Prince Qi was the first to receive the news.
“Seventh Brother is willful, but I didn’t expect his wife to be willful as well,” Prince Qi said with a laugh, letting his guard down in front of his confidant.
The advisor chimed in, “Naturally, the Duchess of Yan can’t compare to our duchess’s virtuous and proper demeanor.”
Prince Qi’s expression remained neutral, but inwardly he felt a wave of disgust. A beautiful woman’s willfulness could be forgiven, but his wife was plain-looking. Shouldn’t she at least have some other redeeming qualities? And how many women didn’t possess the virtue of being proper and decent?
These thoughts flashed through Prince Qi’s mind, but he said, “You’re right. To have such a wife is my good fortune.”
The advisor became excited and hurried to praise Prince Qi further.
His lord didn’t place importance on physical beauty, surely he was destined for greatness. And by following such a master, his fortunes would naturally rise…
Prince Qi was accustomed to such flattery. He smiled faintly and offered a couple of humble remarks.
The advisor’s eyes flickered as he said, “Your Highness, given the Duchess of Yan’s lack of manners, do you think we should—”
Prince Qi rubbed the jade ring on his thumb and shook his head. “Yan and I are brothers born of the same mother. If the Yan couple doesn’t understand proper conduct, I’ll find an opportunity to remind them privately. There’s no need to make a fuss.”
The advisor hurriedly fawned, “Your Highness is truly kindhearted and magnanimous…”
“You flatter me,” Prince Qi replied.
After the advisor withdrew, the small study suddenly became quiet. Prince Qi sat still for a moment before rising from the low couch and walking to the window.
Opening the window, he was greeted by a late autumn scene, desolate and cold.
Prince Qi’s lips curled into a smile.
To deal with Seventh Brother, why should he act personally when several brothers could do it for him?
For instance, the hot-tempered Fifth Brother, or Sixth Brother whose wedding date was close to Seventh Brother’s and had been overshadowed at every turn, or the foolish Crown Prince…
When Seventh Brother found himself in a situation where everyone was calling for his downfall, he would step in to offer some help. How could Seventh Brother not be grateful and work for him from then on?
As Prince Qi contemplated these things, the smile on his lips deepened.
In the Mansion of the Prince of Lu, upon hearing the news, the Prince of Lu was overjoyed and slammed his hand on the table. “Excellent! Seventh Brother is finally going to suffer!”
“Who’s going to suffer?” The Princess of Lu stepped over the threshold, catching the last part of the sentence.
The Prince of Lu frowned. “How dare you enter my study without knocking?”
This tigress was becoming increasingly unruly.
The Princess of Lu cast a glance at the advisor in the study and politely asked him to leave. Then she said coolly, “Surprise inspection.”
Hearing this, the Prince of Lu’s face immediately darkened. He rolled up his sleeves, ready to have a good talk about life.
It was impossible to live with such a wife. It was bad enough that she kept a close eye on him usually, but just because he secretly fondled a little maid in his study, this shrew kicked open the door with a kitchen knife in hand.
Since then, the pretty maids who used to serve him had been replaced by wrinkled old men. She wouldn’t even let him use a handsome young servant.
Thinking of these things, the Prince of Lu gritted his teeth in anger and said with a black face, “Don’t go too far!”
The Princess of Lu silently pulled out a kitchen knife from her bosom, holding it in her hand as she smiled and asked, “Your Highness says I’m going too far?”
The Prince of Lu jumped up, his bluster immediately disappearing. “If you want to talk, just talk. Why do you always have to brandish a kitchen knife?”
This shrew dared to chase him with a kitchen knife. If word got out, it would be utterly humiliating.
The Princess of Lu put away the knife and asked, “Who did Your Highness say was going to suffer just now?”
“I was talking about Seventh Brother,” the Prince of Lu relayed the news he had heard to the Princess of Lu.
The Princess of Lu murmured, “The Duchess of Yan has quite a personality.”
The Prince of Lu sneered, “That bastard Seventh Brother is always at odds with me. It’s finally his turn to suffer!”
“What does Your Highness intend to do?” the Princess of Lu asked vigilantly.
“Of course, I’m going to find an official to impeach the Seventh Brother and his wife!” The Prince of Lu rubbed his hands together, already imagining the miserable sight of the Yan couple being impeached until their foreheads were covered in bumps.
The Princess of Lu glared at the Prince of Lu. “Your Highness, we’d better not get involved in such matters.”
The Prince of Lu glared back defiantly.
The Princess of Lu rarely softened her tone, “Even if the Yan couple suffers, it won’t do us any good. Why should Your Highness do something that harms others without benefiting ourselves?”
“Who says there’s no benefit? It makes me happy to see Seventh Brother suffer.”
“In any case, Your Highness shouldn’t get involved. Who knows, maybe the Duchess of Yan has her reasons for acting this way.”
“What reasons could there be? It’s just a case of sudden success going to her head,” the Prince of Lu dismissed the Princess of Lu’s words.
The Princess of Lu silently pulled out her kitchen knife.
Staring at the shiny, well-sharpened kitchen knife, the Prince of Lu fell silent for a moment, then rose irritably. “Fine, women are always making a fuss over nothing!”
He stormed out of the door angrily, then turned back, “This is my study!”
The Princess of Lu tucked away her knife and stood up with a smile. “Then I’ll go back to my room. Remember to come for dinner, Your Highness.”
After the Princess of Lu left, the Prince of Lu kicked the small stool several times to vent his anger.
Fine, Seventh Brother was lucky this time. There would be other opportunities to deal with him in the future.
When the Prince of Shu heard the news, he felt relieved.
Since the betrothal discussions last year, because his wedding date was only a month or so apart from Seventh Brother’s, he had been overshadowed by Seventh Brother at every turn. Now, the chance to get even had finally come.
“Let’s wait and see if others make any moves. If they do, we can add fuel to the fire, but be careful not to draw attention to our side.”
After giving these instructions, the Prince of Shu began to look forward to what was about to unfold.
In the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince could barely contain his desire to laugh out loud.
He had finally found a handle on Seventh Brother!
Ever since Seventh Brother returned to the capital, every time he caused trouble, it ended up with the Crown Prince being scolded. This resentment had been bottled up for a long time.
Damn Seventh Brother, let’s see how you escape punishment this time.
“Find officials to impeach the Yan couple severely!”
Soon, memorials impeaching the Yan couple were flying like snowflakes onto Emperor Jingming’s desk. The next day at court, several officials stepped forward, passionately denouncing the Duchess of Yan for damaging the imperial family’s dignity, and then impeaching Prince Yan for being too indulgent with his wife and excessively fond of her beauty.
Emperor Jingming listened with an expressionless face, but he was greatly displeased in his heart.
These old fogies, it was fine to impeach Seventh Brother’s wife for not understanding the rules, but what was this about Prince Yan being too fond of beauty?
Is that how you use the phrase “excessively fond of beauty”?
Keeping beautiful concubines and sleeping with courtesans is being excessively fond of beauty. How can cherishing one’s wife be called being excessively fond of beauty? It should be called marital harmony.
Emperor Jingming silently rebutted in his heart, then turned his gaze towards Yu Jin, who was kneeling to one side.
According to custom, anyone who was impeached, regardless of their status or guilt, had to kneel and listen to the reprimand.
This was the prevailing argument at the time: If you conducted yourself properly in every aspect, why would others impeach you? Since you’re being impeached, there must be some impropriety on your part. Even if there isn’t, you should either correct your faults if you have any, or strive to improve if you don’t. In any case, kneeling was the right thing to do.
Yu Jin had anticipated being impeached for Jiang Si not attending Lady You’s funeral, but he hadn’t expected so many people to impeach him, causing his knees to swell from kneeling.
As a result, he couldn’t maintain a pleasant expression anymore and was emanating a cold aura.
The officials standing near Yu Jin quietly moved away.
Prince Yan even dared to hit his brothers, so it was safer for them to keep their distance.
When Emperor Jingming saw Yu Jin’s gloomy face, he became angry. “Seventh Son, do you know your crime?”
The Princess of Lu is smart.