The moonlight was as bright as a silver thread. Shen Qingzhuo carefully soothed the shivering youth in his arms and then turned his gaze to the noble consort curled up on the bed.
Since the Seventh Prince moved into Changle Palace, although he had never returned to the Cold Palace, but he sent people to keep an eye on it all the time. Those palace attendants who looked down on others no longer dared to blatantly cut back on food, clothing, and other expenses, and they served the crazy noble consort carefully.
At present, the environment in the cold palace has obviously improved. Shen Qingzhuo couldn’t help feeling sad. Even though his mother had cruelly wanted to take his life time and time again, on this special day, his little disciple still couldn’t help but come to see his mother.
Maybe he also wanted a blessing from his mother, or maybe he just simply missed her, hoping that his mother, who was occasionally sober, would give him a hug on his birthday.
“Master…” Xiao Shen buried his face in the familiar crook of the neck and tightened his arms around his master. “I feel so uncomfortable…”
“Be good, it’s fine now, it’s fine now…” Shen Qingzhuo kept stroking the back of his little disciple’s head and whispered in his ear, “You have grown up, and she can no longer hurt you easily.”
He didn’t know what had happened, but he thought it definitely couldn’t be a happy thing to make his little disciple this sad.
Noble Consort Zhao stared at the two people huddled together with a blank expression. Unexpectedly, she went crazy again: “Kill me! Kill me! Ahhhhhh!”
The miserable screams echoed in the empty, cold palace. Shen Qingzhuo’s scalp tingled. He subconsciously protected the little disciple in his arms and turned to the side, fearing that the crazy noble consort would rush over.
“Kill me, you come and kill me ah! What’s the point of me living, ahhhh…?” Fortunately, Noble Consort Zhao did not attack them. She just held her head and banged it against the wall, “Xiao Yusheng! Even if I become a ghost, I will not let you go ahhhh… “
Xiao Yusheng was the great name of Emperor Guangxi. Every word she shouted out sounded blood-curdling, as if she wanted to bite off a piece of his flesh.
Shen Qingzhuo was not sure whether the noble consort was really crazy or just pretending to be crazy, but the “bang, bang” sound of the body banging against the wall was really frightening.
After a brief hesitation, he let his drunken disciple lean against the door frame and said, “I’m going to make your Mother Consort faint.”
Xiao Shen grabbed his sleeve and looked at him with red eyes, as if he had a thousand words to say, but finally he let go obediently.
Shen Qingzhuo quickly walked to the bed and tried to forcibly pull back the noble consort who was hitting the wall.
However, the crazy Noble Consort Zhao was extremely strong, and he could not control her no matter how hard he tried. He was so angry that he shouted, “Zhao Yingjun!”
Noble Consort Zhao seemed to have had her calming acupoint pressed, and she stopped struggling and twisting.
“Don’t you want to kill him for revenge?” Shen Qingzhuo said coldly, “When a person dies, he becomes a piece of earth. If ghosts can kill people, why couldn’t the 213 innocent souls of the Zhao family take their enemies away?”
Noble Consort Zhao fell to the ground with a thud, hitting the bed heavily. She cried hoarsely, “Father and Mother… It was the unfilial daughter who harmed you guys… Daughter is living a shameful life…”
“Noble Consort can only rest assured when you see your enemy die, right?” Shen Qingzhuo said as he completely let go of her hand. “You will die in the cold palace, and no one will even collect your body. Are you really willing to do that?”
These words completely hit Noble Consort Zhao’s sore spot. She lay on the bed and continued crying, her whole body trembling like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind.
After making sure that she would not go crazy again, Shen Qingzhuo turned around and walked back to the palace gate.
His little disciple was leaning against the door frame with his back to them, looking up at the moon, and turning a deaf ear to everything that was happening in the hall.
“Let’s go back.” Shen Qingzhuo held him up with his hand, “Master will take you back.”
“Alright, Master.” Xiao Shen retracted his gaze, raised the corners of his lips, and smiled at his master, “Let’s go back together.”
But in Shen Qingzhuo’s opinion, that smile looked uglier than crying.
The master and disciple returned to Changle Palace under the moonlight.
Along the way, Xiao Shen did not make any noise or quarrel, it’s just that the alcohol was taking over again and half of his body was pressed on his master heavily.
Shen Qingzhuo struggled to support his little disciple and finally brought him back to his bedchamber. However, before he could even touch the bed, he was pressed into the quilt by a body as big as a mountain.
“Hey…” He raised his hand to push against his chest but shivered from the high temperature. He could only negotiate in a gentle voice, “Xiao Qi, let Masted get up first before going to sleep, alright?”
But the youth did not move. After a while, he heard the sound of regular breathing. It turned out that he had fallen asleep.
Shen Qingzhuo: “……”
He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry for a moment, but when he thought of what his little disciple had experienced tonight, he couldn’t help but soften his heart. He simply laid down and relaxed to accumulate strength first.
After a while, he finally recovered and wrapped his arms around his slightly thin shoulders, holding the youth for a spin and switching the order of the two.
Just as he was about to retreat quietly, the youth under him suddenly opened his eyes.
Their eyes met, their expressions were indescribably strange, and Shen Qingzhuo felt a little nervous for some reason. “That’s not… I just want to go down…”
“Master.” Xiao Shen looked into his eyes without blinking and asked calmly and eagerly, “Master, will you stay with me forever?”
Those obsidian eyes were like a bottomless whirlpool, possessing the magical power to suck in people’s souls.
Shen Qingzhuo’s eyes dodged unconsciously for a moment, and he whispered back, “Dear disciple, no one in this world can promise forever. But at least at this moment, Master is with you.”
He thought that his little disciple would get to the bottom of the matter as usual, but the youth just stared at him quietly and then closed his eyes again.
Shen Qingzhuo breathed a sigh of relief and got into bed carefully.
Being so drunk, it was impossible for him to take a bath. He ordered someone to bring warm water, wrung out a wet towel, and wiped his little disciple’s face and hands.
Xiao Shen obediently lay on the jade mat with his slender body curled up into a ball. When his master was about to leave, he suddenly reached out and grasped his snow-white, slender wrist.
“Just tonight…” He closed his eyes and murmured in a dream, “Just tonight, stay with me…”
Shen Qingzhuo sighed silently, turned around, and said, “Alright, Master will accompany you.”
He lay down on the other side of the bed, imitating the youth’s posture, resting his arms behind his neck and lying opposite him.
“Sleep peacefully.” He raised his hand, patted his little disciple’s arm gently, and whispered, “Master is here…”
The moment he let himself sink into a sweet dream, Xiao Shen thought to himself:
Master, you saved me again.
***
Three days later, it was time to attend the morning court again.
In the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Emperor Guangxi sat high on the dragon throne, listening with disinterest to the reports given by civil and military officials.
After the inner cabinet and the six ministries engaged in a debate, Emperor Guangxi responded with a few words, and the hall fell into a brief silence.
Eunuch Su was waiting on the side and was about to read out, “If there is something to report, report it; if not, then leave the court”, when Cen Yuan, the Left Censor of the Imperial Censorate, stepped out, bowed, and said, “Your Majesty, the minister has a report to report.”
Emperor Guangxi glanced at him and asked, “What do you want to report, Cen Aiqing1Beloved minister?”
“The minister wants to impeach His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace for his debauchery, promiscuity, and immorality!” Lord Imperial Censor’s loud and powerful voice echoed in the hall.
Xiao Yichen’s heart skipped a beat, and he stepped out in a hurry. “Emperor Father is wisdom, Erchen is innocent!”
Cao Ren followed and retorted, “His Highness the Crown Prince is busy with government affairs, how can he have time to enjoy the beautiful spring scenery2To visit prostitutes.? Lord Imperial Censor, please stop slandering people!”
“Your Highness the Crown Prince knows whether I have slandered anyone or not.” Cen Yuan was not afraid at all. “May I ask if the maid named Lu Mei in the Eastern Palace was from Zuixiang Fang?”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was in an uproar, and the lords couldn’t help but whisper to each other.
Emperor Guangxi frowned and glanced at Commander Shen in the lower left corner.
But Lord Shen stood in front of the hall calmly, with no reaction on his face, as if everything that happened in the hall had nothing to do with him.
“There are many maidservants in the Eastern Palace, and Gu is not sure where they come from.” Xiao Yichen steadied his mind and replied in a deep voice, “Gu was busy sharing Emperor Father’s worries day and night. How can Gu control the little palace maidservants?”
“Alright.” Cen Yuan took out a memorial from his sleeve and a portrait, presenting them together. “Your Majesty, this is the testimony of the girls at the Zuixiang Fang. They said there was a young master surnamed Xiao who was a regular at Zuixiang Fang and drew a portrait of him.”
Eunuch Su hurriedly took it and presented it to Emperor Guangxi with both hands.
After a moment, Emperor Guangxi’s face turned dark as he crumpled the portrait into a ball and threw it at the Crown Prince with a ‘bang’. “You are so busy trying to share Zhen’s worries! You ended up sharing Zhen’s worries in the red-light district?”
The Crown Prince did not dare to pick up the paper ball. He knew he could not make excuses, so he kneeled down and begged for mercy: “Emperor Father, please calm down. Erchen was just confused for a moment!”
At this time, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Fan Zhe, stepped out and attacked Imperial Censor Cen directly: “May I ask where did Lord Imperial Censor get this information from? Could it be that Lord Imperial Censor himself likes to visit the brothel? The thief shouted to catch the thief?”
Cen Yuan replied calmly: “Your Majesty, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Lord Fan, is also a frequent visitor of Zuixiang Fang.”
When Fan Zhe heard this, he was so angry that he blew his beard and glared and shouted loudly, “Lord Cen, please don’t slander people! Your Majesty, this is a living frame-up ah!”
Cen Yuan said in a sinister tone, “Come to think of it, Lord Fan just married his seventh concubine a few days ago, and he still has time to visit the brothel. His management and allocation of time and energy are really admirable.”
Shen Qingzhuo curled the corners of his lips imperceptibly.
“You—” Fan Zhe was so angry that he almost fell over on the spot. “Your Majesty, this Imperial Censor Cen has some minor frictions with the minister on a daily basis. This time he is clearly seeking revenge for a personal grudge! Please give your wise judgment, Your Majesty!”
Emperor Guangxi scolded in a deep voice, “Shut up!”
The Left Imperial Censor is responsible for supervising and impeaching hundreds of officials. He was the emperor’s eyes and ears and the rule of law. As the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire. In addition, the Beizhen Fushi had reported the Zuixiang Fang incident before, so Emperor Guangxu naturally believed it without a doubt at this moment.
“Of course, His Highness the Crown Prince and Lord Fan are not the only ones on Zuixiang Fang’s ladies guest list.” Cen Yuan took out another memorial from his sleeve, “Your Majesty, please take a look.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the expressions of several other important officials in the hall changed, and the Third Prince finally couldn’t help revealing a gloating expression.
Emperor Guangxi only glanced at it and immediately became furious, shouting, “Ridiculous! You guys—cough, cough…”
Furious, he held onto the armrest of the dragon chair and coughed loudly, frightening Eunuch Su, who hurried forward and said, “Your Majesty, please calm down, health is more important ah!”
DaYong Dynasty did not openly prohibit visiting prostitutes, and brothels were prevalent, but this did not mean that the emperor would tolerate the behavior of important court officials visiting prostitutes collectively, especially when it involved the Crown Prince of a country.
This time, Lord Cen used a big move of political infighting to attack personal lifestyle issues. The Crown Prince’s Party was completely powerless to fight back, and the remaining few people who were not named felt insecure and dared not say a word.
Cao Ren finally realized that Imperial Censor Cen had come prepared and that the more he said, the more mistakes he made, so he kneeled down and apologized: “His Highness the Crown Prince has gone astray for a while, and it is because of the old minister’s poor teaching. Please, Your Majesty, punish the Crown Prince to reflect on his mistakes in seclusion, and the old minister also asked for a fine of half a year’s salary!”
His move was to retreat in order to advance, in order to protect His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but would Shen Qingzhuo let them go so easily?
“Your Majesty, the minister has a memorial to make.” Lord Shen, who had seen enough of the show, stepped out gracefully and bowed.
Xiao Yichen knelt on the ground. His heart skipped a beat when he heard that. He then comforted himself by saying that Lord Shen must be preparing to plead for him. After all, they had formed a united front and were now grasshoppers tied to the same rope3Be involved in the same wrongdoing..
Emperor Guangxi slowly stopped coughing, his face looked extremely ugly, and he squeezed out a word from his throat: “Perform it.”
Shen Qingzhuo held the memorial in his hand and asked, “Does Your Majesty still remember the case of the former minister of the Ministry of Rites, Lian Zhong’s fraud in the imperial examination?”
Emperor Guangxi frowned: “Isn’t this case already closed?”
Shen Qingzhuo spoke at a steady pace, “According to Lian Zhong’s latest confession, the minister wants to accuse His Highness the Crown Prince of engaging in embezzlement and fraud in the imperial examinations and disrupting government policy!”
The author has something to say:
This Crown Prince is really going to die this time hahaha!
