Ultimately, Duke Rong, Jiang Pengju, bore all the consequences.
The Emperor's resolution was to confiscate the Duke Rong's mansion and exile the entire household to the northern frontier.
Due to the gravity of the matter and the irrefutable evidence, no one in court from Duke Rong's faction dared to speak up for Jiang Pengju. Even Chancellor Dong remained silent.
The Crown Prince, for his improper handling of the Imperial Seal, was confined to the Imperial Clan Court for three months.
Although the Emperor harbored suspicions about the Crown Prince, he had not yet decided whether to depose him.
After all, the majority in court supported the Crown Prince, including Chancellor Dong. Moreover, Duke Rong's daughter was married to Chancellor Dong's grandson, and the Empress was Duke Rong's own sister. Therefore, the Crown Prince could not be easily removed for now.
However, confiscating the Duke Rong's family had, in a way, severed one of the Crown Prince's arms. It was estimated that he would not dare to cause further trouble in the short term.
It was impossible to say the Emperor did not regret it. If only his fourth son did not constantly oppose him, his father, the Emperor. If only he and his mother, Consort Mei, knew how to win over ministers like the third son and the Empress, then the position of Crown Prince would surely have been his. Alas, in the end, the fourth son and Consort Mei were both foolish.
The fifth and sixth princes were still too young…
Alas, burdened by state affairs, he also had to worry about family matters. The Emperor felt utterly weary.
The mining pits in the desert of Tianshui Town were all confiscated and placed under the management of Prince Yu.
Since that was originally Prince Yu's fiefdom, his management of it offered no grounds for any objections from the court.
However, what shocked them was their initial belief that Bianzhou's Tashashui Commandery was a poor and desolate region, filled with deserts and suffering from drought. They never imagined it held such rich mineral deposits. It truly seemed to have benefited Prince Yu immensely.
In the Imperial Clan Court, the Crown Prince knelt before the ancestral tablets, kowtowing his apologies.
The Emperor decreed that he must kneel for two hours daily, supervised by guards and eunuchs to keep track of the time.
Only after completing his kneeling could he move freely within the Imperial Clan Court.
Apart from the meager food and poor living conditions, being confined to the Imperial Clan Court was hardly a punishment compared to the confiscation of the Duke Rong's mansion and their exile.
The Crown Prince and the Empress were rather satisfied with this outcome. As long as his position as Crown Prince was not revoked, what did confinement in the Imperial Clan Court matter?
If he could endure a few months, he would still be the Crown Prince. Once he ascended the throne, this realm would be his sooner or later, and all those who obstructed him would eventually be eliminated.
The Empress, accompanied by a wet nurse, arrived at the entrance of the Imperial Clan Court but was stopped by the guards at the gate.
"What? You mere guards, you don't recognize this Empress? I am only here to see the Crown Prince, not to release him!" the Empress glared at the young guard, her aura imposing.
The young guard, startled, immediately knelt on the ground. "I beg the Empress's forgiveness. His Majesty has ordered that no one is to visit. This humble servant dares not disobey the imperial decree."
The Empress glanced at him and softened her tone. "If His Majesty inquires, tell him that this Empress, in her extreme longing for her son, insisted on forcing her way in, and you were unable to stop me."
"This…" the young guard hesitated.
"Open the gate!" the Empress commanded.
The young guard had no choice but to brace himself and comply.
The Empress, with the wet nurse, strode inside.
After mother and son were seated,
The Empress whispered, "It has been confirmed that the issue stemmed from the mining pits in the desert of Tianshui Town, Bianzhou."
Prince Yu's secret memorial to the Emperor only submitted evidence of illegal mining of iron ore and illicit weapon manufacturing, without mentioning the source of this evidence.
The investigation conducted by Yan Mingkun only traced the people at the forefront of the mining pits and did not mention the front lines of the mining operations.
"Mining pits?" The Crown Prince found it hard to believe. He had never shown his face regarding the matter of the mining pits; it had all been handled by his maternal uncle and others, who had also remained in the shadows. How could they have been implicated?
The Empress glanced around and lowered her voice. "It is said that in a place called Hong Shenme Po, a family surnamed Lu hired people to plant trees. The remuneration they offered was too high, causing a serious loss of miners from the pits. The pit bosses then led people to cause trouble, but they were captured, thus implicating you and your uncle."
"Bang," the Crown Prince slammed the table violently, gritting his teeth and cursing, "These fools! I gave them plenty of money; at worst, they could have hired people at a higher price. These fools actually made such a big fuss and escalated the matter so much! Fools! My uncle's handling of affairs is too unreliable!"
Although his uncle had taken the blame for him, if his uncle had handled things reliably, they would still be fine now, and there would have been no need for blame.
The Empress sighed, "It's not that your uncle is unreliable, but rather that the illegitimate sons of the Jiang family are unreliable.
Bianzhou's Tashashui Commandery is a poor and desolate region. None of the legitimate sons of the Jiang family were willing to serve there. Your uncle had no choice but to entrust the matter to several of his illegitimate sons.
He originally thought that the illegitimate sons, in their desire to compete for family status, would surely obey him, the head of the family, and perform well in Bianzhou, achieving some success.
Who would have thought that those illegitimate sons, who were one thing to his face and another behind his back, all harbored resentment towards their father and their legitimate brothers, and gradually leaked out some of the Jiang family's affairs."
The Crown Prince's face darkened considerably. "Fools! All of them are fools! If the Jiang family falls, what good will they get?"
"They are all short-sighted!" the Empress snorted coldly. She took the Crown Prince's hand and said earnestly, "Xian'er, those who accomplish great deeds do not fuss over minor details. You must remain calm. Stay here obediently for these three months, and your mother will handle the matters in Bianzhou for you. While the pit bosses were indeed foolish, that family is truly audacious and overestimates themselves, daring to provoke even my son! I will absolutely not let them off lightly!"
The Crown Prince sneered, "They are merely relying on Prince Yu's backing."
"Prince Yu? Hmph," the Empress twitched the corner of her mouth, her eyes showing disdain. "Let him stay in that remote and desolate broken place for his entire life. When our plans succeed, he will also be..."
The Empress did not finish her sentence, but the Crown Prince nodded. "Mother, when you go to settle accounts with the people of Hong Shenme Po, be extremely cautious and do not expose yourself. Otherwise, who knows what madness the fourth son might unleash."
The Empress patted his hand gently, comforting him. "Don't worry, Mother has her own judgment."
"Are there any movements from Consort Mei's side?" The Crown Prince did not fear Prince Yu, but he was somewhat afraid of Consort Mei.
It was rumored that Consort Mei knew sorcery and was deeply cunning.
The Empress smiled coldly. "What can that ugly creature do? She only spends her days with that lunatic Consort Yu. His Majesty rarely even glances at them."
In this life, the person she hated the most was Consort Mei.
However, Consort Mei did indeed possess some ability. She had managed to evade her schemes so many times.
Later, seeing that His Majesty did not even step foot into her palace, she had given up the thought of plotting against her.