Rebirth and Marriage: I am the Mistress of the Palace

Chapter 787 Ren Jingqiu, the daughter of the Ren family

However, he was stunned for only a moment. Gu Qianhan smiled faintly and said with some pride: "Of course, Atang is the best woman in the world. Others think that she is lucky to marry me, but I know that it is my good fortune to marry her."

Madam Gu glared at him and said, "Just because I praise you a few times, you're really climbing up the ladder."

She stretched out her finger and poked Gu Qianhan on the forehead: "I'm not praising you, I'm praising your wife!"

Gu Qianhan didn't care about being poked: "I thought mother had poor eyesight and couldn't judge people, but it turns out she can judge people and knows that Atang is good. Then, from now on, I hope mother will treat Atang better and more fairly."

"You need me to tell you? Didn't I see I already gave her some good nourishing food?"

As she was speaking, a maid hurried in: "Madam, bad news! Lord Meng has been impeached. I heard that the Emperor is extremely angry and wants to remove him from office!"

Madam Gu’s expression changed: “What?!”

A barely perceptible sneer appeared on Gu Qianhan's face. The news spread quite quickly.

"Where's Yunlan?"

"The eldest young lady has returned to her parents' home!"

"Isn't Meng Deguang an incorruptible official? Isn't he the most upright and honest official? How could he be impeached? For what? For corruption? Or for forming a clique for personal gain?"

"Neither! I heard that he secretly raised the daughter of a criminal official, and that the woman was pregnant with Lord Meng's child. Early this morning, she went to the Ministry of Justice and beat the drum to complain, saying that Lord Meng had raped her!"

Mrs. Gu's head was buzzing after hearing this. She couldn't believe it. "Impossible, how could this be possible? Is Meng Deguang crazy? How could he dare to do such a thing? Isn't it said that he has never been interested in women? Yunlan also said that her father is devoted to official duties and doesn't care about love affairs at all. He is so busy that he doesn't even have time to go home..."

Before she could finish her words, Mrs. Gu suddenly realized something.

Don’t even have time to go home?

Is it that he is too busy to go back, or is there someone else outside so he doesn't want to go back?!

She looked at Gu Qianhan: "You are always well-informed. Do you know whether this is true or a frame-up by political enemies?"

Gu Qianhan said indifferently, "Mother, don't you think about it? If it's fake, will the emperor be so angry? Will he dismiss him from office?"

"Meng Deguang is the Imperial Censor of the Metropolitan Censorate. I don't know how many people he has offended on a daily basis. So many people over so many years have reported him to the Emperor countless times. His position has always been as stable as a rock, all because he has the Emperor's protection."

"Now, he has been caught. Even if the emperor wants to protect him, I'm afraid he won't be able to stop the gossip. He can only punish him."

Madam Gu's face was extremely grim. "So what should we do now? No matter what, he's still your sister-in-law's father and your brother's father-in-law. If anything happens to him, won't it also implicate your brother? Qianhan, quickly think of a way to help the Meng family overcome this crisis!"

Of course, Gu Qianhan couldn't help find a solution. After all, he was the one who exposed this matter, and even the woman was rescued by him.

He glanced at Madam Gu and said calmly, "Mother is still thinking about helping the Meng family. Do you know whose daughter Meng Deguang secretly raised?"

Mrs. Gu's heart tightened: "Whose daughter is this?"

"She is Ren Jingqiu, the legitimate daughter of Ren Hongru, the former Prime Minister of the Cabinet."

"what?!"

Madam Gu’s expression changed drastically: “It’s actually Ren Jingqiu?!!”

She swayed all over, but fortunately, Nanny Chang supported her and she did not fall.

"This Meng Deguang is so audacious that he even dares to... secretly raise Ren Jingqiu?"

"Now, mother, do you still want me to find a way to help the Meng family?"

Mrs. Gu opened her mouth but no words came out.

Who dares to help the Meng family?

The reason why the Ren family fell and their property was confiscated and they were exiled was because the emperor was so shocked by Ren Jingqiu's beauty after seeing her that he wanted to take her into the harem, but the Ren family from top to bottom were unwilling to do so!

At that time, Ren Jingqiu had just come of age, only fifteen years old, and the emperor was a full forty years older than her!

Ren Hongru has already been promoted to the chief minister of the cabinet. In Dafeng, he can be said to be second only to the emperor. Even in the court, the emperor occasionally has to make concessions.

How could he bear to let his most beloved daughter marry a man older than him? Even if this man was the emperor, he would refuse.

So, for the sake of his daughter, he disobeyed the order.

He even said that if he became the Prime Minister and still couldn't protect his daughter, he would not be the Prime Minister at all!

The result is predictable. The emperor ordered his men to collect a bunch of charges, whether true or false, and put them all on Ren Hongru's head, forcing him to submit.

Ren Hongru would rather die than surrender. The more he was forced, the more he refused to let his daughter enter the emperor's harem.

The emperor was furious and wanted to kill Ren Hongru. However, Ren Hongru had been the prime minister for many years and was quite popular among the people. He also had countless followers in the court. When he went to court, many officials knelt on the ground to plead for Ren Hongru.

Therefore, the emperor could only sentence the Ren family to confiscation of property and exile.

At the beginning of the house search, Ren Jingqiu, the eldest daughter of the Ren family, disappeared inexplicably.

The emperor also sent people to investigate, but in the end nothing was done.

Now, five years have passed, and Ren Jingqiu has reappeared in the capital. The reason for her disappearance is that she was secretly hidden by Meng Deguang!

Mrs. Gu had seen Ren Jingqiu before. She was indeed a beauty. Despite her young age, her every move was captivating. Moreover, because she was protected by Ren Hongru, the Prime Minister, she was quite innocent and naive, and was beautiful without realizing it.

She was extremely beautiful and pure, and her fame was once at its peak. Otherwise, the emperor would not have fallen in love with her the first time he saw her and insisted on taking her into his harem.

But no matter how beautiful she is, no matter how much Meng Deguang likes her, he shouldn't have that kind of thought!

Seeing that Madam Gu was silent, Gu Qianhan said calmly, "Father must have already gone to the palace and scolded Meng Deguang, because he knows that not only can we not help Meng Deguang, but we must also draw a clear line with him."

Madam Gu closed her eyes. "How dare he? How dare he?!"

How dare Meng Deguang touch a girl that even the emperor didn't touch?!

He is already the girl's father, and he has the nerve to take her away by force?

Ren Jingqiu is several years younger than Meng Yunlan!

Gu Qianhan, enjoying the excitement, added, "Oh, by the way, apart from this incident, Meng Deguang hasn't done anything else that's corrupt or illegal. He can truly be considered an honest official. He never embezzles money or accepts any benefits."

Mrs. Gu opened her eyes and looked at him suspiciously: "Why are you speaking for him again? What are you doing? What are you thinking?"

"Mother, do you think the Meng family has ever been in financial hardship?"

"No, the Meng family lives quite well. Before your sister-in-law married into our family, she had excellent food, clothing, and shelter. Any piece of her clothing cost hundreds of taels of silver, and a piece of jewelry also cost—"