“Miss Mu, first tell Us what grievance you have suffered that you must bring out Minister Mu’s memorial tablet to seek justice?”
The Emperor’s head ached the moment he saw Mu Yao, but when he looked at the memorial tablets before and behind her, his heart ached too much to lose his temper.
Mu Yao raised the memorial tablet and first kowtowed to the Emperor.
“By Your Majesty’s grace in bestowing this marriage, this daughter should have married into the Pingyang Houfu today.”
“But Lu Zhi developed feelings for his servant’s daughter and intends to take her as a Pingqi.”
“As a daughter of the second rank, entering the same household on the same day as a woman of servile status, being made equal as a Pingqi is already an insult to the Mu family.”
“Yet Lu Zhi goes too far—he gave Liu Xiyin the Bachengli, but gave the Mu family only Si Cheng, a full half less. This clearly shows he bullies the Mu family for having no one to speak for me!”
With every word Mu Yao spoke, Pingyang Hou’s heart turned completely cold.
At this moment, Lu Zhi was still wearing his wedding robes, his mind already a muddled mess.
He had given Mu Yao Si Cheng merely to teach her a lesson, so she would stop making things difficult for Xiyin in the future.
But she had actually come before the Emperor to lodge a complaint!
“Your Majesty, please see clearly—this subject… this subject did not intend to insult the Mu family.”
“Xiyin’s parents died saving my father, so naturally I could not wrong her.”
“As for Mu Yao… the Houfu’s remaining funds are scarce indeed; we truly could not scrape together Ba Cheng. Si Cheng already exhausted the entire family’s resources!”
After Lu Zhi finished his trembling explanation, Pingyang Hou closed his eyes, utterly disillusioned.
Fool!
Mu Yao glanced sideways, her tear-filled eyes reddened to the core.
“A servant’s daughter of servile status—you could not bear to wrong her, so you gave her the Bachengli.”
“I, a daughter of the second rank, betrothed by imperial decree—yet you gave me only Si Cheng.”
“You insult not only the Mu family, but also the imperial grace itself!”
When Mu Yao finished, the Emperor could not help but laugh in anger.
“Excellent. Your Pingyang Houfu truly has skill—unable to bully a servant’s daughter, so you bully the marriage We bestowed?”
The Emperor slapped the dragon table, and the hall fell into utter silence.
In the stillness, Yan Xun, hands tucked into his long sleeves, strolled leisurely to the Emperor’s side.
“Your Majesty, the Shizi of Pingyang Houfu is quite capable—not only does he bully an imperial-bestowed marriage, he also harbors thoughts of rebellion.”
When Yan Xun finished, Pingyang Hou and Lu Zhi jerked their heads up, disbelief written across their faces.
“Prince Chu must not speak recklessly! Rebellion is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine clans. When has the Lu family ever harbored thoughts of rebellion?”
Pingyang Hou explained in a panic—an old minister who had weathered the court safely for a lifetime, yet disaster had struck on the day of his son’s wedding.
Lu Zhi stared blankly at Yan Xun, his heart trembling, as if he had guessed something.
Yan Xun stood beside the Emperor, cold, sharp brows and eyes carrying a smile. He extended a slender finger and pointed at Liu Xiyin, who was kneeling in a huddle beside Lu Zhi.
“A few days ago at the Princess’s residence, this woman said Lu Zhi wanted to give her the Shi Er Cheng regulation. If he had no thoughts of rebellion, how could he have said such a thing?”
“Many people were present. Your Majesty need only ask around to find out.”
Yan Xun carried himself like a treacherous minister gleefully adding fuel to the fire, as if afraid he might not ruin someone.
Mu Yao was stunned for a long moment, so shocked by Yan Xun that she could not even squeeze out more tears.
From the sound of it… was he helping her?
The Emperor flew into a rage on the spot. He rose and pointed at Lu Zhi’s ashen face, cursing him up and down.
“Excellent. A base woman of servile status dares to use Our Shi Er Cheng?”
“Shall We hand over this dragon throne to you as well?”
Lu Zhi trembled like a sieve, but Liu Xiyin was timid, kneeling and kowtowing on the ground, her head never once lifting.
“Xiyin is a crude person who spoke recklessly without knowing the rites of the imperial house. This subject will punish her properly, but the Lu family truly has never harbored thoughts of rebellion.”
At this moment, Lu Zhi only regretted that in a moment of passion, he had told Liu Xiyin he would give her the Shi Er Cheng.
Now the hat of rebellion had been placed squarely on his head!
In the solemn and majestic hall, only Yan Xun paced back and forth.
He was entitled to the Tian Zi Yi Zhang and enjoyed the Shi Er Cheng—everything was within his reach except sitting on the dragon throne itself.
“Your Majesty, even if the Lu family has no thoughts of rebellion, insulting the remains of a loyal minister and humiliating an imperial-bestowed marriage are ironclad facts.”
“Mu Yao’s parents died in loyal service to the state. If Your Majesty does not seek justice for her, I fear the hearts of the civil officials will turn cold.”
Yan Xun’s words spoke everything Mu Yao had long been planning.
Her knuckles turned white as she clutched the memorial tablet, momentarily at a loss for words.
The Mu family had once been the foremost among civil officials. To mistreat the orphan of a civil official was naturally to chill the hearts of all civil officials.
But had she said such a thing herself, it might well have been branded a crime of overstepping one’s station against a superior.
Unless absolutely necessary, she dared not speak.
Yet unexpectedly, Yan Xun had said it for her…
The Emperor’s face was livid as he looked at the terrified members of the Pingyang Houfu.
Mu He had been dead for so many years that no one in court mentioned him anymore.
If Mu Yao had swallowed this grievance today, he could have pretended not to know.
But Mu Yao had paraded through the streets with her memorial tablets and plaques. If the Pingyang Houfu escaped unscathed, which civil official in court would let the matter rest?
“Does the Pingyang Hou have any other children?”
Pingyang Hou did not know what was intended, but he answered honestly, “Only a legitimate eldest son by a concubine, Lu Yuan.”
The Emperor gave a cold snort. “Very well. Strip Lu Zhi of his position as Shizi and install Lu Yuan as the heir.”
“The Liu woman’s conduct is improper and her words insolent. She is unworthy of the position of principal wife and may only be a concubine.”
The Emperor furrowed his brow, feeling the punishment was still insufficient, and promptly revised his decree.
“For the rest of her life, she shall be nothing more than a Jianqie!”
A Jianqie was a slave even lower than a Tongfang concubine or a household maidservant.
By day she would do hard labor, by night she would serve her master, and even the children she bore would be registered as slaves.
But at this moment, Lu Zhi had no heart to protest on Liu Xiyin’s behalf.
His own position as Shizi was gone!
Instead, that bastard son Lu Yuan, who had always opposed him, had climbed above him!
Mu Yao hugged the memorial tablet and curled into a ball, the more she saw Lu Zhi’s ashen face of despair, the more gratified she felt.
Only after disposing of the two members of the Lu family did the Emperor speak softly to Mu Yao.
“Is this punishment to your satisfaction?”
Mu Yao nodded. “Your subject’s daughter presumes to petition Your Majesty to annul my engagement with Lu Zhi.”
Lu Zhi’s heart turned cold as he looked at Mu Yao with utter astonishment in his eyes.
Annul the engagement?
Liu Xiyin was destined to be a Jianqie for life, and no one would ever compete with her for the position of Pingqi again—so why still annul the engagement?
He had always believed that Mu Yao’s relentless targeting was merely to contend with Liu Xiyin for supremacy.
The Emperor fell into thought, somewhat hesitant.
“I recall you are nearly seventeen. If you annul the engagement now, you may never be able to marry in the future.”
In Yun Guo, a woman of seventeen was considered past her prime. Any woman who remained unmarried past seventeen was deemed to have a physical ailment or improper conduct—even widowers and bachelors would refuse to take her, and more often than not, she would have to shave her head and become a nun.
Mu Yao was only a few months away from her seventeenth birthday. Was she truly unafraid of never being able to marry?