HLnovel Chapter 249 Proclaiming the Imperial Edict
Chapter 249 Proclaiming the Imperial Edict
The Crown Prince raised his hand, indicating that everyone should dispense with formalities.
Grand Tutor Lan strode up to Lan Yin and said to Granny Hui, "Go and give the order to pack your daughter's things now. She's leaving today. Our Lan family's daughter's daughter is going home. Let's see who dares to stop her or say anything!"
"Father-in-law, listen..." Duke Sheng subconsciously tried to stop him, but the next moment, Grand Tutor Lan took out a ruler from his sleeve, raised it, and slapped Duke Sheng across the face without any politeness.
With a "smack," before Duke Sheng could react, another smack followed.
Duke Sheng finally came to his senses, his eyes filled with disbelief, and his face showed some embarrassment and awkwardness. There were so many people here, including the guests who came to attend the coming-of-age ceremony today, as well as the Crown Prince and the Third Prince. As Duke Sheng, how could he face people in the future after being pointed at and scolded like this and having a ruler slapped in his face?
Duke Sheng's face flushed red instantly, his mind went blank, and he couldn't understand how things had developed to this point.
He couldn't let Grand Tutor Lan slap him, but he couldn't fight back either, so he could only dodge to the side.
But how could Grand Tutor Lan let him off the hook? He struck Duke Sheng with the ruler again and again: "I, Lan Zigu, have taught countless students in my life. The most blind thing I have ever done is probably marrying my daughter to a heartless bastard like you!"
“My granddaughter Yangyang suffered greatly in her childhood. She was deliberately switched by an evil servant and a wicked woman, her face was disfigured with a branding iron, and she was thrown into the mountains to die. She grew up alone with no one to rely on. She finally got her biological parents to discover the truth and come looking for her. But you, as her father, refused to listen to your daughter's words, sided with the enemy, and harmed your own daughter. How can you have the face to be a father?”
"If you, Sheng Qishen, had even a shred of shame, you wouldn't have done something as simple as driving away your own daughter for the sake of your enemy! Even tigers don't eat their cubs, yet you, Sheng Qishen, are worse than an animal, capable of anything! Let me tell you, even if you don't write this letter of divorce today, I will petition His Majesty to bring Lan Yin home. Marrying someone like you would be a disgrace to the Lan family!"
"Stop! Stop right now! What right do you have to hit my son? That country bumpkin, Lu Yangyang, is ill-mannered, disrespectful to elders, and unloving to her brothers and sisters. Bringing her back is a disaster for our Duke's mansion! We were a perfectly good family, and since she came back, so many troubles have arisen. I told you we shouldn't have brought her back in the first place, so as to avoid causing so much unrest in the family! She should have been drowned when she was born, which would have saved us from all this trouble!" Seeing that Grand Tutor Lan was hitting Duke Sheng, no one else could stop him, but Old Madam Li couldn't bear to watch her son being beaten. She got up in a fit of rage, rushed over, and pulled Duke Sheng away, glaring angrily at Grand Tutor Lan.
Grand Tutor Lan gripped the ruler and sneered, "Very well, so your Shengguo Duke's Mansion admits that you disregarded all kinship for the sake of an enemy's daughter. I heard it when I entered: you wanted to sever ties with Yangyang and never have anything to do with her again."
"Then I, as her maternal grandfather, will hereby solidify this severance of ties on her behalf. From this day forward, Lu Yangyang is severing all ties with your Duke Sheng's Mansion. Do you have anything to say about this?"
"No, if your Lan family wants it, then take that little slut and get out of here right now!" Old Madam Li shouted angrily.
Grand Tutor Lan gave a mocking snort, looking at Duke Sheng with utter disdain.
The Duke of Sheng was so provoked by that blatant gaze that his eyes turned bloodshot. He knew that the situation had completely spiraled out of his control, and no matter what he said or did now, he couldn't salvage the situation.
He had no choice but to nod in agreement.
But this was clearly not the situation he had hoped to see.
His gaze couldn't help but fall on Lan Yin, but Lan Yin wouldn't even glance at him.
He and Lan Yin were young lovers. He had put in so much effort to marry his beloved. At that time, he felt that even if he died right then and there, he would have no regrets.
He loved her more than anything. He climbed the social ladder with all his might, wanting to protect the family's honor and the Sheng family's status, and also to protect her innocence and naivety, hoping that she could live a happy and peaceful life under his protection forever.
When she suffered an undeserved calamity during that turmoil, he slapped himself hard several times in anger, and at that moment he vowed that he would never let her suffer such injustice again in his life.
So from then on, he devoted all his energy to managing the power of the Sheng family. He began to proceed cautiously, carefully calculating each step, walking on thin ice. He dared not make a single wrong move, fearing that one wrong move would lead to the same fate as the Rong family, where the entire clan would be wiped out.
Whenever he thinks of the bloodshed that filled the Rong family garden, he has nightmares day and night. He is afraid that the Sheng family will suffer the same fate. How can he protect her and their child then?
He wasn't doing it for himself, or at least not entirely for himself.
He thought she would understand.
Only when the Sheng family prospers can they go further.
But now, they haven't even grown old together, so why is she leaving him?
He did keep Sheng Yunzhu, but did she really not understand why he wanted to keep her? It wasn't because he valued Sheng Yunzhu as a daughter so much, but because Sheng Yunzhu was useful. As for Lu Yangyang, a child she had never raised for even a day, why was she so insistent on keeping her?
Duke Sheng felt dizzy and his heart felt like it was being torn apart by a claw, causing him unbearable pain.
Why, why can't we be even a little bit more understanding of him?
If only Lu Yangyang hadn't existed, things wouldn't be like this now. Or, if only Lu Yangyang had been more obedient. Which children don't follow their parents' arrangements? Why did she insist on fighting and grabbing?
Why? It shouldn't be like this.
What went wrong?
Duke Sheng couldn't understand it. He felt a metallic taste rise in his throat and suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood.
"My son, are you alright? Heavens! Someone, someone come quickly!" Old Madam Li stood before Duke Sheng, turning her head to see his mouth full of blood. Terrified and helpless, with no one to turn to, she frantically called out to Sheng Junyi, "Ayi, Ayi, come quickly! Help your father! Go find a doctor, find the imperial physician! Hurry! What do we do?!"
Sheng Junyi stood still, it was unclear whether she was startled or something else.
Duke Sheng pressed down on his flustered mother: "I'm fine."
The Duke of Shengguo, who was once full of vigor, now seems to have aged more than ten years in a short time, as if all his energy and spirit have been drained away.
Madam Li turned her head and glared angrily at Lu Yangyang, the "culprit," and shouted, "It's all your fault, you jinx! Get out, get out now! I want to see what future you, a helpless orphan, can have without the support of the Duke of Sheng's mansion!"
"My future is none of your concern, Madam." Lu Yangyang was in a good mood, with a smile on her lips.
Before she could finish speaking, the Crown Prince opened his mouth and said, "Announce the imperial edict."
Everyone looked at the Crown Prince with puzzled expressions.
The eunuch who had accompanied the Crown Prince unfolded a scroll of imperial edict. "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Physician Lu Yangyang, in the case of the smallpox epidemic in Yangguan City, discovered a method for preventing smallpox, saving tens of thousands of people and soldiers in Yangguan City. Her merit is great for the country and for generations to come. She is a model physician of our time. Therefore, she is hereby granted the title of Princess, a Princess's Mansion, a thousand taels of gold, a hundred acres of fertile land, and a fief of eight hundred acres. This is the imperial decree."
After reading out a series of rewards, the eunuch smiled and put away the imperial edict, then presented it to Lu Yangyang, saying, "Princess, please accept the edict."
Lu Yangyang received the imperial edict and looked at the Crown Prince in shock.