Emperor Mingcheng frowned, staring at the accusations against He Yuyan written line by line before him. He had not expected Lady He to be such a source of trouble. There were limits to his patience; enough was enough. Looking at the mournful faces of his officials, Emperor Mingcheng finally spoke: "Someone, proclaim my decree: have Lady He of the Dingguo Marquis Estate arrested and brought to justice!"
In Chang'an Prefecture, word spread that the Emperor had dispatched an army to attack. Thirty thousand troops were currently stationed outside the city of Bozhou, just across the river. The people were gripped by anxiety. Although the Eldest Princess had a reputation for collecting handsome men, that obvious flaw aside, she treated her people quite well. She had established public schools in the prefecture, invited renowned scholars to serve as lecturers, and provided opportunities for the children of commoners to receive an education, thereby cultivating local talent. She had supervised the repair and expansion of official roads, developed water conservancy projects, and introduced a series of measures to benefit agriculture. To strengthen public security, she had increased the number of patrol soldiers and constables, setting up watchtowers and alert posts in key areas of the city and in regions with high crime rates. Consequently, under her governance, the people of Chang'an Prefecture had lived in peace and contentment for years—in some respects, even more prosperously tha…
Chapter 216