Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 289: The Illegitimate Position of the Empress

Chapter 289: Chapter 289: The Illegitimate Position of the Empress

Duke Uncle Yun, in order to have a Yun Family woman become the Empress, actually devised plans to ruin the reputation of several other candidates for the Crown Princess Consort!

At that time, the late emperor was selecting a consort for the Crown Prince, among whom were several women whose appearance, family background, and character were not inferior to the current Empress.

The current Empress was merely one of the alternatives.

Duke Uncle Yun first secretly pushed one woman into the river and had prepared a concubine-born son of the Yun Family beforehand to rescue her, and because her clothing was disheveled and there was physical contact, the woman had to marry the Yun Family concubine-born son.

The second woman, from a more distinguished family and known as a talented lady, was betrayed by Duke Uncle Yun who bribed a servant to drug her, causing her to be violated by the servant. Unable to bear the disgrace, she hanged herself, but her family, valuing their reputation, claimed she died of a sudden illness.

The third woman, who never left her household and adhered to strict family rules that did not allow any men, including male servants, into the back courtyard, was not out of Duke Uncle Yun’s reach. He repeated his old technique but bribed a maid this time to add "something" to her food, causing her face to break out in red rashes, thus preventing her from entering the palace to be seen by the Emperor.

The remaining women, whose family backgrounds were inferior to that of the Yun Family’s woman, ensured that the Yun Family woman could become the principal wife of the Crown Prince; the others were just concubines and good concubines. Duke Uncle Yun then stopped his manipulations to avoid detection.

Things went as Duke Uncle Yun had anticipated; the Yun Family woman successfully became the Crown Princess Consort and three years later became the Empress, honored as the mother of the nation.

This matter was exposed by a confidant by Duke Uncle Yun’s side.

Murong Jiu said to Jun Yuyan, "It must also be a tactic by the Emperor; otherwise, this confidant who had already become the steward of the Yun Family wouldn’t have revealed these secret crimes."

No one would have known if it weren’t spoken of.

Even though the families involved might have suspected something, since the Yun Family benefited the most, so much time has passed since the incidents that if evidence could have been found, it would have already surfaced.

Duke Uncle Yun had grown accustomed to misdeeds and swept things under the rug very cleanly and skillfully. The bribed servants soon met with accidents and died.

Jun Yuyan nodded, "Regardless of the Emperor’s intentions, it’s good that the heinous crimes of the Yun Family are exposed. The laws of Great Yan will severely punish them, providing some closure for the deceased."

Yes, at least the abominable crimes of the Yun Family were revealed, whereas in the previous life, the Yun Family remained above the law, their evils buried forever beneath the bright and beautiful flowers, unknown to all.

The poor women of the Yun Family back courtyard might wait a lifetime without ever seeing justice or getting a chance to expose Duke Uncle Yun.

The verdicts were swiftly issued, and Duke Uncle Yun was sentenced to death by the most severe method; the other male members of the Yun Family were complicit and covered up crimes, murdering servants; several profligate members of the Yun Family, who had also committed acts of bullying and were bloodstained, were all sentenced to immediate execution.

The common people were elated with the judgments, praising them as just and satisfying.

Some bold individuals even went to witness the execution, which meant death by a thousand cuts, such is the meaning of the most severe penalty.

All the properties of the Yun Family were confiscated, and the unfortunate women were properly placed by the Government Office. Those without a home were given light work to support themselves.

Murong Jiu pitied these women and had Manager Chai personally extend an invitation; if they wished to work on embroidery in her ready-to-wear shop, they were welcome at any time.

Because the Government Office could not look after them for long, and they might face prejudice in the future. At her shop, they would be provided with food and lodging, avoiding excessive contact with outsiders.

Five of these women immediately followed Manager Chai to the clothing shop because they didn’t dare to interact with others, fearing comments like "Your family died because of you, how can you live with yourself?" and other such remarks.

For living, someone needs to offer ritual paper burning for the departed during the Qingming and Mid-year Festivals.

Despite being secluded within the great mansions, they had heard of Princess Consort Ling’s good reputation. Compared to the Government Office, they trusted Princess Consort Ling more.

The affair of the Yun Family had unfolded turbulently for over half a month before finally concluding.

However, the businesses of the Yun Family had already started to be quietly devoured and incorporated by Manager Chai and Lou Zixi from the day Duke Uncle Yun was stabbed with a kitchen knife. By the time the Yun Family’s assets were confiscated, many of the businesses had already fallen into Murong Jiu’s hands.

The confiscated Yun Family Estate’s fertile land was all bought by Murong Jiu.

It was just the end of February and the beginning of March, which was the seeding time for many crops, and by mid-March, they could begin planting in succession, requiring the land to be plowed and fertilized in advance.

A good field is never too much, as it allows for the cultivation of more crops and the harvesting of more seeds.

Introducing these seeds would be a difficult task without the assistance of the Government Office.

No farmer would plant a crop not knowing if it would yield any harvest, as wasting a season’s planting might mean his family would go hungry in the latter half of the year.

Those who had enough to eat were in the minority, many people faced the loess and had their backs to the sky, fretting about their livelihood.

Everything is hard in the beginning, and Murong Jiu spent more time and money on this, hoping that if the people of Great Yan could be well-fed, it would be a great virtue.

The Prince Xiu’s Mansion of the Second Prince was quiet and peaceful, as if unaware of the happenings outside.

Most of the Yun family, who were guilty of lesser crimes, had ended up in jail, while some innocents were not punished, as their crimes did not involve treason or betrayal that would implicate the innocent.

Thus, when some of the Yun family sought help from Prince Xiu’s Mansion, the doors of the mansion never opened even once.

The Empress and Princess Consort of Prince Xiu remained unaffected, as they were married off and no crimes were uncovered against them, naturally leaving them unimpacted, though their reputation might suggest otherwise.

Speaking of the Empress, her background was dubious, and had it not been for the Emperor’s old affections, her role as Empress would have ended.

Murong Man listened to the report from Guard Shi, with a slight smirk curling up at the corners of her mouth.

Ha, Yun Weiwei had once mocked her for ruining her own reputation because of Lady Wang. Now, Yun Weiwei also had her day!

Vengeance comes to those who wait.

Let’s see how Yun Weiwei can remain arrogant in the future.

She raised her eyes, "Brother Shi, I want to help the Prince out of this slump. Can you assist me?"

"Of course, for the concubine, I would gladly face death!"

...

Murong Jiu’s confinement period ultimately did not last a full hundred days.

In fact, she had never planned to sit through such a long period, agreeing initially only to appease her teacher.

However, she had still spent two and a half months in confinement and was no longer suffering from postpartum night sweats. Even her hair loss after childbirth had lasted only a bit over a month.

Her health was now excellent, she exercised daily, and her figure had returned to its pre-pregnancy slimness, although she looked a bit different from before her pregnancy.

After checking her pulse several times, Divine Doctor Zhai, seeing no problems with her health, decided to turn a blind eye.

Whenever the sun was out, Murong Jiu would take Xiaoyu and Xiaojin to the Glazed Pavilion together, alternating which one she held to shower both with equal affection.

The little ones needed regular sun exposure and more social interaction.

That day in the pavilion, Murong Jiu pointed at a plant about half a person tall with light yellow flowers blooming on it, and asked in surprise, "Oh, what is this crop? Why have I never seen it before?"

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