Consort An suddenly rushed out from the inner room, tears welling in her eyes, and cried out in anguish, "Father, what have I done to wrong you that you treat your daughter like this?"
Grand Tutor An was startled. He quickly said earnestly, "I don't know what you're talking about, Your Majesty. I know you're very saddened by the Sixth Princess's accident, but you can't doubt me."
Consort An looked quietly at Grand Tutor An. She knew that such things would happen again if they happened once.
Father now harbors murderous intent towards Yunyang. This time, it was only because a palace servant was there that Yunyang was rescued in time after falling into the water. What about next time?
Consort An dared not gamble that Yunyang always had such good luck.
As a daughter, she couldn't bring herself to betray her own family, so she had no choice but to kneel down and beg her father to spare her.
Grand Tutor An was embarrassed. He reached out to pull Consort An up, but Consort An refused to get up. Grand Tutor An said, "What are you doing? His Majesty and the Empress are still here."
Consort An disregarded all else. "Father, Yunyang is my life! Father, ask yourself honestly, if Yunyang were my eldest brother's child, would you still feel this way?"
Grand Tutor An was taken aback. "What nonsense are you spouting?"
Consort An gave a self-deprecating laugh, "You've always favored your eldest brother since we were little. He's been dead for so many years, and you still love him the most. What am I to you? I'm your own daughter too, Father. From childhood to adulthood, I've done whatever you asked me to do. Why don't you love me?"
"Sister Consort An..."
Consort Wei deeply understood the scene before her. Those of them who entered the palace, though seemingly glamorous, were actually pawns of their families, with no control over their own lives.
Consort Wei helped Consort An up and whispered, "It doesn't matter if you don't love me. The most important thing is that you cherish yourself."
Consort An nodded slightly, then looked at the Emperor and Empress, lowering her eyes and saying, "Your Majesty, I have been impolite."
The Emperor said, "You are simply overly protective of your daughter; I will not hold it against you."
Grand Tutor An's body stiffened. He understood that His Majesty's words had a hidden meaning. He wouldn't hold a grudge against Consort An, so was His Majesty going to hold a grudge against him?
Grand Tutor An burst into tears. "Your Majesty, I have been unjustly wronged! You must do justice for me! I only have one son and one daughter. My eldest son was killed by bandits, and my second daughter entered the palace at a young age. I may seem to have both a son and a daughter, but in reality, I am all alone."
[Ah, they're starting to play the victim.]
But his eldest son is alive and well, isn't he?
What?
Consort An looked at Tong Aning in disbelief.
That was ten years ago.
The eldest brother went out to visit a friend but did not return for a day and a night. Finally, his body was found on the road he always took home.
The Jingzhao Prefecture confirmed that it was the work of bandits.
The father was heartbroken and killed the bandits with his own hands, but he aged a lot overnight. From then on, the death of the eldest brother became the most taboo topic in the whole family.
But now, Tong Aning tells her that her older brother is still alive.
Ten years! A full ten years! For as long as her elder brother had been dead, she had been subjected to this accusation. Because she was the one who arranged for him to visit his friend; if he were still alive, why didn't he come home?
[I don't know how to put it, but at that time, Eldest Young Master An already had someone he loved, but Grand Tutor An forced him to marry another lady of equal social standing. Eldest Young Master An was in great pain and finally came up with this plan: to fake his death and escape with his beloved.]
Consort An lost her balance, and Consort Wei quickly supported her. Consort An, who was completely flustered, calmed down a bit when she met Consort Wei's worried eyes.
As expected, both my elder brother and father were heartless people.
The emperor was incredulous; the An family was truly audacious.
With so many things to deal with, the emperor was at a loss as to how to handle the matter of Grand Tutor An.
"Your Majesty," said Eunuch Wang as he entered the hall, " Lord Jin has arrived."
Grand Tutor An's gaze darkened, and everyone's expressions turned somewhat strange.
[Why is everyone reacting like this... Ah, so it turns out that Lord Jin's daughter was Eldest Young Master An's beloved. After Eldest Young Master An died, Lord Jin's daughter followed him to the Eldest Young Master An the very next day...]
Everyone had their own plans.
Now that Eldest Young Master An is still alive, is Lord Jin's daughter also still alive?
The emperor said, "Let him in."
Jin Xiufeng quickly walked in. Since his daughter's death, Jin Xiufeng and Grand Tutor An had become irreconcilable enemies. Although he was of low rank and position, he would definitely take advantage of any opportunity to kick Grand Tutor An while he was down.
The two were so tense that the emperor was having a headache. Grand Tutor An repeatedly petitioned the emperor to demote Jin Xiufeng out of the capital, but the emperor, sympathizing with Jin Xiufeng's loss of her daughter, never agreed.
Logically, Jin Xiufeng should have seized the opportunity to kick Grand Tutor An while he was down, but he walked past Grand Tutor An without even glancing at him and knelt before the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, please do me justice."
The emperor frowned. "What is it that you are referring to, Minister Jin?"
Jin Xiufeng said, " Grand Tutor An's son seduced my daughter and then abandoned her. He bewitched my daughter into eloping with him, and then abandoned her."
Grand Tutor An seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, " Jin Xiufeng, are you still asleep?"
He gritted his teeth and said, "My son died ten years ago. If it weren't for your daughter, he wouldn't have died. How dare you mention this to me?"
Jin Xiufeng retorted, "Your son isn't dead at all. He just wanted to escape your control. Grand Tutor An, you're truly a failure as a person."
Grand Tutor An's eyes turned sinister. "What did you say?"
"Stop arguing," the emperor said. "Minister Jin, do you have any evidence?"
Jin Xiufeng said, "My daughter is outside the palace. As for that heartless man, I have already ordered him to be arrested."
Grand Tutor An flicked his sleeve, "You've really gone mad."
Jin Xiufeng ignored it, wondering if he was possessed; the truth would come out soon enough.
The emperor looked at Eunuch Wang, Eunuch Wang said, "Summon Miss Jin to the palace."
Before long, a woman dressed in coarse linen clothes led in a pretty little girl with delicate features.
Grand Tutor An's eyes widened.
The woman knelt before the emperor, saying, "This commoner Jin Yue, along with her daughter An Ning, pays her respects to Your Majesty."
Grand Tutor An jumped in front of Jin Yue, his finger trembling as he pointed at Jin Yue, "You... you all..."
Jin Yue didn't even look at him, but said in a deep voice, "Back then, I and An Jinghuan were engaged. After An Jinghuan faked his death, he came looking for me. I was blinded by greed and betrayed my loving parents, and ran away with An Jinghuan."
The Empress asked, "Since you had already left, why did you come back?"
"After we left the capital, we went to Qingzhou. For the first few years, we were a harmonious couple, until... until..."
Jin Yue began to sob, two lines of tears streaming down her face, revealing her deep regret.
Jin Xiufeng couldn't bear to see his daughter like this. He lamented, "Until An Jinghuan started drinking heavily and becoming addicted to gambling, even frequently visiting brothels to buy a woman's freedom."
"Impossible!" Although Grand Tutor An still didn't believe his son had come back to life, upon hearing someone speak ill of him, he instinctively retorted, "My son is a model of a noble family, a pillar of the future. How could he do such a thing?"
[Tsk tsk tsk, "pillars of society" indeed? The Jin family father and daughter are being too conservative. It's not just alcoholism and gambling; they're utterly wicked. Whenever things don't go their way, they come back and beat their wife and daughter.]
He even hit someone?
Su Zhouyue couldn't stand this kind of thing. She walked over to Jin Yue and the little girl, turned her back, and peeked at their sleeves.
Su Zhouyue said, "Your Majesty, they still have many wounds on their bodies."
The emperor's eyes darkened, and Grand Tutor An hurriedly pleaded for An Jinghuan, "Your Majesty, you cannot believe only one side of the story!"
[It's alright, your son will be brought back soon.]
The imperial guards came in to report that the emperor had ordered them to bring the person in.
Although ten years have passed, no one wants to believe that the person brought in was An Jinghuan.
An Jinghuan has a handsome appearance, but the person in front of him is unshaven and dressed in disheveled clothes. To call him a street thug would be an understatement.
Grand Tutor An exclaimed, "This is not my son! This is not him!"
An Jinghuan's eyes lit up when he saw Grand Tutor An. "Father, don't you recognize me? It's me, Jinghuan. I'm a little short on money lately, Father, you can..."
Grand Tutor An told him to get lost.
An Jinghuan saw Consort An again, "Sister, you've become a concubine in the palace?"
Looking at An Jinghuan like this, Consort An felt a twisted sense of pleasure. She sneered, "Father, look! Your beloved son has returned!"
Grand Tutor An was so angry that his veins bulged. "Shut up!"
Grand Tutor An suddenly pointed at Jin Yue viciously, "It's all your fault! If you hadn't bewitched my son, how could he have run away with you and picked up such a bad habit?"
Jin Yue laughed in anger, meeting Grand Tutor An's resentful gaze. " An Jinghuan has always been this kind of person."
Consort An said, "Yes, Father, you've spoiled my eldest brother."
"Shut up! Shut up!"
The emperor was also annoyed. "Take the An family father and son away first."
When An Jinghuan left, he was still asking Grand Tutor An for money.
"The Sixth Princess has woken up!"
Consort An rushed into the inner room and knelt by the bedside. The Sixth Princess had just woken up and whispered, "Mother."
"Mmm, mmm," Consort An shed tears as she held the Sixth Princess's small hand. "Mother is here, Yunyang, are you still feeling unwell?"
The sixth princess shook her head, her soft little hand brushing against Consort An's face. "Mother, don't cry. Yunyang will pick plum blossoms for you."
Consort An cried even harder, "Good, good."
The Emperor and Empress entered, Consort An made way for them.
The sixth princess said weakly, "Father, Mother."
The two responded, and the Empress choked up slightly. Such a young child, suffering like this, it was truly...
The emperor asked softly, " Little Six, tell your father what happened?"
The sixth princess thought carefully, "Grandpa said he wanted the koi in the pond, so I went to see them, and then..."
The sixth princess's face paled, as if she had remembered something unpleasant.
The Emperor asked no more questions. "Very well, Father understands. Consort An, take good care of the princess."
"Yes."
With conclusive evidence, the An family father and son were imprisoned. As for the Jin family mother and daughter...
Jin Xiufeng knelt down first, "Your Majesty, it is all my fault for failing to properly educate my daughter. I will accept any punishment."
Jin Yue shook her head frantically, choking back tears as she said, "Father, it's my fault, it's all my fault!"
She left with An Jinghuan against her will back then, and now she's come back after being wronged. She's a complete ingrate. She thought she'd be scolded by her parents, but she never expected...
[Alas, the hearts of parents are always full of love and worry. Fortunately, Jin Yue isn't too confused; this time, I support making dumplings.]
emperor. "...?"
What is making dumplings?