RPAGF Chapter 391: Yongning Earl's Mansion Was Raided
Chapter 391: Yongning Earl's Mansion Was Raided
Lin's expression was gloomy. After a long while, she said, "Now that things have come to this, I'll do as you say. However, you must obey my instructions in everything and must not act recklessly again!"
Zhou Lingyi breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and resumed her little girlish demeanor, pulling on Lin's sleeve and coquettishly saying, "Yes, mother, I obey your command."
Lin had a stern face and glared at her unhappily.
But he still felt sorry for Zhou Lingyi, so he helped her sit down on the armchair, then stood up straight and shouted outside, "Someone come!"
When Madam Kong and Caiwei heard Lin calling someone, they came in immediately.
"lady."
"lady."
Lin's eyes fell on Madam Kong and she said, "Madam Kong, you go to the palace gate and stand guard to see if there's any unusual movement. If there's any, report back immediately. If not, after court is over, invite the Earl to the young lady's courtyard and tell her you have something important to discuss."
"Yes, ma'am." Nanny Kong agreed and quickly turned and left.
Lin's gaze fell on Caiwei again, and she said sternly, "Go and invite the doctor over."
Caiwei agreed and turned to go out. After a while, the doctor followed Caiwei in.
"Husband... Madam, please spare me, Madam, please spare me. I will keep this a secret and will not tell anyone."
The doctor was terrified of being caught in such a private matter, fearing he would be silenced, so he knelt on the ground and kowtowed as soon as he entered the room.
Lin looked down at him and said calmly, "It's not impossible for me to forgive you if you want me to. Just shut up and prescribe some pregnancy-maintaining medicine. Make sure both mother and child are safe. As long as you can do this..."
Lin raised her eyes, the red cloth was opened, and a hundred taels of silver were placed on the tray. "It's all yours."
The doctor immediately said, "Thank you, Madam! Thank you, Madam!"
"Don't be so quick to thank me. If I hear even a single word later..." Lin's eyes sternly said, "You should know what you're about to face!"
The doctor was stunned and said quickly, "Yes, yes, I know, I know. I will keep it a secret."
Seeing the doctor's terrified expression, Lin knew her goal had been achieved. She hummed calmly, "In that case, go prescribe the medicine to maintain the pregnancy."
"Yes." The doctor took the silver and followed Caiwei out.
Lin sighed slightly in her heart. In fact, according to her idea, this doctor must not be kept.
But Yi Jie'er is pregnant now and needs a doctor to take her pulse and diagnose her and take care of her at all times.
Instead of killing this doctor and then looking for someone else, it is better to keep this doctor for the time being and make plans after Prince An's side has settled down.
Let’s see whether we should keep the baby in Yijie’er’s belly or not.
Once it is confirmed, we will kill the doctor to silence him.
Zhou Lingyi sat on the armchair behind Lin and watched this scene, feeling a little moved.
She knew that her mother would not be so cruel.
She stood up, walked to Lin's side, took Lin's arm, and choked up, "Mom, I knew you wouldn't ignore your daughter."
Seeing her clinging and trying to please her, Lin said angrily, "I really owe you something in my previous life. If you don't behave this time, I won't care about you anymore."
"Listen, listen, I will definitely listen!" Zhou Lingyi agreed immediately.
As the mother and daughter were talking, Madam Kong rushed in, shouting, "Oh no! Oh no, Madam!"
Lin frowned, looking at Madam Kong, who was running out of breath, and said, "Madam, what's wrong with you? You're so flustered! I told you to go to the palace gate, why are you still in the mansion?"
Madam Kong was nearly sixty years old and had been out of breath after running so fast. However, she still tried to control her breath and said in panic, "Madam! It's bad! Just now... just now, I followed your order and went to the palace... As soon as I left the house... I ran into... ran into..."
"Tell me what you saw!" Lin said impatiently.
"We ran into the Imperial Guards who were ordered by the Emperor to search our mansion!" said Madam Kong.
As if to confirm what Madam Kong said, several guards dressed in royal guard uniforms walked in and surrounded the courtyard.
One of the guards looked around, his gaze fixed on Lin and Zhou Lingyi's faces, and said, "Mrs. Lin, the wife of the Earl of Yongning, and the daughter of the Earl of Yongning?"
Lin and Zhou Lingyi felt a tightness in their hearts at the same time, but they had to nod.
Seeing that their identities matched, the guard nodded, waved his hand, and said to the other guards behind him, "Take them away!"
The guards immediately stepped forward and clamped the two men's hands.
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? Let me go!"
The two struggled, but these royal guards would not show mercy to those who were about to become relatives of criminals.
When Lin and Zhou Lingyi were pressed in front of the gate of the Marquis' Mansion, they saw that even the old lady was pressed to her knees on the ground, and their hearts suddenly skipped a beat.
This time, Li Shunquan came personally to announce the decree.
He unfolded the imperial edict expressionlessly:
"It is God's destiny, the emperor decreed:
Yongning Earl Zhou Yaozhi, who received the emperor's grace, should have diligently performed his duties in return. However, he harbored a wicked ambition. He first tampered with disaster relief funds, and when the deed came to light, I, mindful of his life-saving grace, let him off lightly, punishing him with a minor punishment and a significant warning. He then refused to repent, forming a clique for personal gain, collaborating with the enemy and treason, communicating with foreign nations, leaking military secrets, and inciting Prince An to rebellion. Such actions are beyond the reach of Heaven.
The evidence was irrefutable, the charges were numerous, and he was sentenced to death. The property of the Yongning Earl was confiscated.
"Among these three clans, all males over ten years old shall be executed, and those under ten shall be exiled to the frontier; all females under sixteen years old shall be imprisoned in the Jiaofangsi and become slaves forever, and those over sixteen shall be enslaved and never be able to redeem themselves, as a warning to others! This is my decree!"
The old lady fainted before the imperial edict was finished.
Lin's face was full of disbelief, and Zhou Lingyi was even more confused and didn't react.
Just now she was dreaming of becoming the queen and the baby in her belly becoming the eldest prince. Now, in just a moment, everything turned into nothing.
How could she accept this?
There were wailing and crying all around.
Zhou Lingyi looked at Lin's pale face and his second uncle's shocked and frightened expression, and pinched his arm hard.
The severe pain told her that all this was real and not a dream.
No...no!
She is the legitimate daughter of the Yongning Earl's Mansion!
A lady from a high family! A lady of noble status!
How could we go to a dirty place like the Jiaofangsi!
No...that's not right. She turned sixteen a month ago. She will be...taken into slavery and will never be redeemed. She will be a slave forever!
No… the rest of her life shouldn't be like this!
How to do?
How to do!
Zhou Lingyi was so anxious that she broke out in a cold sweat. Suddenly, she touched her lower abdomen.
Oh, and she has a child!
This is the emperor's grandson, His Highness's child. The emperor can't possibly have the heart to let his grandson become a slave, right?