First-rank palace maid Su Jixiang

Chapter 495: Lady Wu Goes to Court

Wei Ling and Xue Ziyi both had a look of anticipation on their faces, while the expressions of the other court officials were different.

They actually all knew what the wife of Duke Wu was going to do.

Previously, the wife of Duke Wu had reported the matter of Jingshui Yaju to the Ministry of Justice.

The Ministry of Justice went to arrest people and met many children of noble families in that place.

Because this matter involved too many people, even though it made Emperor Longchang furious, it was temporarily suppressed by the joint efforts of many people from noble families.

Several sons of nobles who were imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice and were involved in taking Wu Shi San were also temporarily taken back to their families on pretexts.

This is how the matter was originally. If it involved one or two noble families, His Majesty would definitely punish them severely. But now there are too many people involved. When the Jingshui Yaju was searched that day, more than ten children of noble families in the court were caught on the spot. This is really a slap in the face.

As the saying goes, one should not punish too many people, and Emperor Longchang knew in his heart that if he investigated this matter too harshly at this time, there would be problems.

So after his initial outrage, he just rubbed his nose and reluctantly acquiesced to the matter being handled coldly by everyone.

After all, his kingdom is not stable yet, and there are hidden dangers everywhere. The people around him cannot be in chaos for the time being.

The people who took the Five-Stone Powder were the dozen or so useless sons of nobles. They all hid themselves and took it secretly. The scope had not yet spread to ordinary people's homes, so it was not a big deal.

As for the matter of the concubine in the Duke of Wu's Mansion framing the eldest son, this is the family affair of the Duke of Wu's Mansion. Emperor Longchang now needs the Duke of Wu to serve him, so this matter will not be mentioned for the time being.

Let Duke Wu solve it himself first.

But now that the wife of Duke Wu had personally gone to knock on the drum to report the incident, Emperor Longchang was very unhappy in his heart.

How come none of you have any taste?

When the Lady of Nanping went to the palace to report the incident, he had to dig up the old story between the Princess and the Nanping Palace. Firstly, it was because the Lady of Nanping was the first person to report the incident since he ascended the throne, so he had to take it seriously. Secondly, the incident in the Princess's Palace involved the old fiefdom of Huainan, where he made his fortune. If there was unrest in Huainan, it would cause criticism from people all over the world.

Therefore, even if the Princess's Mansion was involved in this matter, he asked people to do their best to investigate it.

He must appease the anger of the people in his hometown of Huainan, because that is his family fortune!

And now, the wife of Duke Wu is simply looking for trouble for him.

As the Queen Mother's birthday is approaching, such a terrible thing happened in the court!

Emperor Longchang became very impatient.

However, since the drum for reporting had been sounded, Emperor Longchang could not ignore it.

So he sent for the wife of the Duke of Wu, who was beating the drum, to come to the main hall.

The wife of Duke Wu soon walked into the hall in full view of everyone, wearing a first-class imperial dress.

When Duke Wu saw his wife coming forward, he coughed quickly, wanting her to be more restrained.

Little did he know that the wife of the Duke of Wu didn't even look at him, but knelt directly before the red jade, "Your Majesty, I beg Your Majesty to make a decision for me and my son!" She held the petition in her hand and raised it high, "My son is the legitimate son of the Duke of Wu's mansion. He was murdered by a traitor. I filed a complaint with the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry initially accepted the case and searched Jingshui Yaju, but later returned my petition on the grounds that it was a family matter. I have no place to appeal, so I am risking my life to appear before you. I am willing to be beaten with thirty sticks, just asking that the grievances of me and my legitimate son be heard by Heaven and handled impartially by Your Majesty!"

Things like the Dengwen Drum cannot be struck just like that.

After all, according to Daxie's laws, if you didn't have an imperial decree or any achievements, and were simply an ordinary citizen, you would have to endure the pain of being struck with a nail board and a beating stick. An ordinary person who rolled on a nail board and then received sixty beating sticks would likely be dead. Therefore, ordinary people could only watch the drum for public hearings; no one dared to actually strike it, as striking it could be fatal.

Fortunately, the wife of Duke Wu and the wife of the Earl of Nanping were both people with imperial decrees, so they were spared the torture of being nailed with a board, and the number of strokes was reduced from sixty to thirty. Even so, the wives of ordinary noble families were delicate and fragile, and no one could endure the pain of thirty strokes of the stick.

When the wife of the Marquis of Nanping sued the princess, she was also beaten with thirty sticks to intimidate the people.

So for the sake of her son, Lady Wu was willing to give it her all.

"Nonsense!" Seeing Emperor Longchang looking at her, Duke Wu quickly scolded, "You're just a woman, what do you know? Since the Ministry of Justice won't accept the case, they have their reasons. Hurry back home. Once I've investigated thoroughly, I'll naturally give your son justice! Those thirty killing sticks are not meant to be slapped casually! You can't bear it!"

Although the Duke of Wu said that his wife could not bear the pain of the beating, the fact was that he was referring to the thunderous wrath of His Majesty.

He knew in his heart that it was indeed his concubine who did it.

But now that the imperial decree had been issued to confer the title of Crown Prince, the Wu Family was in a difficult position. Furthermore, although his legitimate son's life had been saved, his body was already broken. The Wu Family needed a healthy and capable heir, not a sickly child like his legitimate son, whose body was about to be buried halfway.

Moreover, that kind of disease will be passed on to the next generation, and Duke Wu does not want his descendants to be born with such a serious disease when they inherit the Duke Wu Mansion.

Therefore, in the mind of Duke Wu, even if the legitimate son was framed, it was because of his bad behavior and he could not resist the temptation. Moreover, the current prince was the best among his peers in terms of both literary talent and martial arts. Only such a child who was proficient in both literature and martial arts could be the future heir to the Duke Wu's Mansion!

Why is my wife so digny?

"I've said it before, I can bear it!" Lady Wu said word by word, without even glancing at her husband.

Emperor Longchang's head was buzzing.

"Madam Wu, since the Ministry of Justice said it's a family matter, you should have someone from the ancestral hall of your Wu Mansion judge the matter for you. Why bother to make a scene in the court? I will consider that you love your son deeply, and it's your first time, so let it go this time and go back to the mansion first!" Emperor Longchang did not want the matter of Wu Mansion to unfold in the court, he waved his hand and said.

"Your Majesty, since I have come here to ring the drum to report my affairs, I have made up my mind. If Your Majesty does not make a decision for me, I will die in this hall today!" Lady Wu Guogong said with a firm and resolute attitude.

She knew very well in her heart that if this matter was handed over to the ancestral hall, those old guys would probably side with the current prince. Since she had taken this step today, she had no intention of handing the matter back!