The severed head at the palace gate frightened the court officials on their way to the morning court and shocked the common people in the capital. Such an act was extremely audacious.
The head of a noble prince was hung at the palace gate, and it was the most favored Fourth Prince. People were eager to know who had done such a thing.
Above the palace gate, there was a line of big characters written: "Uphold justice on behalf of heaven and eliminate the national traitor!"
These words filled the court officials with fear and excited the common people.
It was certain that the Fourth Prince had colluded with Beiyue. The court officials were afraid that if they committed any misdeeds, they would end up like the Fourth Prince, being secretly killed. On the other hand, the common people clapped their hands in approval.
Since ancient times, the common people have always admired chivalrous heroes who uphold justice. They especially admired the chivalrous person who dared to kill a prince.
Compared with the death of the Fourth Prince, the death of the Tenth Prince was not as sensational.
The imperial guards patrolling the streets reported immediately after finding the Tenth Prince killed in his mansion. The emperor, who had just been revived by the imperial physician, was enraged when he heard the news, and his face turned even paler.
Although he didn't like this son very much and even took out his anger on the Tenth Prince because of what Lu Qianning had done, the fact that two princes were killed one after another, and the entire family of one of them was wiped out overnight, made it impossible for him to feel at ease as an emperor.
Thinking of the incident where his dragon robe was cut and placed beside his couch before, his expression became unpredictable.
Suddenly, he slapped the table in front of him forcefully. His voice was filled with suppressed anger: "Investigate! Seal the city gates and conduct a house - to - house search. The mansions of all the princes and princesses must also be strictly inspected. Don't let anyone go! Don't miss any place."
The people below were shocked. This meant searching all the mansions in the capital, including those of the princes and princesses. But no one dared to object. At this moment, anyone who spoke up would be courting death.
When Xi Qingyue woke up, a large - scale search had already begun in the capital. The officials all had gloomy faces. Some mansions were in a hurry to transfer the things in their storerooms to secret chambers, fearing that the searchers would take them away or that their family wealth would be exposed.
She and Xi Weilan had just stepped out of the room when they saw Luo Ling waiting outside. At this moment, she was pacing back and forth in the courtyard with a worried look on her face.
"Sister Luo Ling, what are you doing?" Xi Weilan looked up with a curious face.
Hearing the voice, Luo Ling quickly walked forward.
She smiled and stroked Xi Weilan's head, then looked at Xi Qingyue. "Sister Qingyue, the emperor has ordered a search for suspicious people in all the mansions in the city. Surely someone will check your travel permits. The princess must pretend to be ill at this time. I'm worried that the people who come will deliberately make things difficult for you. I'm here to discuss it with you."
She never expected that the old emperor would be so crazy as to search all the mansions of the princes, princesses, and officials. It was like turning the capital upside down.
Xi Qingyue showed her white teeth and said, "Sister Luo Ling, I'm not even the head of the household. Do you think I can get a travel permit? Your princess isn't worried. Why are you so anxious? Let's deal with it when the people come."
She looked indifferent. Who would approve a travel permit for a child like her? She didn't have one and didn't need it at all.
"Then... do you have a household register?" Luo Ling asked tentatively again.
Xi Qingyue nodded. "Yes, but I'm not the head of the household. I'm thinking of asking Sister Lu for help. If you can help me establish a female - headed household, it would be great. Change the name of the head of the household to mine, and it would be best if only Lan'er and I are on the household register."
As she spoke, she took out the household register from her sleeve and handed it to Luo Ling.
Luo Ling took the household register curiously and saw that the name of the head of the household was Xi Wenliang. The name seemed familiar to her.
After thinking for a while, she suddenly remembered that the heir to the Duke of An, whose legs had been broken, was named Song Wenliang. What a coincidence.
After reading it, she returned the household register to Xi Qingyue and shook her head. "In the Great Jing Kingdom, the requirements for a woman to establish a household are very strict. Generally, only widows can establish female - headed households. You and Lan'er are still young. If your relatives are still alive, you must be under the name of your relatives or clan members. It may be a bit troublesome to establish an independent household, and even the princess may have difficulty with it because no one dares to handle it."
Hearing this, Xi Qingyue frowned. "Then who can handle it? Tell me and I'll go to them."
When she cut off the family relationship and established a household at the beginning, her supernatural ability was still too low, so she had to do it this way. Later, she forgot about it during the journey.
Now that she was in the capital, a place full of powerful people, and her supernatural ability had improved, she no longer feared anyone. She must re - establish a household for herself and Xi Weilan and completely remove the name of Xi Daniu.
Suddenly, Luo Ling's eyelids twitched. She came to talk about the search, but how did the topic turn to establishing a female - headed household?
"Sister Qingyue, this matter doesn't seem important. How about we talk about it later?" She thought it was better to avoid this problem for now and discuss it later.
Xi Qingyue shook her head and smiled at her. Her voice was firm. "No, I think it's very important. Why can't Lan'er and I establish a household? Why can boys in the same situation as us establish a household? I'm not convinced!"
As soon as her voice fell, Xi Weilan also spoke up. Her voice was soft and sweet. "Yes, Lan'er and Sister have no other relatives. Why can't Sister be the head of the household?"
In her heart, Xi Qingyue was her only relative, and their names should be the only ones on the household register.
Luo Ling didn't know what to say for a moment. How could she explain this? It was a long - standing rule in the Great Jing Dynasty. Many women had their family property taken away because of this, but what could she do about the current situation?
She sighed. "Alas, I'll go and tell the princess. Unless there is an imperial edict, the officials in the capital won't dare to handle it for you."
After she left, Xi Qingyue looked at her back and murmured, "An imperial edict?"
She made up her mind to go to the palace to get an imperial edict that night. She had almost had enough of staying in the capital and it was time to move on.
After Lu Qianning heard what Luo Ling had relayed, the corners of her lips curled up slightly. "Sister Qingyue is really different. What she said is very right. If men can establish a household, women can too. The rules really need to be changed."
Luo Ling beside her also suddenly thought it made sense. If the rules could really be changed, there wouldn't be so many women having their family property taken away. This was a great thing.
Meanwhile, in the mansion of the Duke of An.
The people from the Jingzhao Prefecture were in charge of the search here. They felt sympathetic towards the mansion of the Duke of An. Searching the empty mansion was effortless.
All the servants and guards in the mansion were called together, and their personal details and indenture contracts were also brought out for inspection.
The people from the Jingzhao Prefecture checked and found no problems, then they left. But as a yamen runner was leaving the mansion, he muttered in confusion, "Strange, why is there a portrait of that Miss Xi in the study of the heir to the Duke of An? It seems there is quite a deep grudge."
The butler who was seeing the guests off in the mansion just heard the first part of the sentence. But when he came to his senses and wanted to ask in detail, the people had already left the mansion.
He didn't dare to be careless and immediately reported the news to the Duke of An.
Hearing this, the Duke of An was also very puzzled. "What portrait? Bring it to me and let me have a look."
He guessed that it was a portrait of his granddaughter drawn by his son, but he had never seen it before. Maybe his son drew it when he went out to look for someone.
