The Prime Minister's Darling

Chapter 316: 171 The Crown Princess is Punished (Second Update)_3

If things happened in the past, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. After all, it is impossible for the royal family to travel without pomp.

As long as nothing goes wrong, everything is fine.

But the problem is that something has happened, a big issue concerning human life!

The Emperor expressed his dissatisfaction. He was furious but didn’t want to scold a woman. So he called the Crown Prince to the Imperial Study Room and rebuked him: “Look at the mess you’ve made! On New Year’s Day, at the beginning of the national fortune, you two poked such a big hole for me! Do you think my throne is too stable? Trying to give me trouble?”

The Crown Prince also felt wronged. Doesn’t the royal family always travel with pomp? Especially when it’s the Crown Princess, the future Empress of Zhan Country. It is not considered wrong even if she blocked a road, a bridge, or even a temple, forbidding others from entering.

This is not the Crown Prince favoring the Crown Princess, this is how the royal family has always been.

It is both a show of royal prestige and a matter of royal rules.

Unless the Crown Princess traveled incognito.

But then her safety would not be guaranteed.

However, the Emperor is now furious, and the crown prince dares not to reply a word.

The Emperor continued to scold: “Can’t you learn from your third brother? How does his wife manage things? How does your wife manage things?”

Because the third prince’s wife listened to Gu Jiao’s suggestion, she selected many people who are good at swimming from her guards and the Forbidden Army, and took them to the temple’s back door. The moment the Suo Bridge broke, she immediately commanded them to jump into the river to save people.

The river was not swift, and everyone was clinging onto planks from the bridge. As long as the rescue was timely, they would not freeze to death in the river.

Most of the people who fell into the river were rescued, and casualties were minimized.

Most of them were candidates for the Imperial Examination the next spring.

You can imagine how much talent would have been lost to the court if they hadn’t been rescued!

The Emperor had a very good impression of the Crown Princess before. After all, she was engaged to the junior priest when they were children. They grew up as childhood sweethearts. If the boy was so excellent, how bad could she be?

This marriage was somewhat inappropriate to begin with.

The crown prince is Xiao Hen’s cousin.

How could he seek to marry his cousin’s widow?

But Wo Linlang was indeed excellent, and Xiao Hen had been dead for so long, and the crown prince did like her. After weighing many factors, the Emperor agreed to this marriage.

Wo Linlang did not disappoint the royal family. Although her birth was not outstanding among the princess’s wives, her scholarship, ambition, vision, and ability far exceeded the rest of the Emperor’s daughters-in-law.

Today’s incident was beyond the Emperor’s anticipation.

The Emperor went on: “Do you know how much resentment there is among the people right now? If it wasn’t for the third son’s wife’s timely action to rescue the people, I, your father the Emperor, would have to issue a confession tomorrow!”

Only when a great negligence has occurred will a monarch issue a confession to apologize to the world. This is no different from slapping the royal family’s face.

No emperor wants to issue a confession.

This would be recorded in history and stigmatize the Emperor for eternity!

The Crown Prince was scolded severely.

He had been kneeling for two hours before he could hold up his aching knees and return to the East Palace. @@novelbin@@

The third prince’s wife had done a great service, and the Emperor rewarded her with a thousand taels of gold, and issued an imperial decree, conferring upon the third prince the title of Duke Rui, and the third prince’s wife as Duchess Rui.

He was the first prince to be titled after the Crown Prince.

Normally, the eldest prince would be the first to receive a title.

However, not a single official, civil or military, spoke against it. After all, so many lives and future talents of the court!

Even the Office of the Imperial Censor, known for its poisonous tongue, was silenced.

The third prince… Now he should be called Duke Rui.

Duke Rui took his wife into the palace to kowtow and thank the Emperor.

The Emperor was very pleased. He used to think that this son did not have much potential, but seeing his wife so capable, he at least knew that his choice along with Consort Yu was not wrong.

The Emperor kept Duke Rui for two rounds of chess.

Duchess Rui went to pay respects to the Empress, then to Noble Consort Zhuang and Consort Yu, and then went for a walk in the Imperial Garden.

While walking, she arrived at the gate of the East Palace.

“You.” She pointed at the female official, Xu, “Go in and report, saying that Duchess Rui requests to see the Crown Princess.”

“…Yes.” Xu, the female official, braced herself and went in.

Not long after, Xu, the female official, came out, followed by a grinning nanny.

The nanny said: “So it’s Duchess Rui who has come. I apologize for not coming out to greet you, but the Crown Princess currently cannot see guests.”

Duchess Rui laughed: “Isn’t it just that she’s been grounded by the Emperor? It’s not like she has to come out. I’ll go in to see her!”