My sister became the empress, but I'm still growing vegetables and raising chickens

Chapter 355 The Wan Family Matters Concluded

“He certainly didn’t,” Prince Ning said coldly. “All the wealth of the Wan family was not ill-gotten gains, but rather obtained by mistreating their clansmen. Lord Wan despised merchants as lowly and forbade his clansmen from engaging in commerce. The clansmen could only farm to support the direct line. They did not have to pay taxes, but what they gave to the direct line was much higher than the taxes stipulated by the Great Zhou!”

Everyone gasped.

Their striving for advancement is certainly not for the service of their clan. But what is a clan? Blood ties, lineage, and belonging.

Clan members mean one family. Even if there are different branches, they are still of the same lineage. Moreover, in officialdom, how important are one's own people? After they became successful, they built ancestral halls and established clan schools, all to make the clan grow and prosper.

In other words, once they become successful, they will think of their clansmen and use their abilities to support them.

But no one ever imagined that someone would do the opposite, making the entire clan support their branch.

That's unheard of!

The Emperor was naturally furious. He immediately stripped the Wan family of their official positions and demoted them to commoners. He also separated the direct branch of the Wan family, ordering them to be farmers for generations, forbidden from holding office or engaging in commerce.

After the case was closed, Lord Wan wept bitterly, and his family was completely taken aback. They had never imagined that their family, which was supposed to be upright and honest, would cause such a mess.

The Wan family's home was ransacked. The women of the Wan family were heartbroken to see all their fine silks, gold and silver jewelry being confiscated.

But the officials who raided the homes coldly said, "When you took away the property of your clansmen, did you ever think that they would also feel regret?"

Although the Wan family is a family of integrity, they are used to a good life, especially the Wan family women, who all have a high opinion of themselves and regard money as dirt.

But now that they have no money to rely on, and can no longer pick up books or sheet music, and have to work all day like the other women in the village, they realize the importance of money.

After the case was closed, Prince Ning sent Asong to the Si family to inform his second sister and younger brother that they could now re-arrange for Wancheng's parents and sister.

The younger brother was overjoyed and quickly asked, "Then can I renovate Wan Cheng's tomb?"

Ah Song smiled and said, "Your Highness, it is naturally as you wish."

The younger brother then asked, "So the Wan family can't live a good life, and Wan Cheng's parents and sister are no longer subject to such constraints, right?"

"Yes, you can send them to the estate or provide them with a house to live in, if you wish."

The younger brother clapped his hands and laughed: "That's great! I'll go to Mahe Village to find them tomorrow. I'll support them wherever they want to go and whatever they want to do."

After listening to Ah Song recount the whole story, the second sister sensed something was amiss and asked, "So, were those three people arranged by His Highness?"

"The two middle-aged couple were indeed arranged by His Highness," Asong sighed. "The man's sister married into the Wan family, but unexpectedly, because of her striking beauty, she caught the eye of Lord Wan's uncle, who pursued her for a while. Then the couple heard that their sister had committed suicide by drowning. But their sister was a straightforward person, and she and her brother-in-law had a very close relationship; it was impossible for her to have jumped into the river for no reason. A few years later, her brother-in-law also hanged himself. Before he died, he went to tell the couple that their sister hadn't died; she had been taken away by her uncle..."

Ah Song didn't go into details after that, since there was a woman and a child in front of him.

But the second sister understood. It was clearly saying that the couple's sister was played with and killed by Lord Wan's uncle, and her husband couldn't bear it, so he hanged himself.

The second sister clenched her fists: "The Wan family is doing something utterly inhuman!"

“His Highness Prince Ning has discovered many of the Wan family’s secrets, but unfortunately there is no evidence,” Asong explained. “It’s because of the Wan family’s family precepts, which treat their own family members as slaves and absolutely forbid their members from misbehaving towards outsiders.”

The second sister nodded.

This is the case for many clans. Clan rules are far above etiquette and law. However, the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty also allow many clans to manage their own affairs. Therefore, unless a clear murder case occurs, it is difficult for the government to intervene.

Ah Song continued, "Originally, the plan was for the couple to find a way to anger Wan Sanlang and make him take action, so that His Highness would step in and escalate the matter. But unexpectedly, before the couple could act, they saw an old man from the Wan family in Mahe Village who was unsteady on his feet, so they decided to help him cross the river. Who knew that such a thing would happen on the bridge, and the three of them didn't have time to avoid it, so they were whipped by Wan Sanlang."

"That old man is pitiful too."

The second sister murmured softly, but the old man's death amplified the situation, providing Prince Ning with the most direct evidence to impeach the Wan family.

Later, Wan Cheng's parents and Rong Jie refused to go to the capital, so his younger brother settled them on the estate and let them live the life of an ordinary farmer.

They were used to farm work, and in the past they worked themselves to the bone for the clan and the direct descendants. Now they were working for themselves, and they were quite content.

Moreover, my younger brother relocated Wan Cheng's grave to the village, making it easier for Wan Cheng's parents and sister to pay their respects at any time.

As for Rong'er's household registration, my younger brother also pulled some strings to separate her from the Wan family. The Wan family members were all overjoyed after receiving the general amnesty, and many voluntarily requested to leave Mahe Village, so the management was quite lax. Therefore, there was no objection to separating Rong'er's family from the Wan family.

This matter is now completely resolved.

This is something.

Meanwhile, at the residence of the Princess in Kyoto.

Zhao Ning fell ill after returning home from the Lantern Festival that day. She was delirious and consulted many doctors, but none of them helped.

The eldest princess was extremely anxious; she only had this one daughter, and naturally, she doted on her terribly. She summoned the imperial physician from the palace, who said that the daughter's condition was due to emotional distress and advised the physician to take her out for walks more often.

But with winter approaching, I'm afraid of catching a cold if I go out.

At this moment, Guiyuan arrived at the door, saying that she had heard that the county princess was ill and had come to visit her.

The eldest princess was deeply moved and said repeatedly, "This child is good. Ordinary young ladies are afraid that Ningning will pass on her illness to them, so they usually send servants to deliver some things. Only Guiyuan came to visit in person."

Gui Yuan entered the room and saw Zhao Ning's condition; her face was full of heartache.

"Your Highness, it's only been a short time, how come you've..."

Zhao Ning was able to get up with difficulty today. Seeing Gui Yuan, he forced a smile and asked, "Why are you here?"

"I only found out you were sick these past few days because of some family matters; otherwise, I would have come to see you sooner." Guiyuan held her hand and examined her carefully. "What did the doctor say? You've always been healthy; how did you fall ill?"

Seeing her concern, Zhao Ning was also touched and shook her head: "It's nothing, I'll be fine after resting for a while."

Guiyuan then took out a lot of things: "It's not good to go out in winter, so I found a few little gadgets. If you have the energy, play with them and relax."

Zhao Ning laughed, fiddled with it for a bit, and said, "Where did you find it? It's quite interesting."

Gui Yuan replied, "A couple of days ago, I went shopping with the fourth young master of the Feng family. We came across some vendors along the way, and I thought they looked interesting. I even asked the fourth young master about them, and he said I would definitely like them, so I bought some..."