HCB Chapter 148: The Duke of Zhenguo Beats His Wife
Chapter 148: The Duke of Zhenguo Beats His Wife
As Shi Yao had expected, the morning court session that day was calm and peaceful. The topics discussed in the court were state affairs and world affairs. After all, spring was here and a year's plans depended on spring, so the court was still very busy.
After a day of preparation, the next day, the wind direction in the court changed and everyone started discussing the family affairs of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
One after another, the censors criticized the Duke of Zhenguo for not managing his household properly, having unfilial children, divorcing his wife without reason, bullying weak women, being unfilial to his superiors, and being unkind to his subordinates.
It also links his ability to manage his household with his ability to command the army.
A group of officials, both big and small, surrounded the Duke of Zhenguo, spitting and cursing while eating the melons to make up for the melon fillings.
The fact that the Duke of Zhenguo wanted to divorce three wives in one night could no longer be concealed.
Some people impeached Shi Mingwu and Shi Mingwei, and even Shi Minghui and Shi Mingchen, who had no official positions, were impeached. They listed all the bad things they had done one by one, aiming to show that the Duke of Zhenguo was incompetent, arrogant, and partial to others.
Shi Mingwu whipped his wife, which seemed like a husband beating his wife, but in the mouths of court officials, he was beating a second-rank imperial lady.
One court official suggested: "Your Majesty, you should strip Shi Mingwu of his title of Crown Prince and wait and see how he behaves in the future before deciding whether to return the title to him."
The court officials were in an uproar and expressed their own opinions. Finally, the old emperor ordered them to be demoted, dismissed from office, and reflect on their mistakes.
Shi Mingwu, who was far away at the border, was demoted and demoted two levels.
Shi Mingwei was dismissed from office for his lack of moral integrity and failure to perform his duties. However, Le Anning's title of Consort was not revoked, as the emperor had to consider her grandmother, the princess, and could not turn her into a prostitute.
As Shi Minghui and Shi Mingchen held no official positions, the emperor ordered them to reflect on their mistakes for two months, to cultivate moral character and observe etiquette, and to abide by laws and regulations.
The three brothers Shi Mingkui, Shi Mingying and Shi Mingmo were ordered to be dismissed from their posts for one month and return home to reflect on their mistakes.
The Duke of Zhenguo could not speak any more than dozens of others, and every time he could not say two sentences in defense, he would be scolded by his colleagues.
What can be done?
I can only kneel down to thank the emperor for his great grace.
The morning court ended and we came out of the hall.
Shi Jianan lowered his head and said in shame, "Brother, I couldn't convince them and couldn't help them."
The Duke of Zhenguo said calmly, "You can't even win an argument with the second girl, and you still want to argue with these old foxes? You are so quiet, if you say a few more words, our family will inevitably be charged with a few more crimes."
Shi Jian'an blushed and didn't dare to say anything back.
The Duke of Zhenguo felt embarrassed after making a few harsh remarks.
The two brothers had no intention of going to the government office, and went straight back home to carry out the emperor's punishment.
"Keep it secret from the old lady and don't let a single word slip out, remember?"
"I know, I know. Don't worry, big brother."
When he returned home, the news spread and there was another commotion in the courtyards.
In Tangxi Courtyard, Le Anning was gloating over the emperor's misfortune. She wished she could go to Shi Mingwei to show off the emperor's favor and make Shi Mingwei, a "commoner", kowtow to her, the lady of honor.
Zi returned to the garden. Wang Fan had endured that uncomfortable and tangled night and was completely relaxed. Upon hearing the news, she pursed her lips and smiled.
Let Shi Mingmo stay at home and "give birth" during this month.
In Handan Courtyard, Fu Nanjun was the most stable. He said he understood and then wrote a letter back to the Fu family, thanking his grandfather and father for their help.
In Tangdi Courtyard, Zheng couldn't stop crying, regretting her impulsiveness and making a fuss to scare her daughter-in-law. In the end, she failed to scare her daughter-in-law, but instead scared her and her son. Now even her son's official position was stripped.
She hated her two daughters-in-law, Fu Nanjun and Le Anning.
She also hated Ge Qiuheng, blaming her for being ignorant and breaking off the engagement, which left her without even a helper.
She is not a mother-in-law at all, she is clearly a grandson!
In Fusuiyuan, Rong was very upset. Her son had been well behaved for a while, but was implicated by the trouble-making eldest wife. Before he even got an official position, he left a bad impression in the eyes of the emperor and became a laughing stock among the court officials. What future could he have?
The eldest wife's sons have no worries about their future thanks to their titles (Shi Mingwei is a lousy guy, even if he were given an official position, he would have no future either), but her youngest son may not be able to enter the capital in the future.
She wanted to throw the housekeeper's keys in her arms and the account books in her hands back at Zheng's face.
She wants to give up too!
Gong Xuan and Qi Wan were innocently implicated. Their husbands were punished and sent home, and they were unhappy. They didn't even know who to blame first for the mess in the house.
The Duke of Zhenguo was filled with rage. After conveying the emperor's order, he became angrier the more he thought about it.
A bad temper is like a dead volcano. If you suppress it again and again, it will erupt.
So, he dragged Shi Mingwei, who had not yet recovered from his illness, to the ancestral hall like a dead dog.
Shi Mingwei cried all the way: "Grandpa, help me! Grandma, help me! Mother, help me! Zhuzhu, help me..."
The Duke of Zhenguo dismissed his servants and swung the whip that had been used to hit Shi Mingwu.
Shi Mingwei howled like a pig being slaughtered, and he no longer dared to be weak and sick. He got up and ran around the yard.
It was the first time that the Duke of Zhenguo beat a child. When he saw that the child dared to run away, he became even more furious. He chased him all over the yard and whipped him three times, causing Shi Mingwei to roll on the ground and beg for mercy.
When he was about to hit her with the fourth whip, he was stopped by Zheng who came rushing over after hearing the news.
"Master! He hit his head, and he can't divorce that evil woman. He's already feeling uncomfortable physically and mentally, and you beat him up even more--"
With a snap, the whip hit Zheng's back.
Zheng fell down and screamed, then rolled twice and hit the flowerpot hard, and her screaming stopped abruptly.
Shi Mingwei cried out heartbreakingly: "Mother!"
The Duke of Zhenguo's head buzzed and he thought, oh no, it's all over!
If the rumor that he beat his wife spreads again, he will be the next one to be demoted. The Duke's Mansion will not only lose its dignity, but will also be too embarrassed to go out and see people.
He hurriedly kicked Shi Mingwei and shouted, "Shut up! It's all your fault, and you still have the nerve to cry! You are such a disgrace!"
Then he picked up Zheng.
Zheng opened her eyes, her breath was weak, and her eyes were looking vaguely at somewhere.
The forehead was wrapped in gauze, and blood was slowly oozing from the corners of the forehead.
The Duke of Zhenguo asked hurriedly, "Madam, Madam? Can you hear me?"
Zheng felt so tired that she couldn't even blink. After she took a breath, she murmured, "Duke, don't hit Mingwei... He has been complaining of headaches these past two days... Don't hit him... Don't say you hit me, our family's reputation can't be damaged..."
The Duke of Zhenguo felt sad: "I'm sorry, I was angry and didn't stop in time. I didn't mean to hit you..."
After saying that, I felt weak all over.
Shi Mingwu said the same thing at the beginning.
He was really old and useless. When he was young, the children were often beaten and Zheng often tried to stop them, but he never hurt Zheng once.
This time the whole mansion was punished and no one could bear it, so they couldn't control their anger.
Zheng said weakly: "I know, I know..."
Muttering, he fainted from fear and shock.
Shi Mingwei crawled over and choked up, "Mother, Mother!"
The Duke of Zheng felt Zheng's pulse and said, "Send someone to call a doctor and tell him that he is here to treat your injury. Just call one person, let's call Doctor Feng."
Shi Mingwei rolled and crawled and ran out.