Ming Dynasty: Empress Ma and I swapped clothes!

Chapter 131 Human nature is evil

Zhu Qiang bit her lower lip, her eyes red-rimmed.

At this moment.

He finally realized just how big a mess he had made.

In another ten days or so.

He was no longer the tenth prince in the palace, but a penniless commoner.

Even though this status as a "commoner" carried a certain royal dignity, in his eyes it was already an immense humiliation.

He only truly experienced this personal feeling when he actually moved from Xiting Palace to that simple house in the suburbs of Beijing.

"Mother, I don't want to live here."

Zhu Qiang looked at the dilapidated house before him and screamed shrilly, "What a filthy place! I want to go back to the palace! I want to be Your Highness!"

He frantically tried to rush out the door, but was stopped by two guards at the entrance.

The guards looked at him with cold indifference, showing none of their usual respect for the prince, as if they were looking at an insignificant sinner.

"You dare? How could you possibly dare?"

Zhu Qiang's eyes were bloodshot. He turned and grabbed Consort Sun's sleeve tightly, screaming hysterically, "Mother! Execute them all! Execute them! I want to return to the palace!"

He forcibly dragged Consort Sun to her feet, and seeing that she wouldn't move, he roared like a madman, "Mother! Say something! Don't tell me you can't do it!"

These words, like a sharp knife chilled to the bone, pierced Consort Sun's heart.

She could no longer hold back, and hugged Zhu Qiang, bursting into tears.

But she kept crying.

But she heard her son's cold, piercing curses: "Useless. You're just a piece of trash. Someone like you doesn't deserve to be my mother. My mother should be a high-ranking empress. Why don't you just die?"

These chilling words, each one striking Consort Sun like a thunderbolt.

She looked up blankly at her son, whose face was contorted in rage, and was completely dumbfounded.

Is this... still her well-behaved and adorable child?

……

Back at Kunning Palace, the main hall was empty, but people felt a chill in their hearts.

Ma Wenxiang's actions could not be called evil, but in the eyes of the people in the palace, especially compared with the real Empress Ma Xiuying, they couldn't help but feel that he was a bit too harsh.

"If you do this, and the Empress returns dissatisfied, it might not be a good thing for you."

As soon as Ma Wenxiang sat down on the phoenix couch, Su Qing'er slowly spoke, her brows furrowed with intense nervousness.

At this point...

She had half her heart with Ma Wenxiang and the other half with Ma Xiuying, which already showed that she was good enough to Ma Wenxiang.

Ma Wenxiang sighed and looked at Sun Miaoran beside him.

Sun Miaoran gave a wry smile, then said, "Your Majesty is a reasonable person, and the most important point of this matter is not on your side, but on His Majesty's side."

After all, the decree was issued by His Majesty, and you were merely following the order.

The Empress has returned. Even though I feel reluctant, the Empress always puts the greater good first.

If the murders committed in this inner court are not severely punished today, and there is no tomorrow or the day after, when these princes arrive at their fiefdoms, the people there will surely suffer terribly.

Sun Miaoran spoke up to ease Ma Wenxiang's worries, and Ma Wenxiang knew this.

He closed his eyes, not so much worried about himself, but mainly about the situation in the inner courtyard.

"Never mind, never mind."

Ma Wenxiang patted his body and continued, "When soldiers come, we'll block them; when water comes, we'll dam it. It's just a matter of death. Besides, the Empress isn't such a cold-blooded person."

Ma Wenxiang thought to himself, "Only in this way can I feel a little bit more at ease."

……

Another location, outside the palace.

For some reason, Ma Xiuying was in the Ma family's small house at this time, and her status was now very different from before.

The Ma family treated her with great respect, and she was also considered their godmother.

But she felt that something was off about several things.

Now that the prefectural examination is over, the next step is the provincial examination. Judging by the timing, it is still the Empress herself who will personally go to support Ma Wenxiang in taking the exam.

Although it wasn't considered cheating, it wasn't something to brag about either, so both Ma Wenxiang and Ma Xiuying always kept a low profile and were careful in their conduct.

When the Xun Gui faction was mentioned, Ma Xiuying could only manage a wry smile.

She really hadn't expected this.

I had only been away from the palace for a few days, and Ma Wenxiang had already made a complete mess of things at the Imperial Academy.

In just a few days at the Ma family mansion, news of visits from dukes and marquises could be heard from alleyways, clearly showing that Ma Wenxiang had successfully won the friendship of the most powerful and noble families in the capital.

Among them were several people whom even Ma Xiuying knew well: Marquis of Zhongshan Tang He, Duke of Wei Xu Da, Duke of Song Feng Sheng, and even many families of civil officials, who came to pay their respects.

For those officials to come and pay homage to the Empress is a grave offense, but to come and pay homage to a mere commoner, or even a student who has passed the imperial examinations, is something that would be met with no criticism in the officialdom, and would even be beneficial to their reputation.

After all, the act of mentoring younger generations has always been considered a commendable story.

Even if this matter were to reach Zhu Yuanzhang's ears one day, at least on the surface, there would be absolutely no grounds for him to punish him, let alone any criminal law.

"That kid's always stirring things up; you can tell he's never idle."

Ma Xiuying held the book in her hands, thinking to herself.

When the time came, Sun An, who had been waiting outside the Ma family for a long time, finally managed to enter, and a smile appeared on his face.

He then waved his forearm and hurriedly spoke up: "Brother Wenxiang said... no, it should be the eldest, over here, over here."

At this moment, Sun An's face showed joy, and it was not hard to see that he was still very respectful to Ma Wenxiang. This respect was certainly not something that an ordinary person could fake.

Ma Xiuying sighed softly, left the mansion, and got into the carriage.

Looking around, it suddenly dawned on me that there was more than one person inside the carriage; there was also Fu Zhong, the son of Duke Ying, Fu Youde.

Why did the other party suddenly show up, seemingly to join in the fun? Ma Xiuying was at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Why are you here too?"

Ma Xiuying frowned and looked around.

Sun An silently took a step back. Although he didn't know where Fu Zhong had offended his brother Wenxiang, keeping his distance was the wisest thing for him.

Who can blame him when Ma Wenxiang's status among the elite circles of Beijing is now exceptionally high?

The eldest son of the Duke of Wei, as well as the Duke of Ying, the Duke of Song, and even other dukes' families, including Li Qi, who was about to become the Imperial Son-in-Law of the Duke of Han, were all on Ma Wenxiang's side.

This clearly shows that Ma Wenxiang is no longer confined to the elite circles in the capital. Almost all the founding veterans of the Huai-Xi faction have joined forces with him.

This shows just how capable Ma Wenxiang was. So, Sun An naturally knew that if things went wrong, he should run away first. Otherwise, how could he possibly withstand the attack?