Wei Yunping’s older brother, Wei Yunan, got into trouble and was summoned early in the morning to the Imperial Palace to be interrogated by Emperor Chu.
While Wei Yunan was still indulging in the pleasures of life in the countryside, he was abruptly dragged out of bed by a eunuch, hastily dressed to rush to the Palace. When he arrived, he saw his younger brother already kneeling on the ground.
Wei Yunping gave his brother a subtle glance, and Wei Yunan sensed the tense atmosphere in the air. Without hesitation, he immediately knelt down on the ground and apologized loudly, “I admit my mistake.”
A teacup flew towards him and knocked off his already crooked hat. Wei Yunan was so scared that he didn’t dare to move.
Emperor Chu had not even retracted his throwing motion, his face was dark and cold as he said, “I haven’t even said anything yet, and you’ve admitted your mistake. Tell me, what mistake did you make?”
The wrath of an emperor was not something that an ordinary person could easily bear. Wei Yunan’s body trembled, and he stuttered, “Please, Your Majesty, enlighten me.”
“You look at the mess you’ve made!” He picked up a memorial from the desk and threw it in front of Wei Yunan.
The memorial made a loud noise when it fell to the ground. Wei Yunan shook his hand and opened the memorial, scanning its contents quickly. He immediately knelt down and shouted injustice to the Emperor, “This… this is a slander, Your Majesty! I have always been loyal to you and the Kingdom. It must be some cunning villain trying to slander me!”
Emperor Chu was already burning with anger. The way in which his anger was fanned by what Minister Wei Yunan had said did not help the situation. He picked up the pile of petitions that accused him of wrongdoing and threw them in front of Wei Yunan.
The petitions fell like a flock of butterflies, landing with a loud rustling sound in front of Wei Yunan. After hastily flipping through a few of them, he suddenly understood everything. He quickly knelt down and knocked his head several times in front of Emperor Chu.
“I have let Your Majesty down, and my crime deserves death!”
Emperor Chu said, “Wei Yunan, as an Imperial duke, you are so foolish! I trusted you and handed over the disaster relief matter to you, but what did you do? You embezzled and took bribes, also the money was not used properly, causing the people to hate us! Is this your loyalty and integrity?”
“You are a disgrace, Wei Yunan!” He stood up, wanting to find something to smash on Wei Yunan, but Wei Yunping, who had been working with Emperor Chu for many years understood his thoughts and immediately spoke up to defuse the situation.
“Your Majesty, please calm down! I also made a mistake. As the brother of the Imperial duke, I did not advise him in time, which led him astray.”
As soon as he spoke, Emperor Chu realized that there was another person who was not entirely innocent in this matter. He remembered that it was Wei Yunping who recommended his own brother to handle the disaster relief.
“You cannot escape blame either.” He pondered for a moment. Both of these were important officials in the court, and they were also related to him by marriage. If he punished them heavily, the Empress would inevitably come before him and shed tears to plead for them.
Tsk, women’s clinginess was really troublesome.
“Now, the people are full of complaints and demand your execution. What do you think I should do?”
The brothers of the Wei family knelt on the ground, and Wei Yunan was a crafty old fox. He immediately cried with snot and tears, while kowtowing and admitting his mistake, “I was confused, I was really confused! I disappointed Your Majesty’s expectations and made Your Majesty embarrassed. It was really a big mistake!”
Although Emperor Chu was disappointed in them, he still considered their old relationship and made a decision after a few considerations, “Imperial duke, you have let us down too much.”
The Wei brothers’ hearts tightened, but what Emperor Chu said next greatly relieved them.
“A monarch is like a boat, and the people are like water. We cannot ignore the well-being of Our subjects. However, you are still an Imperial duke, and We will show leniency because it is your first offense. Just return the embezzled silver.”
“And consider your title revoked.”
Wei Yunan wanted to say something, but Wei Yunping rushed to express gratitude before his elder brother could make any mistakes, “We thank Your Majesty for your grace.”
This matter can be considered closed.
Shen Fengyue came to deliver food to Emperor Chu with his pregnant belly but was stopped at the door. He heard the sound of the furious Emperor Chu inside and asked in confusion, “What’s going on with Your Majesty?”
Since the last banquet, Eunuch Shen had become somewhat more affable toward him. Although still as quirky as ever, Shen Fengyue felt that he had become much closer to him and was no longer keeping him firmly at arm’s length with his facade of cynicism.
Eunuch Shen pulled him aside and whispered softly in his ear, “Something big is happening in there.”
Shen Fengyue asked, “What is it?”
Eunuch Shen replied, “There was a natural disaster in Changnan earlier, with a riverbank collapsing. The Emperor funded disaster relief, and the Prime Minister recommended his own brother Wei Yunan to handle it. However, it has been discovered that Wei Yunan was embezzling and taking bribes, and the Emperor’s money didn’t go where it was supposed to. Someone has made the evidence public, causing public outrage and demanding the execution of Wei Yunan.”
Shen Fengyue exclaimed in shock, “There is such a thing…”
“It’s true.” Eunuch Shen blinked at him and chuckled lowly, “I did it.”
Shen Fengyue, “…”
He looked at Eunuch Shen with a complicated expression, and the latter seemed somewhat proud. He didn’t expect this guy to act so fast. It seemed that he also needed to keep up with his pace.
He held the food in his hand and looked at the bulging belly through the gap in his arm. It was time to have an abortion.
“Eunuch Shen, please hand this food to the Emperor. I still have some things to do, so I will take my leave.” After speaking, he turned and left.
Eunuch Shen understood his meaning and looked in the direction of the Empress’s palace.
The Wei family was probably going to be in chaos.
After Shen Fengyue went back, he sat at the table and planned to have a heart-to-heart talk with the system by candlelight.
“I understand what you mean. Just let go and do it.” The system’s tone was very calm as if it had already become indifferent to the world, “I have long anticipated that this day would come.”
The system’s calm and indifferent attitude surprised Shen Fengyue. He asked cautiously, “Brother System, are you okay?” He had seen the system’s efforts for this fake child over the past few months.
The system replied, “No, this is my fate. Old Shen, don’t let me hold you back because of me.”
“Uh, yeah…” After a brief exchange, the system made it clear that it didn’t want to talk to him anymore, and Shen Fengyue didn’t dare to touch on its sadness. He tossed and turned all night before finally falling asleep. The next morning, he got up early.
It’s better to end the pain than to let it drag on. He would have the child aborted as soon as possible, for the sake of the system and for himself.
It was a beautiful day, and the Empress was surprised to see Shen Fengyue coming to pay his respects to her, which was rare.
At that moment, she was worried about her father’s condition and was not interested in the squabbling of the concubines, looking sad and listless.
Among the many concubines, Shen Fengyue, who was dressed up and stunningly beautiful, was naturally the most attractive. He was already five or six months pregnant and had a rounded belly that looked a bit strained.
Concubine Zhang was fanning herself as she looked at his belly and whispered to him, “The Imperial Concubine is already in her late pregnancy, it must be quite difficult for you, right?”
Shen Fengyue nodded and slowly stroked the protruding curve with his hand.
Concubine Zhang whispered, “Your Majesty, your belly looks round. A qualified old midwife said it’s probably a boy.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Fengyue chuckled softly.
Although their words were small, everyone in the room heard them, including the Empress. Feeling annoyed, she picked up her teacup, pushed aside the foam, took a sip, and began to dismiss the guests one by one. “This palace is tired, you may all retire for now.”
