The marriage of Imperial Censor Zuo was decreed by the Emperor, and the bride was also a noblewoman of distinguished lineage. However, on the night of the wedding, she claid she was nstruating. After that, she ca down with a cold. The nuptial night kept being postponed, which aroused Imperial Censor Zuo’s suspicions. Consequently, he arranged for soone to monitor his newlywed wife around the clock, and he eventually uncovered her major secret.
Upon learning the truth, he was furious, but since the marriage was commanded by imperial decree, he was unable to complain on his own behalf. He was a man of the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince was always very cautious and careful with his people, so he too beca aware of the matter. When he learned that Prince Zhao and his own brother were vying against each other, he gave Yan Qing a hint.
Yan Qing was a remarkably clever person, and he also had a good relationship with Imperial Censor Zuo. During one drinking session, Imperial Censor Zuo, feeling wronged, disclosed everything that needed to be said.
Yan Qing then suggested a plan that would allow him to get out of this marriage without any loss and even obtain a large sum of hush money. He could even marry a woman prettier than his current wife - he asked whether Censor Zuo would like so help with that.
Imperial Censor Zuo would have to be out of his mind to refuse, and he agreed to the sche on the spot.
Then Yan Qing went to discuss it with Xiao Yu, and they decided to use alcohol to blind the eyes of lust, killing two birds with one stone.
Yu Niang gave the wine to Yan Qing, and Yan Qing passed it on to Imperial Censor Zuo. It just so happened that Prince Zhao did not show up on the day Censor Zuo got married, so he took the opportunity to invite him over for a al, serving good wine and dishes in a tily manner. After three rounds of drinks, and two pounds of fine wine down the hatch, our Prince Zhao knew nothing anymore.
Since it was getting late, Prince Zhao was naturally asked to stay at the Imperial Censor Mansion. Then, people from both Yan Qing’s side and the Imperial Censor Mansion colluded to trap Prince Zhao with Lady Zuo. In order to successfully carry out this plot against the two, Xiao Yu even specially obtained so modern drugs to hasten the seduction.
Prince Zhao, having drunk the wine and affected by the drug, would have been too much for even an ordinary man to withstand, let alone a pregnant woman?
The child would certainly not survive.
This was what Lord Zuo wanted: the child could not be allowed to live. How else could he demand compensation?
So, after the two spent the night together, it was only logical that they were discovered the following morning. Afterwards, Imperial Censor Zuo sent for a doctor, an outsider, not using the doctor brought by Lady Zuo; he didn’t trust her. With Lady Zuo unconscious and her people trapped inside the mansion, unable to leave, even if they wanted to seek help from her family, it was already too late.
Lady Zuo’s child was lost, a child of just over two months old, and they had only been married for just over a month. Thus, the scandal of a premarital pregnancy was exposed right in front of Lord Zuo.
When Lady Zuo’s family arrived and realized that they couldn’t keep the scandal under wraps, they begged Lord Zuo not to divulge their daughter’s sha, as the scandal, compounded with her involvent with Prince Zhao, would completely ruin her.
In the end, Lady Zuo’s family compensated Lord Zuo with 200,000 taels of silver, obtaining a letter of guarantee from him.
After the incident, Lady Zuo’s family went to negotiate with Prince Zhao. Prince Zhao was already aware of Lady Zuo’s miscarriage but did not know how many months pregnant she was when she lost the baby. Therefore, they pinned the incident on Prince Zhao, and the child was naturally mistaken for Lord Zuo’s.
Prince Zhao wanted to take her into his Prince Manor, but Lady Zuo’s family refused. After such a scandal, rather than becoming a concubine in Prince Zhao Mansion, it was better to shave her head and beco a nun, at least preserving their family’s face. In the end, Xiao Yu didn’t know how Prince Zhao’s mansion compensated them, but for Lord Zuo, it was a huge profit to have divorced Lady Zuo and even to have obtained a compensation of 200,000 taels of silver. To Lord Zuo, this was an astronomical profit, so he was happy to see the matter resolved this way.
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