Chapter 11
The last emperor of the previous dynasty was extravagant and lustful. He held a grand beauty pageant every three years, not counting the beauties offered by officials and wealthy businessmen in the capital and local areas through various channels.
During his 18 years of reign, there were as many as 813 beauties in the inner palace, including the maids who were favored but not given official titles. He had extorted a lot of people's money to build a magnificent palace and a veritable wine pool and meat forest. Exquisitely extravagant.
Despite the huge number of people in the inner palace, the last previous dynasty emperor still felt it was not enough. He often went to brothels with a large crowd.
People follow the example of their superiors. Since the emperor was like this, the trend of officials visiting prostitutes was prevalent.
There were brothels everywhere in the capital. There was also a red-light district: two whole streets were brothels and prostitute houses.
Officials usually discussed matters and socialized in brothels. A group of people drink and eat snacks, and then sleep with the girls in the brothel after the negotiation. Some officials stayed in the brothel's private rooms for a long time and went home less than a few times a month.
After being used to such a drunken and extravagant life, their bodies and wills were hollowed out by wine and sex. So how could officials work seriously?
The founding emperor of the Dasheng Dynasty learned the lesson of the demise of the previous dynasty and issued an order to prohibit officials from visiting prostitutes. He specially formulated a heavy penalty: a fine of 1,000 gold and a demotion of two levels.
Chu Hua was very curious: [Is visiting prostitutes so thrilling? ]
Since such a heavy penalty couldn't stop officials from visiting prostitutes.
System: [I'm just an ordinary system that eats melons. How can I know whether visiting prostitutes is thrilling? It's probably the bad nature of men hidden in their bones. A wife is not as good as a concubine, a concubine is not as good as stealing, and stealing is not as good as a prostitute. 】
The men present: "..."
Don't casually let men take the blame! There were still many good men in the world!
Some officials glanced at the second prince: Look! Wasn't the most chaste virgin in Dasheng here?
Some officials also looked toward the Vice Minister of Revenue: Look! Wasn't the good man who didn't take concubines, had no outside mistresses, and didn't visit prostitutes here?
Second Prince: "..."
Vice Minister of Revenue: "..."
The two didn't really want to understand the way their colleagues gazed at them, but their eyes of ‘Here is our role model!’ were too naked clear!
Chu Hua munched on the melons: [System, continue. 】
While making trouble: "I have a report."
The emperor paused for a moment. Immediately realizing that Chu Hua was going to fight back, he said in a very cooperative manner: "Approved."
Yu Jiayan had a premonition of what Chu Hua was going to say and hurriedly stepped out to stop her.
If it continued like this, he would be fined a thousand gold coins and demoted two ranks. It would be difficult to explain to his wife and father-in-law when he returns. It seemed that he was going to be a goner!
But if he wanted to stop Chu Hua, he had to see if the emperor and officials who were happy to eat melons would let him go?
The officials around Yu Jiayan either held his hands, covered his mouth or blocked him, just to prevent him from showing his head. Even his father-in-law, the Minister of Justice, stopped him with his eyes: Go back!
Chu Hua lowered her head slightly: "I want to report the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial Yu Jiayan for visiting prostitutes."
The time, the characters, and the evidence weren’t revealed yet, so Yu Jiayan wanted to struggle again. However, the cold eyes of the emperor on the high platform swept to him, and the second prince at the front sent him a warning gaze. Even the Grand Preceptor and Grand Tutor in the front row looked over.
At that moment, he finally realized that he had offended the public: he had to listen to this melon today and he would be finished after listening!
Yu Jiayan's legs softened. If he hadn't been held up, he couldn't even stand.
Chu Hua didn't notice their eye contact and immediately started her performance, just like a star wearing an earphone to give a concert. The system spoke in her mind and she told everyone after listening to a section, creating a time difference.
In order to avoid mistakes when doing two things at once, she made some improvements to the system’s words so it was easier for others to understand.
The emperor and officials were forced to do two things at once by Chu Hua's operation. They had to be careful not to confuse her and the system's mental dialogue with what was actually said, otherwise they would be over if their mouth slipped up.
Hei, got to say, it was really exciting!
However, the reality was so different from what they expected.
System: [Don't look at how decent Yu Jiayan appears. He is submissive in front of his wife and looks like an obedient husband where the wife is always right. In fact, he has been visiting prostitutes for a long time and regularly. He is not honest! Such people should be exposed viciously and nailed to the pillar of shame and laughed at for the rest of his life! 】
Chu Hua began in a flat tone: "Official Yu has been visiting prostitutes for a long time and regularly."
Emperor:?
Officials:?
Hmm? Wasn’t her omission a bit too much?
System: [The dog man's family fell into poverty and many valuable things in the house were pawned. He was really not rich. He calculated the money he would spend on taking a concubine and felt it was not worth it, so he didn't take a concubine. However, he couldn't hold it and went to the brothel. 】
[At that time, he was still a juren. He went there more and more often. Seeing that he was not discovered, he became more bold. Later, after he married a wife and was supported by his father-in-law, he didn’t drop it after entering the court of state ceremonial. 】
Chu Hua concluded: "Official Yu was still a juren when he visited a prostitute for the first time. He repeatedly violated the ban in the twelve years since then and never repented."
Emperor:? ?
Officials:? ?
No, if she did this, she would omit the essence of eating melons!
System: [The dog man does not have much salary, and mainly relies on his wife's dowry and the money earned from her management. Since he expressed the idea of taking a concubine, his wife knew that the dog man's heart was wild and strictly controlled the money given to him. If he went to the account office to withdraw more than ten taels of silver, it had to be reported, otherwise the account office would not give him money. But his wife never thought that the devil would be one foot higher than the righteous? ]
[He actively participated in social activities and reported more expenses every time he went out for a drink. If someone treated him, he could still make a lot of money. He also used excuses such as ‘I met a poor beggar and gave ten taels when I went out today’ and ‘I saw a little girl who sold herself to bury her father and gave ten taels today’ to ask his wife for money. He could not only consolidate his good personality in his wife's heart, but also get money with just a few words. Must say, the private money saved over time is not small! ]
Fuming, Chu Hua concluded: "The money that Official Yu used to visit prostitutes was cheated from his wife." A man who ate soft meals cheated money to visit prostitutes, how shameless!
Emperor: ? ? ?
Officials: ? ? ?
Two whole paragraphs full of details were actually integrated into such a small sentence by Chu Hua. This shocked the emperor and officials who were multitasking.
How could she pass on messages like this? !
No, they have to eat melons by themselves!
The emperor and officials ignored Chu Hua's brief speech and focused on listening to the detailed version of the system.
The clueless system kept exposing: [Say, so be it that this guy cheated money and visited prostitutes, he also made a small notebook to record how much money he cheated from his wife with what excuses each time and how much money he spent on prostitutes on which day. Truly an eye opener! ]
Emperor and officials: "..." Their eyes were opened, really.
Chu Hua exclaimed: [Good guy! Isn't this courting death? I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find evidence to implicate him after so much time had passed, but surprisingly, he had prepared it for me. Where is the little notebook? ]
System: [He put it on the desk of the Court of State Ceremonial. In fact, he had previously hidden it in the bedroom, under the floor tiles, on the carriage cushions, and in the toilet. Later, he felt that it was not safe to put it anywhere and might be discovered by his wife, so he simply put it in the Court of State Ceremonial. The officials of the Court of State Ceremonial would not touch his things casually, so he openly put it there.]
Chu Hua concealed some information: "Official Yu hid the evidence of prostitution visit in the Court of State Ceremonial."
The emperor and all the officials saw Yu Jiayan's pale face. What else did they not understand? The system was right.
Emperor: "Lin You, go search."
"This subordinate complies." Lin You strode away.
The system was a little confused: [Elder Sister Hua, aren't you going to be more specifics? 】
Chu Hua said solemnly: [Of course not, how can I, an ordinary girl, be more capable than the royal guard? I can only give a vague range to give the royal guard appropriate room to play. The emperor and the officials’ minds have eight hundred turns and only believe in the hard-earned evidence. If I act too smart and speak too accurately, they would think that the evidence that comes too easily is false. 】
The system was disgusted: [Truly hard to serve. 】
Emperor: "..."
Officials: "..."
They admit that they do, but wasn't eight hundred a bit too many?
Then, the monarch and his ministers silently reflected on themselves. They probably, seemed to be, and perhaps really like Chu Hua said; daily conspiracy theories, not believing in the evidence on the surface, thinking that it was all smoke and mirrors, and the real evidence was hidden under the smoke.
Yu Jiayan put the evidence under the eyes of all officials in the Court of State Ceremonial for so many years without anyone noticing. Didn't he see through their psychology?
So, there were mixed feelings.
Soon, Lin You brought the evidence back.
After the emperor and the officials read it, all were amazed. It was just as the system said. Every detail was recorded, including the time, place, and information about the prostitute. There was no criminal more proactive and cooperative than Yu Jiayan.
The Minister of Justice didn't care that the criminal was his son-in-law. He really hoped that all the criminals in the world would hide the evidence in places where they could reach like Yu Jiayan. That would save so much trouble!
The Chief Minister of Court of Judicial Review solemnly looked at him: I understand you!
The evidence was irrefutable. As soon as the officials around Yu Jiayan let go, Yu Jiayan collapsed to the ground.
Chu Hua continued: "The court has issued a clear order to prohibit officials from visiting prostitutes. Official Yu knowingly violated the law and repeatedly ignored the emperor and the law for twelve years. If he is not severely punished, it would not be enough to appease the public anger."
[If we don't kill the chicken to scare the monkey, we would definitely not be able to cure this evil trend. 】
The monkey officials who were warned: "..."Are you polite?
Chapter 12
There was solid evidence that Yu Jiayan had been visiting prostitutes. According to the law, he should be fined a thousand gold coins and demoted two ranks. However, his behavior of defrauding his wife of money and visiting prostitutes for twelve consecutive years with various excuses disgusted the emperor and all the officials.
An imperial censor stepped out to voice his agreement: "Official Chu is right. This matter needs to be severely punished."
"I second the motion."
"I second the motion."
Civil officials and military generals stepped forward to express their opinions one after another, indicating how disgusting Yu Jiayan's behavior of being a kept man and cheating money to visit prostitutes was.
The emperor had already leaned toward severe punishment, but he had not yet decided how to punish him.
"What suggestions do you have, beloved ministers?"
Since the founding of the country, it was not that there were no officials visiting prostitutes, but this was the first time that an official had been visiting prostitutes for such a long time. The circumstances were so bad that all the officials were hesitant to deal with it according to the law.
Officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review began to argue about how to judge this matter.
Some officials advocated severe punishment:
"Yu Jiayan is arrogant and has a bad character, completely unfit to be an official!"
"Yu Jiayan disregards the emperor and the law, and should be demoted to a commoner!"
Another group of officials advocated following the law:
"A fine of a thousand gold coins and a demotion of two levels are already very severe punishments. Isn’t it too severe to remove the official position?"
"No official in all dynasties had ever lost his official position for visiting prostitutes."
Another group of officials acted as a mediator in the middle because Yu Jiayan's father-in-law was the Minister of Justice. They advocated that he should be punished but not too severely. He could be fined more silver or demoted three levels to continue his serve.
In response to this, another official started a debate:
"Yu Jiayan had served in the court of state ceremonial for ten years without any achievements. He got his current position by seniority."
"Are you going to let him stay in the court of state ceremonial, or throw him somewhere else? Aren't you afraid that there would be another account book of prostitution on the table one day?"
Officials were engaged in a tug-of-war, citing classics to discuss, and occasionally a few people would come out to fan the flames. The court was suddenly as lively as a crowded farmer market in the early morning.
Chu Hua was no longer needed at this time. She quietly withdrew from the hall and returned to her position.
[System, dig deeper. I don't believe that this person had only one melon of prostitution visit. ]
System: [Okay! ]
The discussion was stagnant and then they all lowered the volume tacitly so as not to miss the voice of the system later.
Yu Jiayan's face was full of disbelief. He had fallen to this point and Chu Hua was still unwilling to let him go? !
The previous experience of the Minister of Revenue and the Third Prince as an example, he knew too well how serious the consequences would be if the system continued to dig deeper.
No, it couldn't go on like this!
If the truth was exposed, he may be punished by the emperor. His father-in-law would still protect him for the sake of his wife and the consequences would not be too bad.
But if the system digs deeper and finds out those incredible things, his father-in-law would probably completely abandon him. At that time, let alone his official position, he may not be able to save his life!
Yu Jiayan's eyes flashed with cruelty. As long as he survived this, he would never let Chu Hua go!
"Chu Hua..." He shouted at the top of his voice.
In an instant, the emperor and the officials' eyes blazed up: How dare you!
Fortunately, a few officials around Yu Jiayan reacted quickly, swiftly stood up and held him down with his mouth covered.
The thin civil officials had already contributed, so how could the military officers just watch?
A few military officers quickly stepped forward; one pressed down Yu Jiayan's hands and back, and the other took off Yu Jiayan's socks and stuffed them into his mouth, making him lie on the ground like a turtle. He could only make vague "woo woo woo" sounds.
Seeing this, the civil officials increased their discussion, while the officials of the Hanlin Academy pretended to be tired of standing and moved slightly, quietly blocking Chu Hua's line of sight into the hall and ensuring that she would not see what was happening inside.
Chu Hua listened carefully, but heard no other movement. She asked uncertainly: "Brother Liu, did you hear anything?"
Liu Ziang replied calmly: "Still haven't discussed the results yet."
Chu Hua replied with an "oh", thinking it was her own imagination. The system happened to come back with a wow and she stopped paying attention.
Liu Ziang breathed a sigh of relief quietly. The emperor and the officials also breathed a sigh of relief. They became more and more disgusted with Yu Jiayan who almost exposed them, and tacitly made a decision: this official must be fired!
The Minister of Justice shook his head secretly: his son-in-law was so suicidal, it seemed there was nothing he could do.
The system said in a surprised tone: [Elder Sister Hua, I can guarantee that you would never imagine how bad this dog man can be! ]
Chu Hua: [Tell me about it. ]
The emperor and the officials pricked up their ears to listen and lamented: as soon as Chu Hua left the hall, they lost the best position to eat melons. They couldn't hear as clearly as before and the experience of eating melons wasn’t to the max.
Especially the emperor, he sat farthest from Chu Hua and would easily miss it once the ministers' voices got louder.
It was really not easy to eat melons.
System: [When he was penniless and dating, the dog man thought that the miss was beautiful, rich, and had a father who was a high-ranking official. Everything went well. But soon after he married her, he complained that she was not considerate enough, not filial enough to her parents-in-law, and not good in everything. He was a typical scumbag who used sweet words to coax women and did not cherish them after getting them. The worst thing is that after some contemplation, he decided to gaslight his wife. ]
Emperor: ? ? ?
Officials: ? ? ?
What fart love? What the hell?
Little heads and big question marks.
At this moment, they were particularly eager for Chu Hua or the system to give a detailed explanation.
System: [The dog man learned to gaslight without taking any lessons. He used his wife's infertility for many years to belittle her for not fulfilling her duties as a wife, reprimanded her for not being able to pass on his family line, and scolded her for viciously wanting to cut off the incense of the Yu Family. He wanted to use this to make his wife pay for a concubine, but he did not expect that his wife, who had been infertile for three years, was pregnant. ]
Chu Hua was disgusted and said: [It’s better not to get pregnant with such a kept man, liar, ladybug, and scumbag.]
[That's right!] The system couldn't agree more. [As soon as his wife got pregnant, the idea of taking a concubine disappeared. The bastard searched everywhere for things that were good for pregnant women and the baby. He sent supplements to the courtyard like water. He told his wife every day how much effort and money he spent on searching for good things and took large sums from his wife and the accountant, taking the opportunity to accumulate a lot of money. He even went to visit prostitutes under the pretext of buying things for his wife.]
Chu Hua: [... So lowly.]
The emperor and all officials were full of disgust: Too lowly!
The system raised the volume: [There’s even more low!]
[Do you think the dog man bought so many supplements just to make money and visit prostitutes? No! He heard from his mother that women should not take too much nourishment during pregnancy. If they take too much, the baby would be too big and difficult to deliver. He wanted to get rid of the mother and keep the baby and then take his wife's dowry. Then he would cry in front of his father-in-law and ask him to give him another wife. He could not only marry another woman, but also make another fortune. Maybe his father-in-law would help him again. 】
Chu Hua: [… the most despicable of the despicable. 】
Emperor and officials: Extremely despicable!!!
After scolding Yu Jiayan, they hurried to glance at Yu Jiayan's father-in-law. As expected, they saw that the face of the Minister of Justice was ashen. The face that could scare a child to tears became even more fiercely cruel. He stared at Yu Jiayan with a terrifying glint as if he wanted to kill him on the spot.
Yu Jiayan huddled up and trembled.
The system continued: [I don't know whether to say this miss was lucky or not. She took so many supplements and gave birth to a son weighing 8.6 jin. The baby was chubby and healthy. Despite suffering a lot during childbirth, she was safe. It was just that she didn't recover after childbirth. She was twice as fat as before pregnancy. The dog man immediately used this excuse to gaslight her, saying that she was as fat as a pig, covered with lard, and she was disgusting when he saw her, demanding to take a concubine. ]
Chu Hua's fist hardened.
[Then! The cool plot is coming! ] The system shouted excitedly, [She accidentally learned that taking too much nourishment during pregnancy would be dangerous for childbirth and instantly woke up. The parents-in-law weren't served anymore, and the husband wasn't attended to. Quote, ‘Your whole family has to spend my money, so you have to coax me and serve me carefully. If anyone makes me unhappy, I won't give money and let your whole family be unhappy!’ Then, there was the plot of the dog man kneeling on the washboard frequently, hahaha! ]
Chu Hua liked this girl greatly: [Can interact with this miss. Must have tea together another day. 】
The emperor and officials suddenly realized that it was really refreshing to wake up after years of repression.
More cool plot!
Chu Hua: [It would be even cooler if she can divorce the husband. 】
Emperor and officials: ? ? ?
Suddenly looking up, everyone was confused. What? What did she say?
Chapter 13
When the word ‘divorce the husband’ came out, the eyes of the emperor and the officials were about to pop out.
Since ancient times, only men have divorced women. A woman divorcing a man was never heard of.
The System was puzzled: [Does Dasheng allow divorcing the husband? ]
Chu Hua calmly said: [Dasheng's laws do not stipulate that divorcing the husband is not allowed. There’s a first for everything. If there is no divorcing the husband before, it does not mean there will be no divorcing the husband in the future. She can be the first woman to divorce her husband and then lead the divorcing husband craze in Dasheng. ]
Emperor: "..."
Officials: "..."
Divorcing husband craze? This little girl was very bad!
Divorcing one was a big deal. If the women in Dasheng really divorced so many as Chu Hua said, who knows what kind of trouble would happen.
What was even more speechless was that the above content was all the mental dialogue between Chu Hua and the system. They don't want to expose the fact that they could hear, so they could only pretend to be deaf and dumb. At most, they would get Chu Ping give a few advice in private to prevent Chu Hua from really doing it.
Another thing was to keep a certain distance between the daughter of the Minister of Justice and Chu Hua, so that the former would not be led astray and divorce her husband.
The system was silent for a moment and asked sincerely: [Can this divorce happen? Everything is difficult at the beginning and it was hard to achieve it the first time. Moreover, this is the ancient times where the husband is the backbone of the wife. Even in the modern times when women's self-awareness is awakened, there are many women who are unwilling to divorce for the sake of their children. They are unwilling to divorce even when they suffered domestic violence, cheating, or gaslighting. It’s extremely difficult to divorce a husband in ancient times. ]
The emperor and the officials pondered silently. Ancient times and modern times, this was not the first time the system had mentioned these two phrases.
Ancient times refer to the past, so modern times refer to the present?
In the past, the husband was the backbone of the wife. Wasn't it still like this now? Or did they understand modern times wrongly?
They really want to understand these unfamiliar words, just like the hospital, color dop, system, and medical seedlings that made them collectively sleepless last night. They had a feeling that they could dig out a lot of information that was beneficial to the Dasheng Dynasty.
Compared to those, divorce, domestic violence, cheating, and fart love were not very attractive to them, because they knew that they were more related to women and divorcing husband.
Soon, their thoughts were withdrawn, because Chu Hua said something that forced them to face up to this matter.
She said: [It's okay. If she really can't divorce her husband, she can still be a widow. ]
Emperor: !!!
Officials: !!!
All of them leaned back in shock, what did she mean? Was she going to instigate Madam Yu to kill her husband?
Chill crept up the back, and the head on the neck felt a little cold, as if someone hiding in the dark was coveting it.
Yu Jiayan was so scared that he dared not make a sound.
Just because he scolded Chu Ping for being cowardly, Chu Hua wanted to kill him. Simply too cruel!
The system thought the same as them and clamor in a panic: [No, killing is against the law. ]
Chu Hua comforted: [Don't worry, I won't dirty my hands for a dead scumbag. ]
The Emperor, officials, and even Yu Jiayan all breathed a sigh of relief. But this sigh of relief was fully out, it was withdrawn again. Because Chu Hua laughed for no reason, as if she had thought of a good idea but didn't say it.
They didn't know what she would do to make Madam Yu a widow and were very nervous as well as a little curious.
Officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review have been discussing a few ways to ‘legally be a widow’.
"Not wanting to dirty her hands means she won't do it herself."
"Instigating others to kill people is not considered dirtying the hands, at most it's dirtying the mouth?"
"Is hiring someone to kill someone considered dirtying her hands?"
"What about creating an accident?"
Yu Jiayan: "..."
He really didn't want to hear the many ways he might be killed, but he couldn't not listen. What if he was really killed?
If he had known this would happen, he would not have scolded Chu Ping for being a coward. Now he had to pay a fine, be demoted, and even lose his life. Simply too miserable!
Chu Hua suddenly changed the subject: [Let's not talk about the dead scumbag. It's bad luck. What’s up with the matter of my father visiting prostitutes? ]
System: [I just checked it and checked it twice. There is no gossip about this. Your father did not visit prostitutes. ]
Chu Ping nodded fiercely. He repeated it a few times. He really did not visit prostitutes!
Thank you Daughter for your trust! Thank you System for the clarification! And thank you to himself for upright conduct!
The emperor and all the officials couldn't help but gaze at the second prince. The second prince was a little stunned and confused. Chu Ping did not visit prostitutes, so who was the Chu Ping he saw in Chunfeng Tower?
Chu Hua went into a famous detective mode to pursue suspicious clues: [The second prince has no reason to slander my father, so it is possible that he saw it wrong. My elder brother and I look like my mother, Chu Qi looks like my father but not much and not to the point where he would be mistaken. Ah, it can’t be my father's dandy younger brother? ]
System: [Do the two look alike? ]
Chu Hua: [He is the one who looks most like my father among the relatives. His name is Chu An. Check him out. ]
While the system was busy investigating, Chu Ping was also trying to recall.
His younger brother Chu An was indeed somewhat similar to him. He didn't like literature or martial arts since young and just played all day long.
Father and Mother spoiled their younger brother very much because he was born in their old age. If he didn't like to study, then don’t study. If the horse stance was hard, don’t learn. If he liked to play, then play. They always said that his elder siblings would support him... and so on, like countless times. Finally Chu An was raised into a playboy.
Mother was not good at business. After the elder sisters got married one after another, Younger Brother spent money like water. When it was his turn to get married, the family had no money. Father arranged for him to marry Mrs. Wen, a merchant daughter. He also arranged for Younger Brother to marry a merchant daughter, Mrs. Dou.
Mrs. Dou was gentle and good at making money. She couldn't control Chu An, nor could she change Chu An's temper.
If it was Chu An, it was possible that he would spend a lot of money for a top prostitute in a brothel.
Chu Ping held his forehead, this was a pit younger brother!
The system got results: [It was really your father's younger brother. ]
Seeing that the system was about to expose news again, the emperor and all the officials decisively cut the entangled knot with the knife.
The emperor: "Yu Jiayan, as an official, you have been visiting prostitutes for twelve years; knowingly violate the law and disregard the law. From today on, you are removed from the position of Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial and is demoted to a commoner. I hope beloved ministers will take this as a warning."
Officials: "Your Majesty is wise!"
The royal guard quickly stepped forward to take Yu Jiayan away and stuffed the gag socks tighter to prevent him from saying any nonsense.
The emperor called again: "Chu Qin."
Chu Hua stepped forward again: "Present."
The emperor glanced at the distance between himself and Chu Hua. Confirming his position, he nodded with satisfaction.
"There is solid evidence that Yu Jiayan visited prostitutes. Do you have anything to say about Chu Ping's visit to prostitutes?"
The system did a reading comprehension: [Elder Sister Hua, is the emperor threatening you? ]
Chu Hua:[That's right, what he meant is: Yu Jiayan who visited prostitutes has been completely removed by me. If you can't produce solid evidence, your father's official position will be gone and your official position will also be in jeopardy.]
Emperor: "..."
Officials: "..."
She was good at guessing the emperor's intentions. Don't do it again next time :)
As far as the benefits that the melon-eating system may bring to the Dasheng Dynasty were concerned, anyone's official position could be removed, but not hers.
Put her heart at ease! She was a rookie of sixth rank!
Chu Hua replied to the system in her mind and did not forget to reply to the emperor: "Your Majesty, in this matter, I believe that my father had never visited prostitutes. The second prince had not lied, because the person the second prince saw in Chunfeng Tower was probably not my father, but my father's younger brother, Chu An."
At the same time, she did not forget to show off to the system:[Did you see it? This move not only emphasized my father's character to the emperor, but also showed that I believe in the second prince. He won’t be offended and the neutral position is done perfectly. At present, the second prince does not look like a petty person, but his father is petty and vindictive. There is no guarantee that he wouldn’t settle the score later. I have to nip it in the bud! ]
System: [Understood, understood. ]
The petty and vindictive emperor: "..."
The second prince who settles the score later: "..."
The officials who knew the whole story: "..."
She was the only one who could offend the current emperor and the strong contender for the next emperor with just a few words. Better not think about it.
Chu Hua didn't notice anything amiss and continued: "Chu An is 50% similar to my father. The second prince is unfamiliar with my father. On top of that, he went to the brothel secretly. It was very likely that he had mistaken the person by accident."
She put the emphasis on ‘unfamiliar’ and ‘accidental’, emphasizing that the second prince's mistake was not intentional. However, everyone's attention was on ‘went to the brothel secretly’.
The emperor and the officials sighed secretly. For someone like Chu Hua, it was fortunate that she was not a real official, otherwise it was hard to tell how many days she could live.
Emperor: "Xiao Ling, you also visit prostitutes?"
How come his ministers and son all visit prostitutes? Was it that thrilling?
The second prince hurriedly replied: "This son didn't."
Emperor: "Then what did you go to Chunfeng Tower for?"
The second prince was stuck and bowed his head in shame for a long time: "Drink tea."
The whole hall was silent.
The emperor and the officials had the same expression: he should find a better excuse to lie!
If a man went to a brothel not to visit prostitutes but to drink tea, what was the difference between that and a man saying ‘I just want to rub it and not go in’? !
Chu Hua's curiosity flared up: [System, what's the situation? ]
The system replied immediately: [I know, I know! ]
[The Second Prince did not go alone, he brought his wife with him! ]
Emperor:? ? !
Officials:? ? !
Them two actually played so wildly? !
Chapter 14
Which man in the world would take his wife to visit a brothel?
The second prince would.
At once, the whole court was filled with Chu Hua's rampant laughter. Everyone's ears were filled with the devilish [hahahahaha], making them want to follow suit.
Emperor: Hold it in! I can do it!
Officials: Hold it in! Don't expose it!
After a while, Chu Hua finally stopped laughing and continued to eat melons: [What were they doing in the brothel? Watching live spring scene? Isn't the second prince already a live spring guide? Why does he still want to watch the spring scene? ]
In one breath, there was a series of speculations. This made the second prince's face turn blue and red.
In order to prevent Chu Hua from listening to his bedroom affairs, he exposed Chu Ping's prostitution, but he didn't expect it to be rounded back after a detour.
But he no longer had a legitimate reason to stop Chu Hua and the system from eating melons.
The emperor and the officials told themselves in their hearts: It was not good to eavesdrop on other people's boudoir pleasures.
So, they decided: listen openly with ears erect!
System: [No, they are still quite reserved.]
Chu Hua:?
[A reserved couple went to a brothel for tea? Hahaha, this is the funniest joke I have heard this year.]
The second prince: "..."
System: [It's true, they just go to the brothel regularly to see beauties and learn some sex skills. They didn't watch live sex or perform sex in the brothel. Isn't this reserved?]
Chu Hua: [... Indeed.]
The emperor and the officials bowed down.
From this point of view, the second prince and Second Princess Consort were really reserved. If it were them, they would cough, do it once.
The silence lasted for a long time. The emperor started the next topic and guided the gossip: "How many times have you been there?"
The second prince: "...twice."
The next moment, the system sneered: [Who are you kidding?]
Chu Hua: [Twenty times?]
System: [Welll, no. In total, three times; two years ago, one year ago, and one month ago.]
Chu Hua: [Visit the brothel once a year? Really good at playing.]
The emperor asked again: "What did you go there for?"
The answer to this question had just been given by the system. Everyone heard it and knew it well: the emperor wanted to eat a smaller gossip.
The second prince didn't want to cooperate and didn't want to tell everyone about his private affairs, but he would be exposed by the system on the spot if he lied or kept silent.
"Drink tea." Everyone could hear the weakness in his gentle voice.
The second prince gave up; do whatever you want, just don't expect to hear it from me!
The system did not disappoint the emperor's expectations and revealed: [Before the second prince got married, he got a book of spring scenes, but how could the pictures be as vivid and easy to learn as yellow articles and short videos? The virgin had no experience and was shy. After a few glances, he put the spring scene book at the bottom of the box and the couple's sex life was not very harmonious. ]
[Second Princess Consort had even less experience, but she got a best friend ah! She learned from her best friend that marital affairs can be very fun. She was too shy to get the second prince learn, so she disguised herself as a man and went to the brothel. ]
Chu Hua added: [Then the door to a new world was opened there. ]
[That's right! ] Since someone responded, the system's tone raised with excitement, [After going to the brothel once, Second Princess Consort instantly rose from bronze to silver, pushed the second prince down, and tasted the fun of the boudoir. Seeing this, the second prince couldn’t accept it! He must regain his masculinity! So he got someone to follow Second Princess Consort and caught her in the act in the brothel. ]
Chu Hua continued: [Then, the couple opened the door to a new world there together. ]
System: [Right! ]
Chu Hua: [Then, the couple got addicted and went to the brothel once a year to learn new tricks. ]
[Good gosh, changing with each passing day, keeping up with the times, and always standing at the forefront of the times wow! ]
Emperor: "..."
Officials: "..."
This sentence was novel to many people's ears. They recited it silently a few times. The more they recited it, the more they felt it was like good advice.
However, considering the premise of going to the brothel to learn bed skills...
En, it didn't need to keep up with the times that much.
The second prince was so ashamed that he wanted to find a hole to crawl into. Though i was shameful to cover his ears and steal the bell, it worked!
The emperor snorted: "Going to the brothel to drink tea, do you think my eyes are blurry?"
This sounded like he was angry, but when the second prince looked up, his father's face and eyes were full of: Hurry up! Don't let me rush you all the time!
The melon-eating badgers' eagerness radiated so strong that the crown could no longer cover it.
The second prince: "..."
Another day of missing Elder Brother:)
The matter should end around here. The second prince wanted to turn the topic back to Chu Ping's prostitution visit and make the boudoir fun end here.
Unfortunately, Chu Hua's curiosity was not so easy to calm down.
[Since this couple can go to the brothel together, they are not only studious and keep up with the times, but also have a good relationship. ]
System: [Yes, yes, they are each other's only one. How can their relationship not be good? ]
This was like cold water poured into a frying pan, instantly causing the emperor and the officials to question wildly: The second prince had cefei and concubines, how could they be the only one for each other? Was the system illiterate? !
Fortunately, Chu Hua voiced out their doubts: [How can they be each other’s only one? ]
System: [Indeed, she is his only one. The Second Prince has cefei and concubines, but he has never touched them. He has only liked Second Princess Consort from the beginning to the end and has only slept with her.]
Hiss——The Emperor and the officials fell back in shock.
Emperor: Their Xiao Family actually had a devoted lover? !
Officials: The Second Prince was truly the most chaste man in the Dasheng Dynasty? !
The Second Prince put his hands on his abdomen, closed his eyes, and socially died peacefully.
Chu Hua was itching with curiosity: [What's going on? Tell me quickly!]
System: [The Second Prince's cefei and concubines were all chosen by Second Princess Consort. She love all the pretty, cute and delicate ones, so she took them all in. As women, many things were very convenient. Second Princess Consort was beautiful, rich and resourceful. They take baths, massage, paint nails, touch hands, and eat tofu together. Their lives are so blissful. ]
[After the cefei and concubines were taken into the prince's manor, she urged the second prince to go to the cefei and concubines to consummate the marriage every day, making the second prince come up with conspiracy theories and thought that his wife was angry and jealous and didn't dare to go. After a long time, he accidentally heard Second Princess Consort complaining to her personal maid. Only then he know what was going on. ]
[It turned out that Second Princess Consort wanted to see which type he preferred from the order of his consummation of the marriage, so that she could legitimately use the reason that he liked that type to take a few more beautiful girls into the manor. One must know, the second prince hasn't slept with these beautiful girls yet, while Second Princess Consort had seen, touched, and cuddled them to take a nap together for many times. ]
Chu Hua made a sound of envy and jealousy: [Second Princess Consort is really a role model for our generation! ]
The men present: "..."
Second Princess Consort's grandfather, the old Grand Tutor, himself didn't dare to praise it like this.
The old Grand Tutor was shocked. The old Grand Tutor didn't understand. His granddaughter was not so unruly when she was waiting to be married...
Wait! To be honest, the maids serving his granddaughter seemed to be prettier than each other, and even her guards, servants, and coachmen had to be good-looking.
Old Grand Tutor: "..." It was over.
System: [Knowing the truth, the second prince took advantage of Second Princess Consort sleeping to find a large box of portraits in the room. They were all beauties she had chosen in advance. The betrothal gifts and auspicious date and time were all prepared. It was just waiting for the second prince to consummate the marriage with one person and then she can find an opportunity to bring those people into the manor to have fun together. In this case, how could he dare go to the cefei and concubines? ]
[Is he marrying a little wife for himself? No! He is using the money he earned through hard work to marry a bunch of girls that his main wife liked. Take advantage of him going out to earn money, she can live happily with the concubines. He is a tool person to marry in little wife from beginning to end! ]
Second prince: "..."
Emperor: "..."
Officials: "..."
Don't say it, it was too sad.
Among all the civil and military officials in the court, only Chu Hua did not feel sad: [Ahhh, I am jealous! ]
[Elder Sister, let me join in! ]
[Huh? ] It suddenly dawned on Chu Hua, [If I enter the Second Prince's manor, there’s Second Prince and Second Princess Consort to earn money. I don't have to serve men, I don't have to risk my life to give birth to children, and I can also be close to so many beautiful sisters... There is such a good thing in the world? ! ]
[System, do you think my appearance meets the preferences of the Second Princess Consort? ]
System: [Yes, Elder Sister Hua, you are so beautiful. She will definitely go starry eyes! ]
Chu Hua: [Okay! I will bump into her later! ]
Second Prince:? ! !
Hold your brain! Do not seduce married women! Do not let Chu Hua meet the Second Princess Consort!
Chapter 15
Seeing the second prince's terrified and resistant expression, the emperor finally picked up a little sense of responsibility as a father.
Forget it, the days were long.
Better not push Son too hard.
The emperor: "Forget it, leave this matter to the royal guard. Retreat."
The second prince and Chu Hua both returned to their seats.
Stuffed with melons, everyone was in a good mood. The state affairs of the day were discussed smoothly and the morning court ended early.
When Chu Hua and the system were reading the unofficial history and unofficial records of the previous dynasty in the Hanlin Academy, the officials were busy with their work. There were some people who took the opportunity to chat.
Gossipping was human nature.
The initial topic was Yu Jiayan's prostitution visit, saying how a kept man like him scheme his wife and cheated his wife of money for prostitution visit.
Dasheng's minor court sessions were limited to officials above the sixth rank. Officials from the seventh to the ninth rank had no chance to listen to the live exposure. Each and every one of them held the documents to be processed like a badger holding a melon.
The official who was gossiping had a strong desire to confide and complain, voiced it out with a clamor.
After talking for a while, he still hadn't had their fill. They also chatted about the gossip of the second prince reporting Chu Ping's prostitution visit and resulted in everyone knowing that he took Second Princess Consort to a brothel to learn the art of consummation.
After he finished talking, the official belatedly realized it didn’t sit well and his heart was a little ill at ease. He quickly told his colleagues: "I'm only telling you guys about this, don't tell anyone else."
The colleagues nodded quickly.
"I won’t, don't worry."
"That's right, don't you trust me?"
"My mouth is the tightest!"
The official left with peace of mind. Turning around, the most tight-lipped official told his long-time friend about this matter. At the end he did not forget to remind him: "I’m only sharing it with you about this, don't tell others."
Long-time friend: "Don't worry, I'm not that idle."
After a cup of tea, he told his colleagues about this matter with exaggeration and threw in a lot of details.
In less than two hours, the big news from today's morning court was spread everywhere.
Officials returned home after their duty and saw the eager eyes of their wives and concubines. They loosened their lips a little and the news spread again.
Chu Ping was no exception.
He first complained to Mrs. Wen, "The second prince reported me for visiting prostitutes during the court, which scared me to death! Fortunately, Hua'er and the system testified for me and said that Chu An did it!"
Then he went on about the second prince couple with gloating.
Mrs. Wen had wanted to ask, "Where did you get the 1,000 taels to visit a prostitute?"
But when hearing that it was Chu An who did it, she smiled. When it came to brother-in-law and sister-in-law, it was better not to talk too much.
She originally planned to be a quiet listener, but she couldn't keep silent when she heard that Chu Hua wanted to enter the second prince's manor.
"Does Hua'er really want to enter the second prince's manor?"
Chu Ping rubbed his chin, "The tone doesn't sound like a joke."
Mrs. Wen didn't hear it on the spot, so she didn't dare to judge casually, "Did you see how the emperor and the second prince reacted at that time?"
Chu Ping was silent for a moment and hesitantly responded: "The second prince had his back to me, so I couldn't see it. The emperor just had a reaction of 'Oh my god, it's getting livelier. I want to see it!'"
Mrs. Wen: "..." It turned out that their emperor was still a person of fun?
"Hua'er is only thirteen years old. Though it's too early to talk about marriage, we still need to keep an eye out. She has been very opinionated since young and would probably marry a future husband only if she likes him. Isn't the royal family too complicated?"
Even though the emperor was playful, what about the empress?
The second prince was a legitimate prince and a strong contender for the throne. It was difficult to deal with an ordinary mother-in-law, and the mother-in-law was the empress... Mrs. Wen felt oppressed when she thought about it.
Chu Ping: "The royal family is complicated, but Hua'er has a system."
The system could even know what postures couples use. So even the struggles and calculations of everyone in and outside the palace were transparent to Chu Hua.
Perhaps Chu Hua entering the second prince's manor was like a three-day starved wild badger entering a large melon field, with endless melons to eat. What’s more, there were so many beautiful sisters to stick to. So no need to mention how comfortable she would be.
Chu Hua was born to and raised by Mrs. Wen. She couldn't be any more familiar with her, after all...
The beautiful maids around her were specially found to control her daughter and make her work willingly.
Mrs. Wen rubbed her eyebrows. Forget it. Let her go wherever she wants. She couldn't control her.
The palace, Kunning Palace.
It was rare for the emperor to find out about his son's embarrassing matters, so he naturally shared them with the mother.
Talking freely and laughing from time to time, he didn't notice the empress's shock when she heard Second Princess Consort's behavior, nor did he notice the empress's imperceptible nod when he said Chu Hua's sentence [Second Princess Consort is really a role model for our generation!].
When the emperor mentioned that Chu Hua was going to meet Second Princess Consort by chance, a little light appeared in the empress's cold phoenix eyes.
"Will she really go?"
The previous few times when the emperor came to share gossip with the empress, the empress was just a loyal listener. Even when she heard that her son was the most chaste man in Dasheng, she had no reaction.
This time, the empress gave a rare response. The emperor hurriedly said: "She will definitely go!"
Even if Chu Hua didn't go, he would find a way to get her and Second Princess Consort meet by chance. At that time, he would have a reasonable excuse to come to Kunning Palace to find the empress!
The emperor glanced at the dark sky and looked at the empress expectantly, "It's late at night and time to rest."
The empress nodded: "Indeed, I respectfully send the emperor off."
The emperor: "..."
The next morning, the royal guard commander Lin You reported in front of all the civil and military officials. "After the royal guards' investigation, it was found that the man who spent a lot of money in Chunfeng Tower a month ago was Chu An, the younger brother of Chu Ping, the director of the Ministry of Justice. Chu An had just got on with Hong Xiu, the top lady of Chunfeng Tower, for a few days. Still in the fresh period, he wasn't willing to give up when he learned that Hong Xiu had a guest, that was, the second prince and second princess consort."
"The madam knew the identity of Second Princess Consort, but she couldn't let it be known and only said that a guest ordered Hong Xiu and told him to change to someone else. Chu An refused and angrily threw 100, 200, and finally 1,000 taels. The second prince didn't want to make a big deal, so he yielded. It should be that he saw Chu An, who looked like Lord Chu, at that time, and had a misunderstanding."
The second prince: "..." Thank you, but there was really no need to investigate so much.
The emperor waved his hand, and the matter of Chu Ping's prostitution visit was over.
The officials continued to discuss and noticed that the emperor was not in a good mood during the conversation. They were all honest and no one dared to make trouble.
The Minister of Works wanted to mention that the reconstruction of the dikes after the flood in the south was not going smoothly, but he withdrew his feet at this sight.
The Vice Minister of Revenue also swallowed the complaint that was about to come to his mouth.
The treasury had just received two million taels and all departments asked him for money, money, and money. However, he was just a deputy and many things had to wait until the new Minister of Revenue took office.
Forget it, wait until Chu Hua eats a few big melons and the emperor is in a good mood.
They were waiting, and others were waiting too. Everyone was talking about trivial things that were insignificant and would not anger the emperor.
An incense stick passed and Chu Hua did not eat the melon.
The Minister of Works glanced at her from the side. Was that girl so patient today?
Half an hour passed and Chu Hua still didn't eat the melon.
The Vice Minister of Revenue quietly peeked back. From his position, he couldn't see the situation outside the hall. Small official position was not very convenient.
An hour passed and Chu Hua and the system were still silent.
Now, the civil officials and military officers could not sit still.
Before Chu Hua appeared, they had experienced many times when the emperor was in a bad mood and could not bring up memorials. But after Chu Hua came, the emperor and his ministers were in a good mood after eating melons and the cooperation was smooth.
It was difficult to go from extravagance to frugality!
The Minister of Justice winked at the Vice Minister of Justice, and the Vice Minister of Justice passed a small message to the Director of Justice. As the message was passed, it reached Chu Ping's ears: "Let the people behind see if Chu Qin is asleep."
Chu Ping: "..."
Helpless, he replied, "She didn't come."
Another Director of Justice was extremely surprised: "Is she sick?"
Chu Ping confirmed in a hushed voice.
As soon as the message was passed up, the six department ministers and vice ministers were silent for a moment and stuffed the prepared memorials into their sleeves.
It seemed that today was not suitable for handing in a memorial. Better wait until Chu Hua comes back tomorrow. Fortunately, the emperor and his colleagues were in a good mood yesterday and dealt with all the important matters.
The emperor on the high platform listened to some trivial matters. He wanted to yawn but had to consider the emperor's majesty. He wanted to let them talk about important matters but was worried about making people tremble.
Until the end of the morning court and when he returned to the imperial study, he remembered what was different today.
"That girl behaved today?"
Chen Jiu had already sent someone to enquire and hurriedly replied: "Chu Qin asked for sick leave today."
"Sick." The emperor realized for the first time that the morning court without melons was so boring and sighed, "What's the sickness? Can she come to court tomorrow?"
Chen Jiu: "It’s said to be a cold."
The emperor's face changed slightly, "Get the imperial physician to take a look."
Colds could be serious or minor. Some people got better in two or three days, while for some, it lasted a dozen or so days. Even some never get better.
At present, Chu Hua and the system were still very useful to Dasheng. Nothing must happen to her.
The emperor even thought of a reason to invite the imperial physician, saying that he cares about his subjects. This way, he could also brush up a good reputation for loving the people like his own children. Simply killing two birds with one stone.
How clever he was!
This boast quickly vanished after returning to the imperial study and seeing the report presented by the royal guard.
The report mentioned: Chu Hua had her first period and was in so much pain that she couldn't get out of bed.
The emperor really didn't know that girls would feel pain when they had their periods. For a moment he didn't know whether he should get the imperial physician to check her.
After a little hesitation, he saw the rest of the report from the royal guard.
Chu Hua: [System ah, I'm in so much pain, talk about something to cheer me up. ]
System: [En, let me see, pick an interesting one. ]
[Got it! Let me tell you a melon about the emperor and the empress. ]
Emperor: ? ? ?
He had a bad feeling and hurried to read on.
System: [Last night, the emperor was driven out of Kunning Palace by the empress again. This was the eighteenth time this year that he tried to stay overnight but was driven out of Kunning Palace. He kept fighting and fighting, but failed again and again. ]
Chu Hua: [It’s just a quarrel between husband and wife. Boring. ]
The system wanted to explain in detail, but when it heard that she didn't like it, it quickly changed it: [Then let me tell you about the empress. ]
[She was very moved after knowing what Second Princess Consort did. She thought that the emperor could keep looking for beautiful girls and often left his wife alone in Kunning Palace, so why couldn't she? So, she decided to go out of the palace to Chunfeng Tower to see the handsome guys. ]
Chu Hua: [Wow, go for it, Empress! It's a rare opportunity. If she don't cover for eight-ten guys to make herself happy, it would be injustice to the tears she shed while staying alone in the empty room for so many years! ]
Emperor: ? ? ?
Emperor: ! ! !
Panicked, he hurried out, "Head to Kunning Palace!!!"