In the small courtyard, Master Liu was directly stunned.
Lord Zhou, the lead Imperial Censor admonishing him, brazenly looked upon his own granddaughter-in-law?
What propriety was this!
"Cough cough cough, this sour and spicy noodle, it's a bit choking, a bit choking..." Master Liu turned red and tried to cover it up.
The Old Madam Liu stepped hard on his foot.
But Xiao Chuchu in the carriage continued to complain.
[Lord Zhou, showing no respect for age, took advantage of his grandson's absence and forced himself on his granddaughter-in-law!]
The entire room fell silent.
Concubine Liu almost stabbed through the jade bowl with her chopsticks!
He had actually succeeded in his vile act!?
[Ah, I remember now, it was after this Winter Sacrifice that it happened!]
[Lord Zhou's grandson was a patrol officer in the capital, responsible for night patrols. He thought that on the night when his grandson went on patrol, he could sneak into his granddaughter-in-law's room and force himself on her, even threatening that if she told his grandson, his grandson would definitely divorce her!]
Xiao Chuchu felt angered just thinking about it and clenched her fists. [Later, that poor granddaughter-in-law, unable to bear the humiliation, hanged herself, but he claimed she died of illness!]
[The maidservant who knew the truth was also burned in the throat by Lord Zhou and sold far away.]
Master Liu stared wide-eyed.
The Old Madam Liu and Concubine Liu's chests heaved with indignation.
This old man had completely disregarded the law!
He was a beast!
[Grandfather, you are now an Imperial Censor in the Censorate, responsible for supervising all officials.]
[You must quickly expose this old man's ugly face and not let him get away with it!]
[Wah, when can I speak? Ah, if only Grandfather could hear my heart's voice.]
Master Liu: "!"
He was pointed at by his great-granddaughter.
The Old Madam Liu's expression was complex, but she still refrained from turning to look at the great-granddaughter in the cradle.
The main wife Concubine Liu, looking at the appetizing sour and spicy noodles before her, found it difficult to swallow.
Lord Zhou's granddaughter-in-law was none other than her friend Minrou before she entered the palace.
When her father had just passed the highest imperial examination and became a scholar-official, her mother brought her to the capital to attend the autumn celebration.
It was then that she met the maiden Minrou, whose father worked at the Hanlin Academy.
At that time, the Min family's official rank was far above the Liu family's, yet this Miss Min never looked down on her and kept her company whenever she was alone.
Later, when the Liu family followed Old Master Liu to take up an official post away from the capital, they still kept in touch through letters.
It was only after she entered the palace that she heard Minrou had married into Lord Zhou's household that their contact gradually faded away.
But it was not out of disdain or alienation, but rather due to the restrictions of their statuses.
Concubine Liu felt a tinge of melancholy thinking about it. Ever since she married into the palace, not to mention friends, she could not even see her parents frequently.
She could not freely invite people into the palace unless granted permission from the Empress.
Even more so for going out to meet people, she could only send out letters occasionally.
Concubine Liu sighed inwardly, but her sorrow quickly turned to joy upon hearing the baby noises of her little Princess. With her daughter by her side, she finally had something to look forward to day by day.
She could now change so many things!
Thinking of this, Concubine Liu put down her chopsticks, looked towards Master Liu, pondered for a moment, and spoke.
"Father, you have just taken up the post of Imperial Censor. As the saying goes, a new official must take decisive action in three matters. What plans do you have for the first memorial you submit to the Emperor?"
Master Liu cleared his throat lightly.
He did have plans.
But he could not openly say them.
Was he supposed to reveal that, in the time it took to eat a bowl of sour and spicy noodles, he had received guidance from his great-granddaughter?
To prepare to take down his newly assigned superior official - the Right Chief Censor, the third-highest ranked official in the Censorate!
Master Liu smiled faintly at the thought. "Daughter, I have my own considerations. I will plan carefully before acting. Don't worry needlessly."
Concubine Liu could not help but frown.
The Old Madam Liu also could not resist stepping on his foot again.
Master Liu was just too stubborn and bull-headed!
Anyone who offered him advice was "worrying needlessly", as if only he was capable!
Concubine Liu sighed lightly but did not give up. "Father, have you heard? A few days ago, when the little Princess had just turned a month old, she was almost harmed."
Master Liu immediately puffed up his beard and glared. "Was it the previous wet nurse? I heard from the Old Madam that she confessed nothing even after interrogation and was sentenced to decapitation."
Concubine Liu shook her head with a worried frown. "She insisted on her silence to the end."
The mastermind behind was actually Concubine Chen.
But that was not what she wanted to tell her father.
"Father, I had thought that since I have resided in the Donghua Palace for many years and kept a low profile, no one would harm me. However, in the end, I could not even prevent harm from those around me."
"It seems that even in a familiar environment, we cannot afford to let our guard down."
"Father, what if I am promoted to the rank of Imperial Consort and have to move to another palace, separating from the familiar Consort Min and Concubine Chen to live with other consorts? Wouldn't it be even more dangerous?"
Upon hearing this, Master Liu also became worried for his daughter.
"You must be even more cautious then. Living with new people, you cannot trust them easily and must get to know them first."
Concubine Liu nodded. "Father is right."
"Then when you, Father, report to the Censorate as the newly appointed Imperial Censor, you should also first get to know the senior officials you will be working with there."
Master Liu was taken aback.
So his daughter was using her own experience to remind him!
He could not help but look at his daughter, who had been quite naive before entering the palace. Now, he saw that the current Concubine Liu was dressed in an exquisite lake-blue silk dress embroidered with hundreds of butterflies, her hair pinned up and adorned with a golden hairpin inlaid with pearls and kingfisher feathers.
It was not an overly formal attire, yet it exuded an extraordinary air.
Concubine Liu's eyes, which used to be gentle and compliant, now shone with a firmness that was previously absent.
Master Liu was startled to realize that his daughter had grown up!
She had rapidly matured in the palace and was no longer a timid young lady who simply nodded in agreement.
"Father?"
"Old Master?"
"Yes, daughter, you are right."
Master Liu solemnly nodded at his daughter.
Stroking his beard, he smiled, "In the past, I saw you as docile and compliant, yet I insisted on teaching you to read and study the classics. It seems that what I taught you has indeed been useful - you have now become steadfast."
Concubine Liu almost lost her composure for a moment.
Where did her steadfastness come from her father's teachings!
It was the little Princess who taught her - one must stand firm for the family to survive!
Her father was really thick-skinned, even trying to take credit for the little Princess's teachings!
Concubine Liu supported her forehead.
"Alright, good daughter, I will follow your advice. When I take up my new post, I will first observe the internal affairs of the Censorate before investigating other officials!"
Master Liu stroked his long beard and smiled, completely oblivious to his daughter's strange expression.
Originally, he was still pondering how to explain to the Emperor his intention to investigate the household affairs of the Right Chief Censor. Now he had an excuse - it was his daughter Concubine Liu who advised him to do so!
[Wah, I didn't expect that the incident where I was almost harmed by the wet nurse would make Mother realize the importance of caution and remind Grandfather!]
[The butterfly effect is indeed powerful.]
[I hope Grandfather can soon uncover Lord Zhou's evil deeds! He must rescue his pitiful granddaughter-in-law before his grandson goes on patrol! Let that wicked old man receive his punishment!]
Xiao Chuchu listened excitedly, waving her tiny hands.
Master Liu nodded inwardly. Originally, he had planned to stay with his daughter a little longer.
But now, with this urgent matter of rescuing someone, he could not linger. There were still many things waiting for him to do.
"Daughter, you are now a Consort of the palace. I cannot stay here for long."
"With me here, even Consort Min can only take her meals in the side hall, leaving your mother to keep you company. I shall depart first."
Master Liu quickly finished the large bowl of sour and spicy noodles.
Before leaving, he could not resist embracing and shedding tears over the baby Xiao Chuchu in her cradle.
"Little great-granddaughter, ah, who knows when your great-grandfather will be able to see you again."
"Rest assured, your great-grandfather will definitely perform his duties as an Imperial Censor well and prepare your dowry for the future."
Upon hearing this, Concubine Liu's eyes also turned red with tears.
Xiao Chuchu felt a bit sad too and tried her best to reach out her still-soft little hands towards Master Liu. [Wah, Great-Grandfather...]
[The whole Liu family will miss you...]
[When I can speak, I will tell the Emperor Father to summon you into the palace...]
Master Liu wiped his tears with great difficulty, placed Xiao Chuchu back down reluctantly, and turned back to look at her three times before each step he took.
Xiao Chuchu was also unwilling to part and let out a cry.
[Great-Grandfather...]
Consort Min listened with a heavy heart and quietly retreated through the screened partition to her own quarters.
Unexpectedly, she encountered the Emperor Xiao Yunzhou striding into Concubine Liu's courtyard.
Xiao Yunzhou heard the pitiful wails of his beloved daughter from inside the room, and his heart ached.
At that moment, he paused in his steps.
He thought that he should summon Old Master of Liu Family to the palace more often, to alleviate the longing the Liu family felt for her absence.
With this thought in mind, after the autumn ancestral rites were concluded, Xiao Yunzhou returned to the palace.
However, after five or six days passed, he had not yet fulfilled his unspoken promise to summon Old Master of Liu Family to the palace again.
This was because his precious Xiao Chuchu had fallen ill, and having been away from her grandfather during the mountain rites, she had wept so bitterly that she damaged her voice, returning in a listless state.
Xiao Yunzhou was extremely anxious, while Lord Zhou, the Right Chief Censor, along with over twenty other ministers, had submitted five consecutive memorials urging him to establish a Crown Prince.
The memorials began with advice, but then descended into vicious insults, accusing him of neglecting the ancestral realm and the common people by not establishing a Crown Prince. This enraged Xiao Yunzhou to the point of frothing at the mouth!
"These insolent scoundrels!"
Xiao Yunzhou wished to see no one, only to visit his dispirited, ill daughter each day!
Yet this group harassed and berated him daily!
On the sixth day, just as Xiao Yunzhou was too angry to even attend court, he received a memorial submitted by Old Master of Liu Family.
"Could it be that the Liu family also wishes me to establish a Crown Prince?"
After all, Old Master Liu was the grandfather of the Fifth Prince.
Recently, Xiao Yunzhou had been avoiding the officials from the princes' maternal families.
But upon opening the memorial with irritation, Xiao Yunzhou was struck dumb.
"Lord Zhou, the Right Chief Censor, has proven himself to be of depraved character and disreputable family standing! There is conclusive evidence!"
"Your subject implores Your Majesty to arrest Lord Zhou and refer him to the Ministry of Justice for investigation!"
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