After Transmigration, I Snag a Stunning Bigwig as My Husband-Chapter 796 - 794: Confiscation

When the Empress Dowager summons the Emperor, it’s never a good thing.

It always puts the Emperor in an awkward position, making things difficult for him.

The Emperor, accustomed to flattery, found Marquis Dongxiang’s compliments too awkward.

His anger hardly dissipated.

A messenger from the Empress Dowager arrived, and the Emperor’s barely suppressed anger surged back.

Under normal circumstances, the Emperor would surely go to meet the Empress Dowager.

But in his current state of fury, he declined, saying, "I still have memorials to review. Once I’m done, I’ll meet with the Empress Dowager."

The Emperor refused to go, and the eunuch delivering the message dared not insist, hastily returning to report to the Empress Dowager.

Needless to say, the Empress Dowager was furious.

However, she must see the Emperor at all costs.

The eldest daughter of the Wenyuan Bo Mansion was still locked in the Ministry of Justice Prison and had been sentenced to confiscation of property and exile.

Even those who have never been to the Ministry of Justice Prison know how terrifying that place is.

A normal person couldn’t bear it, let alone the pregnant eldest daughter of the Wenyuan Bo Mansion.

She was the only bloodline the Heir of Duke Chong left in the world, and she had to be ensured of absolute safety by any means.

For the sake of the unborn child within the eldest daughter of the Wenyuan Bo Mansion, the Empress Dowager, dragging her frail body, rode the Phoenix Chariot to the Imperial Study, supported into the hall by Nanny Li.

When the Empress Dowager entered, the Emperor was reading memorials.

Seeing her, the Emperor said, "Is the Empress Dowager feeling better?"

The Empress Dowager’s face was pale; she wasn’t better at all.

But since she wasn’t well, she should be resting in Yongning Palace, not coming to the Imperial Study.

The Empress Dowager looked at the Emperor and said, "I have matters to discuss with the Emperor. Since the Emperor is too busy to come to me, I had no choice but to come personally."

The Emperor frowned deeply.

Eunuch Fu glanced at the Empress Dowager.

Her words insinuated that the Emperor was unfilial.

No matter how busy he was, surely the Emperor could make time to see her.

Desperate to find the Emperor, unable to locate him, she had to drag her sickly body to the Imperial Study personally.

The Emperor had Nanny Li help the Empress Dowager sit, then asked, "What urgent matter could necessitate seeing me this second?"

The Empress Dowager’s expression shifted; her urgency was not for the court but for Duke Chong’s Mansion.

She looked at the Emperor and asked, "Has the Emperor sentenced the Wenyuan Bo Mansion to confiscation and exile?"

"By now, Marquis Dongxiang should already be at the Wenyuan Bo Mansion for the confiscation," the Emperor replied.

"The Empress Dowager is still ill, why concern yourself with the Wenyuan Bo Mansion?" the Emperor said, looking at her with displeasure.

The Empress Dowager would never care for the Wenyuan Bo Mansion.

She was solely concerned about the bloodline of Duke Chong’s Heir.

Knowing Marquis Dongxiang was heading for the confiscation, the Empress Dowager understood there was no room for negotiation.

But since she came to the Imperial Study seeking the Emperor, she would not relent on saving the eldest daughter of the Wenyuan Bo Mansion.

She explained earnestly, "On the day of the Lantern Festival, the eldest daughter of the Wenyuan Bo Mansion saved Duke Chong’s Heir—though a minor act, surely the Emperor has heard."

The Emperor showed no expression.

Clearly uninterested in the matter.

The Empress Dowager, finding her attempt fruitless, had to continue, "When saving Duke Chong’s Heir, he was victim to a plot, seduced into relations with the eldest daughter of the Wenyuan Bo Mansion."

"Following this, Duke Chong’s Mansion and the Wenyuan Bo Mansion set a marriage agreement. Since Old Madam Duke Chong had recently passed, they postponed the wedding rites until after the mourning period."

"With Duke Chong’s Heir’s accident, the engagement was naturally void."

"Who would’ve expected the eldest daughter of the Wenyuan Bo Mansion to become pregnant...?"

The Emperor, "... ."

Eunuch Fu, "... ."

Any previous confusion was now understood.

No wonder Duke Chong’s faction unanimously supported the Wenyuan Bo Mansion; it turned out the eldest daughter bore Duke Chong’s Heir’s child.

Anyone would go to any lengths to save her, ensuring a safe delivery.

The Empress Dowager looked at the Emperor, "Uncle Wen Yuan’s embezzlement makes his exile deserved, and I won’t plead for him."

"But the circumstances for the eldest daughter of the Wenyuan Bo Mansion are different. Though still his daughter, she’s promised to the Heir of Duke Chong, bearing his child."

"She is already part of Duke Chong’s Mansion. Once a daughter is given in marriage, the husband’s family is prioritized. The court has never punished a woman’s natal family extending to exiling married daughters. I ask the Emperor to consider Old Duke Chong’s legacy and pardon her."

The Empress Dowager knew that in the Emperor’s eyes, Old Duke Chong’s face was most significant.

The eldest young lady of the Wenyuan Bo Mansion is pregnant with the grandchild of Duke Chong, which makes it the great-grandchild of the Old Duke Chong.

The Emperor had a headache.

This situation had never been encountered before.

The eldest young lady of the Wenyuan Bo Mansion had lost her virginity to the Heir of Duke Chong, so it was indeed his responsibility, especially now since she was with child.

Though she was the Heir of Duke Chong’s woman, she hadn’t married, remaining unmarried and awaiting a suitor, which meant she couldn’t be considered a married woman.

It could be argued she was, though it could also be argued she wasn’t.

If this were to be taken to the court, those ministers would certainly argue till they were red in the face.

Yet such trivial matters weren’t worth the disputes of the civil and military officials.

Although Princess Shouning’s death was caused by the Heir of Duke Chong, it wasn’t intentional, and Princess Shouning herself bore half the responsibility.

The Heir of Duke Chong had paid with his life, and the Emperor’s anger was more or less soothed.

Sparing the eldest young lady of the Wenyuan Bo Mansion was akin to granting a small favor to the Empress Dowager and Duke Mansion.

"Have Duke Mansion take the marriage contract to the Ministry of Justice to pick her up," the Emperor said.

The Empress Dowager breathed a sigh of relief.

Having finally convinced the Emperor, she quickly dispatched someone to inform Duke Chong’s Mansion of the good news after leaving the Imperial Study.

Duke Chong’s Mansion was in a dilemma.

The Wenyuan Bo Mansion wanted to send their daughter over, but Duke Chong’s Mansion looked down on her, using the excuse of preparing for a funeral to refuse discussing marriage.

Duke Chong’s Mansion didn’t have a marriage contract at all.

However, it was easy to create one, as everyone knew about the incident between the Heir of Duke Chong and the eldest young lady of the Wenyuan Bo Mansion during the Lantern Festival.

In such situations, marriage was inevitable.

Duke Chong personally wrote down the marriage contract and signed it, instructing Chief Manager Wang to take people to the Ministry of Justice to fetch the Heir’s wife of Duke Chong back home.

Chief Manager Wang took a sedan chair to the Ministry of Justice.

Since it was the Emperor who had ordered Duke Mansion to take the marriage contract to fetch her, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice glanced at the marriage contract and then allowed them to go to the prison to fetch her.

The eldest young lady of the Wenyuan Bo Mansion was both joyful and worried.

She was naturally pleased that she wouldn’t be exiled, but anxious because the Heir of Duke Chong was already dead.

Upon entering Duke Chong’s Mansion as the Heir’s wife, she would be widowed for life.

The eldest young lady of the Wenyuan Bo Mansion wept as she mounted the sedan chair.

Uncle Wen Yuan and Madam Wen Yuan hoped she would rescue them from imprisonment.

Here, the eldest young lady of the Wenyuan Bo Mansion entered Duke Chong’s Mansion as the Heir’s wife.

Over there, Marquis Dongxiang led Mrs. Tang into the Wenyuan Bo Mansion.

Marquis Dongxiang didn’t immediately lead people to confiscate the Wenyuan Bo Mansion’s property; instead, he returned to his mansion first and brought Mrs. Tang.

This was originally a matter of official duty, but Marquis Dongxiang used it for personal gain.

Previously, the Wenyuan Bo Mansion wasn’t in the Capital City, but after the confiscation, the late Emperor restored its reputation, returned all confiscated items, and even awarded this large mansion as compensation for the Wenyuan Bo Mansion.

Mrs. Tang hadn’t lived in this house for long, and it only brought painful memories to her.

However, there should have been quite a few relics left behind by the Old Master in this house.

While it wasn’t possible for Mrs. Tang to take all of them for remembrance, taking thirty to fifty items was feasible, and the rest could be recorded in the ledger to request from the Emperor later.

Looking at this grand mansion, which was both unfamiliar and somewhat familiar, Mrs. Tang felt no emotions.

Upon entering the house, she found only one item left by the Old Master after a long search.

The government officials placed the retrieved items into a box.

There were quite a few good things, but very few left by the Old Master.

Mrs. Tang and Mrs. Jiang searched for a long time and found only six items that the Old Master had cherished during his lifetime.

Mrs. Jiang couldn’t believe it, "Where did all the good things left by the Old Master go?"

The government officials certainly didn’t know.

The steward of the Wenyuan Bo Mansion said in a trembling voice, "Apart from the few items that the Earl really liked, all the good things left by the Old Master were given away by the Earl."

Uncle Wen Yuan had inherited the Wenyuan Bo Mansion as a bastard son back then.

He neither had talent nor ability and couldn’t possibly succeed as the heir of the Wenyuan Bo Mansion.

He had gained the title of Earl easily, envied and despised by many, scorned wherever he went. To establish himself, Uncle Wen Yuan lavishly made connections with the influential, using those items left by the Old Master as stepping stones.

Over a decade, the original family estate had been depleted to almost nothing.

However, Uncle Wen Yuan did not lack in exploiting the people’s wealth in Yongzhou, amassing quite a fortune as well.

In the end—

Mrs. Tang took away the remaining six items and two ancestral tablets.