Chapter 23

In mid-July, Chen Tingjian's apology was sent to the imperial study together with Hua Yang's three family letters.

Emperor Jingshun first picked up his daughter's three family letters, and when he saw the "Parents from the Father" on the first letter, Emperor Jingshun smiled gratifiedly.

In May, my daughter also wrote a letter back, one to the queen and one to the prince, but not to him. Although the letter to the queen also mentioned her concern for him, Emperor Jingshun still felt a little uncomfortable.

He doesn't have many heirs, and he has two sons and two daughters in total, born to the empress and the imperial concubine respectively.

These four children, apart from having different hopes for their sons, Emperor Jingshun actually loves his youngest daughter Hua Yang the most.

The queen is a beauty that is rarely seen in places like the imperial palace. Hua Yang's beauty is even better than the queen's.People also have to worry about whether she will be beautiful if her hands hurt.

In the eyes of Emperor Jingshun, his daughter is like a fairy fruit that can make people forget their worries and refresh their minds. No matter what he has a headache about, as long as he sees his daughter, he will feel refreshed physically and mentally.

When she was a child, her daughter was very clingy to him, and always liked to run to him to play, and she yelled at each other, singing better than the rare lark in the cage.

It's a pity that he doted on a court lady in a daze after drinking, only to find out afterwards that his daughter might have seen that scene.

Since then, his daughter seldom approached him. Emperor Jingshun pretended not to know the truth, but in fact he was ashamed to take the initiative to find his daughter again.

But Hua Yang is still his favorite child.

"Send these two letters to the queen and prince."

Emperor Jingshun compared the thickness of the three family letters, and found that the one given to him was the most important, so he smiled and handed the other two letters to the eunuch who served beside him.

The eunuch left with the letter, and Emperor Jingshun cut open the envelope and took out the letter paper.

Looking at it, Emperor Jingshun frowned, put down his daughter's letter for now, and opened Chen Tingjian's notebook.

Now Emperor Jingshun understood, it turned out that Chen Tingjian's younger siblings had embezzled more than 20,000 taels of silver and some property shops behind their backs.

Chen Tingjian, in addition to writing an indictment, also sent a box and cage, which contained the gold, silver and jewels that the Qi family had embezzled, as well as land deeds and house deeds.

Corrupt officials were in power during the first emperor’s reign, and the state treasury was unable to make ends meet. After Emperor Jingshun came to the throne, he vigorously punished corrupt officials and reused capable ministers to improve people’s livelihood.Two, even if it is only a small amount compared with the national demand, Emperor Jingshun is very happy.Those officials and gentry below, who had money, refused to share the worries of the court, and filially respected others in private. Didn't they end up in his hands?

As for a woman from the Qi family, Emperor Jing Shun didn't pay much attention to her at all.

Emperor Jingshun called a eunuch who held a pen, and he dictated to Chen Tingjian to reply.

The first thing is about those bribes. For all officials, since the amount of bribes given by each official is not high, Emperor Jingshun decided to demote each official by two ranks and fine them ten times the amount of bribes, so as to make an example..All landlords and tyrants were fined 20 boards per family, and also ten times the amount of bribes received.

In this way, Emperor Jingshun could earn more than 200,000 taels of silver back to the treasury just by punishing the relevant officials and gentry of the Chen family.

The second thing is that Emperor Jingshun praised Chen Tingjian for his righteousness in killing relatives, taking the initiative to plead guilty, and his meritorious service in flood control.

The third thing is that according to the law, the Qi family committed two crimes of corruption and disrespect to their mother-in-law, and should be hanged.But Chen Tingshi is not strict in family management, it is the Chen family's business, as the elder brother, Chen Tingjian can discipline and discipline himself, so as to prevent future offences.

"Your Majesty is so kind, Pavilion Elder Chen must be very grateful to receive your will."

The great eunuch, Eunuch Ma, flattered him with a smile.

Emperor Jingshun stroked his beard, Chen Tingjian was the pillar of the country, so naturally he would not blame him for such a trivial matter.

After finishing the official business, Emperor Jingshun continued to read his daughter's family letter, only to see that it was all written about Qi's corruption and Shiqiao Town's disaster, and he only told him to take care of his health at the end.

Such a family letter is tasteless.

Emperor Jingshun went to the Queen's Fengyi Palace.

Empress Qi was reading her daughter's letter so seriously that even Emperor Jingshun didn't notice when he came in.

Emperor Jingshun is already in his early fifties, but Empress Qi is only thirty-five years old. She not only maintains the beauty of her youth, but also has the charm of a mature woman. It is precisely because of her beauty that Emperor Jingshun is hereAfter many years of vacancy, she, the new favorite who just entered the palace, was canonized in one fell swoop.

"I wrote something, I laughed like I ate honey."

Emperor Jingshun sat next to his wife, if Empress Qi observed carefully, she would find a trace of envy on his face.

But at this moment, Empress Qi was only thinking about her daughter and son-in-law, she smiled and moved the letter paper to the emperor's husband: "Since Hua Yang got married, every time he entered the palace, he would complain to me about the vulgarity of the son-in-law.The young couple finally lived together."

Emperor Jingshun narrowed his eyes slightly, and saw his daughter wrote in the letter: "The two husbands and brothers are both literati, and it is difficult to walk alone in the wind and rain, and there is not much spare time to take care of my wife, but the son-in-law carries me like walking on the ground, so the daughter knows.Wufu is also as good as Wufu."

The simple narrative really reveals a bit of the sweetness of the little daughter.

Emperor Jingshun also laughed, he naturally hoped that his daughter and husband and wife would love each other and live a happy life.

The empress read the letter side by side, chatted about the family affairs of the Chen family, and finally the topic returned to her daughter.Emperor Jingshun stroked his beard and said, "Ling Zhou is a remote place after all, and the town is even poorer. It is very inconvenient for Hua Yang to live there. After a few years, the son-in-law will not be mourned, so I will immediately transfer him back to Capital City, Hua YangYang, please come back quickly."

Empress Qi thought for a moment, then said softly: "Your Majesty, the Pavilion Elder Chen family is pure and filial. When the news of the funeral came at the beginning of the year, many people speculated that Pavilion Elder Chen would find a way to stay in Capital City, but Pavilion Elder Chen entered the palace without hesitation.Resignation and homecoming are like an arrow. This time, the husband and wife will definitely have a full funeral in their hometown, and although the three brothers-in-law only need to serve for one year, they probably don't want to leave the two elders behind and return to Beijing to be an official."

Emperor Jingshun: "What do you mean?"

Empress Qi smiled and said: "Ding You's officials will report to the court in advance before the funeral period is lifted, and ask the court to arrange official positions in a timely manner. Why don't we wait and see what the three brothers' notes say. If they want to return to Beijing immediately,You promised that if they want to stay in Ling Zhou so that they can fulfill their filial piety in front of the elders, then you might as well prepare three vacancies for them in Lingzhou, for the three young brothers, it would also be beneficial for them to experience a year or two in the local area."

Emperor Jingshun: "If that's the case, wouldn't Hua Yang have to stay outside for two more years?"

Empress Qi: "It's an extra year and three months, and I can return to Beijing next summer. She is now the daughter-in-law of the Chen family, and she will stay for one year's funeral.Why not live up to the reputation of a filial daughter-in-law?"

Emperor Jingshun: "Okay, then let's send more rewards, so we can't let her suffer there."

Empress Qi was not worried, the Chen family did not dare to wrong her daughter.

East Palace.

The prince is studying with his husband. Although this gentleman is not as strict as Pavilion Elder Chen, according to the rules, no one should disturb him during the lecture unless there is a big event.

At noon, the class finally ended.

The ten-year-old prince leaned back on the chair and stretched a lot.

The gentleman glanced at him, he did not accuse the prince of indecent manner like Pavilion Elder Chen did, he cleared the table and bowed to leave.

After the master left, Cao Li, the prince's first companion eunuch, came in with a smile on his back.

The crown prince raised his eyebrows slightly: "What's the happy event, laughing like this?"

Cao Li immediately took out a letter from behind, and said as if offering a treasure: "Your Highness, the princess has written again!"

The prince's eyes lit up, he couldn't wait to get out of the seat, and snatched the letter from his sister.

His father and queen mother taught him strictly, and he was not allowed to leave the palace in a leisurely manner. If he wanted to know anything outside the palace, he had to ask the eunuchs around him. His sister was the first person to write to him outside the palace.

The prince misses his sister very much, and also wants to know if she has encountered anything new in Ling Zhou.

He sat by the window and eagerly read the letter.

Standing diagonally opposite, Cao Li saw the little master gradually frowning, and his heart skipped a beat, worrying that the little master would become difficult to serve if he was in a bad mood.

Fortunately, the crown prince's eyebrows relaxed quickly, and finally looked out of the window, thoughtful.

Cao Li asked curiously, "Your Highness, what are you thinking?"

The prince came back to his senses and asked him, "Have you ever seen a flood?"

Cao Li was taken aback: "Why did Your Highness suddenly mention the flood? Is there water in Ling Zhou? Is the princess injured?"

The prince shook his head and handed him the letter.

Cao Li took a quick look and patted his chest several times: "Fortunately, fortunately, the princess has her own auspiciousness, and there is no flood."

Cao Li is eighteen this year. At the beginning, his parents were killed by a flood at home, and he fled to Capital City, where he was taken into the palace and made a eunuch.

Since the prince was interested, Cao Li talked about the tragedy of the flood.

Prince: "Didn't the imperial court allocate money to build embankments every year?"

Cao Li: "They are all used to build big rivers. Small river sections in rural areas will not flood for many years, and only once in a year of heavy rain. It is not worthwhile to strengthen the dams."

Prince: "Then what if the emperor insists on repairing?"

Cao Li looked outside, leaned into his ear and whispered, "That depends on whether there is so much silver in the treasury."

The crown prince pursed his lips, the treasury was not rich, he often saw his father worrying about money.

Cao Li: "Are you worried about the princess? Come on, look at the princess, she still has the heart to praise the consort, which means the flood over there is not serious."

The prince looked at the letter paper again, and a heroic and tall figure appeared in his mind. It was Chen Jingzong, the fourth son of Pavilion Elder Chen, and his brother-in-law.

The crown prince didn't meet much with the son-in-law, and the son-in-law gave him the impression that he was good-looking, barely worthy of his elder sister in appearance.

"Your Highness, it's time to eat." Cao Li reminded with a smile.

The prince hummed and walked out first.

The lunch in the East Palace is very rich. After all, even if the treasury is empty, the nobles in the palace will not be treated harshly. The prince's meal alone has eight dishes and two soups.

His sister hoped that he would keep fit, so the prince ate an extra bowl of rice. Deep in his heart, he also wanted to grow into a heroic man who could walk on the mountain road in heavy rain.

There was half an hour of rest time after the meal, the prince thought about it and went to find his mother.

"Queen, did my sister also write to you?"

Empress Qi: "Yes, do you want to see it?"

Prince: "Well, the letter to me is only one page."

Empress Qi smiled and asked the maid to fetch her daughter's family letter, which was full of three pages.

In Hua Yang's three letters, the one for the father only mentions important matters, the one for the younger brother only narrates family affairs, and the one for the queen mother contains both.

Empress Qi took the opportunity to teach her son a lesson: "Pavilion Elder Chen is a simple and upright person. Even if something like this happens in the family, he would rather expose the family affair himself than help his brother cover it up."

The prince faced the letter paper and remained silent.

Empress Qi: "Although he is worried at home and the people are in danger, he also leads by example regardless of the danger, and advances and retreats with the people. He is a good official who truly loves the people."

The prince finally said: "The queen mother knows people well and chooses a good husband for her son."

Empress Qi smiled, touched her son's head and said, "The empress mother knows that Pavilion Elder Chen is a bit strict, but since ancient times, strict teachers have produced outstanding apprentices. You just need to remember that the old man was entrusted by the empress father and empress, even if he trains you, he will not give up."It's for your own good."

The prince lowered his eyes: "My son understands."

Empress Qi put away the letter paper, and said with concern: "Just take a rest here, and go directly to class later."

The prince obediently followed the maid to wash his hands and face.

Lying on the bed, the prince did not feel sleepy. For a while, he thought about what the flood in Shiqiao Town was like, and for a while, he thought of the extremely stern Pavilion Elder Chen.

My sister said that the Chen family's Zhuangyuanlang and Tanhualang were both weak and almost stumbled while walking on the mountain road. As for Pavilion Elder Chen, who was weak and old, did he also stumble?

The picture of Pavilion Elder Chen falling into the mud pit and unable to get up appeared in front of his eyes. The prince smiled and fell asleep contentedly.