Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 675: Choosing an Auspicious Day (2)
Before the Emperor had finished speaking, Yuwen Liu was already drenched in sweat, his face pale with terror. With a thud, he fell to his knees, trembling hands supporting his upper body on the ground, sweat dripping from his forehead onto the earth. With quivering lips and eyes looking up at Dugu Chen seated on the Dragon Throne, he pleaded, "Your Majesty, this official knows his mistake, please show mercy and grant this old servant one more opportunity."
Dugu Chen let out a slight smile, but a close look would reveal no hint of mirth in his eyes. The gaze he fixed on Yuwen Liu was tinged with utter contempt. After a long moment, the corners of his mouth twitched upward slightly, "An opportunity? You already had one, but you failed to seize it. Now you come begging me for mercy, it’s too late."
Seeing a hint of disgust mixed with finality in the Emperor’s eyes, a flash of insight struck Yuwen Liu’s mind, followed immediately by despair. He closed his eyes, blaming himself for having listened to slander. If not for that, he would not have ended up in such a dire situation.
"Drag him away, confiscate his property, and execute his whole family."
Prime Minister Xiao Yiran was quite astonished at the Emperor’s decision. This matter seemed too trivial for the execution of the three clans, he thought. As a troop of the Imperial Guard entered to drag Yuwen Liu away, Prime Minister Xiao Yiran took a step forward: "Hold on." He called to the Imperial Guard, then, turning to the Emperor, he said, "Your Majesty, although Yuwen Liu did not actively cooperate in this matter, the crime does not warrant death, much less the execution of three clans, Your Majesty."
The ministers sitting below, upon hearing the Prime Minister’s words, all nodded their heads in agreement, discussing the severity of the punishment among themselves.
Dugu Chen looked at the Prime Minister, then back at Yuwen Liu, who made no attempt to struggle and simply smiled, a smile that grew increasingly colder as he addressed Xiao Yiran: "Does the Prime Minister imply that I am coldhearted and ruthless, or perhaps I indulge too much in the act of killing?"
"Your Majesty, this official did not mean that."
Dugu Chen turned his gaze to Yuwen Liu, and let out a few cold laughs. With a wave of his hand, Eunuch Wei behind him stepped forward with an imperial edict: "The Mandate of Heaven declares, Emperor’s decree says: Yuwen Liu has embezzled three million taels of silver, allocated for the total project of the river channel, leading to delays in the completion of the river works within the Prefecture Government. Upon hearing this, I am greatly angered. As a warning, his family’s property will be confiscated, and his three clans will be executed. This is my decree."
The elder ministers now understood why Yuwen Liu was being punished so severely, and without a plea for innocence or mercy—clearly, he knew that the Emperor had learned the entire truth.
After hearing the decree, the ministers fell silent, and the Prime Minister felt ashamed, glaring heavily at Yuwen Liu on the ground.
"The Emperor is wise." "Prime Minister, do you still have any objections now?"
"I, Your Majesty, I have no objections, and justice must be served severely as a warning to others."
Hearing this, Dugu Chen let out a relieved smile: "Let it be known by my order, the position of Minister of Works is vacant and will be managed by the Deputy Minister of Works, Yang Jian. The completion of the river channel must be done by the middle of June."
"As you command, Your Majesty."
The Emperor’s confiscation of Yuwen Liu’s family property caused a commotion, as commoners flocked to the Yuwen residence to witness the seizure of treasures, gold, and jewelry. For a moment, the dazzling display blinded the onlookers.
The Prime Minister personally visited the scene, fuming over the ill-gotten wealth, regretting his foolish plea for mercy before the Emperor, not knowing the extent of Yuwen Liu’s embezzlement. In a fit of anger, he turned and stalked away.
Back in the palace, Feng Xuxu, resting for her pregnancy, heard the news and offered a faint smile. How dare he embezzle the funds for the river channel. Execution of three clans was actually too light a punishment. She knew well that were the dikes not to hold, the consequences would not be confined to a mere hundred lives. An entire town’s populace would face danger or death, subsequent flooding, and the spread of disease doing incomparable harm. The rebuilding of homes and repairing of embankments would be a long and laborious process, causing many families to endure the agony of life and death. Indeed, the likes of Yuwen Liu deserved no sympathy in death.
After breakfast, Lou Qianyu, who held the morning meal, listened to her attendants relaying the outside news and silently gave Dugu Chen a mental thumbs-up. Dealing with such a person without leniency, a decisive and firm action was the mark of a good emperor.
After resting for a while post-breakfast, she prepared for her visit to the Xiao Residence but was stopped at the post station gate by the Minister of Rites.
"Eunuch Ma, congratulations, congratulations, are you going out?" Ma Xiang said with a chuckling belly as he clasped his hands in a greeting to Emperor Lou.
Lou Qianyu smiled faintly and ushered Ma Xiang in, walking and laughing as he said, "Nothing much, just thinking of bringing something small to amuse Commandery Princess Yumeng and make her happy."
"Hehehe, Commandery Princess Yumeng is known in the Capital City as a talented woman, sought after by countless families." The two of them entered the hall as they spoke.
Ma Xiang waited until Emperor Lou was seated in the main seat before taking his own. He then pulled out a piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it to the hand of Lou Qianyu, who was beside him with a fan: "Emperor Lou, these are the auspicious dates calculated for this and next year. His Majesty has instructed this servant to hand them over to you, asking you to select an auspicious date."
Lou Qianyu nodded his head, looked at the dates on the paper, and saw that the nearest was July 16th and after that, it would be in the twelfth lunar month. The rest were for next year. After contemplating for a moment, he handed the paper back to Ma Xiang, "Let’s settle on July 16th."
Ma Xiang took back the paper and beamed, "Good, this old servant will go back and report to His Majesty immediately."
"Then I will trouble Minister Ma."
"You’re too polite, if there’s nothing else, this old servant will take his leave first."
"Eunuch, see Minister Ma out."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Eunuch stood up from behind Lou Qianyu, extended his hand in a gesture of invitation, and accompanied Minister Ma out.
Lou Qianyu sat in the hall, his hand fiddling with a piece of warm jade, rubbing it back and forth.
After sending the guest off, Eunuch returned to the hall and hesitantly asked, "Your Majesty, the wedding is in less than two months. Shouldn’t you return to the country now to start preparing?"
"Right, I won’t go back. You go back, carry my imperial decree, prepare my sleeping quarters for the wedding, leave all wedding-related affairs to the Right Chancellor, and the affairs of the court to the Left Chancellor. Afterwards, bring the wedding entourage here."
Eunuch glanced at the Emperor and nodded, "As you command, Your Majesty."
In the Imperial Palace, Yangxin Hall.
Feng Xuxu learned of the date set by Emperor Lou and couldn’t help but curve her lips—July 16th. It seemed that Lou Qianyu was eager, impatient to marry Xiao Jiazhen. She casually handed the paper in her hand to Yingsu behind her and after a moment of thought, lightly opened her lips, "Issue my decree, for the grand wedding of Commandery Princess Yumeng, I bestow several trinkets for her dowry."
"Yes, Your Highness." Yingsu paused briefly then turned around to ask curiously, "Your Highness, what are the gifts?"
Feng Xuxu thought for a moment and said, "A box of South Sea pearls, a box each of jadeite, agate, and diamonds, two pairs of jade Ruyi, one traditional hairpin of eight treasures in colored glazes, a pair of purple and gold hairpins, two rolls of seven-color silk brocade, and yes, select a few medicinal herbs from the storeroom and send those over, too."
"Yes, Your Highness, I will go now."
