C231 (1/2)
Rong'er thought to himself, ”I've encountered something that makes me feel awkward. This is something that I avoided along the way, but it still happened in the end. Facing this girl's accusation, I can't ignore the sympathy in my heart. How am I supposed to act?” All these years, I've insisted that I never mention anything about politics to the emperor, but this time, am I going to break the rule?
During dinner time, the eunuch who accompanied them came to inform the emperor that he was hosting a banquet for the officials of the former palace. He didn't come, and had already instructed the estate to prepare special food for the two concubines, which would be delivered shortly.
While waiting for dinner in the small hall, Rong'er and Xuande chatted about the strange happenings along the way while sighing at the tiredness of the Jiangnan mountains and rivers, as well as the fact that he was just sitting obediently by the side, when the servants from the manor arrived, Rong'er ordered them to bring the food over. There were several maids from the mansion, and amongst them was the girl whom she had seen in the afternoon.
”Thanks for the trouble.” Rong'er nodded his head lightly as he led Rongxian over, then beckoned Xuande to take a seat. Rongxian was very hungry, so he ate big mouthfuls of food. As a result, Ronger couldn't help but frown, ”Guan`er, eat slowly, pay attention to the princess' appearance!”
”Understood, Madam!” Rongxian looked up and smiled at Rongxian, Zhang Luo said, ”Dear ladies, please enjoy! The taste is pretty good. ”
Xuande smiled and said to Rong'er, ”Along the way, I've really seen how adorable our princess is!”
Rong'er smiled bitterly, and the two of them began to eat in silence. A few maids beside them were at the back, ready to listen to their orders. The elderly maid was introducing the dishes to them.
Right behind Rong'er, the girl they had met that afternoon had never stopped secretly sizing up Rong'er and Xuande.
Usually, the two of them would stay behind in the residence and would request to meet quite a few officials and madams, but they would usually not easily meet each other. On this day, as usual, the servants of the residence brought in dinner, and Rong'er actually had a feeling that the girl they met for the first time liked to sneak a peek at her, so he gave her a bit of attention. Today, after she put down the dishes, she suddenly knelt down and kowtowed towards Rong'er and Xuan De, saying, ”The people are wronged.
The older woman reacted rather quickly, and she quickly walked over and shouted, ”Obedient, what are you doing? You've let down the two esteemed ladies, and this servant will go back and properly educate that girl, startling the two esteemed ladies to eat dinner. Please forgive me.”
Rong'er and Xuande glanced at each other. The two of them were indeed surprised, but due to the special attention they had been paying these past few days, Rong'er had a good impression of her. If it was the past, she would definitely not care about this grievance.
When the girl heard this, she hurriedly raised her head to look at Rong'er gratefully. At the same time, she stood up and respectfully handed the paper in her hand to Rong'er.
Rong'er unfolded the paper and looked at it carefully. This girl was quite daring. She actually accused the court's fourth rank official, An Huan, the Prefect of Ning Country. She signed the document with the name Yuan Yi. Rong'er gently put the letter away, raised his head and looked at the girl with a gentle gaze and said softly, ”You're Yuan Yi?”
”This commoner is the informer, Yuan Yi.” Yuan Yi was already extremely nervous, but he forced himself to remain calm as he said this.
”Yuan Yi, you are suing an official. The two of us are unable to handle the case because of the wife, so you sued in the wrong place. If you tell the mansion, you can make a statement to the higher authorities.” Rong'er said softly.
”Imperial Concubine Rong, how do you know that this subject did not complain, that the officials are at fault, and that when they heard the news of the emperor's visit to the south of Jiangnan, this subject carried the intention to kill herself and went to Jiangning, where I originally wanted to stop the imperial carriage to report to the emperor, but the emperor still allowed the people to report all the way there, so I was extremely helpless to sneak into the Jiangning manor and wait for an opportunity, but I simply had no way of meeting the emperor, and even if I met the two ladies, I could only wait for a little while.” Yuan Yi said excitedly with tears in her eyes.
”How did you get in here?” Rong'er didn't understand. Logically speaking, those who had come to greet the imperial carriage in the Jiangning Estate should have a thorough understanding of the situation. However, this woman seemed to have just entered the mansion not long ago.
”This …” Yuan Yi hesitated for a moment, then raised his head and softly said, ”My daughter is originally from Jiangning, my uncle was always there as a servant, and when my father was appointed as Zhizhou, I followed my father to Anhui to take up his post. This time, hearing that the emperor is going to Jiangning, I travelled day and night to Jiangning to discuss this with my uncle, and begged him to help me … This time, my uncle and I are determined to die just to give justice to my father. ”
”Yuan Yi, do you know how serious your complaint is? This is no small matter! ” Rong'er sighed.
”This humble woman knows herself. This humble woman is going to sue the officials. On one hand, she is avenging her father, but on the other hand, she is also expelling corrupt officials for the Great Qing.” Yuan Yi said with a serious expression.