The sound of this report struck Sun You’s ears like a funeral bell.
"Speak."
Emperor Yuanyou glanced at Sun You and spoke.
"Your Majesty, First Miss Gu sent people to the northern deserts to deliver supplies to the family of the Gu Family's Son-in-law, but they discovered that no one in the village had received any grain. She immediately ordered an urgent message to be delivered to the capital."
The guard’s report in just a few sentences sent the Sun Family straight to hell.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Yuanyou swept the memorials off the desk with a crash. "Sun You, didn’t you just swear on your own head?"
"Your Majesty, there must have been some mistake—perhaps the villagers hadn’t heard about the grain distribution, so they didn’t receive any..."
Sun You was already speaking incoherently, feeling the Emperor’s piercing gaze like never before.
"Your Majesty, it’s not just the Gu Family's Son-in-law’s village. Aside from a few wealthy landowners, none of the commoners received grain. Here is the letter from the northern deserts. Please investigate thoroughly."
The letter was presented to Emperor Yuanyou, who, after reading it, laughed in fury.
"Sun You, your head is mine."
With those words, Sun You knew there was no escape.
"Did Prince Chu know about this?"
Under the Emperor’s overwhelming pressure, Sun You swallowed hard.
Emotionally, he shouldn’t betray Prince Chu—the Sun Family’s last hope now lay with him.
But logically...
The image of Song Yanhong fiercely beating the grievance drum to accuse the Sun Family flashed before Sun You’s eyes.
The Fourth Imperial Grandson had acted so ruthlessly, determined to condemn the Sun Family to death.
In that case, Sun You had no reason to hold back.
"Prince Chu... Prince Chu knew."
Outside the hall, Wu Qi sighed deeply. In the face of power, could any alliance truly last?
Sun You was immediately thrown into the imperial prison, deliberately placed in the same cell as Du Heng.
For days, members of the Sun and Du Families had been hurling insults at each other from separate cells. Now that Sun You and Du Heng were together, Sun You lunged at him with clenched fists.
"Du Heng! How dare you bring such disaster upon my family?" Sun You was blinded by rage. "Back then, you were just a lowly scholar. Marrying my sister to you was already a disgrace, yet you still weren’t satisfied! You abused the Sun Family’s influence for your own gain—I’ll kill you!"
"Spare me the hypocrisy. Your family is no better," Du Heng retorted, fighting back just as fiercely. "Now that the truth is out, the Sun Family is just as guilty."
The two men brawled until they collapsed, barely breathing, onto the floor.
......
Meanwhile, in the Purple Dawn Hall.
"I intend to confine Prince Chu in the capital and have Yan Hong take the rest of Prince Chu's Mansion to their fiefdom."
As he spoke, Emperor Yuanyou looked utterly exhausted.
"Grandfather, don’t be upset. With Fourth Brother in charge, the fiefdom will surely be well-governed." Song Shihuan stepped forward to soothe the Emperor, her eyes flickering with complexity.
The current situation had been orchestrated by the Qin Prince's Mansion—even the rift between Prince Chu's Mansion and the Sun Family was part of her plan.
She had accounted for everything... except this white-haired old man before her.
But the next moment, Emperor Yuanyou reached out and ruffled Song Shihuan’s hair.
"Thanks to you and your father—one willing to spend personal funds to send grain to the northern deserts, the other accidentally ending up in Zhenling County—I would have remained in the dark much longer."
His words made Song Shihuan’s eyes brighten instantly.
"Every day I remained unaware, the people suffered another day."
Emperor Yuanyou spoke with relief. Grain was the foundation of the Great Qi’s livelihood.
And an underage girl—she was the delicate bud the empire must protect.
"Grandfather, aren’t you sad about Third Uncle?"
"Of course. But I am prouder still to have you."
In Yu and Ah Huan, he saw the brilliant future of Great Qi. With that, he had no regrets.
......
The next morning, several imperial decrees announced the final verdicts for the scandal.
"The Sun Family amassed wealth through illicit means, abetted the abduction of girls, and disregarded human life. Their crimes are unforgivable—exterminate the entire clan."
"The Du Family were the primary perpetrators in the abduction of girls—exterminate the entire clan."
Both the Sun and Du Families faced annihilation, totaling over two hundred people. On the day of execution, blood flowed ten meters beyond the execution grounds.
At the same time, in the Qin Prince's Mansion...
Shen Qingping placed a piece slowly on the board.
"The Sun Family is gone, Prince Chu is confined. Congratulations to the Prince and the Princess for eliminating an incompetent rival."
Song Shihuan placed her piece as well.
"All thanks to Teacher’s guidance."
Song Yu glanced at the master and disciple, rolling his eyes before returning to his book. He knew nothing of chess—the board might as well be gibberish to him.
Yet Shen Qingping always insisted on playing in front of him.
Once he topped the imperial exams, he’d learn chess too!
"However..." Shen Qingping held a piece between his fingers, looking up at Song Shihuan. "If Consort Hui is also demoted, there will be no high-ranking consorts left in the palace. Among the princess consorts, only Princess Consort Ping can manage the inner court affairs... We’ve inadvertently handed the Ping Prince's Mansion an advantage."
"I almost forgot! Thank you for the reminder, Teacher!"
Song Shihuan bolted out of the room. "Father, I’m going to the palace—don’t wait for me for lunch!"
She couldn’t let Consort Hui lose her rank.
Behind her, Shen Qingping chuckled softly. The Princess probably didn’t even realize how much her temperament now mirrored the Prince’s.
......
Days later, Emperor Yuanyou finally visited Consort Hui’s palace.
Seeing him, Consort Hui immediately pulled Prince Chu to his knees. "Your Majesty, I failed to raise him properly. Punish me first!"
She wanted to take the blame for Prince Chu.
Remembering Song Shihuan’s words earlier, Emperor Yuanyou looked at Consort Hui with mixed emotions. Just as Ah Huan had predicted, Consort Hui would sacrifice herself for the Third Prince.
"Consort Hui, rise."
"Yan Hong was mostly raised by you, yet he grew up righteous and kind. The fault isn’t yours—this wretch was rotten from the start!"
Then he paused. Wait, did that insult himself too?
The thought only angered him further.
"Prince Chu is incompetent. Confine him to the Imperial Temple."
"As for the rest of Prince Chu's Mansion, Yan Hong will lead them to their fiefdom. They are forbidden to leave without summons."
Prince Chu looked up in disbelief. "Father, I—I—"
"If you still refuse to repent, I will take your life!"
