Yun Chuhuan was genuinely on the verge of losing it.
The weather in the capital had begun to turn, already leaning toward the heat of summer. Over the past two days, it had grown so warm that it felt as if midsummer had arrived early.
He had been out here sweating through his robes, swinging a shovel beneath a tree under the blazing sun. After all that effort, what he dug up was a pile of worthless paper?
Madness. Absolute madness.
Furious to the point of tears, Yun Chuhuan nearly choked on his indignation.
"Was this deliberate? Did Tang Bingfu plan this, just to spite us even as his household was being searched?
This is too much! Fifth Sister, when you return to the palace, can you speak to Father Emperor for me?
Ask him to let me flog Tang Bingfu before he's executed. Just a few strokes. He clearly meant to make fools of us..."
Yun Shu eyed his unfiltered rage and, for once, believed he truly wasn't acting.
Still, her curiosity was piqued. She bent down to examine the bundle of papers Tang Bingfu had hidden so carefully.
One glance, and her previous air of nonchalance vanished.
"Enough complaining. This time, you've done well. I'll speak to Father Emperor. You won't need to break apart those cement pillars outside the imperial study anymore.
And if he refuses to waive your fine, I'll pay the twenty thousand taels myself."
"...Really?!"
His tirade against Tang Bingfu halted abruptly.
Yun Chuhuan immediately looked down at the so-called scrap paper in Yun Shu's hands.
"Is there something important written on those?"
"Very important," Yun Shu said, gathering the papers and tucking them carefully into her robe. "I must return to the palace at once and present them to Father Emperor."
"You think I'd stay behind at a time like this? Of course I'm going back with you!"
They had already turned over most of the estate. What remained was to escort Tang Bingfu's household to prison. And who knew what insults or rotten vegetables might fly their way during the transfer?
Yun Chuhuan decided immediately. Better to ride back with Yun Shu.
After exchanging a quick word with Ye Yunhu, the two siblings mounted their horses and, with several guards in tow, sped back to the palace.
—
Inside the imperial study, the Crown Prince knelt before Emperor Xuanwu, desperation etched deep into every line of his face. He had just been confronted with irrefutable evidence and could no longer argue.
"Father Emperor, your son truly knows he was wrong.
I understand that selling official posts is a grave crime.
But at the time, there was a famine in Pengzhou. So many victims were waiting on relief from the court, and the Ministry of Revenue's funds were far too limited.
I could not bear to trouble Father Emperor further, yet I could not watch the common people suffer.
I sold off every valuable item in the Eastern Palace that didn't violate protocol, emptied our silver reserves, and still only scraped together two hundred thousand taels.
Even then, it wasn't enough. People continued to die every day.
They were your subjects.
I truly had no other choice, and so I turned to selling positions in exchange for silver.
It was cowardice, I know. After committing such a grave error, I feared Father Emperor's disappointment and dared not confess.
But I swear—aside from those ten posts, I have never repeated this offense."
Tears streamed down his face as the Crown Prince looked up at Emperor Xuanwu.
"I know how deeply Father Emperor detests this act. I... I..."
"Your Majesty," came a voice from the entrance.
Before the Crown Prince could finish, Li Dehai entered briskly, keeping his head lowered as he approached Emperor Xuanwu.
"Princess Sheng An and the Sixth Prince request an audience. They say it concerns a matter of utmost importance."
To come now, claiming urgent news… Could it be they discovered something at the Tang residence?
Emperor Xuanwu narrowed his eyes and swept a cold glance over both the Crown Prince and Tang Bingfu.
"Let them enter."
Li Dehai bowed low in reply and stepped back. Moments later, Yun Shu and Yun Chuhuan entered the room.
Yun Shu carried a thick envelope in her hands. Its contents were not visible, but Tang Bingfu caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye. His face, already pale, turned to ashen despair.
"Your children greet Father Emperor."
After a formal bow, and with a gesture from Emperor Xuanwu permitting them to rise, Yun Shu stepped forward without delay and presented the envelope.
"This was discovered during the confiscation of Tang Bingfu's residence. While we were searching the rear courtyard, the Sixth Prince unearthed this beneath a tree.
The matter is grave. Your daughter dared not make any judgment and brought it directly to Father Emperor."
He dug it up?
Even amid his fury, Emperor Xuanwu found a flicker of surprise at that small detail. But the moment he opened the envelope and saw what lay inside, all other thoughts vanished.
Fury surged through him like a storm.
Bang!
His palm slammed down on the desk with the force of thunder, and even the heavy inkstone atop the dragon-carved table shifted slightly.
His chest heaved, and when his gaze lifted once more to the Crown Prince, his expression had contorted with rage.
Through clenched teeth, he demanded, "You said just now that you knew how deeply We detest this act. And then?"
"Then..."
The Crown Prince was not a fool.
Emperor Xuanwu's sudden explosion, triggered by what he read in those documents, and the venom in his tone now—
Whatever was in that envelope must have revealed everything.
His mind went blank. Panic engulfed him, and he could only throw himself forward, forehead touching the floor.
"Father Emperor, please quell your anger!"
"How dare you ask Us to quell Our anger!"
With a furious sweep, Emperor Xuanwu flung the papers in his hand across the room.
Most of them struck the Crown Prince directly, though a few fluttered and landed near Yun Chuhuan.
"...What is this?"
Yun Chuhuan had not actually seen the contents of the envelope earlier. Yun Shu had rushed him back to the palace the moment she read it.
Now, with the papers before him, he glanced down—and even someone as flighty as Yun Chuhuan was left stunned.
"This… this is all evidence of Crown Prince brother selling posts?
How rich are these merchants? Have they lost their minds, scrambling just to buy their way into court?
Even a lowly eighth or ninth rank post is going for twenty or thirty thousand taels. And this stack—there must be dozens—this is beyond profitable... Mmph!"
Yun Shu jabbed him hard in the ribs with her elbow, silencing him mid-sentence.
Realizing he had spoken aloud, Yun Chuhuan clapped a hand over his mouth in horror. The last thing he needed was Imperial Father redirecting his wrath and fining him another few thousand taels.
Fortunately for him, Emperor Xuanwu's fury was fixed squarely on the Crown Prince.
From beginning to end, his eyes never left him.