternal grandfather originally wanted to hold for Yang Luo could no longer take place.

Just as Wei Jiao said, compared to these things, Yang Luo's matter is a trivial matter.

Princess Heicheng looked towards the direction outside the imperial city and thought, "This Yang Luo is lucky."

……

.......
The night was deep, but the lights inside Ding'an Gong's residence were bright.

"What does this mean?" Lady Ding'an murmured.

She lay in bed. Ever since she heard the Duke of Ding'an say "His Majesty knows," the Duke of Ding'an's wife had fainted. Although she had woken up, she didn't have the strength to get up.

"It means that His Majesty knows that this child is Yang Tong's."

Duke Ding'an leaned back in his chair, still feeling dizzy. After returning, he thought about it for a long time before he vaguely understood the emperor's meaning.

"But they didn't ask us to correct our identification."

Lady Ding'an sat up, gripping the curtains: "Does that mean he knows, but doesn't admit it?"

Duke Ding'an nodded: "That should be the meaning."

Lady Ding'an clapped her hands and stood up.

“This is a good thing,” she said, excitedly grabbing the Duke of Ding’an. “This way, we haven’t kept it from His Majesty, nor have we offended the Marquis of Yichun. We no longer have to live in fear.”

Duke Ding'an nodded thoughtfully. Indeed, this way he wouldn't offend anyone. Moreover, in order to appease him, the emperor and Marquis Yichun would have to treat him better.

“I’m really lucky,” he said, stroking his beard. He then instructed Lady Ding’an, “but we must not be complacent. We must keep a close eye on Yang Luo and not let her cause any more trouble.”

Lady Ding'an nodded: "Don't worry, with the matter of Ji and Ying, we can use this as an excuse to lock her at home!"

I couldn't help but laugh again as I said this.

"Wow, thinking about it that way, we're really lucky."

……

……

"Miss Yang, you're having a bad time."

As night fell on the rooftop, Wei Jiao pulled the bamboo tube out from under the tiles and smiled happily at Mo Zheng, who was eavesdropping on the tiles.

(End of this chapter)