Chapter 83#
When the sash was loosened down to the inner garment, Wen Zhuo suddenly grabbed Shen Zheng’s hand, his fingertips tightening slightly.
With the great matter still undecided, how could he indulge in passion?
This did not conform to Wen Zhuo’s usual principles of scheming.
He had to wait until everything was secure, the outcome determined, and no room for error remained, before allowing himself to sink into pleasure, to enjoy, to relax even for a moment.
“Tomorrow there is still the court confrontation. What does Your Highness intend to do?” Wen Zhuo’s ears were still burning hot, yet he looked steadily at Shen Zheng, his eyes clear.
Shen Zheng did not force it. His fingers stopped naturally, a hint of amusement flickering in his eyes, and his tone was calm: “I only wish to be closer to my teacher.”
“The New Year has not yet arrived, and Your Highness is only eighteen.” Wen Zhuo avoided his gaze.
Shen Zheng raised an eyebrow. “So?”
“…At an age of vigorous blood and rampant emotions, one must urgently learn restraint.” Wen Zhuo pressed his lips together, his ears reddening even more.
He was also a man, naturally aware of the intensity of desire and the difficulty of restraint at this age.
“You were so tired today your eyes could barely stay open. I cherish you too much to do anything.” As Shen Zheng spoke, he gently moved Wen Zhuo’s hand away and patiently re-tied the sash of his inner garment, the knot still neat and precise.
Wen Zhuo eyed him suspiciously, somewhat surprised by his restraint.
Yet Shen Zheng kept his word. He only removed their heavy outer robes, tucked the fully bundled Wen Zhuo into the bed, then blew out the lamp and squeezed in beside him.
The bed was small to begin with, and the two were pressed very close, almost tightly stuck together.
Through the thin inner garment, Wen Zhuo could clearly feel the scorching heat radiating from Shen Zheng’s body, as well as the hardness of his muscles, which disturbed his thoughts.
Shen Zheng kissed his forehead, then reached over and wrapped an arm around his back, his voice low. “Go to sleep now.”
Now Wen Zhuo had lost all desire to sleep. By the faint glow of the brazier, he tried to discern any trace of disappointment, frustration, unwillingness, or even anger on Shen Zheng’s face, but found nothing.
“Just like that?” The thick quilt muffled his voice, carrying a awkwardness that was hard for ordinary people to understand.
He suddenly felt uncertain whether Shen Zheng truly wanted to do anything intimate with him, or whether he could be as obsessed as he was, feeling carnal desire for another man.
Shen Zheng opened his eyes. “What?”
Wen Zhuo turned his back to Shen Zheng somewhat awkwardly, burrowing deeper into the quilt.
With this movement, he inadvertently brushed his backside against Shen Zheng, and clearly felt Shen Zheng’s muscles tense up instantly, including the place with the birthmark, which swelled and stiffened.
Shen Zheng clearly had desires too—could he really just restrain them?
It seemed Shen Zheng was not restraining himself for the first time.
When he washed his hair, bathed him, applied medicine to his wounds, dressed him, and tied his sashes, there had been countless opportunities to cross boundaries, but he had been so serious and meticulous, as if he would not allow any superficial impulse or emotion to dictate his actions.
Strange.
He had never met anyone like this before.
Shen Zheng seemed to read his mind. With a sharp pull of his arm, he lifted him out of the quilt and turned him around to face him.
“What is teacher testing?” Shen Zheng suppressed a smile and bit him lightly on the lips as punishment, then lowered his voice, his breath hot. “Of course I have desires for my teacher. But compared to physical pleasure, I prefer spiritual enjoyment, so restraint isn’t that hard for me.”
“Your teacher is not testing anything.” Wen Zhuo’s eyes held a hint of shame, and he grabbed a handful of his black hair, ready to bury his face in it.
Shen Zheng knew Wen Zhuo tended to overthink, and fearing he would brood, he caught his wrist, not letting him hide behind his hair. “I truly meant to warm the bed for you. Skin contact transmits heat faster, so you can sleep better.”
But then he paused, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Since teacher refused, I’ll respect that. But next time you want me to untie your inner garment myself, it won’t be so easy.”
“Why would your teacher ever want such a thing?!” Wen Zhuo was shocked.
Shen Zheng didn’t argue. He just smiled, tucked the quilt more securely, tightened his arms to hold him firmly, and said, “Alright, teacher must stop fidgeting. Go to sleep.”
Wen Zhuo deliberately wriggled in his arms a few more times before finally settling down contentedly.
The next day, just before dawn, the biting wind was still harsh. The fifth-watch bells and drums scraped the red walls and green tiles with a mournful wail.
Wen Zhuo tightened his robe’s collar, stepped into the faint light of dawn, crushed the thin frost on the steps, and walked toward Huiji Gate.
Before he reached the palace gate, Ge Wei hurried over, his felt hat pulled low, hands tucked in his sleeves. Concealing his mouth and nose under the brim, he leaned close to Wen Zhuo’s ear and whispered, “The Old Ancestor told me to inform you—regarding the imperial decree matter, there is no need to plead for the Fifth Prince.”
With that said, Ge Wei lowered his head even further, turned, and left hastily, leaving Wen Zhuo standing there, momentarily stunned.
So it seemed Ge Wei was his planted informant, and Liu Quan was already fully aware of his role in aiding Shen Zheng’s bid for the throne.
But why was there no need to plead?
Had the Emperor already read the memorial and forgiven Shen Zheng for his unauthorized killing?
“Director Wen, what are you looking at? Aren’t you cold?” Luo Mingpu happened to pass by and noticed him standing still, asking casually.
Recently, he had squeezed Bao Side out of the position of Minister, and had also gotten a hold of Prince Xian’s weakness, so he was in a good mood and willing to chat with anyone.
Wen Zhuo smiled faintly at him. “I’m going in now.”
Officials from the Court of State Ceremonial led the civil and military officials into their ranks according to rank. The bright yellow door curtain was drawn, and the braziers inside the hall were lit, gradually dispelling the cold.
Before long, Emperor Shunyuan walked out shakily. Even with Mo Shu’s specially designed lower-limb exoskeleton, his steps remained heavy and stiff.
The moment he appeared, his face was as gloomy as the overcast sky.
Wen Zhuo understood very well that Emperor Shunyuan had at most two more years to live, and each time one of his princes fell, it struck him a fatal blow.
As emperor, he knew full well that the officials had long since chosen their patrons, backed their candidates, and attacked each other, but he was powerless.
The only way to resolve this chaos seemed to be to establish an heir apparent as soon as possible, but a young heir would inevitably overshadow him.
“The Fifth Prince and Wen Zhuo have returned from the disaster-stricken prefecture, bringing news that has shocked me!” Emperor Shunyuan began, suppressing a thunderous rage.
The officials all knelt down at once. “We are guilty!”
“Get up, all of you!” Emperor Shunyuan pointed at them, speaking with bitterness. “You all just put on a show of remorse, completely unaware of what is happening outside. What good is apologizing now!”
The officials scrambled to their feet, each with their head bowed and eyes lowered, wishing they could bury their heads in their collars.
“Lou Changsui, Prefect of Mianzhou, falsified the disaster report, causing Mianzhou to suffer for half a year, the people reduced to selling their children for food!” Emperor Shunyuan finished in one breath and immediately broke into violent coughing, clearly enraged.
Liu Quan hurriedly stepped forward to pat his back and soothe him, while a palace attendant rushed over with a cup of pear syrup to clear his throat.
A coordinated intake of cold air resounded through the hall, and the officials whispered among themselves, condemning Lou Changsui’s evil deeds as if hearing of such a historical calamity for the first time.
“Lou Changsui also colluded with local incense merchants, forcing the people to hand over their farmland and become tenants, planting incense trees for them!” Emperor Shunyuan continued his tirade once he caught his breath, the beads on his crown clashing and casting shifting shadows. “By now, Mianzhou’s farmland has shrunk to an appalling extent! If not for Wen Wanshan’s work-relief measures and reclamation of wasteland, the refugees of Mianzhou would have risen in revolt within half a year!”
The hall fell silent instantly. Everyone knew that when the Emperor was this furious, someone was bound to suffer today.
Emperor Shunyuan suddenly shifted his tone, his gaze like knives, and asked in a low voice, “But do you know why Lou Changsui did this?”
“This…” The officials exchanged glances, none daring to answer.
“Bu Zhangyi, you tell me.” Emperor Shunyuan called out a name.
Bu Zhangyi’s heart tightened. He hurried out of the ranks and knelt. “I… I don’t know!”
“Why are you kneeling?” Emperor Shunyuan sneered. “If you don’t know, then let Tang Guangzhi speak!”
Tang Guangzhi was terrified out of his wits, crawling out from among the officials, cold sweat streaming down his face. “I don’t know either!”
“You don’t know?” Emperor Shunyuan leaned forward slightly, squinting. “Then do you want to see what Lou Changsui’s confession says?”
Bu Zhangyi and Tang Guangzhi froze. Their nightmare had come true—Lou Changsui had indeed shifted all the blame onto them!
Bu Zhangyi managed to keep his composure, quickly defending himself. “Your Majesty, Lou Changsui knows his crimes are grievous. Cornered, he uses clever words to exonerate himself. His words cannot be fully trusted!”
Tang Guangzhi also chimed in hurriedly. “I have served as an official for many years, diligent and conscientious, with no shame before Your Majesty or the Great Qian! I am thousands of li from Mianzhou and have never had any dealings with Lou Changsui. If he points a finger at me, it is truly baffling!”
Then, he suddenly lifted his eyes and glared at the composed Wen Zhuo, his gaze full of anger. “But Director Wen once served alongside Lou Changsui in Bozhou, and they were very close! Perhaps, to give Lou Changsui a way out, he suggested Lou drag down important court officials to confuse the issue!”
When Bu Zhangyi heard this, his vision went dark, and he wished he could turn around and gag Tang Guangzhi.
Disaster!
Wen Zhuo was the Emperor’s favorite minister. These baseless accusations could not shake his position at all. Tang Guangzhi was panicking and bringing calamity upon himself!
Sure enough, Wen Zhuo, suddenly dragged into the fray, showed neither anxiety nor urgency. Instead, he glanced at Tang Guangzhi with extreme calm, not even bothering to defend himself.
Emperor Shunyuan’s face grew even darker. He pointed at Tang Guangzhi and thundered, “Wen Wanshan gave up his own family to eradicate the deep-rooted abuses in Mianzhou, using all the wealth the Wen family had hoarded over the years for disaster relief, and personally petitioned to have his father and brother executed by slow slicing! And you dare to slander such a selfless man!”
“I… I only…” Tang Guangzhi’s heart pounded. This is bad.
In his panic, he had forgotten Wen Zhuo’s act of severing family ties. Now the Emperor only felt gratitude toward Wen Zhuo—how could he believe such slander!
Luo Mingpu had finally been waiting for this moment. He let out a cold laugh, stepped forward, and bowed. “Minister Tang need not worry. The Ministry of Justice will rigorously verify Lou Changsui’s confession and thoroughly examine the granary chief he named! We will let no secret remain buried, nor let any scheming scoundrel escape!”
“You!” Tang Guangzhi glared at him.
Luo Mingpu turned to Emperor Shunyuan and said, “Your Majesty, I interrogated the Mianzhou granary chief through the night yesterday and have already found a lead. I intended to present his confession to Your Majesty today!”
Bu Zhangyi panicked completely. He had not expected Luo Mingpu to move so fast. Wen Zhuo had only brought the man back yesterday, and today Luo already had a signed confession!
Even more unexpected, the granary chief could not hold out for even a single day before spilling everything Luo Mingpu wanted!
“Hasty interrogation requires harsh torture, and harsh torture leads to miscarriages of justice!” Bu Zhangyi retorted sharply. “Minister Luo, in such haste, what are you trying to extract from the confession?”
“Lord Bu certainly knows how to prepare for the future,” Luo Mingpu sneered. “I haven’t even said what the confession contains, yet you rush to defend yourself. Could it be a guilty conscience?”
“The granary chief belongs to the Ministry of Revenue!” Bu Zhangyi forced himself to stay calm. “If Minister Luo extracts a false confession by torture to frame me, then even though I am clean, I will inevitably be tainted!”
“It seems Lord Bu knows full well that he is about to be implicated!” Luo Mingpu pressed relentlessly.
Emperor Shunyuan remained silent, coldly watching their verbal sparring.
Bu Zhangyi knew that continuing this argument would lead to defeat, so he suddenly changed tack, raising his voice. “Your Majesty, the return of the Fifth Prince to the capital is a state affair. There has been much talk inside and outside the capital. I cannot avoid hearing some rumors. There are loose tongues saying that in Liangping County, the Fifth Prince, disregarding the warnings of a titled lady, insisted on executing commoners. This has been widely circulated among the officials and soldiers, and many are dissatisfied, saying the Fifth Prince flouts the laws of the Great Qian, kills innocents at will, and behaves tyrannically! I believe that once such a precedent exists, it cannot be an isolated incident. If the procedures are not convincing, then Lou Changsui’s confession should also be viewed with caution!”
Prince Xian saw that Bu Zhangyi had started the attack and knew it was time. He stepped forward, feigning shock and confusion, to divert the target from Bu and Tang. “Is there such a thing? Fifth Brother, why were you so hasty? Did you not know that a titled lady could apply for a review by the Three Judicial Offices?”
He turned to Emperor Shunyuan and bowed. “Father, although a prince is subject to the same laws as commoners, and Fifth Brother has indeed caused a negative impact among the soldiers, I ask that Father, in light of his arduous service in the disaster relief, show leniency!”
A fine strategy of retreat to advance. Shen Zheng’s eyes flickered with mockery.
Fortunately, he had already explained the whole story to Emperor Shunyuan in his memorial and was prepared to take responsibility.
He stepped forward, about to state the facts—
But Emperor Shunyuan suddenly slammed the table, so hard that the inkstone on the desk moved half an inch. “How dare you drag your brother into this!”
“Father?” Prince Xian was utterly bewildered.
Emperor Shunyuan stared at him gloomily, his voice scraping like a knife against a whetstone. “Do you think I don’t know what good deeds you have been doing behind the scenes?”
This sentence completely stunned Prince Xian.
He had never imagined Emperor Shunyuan would be so partial to Shen Zheng.
When the Liu Kangren case occurred, Emperor Shunyuan had stated unequivocally in front of Duke Liu that no matter the reason, anyone who violated the Great Qian law was unforgivable.
Even Shen Zheng frowned almost imperceptibly. In his memory, Emperor Shunyuan had always been cold and calculating toward his sons, with little fatherly affection.
Wen Zhuo’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. His gaze imperceptibly shifted to Liu Quan, who stood beside Emperor Shunyuan.
Liu Quan seemed to sense his look. Their eyes met for an instant, then steadily dropped, as if the storm in the hall had nothing to do with him.
Prince Xian could not recover and muttered, “Father, the imperial decree…”
“Silence! Shut up!” Emperor Shunyuan thundered, almost unreasonably.
Prince Xian was completely dumbfounded, his mouth open, his body frozen like a statue under a spell.
Bu Zhangyi, Tang Guangzhi, and even Gong Zhiyuan and Luo Mingpu, who were waiting to add insult to injury, were all bewildered, unable to make sense of it.
But the officials were all shrewd operators. Watching this scene, they could not help but harbor subtle thoughts.
The Emperor’s heart—where it leaned now—was probably clear.
Even if Emperor Shunyuan, considering Shen Zheng’s meritorious service in disaster relief, did not intend to punish him, he should not have forbidden any mention of it, nor allowed even a single word of reproach, as if Shen Zheng had done nothing wrong at all.
In this world, only one person could never do wrong: the emperor.
The current emperor, and the future emperor.
At this moment, Shen Chen, who was waiting to reap the benefits and possessed memories of two lifetimes, could not help but furrow his brows tightly, the two sweet dimples at the corners of his mouth losing their luster.
He immediately looked at Xie Langyang, his eyes full of shock, trying to communicate and find the reason.
But Xie Langyang’s gaze was vacant, staring blankly at Wen Zhuo, his eyes unable to hide exhaustion and confusion.
He did not know what scheme Wen Zhuo had laid in advance that could make the usually cold Emperor Shunyuan lose his composure to such an extent, protecting Shen Zheng as if it were the night of the victory banquet.
He felt suffocated with frustration, wishing he could vanish on the spot, rush to Wen Zhuo’s face, and force him to reveal how he had done it!
Only Wen Zhuo’s face remained serene, but inside, he felt a heavy sinking.
Everyone in the hall was surprised by Emperor Shunyuan’s indulgence toward Shen Zheng, but they forgot the thing that should have surprised them most: Lin Yingniang’s imperial decree of investiture.
What angered Emperor Shunyuan was not their dragging Shen Zheng into the matter—it was someone daring to mention the words “imperial decree” in the court.