While the Anyuan Estate was wrapped up in warmth, deep within the palace, Qinzheng Hall was vastly empty and cold in comparison.
A few old members of the cabinet were gathered there. All of them had their heads bowed and none of them were speaking.
The hall was currently enshrouded in a creepy silence.
Seated behind the imperial desk, the emperor’s face was flushed red from the force of his rage. He pushed over a stack of reports, letting the scrolls spill over to the ground, “Well! What capable officials we have here! Fine! Even if you don’t tell us today, we will find out eventually! Scram!”
As the echoes of the emperor’s last word faded in the cavernous hall, the esteemed cabinet members bowed deeply and quickly retreated out of the hall.
The emperor’s chest heaved as he panted for breath.
It was only when there was no one else left in the hall that Eunuch Wei dared to speak up softly, “Your Majesty, please don’t be angry. If Your Majesty is still brooding over the events of that year, then Your Majesty’s health is of the utmost importance. As long as Your Majesty remains healthy, those old foxes won’t be able to have you in the palm of their hands.”
Although Eunuch Wei’s words toed the line between them as master and servant, they were rather effective on the emperor.
As expected, the emperor’s breathing slowly calmed down after a moment.
“Summon He Lin.”
Eunuch Wei heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly rushed off to execute the order.
In less than fifteen minutes, He Lin was already standing in front of the emperor in Qinzheng Hall.
The emperor’s eyes were half-lidded, his entire body clad in a ruler’s fearsome aura. It made him hard to read. Even He Lin felt a little scared of the emperor at this moment.
“How is the task we entrusted to you?”
He Lin quickly pulled out a small scroll from his pouch and offered it up to the emperor with both hands.
The emperor took it and immediately opened it to read.
Although it was a small scroll, it had been made exquisitely.
The words written within were only half the size of a rice grain. While the scroll wasn’t very long, thanks to the small writing, it had a lot of content.
If Chu Lian had been present, she would surely have cried out in alarm.
The scroll recorded every detail of what Chu Lian had done while growing up in the Ying Estate.
From her favourite childhood snacks, to how she had been bullied terribly by her sisters in House Ying when she had grown older…
The emperor had started out with an air of anticipation. However, when he started reading the contents, his brows had furrowed together tighter and tighter until he could no longer control himself and ended up crushing the scroll…
He had never expected that his and Ah-xun’s child would have grown up in such a manner!
His daughter should have been born with a silver spoon. She should have been clothed in the finest fabrics, served by a crowd of servants, tutored by the best teachers, and following that, under his protection, she should have transformed into the most dazzling and eye-catching pearl.
However, reality had been completely different…
When Chu Lian had been young, going by what this scroll said, she likely wouldn’t have had more than one or two little snacks, let alone the bare necessities…
Eunuch Wei trembled upon catching sight of the emperor’s expression.
The emperor had survived the war against his siblings to claim the throne. Even if he had a kind enough appearance, his inner heart was actually cold and ruthless, with countless schemes and plots brewing. Eunuch Wei had been serving him for so many decades that he could somewhat guess a little at the emperor’s moods, even if his true thoughts were hidden.
Every time the emperor showed an expression like that, it meant that misfortune was about to befall some poor soul…
Eunuch Wei’s prediction was rather accurate.
The emperor forcefully shut the scroll in his hands.
He turned towards Eunuch Wei, who was standing in a stiff position behind him, “Prepare the ink.”
There was a blank imperial decree scroll laid out on the desk. In a short moment, the blank scroll was completely filled up. The emperor tossed the finished imperial decree over to Eunuch Wei casually.
He left behind an order, “Send someone to the Ying Estate to announce the decree.”
Eunuch Wei’s hands trembled. When he recalled the glimpses of the decree that he had seen, a chill went up his spine.
After finishing all this, the emperor gave another order, “He Lin, go over to Yang Yanfeng and have him think of a way to remove Chu Qizheng’s position.”
He Lin froze up for an instant, but he didn’t dare to refute the order. He made a cupped fist salute and left to do as the emperor had ordered.
Chu Qizheng had originally been given a low-ranked slack position in the court. Later on, he had somehow gotten connected with the Pan Estate and Lord Pan had personally recommended him for a promotion. From then, Chu Qizheng had become a proper sixth-ranked official.
It was also due to this official position that Chu Qizheng had suddenly become one of the more promising men in the younger generation of House Ying. He had also stabilised the status of the second branch in the Ying Estate.
Even Old Duchess Ying had stopped mentioning the lack of heirs for the second branch due to this.
The next day, an astonishing piece of news spread throughout the whole capital: the emperor had personally bestowed an engagement upon House Ying’s Eighth Miss, Chu Yuan.
The groom in question was Prince Yongkang’s only son, Royal Prince Shou.
Speaking of which, Prince Yongkang was actually the emperor’s uncle, and the emperor had been the one who had conferred the title of Royal Prince Shou upon his son.
Royal Prince Shou was already twenty three this year. At that age, it was just right for him to take his first wife.
Furthermore, Royal Prince Shou was considered part of the imperial family.
While it seemed to be a good pairing on the surface, those in the know were all waiting to watch the fireworks, and were laughing behind the backs of the second branch of House Ying.
The reason was none other than this: Royal Prince Shou was a half-wit.
He was a robust and prosperous person, who always had a foolish expression on his face.
Prince Yongkang had married his older cousin, Royal Princess Longjia. Royal Prince Shou was the ‘masterpiece’ of this marriage between close relations.
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