Translated by gingercat
Edited by gingercat
The court soon released a verdict on the case of imperial examination fraud.
Xiao Cong, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was dismissed from his post, demoted to a commoner, and exiled. He also had his home searched and property confiscated to set an example for others. The other people involved in the case were also dealt with one by one, and numerous officials were sacked. What was the most eye-catching thing to the public was the ending of the two princes. An Wang was removed from his post and ordered to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors. As for Qing Wang, he was assigned to guard the imperial mausoleum.
Their punishments weren’t very heavy. It was wishful thinking of the common people for a prince to share the same punishment as commoners who broke a law. In the “Dagan Regulations”, there were the ‘eight views’. People with one of the eight identities wouldn’t be dealt with under the judicial system, and could only be handed over to the emperor for disposal. These people had a certain degree of immunity.
Member of the imperial family was one of the eight identities. As sons of the emperor, the noblest man alive, princes were immediate members of the imperial family. In terms of emotion, reason and law, their punishments could be justified.
The imperial exam would also be retaken on a later date, to the joy of many. With such an uproar, people were desperate enough to go down with a sinking ship. To be able to get such a result was already considered pretty good.
As for the Xiao family, Eldest Young Master Xiao, a scholar serving the emperor from Imperial Academy, knew about this long ago, but he kept it a secret from Consort Qing. She didn’t know about it until the night before Qing Wang was supposed to guard the imperial mausoleum.
Consort Qing went to Jin Wang Manor. Yaoniang didn’t hide anything from her and told her everything she knew.
Yaoniang finished speaking and Consort Qing fell silent. After a long term, she finally revealed a bitter smile.
“If you feel uncomfortable in your heart, just cry. I won’t judge you.”
Seeing Yaoniang like this, Consort Qing’s heart was relieved.
“I don’t want to cry, I just think that karma is truly too wonderful. The person who had troubled me for so long was actually a fake, and the child isn’t even her own. Tell me, everything that I experienced, what does it even count as?”
Consort Qing laughed. As she laughed and laughed, it gradually changed to tears.
.
She shed tears silently for a while, before wiping her face and asking, “What happened to the child?”
Yaoniang hesitated for a moment before saying, “I heard from His Highness that His Majesty ordered someone to take him away.” Emperor Hongjing didn’t act any slower than Jin Wang at all. As soon as Jin Wang found out that there was a problem with Cheng Ge’er’s identity, the palace arrived to take the child away.
As for Cheng Ge’er’s whereabouts, no one cared and no one asked.
Wherever he came from was where he would go.
“I want to meet him,” said Consort Qing.
The couple who had been separated for so long finally met again, but there was this feeling that it was no longer the same.
Consort Qing was fine. At most, she was a little thinner than before, but Qing Wang has completely changed. It has only been a little over half a month, but he had already become terrifyingly skinny. He used to be tall and strong. Now, he was still tall, but he was thin and bony, and his clothes hung loosely on his frame.
In particular, his temples were actually covered with white hair. Qing Wang was only in his twenties this year, but his hair had already turned white. It was unknown what kind of trauma he had gone through these days to become like this.
His eyes were full of unspeakable grief, dark and utterly still. It wasn’t until he saw Consort Qing appearing in front of him that a little light appeared in his eyes.
“Are you alright?” Seeing Qing Wang like this, Consort Qing’s heart moved, and she almost didn’t dare to step forward.
“I’m fine. I’ve made you worry.”
Consort Qing wanted to say that she only just found out about it, but for some reason, it got stuck in her throat.
Qing Wang stood up with a faint smile on his face. There was a smile on his face and a smile in his eyes, but his smiles were only on the surface, making people feel that they would break with a single poke.
Consort Qing didn’t dare to look at him. She suddenly didn’t know why she even wanted to come here, and her heart was empty.
“Actually, during the time you were gone, I’ve thought about it a lot. In the end, it was I who let you down. Things like apologies and asking you to forgive me, I can’t bear to say it. I’m leaving and I don’t know when I will be able to return. What you said before, I agree.”
His tone was flat as if he was just saying something ordinary, but when he said ‘I agree’, Qing Wang tightened his hands into a fist.
He held his breath to keep words of pleading in his throat, and slowly took out a piece of paper folded in four from his sleeve.
Consort Qing kept her head down, watching a hand enter her line of sight. Suddenly, her vision blurred, and right when something was about to drip, she suddenly reached out and took the piece of paper.
“I hope you live well and have no worries for the rest of your life.”
Consort Qing staggered, turned around and stumbled out.
Qing Wang’s voice sounded from behind again, “Jirou, if there is a next life, I will definitely…”
Qing Wang was sent away in a carriage by himself.
Guarding the imperial mausoleum was undoubtedly a bitter and cold task. Although he wouldn’t need to worry about food and clothing, he would no longer have any servants, beautiful clothes or delicacies to eat.
Before he left, only Jin Wang, Yaoniang and Xiaobao arrived to send him off.
Jin Wang has always been someone who wasn’t good with his words, so he just nodded to him from a distance. Qing Wang also nodded to Jin Wang and looked around once more before entering the carriage in disappointment.
The wheels turned quickly, making a faint creaking sound, and the carriage moved forward.
On a hillside in the distance, Second Young Master Xiao’s voice came from the carriage.
“Since you’re here, why don’t you go out to send him off?”
“I won’t go.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
“I want to go back to the manor.”
“Return to the manor?”
“Although he gave me the divorce letter, outsiders don’t know. He’s not here now. If I leave too, the two children would be raised in the palace and it would be difficult for me to see them in the future. The servants in the palace also worship the strong and step on the weak, and I’m afraid the two children would suffer a lot. I begged His Highness Jin Wang and asked him to tell the palace that I will stay with the children for now to take care of them. Once he comes back, I will leave.”
“You…”
“Anyway, the divorce letter is in my hands, so I can leave at any time. Second brother, you don’t need to worry about me…”. . . .
Translated by gingercat
Edited by gingercat
The court soon released a verdict on the case of imperial examination fraud.
Xiao Cong, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was dismissed from his post, demoted to a commoner, and exiled. He also had his home searched and property confiscated to set an example for others. The other people involved in the case were also dealt with one by one, and numerous officials were sacked. What was the most eye-catching thing to the public was the ending of the two princes. An Wang was removed from his post and ordered to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors. As for Qing Wang, he was assigned to guard the imperial mausoleum.
Their punishments weren’t very heavy. It was wishful thinking of the common people for a prince to share the same punishment as commoners who broke a law. In the “Dagan Regulations”, there were the ‘eight views’. People with one of the eight identities wouldn’t be dealt with under the judicial system, and could only be handed over to the emperor for disposal. These people had a certain degree of immunity.
Member of the imperial family was one of the eight identities. As sons of the emperor, the noblest man alive, princes were immediate members of the imperial family. In terms of emotion, reason and law, their punishments could be justified.
The imperial exam would also be retaken on a later date, to the joy of many. With such an uproar, people were desperate enough to go down with a sinking ship. To be able to get such a result was already considered pretty good.
As for the Xiao family, Eldest Young Master Xiao, a scholar serving the emperor from Imperial Academy, knew about this long ago, but he kept it a secret from Consort Qing. She didn’t know about it until the night before Qing Wang was supposed to guard the imperial mausoleum.
Consort Qing went to Jin Wang Manor. Yaoniang didn’t hide anything from her and told her everything she knew.
Yaoniang finished speaking and Consort Qing fell silent. After a long term, she finally revealed a bitter smile.
“If you feel uncomfortable in your heart, just cry. I won’t judge you.”
Seeing Yaoniang like this, Consort Qing’s heart was relieved.
“I don’t want to cry, I just think that karma is truly too wonderful. The person who had troubled me for so long was actually a fake, and the child isn’t even her own. Tell me, everything that I experienced, what does it even count as?”
Consort Qing laughed. As she laughed and laughed, it gradually changed to tears.
.
She shed tears silently for a while, before wiping her face and asking, “What happened to the child?”
Yaoniang hesitated for a moment before saying, “I heard from His Highness that His Majesty ordered someone to take him away.” Emperor Hongjing didn’t act any slower than Jin Wang at all. As soon as Jin Wang found out that there was a problem with Cheng Ge’er’s identity, the palace arrived to take the child away.
As for Cheng Ge’er’s whereabouts, no one cared and no one asked.
Wherever he came from was where he would go.
“I want to meet him,” said Consort Qing.
The couple who had been separated for so long finally met again, but there was this feeling that it was no longer the same.
Consort Qing was fine. At most, she was a little thinner than before, but Qing Wang has completely changed. It has only been a little over half a month, but he had already become terrifyingly skinny. He used to be tall and strong. Now, he was still tall, but he was thin and bony, and his clothes hung loosely on his frame.
In particular, his temples were actually covered with white hair. Qing Wang was only in his twenties this year, but his hair had already turned white. It was unknown what kind of trauma he had gone through these days to become like this.
His eyes were full of unspeakable grief, dark and utterly still. It wasn’t until he saw Consort Qing appearing in front of him that a little light appeared in his eyes.
“Are you alright?” Seeing Qing Wang like this, Consort Qing’s heart moved, and she almost didn’t dare to step forward.
“I’m fine. I’ve made you worry.”
Consort Qing wanted to say that she only just found out about it, but for some reason, it got stuck in her throat.
Qing Wang stood up with a faint smile on his face. There was a smile on his face and a smile in his eyes, but his smiles were only on the surface, making people feel that they would break with a single poke.
Consort Qing didn’t dare to look at him. She suddenly didn’t know why she even wanted to come here, and her heart was empty.
“Actually, during the time you were gone, I’ve thought about it a lot. In the end, it was I who let you down. Things like apologies and asking you to forgive me, I can’t bear to say it. I’m leaving and I don’t know when I will be able to return. What you said before, I agree.”
His tone was flat as if he was just saying something ordinary, but when he said ‘I agree’, Qing Wang tightened his hands into a fist.
He held his breath to keep words of pleading in his throat, and slowly took out a piece of paper folded in four from his sleeve.
Consort Qing kept her head down, watching a hand enter her line of sight. Suddenly, her vision blurred, and right when something was about to drip, she suddenly reached out and took the piece of paper.
“I hope you live well and have no worries for the rest of your life.”
Consort Qing staggered, turned around and stumbled out.
Qing Wang’s voice sounded from behind again, “Jirou, if there is a next life, I will definitely…”
Qing Wang was sent away in a carriage by himself.
Guarding the imperial mausoleum was undoubtedly a bitter and cold task. Although he wouldn’t need to worry about food and clothing, he would no longer have any servants, beautiful clothes or delicacies to eat.
Before he left, only Jin Wang, Yaoniang and Xiaobao arrived to send him off.
Jin Wang has always been someone who wasn’t good with his words, so he just nodded to him from a distance. Qing Wang also nodded to Jin Wang and looked around once more before entering the carriage in disappointment.
The wheels turned quickly, making a faint creaking sound, and the carriage moved forward.
On a hillside in the distance, Second Young Master Xiao’s voice came from the carriage.
“Since you’re here, why don’t you go out to send him off?”
“I won’t go.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
“I want to go back to the manor.”
“Return to the manor?”
“Although he gave me the divorce letter, outsiders don’t know. He’s not here now. If I leave too, the two children would be raised in the palace and it would be difficult for me to see them in the future. The servants in the palace also worship the strong and step on the weak, and I’m afraid the two children would suffer a lot. I begged His Highness Jin Wang and asked him to tell the palace that I will stay with the children for now to take care of them. Once he comes back, I will leave.”
“You…”
“Anyway, the divorce letter is in my hands, so I can leave at any time. Second brother, you don’t need to worry about me…”. . . .
