The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

“Your uncle and maternal grandfather have run into trouble. I’m worried it might affect your mother-in-law. You should go back and check on them as soon as possible, see if there’s any way to salvage the situation.” Xiao Tingkai knew very well that whether it was the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture daring to reopen old cases or the Censorate daring to impeach Zhang Guangsheng’s affairs in the Imperial Household Department, they probably already had enough evidence. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been so bold. Especially the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, he wouldn’t risk his future.

If it weren't for Xiao Tingkai's sarcastic remarks earlier, and his immediate expression of concern upon his return, Song Huilan would have been quite moved. Now, Song Huilan understood: Xiao Tingkai wasn't worried about the Song family, let alone the Zhang family; he was worried about himself. He feared the Song family would be implicated, and ultimately, he was afraid of being implicated himself.

Disheartened, Song Huilan didn't say much. She instructed Granny Yuan to have a carriage prepared, and without bothering to pack anything, she got up and walked out.

Xiao Tingkai hesitated for a moment, realizing he still needed the Song family's support, and quickly followed. He noticed his wife was angry, and after she got into the car, he quickly apologized.

"I was also frightened by the Emperor's anger in court today. Don't take it to heart. I was genuinely worried about my parents-in-law. I really didn't mean to say those things. Please don't take it to heart."

Song Huilan remained silent. She wanted to ask Xiao Tingkai if his family lost its power, would he still want her as his wife?

She couldn't bring herself to ask, and she was also afraid to know the answer.

Upon hearing that her daughter and son-in-law had returned, Madam Song sighed deeply. As a daughter of the Zhang family, she knew all too well what had happened within them. Her family had engaged in numerous marriage alliances, and her sister was the one who married into the Duke of Xiu's household. But now, the Duke of Xiu's household was declining. She had hoped that her daughter's marriage to Prince Rui would be of some help, but it seemed that unless Prince Rui truly ascended to the throne, it would be of no use.

At this point, both the Song family and the Prince Rui's Mansion should quickly sever ties with the Zhang family.

Therefore, upon meeting Prince Rui and his wife, Madam Song bluntly told them to avoid suspicion. Upon hearing this, Xiao Tingkai and Song Huilan naturally understood: the Zhang family was likely in grave danger this time.

A flicker of dissatisfaction and annoyance crossed Xiao Tingkai's mind, but he managed to hide it in front of his mother-in-law. Song Huilan, on the other hand, immediately changed her expression, worried for her maternal grandfather and uncle: "Mother, is there really no other way?"

"Silly child, go back quickly, don't rush, it won't affect you two young couple." Madam Song was more composed than Song Huilan.

Xiao Tingkai quickly helped Song Huilan up and said to his mother-in-law, "Mother-in-law, please rest assured, Lan'er and I know what to do."

Seeing that her son-in-law had come all this way, Madam Song was unaware of the argument between the couple. She simply thought that her son-in-law was truly loyal and affectionate, and felt quite gratified: "I'm busy right now, so I won't keep you for dinner."

Xiao Tingkai and Song Huilan returned to the Prince's residence. As they passed the Prince Yi's residence, they encountered Princess Yi, who had just alighted from her carriage, at the gate. In a moment of impulsiveness, Song Huilan hurriedly ordered the carriage to stop, and as soon as it came to a halt, she rushed out.

In the blink of an eye, they were in front of Daiyu. Xiao Tingkai reacted and quickly came over as well.

Xueyan moved quickly and stood in front of Daiyu, but the two guards behind Daiyu were even faster and stood in front of Xueyan.

One of the guards said in a formal tone, "Princess Rui, please wait."

Song Huilan was intimidated by the guards' imposing presence, and couldn't utter a single word she was about to say.

Xiao Tingkai quickly stepped forward, grabbed Song Huilan's hand and pulled it a little, signaling his wife not to act impulsively.

Song Huilan changed her mind at the last minute: "No need to be so nervous. In front of everyone, I'm just here to say a few words to my sister-in-law."

The guards and Xueyan hesitated, and Daiyu gently told them to step aside.

"Sister-in-law, you shouldn't go out so easily with such a big belly. You have to be careful with what you eat and use." Song Huilan was full of resentment at this moment, and her words of concern were a little creepy.

Daiyu smiled faintly and said, "Thank you for your concern, sister-in-law. Now, my household not only has imperial physicians but also female physicians. Everything we eat, wear, and use has been inspected before we dare to eat or use it. Please rest assured, sister-in-law."

Song Huilan turned pale with anger.

"Second brother, sister-in-law, I'll head back now." Daiyu knew very well that this time, the Zhang family couldn't escape their fate.

Xiao Tingjun did not return until after Daiyu had finished her dinner.

"Why are you so late?" Daiyu asked him if he had eaten.

Chapter 162 A Minor Punishment as a Warning: Aunt's Stroke

Xiao Tingjun returned late, naturally because of the Zhang family's major case—the Emperor had ordered Xiao Tingjun and the Fifth Prince Xiao Tingzhao to go to the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review to help handle it.

The Fifth Prince, Xiao Tingzhao, was conferred the title of Prince Cheng after returning from Zhili. He was originally studying at the Ministry of Revenue, but the Emperor temporarily sent him and Xiao Tingjun to the Ministry of Justice, which naturally attracted the attention of many court officials: nowadays the Emperor does not value Prince Rui and Prince Li much, but Prince Cheng is becoming more and more useful.

But everyone could see that Prince Yi had always been the emperor's favorite.

"The Zhang family's case will take some time, but the Xue family's matter will be resolved tomorrow," Xiao Tingjun told Daiyu. "I never expected Yu'er's method to be so effective."

"I was just certain of the old and new grudges between the Xia and Xue families. However, you were the one who told me about the Shuntian Prefect's temperament." If Xiao Tingjun hadn't told him that the Shuntian Prefect was an upright official, he really wouldn't have dared to take such a risk—if the Shuntian Prefect was just dealing with the matter objectively and didn't even dare to offend the Zhang family, then everything would have been in vain.

"As for the Xue family, the Xia family's shop wasn't occupied this time, but they did find out about their past instances of forcibly occupying other people's shops. However, Xue Pan was in charge back then, and he has already been beheaded. This time, they'll probably just have to pay a fine," Xiao Tingjun told Daiyu.

This outcome was within Daiyu's expectations: the Xue family currently has no male heirs, and the shops are all managed by hired managers. If a judgment is made, they have ways to pin the blame on the managers and supervisors.

However, to Daiyu's surprise, this punishment caused Aunt Xue to fall ill immediately.

As Xiao Tingjun said, the Shuntian Prefecture immediately resolved the dispute between the Xue and Xia families. Since the Xue family did not actually seize the Xia family's shop, but brought up an old case, the Xue family was ordered to pay the Xia family 2,000 taels of silver. In addition, the Xue family was ordered to pay the Hu family and the Zhao family, whose shops were seized in the past, 5,000 taels of silver each.

Upon hearing this, Aunt Xue collapsed in anger. The old woman from the Xue family quickly helped her up. Seeing that Aunt Xue was unconscious, she hurriedly sent a servant to fetch a doctor and also sent someone to consult Baochai.

Baochai rushed back, and the doctor was taking her pulse.

"Grandma Bao, your mother is showing symptoms of a stroke. We need to take good care of her. I will give her acupuncture first and try my best to wake her up." The doctor knew the situation was not good. Aunt Xue was old and had been in a fit of anger. She was now unconscious and was afraid that even if she woke up, she would be paralyzed on one side.

But she didn't wake up after the acupuncture. Instead, it wasn't until the middle of the night that Aunt Xue showed signs of slightly waking up. Baochai personally stayed by her side and, seeing her mother wake up, quickly called for a doctor.

The doctor received a high consultation fee and stayed in a guest room prepared by the Xue family so that he could come to see them anytime.

After two busy days, the doctor had no choice but to tell Baochai the truth: "The old lady will probably be bedridden for many years to come, and her mind will be unclear, and she will not recognize people. This is a stroke, and I have no good way to treat it."

Baochai still didn't believe it, so she sent an old woman to invite several more doctors, but their stories were consistent.

After waking up, the mother held Baochai's hand and looked at her for a long time. She opened her mouth, but her words were unclear. She could only stammer and murmur for a while, her eyes filled with fear.

A moment later, drool started dripping from the corner of his mouth.

After Baochai personally wiped her mother's tears, two lines of tears fell from her eyes.

"Take good care of Madam. I will handle the rest." Baochai couldn't stay at home forever; she had to go back to the Rongguo Mansion, where a whole host of things awaited her.

Instructing the maids and servants to take good care of her, Baochai asked Jia Qiang to hand over the fine and other follow-up matters. After returning to Rongguo Mansion, Baochai thought it over and over and felt that Jia Huan must have lied to her back then, but she could not make a scene for the time being—the Zhang family was in trouble now, and she didn't know if Jia Huan would be implicated.

Will the Prince Rui's mansion be implicated? Baochai wasn't sure.

Even if she wasn't implicated, she feared that Princess Rui would still be very dissatisfied with her. Baochai carefully considered what she should do next.

Xia Jingui not only saved her own shop, but also received two thousand taels of silver. Not to mention, when she heard that Aunt Xue had suffered a stroke, she was overjoyed and immediately ordered people to prepare gifts and send them directly to Xue Ke's family.

Xue Ke is now married. His wife comes from the Wei family, a family of valiant military officers. She is a shrewd and capable person. She knows very well that Xia Jingui is coming to express her gratitude in person. Naturally, the Wei family warmly welcomes her.

Looking at the fresh water chestnuts, fresh water caltrops, and large red pomegranates that Xia Jingui had brought, as well as several bolts of fine fabric, Wei said with a smile, "Sister, there's no need to be so polite."

"Thanks to your guidance, otherwise I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to keep my shop, let alone make them suffer. I'm a very grateful person, and I always remember whoever helps me." What Xia Jingui didn't say was that she had also done the Guo family a great favor. The head of the Guo family had already sent someone to thank her. For the Xia family, having the Guo family's help in the future would be a very profitable thing.

Wei shook her head: "Sister, you've made us feel bad. These things are meant to be done by everyone looking out for each other. Besides, if it weren't for Princess Yi's advice, I wouldn't know what to do."

Princess Yi? Xia Jingui immediately grasped the key point: No wonder it went so smoothly, it turns out that Princess Yi was the one who instructed Baoqin.

“However, elder sister, I also have a few words to say, but I don’t know if I should say them?” Wei took the opportunity to explain the situation to Xia Jingui.

Xia Jingui quickly replied, "I dare not accept such praise, please speak freely, sister."

“We are both from humble families. For a family like the Prince’s Mansion to be willing to help us is already an immense favor. We should not be greedy and insatiable, lest we end up in utter ruin.” Madam Wei saw clearly that Xia Jingui was a person who only cared about profit.

Xia Jingui immediately replied, "That's right, that's right. People like us naturally need to be clear-headed, otherwise we might not even know how we died."

She understood; this meant she shouldn't try to get involved. Xia Jingui hadn't intended to either—although Xue Pan was responsible for Xiangling's death, she herself was also implicated. If the Princess of Yi disliked her, she was afraid the old grudges would be brought up again.

However, Xia Jingui felt that she could put in a good word for Princess Yi in front of Consort Guo. So when she went to pay her respects to the wife of the Guo family patriarch, Xia Jingui subtly brought it up. After hearing this, the wife of the Guo family naturally told her husband.

"No wonder, Consort Chongyi said that Imperial Physician Jiang told her that Her Majesty the Empress had instructed the Imperial Hospital. I'm afraid that Her Majesty the Empress was also trying to protect Consort Chongyi in this matter." Lord Guo reminded Consort Chongyi when he gave his wife a chance to enter the palace to see her.

Chapter 163 Great Revenge Achieved, Offering Gratitude

As expected, when Madam Guo visited the palace on the first day of the month, she informed Consort Guo of the news from the Xia family.

Consort Guo was a clever woman. As early as when Imperial Physician Jiang warned her not to harm herself and told her that the Empress might know something, she had already guessed something.

However, nowadays, neither the Empress nor the Princess Consort of Yi County are keeping a low profile and have no intention of showing off their achievements in front of her, nor have they revealed any intention of asking her to repay their kindness. Therefore, Consort Guo should pretend not to know—of course, not that she really doesn't know. She should repay kindness and avenge wrongs, and if she can help in the future, she should definitely help.

The Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review did not handle the cases so quickly. Even with all the relevant officials and their subordinates mobilized and many working overtime, the cases were not closed until the end of September.

This case involves a wide range of issues. Firstly, it involves ten crimes committed by the brothers Zhang Youshan and Zhang Youliang, including illegally seizing farmland, colluding with businessmen, harming the local community, and exploiting the people. Zhang Youliang is already deceased, but Zhang Youshan is still alive and has been imprisoned awaiting execution, specifically being cut in half at the waist in the marketplace. Many officials are also implicated, and a number of them have been dismissed and investigated.

At the same time, many people who were wronged because of the Zhang family were exonerated, and those with descendants were compensated.

As for Zhang Guangsheng's case involving the Imperial Household Department, he was directly dismissed from his post, exiled to the army, his family property was confiscated, and his brothers, nephews, and other relatives were either imprisoned or dismissed from their posts.

Suddenly, Prince Rui lost a great ally – especially the Imperial Household Department, which not only helped Consort Wu in the palace, but also Prince Rui and his wife.

Song Huilan fell seriously ill from this, while Consort Wu became even more determined to quickly select a concubine for her son. With the Song family's marriage alliance lost half of its support, Consort Wu thought that although the Emperor had promised to let her son have a concubine as soon as possible, she still needed to inform the Empress about this matter to prevent the Empress from making any underhanded moves in front of the Emperor.

So Consort Wu, accompanied by her maids, went to the Empress's Phoenix Palace.

Unexpectedly, they encountered Consort Guo, who was heavily pregnant and sitting in the Empress's palace, talking to the Empress.

Consort Wu had already experienced the sharp tongue of that favored little hussy, so this time, she didn't intend to let Consort Guo hear about her plan to take a concubine for her son. After paying her respects to the Empress, she quickly dismissed Consort Guo from paying her respects.

"Consort, I have something to discuss with Her Majesty the Empress." Consort Wu did not intend to have a conflict with this Consort.

But Consort Guo didn't give Consort Wu a chance. She still had to pay her respects to Consort Wu: "I come from a humble family and am physically strong. Of course, I must pay my respects to Your Highness and share in Your Highness's good fortune. That would be my greatest blessing."

Consort Wu had never met such a person before, but after thinking about her important matters, she waved her hand, signaling Consort Guo to leave.

Guo Chongyi was about to speak when the Empress smiled at her, and she obediently got up and withdrew.

The Empress remained steadfast and composed, never taking the initiative to speak, waiting for Consort Wu to speak first.

Consort Wu didn't hide anything and directly mentioned His Majesty's agreement to allow Prince Rui to take a concubine. She then said, "I was thinking that I would probably need to meet a few girls from different families in the palace, so I'll inform Her Majesty the Empress in advance."

Upon hearing this, the Empress couldn't help but think: It seems the Zhang family's troubles have really provoked Consort Wu, making her so anxious and high-profile. It's not like she's choosing a wife for Prince Rui, so it's rather inappropriate for her to meet those girls in such a high-profile manner.

The Empress pondered for a moment: if she agreed to the Consort's request, the Emperor might be unhappy and might even say that she hadn't been responsible enough in choosing an Empress and hadn't been able to dissuade the Consort.

The Empress nodded and said, "It is only right that Consort Gui is concerned about her son. However, regarding the matter of the concubine, I will first ask His Majesty for his opinion. Consort Gui, please rest assured, as long as His Majesty agrees, I naturally hope that the royal family will have many children and grandchildren."

"Your Majesty is right, then I shall take my leave." Seeing that the Empress did not object to her idea, Consort Wu was too lazy to stay and talk, so she got up and took her leave.

However, what Consort Wu did not expect was that the Emperor's attitude would take a dramatic turn.

A few nights later, the Emperor visited Consort Wu's palace. Consort Wu was quite happy and dressed up nicely, having her maids prepare some fresh snacks, intending to rekindle her former gentleness and have a good chat with the Emperor. However, the Emperor asked directly upon arrival, "I heard from the Empress that you wanted to invite some young ladies to meet you?"

Consort Wu noticed that the Emperor's tone was not quite right and quickly explained, "Your Majesty said the other day that a concubine should be chosen for the Second Prince. I thought that although the concubine's status is lower than that of the principal wife, the selection of the person is still very important. Character and talent must be considered, especially temperament. If she is too strong, she is likely to have conflicts with the principal wife, which would not be ideal."

There was nothing wrong with what was said, but the emperor was in a bad mood, especially dissatisfied with the second son—the Ministry of Justice had reported some problems in the past few days, and what the second son had done in the Ministry of Justice was truly unbearable to look at.

So the emperor didn't care what Consort Wu was saying and immediately objected: "She's already a consort, and she's the second son's birth mother. She hasn't made any progress over the years. It's necessary to choose a concubine, but she's still a concubine. How can you make such a big fuss? What will the second son's wife and her family think?"

Consort Wu quickly knelt down to beg for forgiveness, but she was very dissatisfied in her heart: The Empress must have said something to His Majesty, otherwise how could this have happened?

"You need not concern yourself with the matter of the second prince's concubine. I have my own plans." After saying this, the emperor ignored Consort Wu, who was still kneeling, and simply walked away.

Enraged, Consort Wu immediately smashed a doucai (enamel-painted) floral cup.

The next day, when Consort Wu, who had nowhere to vent her anger, saw Consort Guo, who was heavily pregnant, while paying her respects to the Empress, she became even more depressed. Then, when she saw Consort Zhou, who was silent, she suddenly remembered something.

Consort Wu smiled faintly at Consort Zhou: "Speaking of which, His Majesty has bestowed the title of Prince upon the Fifth Prince, so why hasn't he chosen a residence for him yet? It's almost October, and the Fifth Prince is about to marry the Zuo family's daughter."