noffsinger Chapter 723 Revisiting old matters
Chapter 723 Revisiting old matters
After all, Yuan Yun was a daughter of a rich family, and she could tell at a glance that the material of the brocade box was extraordinary. She took out the papers inside and took a closer look, and immediately decided to take the brocade box for herself, and kept silent about it.
Therefore, when Zhong Yu and Aunt Jing discovered that the golden nanmu brocade box was missing, they tried to find it but couldn't find it, so they thought that the box was valuable and was stolen by thieves, so they wrote a letter to inform Zhou Chang.
Afterwards, Yuan Yun said that she was frightened and had to go back to her parents' home to recuperate for a few days. She took the opportunity to bring the golden nan brocade box back to her parents' home and kept it for today.
On the top of the Golden Palace, Yuan Yun, who was dressed as gorgeously as a golden and red peony, slowly opened the golden nanmu brocade box with the help of a palace maid.
She took out an envelope with her delicate hands and held it up to show the Emperor: "Your Majesty, this is the letter Yuan Qi left in person. The handwriting, time, and signature are all consistent. It can prove that she disregarded the royal decree and left without permission."
Without waiting for the emperor to react, Yuan Yun read out the contents of the paper in public: "Your ties are bound to the world, and my heart is not blocked. Our fate is shallow, and it is difficult for us to be together. From now on, I will return with no regrets. I wish Your Highness a bright future. Morning and night, year after year. On the evening of the fifteenth day of the first month of the thirty-fifth year, Yuan Qi."
Every word is pleasant to the ears and every sentence is heart-piercing.
The helplessness and loss I felt when I suddenly lost Yuan Qi came flooding back like a tide.
Zhou Chang was still pondering. Perhaps other things were OK, but this letter was undeniable and made Prince Yi's consciousness turn upside down.
This matter caused a lot of discussion in Jindu at that time.
Now if we seriously bring this up on the table, it's really hard to justify it.
I couldn't help but look at Yuan Qi.
Yuan Qi had always been like an outsider. He did not expect that this old matter would be brought up again, and he did not expect that it would lead to the disaster today.
Ben was caught off guard, but what happened had to happen. Things in the business world change rapidly. Having independently supported the huge Yuan family in the past two years, he had experienced even more. Facing such a situation, there was no reason to retreat.
Therefore, Yuan Qi walked out of the queue and walked forward slowly.
Today she was wearing an elegant moon-white dress with a white jade hairpin in her hair, and no other decorations.
The purpose of attending the court meeting today is to seek justice for my father and witness the trial of Prince Rong. Wearing plain clothes is also a sign of grief and respect for my father.
Even so, her face without makeup was still fair and beautiful, and her graceful figure and light steps made everyone unable to take their eyes off her.
Yuan Qi came to the center of the Golden Palace and bowed. Her voice was clear and melodious, echoing in the Golden Palace: "Your Majesty, please allow me to explain a little."
In this situation, he had to agree even if he didn't want to, and Emperor Lin could only acquiesce.
Yuan Qi bowed and thanked him, then raised his head with a blazing gaze: "I and Wen Fei grew up together in our hometown, Danlu City. Our two families have known each other for generations and played together when we were young. When we grew older, we fell in love with each other... That's true, and those letters we exchanged... are also true. But it is also absolutely true that we are not officially engaged. In this matter, the Yuan family dare not deceive you."
This point has basically been made clear just now, so no one expressed any opinion.
Emperor Lin just continued to listen with a sullen face.
Yuan Qi's attitude was calm, his eyes were firm, and his clear voice echoed: "Since your majesty issued the decree to grant the marriage, I have severed all contact with Wen Fei and no longer have any private feelings for him. Whether before or after the wedding, I have never done anything to let down His Royal Highness Prince Yi, let alone let down your majesty and the court. Therefore, those who accuse me of lingering feelings and privately giving and receiving are absolutely deliberate fabrications. Such fabrications not only damage my reputation, but also undermine the dignity of the court and the dignity of the royal family."
This is not only a clarification, but also an accusation, which cannot but make people gasp.
Yuan Yun was about to retort, but Zhou Chang pinned her to the spot with a glare.
After Yuan Qi finished speaking, he paused deliberately, took a deep breath, and said fearlessly: "As for the fact that I left without permission, it is true. If you say that this is against the will of the emperor, I admit it."
"Do you plead guilty?" Yuan Yun asked sharply before Emperor Lin could.
Yuan Qi didn't even bother to look at Yuan Yun from beginning to end.
Emperor Lin also asked in a deep voice: "Do you know what crime this is?"
Yuan Qi slowly shook her head: "I don't know, but I'll leave it to your majesty to decide."
Yuan Yun's voice rose a few pitches: "To put it mildly, it is the crime of infidelity and immorality. To put it more seriously, it is deceiving the emperor and disobeying the emperor's order. The lightest is a death sentence, and the worst is disaster for the entire clan."
"You are exaggerating." Zhou Chang had no choice but to confront Yuan Yun head-on.
The Emperor also glanced at the ministers below, and finally his eyes fell on the Minister of Justice Pei Li.
Minister of Justice Pei Li was nearly implicated in the case of Prince Rong because of the substitution of Ma Feihu in Tianlao. He had to sacrifice one of his deputy and push away half of the people in the Ministry of Justice to save himself. He has not dared to step out easily in recent days.
At this moment, Emperor Lin cast a thoughtful look at him, leaving him no room to avoid it.
Pei Li had no choice but to step out and say, "Your Majesty, since ancient times... since ancient times, it is rare for someone to disobey the imperial order to marry someone. It is even more unprecedented for someone to leave the marriage without permission. If we follow the folk laws... those who run away from their husbands will be punished according to the circumstances and the severity of their motives."
This answer made Zhou Chang's mind light up.
Pei Li is a man who can adapt to changing circumstances, so there is room for this statement.
Yuan Qiqiuhong's sparkling eyes were calm and peaceful, and she just nodded upwards: "Your Majesty, I am responsible for my own actions, and my family will not be implicated in the crime."
Yuan Yun saw that the wind was blowing in the wrong direction, and fanned the flames: "Your Majesty, this is a serious crime, which damages the reputation of our royal family. The Yuan family is deceiving the emperor. The former head of the Yuan family not only protected his daughter after she committed such a serious crime, but also made her the next head of the family. It can be seen that the Yuan family has no regard for the rules and ethics, let alone Your Majesty. The Yuan family should all be guilty of disrespect."
"This..." Emperor Lin's expression was uncertain.
Zhou Chang sneered, "Just now you were saying that the Yuan family had made contributions and should be rewarded, but now you are saying that the Yuan family is guilty and should be sentenced. Father, if you really use this excuse to convict a family that has made contributions, I'm afraid people will think that the court is fickle and your majesty is cold and indifferent, which will give people a reason to criticize you."
Emperor Lin's thoughts were touched again.
Yuan Qi didn't understand these rules and was still stubbornly resisting: "Your Majesty, this matter was done by me alone. It has nothing to do with my family. The disaster will not affect my family."
Since the day he made up his mind to leave Prince Yi, Yuan Qi had weighed the consequences, but he certainly had not imagined that he would be exploited in this way and expanded to such a serious extent.
Moreover, the Ministry of Rites of the imperial court later issued an order to deprive her of her title and position, and the matter should have been completely settled. Who would have thought that a bigger incident could arise?