Chapter 1298: Chapter 1296: Falling from the Clouds
In just a few days, Marquis Yonganâs Mansion fell from the clouds onto the mud, left to be trampled on.
This is Imperial Power, this is the right of the one who sits on the highest throne, a single command: if the ruler wants his minister dead, the minister must die.
When The Emperor favors you, you can be noble, wealthy, and arrogant, but once this favor is lost, a single order can cast you down from the clouds, never to rise again.
Marquis Yonganâs Mansion is a typical example. In just half a year, its glory vanished. Back then, how proud Consort Rong was, but now?
For a concubine who enters the Cold Palace, the outcomes are either death or madness, ultimately a dead end, and for a concubine without her natal family, the fate is even worse.
Now look at Marquis Yonganâs Mansion, the house ransacked, servants dismissed, forced to hastily move into a dowry residence of Madam Wang.
That house is just a small three-entry courtyard, but Marquis Yonganâs Mansion, or now it should be called Wangâs Residence.
Wangâs Residence is heavily populated. Unlike the previous generation of Marquis Yongan struggling with offspring, this generation is flourishing, and because Old Madam Wang is still alive, the two households have not split, so adding up both households, there are thirty or forty masters, not counting the undismissed servants.
So many people crammed into a dowry residence, itâs difficult even to breathe, forced to squeeze here and there, barely managing to live.
Thereâs no other choice; the Emperor ordered Marquis Yonganâs properties and Silver to be confiscated into the national treasury to compensate for the Silver Mineâs loss. Even estates and houses were seized, leaving no place to reside.
For now, luckily thereâs an auntie like Madam Wang, itâs already a blessing to have a place to stay.
...
This sudden disaster dealt a heavy blow to Wangâs Residence; upon learning that Wang Hao was beheaded, and Old Master Wang received fifty lashes, Eldest Madam Wang fainted immediately, unable to manage affairs.
As for the second household, they were also ineffective; the Old Madam fell ill, Eldest Madam Wang also fell ill, leaving Second Madam Wang to rely on the only auntie, Madam Wang, to handle the familyâs affairs with her half-ill body.
Since the incident, barely half a day, fires of blisters appeared around Madam Wangâs mouth, dizzy spells overtaking her, yet she didnât dare to collapse, directing her people to help manage matters of her natal family, and assigning someone to care for her legitimate mother.
The most detestable thing is, when trouble befell the Wang Family, many of their in-laws distanced themselves, the married concubine-born daughters did not return, and even the imperial physician refused to come, forcing Wu Lihong to bring two Senior Doctors to diagnose the Old Madam.
The diagnosis concluded Old Madam Wang suffered from qi deficiency, blood stasis, and wind-cold invasion, leading to internal wind, causing her mouth to be crooked and unable to speak. Simply put, she had a stroke, needing to be nourished and avoiding further aggravation.
Poor Old Madam Wang, at an age supposed to enjoy her remaining years, suddenly heard her grandson was beheaded, her son severely beaten, and she herself immobilized, only able to lie in bed and silently weep, evoking sympathy in others.
Madam Wang could not bear to see her legitimate motherâs tragic plight, and upon seeing the Wang family in chaos, with those concubineâs sons and daughters calculating each other, sadness welled in her, mixing with disgust.
Her natal family fell, fell suddenly, fell swiftly, as if a gentle hand lightly pushed, leading the Wang household to ruin, never again basking in yesterdayâs brilliance.
And herself, no longer the auntie of Marquis Yonganâs Mansion, merely from a commoner household, and perhaps in the future, she would need to support this natal family, unclear on how to fill the large gap within.
Looking at that cluster of nieces and nephews, Madam Wang felt her scalp tingle, and chills down her spine.