The scumbag ran away from marriage, I remarried on the spot

Chapter 568 The imperial edict is coming

Meng Chengzhang received a letter from his stepmother Zhao. The letter only said that his grandmother was seriously ill, but did not say why she was ill. He was very surprised. His grandmother was obviously fine on the day he left home and even had the energy to make things difficult for him. How could she suddenly become seriously ill?

But no matter what caused his grandmother to fall ill, out of filial piety, he had to go back, immediately ask for leave from his teacher, go home to visit his grandmother, and take care of her if necessary.

He had just returned home and had not had time to pay his respects to his elders when an imperial edict arrived from the palace.

Meng Chengzhang was shocked. The last time the Meng family received an imperial edict was when his third brother was canonized as the crown prince. How come an imperial edict came suddenly now? The Meng family, a poor family, had little presence among the aristocratic families in the capital. Not to mention the emperor who was busy with all kinds of affairs, even other aristocratic families would not even think of the Yongchang Earl's Mansion when there was nothing to do.

Except for the seriously ill Madam Meng, all the members of the Meng family knelt down to listen to the order. Even Meng Chengxing was escorted out of the ancestral hall to listen to the order.

The eunuch who read the imperial edict rang out in a shrill voice: "By the grace of Heaven and the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: Meng Chengxing, the crown prince of the Earl of Yongchang, has been disobedient, unfilial, and unfraternal. His title of crown prince shall be revoked, he shall be demoted to a commoner, and punished with thirty strokes of the cane, in order to rectify the state law.

Yongchang Earl Meng Dongyuan did not educate his son strictly and should be held accountable. However, considering the merits of your ancestors, I will fine you one year's salary and require you to reflect on yourself for three months.

The second son, Meng Chengzhang, has a gentle nature, is sincere and filial to his parents, is well versed in classics, and is highly praised by the whole family, and is well-received by the public. Now, in accordance with the provisions of the Zhao State Code on establishing a virtuous successor, you are promoted to the title of the heir of the Yongchang Earl. I decree this!"

Except for Meng Dongyuan, who requested an imperial decree to change the crown prince today, no one else present had heard anything about this matter. Faced with this sudden imperial decree, everyone was shocked.

Meng Chengzhang had never thought about the position of the crown prince. He only wanted to pass the imperial examinations and make a name for himself. As soon as he arrived home, he became the crown prince who would inherit the title in the future. He was a little happy because it was better for the Meng family to fall into his hands than into the hands of his misbehaving brother. But he was more shocked. He had not been away from home for long this time, so how could such a big change happen?

When Meng Chengxing listened to what the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict read out, his expression was as if he was struck by lightning. Since he was a child, his mother Sun and grandmother had told him that the entire Meng family would be his in the future, and he would be the Earl of Yongchang and lead the Meng family to prosperity again. But if not only would the position of the current crown prince change to another owner, he would also be caned thirty times, that was no joke. After thirty beatings, his flesh and blood would be blurred. Are they going to beat him to death?

Suddenly, he stood up, laughed almost crazily, pointed at Meng Dongyuan and cursed: "Meng Dongyuan, it's you! It's all you! I'm your biological son, how could you do this to me? That day you ignored my reputation and sent people to Baihua Tower to kidnap me and ruin my reputation. If that hadn't happened, how could the news have spread? How did the emperor know about this and abolish my title of prince?"

Meng Dongyuan was furious. Before he could receive the order, he suddenly stood up and slapped him hard in the face as if he had used up all his strength. He caught him off guard and made him fall to the ground.

Meng Chengxing was about to continue scolding, but as soon as he looked up and met his father-in-law's gaze, his heart tightened. He realized belatedly what he had just done, and he didn't dare to say the words that were on his lips.

Meng Dongyuan cursed bitterly, "You unfilial bastard! You made your grandmother so angry, what reputation do you have? My Meng family is so unlucky that we married your biological mother, that vicious woman, and gave birth to a bastard like you! I thought you were different from Sun, and that you were a good child, but I didn't expect you to be like Sun!"

After Meng Dongyuan finished speaking, it seemed that he was not in good spirits because he did not get enough rest today, and now he was very angry. He held his forehead, his body swayed, and he was almost fainted from anger. Then he seemed to remember that the eunuch who announced the decree was still waiting for him to receive it, and hurriedly said, "I am sorry to make a fool of myself, eunuch." Then, he knelt down to accept the decree, "I accept the decree. Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. Long live the emperor!"

The father-in-law who announced the decree was a little reluctant to watch the show. In fact, it was okay for the father and son to quarrel for a while. Anyway, he had no important things to do today. Yongchang Bo and Changxing Hou were really a father-in-law and son-in-law. They both raised rebellious sons, and the rebellious sons were also abolished. Compared with Gu Xiuming, Meng Chengxing's ending was relatively good. He was not expelled from the clan and was not exiled. But Gu Xiuming's crime was greater. He really deserved it. He was rich and wanted to die.

After Meng Dongyuan received the imperial edict, the eunuch who announced it ordered the people brought from the palace to restrain Meng Chengxing, strip him of his clothes, leaving him only in his inner clothes and trousers, without the hindrance of the brocade robe, and then pressed him on a bench to begin the execution.

When the first blow of the board hit Meng Chengxing's buttocks, this pampered young man who had never suffered any hardship immediately let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered.

The boards fell on him again and again, and he screamed. Because of the pain, the volume of the screams gradually decreased and finally disappeared. It was obvious that he had fainted from the pain. However, the executioner was not careless and did not stop until he had given him thirty strokes of the board.

Meng Chengxing's buttocks were already a bloody mess, and the fabric of his clothes on his buttocks were torn. It can be seen that the executioner acted according to the rules and did not show mercy.

Meng Dongyuan looked at his son's miserable condition, and a sense of satisfaction rose in his heart again. The Meng family finally didn't have to be handed over to this evil creature, and he also avenged his and Dong's unborn child. If Dong knew Chengxing's current fate, would she hate him less?

Zhao glanced at Meng Chengxing, who was pale and fainted, and a trace of pity appeared in her eyes. Although he was not a good boy, he was really innocent this time. However, she had no right to intervene in this matter, and she did not want to intervene. She handed a purse to the eunuch who announced the decree and said, "You have worked hard, eunuch. This is to invite you to have tea. I hope you will not despise it."

The eunuch who announced the decree took the purse, exchanged a few words of greeting, and then took his men back to the palace.

After they left, Zhao ordered the servants, "Go, carry the Third Young Master back." Then, she said to the maid beside her, "Please ask the doctor of Ling Mansion to come and treat the Third Young Master."

Two strong servants responded and came forward to carry Meng Chengxing.

When such a thing happened to the master's family, the remaining servants knelt on the ground and were yet to get up. They dared not even breathe, for fear of bringing bad luck to the master's family.

Zhao's gentle but stern voice sounded: "Everyone, get up and do what you need to do. No one is allowed to discuss what happened today. If I hear anyone gossiping, I will expel you from the mansion."

The servants responded immediately, then stood up and left, secretly sighing at the impermanence of the world. The third son, who was once pampered by the Lord and the old lady, was now stripped of his title of Crown Prince, while the second son, who was not valued, became the new heir of the Lord's Mansion. The second daughter was also favored, but in the end her reputation was ruined and she married a merchant, while the eldest daughter became the wife of the Marquis of Changxing. It can be seen that as long as this person is alive, there is still hope, and there will be a day for him to turn things around.

Only then did Meng Chengzhang have a chance to speak. He asked, "Father, mother, what happened? Why did grandmother fall ill? And my third brother, what did he do wrong?"