Fu Yunxi spoke unhurriedly, “The Deputy Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was present that day. If Your Majesty wishes to understand the details, he can be summoned for verification.” He then gave the Seventh Prince a meaningful look, “What does Your Highness think?”
The Seventh Prince’s expression stiffened, forcing a smile, “Uncle is right. This Zhuang Shiyang is truly heartless, treating his daughter this way, however…” He hesitated before continuing, “Lord Zhuang has done much for the court these years, perhaps he deserves another chance.”
The Emperor frowned, “Come, draft an imperial decree. Demote Zhuang Shiyang to Fifth Rank and fine him one year’s salary.”
The Seventh Prince’s smile froze – a four-rank demotion was no light punishment.
Fu Yunxi spoke casually, “Your Majesty might want to order stricter security in the capital. Yesterday assassins appeared at Wang Jiang Tower, killing many nobles. This official also suffered from it.”
The Emperor started, “We know of this matter. We didn’t know you were present – were you injured?”
Fu Yunxi shook his head, “This official is unharmed. I only hope Your Majesty will thoroughly investigate this matter, as the safety of the capital’s citizens is paramount.”
The Emperor contemplated briefly, “Old Seven, investigate this matter. You must get to the bottom of it – We cannot tolerate such bandits in the capital.”
The Seventh Prince bowed in acknowledgment.
After further discussion, Fu Yunxi and the Seventh Prince left the study.
At the palace gates, the Seventh Prince looked at Fu Yunxi, “A four-rank demotion – Lord Zhuang’s official career will surely be rocky from now on.”
Fu Yunxi raised an eyebrow, “How does that concern me?”
The Seventh Prince moved closer, “Isn’t Uncle pleased? You’ve avenged Fourth Young Lady Zhuang. Speaking of which, your relationship with her seems close. They say after the Zhuang family left Wang Jiang Tower on New Year’s Eve, she stayed behind. Someone saw her maid. Uncle… do you have feelings for Fourth Young Lady?”
Hearing this, Fu Yunxi turned, giving the Seventh Prince an ambiguous smile, “Your Highness seems unusually interested in this matter.”
The Seventh Prince played with the jade tablet at his waist, smiling, “Naturally. But Uncle may have missed his chance. Lord Zhuang has agreed to marry Fourth Young Lady to Crown Prince Wei as his Crown Princess, just waiting for her coming of age next year to arrange the wedding.” He added admiringly, “Crown Prince Wei and Fourth Young Lady – quite a suitable match. Hehe.”
Fu Yunxi’s hand paused, then he smiled, “We shall see.”
After Fu Yunxi left, a servant in brown clothing beside the Seventh Prince asked, “Your Highness… with Lord Zhuang’s demotion, we…”
The Seventh Prince snorted, “Fu Yunxi is more troublesome than we imagined. How did Zhuang Shiyang suddenly get impeached by the censors?”
The servant whispered, “This morning, the censors encountered citizens discussing this matter on their way out, and immediately wrote memorials…”
The Seventh Prince thought for a moment before smiling, “We need to investigate Zhuang Shiyang’s daughter thoroughly. Find someone to follow her, don’t miss any of her movements.”
The servant left with his orders.
Walking along, Fu Yunxi’s expression was indifferent, the Seventh Prince’s words still echoing in his ears. Wei Rufeng wanted to marry Han Yan as his Crown Princess. He recalled those clear eyes – Han Yan’s hostility toward Wei Rufeng was obvious even to an outsider. She surely was unwilling, but if Zhuang Shiyang truly agreed to the marriage, she would be helpless. Though obediently marrying Wei Rufeng didn’t seem like something that a little girl would do.
Fu Yunxi was somewhat dazed. At first, he had merely found it interesting – the little girl from his memory had grown into such an unexpected person. He had helped her repeatedly just to repay that past kindness… but marriage seemed beyond his scope of involvement.
When the imperial decree of Zhuang Shiyang’s demotion reached the manor, he was in bed with Madam Zhou.
With Aunt Mei pregnant and unable to serve him, and Late Aunt never taking initiative, only Madam Zhou had seized this opportunity, carefully adorning herself. Seeing her, Zhuang Shiyang immediately becomes passionate, engaging in intimate relations even in broad daylight.
Even after the imperial messenger finished reading the decree, Zhuang Shiyang remained frozen in place, disbelieving.
“Lord Zhuang, please accept the decree.” The palace eunuch showed some displeasure. Zhuang Shiyang finally accepted the decree with trembling hands, slowly turning his head with such vicious eyes that Madam Zhou couldn’t help but shudder, “My Lord…” Before she could finish, Zhuang Shiyang kicked her stomach. Madam Zhou clutched her abdomen and fell painfully to the ground as Zhuang Shiyang, disregarding others’ presence, began beating her, “Slut! It’s all your fault! You’ve ruined my career. Now I’ve been demoted – all because of you! Slut, a harbinger of misfortune!”
Being a man, his strength naturally far exceeded a woman’s. Madam Zhou was beaten dizzy, curling up in pain while protecting her stomach and begging.
Zhuang Yu Shan threw herself over to protect Madam Zhou, kneeling and crying, “Father, please don’t beat Mother… Father, please…”
Her words only made things worse, reminding Zhuang Shiyang that she was the source of all this. If Zhuang Yu Shan hadn’t been kidnapped by bandits, Madam Zhou wouldn’t have confronted Han Yan publicly, the censors wouldn’t have reported to the Emperor, and he wouldn’t have been demoted. His rage building, he kicked toward Zhuang Yu Shan, “Get out! You’re just like that slut – why didn’t the bandits finish you off…”
Aunt Mei watched with schadenfreude from the side, though also feeling fearful. Zhuang Shiyang was so cruel – one moment intimate with Madam Zhou, the next wanting to beat her to death. Such a heartless man – would she one day meet the same fate as Madam Zhou? The thought made her shudder.
Han Yan sighed inwardly. Having lived two lifetimes with Zhuang Shiyang, she knew him too well. No matter how much he favored Madam Zhou, once his career was affected, he would turn on her instantly. Now demoted because of her, he would surely rage and blame everything on Madam Zhou. She likely wouldn’t regain his favor for a long time.
Zhuang Qin, Late Aunt, and Han Ming watched everything coldly, as if unaffected. The palace eunuch had never encountered such a situation and felt even more contempt for Zhuang Shiyang. To favor a concubine over his wife, then blame everything on the women, beating his concubine in front of his children – hardly a man at all. Then he saw Han Yan step forward gracefully, slipping a bag of silver into his hand, “Thank you for your trouble, sir. Our household is quite busy, so we won’t keep you for tea.”
Seeing Han Yan’s dignified and courteous manner, standing among the concubines and children like a fresh mountain camellia, clean and elegant, the eunuch couldn’t help but sigh that she was indeed a legitimate young lady of good breeding. With such bearing, no wonder the concubines were jealous and bullied her. Weighing the money bag, he smiled, “Fourth Young Lady is truly refined. This servant has official duties to attend to and must report back to His Majesty. Farewell.”