Struggling with a stiff face, Taohua shook her head vigorously. “If you want to go back, go by yourself! Fifty lashes? I won’t survive that!”
“You won’t survive if you jump back into the lake either,” Shen Zaiye sneered. “Why not beg the Crown Prince? See if he’ll defy the imperial order for you?”
“The Crown Prince is innocent. Why drag him into this?” Taohua rolled her eyes in anger and bit Shen Zaiye’s wrist. With fury and muffled speech, she growled, “You did this alone, so face the consequences alone!”
“Oh?” Shen Zaiye glanced at her. “Are you suggesting that since the Crown Prince is innocent, I should take the blame to protect you both?”
Something sounded odd about this. It suddenly seemed like they were in the wrong. Taohua blinked, momentarily at a loss for words.
Expressionless, Shen Zaiye released her and removed his outer robe, tossing it over her head. He said coolly, “Stop dawdling. While His Majesty doesn’t intend to kill you yet, hurry back to accept your punishment. Then hide in the Eastern Palace and don’t come out.”
Wrapping herself in his robe, Taohua pouted and followed him with a bitter expression. She muttered, “Who am I working so hard for? The hard work is one thing, but others get all the credit while I alone bear the punishment. It’s not fair!”
Amused and exasperated, Shen Zaiye didn’t bother to respond. He escorted her back to the Eastern Palace to change into dry clothes before presenting her to Lady Li.
Lady Li was crying bitterly. Seeing Jiang Taohua kneeling before her, she gritted her teeth and said, “Do you realize how much trouble you’ve caused the Crown Prince?”
“This slave acknowledges her mistake.” Taohua sighed, resigned to taking the blame. Seeing Lady Li’s distress, she offered her a handkerchief. “Please calm yourself, Your Highness. This slave has returned to accept punishment.”
Slightly startled, Lady Li frowned and pushed away Taohua’s hand. She commanded sternly, “Take her out and give her fifty lashes!”
“Yes!” The attendants responded, moving to drag Taohua away. She didn’t resist, knowing the punishment was inevitable. As she was led to the courtyard and made to lie down, she noticed Shen Zaiye watching from the side.
“What?” Shen Zaiye approached, noticing her gaze. He said coolly, “Are you upset with me?”
Upset? She wanted to bite him to death! Taohua forced a smile. “This slave once again thanks the Prime Minister for his great kindness. May the Prime Minister enjoy peace and success in all future endeavors.”
Though the words were blessings, they carried a distinct tone of curse. Shen Zaiye chuckled mirthlessly and waved for the punishment to begin.
Jiang Taohua swore she had never met anyone more despicable than Shen Zaiye. It was his impulsive act of hitting the Crown Prince, yet she bore all the consequences. And now he stood by, watching her suffer!
Closing her eyes as she awaited the first strike, Taohua silently wished for divine retribution to befall Shen Zaiye.
“Whack.”
The wooden plank landed on her bottom with a light tap, causing no pain at all.
Bewildered, Taohua quickly opened her eyes to look.
The two men behind her were striking with apparent force, yet the blows landing on her body carried no weight. She glanced up at Shen Zaiye standing before her. His face remained expressionless as he coldly instructed, “At least cooperate and cry out a bit.”
“…”
If he had planned to save her all along, would it have killed him to say something nice earlier? Taohua pouted, lying on the bench and halfheartedly crying out. She pressed her lips together, looking at the man before her with a mix of disdain and resignation.
Why couldn’t he ever communicate properly? He angered her to no end and frustrated himself as well. What good did it do him? Life was hard enough; why did they have to torment each other?
Shen Zaiye gave her a sidelong glance before turning to leave. He exited the palace, his gaze never softening.
“Hey, how did it go?” Xu Yangui, waiting at the residence, hurriedly asked as Shen Zaiye returned. “Did you explain? What did she say?”
Impatiently waving him off, Shen Zaiye said gravely, “Continue with your work. Don’t bother me.”
“…What’s wrong now?” Xu Yangui persisted, studying his expression. “You were in the palace for so long. Don’t tell me you still haven’t explained things clearly?”
“There’s nothing to explain,” Shen Zaiye said coldly. “In her heart, I’m just someone who tries every way to harm her. Even saving her isn’t sincere. If anyone else had casually saved her, it would be touching true affection.”
Xu Yangui sniffed and looked around, frowning seriously. “What’s that smell? Do you smell it? Whose vinegar jar has tipped over?”
Shen Zaiye’s gaze was sharp as he said flatly, “If you don’t want to stay in this residence, just say so.”
“Hey, now, let’s talk reasonably,” Xu Yangui said, producing a stack of papers. “On a serious note, I’ve investigated more things for you. See if they’re useful.”
Shen Zaiye pressed his lips together, taking two sheets to examine. His eyes flickered.
“A distant relative of Prince Heng’s consort?”
Xu Yangui nodded. “They’re seeking a position at court recently. Prince Heng is usually low-key and rarely uses his power for personal matters, but this time the commotion is quite big. It must be his consort making a fuss.”
“Then let’s give them a hand,” Shen Zaiye chuckled lightly, regaining his usual composure when faced with a task. He finished reading all the papers in Xu Yangui’s hands and burned them in a brazier. “Zhanlu, go tell the Chief Steward Qin to open up a position for an inner official.”
“Yes,” Zhanlu responded and left.
Opening a book on the table, Shen Zaiye scanned it with a profound gaze, smiling slightly with confidence.
“Now you’re acting like yourself,” Xu Yangui remarked, amazed. “Finally, I see a glimpse of the familiar you.”
Shen Zaiye glanced at him askance and closed the book. “What nonsense are you spouting?”
“Nonsense?” Xu Yangui grabbed a nearby bronze mirror and held it before him. “Look at yourself. When it comes to Jiang Taohua, do you still resemble Shen Zaiye who’s a master strategist full of schemes?”
Raising an eyebrow, Shen Zaiye swatted the mirror away and said coolly, “Don’t think I can’t tell you’re mixing praise and criticism. Go do your job. If you feel your tongue is superfluous, feel free to cut it off and feed it to the pigs.”
Covering his mouth, Xu Yangui turned to leave, muttering under his breath, “I knew he shouldn’t have gotten involved with women. Once he did, it was all downhill from there, and he’s still in denial…”
However, without Jiang Taohua, the Prime Minister’s residence felt desolate. Sometimes, seeing Shen Zaiye sitting alone in his study from afar, Xu Yangui felt a bit sorry for him. After being lonely for so long, perhaps he indeed needed someone by his side.
Taohua, having received her “fifty lashes,” had reason to stay in bed for a long time. Crown Prince Mu Wuyin sent a young maid to care for her, who enthusiastically shared palace gossip.
“Our Crown Prince had it rough this time. Not only was he injured, but he was also scolded by the Emperor for a long time,” the bright-eyed maid said, her gaze darting over Taohua. “Sister, you’re something.”
“Oh, not at all,” Taohua modestly demurred, then asked, “Why hasn’t the Crown Prince come to visit?”
The maid looked around and whispered, “He’s angry. Since both his hands were temporarily immobilized, Prime Minister Shen wanted to help with some official duties. But who knew the Emperor would assign two major tasks—repairing the capital’s dikes and overseeing the autumn grain storage—to Prince Heng? He even promoted one of Prince Heng’s relatives to an inner official position.”
Taohua was momentarily stunned as she pondered this. The current Emperor understood the art of balancing power. With Prince Yu gone, he promoted Prince Heng to stimulate the Crown Prince’s ambition.
However… this method might not work on Mu Wuyin. Rather than striving to improve, he was more likely to eliminate his competitors.
Thinking it over, she suddenly felt uneasy and hurriedly said to the maid, “I had a dream last night. A deity told me that if the Crown Prince preserves his brothers, he will surely ascend to the throne. It’s strange; I never dream of deities.”
The maid was startled. “Sister, are you telling the truth?”
“Of course, it’s just a dream. Why would I lie?” Taohua smiled. “But don’t tell the Crown Prince about this. We’re just servants, after all. How to treat his brothers is for the Crown Prince to decide.”
The maid nodded, seeming to understand. However, upon returning to the main hall, she relayed every word to the Crown Prince.
“Such a strange dream?” Mu Wuyin chuckled. “How rare that she thinks of me even in her dreams.”
Preserve his brothers? Even if he wanted to, there were always some disobedient hands and feet trying to ruin his plans. If that was the case, there was nothing worth preserving.
Prince Heng was in charge of repairing the capital’s dikes, but given the scorching summer heat, he wouldn’t personally supervise the work. Coincidentally, the Grand Tutor suggested that the Emperor secretly observe how the princes handled their duties. The Emperor went to the dike site in disguise. By chance, he encountered an unreasonable inspector who beat and berated the laborers, resulting in death and widespread discontent.
Upon returning to the palace, the Emperor’s face was grim. Shen Zaiye, learning of the situation, clasped his hands and advised, “This is typical of princes handling duties. Why should Your Majesty be angry? If Prince Heng were to toil under the sun for days, wouldn’t it pain Your Majesty’s heart?”
Emperor Mingde chuckled lightly, reclining on his dragon throne. “Are you suggesting that among all my sons, not one can handle affairs properly?”
“It’s human nature,” Shen Zaiye said, lowering his head.
“I don’t believe in such human nature,” the Emperor snorted, pulling out a memorial from Prince Nan and tossing it on the table. “At least if given to Wuxia, he would surely handle it well.”
Slightly startled, Shen Zaiye raised an eyebrow and picked up the memorial to examine it.
He didn’t know when Mu Wuxia had written it, but it was a well-organized plan for pacifying the people, with neat handwriting and clear logic. It was perfect for use during the dike repairs, which required much labor from the common people.
He had sent it directly to the Emperor without informing him?
“Prince Nan is thoughtful,” Shen Zaiye said, pressing his lips together as he closed the memorial. “But he’s still young and unlikely to achieve great things.”
(End of Chapter)