Chapter Thirty-Two: News from the Capital

  The emperor already knew the truth, which meant that no matter how much Zhao Kuang wished that his wife and children in the capital could find a way to keep this matter hidden, it was impossible now. It all depended on how the emperor would deal with him.

  Zhao Kuang knew in his heart that the imperial court had always emphasized filial piety, and although Zhang Shi was a stepmother, she was also widely known to be of humble birth, only recorded under the name of the original wife. Even if Zhang Shi was a stepmother, he couldn't even stand up straight in front of her. In the past, when facing his father and outsiders, he always pretended to be benevolent and filial, and those who didn't understand him believed it. He was able to smoothly inherit the title, which also had something to do with this. But now that the emperor has determined that he committed the crime of murdering his mother and brother, how could he possibly let him off? Even if he spared his life for the sake of his late father, the title would still be lost. He did so much to keep the title, even disregarding his father's life, but if he still lost the title to Xiao Er Fang, how could he swallow this anger?!

  He was so angry that his whole face was trembling, and since he couldn't move his body, his facial features looked even more sinister. Gao Cheng, who was standing beside him, felt a little scared and swallowed hard: "Lord Hou?"

  "Keep reading!" Zhao Jiong squeezed out these three words from between his teeth.

  Gao Cheng had no choice but to continue reading on.

  Actually, after Zhao Jiong confirmed that his stepmother and younger brother's boat had capsized, he couldn't find their bodies anywhere, so he already suspected they were dead. Before leaving, he also sent someone to deliver a letter to the capital city by land. Niu Shi and her daughter-in-law received the letter and sent someone to look for Zhang Shi's dowry servant, Lu Mama, wanting to take away Zhang Shi's private property. However, since Zhang Shi's "death news" had not been transmitted back yet, Lu Mama naturally couldn't hand over the things, and Niu Shi was also afraid that if the matter became big, it would affect the reputation of the Jian Nan Hou Mansion, so she temporarily let her go, only sending a few people to monitor the Lu family, planning to wait until Zhang Shi's body was found, then find an excuse to drive away Lu Mama and seize Zhang Shi's private property. But they never expected that just a few days later, news arrived in the capital city, saying that Jian Nan Hou Zhao Jiong had murdered his mother and younger brother, indiscriminately killed family servants and boat workers, and also intended to kill Guangping Wang's family who happened to be passing by to silence them. Niu Shi and her daughter-in-law were both frightened out of their wits.

  The news came from the inner court, and the emperor, considering the reputation of the old Duke's family after his death, did not bring the matter to the imperial court for discussion. Instead, he summoned several senior officials to enter the palace to discuss how to deal with Zhao Jiong. Since this matter also had Zhangshi's ancestors as witnesses, the couple and their entourage were all eyewitnesses, and they still had the evil servants sent by Zhao Jiong to kill people in their hands, so there was no need to question the truth or falsehood. The focus of the debate among the crowd was only on how to deal with Zhao Jiong.

  Most of the high-ranking officials agreed that severe punishment was necessary, regardless of whether they were from the Qing government or the imperial family. They all thought this matter was too heinous. Zhao Jiong was not talented or well-connected, and as the eldest son of the old Duke, he was incompetent in every way, far inferior to his father's reputation, and had been privately despised by many for over 20 years. Although the Emperor was worried that this incident would affect the old Duke's reputation if it became public, everyone said that it could be handled discreetly, finding a minor crime to strip Zhao Jiong of his title, and nominally assigning him a task such as guarding the imperial mausoleum, while actually keeping him under house arrest, so he wouldn't have the opportunity to do evil again in the future. As for the title of Duke of Southern Construction, Zhao Jiong was originally the eldest son and should have inherited it, but since he had died, it could be passed down to his eldest son, Zhao Wei. If people found out, they would only think that Zhao Jiong had committed a crime, and wouldn't think that the Emperor was treating the old Duke's descendants poorly just after his death.

  The emperor had already recognized this approach, but the Minister of Rites, Tian Mouren, raised an objection.

  This Minister Tian, who had been silent throughout the previous discussion, was normally a steady and composed person. No one expected him to say something like this: he questioned whether the capsizing of the boat was really ordered by Zhao Kuang. Although Zhao Kuang might be suspicious, all the evidence came from Zhang's words, and it was possible that the knife wounds on the bodies of the deceased were inflicted by bandits. Could it be that Zhao Kuang and his wife actually died at the hands of bandits, but Zhang framed Zhao Kuang in order to contend for the title? This matter can be clarified by observing whether Zhang requests the title to be passed down to her legitimate grandson after the incident.

  His words were naturally opposed by other senior officials, and he did not insist, soon retreated, saying that perhaps he had thought too much. Zhao Jiong indeed committed a mistake, but even if he really committed a crime, it was impossible to implicate his children and grandchildren. The title of Duke of Southern Construction could be inherited by his son and grandson. Old Duke Zhao only had two sons, the eldest son's descendants were prosperous, while the second son's descendants only had one grandson. Now that the second son has passed away, the grandson is said to have poor health due to falling into water, what if he dies young? Wouldn't the bloodline of Old Duke Zhao be cut off? Considering the old duke's past achievements, it would be a pity if the title could not be passed down for three generations. This was not a situation that the courtiers and officials wanted to see. Therefore, since Zhao Jiong's son and grandson did not have any evil deeds, and his son had some talent, let him inherit the title. As for Zhangshi's ancestors, they would be given some wealth and comforted, if the emperor was gracious, he could also give her young grandson a low-ranking title, and when he grew up and had achievements, he could be reappointed.

  Whether it was the emperor or other high-ranking officials, they all felt that this statement was not quite appropriate. However, the fact that the Zhao family's second son had a weak lineage was indeed true. If Zhao Wei were to succeed to the title and then die young, the old Duke of Zhao would have no heir, and it was likely that the descendants of Zhao Jiong would still have to inherit the title anyway. In that case, what difference would there be between this suggestion and that of Minister Tian? But if they really adopted his suggestion, it would be too cruel to the Duchess and Zhao Zhuo's son, who were after all the victims. Therefore, this matter had not yet been decided.

  Zhao Jiong heard this, excitedly with flared nostrils and a flushed face: "Good! Good! Heaven has eyes, finally someone is willing to speak up for me!" Gao Cheng was also delighted on the side.

  It wasn't until he had finished gloating that Zhao Kuang suddenly remembered who had spoken up for him - Tian Shangshu, with whom he had never been particularly close. If he had to force a connection, it was only because Tian Shangshu's daughter had married Ying Wang as his concubine, and Ying Wang just so happened to be the very person Zhao Kuang was currently using as leverage!

  Zhao Kuang's expression immediately twisted. He didn't even need to think about it, he knew that Ying Wang was intentionally showing favor to his family and wanted him to continue selling out! However, back when the emperor was still a prince, Ying Wang had been so favored but hadn't been able to kick out the eldest brother from the position of crown prince. Now that the emperor had ascended to the throne for over a year, there hadn't been any mistakes, and instead had earned a reputation among his ministers as being "good at accepting advice". He had also fathered several princes, more than half of whom were already married with children. Even if the emperor had some sort of mistake, there would still be plenty of candidates for succession - how could it possibly fall to Ying Wang?

  King Ying had a reputation for being intelligent and talented in the past, but he didn't have any real achievements to show for it. He was just favored by Emperor Taizu. Nowadays, not many people talk about how outstanding he is. If it weren't for the emperor's kindness and love for his brothers, granting him the title of Prince, allowing him to take care of his birth mother after she left the palace, and greatly rewarding him, treating him exceptionally well in many matters, what kind of life would he be living now?

  Such a prince who is destined to have no future, yet dares to covet that supreme throne, Zhao Jiong really didn't want to continue doing things for him, but could he afford not to? If he refused to agree, first, his family's noble title would be hard to keep, second, King Ying had his letter of surrender in hand, what if King Ying, in a fit of anger, betrayed him?

  But if he agrees, there will be no good outcome in the future. If things go wrong - a possibility as high as 90% - his fate will only be worse.

  Zhao Kuai was hesitant for a long time, and after a while, he squeezed out the three words from between his teeth: "Continue reading."

  Gao Cheng carefully looked at his expression before continuing to read on.

  Next are Niu and Zhao Kuang's son Zhao ?'s words, they all blame Zhao Kuang.

  Niu said that at first, they had agreed to just get Zhang's mother and son back to Fengxian and away from the palace, so why did he suddenly have the idea of killing them? Now their titles are almost lost, he really is making trouble out of nothing! In order to protect his descendants, he can only sacrifice him. He wants him to endure a moment of anger for the sake of the family's wealth and glory, and not do anything to Zhang's ancestors for the time being.

  Zhao asked his father that now the palace's intention is unclear, but both King Ying and Prime Minister Tian have secretly contacted their family, and in any case, they will strongly support the young Marquis' title, telling him not to worry. However, if an imperial edict comes down to reprimand him, he asks his father to admit his own mistakes no matter what, take all the blame on himself, and make it clear that everything was his own doing, and his wife and children had absolutely nothing to do with it. This way, Zhao will have a greater chance of inheriting the title.

  As long as Zhao becomes the next Duke of Jianan, Zhao Jiong, as the father of the Duke of Jianan, living in their old family home, no one would dare be disrespectful to him. He can continue to enjoy his wealth and glory without worrying that the Emperor will see him again and remember what he did, and then vent his anger on the Zhao family.

  Zhao and his mother, wife, and children will also work hard in the capital to plead for him, so that he can obtain the Emperor's pardon as soon as possible, and just take care of himself at home, absolutely not causing any more trouble.

  Zhao Kuang listened with his eyes wide open and his face flushed red. Gao Cheng looked very worried: "Lord Hou? Are you okay?"

  Zhao Kuang didn't respond, but his anger was evident to everyone.

  Gao Cheng felt bitter in his heart, but considering who his true master was, he still opened his mouth to advise him: "Master Hou, don't be angry, the madam and the young master had no choice. Now it's more important to keep the title. Besides, the young master is your own flesh and blood, are you afraid that after he gets the title, he won't respect you?"

  Zhao Jiong's eyes widened even more and stared straight at him.

  Gao Cheng shrunk his neck and said in a low voice, "Don't worry, this letter is from over ten or twenty days ago. The madam and the master must not know about your fall yet. Once they find out, they will think of a way to bring you back to the capital for rest."

  Will they take him back? When they thought he was physically fit and could run and jump, they were unwilling to let him return to Beijing, fearing that he would hinder their affairs. Now that he is paralyzed, they have even more reason not to take him back. Will they still say this? Zhao Jiong never expected that he would also be seen as an obstacle by his wife and children, and kicked away!

  "Damn it..." Zhao Jiong squeezed out these two words from between his teeth, and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, instantly fainting.