Whether Song Yi regretted his actions or how deeply he grieved, Mingting didn't care. Even as loud sobs echoed behind him, he never once looked back.
Belated affection is cheaper than grass, delayed remorse is fouler than dung.
Song Yi's grief was only because he had lost such an outstanding son. How could he be sincerely repentant?
When Mingting returned to the Count Zhongyi's Mansion, the entire family was unusually gathered, waiting for him at home.
Ever since they learned that Mingting had been sued by his biological father, He Gu has been cursing Song Yi nonstop. Wang Zhi had taken time off work, Jiang Xiao'e hadn't gone to the textile factory, and Daya and Xiaosong were unusually well-behaved, all anxiously awaiting the outcome.
"How did it go?"
Seeing Mingting, He Gu hurried forward, only to be steadied by him.
"Did that bastard give you trouble? The Emperor didn't side with him, did he?"
After learning that the middle-aged man who had devoured a large bowl of roast goose in their home was actually the Emperor, He Gu had nearly fainted from shock.
Later, she gradually came to accept that the young man who called her 'Foster Mother' so affectionately was actually the Crown Prince.
Since Mingting left that morning, He Gu had been praying that the Emperor, out of gratitude for the roast goose and sugar, wouldn't bully her youngest son.
"Mom, did you see the strange phenomenon in the sky earlier? Song Yi tried to force me to acknowledge him as my father, but even the heavens wouldn't allow it, and lightning struck him over and over!"
"So from now on, I am truly and completely your son!"
Hearing this, He Gu repeatedly chanted 'Amitabha'.
She even knelt in an open space and kowtowed respectfully to the heavens.
"The heavens have eyes! Thank you, Heaven!"
He Gu kept saying.
With Song Yi no longer a nuisance, He Gu personally cooked the family's favorite rustic dishes for dinner, and the household celebrated joyfully.
The abnormality that happened during the day was quickly spread.
There have been countless versions of the bizarre life experience of the Zhuangyuan during this period of time.
Before, in order to pressure Mingting, Song Yi had slightly manipulated public opinion.
There were many people who thought that even if Mingting was the Zhuangyuan, there was no reason to refuse to recognize his biological father.
Filial piety is the foundation of all virtues. How could someone who didn't honor his father be trusted to serve the country?
But no one expected the reversal to come so swiftly, and those people were slapped hard in the face.
With Emperor Li's tacit approval, everything that had happened in court spread rapidly.
The bizarre weather, alternating between clear skies and dark clouds, thunder and lightning, had been witnessed by the people of the capital.
Now they understood it was all because of Song Yi. Seeing how outstanding the Zhuangyuan was, grew greedy and tried to force him to acknowledge him as his father, only to incur the wrath of the heavens.
In no time, Song Yi became a stinky rat crossing the street that everyone shouted and beat.
This was a man even the heavens rejected!
The divine order itself loathed him!
Many people threw rotten eggs and spoiled vegetables at the Song Family's Mansion. Some hurled stones into the courtyard at night, and others dumped sewage at the front gate.
Princess Dongyang and Du Ruowei have been hiding at home, not daring to step out.
Even relatives stay away from them, for fear that they will be rejected by the heavens if they come into contact with such people.
After Song Yi got home, he kept coughing up blood. Even after taking medicine, though he stopped coughing up blood, he became emaciated beyond recognition.
Soon, rumors spread that Song Yi had dug up his parents' graves to retrieve his father's leg bone, all to force Count Zhongyi to acknowledge him as his father.
This news caused an uproar.
The censor impeached Song Yi at the court meeting, and Emperor Li dispatched Shangguan Shi to investigate the truth in Song Yi's hometown.
Shangguan Shi's results soon came, and it turned out that digging graves and stealing bones was true. Because of that, Song Yi was publicly denounced by the court officials.
At this time, someone anonymously reported that the Princess of Dongyang lent money at high interest, driving many commoners to ruin. There were also the princess's servants abusing their power, seizing homes and farmland, even beating people to death...
For a time, more and more people denounced them.
In order to calm the public anger, Emperor Li threw Song Yi and Princess Dongyang into prison.
He asked Shangguan Shi to investigate the case carefully, so that no innocents are wronged and no criminals are spared.
"Let me out! I'm the daughter of the Prince of Qi, the Princess Dongyang! You bastards, let me out!"
Princess Dongyang, who was raised in luxury, had never been imprisoned before, let alone suffered such a great injustice.
But no matter how much she screamed, no one paid her any attention.
In prison, they only gave her two moldy steamed buns and a bowl of thin rice soup every day. How could someone who was used to eating delicacies from the land and sea swallow these?
"It's all your fault! You bastard, I must've been blind to marry you."
The princess lunged at Song Yi, punching and kicking him.
Had Song Yi been healthy, he wouldn't have tolerated it.
But after being struck multiple times by lightning, Song Yi's health has been getting worse and worse, and now, he didn't even have the strength to curse.
Moreover, he seems to have a mental problem. He can't see anything else in his eyes. He just holds the jade gourd in his hand and keeps muttering 'Zhenzhen'.
Zhenzhen is the nickname of the original owner's biological mother.
It seems that only by repeating her name could he find a sliver of comfort.
Princess Dongyang got angry when she saw Song Yi like this. She snatched the jade pendant when he wasn't paying attention and smashed it on the ground.
"Do you regret it now? Regret losing such a brilliant son? He's a Count now and will never acknowledge you!"
"Song Yi, what's the point of clinging to this jade now? That woman is long dead! She can't see you like this!"
As Princess Dongyang said that, she ground the jade pendant under her foot.
"Zhenzhen!"
Seeing the last memento of his first wife treated this way by Princess Dongyang, Song Yi went berserk. He tackled Princess Dongyang, pinning her down and beating her savagely.
"It's all your fault! You got me drunk and drugged me! If you hadn't claimed to be pregnant and used Prince of Qi's Mansion to pressure me, how could I have lost Zhenzhen! It's all your fault!"
Song Yi, who seemed to have gone crazy, slapped Princess Dongyang in the face without any hesitation.
Only when the commotion grew too loud were they forcibly separated.
At this time, Princess Dongyang, who is now locked in the next cell, was bleeding from her nose and mouth, her face nearly ruined. She waved the shattered remains of the jade gourd at Song Yi.
"Your Zhenzhen is dead! And you killed her! You were the one who coveted the power of the Prince of Qi's Mansion and wanted to kneel down and lick this princess. You are a spineless leech, hahaha!"
Under Song Yi's bloodshot glare, Princess Dongyang picked up a rock and crushed the pendant into dust.
"Zhenzhen was unlucky to marry a backstabbing ingrate like you, and I was unlucky to marry a worthless coward like you!" As she smashed it, Princess Dongyang laughed and cried hysterically.
"Zhenzhen! Poisonous woman, you poisonous woman!" Song Yi reached out to grab Princess Dongyang, but she smashed his head with the rock.
Fengtian watched this bickering drama with great satisfaction, munching on metaphorical melon seeds until it was stuffed.