"I don’t know the effects of the medicine. My friend didn’t say, and I didn’t ask. I suppose it’s their trade secret in Nanzhao?"
Trade secret? Emperor Mingxi nearly laughed at this self-righteous fool!
Seeing that nothing useful could be extracted from him, and fearing that further questioning might arouse suspicion from the other two, he dropped the subject.
Instead, he shifted the topic. "Xu Wei, Xu Mao, for seizing commoners' land, allowing your servants to beat people to death, and forcing innocent women into prostitution—what punishment do you deserve?"
Xu Wei and Xu Mao, realizing Emperor Mingxi was serious and ready to act, immediately knelt and pleaded for mercy.
"Your Majesty, please understand—those were all the actions of ignorant servants! My son and I knew nothing of this!"
Xu Mao gazed at Emperor Mingxi with feigned reverence. "Imperial Uncle, it was all the lowly servants' doing. My father and I truly had no idea."
He hoped to invoke their thin blood ties and the nonexistent familial affection between them.
The father and son sang the same tune, shifting blame—proof they were cut from the same cloth!
Emperor Mingxi impatiently waved his hand, cutting off their excuses. The morning’s judgments had exhausted him, and without extracting the answers he sought, he had no patience for further nonsense.
"The facts have been verified. There’s no need for further excuses. Though the servants carried out the acts, they did so under your orders."
With that, he finished writing the final decree.
Emperor Mingxi signaled Eunuch Qian to announce the sentences. The eunuch hastily took the scroll and read aloud:
"Xu Wei and Xu Mao, for seizing commoners' land, covering up murders, and allowing their servants to commit atrocities, are hereby stripped of their titles—Commandant of the Imperial Guards and Assistant Commander—and reduced to commoners.
All Xu family properties, excluding Princess Taikang’s personal assets, are to be confiscated by the state. Half of their remaining wealth is forfeited."
Hearing that both father and son were reduced to commoners and their wealth seized, Xu Wei nearly fainted.
"Xu Wei failed to discipline his daughter. Xu Mao abetted and assisted his sister in beating five servants to death or injury. Each is to receive fifty heavy strikes.
Xu Jiao, for her arrogance and cruelty leading to deaths and injuries, is stripped of her county title and reduced to a commoner.
Princess Taikang, for failing to discipline her daughter, is confined to her residence for six months, deprived of two years’ stipend, and her income will be used to compensate the victims’ families.
All illegally seized lands are to be confiscated and returned to their original owners under the Ministry of Revenue’s supervision.
All implicated servants of the princess’s household are to be imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice’s dungeons, awaiting execution."
After Eunuch Qian finished reading the decree, Emperor Mingxi turned to Shen Kang. "Kang’er, assist Cai Xian’s men in arresting the culprits at the princess’s residence. If anyone resists, execute them on the spot."
To Eunuch Qian, he added, "Qian Gui, oversee the flogging. Ensure the strikes are heavy. If anyone shows leniency, they will share the punishment."
[Master, if those strikes land hard, the father and son won’t be leaving their beds for a year—or ever, if they’re crippled.]
This is nothing. The real suffering awaits them in the afterlife.
The Xu family father and son were dragged away like dead dogs. Princess Taikang, now panicked, knelt to beg for mercy.
Emperor Mingxi cut her off. "Taikang, if Xu Jiao steps out of line even once more, you will lose your princess title.
As for Xu Wei and Xu Mao’s crimes—don’t pretend ignorance. I spare you punishment today only out of respect for your royal status and the dignity of the imperial family.
So, Taikang, do not test the limits of our sibling bond. Do not force my hand."
His tone grew colder, and by the end, he refused to even look at her, waving her away like swatting a fly.
Watching Princess Taikang leave, Emperor Mingxi suddenly recalled something and summoned Shen Kang. "Take men to search all Xu family estates in the capital. Confiscate every trace of that foreign grain. I don’t trust those Nanzhao envoys—something about it feels off."
[Finally, the emperor shows a glimmer of wisdom!]
Emperor Mingxi: Thanks? Care to elaborate?
Once the unwanted guests were gone, Emperor Mingxi’s demeanor softened. He turned to Yue Fuguang with fatherly warmth. "Fuguang, are you satisfied with today’s judgment?"
Anticipating confusion, he explained, "Though Xie Zhiyao’s personal conduct is questionable, no major crimes have been proven yet.
So, I’ve decided to banish her from Dayan—out of sight, out of mind.
That girl is trouble. Keeping her here is a risk, but sending her away might turn her into an unexpected weapon—depending on her skills."
[Master, the emperor’s thoughts align with yours! But when he later discovers Xie Zhiyao’s involvement in Prince Qi’s rebellion, won’t his face sting from the slap of reality?]
Emperor Mingxi: It already does.
"Your Majesty, aren’t you afraid she might grow powerful in Xiqiang and turn against Dayan?"
Little Pearl, I oppose using marriage as a political tool. A nation that relies on women’s marriages to secure peace is weak.
Sending noblewomen as brides only proves the men of that country are incompetent, hiding behind fragile women for false, temporary peace.
A truly mighty empire should receive sons and daughters from others—not send its own. Don’t you agree?
That said, I fully support using Xie Zhiyao as a pawn.
[Master, you’re being hypocritical.]
Hypocritical? Maybe. But she crossed me. I believe in repaying every slight.
Emperor Mingxi, the Crown Prince, and Shen Kang, still present: !!!
The Empress Dowager and Empress, however, agreed with Yue Fuguang. The Empress, though daughterless, sympathized as a woman.
The Empress Dowager, besides Emperor Mingxi, had another child—Shen Kang’s mother, Grand Princess Xie Yun, the only grand princess of Dayan.
The late emperor, infatuated with Consort Hui and her son Prince Rong, once nearly deposed the Crown Prince. This was why the Empress Dowager and Emperor Mingxi so staunchly upheld the line of succession.
Thus, they couldn’t fathom why Yue Fuguang claimed Emperor Mingxi would later consider the ninth prince as heir. If the Crown Prince still lived, the ninth prince stood no chance.
Upholding the Crown Prince’s position was upholding Emperor Mingxi’s own legitimacy. Even at his most foolish, he wouldn’t sabotage himself.
Had they not clung to their status as the rightful empress and heir, the late emperor’s favoritism would have doomed them long ago.
Now, even after Emperor Mingxi’s decade-long reign, whispers persisted that the late emperor had intended to replace him with Prince Rong on his deathbed.
So, the only way the ninth prince could rise was if Zhiyan—the Crown Prince—was gone.
Grand Princess Xie Yun, though born of the empress, was nearly sent to Nanzhao as a peace offering under Consort Hui’s influence.
