Impeaching Wei Qiu
"What?"
The rice bowl Zhao Ruyu was holding fell to the ground with a "clatter" and shattered into pieces.
She was raised by her grandmother and had the deepest bond with her.
Everyone in the room looked in her direction.
Zhao Ruyu, disregarding everything else, grabbed the old woman's hand and asked urgently, "How serious is it? Have you called a doctor?"
"The messenger didn't say, so this old servant didn't feel comfortable asking. Third Young Mistress, why don't you go and see?" the old woman said.
Seeing that her daughter-in-law's expression was off, Zhao Ruyu's mother-in-law, Second Madam Peng, had already come over. Hearing this, she quickly asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"
Tears welled up in Zhao Ruyu's eyes, and she choked out, "They said my grandmother had a stroke."
"Ah?" Second Madam Peng became anxious and turned to call out, "Jinrui!"
A young man rushed over from behind the screen. "What's wrong?"
"Go with Ruyu quickly and see the people from the Marquis of Suiping's Residence's residence. Ask about the old lady's condition. If it's not working, go and fetch the imperial physician immediately."
"Okay." Peng Jinrui saw his wife lifting her skirt and running out, so he quickly followed.
The Peng Family quickly asked the old woman who had delivered the message, "What's going on?"
So when Zhao Ruyu and Peng Jinrui found out what had happened and headed to the Marquis of Suiping's Residence by carriage, everyone in the Peng Family, except for the young children, knew that the old lady of the Marquis of Suiping's Residence had been so angered by the second wife Lady Wei, that she had suffered a stroke.
"Is there really such a daughter-in-law in the world?" some people in the Peng Residence questioned.
The person who raised the question was Peng Jinrui's cousin's wife, who had a minor conflict with Zhao Ruyu. Although the two had never argued, they simply didn't like each other.
She wasn't deliberately finding fault, but her own family had very strict upbringing, and the Peng Residence also maintained strict discipline after she married into it. She simply couldn't imagine that there could be such an overbearing daughter-in-law in the world.
"What do you mean there aren't? There are plenty of people like that in the world." Her mother-in-law glared at her immediately.
"Therefore, whatever kind of person you marry, don't marry a daughter from that kind of family," Eldest Madam Peng.
"Exactly, exactly." Everyone nodded in agreement.
Although Eldest Madam Peng did not explicitly say which kind of family "that kind of family" she meant, everyone understood what she meant.
Wei Qiu came from a poor family, but after passing the imperial examination, he became a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices examinations) and was very adept at currying favor, which led him to become the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. His wife was the daughter of a small landlord who was illiterate; Old Madam Wei, was from a peasant family. In the eyes of these ladies from aristocratic families, they were an uncultured and ignorant family.
It's no wonder they were prejudiced. Every year, newly promoted scholars or officials who had risen from local positions could become their husbands' or sons' colleagues or superiors. When they invited their mothers and wives to banquets at home, some of them behaved in a vulgar and uncouth manner, while others would throw tantrums at the slightest disagreement. Their behavior left the women speechless.
Some aristocratic families, attracted by the talent and character of newly appointed scholars, would marry their daughters to them. However, the mothers-in-law were often vulgar and rude, not only taking advantage of their daughters-in-law's dowry but also trying to trample on this young lady to show their own authority, tormenting their daughters-in-law with all sorts of shameless and despicable methods that were astonishing.
Even if such cases are isolated incidents among officials from humble backgrounds, they accumulate over decades or centuries. As a result, aristocratic families are reluctant to marry into families of humble origins. Even though Wei Qiu is now a third-rank official, Wei Family children are still not very popular in the marriage market.
If Zhao Yuanliang hadn't been infatuated with Lady Wei and insisted on marrying her, and if the deceased Duke hadn't been worried that his wife would mistreat his illegitimate son and hadn't mentioned it to the old lady to agree to the marriage, and if the old lady hadn't wanted to pay attention to them, Lady Wei really wouldn't have been able to marry into the Duke of Sui's Residence at that time.
"Alright, let's eat quickly. We have a banquet at Prince Gongqing's Residence's Mansion tomorrow. Get some rest after dinner," said Old Madam Peng.
Everyone quickly responded and sat down to eat.
Tomorrow, Princess Gongqing invites them to admire the lotus flowers. Although it's called admiring the lotus flowers, it's actually a matchmaking banquet. Each lady will bring her own daughters of suitable age to drink tea, eat snacks, admire the flowers, chat, and incidentally, find suitable girls for their sons and grandsons.
"Second Brother son's wife, when Ruyu returns, ask her about her condition. Tomorrow morning, prepare some gifts and go to the Marquis of Suiping's Residence to inquire about her illness. Anyway, the banquet is set for Wushi, so it's not too late for you to attend the banquet after you've gone to the Marquis of Suiping's Residence," Old Madam Peng added.
Second Madam Peng quickly stood up and agreed.
The same situation occurred in the family of Zhao Ruyu's younger sister, Zhao Ruzhu, and in the family of Zhao Yuanxun's half-sister, Zhao Wenyun, who married into a family of scholars.
Whether it was Zhao Ruzhu or Zhao Wenyun, their husbands' families might not have been wealthy or powerful, but they weren't without any foundation either. Even if they weren't officials for generations, they were still scholarly families with many aunts and sisters-in-law. Because of their different social classes, they belonged to different social circles.
The women in the inner quarters were bored, and they finally got their hands on some gossip, which was related to the family traditions of a poor official—a topic that women from prominent families loved to discuss. The next day, the Peng Family women went to a banquet, and the women from other families visited each other. In less than a day, almost every household in the capital knew about it.
Originally, everyone just treated this as gossip, harboring doubts and not daring to believe it was true.
However, once those who were related to or had close ties with the Marquis of Suiping's Residence visited the Marquis's residence to inquire about his illness, it became clear that Lady Wei had searched the old lady's courtyard for the sake of a concubine, causing the old lady to suffer a stroke.
The imperial court was never a peaceful place; factions fought each other to the death. Wei Qiu's rapid rise in rank naturally infringed upon the interests of some. After all, there was a fixed position for everyone; if he occupied a fourth-rank or third-rank position, others would be pushed out.
Duke Wei had already arranged for his men to take action, but before his faction could even step forward, an imperial censor stepped forward to impeach Wei Qiu, saying that he was lax in managing his household and lacked integrity, which allowed his daughter to become so arrogant. With a daughter like this, one wonders how his children and grandchildren behaved with impunity.
Wei Qiu is known for his cunning and maneuvering because he is particularly adept at finding loopholes in the powerful and influential, possesses keen insight into whom to curry favor, and is also exceptionally skilled at flattery. His rapid rise in rank was not only due to the strong support of the Fourth Prince's faction but also because the Emperor appreciated his flattery.
If the Emperor disliked Wei Qiu, he could find a reason to demote him even if he was innocent. But since he liked Wei Qiu, the censors' impeachments were insignificant—in the Emperor's eyes, it wasn't a big deal. Although Lady Wei was Wei Qiu's daughter, she had been married into the Marquis of Suiping's Residence for over a decade. Shouldn't the Marquis of Suiping's Residence be responsible for her words and actions?
But this concerns filial piety. If Lady Wei's behavior is not reprimanded, then it is he, the emperor, who may face criticism. If this matter reaches the Empress Dowager's ears, who knows how she will reprimand him.
Therefore, in front of all the officials, he sternly reprimanded Wei Qiu, telling him to go back and properly discipline and educate his children at home, and not to do anything disrespectful again.