NCCnovel Chapter 156 Noble Man
Chapter 156 Noble Man
Princess Shaoyang was sent back, and the ladies of the Zhang family were so anxious that they didn't know what to do.
Minister Zhang saw that the old lady was anxious, so he said to her:
"Don't worry, today's incident will not affect our Zhang family."
Old Madam Zhang was puzzled and asked, "Princess Shaoyang is in our house. Such a big thing happened, and you still say it's okay? Aren't you afraid of Prince Zhuang's revenge?"
Minister Zhang said calmly: "Today a distinguished person came to our house, and he was very satisfied with Shen Mingzhu's character."
Madam Zhang opened her mouth in surprise and asked anxiously, "Are you saying that the emperor came to our house today?"
Minister Zhang nodded and said seriously:
"When Shen Mingzhu was dealing with Princess Shaoyang, the emperor and several of our ministers were standing not far away and watching. I wanted to go up and stop Shen Mingzhu, but the emperor stopped me."
"Looking at the emperor's expression, he not only does not blame Shen Mingzhu, but he is also very happy that Shen Mingzhu taught Princess Shaoyang a lesson."
Only then did Mrs. Zhang feel relieved a little. Then, she asked worriedly:
"Princess Shaoyang is the emperor's niece. How could the emperor not help his own niece for a girl like Shen Mingzhu who has nothing to do with him?"
"Assaulting a member of the royal family is a serious crime."
No matter how she thought about it, she felt something was wrong.
Minister Zhang said bluntly: "The Emperor has long been dissatisfied with Prince Zhuang's family for being too close to Grand Tutor Pang."
"What's more, Princess Shaoyang is usually too arrogant and domineering, and often takes human lives lightly. It's time for someone to take care of her."
"And Shen Mingzhu is a girl who is both brave and resourceful, and she suits the emperor's taste very well."
Only then did Old Lady Zhang put her heart at ease. Then, she thought of Su's appearance and whispered something in Minister Zhang's ear.
At the Shen family, Old Man Shen was extremely anxious when he heard that Shen Mingzhu had offended Princess Shaoyang.
He sighed and blamed Shen Mingzhu for being too reckless.
However, Shen Laosan told Shen Mingshu that Shen Mingzhu did a good job and that was the right thing to do to slap that bad woman in the face in public.
Especially Shen Lao San, he wished he could beat up the Princess Shaoyang again right now.
He actually dared to have his wife and daughter beaten to death. Did he really think that Shen Ruhai was made of clay?
If Zhuzhu doesn't deal with that woman, he will do it.
Su glanced at Shen Lao San angrily and said irritably:
"It's all because of you, a troublemaker, that we've been troubled by this. You should solve the troubles you caused yourself, or else, get out of here."
Su is usually very gentle, but she also has a temper.
If her daughter hadn't stopped her today, she would have dealt with that woman long ago.
But her daughter was right. She didn't need to do anything to deal with that woman.
That woman was the one this man had provoked, and now this man has to deal with the aftermath himself.
After Su finished speaking, she returned to her room angrily and slammed the door shut.
Shen Lao San smiled bitterly and said to Shen Mingzhu helplessly:
"Don't be afraid, Zhuzhu. When you dealt with the Lord of Shaoyang today, the Emperor was right beside you. The Emperor saw everything that happened to you today, and he was not unhappy."
"Tomorrow I will file a memorial to accuse Princess Shaoyang of violently beating up the county lady personally appointed by the emperor, and of taking human life lightly."
Before dawn the next day, two memorials accusing Princess Shaoyang were placed in front of the emperor's desk in the Golden Palace.
Shen Lao San stepped forward and said, "I am suing the Princess Shaoyang, the daughter of Prince Zhuang, for violently beating the fifth-rank county lady appointed by Your Majesty, and ordering people to beat my wife to death. She is disregarding human life and committing heinous crimes..."
Minister Zhang also stepped forward and said, "I am suing that the daughter of Prince Zhuang, Princess Shaoyang, caused trouble in my house and ordered people to beat to death a fifth-rank county lady and the wife of an imperial official..."
Shen Laosan and Zhang Shangshu spoke at the same time, catching Prince Zhuang's people off guard.
Prince Zhuang was at home taking care of his daughter who had a fever when he heard that Shen Lao San and Zhang Shang Shu were the first to complain. He was so angry that he drew his sword and was about to chop them down.
Master Pang just happened to come in and saw Prince Zhuang was about to chop down Shen Lao San and Minister Zhang.
He grabbed Prince Zhuang and tried to persuade him with a gloomy face.
"What's the point of you going to chop them down now? Your daughter's reputation will be ruined, and your future will be over."
Prince Zhuang was furious: "What future do I have? I am the daughter of a noble prince, but I am bullied by a wild girl from the countryside. I am so angry."
"What are you afraid of? Shen Ruhai is just a poor scholar from the mountains. How can I, as a prince, not kill him?"
Master Pang thought about what happened in the Golden Palace today, and told Prince Zhuang the emperor's attitude towards the matter in detail.
Prince Zhuang was furious: "The third son is so good, he actually teamed up with outsiders to bully his own niece. Is his throne over?"
Master Pang grabbed the angry Prince Zhuang, looked outside the door, and quietly reminded him:
"Don't say that. You'll get your head cut off. Walls have ears. Speak softly and be more careful."
"Don't be angry, they are just a small editor of Hanlin. We have plenty of ways to deal with them."
"Killing people is just one way of doing things, but there are many ways to torture people..."
So, the next day, most of the officials in the court began to impeach Shen Ruhai's daughter Shen Mingzhu.
It was said that Shen Mingzhu occupied the position of Lady of the Country and violently beat up the royal family, and the emperor was requested to issue an order to revoke Shen Mingzhu's position of Lady of the Country.
They also impeached Shen Ruhai for not educating his daughter well and Shen Shiwang for having no family education. How could Shen Shiwang and his son stand in the court?
Officials from Master Pang's faction requested the emperor to strip Shen Ruhai and Shen Shiwang of their official positions, revoke their honors, and demote them to commoners.
In the end, Shen Ruhai and Shen Shiwang were removed from their positions in the Hanlin Academy.
Shen Shiwang was assigned to the Imperial College to be a teacher of the lowest rank.
Shen Ruhai was assigned to serve as magistrate in the most remote and poorest border area of Daqian.
The emperor gave the order, and Shen Ruhai set off three days later, taking Su and Shen Mingzhu with him to Pushuang County in Southern Yunnan Prefecture to take up his post.
There was an uproar in the court. The emperor's decree was issued, and everyone felt that Shen Ruhai should not offend Prince Zhuang!
Shen Ruhai, a newly crowned top scholar, was demoted to a remote mountainous area because of the princess's affairs.
Shen Ruhai was demoted directly from the fifth-rank editor of the Hanlin Academy to the seventh-rank county magistrate.
He was demoted four levels at once. Four levels! It was easy to be demoted, but difficult to be promoted. Shen Ruhai's life was ruined.
The most important thing is that Pu Shuang County not only suffered from constant natural disasters, but was also frequently harassed by the Tartars.
The Emperor is not asking Shen Ruhai to be an official, but to send Shen Ruhai and his family to die!
Officials like Tang Ren were also assigned out. Tang Ren, a fellow Jinshi, was sent to Lingnan to serve as a seventh-rank county magistrate.
Jiang Yufeng did very well in the exam this time, and with the help of Shangshu Zhang, he was arranged to work in the Ministry of Revenue as a fifth-rank secretary.
Chu Feiran was assigned to the Dali Temple as a sixth-rank Dali Sizhi.
When Tang Ren and his friends heard that Shen Ruhai was sent to the most remote county in southern Yunnan, they were filled with indignation.
Shen Ruhai comforted several people, and they all felt that Shen Ruhai was broad-minded.
They all assured Shen Ruhai that even if Shen Ruhai offended Prince Zhuang, they would still stand with Shen Ruhai.
Shen Ruhai told them that they should lie low in the court.
Let them not show up for now. Now that Grand Tutor Pang and Prince Zhuang are powerful, they might suppress them.
Tang Ren and others said they understood.
Shen Ruhai left Liu Qian to Old Man Shen. Old Man Shen had never been an official and had a simple mind. He could not handle the intrigues in officialdom.
If there was no reliable person around Old Man Shen to remind him, he might fall into the enemy's trap.
Although Old Man Shen is only a teacher at the Imperial College now, he is still afraid of Prince Zhuang's revenge.
Leaving Liu Qian as a think tank can help Old Man Shen and Shen Mingshu in the capital.
Li Xuanfeng chose to follow Shen Ruhai to southern Yunnan. Since he had decided to follow Shen Ruhai, there was no reason to retreat.
Li Xuanfeng's idea was very simple. Everyone will die one day. If he could follow his master and accomplish something great, then he would have achieved his lifelong wish.
That’s right, Li Xuanfeng felt that Shen Ruhai’s demotion this time was not a bad thing, but a good thing for promotion.
Just as they were discussing, a servant brought a visiting card from the Duke's Mansion.
Shen Ruhai opened the post and asked doubtfully:
"The Su family, the Duke of Zhenguo? When did our family have any connection with the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion?"