Chapter 341: Remnants of the Sus
Chapter 341: Remnants of the Sus
Typically, the morning court would have adjourned by noon unless there were pressing matters, in which case, some important ministers would remain.
Many who attended had other commitments and needed to leave promptly.
After all, the officials didn't spend all their time at the morning court; they had other governmental affairs to attend to.
Thus, it was well past midday, and the prince still hadn't returned, puzzling Princess Qi.
They waited and waited until the evening approached and the sky darkened.
It was only when Liu Hemeng and Shen Huatang had left with their respective grandfathers that the prince finally returned, looking weary as he disembarked from his carriage.
Seeing his return, Princess Qi quickly tidied herself and rushed out to greet him.
By the time Princess Qi arrived, Prince Qi had already entered the mansion, muttering to his attendant as he walked, "Exhausting! I'm parched! Hurry up and brew some tea! I've been talking all day."
Seeing his fatigue, Princess Qi asked with concern in a low voice, "Was there an important matter today?"
She figured there must have been a significant issue for him to be so busy.
Prince Qi nodded as he took off his outer robe, replying to the princess, "It was about the case of the mountain bandits in Qingzhou. We've finished the interrogation and gathered the evidence, and we've captured the remaining accomplices. If it weren't for the matter concerning the Chi family, we would have likely concluded the case by now. However, the Chi family's case requires further investigation, and the relevant personnel need to be arrested and punished accordingly, so it has taken longer than expected. Today, we discussed the final outcome, and the Court of Judicial Review will announce the decision in the next two days."
As the case involved the remnants of the Su clan from years ago, it was initially handed over to the Court of Judicial Review for investigation and review.
Now, the outcome was to be announced by the same court.
Prince Qi continued, pausing to catch his breath between sentences.
Attendant Si had already brought a cup of warm, soothing tea, allowing the prince to take a sip and quench his thirst before continuing, "Today, we mainly discussed these matters. If it weren't for the matter of the imperial sister's remains, the discussions might not have been so complicated. But with the discovery of the imperial sister's remains, whether it's the imperial brother, the Empress Mother, or myself, we cannot treat the remnants of the Su family lightly. The imperial brother's opinion is that as descendants of traitors, they must not be spared. The Ministry of Justice shares the same sentiment, but the Censorate feels that using severe punishment on the remnants would tarnish the imperial brother's reputation."
The Censorate tended to consider matters from multiple angles, especially when it came to protecting the emperor's reputation; they scrutinized every detail meticulously.
Hence, the Censorate disagreed with the emperor's decision to impose heavy punishment.
If the Censorate disagreed, they needed to find a way to gain their consent.
Thus, the discussions were extensive.
These discussions alone took up a good part of the day, and with other matters to attend to as well, a significant amount of time had passed.
As the matter involved the Su family from years ago and concerned the imperial sister, Prince Qi couldn't remain a passive observer; he would interject from time to time.
Of course, he often angered the elderly censor, Sun, to the point where he wanted to take off his shoes and hit the prince, but he dared not due to their identities.
Recalling this, Prince Qi couldn't help but find it amusing, "You should've seen how angry I made Censor Sun and the others. Oh, I was worried they might get so worked up that something would happen to them."
Prince Qi had a straightforward disposition and lacked intricate schemes. He wasn't particularly considerate of others' feelings when he spoke.
As a prince born into nobility, he didn't need to choose his words carefully, so it was a common occurrence for him to upset others, but the problem was that they couldn't do much about it.
This really infuriated him.
It was to the extent that he was so angry that he went to bed, and when he woke up in the middle of the night, he was angry enough to cry again.
Princess Qi deeply understood this feeling and silently smiled at that moment before asking in a soft voice, "What was the final outcome? And... what about the Chi family?"
Princess Qi naturally knew that more than half of the female members of the Chi family had already perished over half a month ago.
What she wanted to ask was about the remaining half.
Prince Qi raised his hand: "They're all gone. How could those pampered, delicate ladies withstand the environment of the Dali Temple's prison? It's actually a blessing in disguise for them."
Thinking of how he had to take medicine daily, occasionally soak in medicinal baths, and his declining physical strength, Prince Qi gritted his teeth in anger: "It really was a blessing in disguise for them!"
The problem was that these people were remnants of the Su family!
Thinking about it made him even more furious!
He had almost been killed by these people!
Prince Qi drank some tea, explained the situation, and then asked about the children in the mansion: "How's our Guoguo doing? How are the children from the other three mansions? Are there any particularly difficult ones to get along with? If there are, just find a reason to send them back and get someone else to come over. We can't have any unruly and difficult children around Guoguo."
Princess Qi was amused by his words: "Rest assured, they are all carefully selected by each mansion. How could they possibly be difficult to get along with? Suishu and Guoguo get along very well, and Suishu takes good care of Guoguo."
Hearing that Ren Shuhan also took care of Guoguo, Prince Qi indeed felt much more relieved, and he lightly nodded before asking, "Where's Guoguo now?"
Princess Qi pointed towards the dining hall: "Waiting there for you to come back so you can eat together. Guoguo said that if Father doesn't come back, no one is allowed to eat."
Hearing this, Prince Qi felt a warm feeling in his heart, and it felt extremely comfortable.
His Guoguo was indeed worth spoiling!
After a quick wash and change into casual clothes, Prince Qi, accompanied by the princess, headed towards the dining hall.
When he arrived, Guoguo was reciting the day's lessons with Ren Shuhan, word for word.
Song Kuan sat by, occasionally nodding his head, indicating that Guoguo had memorized it well.
Although Meng Jundong was young, he was quite a good reader, and he would occasionally correct Guoguo's pronunciation.
Even when Ren Shuhan explained that Guoguo's pronunciation was partly due to her young age, Meng Jundong still patiently and tirelessly corrected her.
He said, "The more we say it, the more Guoguo will remember."
Song Kuan's attempts to persuade Meng Jundong were fruitless, leaving Ren Shuhan feeling helpless.
After all, scholars had their own principles, and Guoguo didn't dislike it, so they didn't say anything more.
Hearing Guoguo's increasingly clear pronunciation, Prince Qi nodded in approval: "It's good to have more playmates. Look, we now even have a little tutor to help Guoguo with her studies."
Princess Qi also felt that the Meng family was quite good. Scholars had their own principles, and they also had their unique perseverance.
Even though Meng Jundong was young, he had his own peculiar perseverance in his bones.
This kind of perseverance was not a bad thing.
On the contrary, it could help the children progress better. Princess Qi used to be afraid that the little classroom would become a place for social climbing, but now she felt that it wasn't necessarily a bad thing for the children to have more excellent playmates.
They couldn't always keep the children protected within the mansion, shielding them from the harsh realities of the outside world.
So, this current situation wasn't bad at all.
(End of Chapter)
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