With a wave of his hand, the Prince's Mansion's fortune exploded throughout the entire cap

Granny Jin emerged from behind the beaded curtain at the back of the hall, first bowing to the Emperor and the Crown Prince, then turning to look at the audience below:

"Her Majesty the Empress has heard that Princess Changning's health has suddenly deteriorated and the Zhao family is unable to properly care for her. Therefore, Her Majesty grants Princess Changning's request to divorce her husband!"

After speaking, Granny Jin turned to the Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, I have conveyed the Empress's message. I will take my leave now."

After Granny Jin left, the once silent hall gradually began to be filled with rustling sounds.

"Has Her Majesty the Empress truly agreed?"

"His Majesty hasn't given a definite answer yet."

"Why not? Princess Changning is a woman, and the Empress is in charge of women of rank. Moreover, the Empress of Dasheng is qualified to interfere in politics."

"Didn't you hear that Her Majesty the Empress only permitted Princess Changning to divorce her husband? The matter of punishing Zhao Zhen was left to the Emperor, and she did not interfere with the appointment and dismissal of officials."

The emperor pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Granted. Convey my decree: Princess Xiao Mingzhu of Changning shall divorce Zhao Zhen. The official document shall be sent to the government office immediately."

The Zhao family, mother and son, are to vacate the Changning Princess's residence within three days. All property within the residence belongs to Xiao Mingzhu, and the Zhao family is forbidden from touching a single piece. Zhao Zhen is stripped of his fifth-rank official position, flogged thirty times, banished from the capital, exiled three thousand li, and permanently barred from holding office. The Old Madam Zhao, for her mistreatment of the mistress, is to be flogged twenty times and exiled along with Zhao Zhen.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Xiao Shulang and Xiao Chengyan kowtowed at the same time, finally feeling half of the weight lifted from their hearts.

Zhao Zhen collapsed to the ground, his face ashen, unable to utter another word of pleading for mercy.

Inside the Phoenix Palace, Granny Jin came in to report: "Your Majesty, the Emperor has decreed that Princess Changning and Zhao Zhen are granted a divorce, Zhao Zhen is stripped of his official position and exiled three thousand miles away, and the Zhao family, mother and son, must move out of the Princess's residence within three days."

Upon hearing this, Lu Wenshu finally felt relieved and curtsied to the Empress, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty, and thank you for your grace."

The Empress smiled and nodded: "Alright, now that things have been settled, you should return to the Prince's residence as soon as possible and take good care of Mingzhu. If there's anything I can help with, just send someone to let me know."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I shall take my leave." Lu Wenshu, holding Xiao Jingjing's hand, gave Lu Heyu a few more instructions and then left Fengyi Palace with Xiao Jingjing.

After they left, Lu Heyu immediately pulled the Fifth Prince into his study, his fair face tense: "Fifth Prince, what do you mean by this?"

The Fifth Prince gently brushed his hand away, smoothed his sleeves, and said with a half-smile, "Heyu, what are you saying?"

Lu Heyu disregarded all of that and stepped forward, closing the distance between them: "Earlier, when I asked you why you had your cousin Jingjing call you 'Little Imperial Uncle,' you said it was because His Majesty said so. But just now, I don't think that was the only reason. You seemed to enjoy it too? Why?"

Seeing the anxiety in Lu Heyu's eyes, the Fifth Prince took a small step back: "Heyu is just a playmate, why are you in such a hurry?"

"Besides, she's just a little kid. What could she possibly want? It's just that she's sincere and doesn't need to scheme against people."

Lu He looked at him with a skeptical expression: "Really?"

Seeing him nod, Lu He also murmured to himself, "Cousin Jingjing is indeed lovely, innocent and lively."

He simply lowered his head slightly, missing the deep look in the Fifth Prince's eyes.

As they left Fengyi Palace, Xiao Jingjing, holding Lu Wenshu's hand, skipped and hopped, saying, "Mother, does that mean Auntie won't have to get close to people who make her sick anymore? Auntie won't suffer anymore?"

Lu Wenshu smiled and patted her head: "Yes, from now on, Auntie can recuperate in the Prince's Mansion with peace of mind."

Little Jingjing jumped up and down happily: "Yay~ヾ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ".

[I'll go back and pass on a little bit of good luck to my aunt, hehe (*^▽^*)]

[This way, Auntie will recover faster!]

[Once Auntie gets better, Jingjing wants to take her crabbing! Grilled crabs are so delicious!]

Oh, and there's Little Goldfish at the bottom of the lake. We'll have him catch a couple of big crabs and shrimp to eat!

Lu Wenshu listened to Xiao Jingjing's heartfelt words and was deeply moved. Jingjing always knew how to speak to people's hearts.

Upon arriving at the palace gate, just as the two were about to board the carriage, Qingya strode over and bowed solemnly to Lu Wenshu, saying, "Your Highness, I have important matters to report."

Lu Wenshu's heart tightened. She gestured for Wang Chun to take Xiao Jingjing back to the carriage to wait, then said to Qingya, "Speak, what is it?"

Qingya lowered his voice and said, "Your Highness, I have found out the identity of Liu Ruyan, the mistress of Marquis Yongyi. This Liu Ruyan is not an ordinary woman, but a 'slender horse' from Jiangnan. She met Marquis Yongyi in Yangzhou six years ago and they have a son who is four years old this year."

My subordinates also discovered that Liu Ruyan and Liu Wanguan's eldest daughter, Liu Ruoxue, had a secret meeting at Wangjiang Tower just now. The two chatted happily, seemingly discussing something.

"Liu Wanguan?" Lu Wenshu frowned, her fingers unconsciously clenching her handkerchief. "This man is the largest salt merchant in Jiangnan, with a very wealthy family. How could he be involved with the mistress of the Marquis of Yongyi? Is the Marquis of Yongyi's mansion secretly colluding with salt merchants?"

Qingya nodded: "This is indeed my guess. The luxury of Liu Ruyan's villa far surpasses that of the Marquis of Yongyi's mansion. Such a huge expense is definitely not something that the Marquis of Yongyi's salary can support. I suspect that the expenses of that villa are all covered by the gold and silver that the Marquis of Yongyi has plundered from Jiangnan."

Lu Wenshu turned to look at the towering red walls of the imperial palace, her expression solemn.

The Yongyi Marquis's mansion has relied entirely on the dowries of the old lady and the Marquis's wife for years. He has never flaunted his wealth, and even his four-year-old illegitimate son was only secretly brought back to the capital this year. There must be someone behind this. Who is secretly orchestrating this?

"Your Highness, should I investigate further about the past interactions between Liu Ruyan and Liu Wanguan?"

Lu Wenshu shook her head: "No need. Let's go back to the Prince's mansion first and discuss it with the Prince and the Second Young Master. This matter involves salt merchants and nobles, and it's not as simple as it seems on the surface. We mustn't alert them."

After saying that, she turned around, got into the car, and hurriedly returned to the Prince Jing's Mansion with Xiao Jingjing.

The carriage entered the Prince Jing's residence, and Lu Wenshu, leading Xiao Jingjing, headed straight for Qinlan Garden, her steps quicker than usual. At this moment, Xiao Mingzhu had just rested on the soft couch, and Lanxiang was tidying the thin blanket beside her pillow. Upon seeing the two enter, she quickly rose and bowed.

Little Jingjing was the first to break free from Lu Wenshu's grasp, rushing to the bedside. She looked up at Xiao Mingzhu, her voice excited and eager: "Auntie! Auntie! Good news! The Emperor and Empress have granted your request to divorce your husband! No one will dare bully you anymore, and you won't have to go back to the Zhao family to suffer!"

Xiao Mingzhu froze, the book in her hand slipped from her grasp with a "thud," her eyes filled with disbelief, her voice trembling slightly:

"Jingjing... what did you say? The Emperor... the Emperor really granted permission?"

When she heard her sister-in-law mention it yesterday, she didn't have many expectations. This was a marriage granted by His Majesty, with permission for her to divorce her husband...

For a woman to initiate a divorce, she would have to overcome numerous obstacles, especially since Zhao Zhen was an official of the imperial court. She had long been prepared for a long and complicated process and never expected things to go so smoothly.

Xiao Mingzhu closed her eyes and wept: Father, this time, it is you who have protected your daughter once again...

Lu Wenshu walked to the bedside and sat down, gently taking Xiao Mingzhu's slightly cool hand, and said softly:

"It's true. Her Majesty the Empress spoke on your behalf in the palace, and Granny Jin personally went to the front hall to convey the Empress's message. The Emperor immediately issued an edict, granting you permission to divorce Zhao Zhen, and the document was immediately sent to the government office for filing."

She paused for a moment, then explained the contents of the imperial decree in detail.

"The Zhao family mother and son must move out of the Princess's mansion within three days. All the property in the mansion is your dowry, and they cannot take a single penny with them. Zhao Zhen has been stripped of his fifth-rank official position, flogged thirty times, and exiled three thousand miles away, never to be employed again. Old Madam Zhao has also been flogged twenty times and exiled along with him."

All the grievances, repression, and unease that had been building up inside me burst forth as tears.

Xiao Mingzhu leaned on Lu Wenshu's shoulder, silently shedding tears. These tears contained no resentment, only the relief and sense of liberation and rebirth.

Lanxiang stood to the side, her eyes also reddening. She was happy for her princess. She had seen all the suffering her princess had endured in the Zhao family over the years, and now she could finally hold her head high.

Little Jingjing stretched out her chubby little hand and gently patted Xiao Mingzhu's back, whispering to comfort her, "Auntie, don't cry, don't cry."

[Jingjing is sending you good luck so you can get better soon!]

As she spoke, a faint red magical power quietly entered Xiao Mingzhu's body, and the warmth spread through her limbs and bones, gradually easing the bitterness in her heart.

Xiao Mingzhu gradually stopped crying, wiped away her tears, and a glimmer of light appeared in her eyes: "Thank you, sister-in-law, thank you, Jingjing, thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Emperor..."

Lu Wenshu nodded with a smile: "Yes, from now on you can rest and recuperate in the Prince's Mansion. With your mother, me, Ayan and Alang by your side, no one will dare to mistreat you anymore."

She talked with Xiao Mingzhu for a long time and instructed Lanxiang to take good care of her. After Xiao Mingzhu's expression relaxed and she gradually fell asleep, she quietly left Qinlan Garden and went to the study to meet Xiao Chengyan and Xiao Shulang.

Inside the study, Xiao Shulang was pacing back and forth, sword in hand, his expression still bearing the lingering anger. Seeing Lu Wenshu enter, he quickly stepped forward and asked, "Sister-in-law, how is Mingzhu? Is she still emotionally stable after hearing the news?"