Today's morning court.
Another major event occurred in the imperial court.
To be exact, there were two.
First, An Sheng, the Commander of the Inner Depot, attended the court bearing clear slap marks and a face full of scratches. In the eyes of these civil officials who lived for their dignity and reputation, the sight was simply too ghastly to look at; it was impossible not to notice.
Second, this same An Sheng, who was usually a man of few words in the court, uncharacteristically stepped forward to publicly accuse Song Zhili, the Director of the Ministry of Personnel. He accused him of blatant bribery, human trafficking, and forcing innocent women into prostitution!
Bearing his battered face, An Sheng met the emperor's complicated gaze. His expression shifting between shades of bruised blue and red, he knelt down with immense indignation and stated:
"Your Majesty, this Lord Song is truly despicable. In broad daylight, he actually dared to bring bribes to my residence. Having received the profound grace of the late emperor and Your Majesty, I am moved to tears of gratitude day and night. I naturally must serve with integrity and devote myself entirely to Your Majesty and the court. I have always despised such behavior. How could I dare to abuse my power to accept bribes and knowingly violate the law? I immediately drove the people from the Song manor out of my house."
"Furthermore, I have discovered that Lord Song's household is heavily involved in human trafficking. The inner courtyards of the Song manor even keep numerous young girls captive for the purpose of sexual bribery. His actions are truly heinous and utterly detestable. The Inner Depot has always taken the supervision of officials as its duty. Such behavior that corrupts imperial power and the law must never be tolerated. I have already sent men to detain Song Zhili in the Inner Depot, and I implore Your Majesty to issue an edict for a thorough investigation and severe punishment of Song Zhili, in order to demonstrate the majesty of the court's laws."
An Sheng put on an awe-inspiring display of righteous indignation. His resolute tone and deep-seated abhorrence made him look like a reincarnated paragon of justice.
That is, if it weren't for his face, which looked like a scratched-up tabby cat.
The people present might have actually believed him a little.
But when it came to being lawless, abusing power, and accepting bribes, if the Inner Depot claimed to be first, who would dare claim to be second? How did this man named An have the nerve to even open his mouth...
The entire imperial court fell into an eerie silence.
The expressions of the officials present were not very pleasant.
First, regarding human trafficking—which prominent household didn't have throngs of servants and a massive population? And among these high-ranking officials and nobles, whose inner quarters didn't keep a few actors or entertainers in addition to their wives and concubines? Ordinarily, privately gifting an actor or a beauty between officials was as common as gifting gold and silver. These were all unspoken rules that couldn't be brought out into the open, yet An Sheng had suddenly exposed them all.
Moreover, for such a trivial matter, was it really worth the Inner Depot stepping in? And for the Commander of the Inner Depot to personally speak out in court—it was truly like using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken.
There was only one possibility: he was venting a personal grudge.
As for what kind of personal grudge?
Didn't An Sheng just say it? Sexual bribery!
And it was Lord Song directly trying to use sexual bribery on Commander An himself.
Right after everyone had just learned that Commander An had a wife who received an imperial mandate, Song Zhili immediately sent a beauty to the An residence. This...
Looking at Commander An's face, covered in all sorts of marks... Everyone couldn't help but secretly marvel in shock. They truly never expected that Commander An's wife would be such a fierce and unforgiving figure...
Everyone also silently criticized Lord Song for his terrible luck. Knowing full well that Eunuch An was always one to seek revenge for the slightest grievance, he didn't even bother to investigate properly. Now look what happened. His bribery attempt failed, and instead, he angered Commander An so much that An unabashedly brought the matter before His Majesty. Now, with the arrest and thorough investigation, even if Song didn't die, he would be flayed alive. It really was the worst luck in eight lifetimes.
Looking again at An Sheng's current attitude of not giving up until he achieved his goal, it was clear he was absolutely furious.
Even Emperor Chengde on the dragon throne couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth when he looked at An Sheng's ghastly face.
It was obvious that An Sheng was venting his anger. As an emperor, Emperor Chengde was well-versed in the art of managing people and naturally knew what was most important. Finally, Emperor Chengde gave a low cough.
"Granted. I shall leave this matter for my beloved subject An to handle!"
It was one thing to make a huge scene in the court, but An Sheng certainly couldn't go to the Inner Depot to handle official business looking like this. Therefore, as soon as the morning court ended, An Sheng simply went straight back to his manor.
A Mei, with red eyes, reached out to stroke the red marks on An Sheng's face. Full of both complaint and heartache, she said, "How could Husband be so cruel to yourself? I said we would think of a way, but I never told Husband to hurt yourself like this."
Remembering how she and her husband had put on an act, but then her husband had actually slapped himself several times, and finally, for the sake of realism, had even grabbed her hands to scratch his own face, A Mei couldn't stop feeling sour and distressed.
An Sheng, in turn, held A Mei's small hands. His tone was gentle and nonchalant as he said, "Little fool, how can these few marks be considered an injury? I did it on purpose."
Seeing A Mei still pursing her lips in a heartbroken manner, An Sheng's heart softened. He hurriedly pulled A Mei into his arms. "Oh my, look how heartbroken you are. Have you forgotten what I looked like when you and I first met? That was what you call an injury."
Speaking of when they first met, A Mei's thoughts drifted far away. Remembering the deep, terrifying, long bloody gash on her husband's face back then, A Mei patted her chest in lingering fear, pouted, and said softly, "I will naturally never forget that frightening appearance when I first saw Husband in this lifetime. At that time, I was truly almost scared to death by Husband."
An Sheng: ...
After a good while, An Sheng finally opened his mouth, his voice betraying neither joy nor anger: "Was I really that scary back then?"
A Mei nodded honestly and said with absolute certainty, "Yes, Husband was truly fierce and terrifying."
An Sheng raised his eyebrows, letting out a snort of laughter, though his eyes were covered in gentleness. "You ah, you were scared, yet you still fearlessly hovered around me all day?"
Thinking about it, A Mei still felt a little bit wronged. She gave An Sheng a timid glare and replied obediently, "But you are my husband. No matter how fierce you are, I still have to serve my husband."
An Sheng's breath hitched, and in an instant, his heart completely melted.
"Husband."
A Mei called out softly.
An Sheng looked down.
He saw that A Mei's little nose and eyes were both red, making her look incredibly pitiful. She stood on her tiptoes and clung to An Sheng's neck, her small face both earnest and serious. "Although compared to back then, Husband isn't considered injured, I still feel heartbroken. I want Husband to promise me that you won't do this ever again."
"Alright, I promise you."
Only then did A Mei's face clear up. She took out a porcelain bottle from her robes. "Husband, sit down. I will apply some medicine for you."
An Sheng instantly didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Let's forget about applying medicine."
A Mei widened her eyes, her attitude uncompromising, and spoke crisply, "No, you must apply the medicine."
"Alright, alright, alright, apply it." An Sheng's eyes were full of helplessness and doting. He obediently sat on the chair, letting A Mei's soft fingertips, dipped in the cool ointment, spread it over his face.
An Sheng leaned lazily against the back of the chair, his head tilted slightly upward. In his line of sight were A Mei's moist lips, and with every breath, he took in the sweet fragrance of her body. He took a deep breath, hooked the corners of his lips, and, experiencing a rare moment of leisure and ease, slowly said, "It really is good to take a wife. Now there is someone to care for me."
Hearing this, A Mei's small face flushed a faint pink. She pursed her lips, shot An Sheng a sideways glance, and said coquettishly, "Husband, are you only just realizing it?"
An Sheng pulled A Mei into his arms with a wicked smile. "Holding such a delicate beauty, so fragrant and soft, it feels incredibly wonderful. Naturally, I know now."
A Mei let out a soft gasp as she fell completely into An Sheng's embrace. Holding up the ointment in her hand, she chided him playfully, "Husband, be careful. A Mei is still holding something."
An Sheng could not care less about that. He took the porcelain bottle from A Mei's hand and casually tossed it onto the table. His other hand reached behind A Mei's neck, gently supporting her head.
A Mei's eyes widened instantly. She naturally knew her husband was about to kiss her!
In the nick of time, A Mei pressed her two small hands against An Sheng's chest.
"Husband! Wait!"
An Sheng paused, meeting A Mei's bright eyes that carried a hint of refusal.
"Oh my, Husband just applied ointment all over his face. Do not kiss A Mei, it will rub off onto A Mei's face!"
An Sheng: ...
