Chapter 393: The Marquis is a Woman
Yun Chu's eyes darkened.
The intelligence bureau she had previously established, combined with Chu Yi's Earth-Shattering Department—both organizations dedicated to gathering information—had merged into one and uncovered many secrets of the capital.
After the Marchioness of Boyuan and Su Ziyue had multiple private encounters, she ordered her subordinates to focus their investigation on the Boyuan Marquis Estate.
This investigation indeed yielded results.
The previous Marquis of Boyuan had six legitimate daughters, not to mention the illegitimate ones—the household was filled with young ladies.
Finally, a son was born, who was immediately granted the title of Young Son. When the old Marquis passed away, the twelve-year-old Young Son inherited the title and has held it ever since.
The current Marchioness of Boyuan is his cousin. She gave birth to a legitimate son in the second year of their marriage... In reality, that legitimate son was adopted from a collateral branch of the Boyuan family and was brought over on the very day he was born...
Why adopt? Because the Young Son who inherited the Marquis title was actually a woman. How could two women bear a child?
Upon learning this secret, she actually felt quite impressed by the Marquis. As a woman who inherited the title, she had propped up the half-dead Marquis Estate, secured a position in the cabinet, raised an outstanding child, and elevated the entire Boyuan Marquis Estate to a higher social circle...
Admiration was one thing.
But when the two stood on opposing sides,
Yun Chu would not hesitate to strike when necessary.
Yet, out of consideration that the other was a woman—a woman in her thirties—she only had her brother remove the other's outer garment and splash water on her, rather than doing anything more extreme.
"The esteemed Marquis of Boyuan is a woman!" Yun Chu declared sharply. "A woman holding a noble title and serving as an official is utterly absurd! Guards, summon the Old Madam, the Marchioness, and their clansmen from the Boyuan Marquis Estate to the palace immediately!"
Although the Crown Prince had died,
until a new monarch was appointed, Yun Chu remained the Crown Princess.
Her commands still carried some weight.
Moreover, at such a time, everyone wanted to know what was truly happening, so no one raised objections and swiftly left the palace to summon the people.
As for Chu Rui, his face darkened for a moment before quickly returning to normal, maintaining a composed and elegant demeanor.
The Emperor had passed away, and the bells tolled for a long time, alerting the entire capital. The members of the Boyuan Marquis Estate, dressed in mourning attire, were prepared to enter the palace to mourn at any moment. Thus, they were quickly summoned to the palace.
The Old Madam of the Marquis Estate led the clansmen to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Just as they were about to begin mourning, they sensed something amiss.
The Marquis Estate members, unsure of what was wrong, hurriedly knelt and paid their respects: "We pay our respects to all the consorts and esteemed officials..."
"Old Madam, lift your head and take a look," Yun Chu said calmly. "Is this person the Marquis of Boyuan?"
Only then did the Old Madam notice a woman standing among the crowd, dressed in white undergarments, with disheveled hair.
When she saw the woman's face, the Old Madam felt as if struck by lightning, trembling violently and nearly collapsing to the ground.
Over thirty years ago, she had made a decision while holding the youngest legitimate daughter of the Marquis Estate: to raise this girl as a boy to inherit the Marquis title!
For the past thirty years, she had always considered this the most correct decision she had ever made, as the Marquis Estate had indeed prospered and even risen to rival the princely estates of the capital...She had arranged a marriage for the Marquis with a cousin from her maternal family, promising them various benefits. The cousin naturally devoted herself wholeheartedly to the Marquis' household, and they even adopted a child from a collateral branch.
The child, adopted from a side branch, was exceptionally obedient and sensible. Now studying at the Imperial Academy, he was deeply favored by his teachers and had a promising future ahead.
Everything seemed to be progressing in a positive direction, so how could it suddenly...
"Why has the Old Madam fallen silent?" Yun Chu spoke slowly, each word deliberate. "The esteemed Boyuan Marquis is actually a woman. Does the Old Madam have nothing to say about this?"
"He... she... I... the Marquis' household..."
The Old Madam was caught completely off guard and had no idea how to respond.
A metallic taste rose in her throat, and she struggled to control herself, barely preventing herself from vomiting blood and collapsing in the great hall.
Grand Astrologer Ding Yiyuan asked coldly, "Is the entire Boyuan Marquis' household of over a hundred people collectively deceiving the court, or is this person impersonating the Boyuan Marquis to disrupt the imperial governance?"
The Boyuan Marquis standing beside Yun Chu trembled uncontrollably.
Pressed down by Yun Ze's hand on her shoulder, she couldn't move, and could only signal to her grandmother with her eyes, shaking her head slightly.
Understanding the meaning in that gaze, the Old Madam immediately burst into tears and broke down: "She is not... not the Boyuan Marquis! This old woman doesn't know who she is either. How dare a woman impersonate a Marquis! Crown Princess, she has impersonated a court official and disrupted imperial governance—her crime... deserves death! I beg the Crown Princess and the Regent to seek justice for the Marquis' household!"
After speaking, the Old Madam closed her eyes.
If she admitted that this person was indeed from the Boyuan Marquis' household, then the entire household would be guilty of deceiving the sovereign.
During such a sensitive time following the late emperor's passing, the crime of deceiving the sovereign was enough to warrant execution of three or even nine generations of the family. At the very least, it would mean exile...
Sacrificing one person could save the entire clan.
Even if that person was her most cherished young granddaughter, she had to be sacrificed...
Yun Chu's expression showed understanding.
Regardless of the outcome, as long as it could be proven that the Boyuan Marquis' identity was fake, then the edict must also be fake.
"I am guilty!" The Boyuan Marquis fell heavily to her knees, bowing her head, stripped of all dignity. "I murdered the true Boyuan Marquis, took his place, and seized control of the Marquis' household! This edict was also forged by me! I am willing to atone with my death!"
After speaking, she suddenly lunged toward the nearest pillar.
Yun Ze swiftly intercepted her, coldly stating, "You forged the edict to make the Regent ascend the throne. Who instructed you to do this? Confess the truth—you cannot die so easily!"
"Minister Yun, you have overstepped." The Chief of the Court of Judicial Review stepped forward. "Interrogating criminals is the duty of my Court of Judicial Review. What business is it of yours?"
Yun Ze's eyes darkened.
After Chu Rui administered the Gu poison to the Emperor, aside from promoting members of the Lin and Feng families, he also replaced Chu Yi's trusted Chief of the Court of Judicial Review.
The current Chief was nothing but Chu Rui's lapdog.
"Does this even require interrogation?" Marquis Pingjin couldn't help but speak up. "Who stands to benefit most from this fake edict must be the one who orchestrated it!"
In an instant, all eyes turned to Chu Rui.
He spoke indifferently, "I was just wondering why my imperial uncle would have me inherit the throne. I admit I was initially overjoyed, but after calming down, I realized that someone must be framing me!"Yun Chu continued, "Although this Earl of Boyuan is an imposter, it doesn't necessarily mean the entire marquis household is uninvolved. I believe we should detain everyone from the marquis household for individual interrogation. Forging imperial decrees is no minor offense—this must be thoroughly investigated!"
Hearing this, the Earl of Boyuan trembled from head to toe.
The Crown Princess clearly knew her true identity—knew she was of the marquis household's bloodline—and was thus threatening her with the entire household's fate.
If she didn't confess, the entire marquis household would vanish from the capital along with her!
But if she did confess, the Regent would never spare the House of Boyuan either...
She bit the tip of her tongue and stammered, "It... it was the Princess Consort who ordered me to forge the imperial decree!"
OpenNovel