Forced Into the Palace: Becoming the Emperor's Favorite-Chapter 362: Family Outing

After the long winter passed, Shengjing City moved from January to February.

The news of Lin Xiang retiring to his hometown was not as sensational as the full execution of the members of Prince Zhan Mansion.

On the eighth day of February, the sun began to shine a little.

In front of the market gate, Prince Zhan, Consort Wei, and their three sons all knelt in unison.

At noon, the execution began.

As the knives carved the flesh one cut after another, all five screamed in pain.

This method of execution was far less quick than beheading.

Below the stage, Mrs. Jiang stood prominently in the crowd.

Accompanying her naturally were Yu Wenjie and Prince Sang Deng.

The three stood out among the common spectators, clearly different from the ordinary citizens who came to watch.

Their eyes were filled with wanton delight. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The knives cut away the flesh of Prince Zhan, but to Mrs. Jiang, it felt like each cut was reclaiming her past.

After watching for a while, she said indifferently.

"Let’s go."

"Hmm."

On the stage, Prince Zhan certainly saw Mrs. Jiang, but with a cloth shoved in his mouth, he could not call out even if he wanted to.

He could only watch helplessly as they left.

And feel the deadly pain on his body and the gradual loss of life.

After three days of execution, when the executioner thrust the knife into the chests of Prince Zhan and his family, their bodies were reduced to bare bones.

And the flesh cut off had already been devoured by wild dogs.

The five skeletal corpses became a hot topic in Shengjing City for quite a long time.

One Prince Mansion, generations of glory.

Countless wealth, sky-high power.

All vanished in an instant.

In the matter of overthrowing Prince Zhan, the greatest contributors were naturally Mrs. Jiang and her son.

Yet the two were such that they could not be openly rewarded, so the Emperor specially granted them some funds for future use.

And Mrs. Jiang, after the execution ended on the fourth day, departed with her daughter Yu Wenjie and son-in-law to Xidi.

As for Yu Wen Jia, who no longer lived in this world.

He took on the name Jiang Zhiya and went to Xidi with them, staying in the shadows.

As for what he discussed with Fourth Prince all night before leaving, that is another story.

Public discussion about Prince Zhan Mansion continued until other more important matters emerged and gradually faded away.

For example, the commendations and rewards to court officials.

With his own power, Mr. Lin broke the earth dragon feng shui structure that Prince Zhan Mansion had hidden for decades, so that the National Treasury suddenly increased by nine million taels.

Many problems were solved swiftly.

Therefore, the Emperor specially appointed him as Da Wei’s National Scholar, though without an official rank or title, his status was akin to a top-ranking official.

Initially, some people gossiped behind the scenes.

Thinking the Emperor’s act was partial, largely due to favoring Princess Consort Yi Ning and thus rewarding her family generously.

But unexpectedly, Mr. Lin immediately knelt and requested to resign.

Saying he wished to find an observatory in Shengjing City to gather talented individuals skilled in feng shui, astrology, and mechanisms to serve Da Wei together.

And that he could only be of some assistance in this.

The Emperor, upon hearing this, felt it was quite reasonable.

Since ancient times, the Royal Family has highly regarded Buddhism and Taoism, while these divination techniques seemed somewhat unorthodox.

Mr. Lin’s move could indeed rectify their reputation.

They would no longer be considered as mere fortune tellers, but rightfully and properly calculating and serving the country.

It was a good thing!

Thus, he granted approval.

He specially chose the six-story tall Qifeng Building in the city and renamed it to Quanyu Building.

Entrusted it to Mr. Lin to handle this matter.

Once the news spread, practitioners from all over Da Wei flocked to Shengjing City.

Indeed creating a period of flourishing!

And the next to be richly rewarded was Fourth Prince.

In the affairs of Prince Zhan Mansion and Lan University Scholar, he decisively cleared away a lot of brutal reputation for the Emperor.

Originally well-regarded, at this moment anyone would see him as a Living Yama.

However, this unintentional act further cemented Fourth Prince Consort’s absolute status among the social circles of ladies in the Capital City.

As long as the palace’s nobles weren’t present, she was the one holding the leading position.

For a while, invitations of goodwill made Fourth Prince Consort have more feasts than she could attend.

And every time she went, she would bring Mrs. Dong and Mrs. Feng.

Thus, people in the Capital City understood that the Fourth Prince Mansion, Lin Mansion, and Feng Mansion were all united.

Even if there was some jealousy in private, on the surface they were all respectful.

Pity those ladies who used to follow Princess Rongkang, now they were almost forced out of the scene.

Simultaneously, in early March, Mrs. Feng brought good news.

She was already two months pregnant.

Mrs. Yun checked in every ten days to ensure the child’s healthy birth.

This made Mrs. Feng feel somewhat overwhelmed by the attention.

And Lin Xingzhi, a robust man, shed tears as he carefully looked at her still flat belly and said.

"I will definitely do well, so our child won’t be bullied when born!"

Perhaps he suffered too many grievances during his childhood and adolescence.

Thus, he cherished seriously treating the child in Mrs. Feng’s womb.

Mrs. Feng, being quite virtuous, leaned in his arms and happily said.

"My husband is already very good, I think the child will be glad to be born into our family."

The couple shared a glance and smiled.

Spring blossoms, another year of good times.

The annual March temple fair at Qinglong Temple began again.

This time, it seemed even livelier than before.

Perhaps because the winter’s snow fell rapidly and heavily, today the peach blossoms were particularly abundant.

In mid-March, Qinglong Temple was constantly bustling.

At the foot of the mountain, many inns remained fully booked.

The number of tourists could be imagined.

The front and rear courtyards of Qinglong Temple were like heaven and earth.

The front courtyard was teeming with people, lively and bustling.

The rear courtyard was incredibly quiet, like a paradise.

The northernmost Zen Temple rooms were heavily guarded.

Strangers could not easily enter inside.

The connected courtyards sat deep in the peach forest, where opening a window revealed a tree full of blooming peach blossoms.

Such scenery could not be seen inside the palace.

In the courtyard, two people sat quietly, they were the Emperor and Lin Wanyi.

Naturally, accompanying them from the palace were five children.

The matter of conferring titles had come to nothing, making the Emperor feel a slight sense of guilt.

He specially asked Lin Wanyi if she wanted something else as compensation.

Lin Wanyi originally intended to answer "No," but could not resist the Second Prince.

So under his expectant gaze, Lin Wanyi expressed the "wish" to leave the palace once.

The Emperor naturally knew the idea came from the Second Prince.

As for leaving the palace, he was unusually interested.