Chapter 66 Repent

Guan Suyi led a large group of people back to the West Mansion.

There was only a small section of the courtyard wall that had been built, and many bricks were piled on the ground in a mess. The craftsmen sprinkled a line with white lime to distinguish the east and west mansion. The servants of the East Mansion used to think that Madam was heartless, but only now did they realize how she planned with incredible foresight. If there were no division of the mansion, the lives of all the people in the Zhao family could not be saved today.

General Zhou had a grudge against the Marquis. If he insisted that the Zhao and Ye families conspired to seize the treasures of the previous dynasty, who would they turn to? No matter how big the emperor's tolerance was, no matter how broad-minded he was, could he spare a group of traitors? After experiencing a life and death catastrophe, everyone was sweating on their backs, their knees were shaking, and felt both admiration and gratitude towards Madam, after crossing the white line, they all looked solemn and did not dare to make trouble.

Zhao Wangshu followed behind his stepmother, and when he saw her walking fast, he also walked fast, and when he saw her walking slowly, he also walked slowly, then secretly tugged at Zhao Chunxi's sleeve with one hand, and asked in a low voice, "Sister, just now our family was almost destroyed?"

Zhao Chunxi's heart throbbed violently, she lowered her eyes to look at her brother. Seeing that although his face was full of fear, his eyes were especially bright and energetic, it didn't look like he was scared witless, so she was able to breath a sigh of relief, "No, with mother here, nothing will happen to our family."

Previously, she hated the Guan family's vicious methods and how they harmed her grandfather. When she learned that her father was dragged down by the Ye family to this point, and witnessed with her own eyes how her aunt was going to bury the entire Zhao family together with her, her thoughts were overturned. It was said just as distance determines a horse's stamina, so does time reveal a person's true heart, and that true sentiment would be seen in hard times, those words were indeed true.

How affectionate were maternal grandfather and grandmother to them on weekdays? Whenever they have good food and drink, never forget to gave them a share, every New Years festivals they also brought thick gifts, as if they value them very much, even more than their direct line grandsons and granddaughters. However, as soon as the catastrophe was approaching, they did not hesitate to give them up, which was worse than treating them like a piece of grass.

Is this a relative or an enemy?

On the other hand, their stepmother, although since she got married they never heard a good word from her, nor receive valuable gifts, and she seemed very cold and ruthless, but when it came to a critical moment, she was able to carry the entire Zhao Mansion and save hundreds of lives, and keep them from being bullied and trampled on.

Only then did she understand a truth – If others treat you well, they are not necessarily good people; if others treat you badly, they are not necessarily bad people. To truly see a person, you have to use your heart to understand.

She quietly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and choked, "Wangshu, I always told you that mother is not good, but it's actually just nonsense. Don't look at her as a strict person, but she is not bad at heart. Grandfather's affair is not her fault, it's his own sin, and daddy's matter also cannot be blamed on her, it's because he was implicated by the Ye family. You will be filial to mother in the future, listen to her obediently, and stop being naughty, you know?"

Zhao Wangshu was very obedient this time. He lowered his head and thought about it, then said, "Sister, I'm not stupid, I just don't want to use my brain. Just now I also understand that if mother didn't find the real treasure map, then General Zhou will attack our Zhao family, right? At that time, even if we say that the wet nurse ran away with little nephew secretly, he will not believe it, and the emperor will not believe it, and our family will be the same as our grandfather's family, to be accused with the conspiracy to rebel, the whole family will be executed and all the property will be confiscated. On the contrary, the little nephew who ran away is safe alone, and when he grows up, he can rebuild the Ye family."

Zhao Chunxi listened silently, with chills in her bones, and said in astringent voice, "Yes, you can see it clearly. Our family lend a hand when the Ye family was in trouble, but their family wanted to use our family as a stepping stone to send brother Hao to escape and ascend to heaven. So our family doesn't owe anything to the Ye family, not a single thing. Don't think about this in the future, and when Daddy comes back, our family of four will live a good life."

"Yeah." The haze in Zhao Wangshu's heart dissipated little by little. He looked at his stepmother with eager and admiring eyes, and whispered, "Mother is so amazing, I will obey her in the future. I will do whatever she asks me to do, I won't be naughty anymore!"

"Good, Wangshu has grown up." Zhao Chunxi was very relieved, thinking that she had been bewitched by her mom before, and had done a lot of outrageous things, now she was secretly regretting it.

While they were talking, everyone arrived at the main courtyard. The old madam and Ruan shi hurriedly ran out of the room, their faces very anxious.

"Are you alright? Let me take a look." The old madam looked her daughter-in-law up and down, and then dragged her grandson to check all over, for fear they were knocked over by those officials who didn't have long eyes. The person leading the team this time was Zhou Tian, and he had a great feud with the Zhao family, so how could he miss this great opportunity?

"Grandmother, I'm fine." Zhao Wangshu slipped into the old madam's arms, secretly looked at his stepmother with a red face, and whispered, "It was mom who saved us."

Mom? Guan Suyi felt that the top of her head had been struck by lightning, and she was a little dizzy. Zhao Wangshu actually called her mom? In her last life, she treated him like that and never got such an honor. What incredible thing had she done in this life to be able to warmed up this stubborn stone?

The old madam was not surprised. Guan shi was both capable and sincere, and had never mistreated the Zhao family. Not to mention a pair of children with no blood relation, even the grass and trees in the mansion, she could protect every inch of it and never let outsiders trample on it. Such a strong character, such a noble virtue, even if there was some friction and misunderstanding at the beginning, as time goes by, she could gradually touch people's hearts and gain the sincere admiration from the children.

You see, first the son woke up, and then the grandson, the old madam went to see Zhao Chunxi again, and found that she was also looked remorseful, and couldn't help but feel extremely happy. Well, this is good. As the saying goes, if the family lives in harmony everything will prosper. Even if the title was no longer there, as long as everyone united, watching out for each other, naturally there would be countless good days in the future.

Ruan shi also came forward to express sympathy, saying that she couldn't help and felt very sorry.

"Sister-in-law in here is the greatest help to us. After all, you are the mistress of the West Mansion." Guan Suyi waved her hand to let everyone enter the house to talk. This group of old, young, and pregnant, if she stand aside and do nothing, maybe they would be tortured to death by Zhou Tian. Leaving aside the grievances of the previous life, now that the Guan family was a well-known family of benevolence and virtue in the Wei Kingdom, and she was still the wife of the Zhao family, she had to set an example, lest others use her as a raft to slander her grandfather and father. They were now mix in the court hall, and naturally couldn't make any mistake.

Of course, she did not forget a group of frightened servants, and ordered the steward to take them to be resettled, and then invited a doctor to come to check the pulse and heal the wounds. As she was making arrangements, she saw Zhou Tian leading a group of guards to come in angrily, and they removed their swords, took off their official hat, and respectfully apologized.

Everyone thought they were here to find fault, their faces were pale for a moment, and hid in the room to listened carefully, only to realize that it was Madam's skill, they had no choice but to bow their heads and compromise. Madam, this strategy was absolutely perfect!

The old madam let out a long sigh and said, "The Ye family has made thousand mistakes, but they did one thing right, that is to force your father to marry your mother. You see, although she has no official position and no power, but she used this," the old madam tapped her temples and smiled brightly, "to make others listen to her. With your mother in front of you, even if the sky falls, it will be fine. If you have conscience, you will respect her well in the future, do not disobey in the slightest!"

Zhao Wangshu responded quickly, his small eyes were very eager. Although Zhao Chunxi received it slowly, her reflection was more profound. She envied her stepmother who stood upright and unyielding in the bright sky. She didn't need to use any conspiracy and trickery, just walked freely on the bright road, and everyone had to make way for her.

She also wanted to be like her, magnanimous and calm. But no one taught her what to do, and she had the example of her mom in front of her, so she went further and further, and the more she went wrong, the more outrageous she became.

Is it too late to change now? Feeling sad, she secretly turned her back and wiped the corners of her red eyes.

No matter how arrogant Guan Suyi was, she could not hinder Zhou Tian from doing his job, so she had to quit while she's ahead, and invited him into the study to discuss the matter of "luring the snake out of the hole". The people did not dare to disturb, they consoled each other for a while and then dispersed, and rebuilt the dilapidated mansion.

—–

Emperor Sheng Yuan waited for a whole day for his subordinates to return to the palace, but did not ask him how the case was handled, whether the treasure map was found, only opened his mouth to ask, "Have you disturbed Madam?"

Zhou Tian explained everything that happened in the Zhao mansion one by one, did not dare to miss the slightest detail, let alone adding stuff up. The emperor buried some spies in various noble houses, and asking him was just formality. If he flaunts himself or conceals a little, Ye Quanyong's today was his tomorrow.

"You are so bold that you dare to cross Madam." Emperor Sheng Yuan glanced at him coldly, and said firmly, "Zhen doesn't need to take action, she has plenty of ways to fix you."

"Yes, this subordinate knows his wrong, and will not dare to make the mistake again next time." Zhou Tian's heart skipped a beat, secretly thinking that the emperor was really different to Madam Guan, the other words were all hard, but the word "Madam" was particularly soft, it seemed to contain sugar, very sweet, more affectionate compare to when he called his serious wife. If it said that he had no special thought about Madam Guan, who would believe it?

Zhao Luli, Zhao Luli, I can't kill you right now, but it's easy to kill people with someone else' knife! In an instant, he had an idea, but he didn't act immediately, but focused on the silver bracelet and asked, "Your Majesty, this subordinate can boast one's own extraordinary vision and resourcefulness, who is innocent and who is guilty can be seen at a glance. But today really have lose to Madam. Don't know how she found out, and when this subordinate asked, she didn't say, it really makes people uncomfortable."

It turned out that Madam was not willing to teach just anyone. Emperor Sheng Yuan felt extremely comfortable. He carefully recalled the secret letter sent by the dark guard, and went through every detail several times, only said, "A person's mouth can lie, but their body is especially honest. If you want to gain insight into people's heart, the language is only superficial, the credibility is one point; followed by facial expressions, the credibility is three point; and finally body movements, from their every moves you can capture the secrets they wants to hide, then you will be accurate. You have only learned the basics, but Madam is a master. I can only pointed you until here, if you still don't understand when you look back, you don't need to be the General of the Household."

Although he said it so easily, didn't he also not recognize Ye Zhen's true face? He could only blame himself for being too high on himself and underestimating women before; or Ye Zhen's acting skills were really excellent, and the control of subtle expressions and body movements had been engraved into the bone marrow.

Knowing that the emperor valued his subordinate's comprehension and loyalty the most, Zhou Tian hurriedly expressed that he was taught, and finally said tactfully, "Madam Guan is really extraordinary, and it's really a waste to match her with Zhao Luli that stupid goods. If Zhao Luli died, it would be good, she can justifiably remarry. It's a shame that only his title was stripped, in neither good nor bad situation, it's unknown if he would drag Madam down in the future."

Chapter 67 Introspection

After hearing Zhou Tian's provocation, Emperor Sheng Yuan didn't open his mouth. He only stared at him with cold and deep eyes, until he saw that his face was pale, his lips trembled, and then said, "Zhen doesn't need to step on subordinates to become a master. If you think your life is too long, you can switch with the Ye family."

Zhou Tian immediately knelt down and kowtowed, said he didn't dare over and over again. He waited for a long time in fear before he heard two words that was like the sound of heaven, "Go down." He thanked the emperor neither humble nor arrogant, and calmly walked out of the Weiyang Palace, until he reached a corner with no one around, and let out a mouthful of turbid air. Beads of sweat rushed out from his forehead and back, soaking his clothes in an instant.

Meanwhile, Guan Suyi was settling down several babies and their wet nurses. Although the children were innocent, they belonged to the Ye family after all, and the crime involved conspiracy and rebellion. After the case was cleared up, the family would be raided, or the clan would be exterminated. The consequences were extremely serious, and she couldn't control it even if she wanted to. Even if she didn't think about the Zhao family, she had to consider the Guan family and her maternal grandparent's family, not to mention that the Ye family has nothing to do with her, and still had a deep grudge.

"You will live here in the future, and when the matter is over, someone will naturally arrange the way for you." She pointed to a small attic and ordered her servants to carry clean bedding, pillows and other items in. The inside and outside of the building were already full of heavy troops, but on the surface it looked very quiet.

All the wet nurses had received Zhou Tian's warning, naturally they readily agreed, especially the one holding Brother Hao, it was said that after the event was completed, she would able to save her life, and there was also a heavy reward to take, so she forced her mind to calm down. She stood at the door with a pale face, as if she didn't dare to go in, until Brother Hao was so hungry that he was crying, and then she unbuttoned her shirt and entered, and locked it.

Guan Suyi was only responsible for sheltering them. When the wet nurse sneaked out of the house according to Ye Quanyong's previous instructions, she pretended to be anxious to find them, and then went to report to the official, then she would be free.

This one was sorted out, and there were people in the whole mansion who need to be reorganized. She went to the main hall and ordered the housekeeper to call all the servants who were not seriously injured to come over to listen the instructions.

"You all know what the Zhao family's current situation is like. Lord Marquis is no longer possible, and now all of us supported by the second master. However, the second master stayed in the border all year round, and without imperial decree he cannot return. He has to rush to the battlefield to defend against foreign enemies, the danger is not something ordinary people can imagine. I'm a straightforward person, I will give you the bottom line. This time Zhao family has suffered a huge disaster and is not as good as before, and the current wealth is like a castle in the air, hanging and hanging. Among you, there are servants who were born in the mansion, there are those who signed the death contract, the living contract, and the part-time workers. In order not to implicate everyone, I will not force any of you, leave if you want to leave, or stay if you want to stay."

She slowly took a sip of hot tea and continued, "As the saying goes, a single strand can't make a thread, and a single tree can't make a forest. The more people, the easier it is to do things, and the more people are more powerful. However, I think it's also depend on when and what the situation. Nowadays, Zhao Mansion is in difficult situation, even though there are many people, but if their hearts were scattered, each has their own plan, and each has their own thoughts, it's easy to do bad things. So it will be better to work together from top to bottom, unite as one, and cross this hurdle together. Now that the Ye family's womenfolk and children are also involved in the case, afraid they will not be able to return this time, so the expenses of the East Mansion are still calculated as usual. You can think about it yourself, whether to leave or stay depends on your original intention. For those of you who signed a death contract, I don't need you to redeem your life with silver, as long as you take the deed and go to the yamen to eliminate your contract, just consider it to accumulate virtue for the Zhao family."

After a brief pause, her voice became colder, "But you have to understand that now is an extraordinary period, my Zhao family is involved in a major case of rebellion, you won't be able to leave for a while after you get the deed, and even have to go to the prison for a while, wait until the case comes to light and prove that you are not Xue the Thief's spies or that you have not leaked the news, then you can go out freely. From then on, whether you are alive or dead has nothing to do with the Zhao family, and you will be on your own."

The servants even said that they did not dare, and their expressions were full of awe. After being rescued by Madam, they didn't plan to leave. Although General Zhengbei was not as famous as the Marquis Zhenbei, but Madam was still there, so the Zhao family would be not much worse. Of course, there were also a few people with treacherous thoughts who wanted to escape. When they hear the first few sentences, their eyes burst with joy, but at the end they withered to the ground, not daring to cause trouble. Although this new madam was young, she was not easy to fool.

Guan Suyi closed her eyes and waited. After a quarter of an hour, when no one came forward to resign, she smiled slowly, "Good, in time of crisis is exactly when we have to help each other, so that we can get through this life and death situation. Minglan, Jinzi, Yinzi, reward the silver to let everyone calm down."

The three maids answered in unison, and distributed the silver taels that had been prepared before, one person three taels, no more no less, completely impartial. The servants were already convinced by the madam, and they were respect her very much. When they got the silver they were shock and laughed so hard, and the auspicious words were pouring freely, the cheerful atmosphere instantly drove away the dark air that penetrate from the officers' visit, even the side room on the west side where the sun could not be seen was quite bright.

Zhao Chunxi hid outside the door and secretly looked inside. In the past, no matter what Guan shi said or did, she felt that it was not pleasing to the eye, but now she abandoned her previous hatred, and after carefully pondering her every move, she realized that there were so much knowledge she could learn from, like the trick just now was enough for her to learn for three to five years.

Just a few simple words, but sincere and open-minded, people unconsciously opened up their heart and felt empathy with her. Afterwards she gave reward and gained countless gratitude, so they wanted to stay even more, and those who didn't want to stay were also such ruthless and unrighteous people, there was no loss to the Zhao family. However, the Zhao family was not a charity hall, even thought she had a virtuous reputation, she would not let the slaves who betray their master had an easy time, she brought out the officers to suppress as a combination of grace and power, so that restless people completely subsided.

If they still wanted to leave at this time, either they had a ghost in their heart or there something wrong in their brain, and she would be done with the matter after handing people over to Zhou Tian. From here, who dares to rebel against the master? Who dares to confuse the public? It's guarantee from top to bottom, inside and outside the mansion was more orderly than ever.

Where was the image of a ruined family. It was clearly an image of destruction and then standing, from standing to beginning to thrive.

The more Zhao Chunxi thought about it, the more complicated her feelings for Guan shi became. She originally thought that whether a woman strong or not, depend on what kind of man she married. Didn't her mom climb from a merchant's daughter to the high position of Jieyu, and even lifted up her maiden family so honorably? If she could be like her mom then her life was not in vain.

However, looking at Guan shi arranged things in front of her, it was like the top of the mountain, which made people look up. She could live freely without relying on her husband's favor, everyone was convinced, and everyone relied on her. What is considered outstanding? That's just now what's really outstanding! If she followed her mom's example, the fate of the Ye family might be her future.

Relying on others is useless, relying on oneself is more dependable!

After eliminating the last trace of doubt and unwillingness in her heart, Zhao Chunxi's eyes became extraordinarily bright. She quietly backed away a few steps, walked towards the newly cleaned Penglai Garden, returned to the room, touched the makeup that had been messed up by the officers and was now in place, and sighed, "Hexiang, Daddy is right. If I listen to mother obediently and get her advice, I will definitely benefit endlessly in this life. I should be like her. I can only truly stand up if I stand up by myself. Relying on your husband, relying on your children, or relying on family background is useless."

Hexiang had already swept away by madam's chivalrousness, and did not dare to oppose her any more. Seeing that her miss had figured it out, everyone was very happy, and hurriedly said a lot of words of approval. The master and servant discussed how to make amends to Madam. In the future, they would have to stick to her no matter what and learn her skills. They talked until midnight before lying down and rest.

The next day, the old madam got up early in the morning and gathered food, bedding, medicines and other items to visit her son in prison. After all, it was a piece of meat that came out of her stomach, no matter how disappointing she couldn't not care.

In order to display the reputation of the Guan family's benevolence, Guan Suyi had no choice to pinch her nose to help.

Except for the pregnant Ruan shi and the young Mu Mu, all the masters of the Zhao family got into the carriage and drove toward the Heavenly Prison. Guan Father had already put things in order to make things easier, and now waiting outside the prison.

In the prison, Zhao Luli meditated cross-legged with a calm expression. If ones ignored the bloody whip marks and the thick and pungent smell on his body, ones would assume that this place was not a prison cell, but a wilderness, very refreshing and comfortable.

The Grand Princess was dressed in a black outfit, carried a large ring saber around her waist, with her arms folded and her back straight, she said with a contemptuous smile, "Zhao Luli, you also have today too? This Palace come back in time to personally see you get your retribution. You probably don't know, the person who led the team to raid the Zhao family is Zhou Tian, and it's unknown how many people in your house have been killed."

Zhao Lu felt slight cold in his heart, but his face did not reveal anything, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Your Highness Grand Princess probably doesn't know, with my wife in Zhao Mansion, no matter if it's the master or the servant, everyone will be fine. "

How could the grand princess not know? She just said it to bluff Zhao Luli, if she could see his frightened and tearful face she would be very happy. However, he seemed to have regained the calm and wisdom he once had, and did not fall for it. Of course, there was also no lack strong trust in Guan shi.

Guan shi was indeed exceptional. Originally the grand princess was still worried that she would be bullied, so she stood guard in front of the gate of Zhao family for a while, intending to protect this strong woman. Unexpectedly, Zhou Tian walked in with his head held high, but came out in a sullen manner, after she ran to the palace to inquire about him, she found out that he was slapped twice by Guan shi, and finally kowtowed and admitted his mistake before he was able to successfully retreat.

Such a woman was first married to that soft egg Zhao Luli, and then she was fancied by that pervert Hunnar, it was indeed a flower that was inserted in the cow dung, or a good cabbage ruined by a pig, really wasted! The grand princess snorted coldly, raised her legs and left. If Hunnar didn't kill this person, she naturally wouldn't do anything, and a dignified general of Wei Kingdom unlikely to embarrassed such a waste and a group of innocent womenfolk.

When Zhao Luli saw her like this, his hanging heart finally landed on the ground. It seemed that Madam had safely protected the whole Zhao family, being able to marry Madam was indeed a blessing from his previous life.

As soon as the grand princess turned to the middle gate, she saw Chief of Ceremonies leading a group of old weak women and children, then he politely gave her a fist salute.

She returned the salute and saw Guan Suyi wearing a long dress that dragged to the ground, standing by the side like a pine and a bamboo, delicate like a flower, her body revealed both masculine's heroic spirit and feminine's gentleness, she couldn't help but love it so much, suddenly reached out and held her tender cheeks, and smiled, "Madam, now Zhao Luli is no good. If he can't protect you, you will come to Grand Princess Mansion, and This Palace will protect you!"

Everyone present was stunned, but Guan Suyi cupped her hands in thanks, with neither anger nor shyness on her face, her attitude was frank and natural.

The grand princess became even happier, smiling and striding away, looking at the tall and straight back, it seemed very impressive.

T/N: I should make a note on previous chapter but I forgot. There are two words that means 'mother' in this novel, muqin (母親) and niang (娘), I think both should be translated as 'mother', but based on context niang feels closer so I used 'mom' to differentiate.

A castle in the air: imaginary or unrealistic things.

Chapter 68 Broken Mirror

It was the first time Guan Father saw a woman with such a wild and uninhibited style that even his usually calm expression couldn't be maintained, and he struggled for a long time before he looked at his daughter, wanted to say something but hesitate. The old madam was also embarrassed, lowered her head and coughed for a moment, looked up at the sky for a while, and then turned her face to stared at the manly back of the princess, until it disappeared around the corner and she let out a sigh of relief.

There were no skylights in the corridor, only a few candles were lit on the wall, and it was full of strong smell of tung oil mixed with long-lasting blood, making people dizzy. Guan Suyi was too impatient to stay in the prison for a long time, and took the lead to walk forward, slowly saying, "Her Highness Grand Princess is a person who cherishes flowers, but she doesn't have the tendency of grinding mirrors*, you can rest assured."

The old madam's cheeks flushed and she couldn't speak for a while. Guan Father nervously looked at Zhao Chunxi and Zhao Wangshu, and scolded, "What are you talking about, why don't you go in and visit your husband!"

"Mom, what is grinding mirrors means?" Zhao Wangshu asked stupidly, but his sister covered his mouth and glared at him fiercely.

Guan Suyi felt numb all over. No matter how many times she listened to it, she still couldn't stand Zhao Wangshu's incomparable intimacy and nasally "mom". Was it bad to call her mother or Guan shi like in her previous life? She forcefully pulled her lips and said lightly, "It means polishing the bronze mirror. Okay, let's go in and see your daddy." It was indeed her mistake to say such inappropriate words in front of the children, and she must pay attention next time.

"Yeah, Daddy is still waiting for us, hurry in." Zhao Chunxi dragged her brother away.

Passing through the narrow and dark corridor, there was an open underground hall at the end, with many compartments built on all four walls and surrounded by iron fences. Each compartment contains prisoners, ranging from one or two, to as many as dozens. Before seeing their dad, Zhao Chunxi and Zhao Wangshu first saw Liu shi, Song shi and others who were taken away yesterday.

They were huddled together in a cell, all disheveled and ragged, the originally bright fabrics were now stained with blood, as if they had been tortured. Song shi's appearance was the most miserable. The outer layer of clothes had been stripped off, wearing only a single shirt soaked in blood. She laid dying in the corner, her cheeks turned to the direction of the corridor, and all the light in her eyes had dissipated, leaving only death.

Even for someone as ignorant as Zhao Wangshu, just by looking at her, he immediately realized that this person was about to go to hell.

"Xi'er, Wangshu, you are here? Hurry up and save your grandmother!" Seeing the two grandchildren, Liu shi rushed to the cell door and shouted, and the others also got up and kowtowed, with Ye Fan's voice vaguely mixed in, "Xi'er, Wangshu, I am engaged to your daddy, even if I haven't passed through the door, I'm also half the Zhao family, you can't leave me alone! Old madam, mother-in-law, please save me. In the future, I will definitely serve Chen Guang and take care of two children, and I'll be a cow and a horse for you…"

The sound of crying, begging, and cursing rang out, like a ghost wailing and wolf howling. When the devil sound pierced through the ears, it scared the siblings to death, they couldn't help but shrink into the corner and shivered. Guan Suyi walked past without even looking, and said lightly, "The sins caused by oneself cannot be escaped. One pull and one step on have already cleared up the debt. From now on, the Ye and Zhao families have nothing to do with each other. Just go in and see your daddy."

The two seemed to feel reassured, and hurriedly fell behind their stepmother, imitated her appearance and looked straight ahead, walked calmly, and finally saw their father in the deepest prison.

Zhao Luli had already heard the cries for help one after another, and knew that his family had come to visit him, so he stood by the door and looked out. He never expected that in addition to the thirty-two charges impeached by the Emperor Teacher, Master Ye had committed numerous crimes, big and small, and it also involved the prince and Xue the Thief of the previous dynasty, also secretly plotted to seize the imperial treasure. He actually had insatiable greed and extremely daring.

He didn't know about these things until he turned himself in to the Department of Justice, and immediately broke into a cold sweat. When he heard that the general who led the team to search for the treasure map was Zhou Tian, he felt even more and more desperate. Originally, he was just doing his part for the "dead wife" maiden's family, but he didn't want to bring disaster to his family. If there's any mistakes, even he died ten thousand times he also couldn't escape the blame. If he couldn't be a good husband, couldn't be a filial son, and couldn't be a qualified father, what was he doing alive? It's better to die in jail!

In his panic, he thought of the new madam who had not passed the door for a long time, and thought of her arrogance and awe-inspiring righteousness, and could not help but lift his spirits. That's right, Madam had already divided the mansion, and she also said that she would open a main entrance on the other side and hung up another plaque. In this way, the fate of the Zhao family was not tied to him alone, but also involved his second brother's name. The Marquis of Zhenbei had collapsed, but second brother was still the dignified General Zhengbei, so Zhou Tian had to give him a little face no matter what.

It turned out that dividing the mansion was not only to get rid the Ye family, but also to avoid possible disasters. Didn't she warn him at that time, saying that the Ye family's womenfolk might also be involved with the case, and asked him to send them away quickly. But he insisted on going his own way, and eventually affected his family and children.

How could he be so confused? If there was no Madam, afraid all of his family would be killed!

Fortunately, Guan Suyi had led a group of people to come near. He quickly wiped the corners of his red eyes and said hoarsely, "Madam, you are here." Seeing the old madam and Guan Father, he hurriedly bent down and bowed, "Son have seen mother, son-in-law has seen father-in-law."

Guan Father glanced at him up and down, and unhappily said, "The emperor only ordered to let you assist in investigating the case, not to be imprisoned, but you made a big disaster in your early years and attracted many grudges from the past. Someone deliberately imprisoned you for torture, even when I tried to put things in order, I still couldn't completely excuse it. You should count the sins you have committed yourself, and stay here in peace, and when the case is over, they will let you go. "

Zhao Luli ashamedly cupped his hands and said, "Troubling father-in-law to done everything for this son-in-law, son-in-law is very thankful. In the future, he will repent his sins, renounce evil and turn to virtue. This son-in-law's sins are so deep that the Marquis Zhenbei's title should not have been obtained, nor should enjoyed the glory and wealth. And now he is imprisoned and severely punished, surely have redeem one or two. People live in the world, comes clean and go clean, but I made a lot of mistakes, and my hands are full of blood, so I have no complaints in my heart when I end up like today. But there are regret, there are shame, regret for not treating Madam well, ashamed for not taking care of the whole family. After going out of prison, I should let go of the past, cherish the present, and look forward to the future to support the Zhao family again. Hope father-in-law can be the witness for son-in-law."

Guan Father said with relief, "If you can really make it right, it's not in vain for Yiyi to manage things inside out, feeling worried and frighten. I will watch how you behave in the future, if you make trouble again, I will not forgive you. Well, it's rare for your family to be reunited, so hurry up and chat for a while, I still have something to do, so I will go first. Old madam, please." He politely saluted the old madam.

The old madam hurriedly returned the salute and kept thanking him, she sent the person to the end of the corridor before walking back while wiping away her tears. When he met Ye Zhen, her son was unlucky for half his life, when he married Suyi, the extreme sorrow was turned into joy, Heaven had really opened his eyes!

Zhao Luli wanted to grab Madam's hands very much, but when he saw his dirty fingertips he retreated timidly, spoke full of shame, "Yesterday Zhou Tian raided the Zhao Mansion, Madam wasn't frighten, right? Madam's every words are gems of wisdom, it's just so hateful that I closed my ear and didn't listen, obstinately went my own way and almost killed you. I'm guilty!"

Before Guan Suyi could speak, Zhao Chunxi and Zhao Wangshu had both squeezed to the cell door, reached out to hug him, and cried, "Daddy, it's not your fault, it's the Ye family's fault. You don't know, they are really cruel, they want to let our family fill the pit for Brother Hao…" The two of them explained everything that happened yesterday clearly.

Zhao Luli broke out in a cold sweat, stunned for a long time before he slowly knelt down, bowed his head and kowtowed, "Madam's great kindness to my Zhao family, not to mention the next life, I will smash my body and break my head in this life, and repay it with all my strength." After kowtowing he ordered the two children, "Why don't you thank your mother?"

Zhao Chunxi and Zhao Wangshu were not reluctant at all, they knelt down and kowtowed three times, crying "mom" with tears in their eyes. The old madam was extremely relieved, and the hatred towards Zhao Chunxi disappeared a lot, her mouth kept mumbling, "Knowing mistakes can make a big difference, and the broken mirror* can also be reattached", with tears streaming down her cheeks.

For the first time Guan Suyi experienced the taste of being helpless. She would rather this family alienated her, treated her coldly, or even persecuted her like in her previous life, and could not bear their sincere repentance and earnest approach. She could differentiate sincerity and hypocrisy, so it became more and more awkward.

She couldn't do anything to a group of innocent people, not to mention two of them were half a child. If she could really disregard morality and throw a stone at people who had fallen, what was the difference between her and the Ye family? Burying her conscience for the sake of hatred, even losing her nature and abandon herself, how could she be worthy of the Guan family's reputation? How could she lived up to the legacy of her ancestors? How could she shouldered on the four words "having a clear conscience"?

Alright, if they truly repented, she would do her duty and keep the house safe; if they harbored ill-conceived ideas, she would fight back and not give in an inch. Everything still depends on time.

Thinking like this, Guan Suyi finally regained her composure, pulled Zhao Chunxi and Zhao Wangshu with mixed feelings, avoided Zhao Luli's kneeling and asked the servant to put medicine on him, bandage him, and arrange the food.

—-

When the grand princess came out of the prison, she planned to return to her mansion. After thinking about it, she handed over the sign to the palace to face the emperor. As soon as she stepped into the imperial study to make a salute, she saw the emperor's dark blue eyes staring straight at her, and finally stopped at her fingertips.

She grinned and said in a bad tone, "Why, This Palace's fingers is not made of gold, for the emperor this sort of rare?" In the end, she raised it to her nose to take a sniff, and said intoxicatedly, "Delicate face, the soft jade is warm and fragrant*, a peerless beauty capable of causing the downfall of a country! Hunnar, you really have a deep brotherly love, you robbed someone else's wife and gave him a better one, when you become an emperor, you become more open-minded, This Palace admires you!"

Emperor Sheng Yuan had already received the secret report, knowing that Zhao Luli had been reconciled with his wife, and the Zhao family's old madam kept saying something like "broken mirror is reattached, happy family" and other words, making him anxious, jealous, unbearable, and suddenly the idea of killing people and stealing a wife arose.

Now that he was stabbed by his elder sister with a few words, the anger he had suppressed for a long time almost erupted, eager to burn himself and others to ashes. But he was an emperor after all, he understood the principle of not showing happiness and anger on his face, and he endured and endured before he could barely suppress his violent mood, and said solemnly, "Whether the imperial sister believes it or not, Zhen have never robbed his wife. At that time Zhen made a surprise attack on Yanjing, and took a rest at Zhao's village on the way, then met Ye Zhen and recognized that she was the woman who saved Zhen, so said a few words. Not know how it was discovered by Old Marquis Zhao, and misunderstood by him. You also know his temperament, he is the same as Ye Quanyong. He actually bribed the soldier and stuffed Ye Zhen, who was not wearing an inch of thread, when packing the bag. The next day, the camp was attacked, and in the evening we had gone thousand of miles away, and when camped again, Zhen found that there was a woman in the tent. Imperial sister, do you think Zhen should return her or throw her away?"

The life-saving grace must be repaid, and the brother's wife must not be contaminated. No one knew how annoyed Emperor Sheng Yuan was at that time, and how he was in a dilemma with no room to advance or retreat. These past events, which he had never told to anyone, now had to be mentioned.

grinding mirrors*: ancient term for lesbian, it is called like this because one of their sexual method was grinding each others bodies, and because they have the same body structure it seemed that a mirror was placed in the middle.

broken mirror*: metaphor for broken marriage.

soft jade is warm and fragrant*: describe the delicate fragrance of a woman's skin.

Chapter 69 Reunite

It was the first time that the grand princess heard her younger brother the emperor took the initiative to mention the things from the past, so she could not help but get closer and asked, "It's the old marquis Zhao who stuffed Ye Zhen into your bag, not because you fall for her beauty that you robbed her? At that time, our group of brothers kept asking, why didn't you speak up?"

Emperor Sheng Yuan shook his head with a wry smile, "Zhen found that there was a woman without an inch of thread in the quilt, and she was also my savior, my brother's wife, you can imagine the feeling of being struck by thunder. Zhen wanted to order a few soldiers to send her back, but didn't expect she agreed on the surface, but later tried to kill herself, fortunately she was rescued in time. She knelt at Zhen's feet and kept saying that her chastity had been lost, she had no face to go back to see Zhao Luli, let alone face the pair of children, and begging Zhen to let her die. However, Zhen knew how serious Zhao Luli is to her, and knew that she had saved Zhen's life, so how can we bite the hand that feeds us? In desperation, had to take her along. Originally after capturing Yanjing, Zhen would explain the matter to Zhao Luli, as long as Zhao Luli do not dislike her and want her back, everything would be fine. But really didn't expect her to seek death again, begging Zhen not say that the old marquis had sent her, lest it hurts the relationship between the Zhao family's father and son, and also said that she is no longer clean, she has no face to return to the Zhao family, so it's better to die. Seeing her so ready to die to preserve her chastity and suffering in silence, Zhen have to give her a place to live."

The grand princess fixed her eyes on him and said after a long silence, "You haven't touched her at all?"

"Haven't touched her in the slightest. Zhen only responsible for taking care of her and keeping her worry-free for the rest of her life."

"Just take a look at her body, and she won't leave?"

"How could Zhen know what the women in Central Plains were thinking?" Emperor Sheng Yuan's eyes were red, "She has been tried to kill herself three or four times. After all, Zhen is a man and have to take responsibility, so Zhen have to bear all the blame and criticism. However, Zhao Luli still knew what the Old Marquis Zhao did, he hated his parents and turned against Zhen since then."

Unconsciously, his palm pressed a dent on the incomparably hard red sandalwood imperial table, gritted his teeth and said, "But do you know, imperial sister? That life-saving grace back then is most likely made up by the Ye family, and Ye Zhen definitely not as innocent as it looks on the surface. Zhen wanted admit Madam into the palace and confer her as Zhaoyi, so she incited Zhao Luli to ask Zhen for a marriage decree and intercepted Madam! People from the Central Plains are really devious and hateful! "

The grand princess was also a forthright person. Although in recent years she had many contact with people from the Central Plains and had become a lot more cunning, she still felt her brain was not enough. She raised her hand and gestured, "Wait, let This Palace sort it out the situation." she pondered, "First of all, Ye Zhen rescued you is false, but you thought it's true, and regarded her as a savior, so back then, Ye Quanyong could have died, his family wealth confiscated, and his business taken, but you let him go?"

"Yes. Ye Zhen didn't recognize Zhen, she sucked out the snake venom for Zhen, put the medicine on it, and left while Zhen was still unconscious. Later, Zhen sent someone to investigate and found out that she was the daughter of the Ye family, and because she sucked that poison, it wounded her root bone, and she was seriously ill for a long time. Even after getting better, it did not heal completely and she became very weak. Although Zhen felt guilty, Zhen also had doubts. While continuing to investigate, Zhen waited for her to come to the door to ask for repayment. But she still live her life as usual, as if she didn't know anything about Zhen and didn't care about it, and all the people who participated in the assassination died without proof, so Zhen dispelled the doubts and released Ye Quanyong."

Emperor Sheng Yuan repeatedly recalled the past, and he felt more and more that the people in the Central Plains were cunning and treacherous, hard to tell what was real or fake, used retreat to advance, it simply fooling him! Later he learned from experience, and slowly learned the Central Plains characters, read the art of war, and mastered the power of human heart, so that he would not suffer any more losses. However, people from the Central Plains were hateful, but they were also lovely, such as Madam, Emperor Teacher and Chief of Ceremonies. They were truly loyal, pure, kind, and upright, it was relaxing to interact with them, even when he was taught a lessen by the Emperor Teacher, it was also very comfortable.

The grand princess slapped her mouth and continued, "If This Palace remembers correctly, after she saved you, Ye Quanyong gave all his family property and surrendered to you?"

"At that time, Zhen had already wipe out the six feudal vassal, taken down the two Princes along with the army of the previous dynasty, how could he not surrender to Zhen? It was also because the Ye family produced war horses, army provisions and other things, that Zhen gave him a position as Grand Astrologer. Zhen didn't expect that Grand Astrologer has to be a great writer who is proficient in literary and calligraphy." Emperor Sheng Yuan's ears were red, and he thought that even the Emperor Teacher couldn't stand Zhen run amok, afraid Madam was even mocking him as a boorish emperor in her heart.

Alas, all the faces were lost!

The grand princess was amazed and concluded, "If This Palace understand correctly, first Ye Zhen saved you, then after meeting again, she had a lot of contact with you, causing the old marquis to misunderstood that the two of you were having an affair, then simply sent her away to fulfill your adultery couple. She sought death again and again, forcing you to protect her and take care of her."

The grand princess' expression was a little distorted, and her voice was very strange, "As a result, in the end you found out that all of this is fake, just a play and a game. Ye Zhen is trying to cling to the powerful, want to remarry but doesn't want to bear the crime of being a fickle woman, so she used the old marquis' hand to do that unrighteous thing, and tried to die again and again to flaunt her preserving chastity, coaxing you, a "responsible" man, to take all the dirty water, and instead she washed herself clean and pure without any dirt. Over the years, you have raised her deliciously, provided her with high authority, and protected her openly and secretly. In the end, she joined force with Zhao Luli and intercepted the person you really put you on top of your heart? You didn't touch a hair of other people's wife, but they snatched your wife away, and still with your own decree?"

Emperor Sheng Yuan nodded stiffly, "Yes, the Miao expert who used the snake flute to kill Zhen back then should have something to do with the Ye family. Imperial sister, you at once go to Guizhou Qiandong…"

Before he could finish his words the grand princess burst into laugh, slapping the imperial table while exclaimed, "Wow, this drama is so exciting! It's so funny, enough for This Palace to laugh for more than a year! Hahaha, my foolish brother. Oh, how can you be so stupid…" She stepped out of the door with her hands clapping, and go far away.

"…you should know more about the Miao expert. Why don't you find out for Zhen who is good at controlling snakes, worms, rats, ants, and find out the real culprit and break this deception." Emperor Sheng Yuan spit out the second half of the sentence to the back of the grand princess, and his complexion that turned blue and white was extremely wonderful.

What the hell is going on? Can you let Zhen finish the sentence? Did you enter the palace just to see Zhen's jokes? It's not that Zhen is stupid, it's clearly that the people from Central Plains are too deceitful! He brushed off memorials, ink stones, books, and other items, his burning anger had nowhere to vent, but instead his eyes became red.

When he was struggling in vain like a trapped beast, Madam had reattached the broken mirror with Zhao Luli, leaving him less and less time. How could he not be in a hurry, how could he not be impatient, God knows that he was almost instigated by Zhou Tian and ordered the death soldier to end Zhao Luli secretly. But he still held back in the end, so he wouldn't feel ashamed facing Madam and facing his heart.

When you meet a very wonderful person, you will try to catch up, trying to make yourself more compatible with her. In the past, he wanted to be an emperor in order to survive, to satisfy his ambition to conquer the world, but now it was for the common people, for the peaceful world, and for Madam, who sincerely praised him as "Wise Monarch of the whole generation".

A wise monarch would not disregard the law for selfish desires, and if he wanted to separate the two people, he had to completely separate their feelings. In recent years, Emperor Sheng Yuan had learned a lot of tricks from the people of Central Plains, and soon he smoothed out his brows and carefully plan.

—-

After Guan Suyi visited Zhao Luli and determined that there was no danger to his life, she returned with the family. The carriage drove into the inner lane and stopped at the west gate. It was reasonable to say that the sister and brother Zhao Chunxi and Zhao Wangshu should return to the east mansion, but they all shamelessly followed behind the stepmother into the main house.

After all, Guan Suyi was the nominal mother of the two. Now that Zhao Luli was gone, if she opens her mouth to chase them out, it would become fodder for gossip and let the Guan family's benevolent reputation be covered with ashes. With no way out, she just pretended not to see. But in her heart she secretly sighed that becoming a virtuous person was not easy, no wonder Zengzi* compared virtuousness to "like approaching the abyss, like walking on thin ice", and could only be free when one died.

The old madam saw that her daughter-in-law was not harmonious with her grandson and granddaughter, and inevitably pulled people together to mediate and persuade her daughter-in-law not to bother about the two children. Zhao Chunxi was very aware of the intention, and quickly pulled her younger brother to kowtow to her stepmother, saying that she would be obedient in the future. Ruan shi brought Mu Mu to inquire about the situation of the elder brother, and after seeing this scene, she followed up with a few words.

The whole family was dispatched, and to put it bluntly, if Guan Suyi refuse to forgive it would be too unreasonable. She repeatedly recited the words "have a clear conscience", and then she said calmly, "Forget it, since you know your mistakes, you will still follow me in the future as you did in the past, I will teach you what you need to learn, and I will do my duty. I hope you do what you say and don't disobey your parent."

After pondering for a moment, she continued, "Zhou Tian led the team to raid the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion, even if all the courtyards were demolished and the whole mansion was forced to death, we would also have nowhere to avenge our grievances, because he was in charge, obeyed the rules, and served Emperor's order. However, I put up the plaque 'General Zhengbei Mansion', so this family is not your father alone, but also your second uncle's share. If he act recklessly, even disrespect his superior and arrogate his power arbitrarily, your second uncle is enough to cause big trouble for him. So this plaque is not only a plaque, but also a rule. In this world, everyone has to abide by the rules, even the emperor is not exempt. What will happen if you don't follow the rules? There are Ye family over there, presumably I don't need to say any more."

Zhao Chunxi and Zhao Wangshu nodded repeatedly, although they didn't understand the situation, they were very obedient to receive the teaching.

Guan Suyi was a little unaccustomed to the change of the two, lowered her eyes and said coldly, "After saying so much, I just want you to understand that when you come to my place, you have to abide by my rules, pay respect in the morning and evening, do homework in the morning and evening, serve the elders, worship the ancestors, deal with social relations, deal with common affair of central feed… everything has to be learned, and everything should not be missing."

"Mom, we know." The two agreed in unison.

Mu Mu also nodded solemnly, but because there were too much movement, he almost fell off the chair, Ruan shi got close and pulled him back.

Guan Suyi was startled at first, then smiled again, under the ups and downs of her mood, she couldn't help but teach a few more words, "There are three kinds of people in this world, one who follow the rules; second who make good use of the rules; third who make the rules. The former is at the mercy of others, the second can still protect themselves, but the latter can reach the peak and control the fate of themselves and others. You are the former now, and in the future you will be promoted to the second by learning more wisdom, and if you want to become the latter, you will have to redouble your efforts. The world is harsh on women, Zhao Chunxi, it's enough for you to be a second person, don't be greedy, and mislead others and misled yourself; Zhao Wangshu, the world is tolerant towards men, and the one on top is a wise monarch, who intends to build a road to heaven for poor and humble family. You are lucky to be born in this generation. Although your father made mistake and demoted, as long as you study properly and take the imperial examination in the coming year, you will be able to enter an official position and become a person who sets the rules. So you don't need to belittle yourself, and you don't need to be timid, just abide by the rules, be good at working for your own advantage, and there will be a way out in the future."

The sister and brother suddenly realized that they promised again and again. Especially Zhao Wangshu, his eyes were getting brighter and brighter, he seemed to have infinite courage and determination, as well as endless enthusiasm and momentum, clenching his fists and swore, "Mom, I dare not forget a single word of what you said today. You see, I will study hard, earn my father's title back in the future, and rely on my own efforts to give you and my grandmother a title order."

"Good, good, good, my precious grandson have great ambitions, grandmother is waiting for you!" The old madam cried with joy, and put the whole family's hands together and pressed it tightly.

Guan Suyi couldn't take it out, so she could only endure it silently.

Zengzi*: ( 505-435) student of Confucius.

Chapter 70 Challenge The Law

When the Zhao family suffered a great disaster, the court was also facing a huge earthquake. Emperor Sheng Yuan ordered Chief Minister of Ceremonies to draft a memorandum, intending to suppress or even divide up the power, and the nobles of Jiuli, who were not willing to accept that their power was taken over by the Han people, gathered several princes to propose a policy for dividing the population by hierarchy.

If it's the past, Emperor Sheng Yuan might have considered it seriously, but now, he had found a practical and effective way to suppress the power of the prime minister, and he also understood the power of the people's support and opposition, how could he went against the tide and mess up the country? He threw the memorial back in front of the civil and military court, and asked the princes only six questions: First, whether or not this place is the hinterland of Central Plains? Second, how much the Han people and how much the Jiuli people here? Third, what is the size of the Han army and the size of the Jiuli army? Fourth, the number of Han generals and the number of Jiuli generals? Fifth, how many Han court officials and how much Jiuli court officials? Sixth, with the tactic of using a few to defeat many, how many battles have you won in this life? Trying to crush hundreds of millions of people with tens of thousands of people, where do you get the confidence?

The princes were dumbfounded by the questions, and immediately defeated, but the Han courtiers respected the emperor even more.

After the chaos of dividing people's hierarchy subsided, Emperor Sheng Yuan proposed the 'Two Government and Three Divisions' system. On the surface, it was to handle the government affairs more efficiently and quickly, but in fact, the power of the prime minister was repeatedly split, and it was vehemently opposed by the prime minister's faction. However, he was not in a hurry, and only distributed the proposal drafted by Chief of Ceremonies to the civil and military officials, asking them to go back and read them, and slowly consider the pros and cons.

Because the Prime Minister was in charge of military and political affairs, the military officials used to be just decorations in the courtroom. Now, seeing that the emperor wanted to set up a separate Privy Council to let them control the military affairs, naturally it was exactly what they wanted, so they all stood up and agreed on the same day. There were also officials from the prime minister's faction who did not express their position, after they got the proposal, they went home and read them over and over again, after thinking about it they felt this was a great opportunity to get ahead of their careers, so their heart slowly wavered.

Emperor Sheng Yuan was not in a hurry at all, and the proposal would be put forward at the daily court meeting and ordered the courtiers to discuss and vote. On the first day, only the military officials and the Emperor Teacher's faction responded enthusiastically; on the second day, a few neutral officials stood up; on the third day, there were more; on the fourth day… gradually, people continued to raised their support, or took the initiative to submit memorials, and perfected the details. After more than a month, Prime Minister Wang who became a lone tree that was difficult to support, found himself utterly isolated, so he had no choice but to conform with the people's will and pass the 'Two Governments and Three Divisions' system.

From then on, the prime minister could no longer monopolize the government alone and override the imperial power, and the situation in which the noble family giants ruled the world together with the emperor slowly shattered and eventually disappeared. When Emperor Sheng Yuan put forward the proposal to reform the tax law and the land system, the noise of opposition was reduced a lot, and even courtiers put forward practical plans for him to implement. The most important point was to survey the population, improve the household registration and then share the land.

However, the noble family giants still had some foundation, and when their interests were seriously violated it was impossible not to fight back. They actually released rumors that the officials who wandered the countryside were not to survey the population, but to arrest the strong men and send them to build construction similar to the Great Wall, or to put them on the front lines to serve as cannon fodder. Emperor Sheng Yuan intend to imitate the violent Qin Dynasty, impose severe punishments and severe laws, and carry out the policy harm that the people and damage the country. He also change the household tax to the population tax, or maybe the two taxes side by side, which greatly increased the people's burden, just to rake in the people's fat and the people's cream for his own enjoyment.

Every decree and every policy promulgated by Emperor Sheng Yuan was misinterpreted beyond recognition, and spread at the fastest speed, causing public resentment and chaos. Many townships and counties that had been exploited by harsh government rose up and stormed the province government, intending to overthrow the imperial power.

Overnight, the flames of war ignited little by little, and if Emperor Sheng Yuan sent an army to bloody suppress it, it would fulfill those rumors even more and he would become a tyrant who killed people indiscriminately, or caused the whole territory to collapse. It was impossible to kill, and he couldn't recruit the rebels, and the fold between Emperor Sheng Yuan's eyebrows were increasing, he was at his wits' end.

The Emperor Teacher and Chief of Ceremonies had already assigned Confucian scholars to sing about the benefit of amending the law every time they went to a township or county, but people did not believe it.

The situation was getting worse and worse, if this thing continue, the Wei Kingdom would inevitably fall apart; if it was crushed by strong force, the people would inevitably suffer. How to solve this crisis quickly and calmly had become a heart disease for Emperor Sheng Yuan. He always wanted to find someone to talk to and come up with an idea, but when he looked around, he found that there were only cold winds and dim lights in Weiyang Palace, and no one could relieve his worries.

"Your Majesty, don't drink, you still have morning court tomorrow, you will have a headache if you go to bed late. If you are not happy, you can go to the harem to distract yourself. Surely all the niangniang will be happy to accompany you." Baifu persuaded while trembling.

Emperor Sheng Yuan sneered, "Distract myself? Apart from being jealous and scheming, what else do they know? Zhen's considerate flower is not here." After he said the words his eyes lit up and said anxiously, "Come and bring the four treasures of study, Zhen want to write a letter."

Baifu didn't dare to delay, and hurriedly fetched the four treasures of the study and spread them out one by one.

—-

Due to the civil unrest and the huge earthquake in the court, the case of Ye Quanyong had been put on hold waiting to be investigated, and Zhao Luli had also been detained indefinitely, it's unknown when he would be able to return. Except for Guan Suyi, everyone in the Zhao family was a little anxious. They wrote a letter to Zhao Jinyu for help, but they couldn't hear back for a long time, so they could only wait in a daze.

On this day, Guan Suyi was painting in the study when she suddenly received a letter from Marquis Zhenxi Mansion, with the words "Madam please open personally" and the word Hunnar in the lowest corner. She raised her eyebrows slightly, and her interest gradually increased. After opening it, she read it very rapidly, wrote down the answer without thinking, and ordered someone to send it back.

Emperor Sheng Yuan thought that Madam would have to consider for a long time before she could reply the letter, and was ready to wait for a few days, or even dozens of days, but he did not expect only half an hour later an urgent footsteps hurriedly entered the palace and knelt in front of him to deliver the reply. He opened the envelope and took out the fragrant clip, but only saw six moving clouds and flowing water' characters written on it – the emperor should challenge the law.

Challenge the law? How should he challenge the law? Emperor Sheng Yuan pondered and thought hard, and finally clapped his hands and praised, "Wonderful, Madam is really Zhen's considerate flower, a virtuous helper! People come, Zhen will personally go to the village to investigate the people's conditions, not in disguise, not in white dragon fish suit, it should be publicize ostentatiously, and must be known by everyone."

Baifu quickly tried to persuade against it, but even when he talked until his tongue dry he couldn't change His Majesty's mind, so had no choice but to pass the order and prepare the imperial guard and the honor guard.

On that day, everyone in Yanjing knew that the emperor personally went to the suburban townships and counties to appease the people, but on the way he startled a horse, overturned the cart, and ruined a large area of freshly planted farmland. In order to encourage farming and ensured grain production to supply the army, Emperor Sheng Yuan issued a decree prohibiting anyone from trampling on the fields where seedlings have been planted.

This time, he made a mistake himself. Even though the farmer who worked on the fields repeatedly said that he didn't need to compensate, but he ordered his subordinates to hit him ten sticks in the back and personally handed over fifty taels of silver. The local officials had already arranged for the people from ten miles and eight townships to kneel to greet the holy procession, so they saw this scene very clearly.

This beating was not a fake. When the emperor turned around, there were bloodstains coming out of the cloth, dyeing the dragon robe red. However, he didn't care at all, and said earnestly, "Amending the law should be based on protecting the people and loving the people, and the people are more important than the ruler. Not only the people must abide by the law, but the imperial family should set an example. At the beginning of the law revision, Zhen have said that if the prince and the common people breaks the law, the punishment are the same, so how can Zhen renege ones own word? Recently, there are all kinds of rumors, and they are not Zhen's original intentions, that is to survey the population and improve the household registration, not to arrest the strong and suddenly levy the tax, but only to share the land, encourage the opening of land, and provide for the people. Zhen want to give everyone a way to live, but some people incite civil unrest for their own desires and cause innocent people to die in vain. The household registration of the population is clear, if there is only one child in the family their taxes and servitude can be reduced, and even exempt from enlisting to go to war; if the family only have orphans and widows or the elderly, not only they don't need to pay tax, they can also get government alms; if the family is prosperous, they will have more fields to share. You only see the change from household tax to population tax, but you don't see the change from land occupation system to equal land system. In the past you could only cultivate the fields for noble family giants, and earn pitiful rations, now you can own your own land and support your family through hard work and dedication. Which one do you think is better?"

Speaking until here, he sighed indignantly and said in a wistful tone, "Zhen is dedicated to the people, and really don't want to sacrifice a single life or shed a drop of blood in vain, so Zhen have not sent heavy troops to crush the whole place. Zhen also hope you can open up the fog to see the sky, break through the old, and create a peaceful and prosperous world together."

As the saying goes, it's better to be a dog in peaceful time than a person in troubled times. People living in the world, who didn't want to be safe and stable and peaceful? Who didn't want to live and work in peace and contentment? Who would risk their lives if they were not forced into desperate situation? Previously, there were also people who traveled to the countryside and visited the people to vigorously publicize the benefits of revising the law, but they were not as good as the emperor's example and sincere explanation.

Not to mention the scholars who intensively read poetry and books were full of tears and bowed down to the ground, even those ordinary people who didn't know big characters were also deeply touched, calling Long Live The Emperor, directly praised the emperor as the lord of the world, wise monarch for the whole generation.

The whole things today spread at the fastest speed, and the people finally calmed down and began to inquire about the laws that have been promulgated before, and what the so-called "equal land" means. The Emperor Teacher and Chief of Ceremonies personally traveled to the countryside to clear up people's confusion, so the flames of war were extinguished little by little, and the strong men who picked up swords and spears ran home one after another, for fear that they would not be able to register their household registration, resulting the family get less a few acres of land.

In just half a month, this disaster that could split the Wei Kingdom and subvert the imperial court was thus vanished. Emperor Sheng Yuan didn't spend a single soldier, and only suffered a little bit of physical pain, but for a general who was fierce and skilled in battle, this was nothing at all.

At the same time, Guan Suyi received a thank you gift from Hunnar, a box of books and a land deed. She had already heard about His Majesty's challenge the law, but she didn't think it was strange, only thought that Hunnar showed her letter to Marquis Zhenxi, who in turn reported it to the emperor, and then thus the follow-up happened.

The thank you gift was very valuable, and it was not an exaggeration to say that it was worth the price of a city, but she accepted it calmly, holding the title deed and said while smiling, "Although the emperor was born in the wilderness and has a style of local tyrant, he is good at accepting others' advice, has the courage to take responsibility, and with a little more time, he will be worthy of the name the Holy Monarch."

While Jinzi agreeing, she silently kept those words in her heart.