Chapter 6
A new day started with a refreshing melon-eating.
After Chu Hua finished laughing, she didn’t forget to remind: [Keep subscribing to the melons of Vice Minister of Revenue. There will definitely be follow-up. ]
System: [I think so too! ]
Vice Minister of Revenue: "..." Really, please change another sheep!
The emperor and the officials began to discuss state affairs today with a hint of mirth.
In view of the unexpected fall of the Minister of Revenue, they discovered a new use of Chu Hua and the system: to find corrupt officials.
Knowing that the melons dug out by the system were so accurate and effective, why should they spend time and effort to find other ways to fill the treasury? Wasn't it enough to seize a few more corrupt officials? This was much faster and more convenient than digging for treasures from the previous dynasty.
Royal Guard Commander Lin You presented evidence of corruption of the Minister of Revenue in court, "Former Minister of Revenue Yuan Wei was in office for five years. He used his position to extort local officials and embezzled up to five million taels of silver in three years. Now only less than two million taels of stolen money have been seized from his home, and the remaining three million taels are missing."
The system was shocked: [Five million? This is too greedy! ]
Emperor and officials: Here it comes! With the system, we can definitely find out where the three million taels went!
Chu Hua’s tone was calm: [A Renqing Governor, 100,000 silver coins. A governor of the main fourth rank is in charge of the government of a prefecture and he can embezzle this much in three years. The Minister of Revenue is a third rank official and in charge of the finances of the entire Dasheng. The household registration, taxation, and military expenses have all passed through his hands. Let alone five million, it is not surprising if he embezzled fifty million. ]
The emperor and the officials were silent. The royal guard commander who was listing all the crimes paused for a moment and continued: "Yuan Wei confessed to his crimes of extortion and corruption..."
The system couldn't figure it out: [This is managing the country's finances. Only someone who is extremely trusted by the emperor can hold such an important position. Before the extortion and corruption, didn't he think about what would happen to him if this is discovered? ]
This was also what the emperor and the officials couldn't figure out.
They knew Yuan Wei's character. What did he need so much silver for that he was willing to take such a risk?
Chu Hua noticed something amiss: [System, go and take a look. There may be a big melon here. ]
The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly. Chen Jiu hurriedly said: "Bring in Yuan Wei."
With an order, Yuan Wei, who was waiting in the side hall, was brought to the court. He was wearing a white prisoner uniform. His eyes were red and his hair was messy.
A day ago, he was still the main third-rank Minister of Revenue of the Dasheng Dynasty, deeply trusted by the emperor, chatting and laughing with the first and second-rank officials, and being flattered by his colleagues. A day later, he became a prisoner kneeling in front of all his colleagues. Even a eunuch could stand above him and despise him. The difference in status was huge.
It was unknown what Yuan Wei had experienced in the royal guard and gave an air of downcast.
The emperor sat on the high platform and coldly asked: "Yuan Wei, I gave you the position of Minister of Revenue because I have high hopes for you. Why did you not fail my trust?"
Yuan Wei raised his hands high and knelt on the ground: "I, the sinner, failed the emperor's trust for a moment of impulse, and I deserve to die. This matter was caused by this sinner, please be merciful and let my innocent family go."
In the end, Yuan Wei had been an official in the court and was their colleague for so many years. Now he wished to die to plead for his family had many officials moved.
The emperor thought of Yuan Wei's achievements over the years and his heart loosened. This matter really did not harm his family.
"I approve..."
As soon as the word ‘approved’ came out, Yuan Wei let out a slight breath and the system suddenly appeared: [Elder Sister Hua, I'm back with a big melon! ]
The emperor's attention was immediately diverted. What big melon?
The officials had a bad premonition. The look in their eyes when they gazed at Yuan Wei gradually became wrong. It seemed the system was digging Yuan Wei's melon?
Yuan Wei's eyes popped out. He was already like this and the system still refused to let him go?
Chu Hua: [Let me guess. ]
System: [Okay. ]
Chu Hua: [The Dasheng Dynasty clearly stipulated that if the silver money obtained by accepting bribes, soliciting bribes, and embezzling exceeds 200 taels, the death penalty will be imposed. The law may seem harsh, but the emperors of the Dasheng Dynasty paid officials 50% more than the previous dynasty. It also allows some officials who are living in financial difficulties to borrow money from the treasury. Case like the Vice Minister of Revenue to be so frugal that he would not change his underwear even if it had holes are rare. ]
The Vice Minister of Revenue, a man in his fifties, almost cried in court.
Please forget me! I will wear good underwear in the future, alright? I will be less frugal in the future, okay?
Chu Hua: [Since Yuan Wei dared to extort and embezzle 5 million taels, it doesn't make sense for him to cooperate so much now that he is discovered and seeking death. Unless there is something more grave than the crime of embezzlement. ]
Yuan Wei's pupils dilated at once and his kneeling body trembled.
The emperor and the officials came to their senses. They thought Yuan Wei cooperated so much to protect his innocent family members, but it turned out that he wanted to close the case as soon as possible to cover up other crimes.
But, what crime was more terrible than the death penalty?
No, no way?
Yuan Wei was not that bold, right?
The Vice Minister of Works whispered to the nearby Vice of Minister of Justice: "What can it be?"
The Vice Minister of Justice remained silent and only cut a few times on the neck.
Everyone knew it well: for the death penalty, one cut was enough. A few cuts meant that more than one person would die.
What was more terrible than the death penalty was the execution of the whole family and the nine clans would be implicated. So the crime that Yuan Wei wanted to hide was probably to this extent.
Chu Hua guessed this: [It can’t be that he is going to rebel, right? ]
The system was about to answer, but heard Yuan Wei's shocking voice: "This sinner dare not!"
Chu Hua raised her head at once. The system also paid attention. What dare not?
The emperor stared at Yuan Wei as if he wanted to eat him.
Yuan Wei knew that the emperor wanted to know more secrets and would never allow anyone to casually expose the truth that they could hear the conversation between one person and one system.
He kowtowed and hurriedly tried to smooth things over, "I beg the emperor to let my family go!"
The emperor stared at him meaningfully, "That depends on whether you are still deceiving me."
"Lin You."
The royal guard commander: "I am here."
The emperor: "What else have you found?"
The royal guard commander did have some clues in their hand, but the time was too short and he could not torture the suspect before the charges were confirmed. Therefore, it was very little.
But in this situation, he couldn't say he hadn't found anything, right?
Thinking back to Chu Hua's guess, Lin You said blindly, "Your Majesty, three years ago, Yuan Wei's legitimate daughter entered the Third Prince's residence less than a month after she came of age. She gave birth to a daughter prematurely and is now five months pregnant. Yuan Wei's extortion and corruption began three years ago, before his legitimate daughter married into the Third Prince's residence."
Lin You only said the clues found by the royal guard and didn't say the necessary connection between them. But who among the people present didn't have a keen mind? As soon as they heard it, they understood: So that was how it was.
The emperor sneered: "Imperial Hospital Envoy, go and see if she is pregnant with a boy or a girl."
"This official complies." The Imperial Hospital Envoy left in a hurry.
At present, the suspicion of the remnants of the previous dynasty on the third prince hadn’t been cleared. If Yuan Wei really had such an idea, it meant that he united with the remnants of the previous dynasty and intended to rebel and restore the previous dynasty. Hiss——He really didn't want to live.
The atmosphere in the court seemed to be stagnant. No one dared to speak at this moment, for fear of angering the emperor.
At this time, only a child's voice of [Wow——] was heard.
System: [Elder Sister Hua, can you tell whether it is a boy or a girl by taking the pulse? Isn't this a humanoid B-ultrasound machine? ]
Chu Hua: [It is said that experienced old doctors can tell the gender from the pulse, but there is also a possibility of error, not as powerful as the B-ultrasound machine. Do you know whether it is a boy or a girl? ]
System: [It’s a boy. ]
Emperor, officials: Sure enough!
At that moment, they looked at Yuan Wei with eyes that were almost the same as looking at a dead person.
Yuan Wei's face was ashen, and his whole body was hunched.
The system shared the big melon it had eaten with Chu Hua: [Three years ago, Yuan Wei got in cahoot with the third prince and is ready to send him to the throne. Then he will not only have the merit of following the dragon, but also be the father-in-law of the country. The third prince promised him that he will make his daughter the empress and his daughter's son the crown prince in the future. Only then, Yuan Wei took the risk to help him make money. ]
Chu Hua couldn't believe it: [The emperor is in 40s this year, the prime of his time, and hasn't enjoyed the taste of being an emperor enough. There are few adult princes, but he doesn't appoint a crown prince. It's so obvious. Is the third prince so bold? Dare to talk about appointing an empress and a crown prince? ]
Officials: That's right!
If the situation on the scene allowed it, they would applaud Chu Hua. What she said was so right! It hit the nail on the head!
The emperor didn't understand: "Yuan Wei, my eldest prince guards the border and kills the northern barbarians so that they dare not invade. The second prince is an envoy to the Nanman and makes them a vassal state of Dasheng. The third prince has no real job, no military power, no achievements, no maternal clan, and is just a complete brat. What do you like about him?"
Chu Hua couldn't help but tease: [Like his big butt and can give birth to a son. ]
Instantly, the whole court was silent.
"Puff--" An official couldn't hold back the mirth and then there were slight laughs in various places in the court.
The emperor gazed toward the second prince. From this angle, he could only see the front and couldn't see whether his son's butt was big or not.
Tsk, what a pity.
The second prince stood in the front row, looking wooden. Royal Father's gaze was very penetrating, while the officials behind him were secretly peeking at his butt. They all wanted to know if his butt was not as big as the third prince's, otherwise why did he only have daughters in the past few years?
He missed his elder brother a little. If his elder brother was here, today they would have their butts looked at together.
It was better to have two people embarrassed than one person. At least there was a companion.
Yuan Wei's face was full of bitterness. It was difficult to speak.
The system sighed and answered for him: [Actually, Yuan Wei felt a little bit like he had fallen into a pit. He caught the third prince and the legitimate daughter in bed on the spot. Seeing that the two had children, what else could he do? He had to marry his daughter over. ]
Chu Hua: [That's true. The Dasheng Dynasty doesn’t value chastity so much and encourages widows to remarry, but it does not mean that they can lose their virginity before marriage. If this matter was exposed, it would be a romantic affair for the third prince, but for Yuan Wei's daughter, her reputation would be ruined. And it would also affect the reputation of other girls in his Yuan Family. There was no other way except to marry his daughter to him quickly and disguise the child as premature. ]
System: [Can't they get rid of the child?]
Chu Hua: [You know the identity of the Third Prince now, but Yuan Wei didn't know it at that time. His daughter was pregnant with the grandson of the emperor. How could he dare to do it? Moreover, it seems it was difficult for him to give up the temptation of the Third Prince's father-in-law and the future father-in-law. In a moment of greed, he fell into the trap.]
System: [Elder Sister Hua, you are amazing. You know that this was a trap set by the Third Prince for Yuan Wei before I even said it.]
Yuan Wei felt even more bitter. He only wrapped his mind around later.
Now it seemed that he couldn't see as clearly as a boudoir girl. Perhaps this was the case that those who were involved were blinded, but those who weren’t involved had clear sight.
Chu Hua: [Didn't the emperor just say it? The Third Prince has none of the real positions, military power, achievements, and maternal family. How can he ascend to the throne over the two princes in front? The emperor is in his prime and even if he kills the eldest and second princes, there will be other princes born later. So he has to accumulate his own strength. ]
[Whether it is usurping the throne or treason, money and people are the most basic requirements. The Minister of Revenue is in charge of the country's finances and he happens to have a daughter. Girls of this age are in the stage of falling in love and are very curious about love. When they see a good-looking man, who is also a prince, speaking softly and caring to her, saying nice things, holding hands, and kissing her, the atmosphere becomes ambiguous, wouldn't they be deceived? ]
The men present: "..."
They have an answer they really want to know: How did Chu Ping teach his daughter? How could he raise such a daughter who was outspoken and had no taboos?
Alright, Chu Hua thought she was having a secret chat with the system, but she didn't know that it was all heard.
Chu Ping sighed and covered his face. Could his daughter still get married?
System: [Elder Sister Hua, you are great! The truth is similar to what you guessed, except that the third prince is a player. In his fish pond, there are not only the daughter of the Minister of Revenue, but also the daughters of a few civil officials and military generals. Some of them have been hooked, and some have already slept with. He is just waiting for the girl to get pregnant, find a good opportunity to be discovered by the father, marry the girl home, and slowly negotiate the conditions. ]
Chu Hua was silent.
Many civil officials and military generals present could not sit still. Could their daughters have been deceived?
The censors all had sullen faces. If it was not the right time to speak, they would have scolded the third prince!
Beast! Evil creature!
Chu Hua: [System, my concubine-born elder sister Chu Shu isn’t deceived, right? ]
Chu Ping's breath was blocked in his chest. No way?
He was a fifth-rank director of the Ministry of Justice. Maybe he was also in the third prince's fish pond?
System: [It’s not on the fish pond list. Let me check. ]
Since it involved Chu Hua's elder sister, the system spent some melon energy to check: [Oh, the third prince felt your father has no future since he is only a fifth-rank official after so many years of service. So he looked down on your father. ]
Chu Hua breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: [It's good to have a low-ranking position. ]
Chu Ping, who was not favored due to a low-ranking position: "..."
Yuan Wei, who was favored due to a high-ranking position: "..."
Other high-ranking ministers: "..."
Just, mixed feelings.
Chapter 7
The emperor had Yuan Wei brought up, hoping to learn the whereabouts of the missing three million taels from the system.
Now, the whereabouts were known and many things were derived. The most disgusting thing was that Third Prince deceived the minister's daughter's body and mind, made the girl pregnant before marriage, and schemed the minister to fall into the trap for his own use.
It was normal for the two families to help each other.
The emperor took in many ministers' sisters and daughters into the palace. His son also married the daughters of the courtier's family, but that was normal marriage.
No one used such a despicable method!
The emperor clearly saw the old censors were so angry that their faces turned red and their bodies trembled. Just short of appearance of holding the fart. He was very glad that he had made a wise decision to let the imperial hospital envoy and the imperial hospital judge go to court together. If there was a chance, they could give them an acupuncture to save them and lest that they would not die in court.
"Lin You, bring Third Prince to the court for confrontation."
Lin You: "This subordinate complies."
Without sufficient evidence and Third Prince was not the emperor's biological son and his relationship with the previous dynasty needs to be verified, the royal guard couldn’t put Third Prince in prison. For now they could only rush to Third Prince's residence to invite him to the court.
It would take at least half an hour to go back and forth.
The thing Yuan Wei feared most had been known and there was no need to conceal it. He will not have a swift death if he continues to be stubborn and arouse the emperor's dislike. He decisively told everything he had done in the past few years.
These included Third Prince's promise to him, asking him for money, forcing him to use his position to make money, and many other matters.
At the end, Yuan Wei looked at the emperor and hesitated.
He fell into the trap of Third Prince and did some stupid things, but before that he did not know that Third Prince was a remnant of the previous dynasty. If he had known this matter, he would not dare to collude with Third Prince even if he has a hundred courage.
The emperor comforted him with his eyes, "What did Third Prince do with the three million taels you sent?"
Yuan Wei: "This sinner doesn't know."
The system was anxious for Yuan Wei: [Of course to bribe others, buy weapons, and prepare for rebellion! Are you stupid? You don't know what others are going to do and you still give money stupidly? ]
Did Yuan Wei really not know?
Not necessarily, but there was no concrete evidence.
He deliberately cooperated with the emperor's questioning. It would be great if he could make the system curious or couldn't stand it and actively query and inform. And now... the emperor was about to get what he wanted.
System: [Elder Sister Hua, do you want to know? ]
The things that Third Prince wanted to do were only a few things. Chu Hua could guess and was not very interested.
[Third Prince had already contacted the general of the previous dynasty. With the treasure left by the previous dynasty, why does he still set a trap for Yuan Wei and get him to make money in this way? ]
This was the negligence of the emperor and the officials.
They subconsciously thought that the trap was set for Yuan Wei before the knowledge about the treasure of the previous dynasty. But what if it was the other way around?
System: [Okay! I'm going.]
Not long after, [I'm back, Elder Sister Hua. This third prince is really a piece of shit! He was found by Yang Huai, the descendant of the general of the previous dynasty, four years ago, when the Dasheng Dynasty was hit by natural disasters everywhere.]
[Yang Huai said that the reason why the Dasheng Dynasty had so many natural disasters and man-made disasters was because it used despicable means to seize the country from the Jing Dynasty and that was why it was punished by Heaven. Pah, how many years had the Jing Dynasty been dead? If Heaven really had eyes, how could the last emperor of the Jing Dynasty live that long? A thunderbolt would have struck him to death long ago!]
This made the emperor smile. He really wanted to reward such a good talking system.
Since the founding of the Dasheng Dynasty for more than a hundred years, the emperor had changed four times, so how was this punishment from Heaven?
Chu Hua: [There must always be a reason found to rebel. This is a pretext. Otherwise, no matter what he said, how would Third Prince believe it? ]
System: [Third Prince looks like his biological father and you can tell they are related by blood when they stand face to face. Yang Huai also has the tiger talisman of the former general Yang Ming in his hand. The matter of Wang Jieyu leaving the princess in exchange for the prince was also planned by Third Prince's father and Yang Huai. In addition, the carrot of the former dynasty's treasure was dangling in front of him, of course he won't refuse it. ]
[He has been disgusted with being born to a brothel girl since young and hates others mentioning this the most. After knowing his life experience, he can't wait to believe it. On one side is the brothel mother who can't bring him any help but instead humiliates him endlessly. On the other side is the royal blood of the former dynasty and there are people who have money to help him grab the throne. Even a fool knows how to choose. ]
[Yang Huai wants to dig for the treasure of the previous dynasty and recruit troops to restore the previous dynasty as soon as possible. Third Prince feels that he is already a prince now and has innate advantages. As long as he win over the court officials and ascended to the position of the crown prince, he can ascend to the throne more easily. There is no need to start a rebellion from scratch, which is so troublesome. Afraid that the noise of digging for treasure will be discovered, they targeted Yuan Wei. ]
Chu Hua was shocked by this wave of operations and was rendered speechless for a long time.
The emperor held his forehead and couldn't believe that Third Prince raised under his knees was such a thing.
All officials were only glad that this matter was exposed early, otherwise many of them would have become the second Yuan Wei.
In silence, the royal guard brought the imperial hospital envoy and Third Prince together.
The imperial hospital envoy: "Your Majesty, Third Prince's wife was pregnant with a boy."
The emperor nodded slightly and the imperial hospital envoy returned to his position. A questioning look passed by and his colleagues nodded quickly: We already know.
The Imperial Hospital envoy couldn't help but feel regretful. He had tried his best to speed up the journey, but he still missed a lot of gossip.
In the blink of an eye, he saw Yuan Wei kneeling there and Third Prince brought by the royal guard. At once, he immediately became energetic. It was okay, he could still eat a big melon on the spot!
On the way here, Third Prince tried to ask the royal guard why he was invited to the court, but the royal guard was too untactful and refused to reveal a word.
When he ascends the throne in the future, he must punish him!
"This son greets Royal Father!" Third Prince saluted in a formal manner.
Usually, the emperor would call him up soon after he saluted, so he was ready to stand up as soon as he saluted. Unexpectedly, the emperor didn't call him up today, so he stood up halfway.
This was very embarrassing. Third Prince carefully probed: "Did I do something to displease the emperor?”
The emperor raised his chin slightly: "Look at him, do you know him?"
Third Prince had already seen the person kneeling in the court and knew who he was. He glanced casually, "Minister of Revenue Yuan Wei."
The emperor: "Yuan Wei confessed that his corruption was instructed by you and all the silver he got was given to you. What do you want to say?"
Calm and steady, Third Prince expressed: "Father, please understand, this is all Yuan Wei's one-sided words. This son is a royal blood and will not allow a sinner to casually slander me here. Please punish this person severely and show the majesty of our royal family."
Knowing that the house of the Minister of Revenue was raided overnight and Yuan Wei's crimes were exposed, he was prepared long ago.
At that moment, the emperor felt as sick as if he had eaten a fly.
Yes, he was of royal blood, but it was hard to say which royal blood he was.
How dare he say such high-sounding words, punish the minister severely and show the majesty of the previous royal family.
The emperor was so disgusted that he didn't want to talk. He waved his hand and said, "Lin You."
Lin You stepped out and said, "Third Prince, the silver Yuan Wei obtained through bribery and corruption and the silver he gave you are all recorded. The relevant account books have been found. Do you need me to compare them with you one by one?"
Third Prince turned the tables and said, "Oh, whatever he said is what it is. How come I didn't know that you royal guards are handling cases like this now?"
The royal guards usually don't handle cases like this. They either arrest people after they have solid evidence, or they torture people after they are arrested and then find evidence.
This time, the emperor was in a hurry to confront in court and didn't have time to collect too much evidence, nor could he torture Third Prince.
Lin You: "Royal Guard arrested a staff member of Third Prince's residence, Yang Huai. He has confessed that he is the descendant of the former general Yang Ming. The former tiger talisman is also found in his residence. May I ask if this is solid evidence that Third Prince is harboring the remnants of the former dynasty?"
Of course, this was a fake. The Royal Guard was not that fast. They simply rely on the information provided by the system to deceive Third Prince.
On the first day of the system's appearance, it was revealed that Third Prince was a remnant of the previous dynasty. The Royal Guard's spies had kept watch on the Third Prince's residence. No one dared to tip him off, so Third Prince still didn't know about Chu Hua and the system.
The unaware Third Prince really fell into the trap. Seeing that Lin You knew so much and the Royal Guard had a bad reputation, he thought that Yang Huai could not withstand the torture of the Royal Guard and confessed everything.
Third Prince's expression changed and he immediately knelt down to plead: "Royal Father, please be insightful, I didn't know! Eldest Brother holds military power, and Second Brother is an envoy to the Nanman. They all have achievements and prestige and can recruit good staff. I have nothing. I accepted Yang Huai because he seems decent. I didn't know he was a remnant of the previous dynasty?"
He said with resentment: "If I had known that he was a remnant of the previous dynasty, I would have killed him immediately. Why would I keep him in the mansion and even keep such fatal evidence as the tiger talisman of the previous dynasty? Father, someone must have maliciously framed me!"
Reaching here, Third Prince carefully glanced in the direction of the second prince and quickly retracted his gaze. He already had a person in mind to frame maliciously.
Second prince: "..."
Emperor: "..."
Officials: "..."
How come this method was so familiar that it was a bit disgusting?
System: [This works? ]
Third Prince froze for a moment. How could there be a child in the court?
Chu Hua: [Nothing about work or not. Royal affairs have never been about whether the evidence is sufficient or not, but who the emperor trusts the most. ]
Third Prince was even more stunned. How could there be a woman speaking in the court?
He looked left and right and didn't see any woman. He scanned the other people and saw no reaction. Was he the only one who could hear this voice?
System: [When there’s faults, it’s always others'. You are the most beautiful and refined. The guilt is all others'. You are the most innocent! Yue——I have never seen such a shameless person! ]
Chu Hua: [That's because you haven't seen enough. ]
System: [Damn it! I have to dig some melons to calm my injured little heart. ]
Emperor and officials: Eat melons? Melons were great!
The emperor and officials wanted to eat melons, but Third Prince was inexplicably surprised by this strange voice and waited obediently.
Then, they heard the system's extremely rampant and relieved laughter. [Hahaha, my god, Third Prince disliked Yuan Wei's daughter for only giving birth to a daughter for three years and scolded her for being a hen that didn't lay eggs. Yuan Wei's daughter turned around and hooked up with a handsome guard, making him wear a green hat. ]
[Every time Third Prince went out to hook up with other girls, she would go to bed with a few guards. The couple played their own and they played quite wildly~]
Third Prince's face turned green. He actually wore more than one green hat on his head? !
The emperor and all the officials had to work very hard to hold back the urge to laugh out loud. The disgusting feeling brought by Third Prince was immediately cured by Third Prince's green hat.
Sure enough, heart disease needed heart medicine!
The system continued to expose: [She had asked the doctor to check her pulse and knew that she is pregnant with a son. She often scolded the Third Prince and disliked him for being a rooster that didn't lay eggs. She also wants to kill him after giving birth to a son and use his money to support other men and other people's son in the future. This girl is so awesome hahaha! ]
Yuan Wei's mouth corners rose wildly. Daughter, well done!
He had been harmed to death by Third Prince and it was estimated that the Yuan Family would only have a few survive. He was happy to see that the Third Prince was not doing well!
Third Prince's eyes were wide open. His whole body was trembling and a strange sound of ho ho ho came out of his throat as a strong murderous intent burst out of his eyes.
Seeing Yuan Wei like this, Third Prince thought that he had known that he was cuckolded a long time ago. Overcome with fury. he punched and kicked Yuan Wei: "Yuan Wei! How dare you plot against me!"
Lin You was afraid that Third Prince would say something he shouldn't say, so he stabbed Third Prince on the spot.
Chu Hua was outside the hall, and didn't see what happened inside, nor did she care. She wanted to know more: [Is Third Prince really not capable? ]
System: [Well... not really, just not very capable. ]
Emperor: ? ? ?
Officials: ? ? ?
Was this capable or not?
After leaving the court, Lin You received a secret mission from the emperor: to check whether Third Prince was really incapable.
Lin You: “…”
Chapter 8
Before becoming a royal guard, Lin You thought his mission was: poisoning, assassination, and torture.
After becoming a royal guard, Lin You's daily tasks were: eavesdropping on Chu Hua's conversation with the system, spying on the civil and military officials in the court enjoying yellow content, and spying on whether the Third Prince was really capable.
No matter how one looked at it, it didn't look proper.
No matter how outrageous the task was, it still had to be done. After finishing it, the most accurate results must be presented to the emperor.
The only thing to be thankful for was that he had been promoted to the commander of the royal guard and there were still many subordinates under him, so such a simple task didn’t require him to do it personally.
But to be honest, he was a little curious and gave him a little bit of medicine.
After reporting the final result, the emperor was shocked: "Is it true?"
Lin You: "Yes, I saw it with my own eyes."
The emperor was silent. The emperor's thoughts diverged uncontrollably, "It couldn't be that all the royal families of the previous dynasty were like this?"
"It shouldn't be that bad, right?" Lin You subconsciously felt that the case of Third Prince should be a special case, "If that were the case, the scandal of the royal family of the previous dynasty would have spread everywhere."
In the end, it was a matter of the previous dynasty, so it was inconvenient to talk about it. The emperor sat up straight: "Summon officials of the third rank and above to the imperial study to discuss matters."
Officials of the third rank and above hurried over and the emperor and his ministers discussed in the imperial study for an hour before leaving.
Chu Hua, who was a sixth-rank official, was reading in a small corner of the Hanlin Academy and was completely unaware of this until the head of the Hanlin Academy, a fifth-rank Hanlin Auxiliary Academician told everyone: "The emperor ordered that Third Prince be deposed for soliciting bribes and corruption."
Afterwards, Liu Ziang was called by the Hanlin Auxiliary Academician to draft the decree.
This was the first time that the emperor had deposed a prince since he ascended the throne and it was also the first prince to be deposed for embezzlement in the Dasheng Dynasty.
Everyone knew the real reason for this, but the blood of the previous dynasty had been infiltrating the palace for nearly 20 years without anyone noticing and was secretly competing with other princes for the position of crown prince would be a huge scandal if it was exposed.
Rather than that, it was better to punish Third Prince with the charges of soliciting bribes and embezzlement. It was also a good example to prove the emperor's fairness and selflessness - if the prince broke the law, he was guilty of the same crime as the common people.
Chu Hua will never have the opportunity to draft an imperial edict and didn’t need to learn. So she waste any mental effort on it.
The melon-eating system was slightly interested in this: [The emperor actually deposed someone. I thought he is the type who can forgive his son no matter how big a mistake he made. ]
Chu Hua: [How is it possible? The emperor's biggest taboo is that others covet his dragon throne and royal power. Third Prince coerced and won over the ministers in the court through despicable means and was involved with the remnants of the previous dynasty. The evidence was conclusive but he refused to admit it. He had the courage to do it, but not the courage to admit it. Tsk, even a dog doesn’t want such a son. ]
[Seeing him hint at the second prince's behavior of harming him in the court, don't you find it a little familiar and want to beat him? ]
The officials of the Hanlin Academy nodded silently. Not only were they familiar and wanted to beat him, but they were also disgusted.
The system snorted with disdain: [The smell of green tea and white lotus is almost rushing to my face. ]
Chu Hua: [I have seen the same method from my concubine-born elder sister many times. She is raised by Yiniang since young. Born in the inner courtyard and raised in the inner courtyard, Grandmother and Yiniang have low vision. Being raised by them, concubine-born sister only had that one acre and three points of land in her eyes. Third Prince is a prince, raised in the palace and got the best teachers and resources in the whole Dasheng. It’s simply too bizarre to use such a method. ]
After she said this, the officials of the Hanlin Academy and the royal guards finally understood what the familiar sense of déjà vu was. It was the same set of tricks used by the inner courtyard women on normal days!
The system said wait and disappeared for a while. Upon its return, it immediately cut the melon. [The mother of Third Prince was born in a brothel. The emperor married her for his son's sake and initially only gave her the position of a Guiren. ]
[The concubines of low rank doesn’t have a good life in the back palace. Wang Guiren tried all kinds of ways to win favor, but she was not good enough in appearance, money, and scheming. The only thing that could compare with the aristocratic ladies was that she was free in bed, so the emperor was happy to promote her to Jieyu. ]
[Third Prince grew up with Wang Jieyu, and remembered the most common and effective methods. He hated Wang Jieyu's background, but some things were embedded too deeply and used them unconsciously. He disdained them while using them, including having to rely on scheming to get everything he wanted and using his beauty and body to achieve his goals. ]
So that was it!
The officials of the Hanlin Academy and the royal guard finally understood why Third Prince, a prince, used such lowly means to plot against others. It turned out that the problem was here!
Chu Hua concluded: [It can be seen how important a mother with good character is in the growth of a child. ]
The officials of the Hanlin Academy nodded secretly and couldn't agree more. That was right! Marrying a virtuous wife was the truth!
Chu Hua said again: [It can be seen how important it is to find a good mother-in-law in a marriage relationship. ]
System: [That's right! ]
Officials of the Hanlin Academy: ???
The hidden royal guard: ???
Why was a good mother-in-law suddenly mentioned? Did Miss Chu want to get married?
They pricked up their ears to listen to the follow-up, but the one person and one system had highly unified opinions on this point and didn't continue.
Two hours later, these contents were passed to the officials one after another.
They knew how Third Prince was raised crooked as well as Chu Hua's high praise for a good mother and a good mother-in-law. They also knew that the Third Prince was truly incapable.
"En?" The emperor was listening to the report of the royal guard. He wanted to know the reaction of the ministers after seeing the content, but he didn't expect to eat an unexpected melon, "How did they know?"
Lin You: "The second prince went to see it."
As for why the second prince went to see it, was there any need to ask?
There was the feud of ‘big butt, can give birth to sons’ and being peeped by the civil and military officials in the court to see if it was really a small butt that could only give birth to daughters and the hatred of almost being dumped with ‘having ties with the remnants of the previous dynasty’, how could he not want to find a way to retaliate?
The emperor laughed, "Although the second prince seems gentle and polite on the surface, he is more stingy and vindictive than the eldest. With a good opportunity for revenge, it would be strange if he missed it. Whatever, let him vent his anger, so as not to get sick."
The emperor didn't care, nor did Lin You. Still, the development of the matter was beyond everyone's expectations.
At first, everyone just said that Third Prince wasn’t quite capable. Then it somehow gained some extra work. It became that the Third Prince was incapable and then it became that Third Prince could not have children and was cuckolded by Third Princess Consort. All kinds of messy rumors were mixed together.
When the royal guard received the news, it was passed to the emperor's ears and became: Third Prince was a born eunuch.
The emperor: "..."
This was the real life version of three people making a tiger. He had learned his lesson.
Since it was not good to let everyone know that Third Prince was a remnant of the previous dynasty and if this continues, it was unknown what strange rumors would come out of the royal family, the emperor ordered everyone not to talk about it.
Everyone kept silent.
No one dared to disobey the emperor, except Chu Hua and the system, who were unaware that their conversation would be overheard by others.
Chu Hua: [Hahaha, this rumor is too outrageous! If Third Prince is a eunuch, how did Yuan Wei's daughter get pregnant? How did the daughters of other ministers get deceived? Can't these people add a little logic when spreading rumors? This is obviously fake. ]
System humbly asks for advice: [Then what looks more real? ]
Chu Hua: [Mix the truth and false together and when it’s in line with reality and logic, it won’t be easy to tell. ]
System was more humble: [For example? ]
Chu Hua: [For example, Third Prince is a born eunuch. In order to cover up the fact that he can’t do it. He finds a substitute secret guard who is somewhat similar to himself. Every time he flirts with a girl, he blows out the candle halfway and exchanges places with him. As long as the girl gets pregnant and the child she gives birth to looks a bit like him, no one will guess the truth. ]
She got more and more excited as she talked and made up another one on the spot: [For example, Third Prince is actually a woman, who had always been dressed as a man. In order to hide her identity as a woman, she ruthlessly cut off two pieces of meat on her chest. The follow up is the same as above. ]
[Hiss——] The system took a breath of cold air, [This is too cruel. ]
The eavesdropping servants and royal guards nodded fiercely, too cruel!
Chu Hua: [It's just a rumor. No one dares to take off Third Prince's clothes to see if there are two pieces of meat on his chest and get him to do his share in birthing a child in front of them to prove that he is not a born eunuch. The latter is also difficult to prove. ]
System: [Indeed, reproductive ability is not easy to prove. ]
The royal guard's hands were shaking as he recorded. He came for the benefits of eating melons, but now he found out... relying on the fact that no one knew, Chu Hua was too unrestrained with her speech. Eating melons was risky, so better be careful when eavesdropping!
Chu Hua: [If it’s modern times, one can go to the hospital and see the infertility department for a checkup, do a sperm test, color Doppler ultrasound, etc., and rule out multiple reasons such as congenital weak sperm, azoospermia, and poor sperm quality and quantity. Then one can prove that you have reproductive ability. ]
System: [This is the inconvenience of ancient times. The sanitation and medical system is not well built and it is difficult to get a vaccine. ]
One person and one system had a heated discussion on ‘sanitation, medical care, and vaccines’. One moment they said that one should keep washing hands and taking a bath to maintain personal hygiene, and the next moment they went on how a sewage treatment system should be built, and the next moment they remarked that it was difficult to get vaccines and antibiotics in ancient times.
The royal guard didn't understand what he heard and his hand was almost leaving a residual image while recording. He didn't know if his record was accurate.
When Chu Hua fell asleep after chatting, the royal guard sorted out today's records and delivered them overnight. The emperor and the officials got up from bed in the middle of the night to eat melons, but...
Putting aside the creation of the rumor about Third Prince, they saw the premise of the rumor. At most they were surprised that the fierceness of flesh cutting for a woman to pretend to be a man.
What followed afterwards was very strange. Hospital? Color Dop? There was also a medical system? Sewage treatment system? Were there so many systems? Who was it bound to? What was Vat seed? Why couldn't they understand it?
The more confused they were, the more they wanted to understand it. They read it all night and time already reached 3 a.m. and it was time to go to court again.
The emperor and the officials stayed up all night; their bodies hunched, their faces haggard, and their eyes dull.
Never expected that after decades of fierce disputes over the throne, extremely difficult disputes over imperial examinations, and disputes between wise rulers and virtuous ministers, they would still be illiterate.
Chu Hua went to court in high spirits. She tried her best to adjust her work and rest. After a few days, she had gotten used to getting up at three in the morning.
Unexpectedly, an official yawned and his eyes went dark when passing by. Even the military commanders were not in a good spirit.
The system sighed: [Being an official is too hard. ]
Emperor: "..."
Officials: "..."
Whose fault do you think it is? Whose fault!!!
Chapter 9
The emperor and his officials had not slept for most of the night and their minds were still occupied by something system. They discussed state affairs in a gentle manner, in a harmonious voice, and not very fast.
None of the civil and military officials in the court spoke loudly enough for their bored colleagues outside the hall could hear them.
Chu Hua was really bored and beckoned the system.
System: [Good morning, Elder Sister Hua, would you like some melon?]
Chu Hua: [Let's have something hot to energize us.]
System: [Coming up!]
The emperor and his officials were also looking forward to it. Some officials even whispered: "I bet a meat bun, the first melon today is the Vice Minister of Revenue’s."
The man next to him said: "Then I bet on Third Prince."
The next second, the system said: [As a warm up, let's talk about the Vice Minister of Revenue first.]
The Vice Minister of Revenue was shocked. Why was it him again? !
"Haha, I won." The official who bet on the meat bun was particularly proud. The emperor was a little envious. He had also bet on the Vice Minister of Revenue.
System: [He finally changed into a brand new pair of underwear today. It’s made of silk. Unfortunately, he didn't know that when the underwear was drying, because of the good material and good feel, the little grandson who was playing hide-and-seek saw it and wiped his nose with it. ]
Chu Hua: [Puff. ]
This was too...hahaha! The emperor turned his head, while the officials covered their mouths.
The Vice Minister of Revenue's face turned green. He couldn't imagine which part of the underwear the little grandson used to wipe his nose and whether the underwear was washed later and whether it was washed clean.
If he had known this, he would not have changed it. The little grandson would definitely not set his eyes on his old underwear with holes!
System: [Do you want to specify whose melon to eat next? ]
Chu Hua contemplated for a while: [Third Prince is going offline, so let's go with the second prince. ]
Instantly, the second prince's gentle and elegant face collapsed.
While happily eating melons in the court these days, he had also thought about whether the same thing would happen to him. For this reason, he did not speak in the court and took a detour when going to court, for fear of attracting Chu Hua's attention. As a result, he was implicated because of Third Prince.
He deserved to be incapable, be called a born eunuch, and wear more than a dozen green hats!
The second prince fumed. The second prince was powerless. The second prince wanted to struggle.
System: [Which melon does Elder Sister Hua want to hear? Wine, love life, money? ]
Chu Hua: [Yesterday, the emperor talked about the second prince's mission to the Nanman. Is there any melon about this? ]
The second prince quickly brainstormed and recalled what happened during his mission. He was sure that there was nothing to talk about and was instantly relieved.
However, the system was extremely professional in eating melons. It could also dig out melons that the parties themselves didn't know.
[Nanman is very different from Dasheng because of its geographical environment and climate. It is hot and humid there, and plants grow very fast, especially bamboo. Nanman people live in bamboo houses according to local conditions. Bamboo houses are easy to build and open. ]
This opening... sounded familiar.
The last time there was a similar opening was when Chu Hua exposed the melon when she was seven years old. The emperor and all officials subconsciously thought: This melon will not be small!
The second prince had the same premonition, but he thought about it and felt that there was no problem. It was okay, don't panic!
System: [Nanman has the custom of walking marriage. Simply put: if you don't get married, you can raise children together. In the evening, opening the window of the bamboo house means that one can come in for a walking marriage at night. In some places, men go to women's homes. Nanman treats everyone equally and there is no gender discrimination. ]
[When the second prince first went there, he didn't know the customs of Nanman. He just felt that the weather was too hot and stuffy. Not used to it, he opened the window of the bamboo house for ventilation and heat dissipation. That night, a beautiful girl who liked him climbed in through the window. ]
Chu Hua had heard of a walking marriage in modern times and felt that this custom was quite suitable for some single women who did not want to get married but wanted children, provided that: the man was healthy, had no history of genetic diseases, and was fertile.
From this aspect, walking marriage where they together at night and separate at dawn, was not very suitable.
Chu Hua quickly retracted her thoughts: [What happened next? Was the second prince slept with? ]
The second prince: "..." Was he slept with? Why did this sound so strange?
Was it his imagination? He felt that Chu Hua seemed to be looking forward to it?
In fact, the emperor and the officials were not afraid of making the matter big. Each of them was more looking forward to it than Chu Hua.
System: [The second prince had guards guarding the door and servants guarding the bed. How could he let a girl who can't fight casually sneak into the room and sleep with him? The beautiful girl was caught by the guards as soon as she climbed through the window, dragged away, and interrogated. Then the girl saw that the guard was strong and fit her taste, so she slept with the guard after explaining her intention. ]
[The second prince opened too many windows. And since he was handsome, which was completely different from the local men in Nanman, the girls wanted to try something new and also wanted to have a child as beautiful as him. Every night, there were girls climbing through the windows. In the end, all the guards and servants around him lost their virginity, but he was the only one who went there cleanly and came back cleanly. ]
The second prince: "..."
Chu Hua: [Why does it sound so miserable? All the beautiful girls went for the second prince, but he didn't see any of them. If he was still a virgin at that time, he would be the only one who didn't lose his virginity, which would be even more miserable! ]
The emperor and all the officials immediately calculated the time. The second prince went to Nanman five years ago and married the prince's wife three years ago.
Hiss--it was over. He was the only one who didn't lose his virginity! It was even more miserable!
System sighed: [Oh, who said it wasn't? Boys should be a little vigilant when they are outside and protect themselves well, but he...is he overprotecting himself? He is not a chaste man. After marrying the princess consort, he has cefei and concubines, and there are many beauties in the backyard. As for going to the Nanman, he went there as a virgin and came back as a virgin? ]
The second prince's usual gentle expression had disappeared. There was no light in his eyes.
Virgin, virgin, virgin, did virgin provoke you? Was there need to always say the word virgin? !
Chu Hua had a different opinion: [Isn't this good? Men who don't love themselves are like rotten cabbages. Everyone has the responsibility to protect men's virtues. ]
System: [That's true. ]
Men: "..." What! You system, we don't even know whether it's a man or a woman, so don't stir a fuss!
Having eaten a huge melon, Chu Hua urged: [Anything else? ]
System: [Of course there is. He has a lot of melons. Don't be fooled by the second prince's gentle, chaste and virtuous appearance. In fact, he is very mensao. I can write a book of "Spring Palace Pictures" for you just by the postures he likes to use. ]
Chu Hua was very disappointed: [Then you should write it! ]
Emperor and officials: Thank you for speaking our minds!
The second prince's cold fair face turned blue and red. What's wrong with you, Melon-eating system? What about the protection of minors? Why are you focusing on other people's things in that aspect!
System: [Then I will read a few sentences casually. How much you can hear depends on Heaven's will. ]
Adult men immediately became energetic. The pain of staying up all night to reading the system's color dop last night and the confusion that they had been useless and illiterate for decades disappeared completely.
What pain? What confusion?
Eating the second prince's virgin melon, the waist and legs were instantly not sore and they could read twenty memorials in one breath!
Chapter 10
System: [The second prince spent his first night with the second princess consort three years ago when they got married. They are childhood sweethearts and have a good relationship. He wanted to save his first time for the woman he loved most, so he remained a virgin for eighteen years. Since can even endure a beautiful girl climbing through the window late at night, he is truly the most chaste virgin in Dasheng! ]
The veins on the second prince's forehead were throbbing as he screamed in his heart: Can't you, a broken system, let me go and let the virgin go? !
At this moment, he deeply felt the Vice Minister of Revenue’s pain being repeatedly mentioned for his underwear that had holes when worn right side out and backwards and sincerely prayed: Change a sheep to pluck!
The emperor and the officials were almost stiffened from amusement. They didn't expect that the second prince actually had a sentimental personality.
The second princess consort's father, the Minister of Rites, twitched his mouth. It was good that the son-in-law had feelings for his daughter, but what happened in the bedroom was heard clearly by everyone. This... was insulting! It was really insulting!
The system was reading the gossip conscientiously: [For the first time that night...]
Just when the system was about to expose more private details, the second prince, who could no longer bear it, suddenly stepped out: "This son has something to report!"
Waiting for his son's big melon to eat, the emperor’s attention was still on the system and his tone was quite perfunctory: "Approved."
The second prince, who was always gentle, made a deafening tenor: "This son reports Chu Ping, the director of the Ministry of Justice for visiting prostitutes!"
"What?" Chu Hua was shocked. Her father was visiting prostitutes?
[What? ] The system was shocked. Elder Sister Hua's father visited brothels? What a free big melon!
The emperor instantly looked up. Good gosh, his son also had a big melon in his hand!
All the officials frowned. On one side was the second prince's yellow content, and on the other side was Chu Ping's prostitution visit. Both were big stories. Which one should they listen to? It was really hard to choose.
And the involved subject Chu Ping himself was even more confused. Prostitution visit? Him?
The second prince didn't hear the system's exposure and thought: Sure enough! As long as there was a bigger and more explosive melon, everyone's attention would naturally be diverted.
"A month ago, I saw Director Chu Ping of the Ministry of Justice enter Chunfeng Tower and spend a lot of money on Hongxiu, the top lady in Chunfeng Tower. You can get more details by finding a few regular customers of Chunfeng Tower."
In other words: Even if they didn't trust his statement, there were Chunfeng Tower's top lady Hongxiu, the brothel madam to testify as well as dozens of eyewitnesses that night. The evidence was solid and irrefutable.
Seeing that the second prince was so sure, the emperor and all the officials couldn't help but believe it a little.
The system's exposure of the second prince's spring pictures was too accidental. The second prince and Chu Ping had no grudges, so it was impossible for them to find witnesses and prepare relevant testimonies in advance. Then there was only one explanation: Chu Ping had really visited prostitutes.
The Dasheng Dynasty explicitly prohibited officials from visiting prostitutes. Those who knowingly violated the law would be fined a thousand gold coins and demoted two levels.
The emperor's tone was chilling: "Chu Ping, do you have anything to say?"
He wanted to eat melons, but he didn't want to eat melons of those who he thought were honest, deliberately violating Dasheng's laws. That would be a provocation to the emperor's majesty and the majesty of the law.
Befuddled, Chu Ping tried to recall his memory. When pushed out by another director from the Ministry of Justice, Chu Ping staggered and hurriedly came back to his senses.
"Your Majesty, I have never been to Chunfeng Tower, so how can I visit prostitutes?"
The confusion and bewilderment on his face and in his tone could be seen and heard by everyone.
The emperor and the officials looked at the confident second prince and then looked at Chu Ping who was confused. It seemed that neither of them lied, but one of them must have lied in this case.
It was time for professional investigators to appear.
The emperor glanced at the position of the Minister of Justice, and then turned his gaze to the other side, "Yu Hao, investigate."
Yu Hao, the Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, stepped out: "This minister complies."
Were the fifth-rank official's prostitution visit be tried in the court? Not at all, provided that the emperor and the officials didn’t intend to watch the show.
Yu Hao first asked the second prince: "Second Prince, do you remember the exact date? What did Official Chu wear, said and did on that day? The more detailed the better."
The second prince answered one by one: "It rained heavily in the capital continuously last month. On a rare chance, it stopped on the third day of the month, so I remember it very clearly. I can't remember what Chu Ping wore on that day, but I only remember that he was wearing a green robe."
"He entered Chunfeng Tower with familiarity, seeming like a regular customer. He threw a bag of silver to the Brothel Madam and asked for Hongxiu. Hongxiu was accompanying other guests at the time. The Brothel Madam told him to change, but he insisted on Hongxiu and was willing to spend a hundred gold coins for it."
This confident posture and these full details indicated that was clearly one of the eyewitnesses, not like a random fabrication.
The emperor and the officials believed it a little more, and then gazed toward Chu Ping: What does the defendant say?
Yu Hao came to ask Chu Ping: "Does Official Chu have anything to say?"
Chu Ping shook his head and insisted: "I have never been to Chunfeng Tower."
After listening to the second prince's detailed description and then looking at Chu Ping's dry self-narration, anyone who watched it could tell the result at a glance.
Yu Hao also wanted to ask the Chu Family and the people in Chunfeng Tower, looking for more eyewitnesses and searching for more evidence and testimony.
"Your Majesty, the evidence in this case is not sufficient and other witnesses are needed. Please allow me to re-examine it another day."
Emperor:?
How could one stop eating melons halfway? No way!
This matter concerned Chu Ping. Chu Hua, who should have been prattling on, didn't say a word, and the system didn't search for melons. The emperor was very unaccustomed to it.
"Chu Qin."
Liu Ziang whispered: "Brother Chu, come forward and answer."
Chu Hua turned her head in shock. She would be exposed once she opened her mouth!
Liu Ziang was speechless. Even if she didn't speak, she had been prattling on with the system for so many days and everything that should or shouldn't be exposed had already been exposed.
Chu Hua knew that there was no room for hesitation and negotiation, so she stepped forward and said, "Present."
The moment she spoke, she secretly exclaimed "Oh".
She tried to lower her voice as much as possible, trying to act more manly, but failed.
Now everyone knew that Chu Qin was a fake man. She just hoped that when Elder Brother comes back, he won't hear any strange rumors.
The emperor and the officials seemed to be blind and deaf, as if they didn't notice anything wrong with her.
"Do you have anything to say?" the emperor asked.
Seeing that everyone was pretending to be deaf and dumb, Chu Hua completely let herself go and answered in her own voice.
"Your Majesty, it rained heavily last month and everything was wet. For once, it didn't rain on the third day of the month. The whole Chu Family was cleaning up. My father cleaned the study and accompanied my mother to clean up the jewelry. He never went out."
"The money of the Chu Family is in the hands of my mother and my younger sister. Father's monthly salary is 120 taels. Half of it is handed in and the other half is used by himself. If there is any extra expenditure, he needs to get permission from my mother and my younger sister to withdraw more than 50 taels from the account office, otherwise the account office will not give it to him."
"A top lady costs 1,000 taels. If that person was really my father, not counting the daily expenses and social expenses, he would need to tighten his belt and save for a year and a half. Is the Hongxiu of Chunfeng Tower made of gold since the private money saved for a year and a half can only be used for one night? He is not stupid."
Emperor: "..."
Officials: "..."
For a moment, they didn't know whether they felt sorry for Chu Ping's poor use of money or exclaim how well Chu Hua's accounting was calculated.
At this moment, Chu Ping didn't care about letting his colleagues know that he was not very free to spend money and that his wife and daughter controlled his wallet. It would be best if he could clarify that he did not visit prostitutes.
An official sighed: "Official Chu has to get the consent of his wife and daughter to spend fifty taels. His position is too low."
Another official couldn't agree more and his voice was a little louder: "That's right. The head of the family being controlled by his wife and daughter to this extent is simply too cowardly!"
Chu Ping's face changed slightly.
"Cowardly?" Chu Hua didn't spoil these people, "May I ask this official..."
Oh, she didn't know him.
The second prince did her a favor and reminded: "Fifth-rank Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, Yu Jiayan."
Chu Hua called out in her mind: [System, target him! ]
System: [Received! ]
The spirits of the emperor and the officials were immediately lifted up. Hehe, they could eat melons again, and it was still a big melon at a close distance. The voice of one person and one system was clearer, so the position of eating melons was perfect!
Yu Jiayan's face turned pale. He wanted to slap himself in the face. What was he blabbering so much for!
Rapid fire, he said: "Official Chu, I misspoke, please be..."
Before he finished the word ‘magnanimous’, the system came back and the childish voice melodiously linger in the ear.
System: [Oh! I was wondering why Yu Jiayan was so angry just now. He must have been hit in the sore spot. Sure enough! ]
[When his family fell into poverty and was about to be penniless, he coaxed the miss to happily marry him with sweet words because he looked good and smooth talk. When the miss's father saw that his son-in-law couldn’t be shown, he could only think of ways to help him. Seeing that he could talk and was good at etiquette, he found a way to get him into the court of state ceremonial. ]
[He depends on his wife for money and his father-in-law for official position. He has to watch out for his wife and father-in-law’s attitude for everything. Before his wife, he can't raise his head. He wanted to take in a concubine, so he knelt on the washboard for three days. He slept with his wife's maid and was caught, so he knelt on the washboard for five days. He secretly kept a mistress outside and knelt on the washboard for ten days and did not give him money to spend. How could he not be resentful? ]
Chu Hua: [He has the will but not the courage. The cowardly hero Yu Jiayan. ]
Yu Jiayan's face was as white as snow. He looked at his father-in-law, the Minister of Justice, with fear in his eyes.
The Minister of Justice cast a death gaze at his son-in-law: I'll deal with you when we get back!
How protective was Chu Hua? Hearing Yu Jiayan scolding her father for being a coward in court, how could she let him go?
[System, keep digging, don't stop. ]
She was doing two things at once. While talking to the system in her mind, she said, "Since Official Yu can say such words, you must be very majestic at home. I will definitely ask Mother and Younger Sister to ask Madam Yu for advice when I go back."
"No, no..." Yu Jiayan refused quickly.
Chu Hua: "Yes, yes."
Yu Jiayan bowed deeply: "I misspoke, please don't hold it against me, Brother Chu."
He thought that since he had retreated to this point, Chu Hua would be seen as aggressive if she continued to insist, therefore it should stop here.
Chu Hua responded with a standard courtesy: "Official Yu, you speak too seriously."
This matter ended here? Yu Jiayan breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then, the system came back with a gabble of wows: [Elder Sister Hua, you will never guess what other melon this guy has! ]
Chu Hua: [What kind of melon? ]
System: [Yu Jiayan visited a prostitute! ]
Chu Hua: [Wow——]
The whole hall was shocked.
The emperor and all the officials opened their mouths silently: Wow——!!!