“Your Majesty, Your Majesty, chen has been wronged! Chen has been wronged!”
Chen fuma cried out that he had been framed.
Ning wang was filled with uncertainty. He looked toward Princess Huyang.
Seeing her evasive gaze and obvious guilt, he inwardly cursed.
So this couple, in their pursuit of money, had not only dared to mint currency privately but had also organized people to rob tombs.
How had he never known that the bastard Chen Yuan possessed the skills to locate burial sites and identify dragon veins?
Seeing that Huyang was about to step forward and speak on Chen Yuan’s behalf, Ning wang became alarmed.
With Huyang’s big mouth, if the old Emperor tricked her a little, she might blurt out the matter of the privately minted coins.
Thus, Ning wang suddenly jumped forward and kicked Chen fuma to the ground.
“You pig-dog of a man! You actually dared to rob tombs? Tomb robbery is a capital crime. Immediate execution. Did you not know that?”
Ning wang‘s beating of Chen Yuan was half genuine and half an act. Yet the more he spoke, the angrier he became. The half that had been an act soon became entirely real.
Ning wang rained punches and kicks upon Chen Yuan, cursing loudly and insulting eight generations of the Chen family’s ancestors.
Princess Huyang loved her husband deeply. Even though she knew Ning wang was trying to save him, she still could not bear to watch him being beaten.
Suddenly, she rushed forward and threw herself over Chen Yuan.
“If wangxiong wishes to beat someone, then beat me instead.”
Pointing at Huyang, Ning wang became so angry that he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
He pointed at her and said, “You… you are unbelievably foolish. He’s a tomb robber, yet you’re still protecting him.”
Princess Huyang wept bitterly. Her exquisite makeup was ruined, but she paid it no mind.
Crying, she said, “No matter what he has done, he is still my husband. Fuhuang, the fuma has been framed. He truly has been framed.”
The Emperor watched the entire spectacle coldly, his gaze icy.
“Whether he has been framed or not will become clear once the Imperial Guards interrogate him,” Zhao wang stepped forward and said.
Princess Huyang flew into a rage. “Zhao wangxiong, don’t kick someone when they are down.”
Zhao wang gloated. “Huyang, are you trying to shield a criminal? According to the law, anyone who robs tombs for profit shall be executed. Do not treat the law as a joke.”
Huyang shouted, “Who exactly is treating the law as a joke?”
Zhao wang pointed at her. “Naturally, you are.”
Huyang was furious, regretful, terrified, and panicked all at once. “Fuhuang, the fuma truly has been framed. Your daughter would never dare deceive fuhuang.”
The Emperor sat stern-faced, naturally imposing.
“Huyang, stand down!” the Emperor shouted.
Huyang refused.
Ning wang called Liu Zhao over, and together they forcibly dragged Huyang away.
Chen fuma’s face was swollen and bruised, all courtesy of Ning wang.
Trembling violently, his entire body shaking like a sieve, he knelt on the ground and begged forgiveness.
The Emperor asked, “You refuse to admit the tomb robbery?”
“Your Majesty… chen truly has been framed.”
Chen fuma still clung to a sliver of hope. He thought that with Shu fei, Ning wang, and Huyang supporting him, he might still escape unharmed. Therefore, he absolutely could not confess.
The Emperor could not be bothered to waste words on him.
He immediately ordered, “Throw Chen Yuan into the Imperial Prison and have the Imperial Guards interrogate him thoroughly.”
Upon hearing this, Chen fuma collapsed onto the floor like a heap of mud.
Several palace guards entered the hall, dragged him away, and escorted him to the Imperial Prison.
Princess Huyang let out a scream. “Fuhuang, spare his life! If the fuma enters the Imperial Prison, how can he possibly survive?”
“Insolence!”
Seeing that the Emperor was becoming enraged and might even punish Huyang, Shu fei panicked.
“Huyang, be quiet. If Chen Yuan truly did not commit this crime, the Imperial Guards will naturally clear his name. Leave at once.”
Ning wang acted decisively and simply covered Huyang’s mouth, forbidding her to speak.
The Emperor had completely lost interest. Flicking his sleeve, he departed.
The family banquet ended on a thoroughly unhappy note.
Chen fuma had been dragged away, and Princess Huyang fainted on the spot.
Among the Chen siblings, Chen Min cried loudly while Chen Lu stood there in a daze, overwhelmed with fear.
Zhao wang gloated. “Ning wangxiong, you should discipline Huyang properly. She has gone too far.”
As the elder brother, Ning wang was not the Crown Prince and had no intention of being polite to Zhao wang.
He directly kicked toward him. “Get lost.”
Zhao wang dodged in time and was not struck, but anger surged within him.
“Ning wangxiong certainly has quite a temper. I shall wait and see what kind of end Huyang and Chen fuma meet.”
With that, Zhao wang flicked his sleeve and left.
Xue guifei wiped the corner of her mouth and said to Shu fei, “That child Huyang has been willful since she was little. What a pity.”
Shu fei was frantic with worry and had no time to exchange barbs with Xue guifei.
She immediately stood and walked toward Huyang.
Smack!
Shu fei slapped the still-crying Huyang hard across the face.
Huyang was stunned.
From childhood to adulthood, Ning wang had received countless beatings, but she had never been struck once.
Yet today she had actually been slapped.
After the shock faded, Huyang cried even louder, filled with grief and resentment.
Shu fei‘s eyes blazed with fury.
“You still have the face to cry? Get back at once!”
With a single order, several maids from Changchun Palace stepped forward, dragged Huyang out of Chenghui Hall, and took her back to Changchun Palace.
Princess Fuming gloated and remarked, “Serves her right.”
It seemed that she and Huyang did not get along either.
The people in the hall gradually departed.
The eldest imperial grandson helped the Crown Prince to his feet, and the entire Eastern Palace household also prepared to leave.
Standing to one side, Gu Jiu quietly observed the Crown Princess’s movements.
The Crown Princess’s expression remained unchanged as she stepped forward and supported the Crown Prince.
“Your Highness, let me help you.”
There was not the slightest trace of joy on her face.
Gu Jiu even began to wonder if she had been mistaken earlier. Perhaps this matter had nothing to do with the Crown Princess after all.
Carrying her doubts, Gu Jiu returned to Changchun Palace.
Huyang was still crying endlessly.
Shu fei sighed repeatedly, her face full of anger.
Ning wang felt the urge to kill someone. If Huyang had not been his own younger sister, he would have drawn his sword and killed her long ago.
“Enough. Stop crying!”
Shu fei finally rebuked Huyang.
Huyang’s sobbing immediately quieted down.
Shu fei asked sternly, “Huyang, tell bengong the truth. Is it true that the fuma was involved in tomb robbery?”
Huyang shook her head repeatedly. “The fuma has been wronged.”
“Tell the truth!” Shu fei raised her voice, then lowered it again. “If you do not tell bengong the truth, neither your wangxiong nor bengong will be able to save the fuma from the Imperial Prison.”
Huyang’s face instantly lost all color.
Ning wang spoke directly, “Let Chen Yuan die. He is a menace.”
“Wangxiong, are you really going to stand by and do nothing?”
Ning wang sneered coldly. “He dared rob tombs. What is there that you husband and wife would not dare do? Have you gone mad from poverty?”
Huyang whimpered and quietly sobbed.
Shu fei slowly closed her eyes, clearly disappointed in Huyang to the extreme.
She said, “Huyang, if you refuse to tell the truth, then return to your Princess fu. Bengong will be unwell for the next month. Do not enter the palace to disturb me.”
“Mufei, your daughter knows she was wrong. Your daughter will tell the truth. The fuma… the fuma said that great tombs contain many burial treasures. We only needed to take a few items, and it would cover our expenses for a whole year.”
“Foolish! Do you not know that tomb robbery is a capital crime? You actually agreed to the fuma‘s proposal? Do you have a pig’s brain?”
Huyang said aggrievedly, “The household expenses are enormous. If we didn’t find some solution, the only option would have been to go to wangxiong every month asking for money.”
The moment Pei shi heard this, she nearly died of anger.
That shameless woman Huyang had actually intended to beg for money every single month.
Shu fei was equally furious. “So you indulged the fuma in robbing tombs?”
Huyang nodded slightly and admitted it.
Grinding her teeth, Shu fei said, “You are a princess. Your annual stipend alone amounts to tens of thousands of taels. Bengong also prepared an enormous dowry for you. With nearly a hundred thousand taels of income a year, it still isn’t enough for the two of you to spend, and you actually resorted to tomb robbery? Are you courting death? Do you not know that your fuhuang hates this sort of thing the most?”
Tomb robbery was the ultimate disrespect toward the dead.
As an emperor, one had to concern oneself not only with matters before death but also with matters after death.
Every emperor hated tomb robbers above all.
Throughout history, countless imperial mausoleums had been looted.
The Emperor only had to think that tomb robbers were right beside him, within the imperial family itself, to become enraged.
The fact that he had not immediately executed Chen Yuan already showed tremendous restraint.
Shu fei sighed again and said to Princess Huyang, “The Imperial Prison is like a living hell. The fuma certainly will not withstand torture. He will confess everything. Huyang, prepare yourself.”
Huyang’s face turned deathly pale. “Prepare for what?”
Shu fei did not wish to say it, fearing it would be too much of a blow.
Ning wang had no such concern.
“This time, the fuma is certainly doomed. Whether the Chen family is implicated depends on the scale of the case and whether they participated. If the Chen family was involved as well, then the Chen family is finished.”
The moment Princess Huyang heard that the fuma was doomed, she collapsed onto the floor.
Then she suddenly came back to herself and cried out pleadingly, “Wangxiong, save the fuma. I can’t live without him!”
Ning wang replied coldly, “The fuma brought this upon himself. Benwang is powerless to save him. Accept your fate. Clean things up and quickly distance yourself from him.”
Princess Huyang burst into loud sobs.
Chen Lu and Chen Min, the two siblings, began crying as well.
Shu fei sighed. “At a time like this, Huyang, you must think first of your two children. If your fuhuang flies into a rage and implicates the Chen family, these two children will still need you to protect them.”
Chen Lu and Chen Min were terrified.
“Grandmother!” The two children knelt before Consort Shu.
Feeling distressed for them, Shu fei said to Ning wang, “Do your best to protect the two children.”
Ning wang nodded and agreed.
Princess Huyang cried so hard she could barely catch her breath.
Then matters became even worse.
A palace attendant hurried into the hall to report.
“Reporting to niangniang, reporting to wangye: the Imperial Guards have surrounded the Princess fu and Chen fu. The fuma’s personal servants, attendants, and maids have all been thrown into the Imperial Prison. The Chen family’s da laoye and er laoye have also been sent to the Imperial Prison.”
“Ah!”
Princess Huyang let out a scream and fainted on the spot.
“Quickly carry Huyang away and summon the taiyi.”
Shu fei was deeply worried.
The palace attendants hurriedly carried Huyang away.
Anxious and flustered, Shu fei asked Ning wang, “How did this happen? How could it happen so quickly?”
Ning wang‘s expression was grave. “Fuhuang is serious this time. Moreover, the fuma has never had a good reputation, and the Chen family is large. Their hands may not be clean. This matter will be difficult to handle.”
Shu fei collapsed back into her chair.
After a moment’s thought, Ning wang waved his hand, signaling everyone to withdraw to the side hall.
Then he bent down and said to Shu fei, “Mufei, Huyang and the fuma were also privately minting coins. The fuma was caught red-handed, though fortunately his identity was not exposed. Benwang already had Zhao’er handle the matter properly. However, if the fuma cannot endure the torture and reveals this matter, Fuhuang will be enraged. It may even implicate your son.”
“What? Huyang actually…”
“Shh! Mufei, lower your voice. Only your son, Zhao’er, and mufei know of this matter. It must not be spread around.”
Shu fei‘s expression changed repeatedly. Gritting her teeth, she said, “The fuma deserves death. Huyang deserves death. These two are utterly absurd. Grave robbing was not enough; they even dared to… The Imperial Guards arrested the fuma‘s men. Those people certainly will not withstand torture. The matter of privately minting coins will very likely be exposed. You must be careful and absolutely not allow this matter to be traced back to you.”
Ning wang frowned. “I’m afraid it may already be too late.”
Shu fei clenched her teeth and hardened her heart. “If His Majesty truly investigates the matter, push all responsibility onto Liu Zhao. He is an imperial grandson. His Majesty should show him some leniency.”
Ning wang‘s brows knitted tightly. “Having Zhao’er bear everything alone… that seems inappropriate.”
Consort Shu flew into a rage. “At a time like this, you’re still hesitating? Liu Zhao is your son, is he not also bengong‘s grandson? Do you think bengong does not care for him? But at this critical moment, the foremost responsibility is to preserve the wang fu. As long as the wang fu stands, Zhao’er will naturally be fine. Once the wang fu falls, where can the hair remain if the skin is gone? This matter is settled.”
Ning wang hesitated for a moment before finally nodding heavily. “Very well. If it truly comes to that point, Zhao’er can only step forward and shoulder it.”
Liu Zhao had absolutely no idea that great disaster was about to descend upon him.
Shu fei felt uneasy. Her eyelids kept twitching.
“It’s the New Year. How did such a thing happen? Don’t the Xiuyiwei celebrate the New Year? Catching tomb robbers at a time like this is simply absurd.”
“Your son also feels there is something strange about this.”
Shu fei and Ning wang exchanged a glance.
“Could someone be scheming behind the scenes?”
Ning wang said, “I will immediately send people to inquire at the Xiuyiwei. Mufei, do not worry.”
“See to it quickly. If someone truly is plotting against bengong’s daughter, bengong will never spare them.”
A fierce look flashed through Shu fei‘s eyes.
In the side hall, Gu Jiu came to Liu Zhao’s side and quietly asked, “Will this implicate the wang fu?”
Liu Zhao hesitated briefly before giving a slight nod.
Gu Jiu narrowed her eyes, growing somewhat tense.
“Could it be that the wang fu knew about the grave robbing beforehand?”
Liu Zhao shook his head. “We knew nothing about it.”
He was thinking of the privately minted coins.
The fuma and his men would never withstand severe torture. Once that happened, the coin-minting operation would certainly come to light. Likewise, his own role in cleaning up the matter would also be uncovered by the Imperial Guards.
Liu Zhao stared toward the hall.
His father and Shu fei had already been privately discussing matters for the time it took to drink a cup of tea. Something felt wrong.
Suddenly Liu Zhao grabbed Gu Jiu’s hand.
His grip was so strong that it hurt.
She looked at him.
“You…”
Liu Zhao quietly instructed her, “Leave the palace immediately and return to the wang fu. Take my seal. Tell Qian Fu to hand over the sandalwood box hidden in the study’s secret compartment. Keep it for me.”
Gu Jiu’s heart skipped a beat.
“What happened? Are you hiding something from me?”
After hesitating for a moment, Liu Zhao whispered into her ear, “The Princess fu was privately minting coins. I was the one who settled the matter.”
Gu Jiu’s face changed drastically.
She grabbed his hand in return and cursed in a low voice, “Have you lost your mind? How dare you involve yourself in something like that?”
In the third year of Kaiyao, when the Emperor’s foundations were still unstable, a member of the imperial clan had privately minted coins. After the matter came to light, the Emperor exterminated three generations of that family.
Gu Jiu had studied history and remembered that episode vividly.
When she had first read about it, she had thought that anyone daring to steal the Emperor’s money was truly risking their life for wealth.
She had assumed that after such a lesson, no one would ever dare repeat the offense.
Yet she had never expected Huyang and the fuma to court death so recklessly, not only robbing tombs but also privately minting coins.
One crime added atop another.
The fuma was undoubtedly doomed.
As for Liu Zhao, who had helped clean up afterward, Gu Jiu was deeply worried.
She had no desire to become a widow immediately after getting married.
Liu Zhao’s face turned dark.
“I never imagined the fuma would dare rob tombs as well, and that the Xiuyiwei would actually catch the tomb robbers.”
Gu Jiu gritted her teeth.
“Can you protect yourself?”
Liu Zhao answered firmly, “Don’t worry. At most, I’ll suffer a bit physically. My life won’t be in danger. In any case, return to the wang fu first and do as I instructed.”
Gu Jiu said to him, “You had better be able to protect yourself. Benfuren absolutely refuses to become a widow.”
Liu Zhao’s expression darkened further.
“Don’t talk nonsense. Bengongzi will never let you become a widow.”
Gu Jiu kept a stern face.
“You had better keep your word. Also, the timing of the fuma‘s exposure is a little too coincidental. You should investigate. The Eastern Palace must not be overlooked either.”
Liu Zhao looked doubtful.
“You suspect the Eastern Palace?”
Gu Jiu snorted.
“I suspect everyone. I even suspect that someone from the Chen family may have reported the matter.”
That was indeed possible.
The fuma was extravagant, arrogant, and domineering. He had certainly offended many people.
Someone bearing a grudge might very well have reported him.
Time was pressing.
Gu Jiu stopped hesitating.
Taking her maids and a young eunuch with her, she quietly left the side hall and hurried back to the wang fu.
By the time people noticed that Gu Jiu was missing, she was already seated in a carriage with her palace pass in hand.
“Zhao’er, where is your wife?” Shu fei asked.
Liu Zhao calmly replied, “She was feeling unwell, so your grandson allowed her to leave the palace and return to the residence first.”
Shu fei frowned.
“If she was unwell, why not keep her in the palace and have the taiyi examine her?”
Liu Zhao suddenly appeared enlightened.
“Grandmother’s reminder is correct. Your grandson overlooked that. However, she left quite some time ago. She may already have reached the residence by now.”
Upon hearing this, Shu fei let out a cold snort.
“She has absolutely no sense of proper conduct.”
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