Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Wei Zong, the Vice Minister of Revenue, was already in bed when he learned of the 14th Prince's late-night visit. He hurriedly dressed and rushed out to greet him: "Your Highness, I’m sorry I didn’t greet you properly."

The 14th Prince nodded, "Father-in-law, let’s go inside and talk."

They entered the parlor together. Once tea was served, Wei Zong sent the servants away: "Your Highness, what has happened?"

The 14th Prince lowered his voice, "I’ve found out something. It seems Wei Cang has gotten involved in a murder case at a brothel. Wei Yun was blackmailed into harming Wei Er to save him."

Wei Zong's face turned pale, and he stood up abruptly, furious, "That ungrateful brat! I’ll kill him!"

The 14th Prince reached out to stop him, "Father-in-law, don’t act rashly. It’s better to get the full story first."

Seeing this, Wei Zong suppressed his rising anger and sat back down, "Your Highness, do you know which brothel that scoundrel got into trouble at? Who died? And who is forcing Yun to harm her sister?"

The 14th Prince shook his head, "Not yet. We’ll have to ask Wei Cang."

Wei Zong nodded and called out loudly toward the door, "Someone, go get the third young master right now!"

A servant outside responded and ran off to find Wei Cang.

The father-in-law and son-in-law sat quietly waiting. Wei Zong was anxious, feeling restless, frequently getting up to glance at the door.

The 14th Prince, however, remained calm. His family was safe, and everyone in the mansion had been thoroughly checked. Anyone suspicious had been moved, and security had been tightened, making the mansion secure. Feeling at ease, he was much more composed, no longer showing the panic he had felt earlier in the day.

But now that he had calmed down, he started thinking more carefully about the situation. It seemed increasingly strange, especially when he connected it to Nuo Er's earlier mention of the Crown Prince being deposed. He sensed something deeply sinister behind this, and he might have gotten caught up in a conspiracy.

Soon, Wei Cang arrived, walking in, shoulders slumped. He first paid his respects to the 14th Prince, then to Wei Zong.

"You idiot, look what you’ve done!" Wei Zong grabbed a teacup from the table and hurled it at Wei Cang. The cup hit Wei Cang's forehead and shattered on the floor.

The boy was stunned by the hit, but he quickly ignored the pain on his forehead and knelt down, crying loudly, "Father, I've made a terrible mistake. Please help my third sister!"

Seeing him like this, Wei Zong's heart sank. He realized that what the 14th Prince had said was likely true.

However, he was puzzled. His third son, even though he’s a concubine’s child, was handsome, intelligent, studious, and upright in character. How could he end up at a brothel and in a murder case?

Seeing Wei Zong's chest heaving with anger and remaining silent, Wei Cang kowtowed to the 14th Prince, "Brother-in-law, please save my third sister. It's all my fault."

The 14th Prince spoke, "Stop crying first. Tell me everything from start to finish, without omitting anything."

"Yes," Wei Cang wiped his face with his sleeve and began, "Five days ago, at the Imperial Academy, the teacher set an exam. I got first place and was thrilled. After class, I went out to buy some pastries that my mother and concubine like before returning home. But outside the pastry shop, I bumped into some classmates..."

These young men were also from official families, their fathers serving in the same court, and they were classmates, so they were all familiar with each other.

When they saw Wei Cang, they greeted him warmly. Learning that Wei Cang wanted to buy pastries for his family, one of them generously had the shop assistant pack a selection of the finest pastries and insisted on paying for them.

Wei Cang wanted to refuse, but the young man had his personal servant deliver the pastries directly to the Wei residence. Wei Cang had no choice but to thank him, thinking he would repay the favor later.

The young man then said they were planning to gather at a tavern and, since they had run into Wei Cang, they dragged him along.

The Wei family had strict rules, and Wei Cang rarely socialized outside. He tried to make excuses to decline, but the group of young men wouldn’t take no for an answer and playfully pulled him to Hefeng Tavern.

During the meal, Wei Cang didn’t want to drink, but his classmates half-teased and half-forced him, and he ended up drinking two bowls.

After the meal, Wei Cang felt dizzy and weak. He tried to leave again to go home, but his classmates dragged him to Zuixiang Tower, saying they would listen to some music.

Only when they arrived did he realize there were also dancers accompanying them. One of the dancers clung to Wei Cang, seducing him in every way.

Wei Cang was in such a situation for the first time, his face turned red with embarrassment. He hastily stood up, excused himself to use the restroom, and hurried out the door, rushing through the corridor, intending to escape.

Unexpectedly, he ran into a foppish man with a powdered face and flowers in his hair, who was holding a dancer, swaying drunkenly. Wei Cang couldn’t dodge in time and bumped into the dancer.

The dancer even flirted with Wei Cang using her handkerchief, making a few teasing remarks. It was clear that the bump wasn’t serious.

But the dandy exploded in anger, grabbing Wei Cang by the collar and cursing him loudly. First, he called him a blind fool, daring to covet his woman, then he hurled more obscenities that were too vulgar to repeat.

Wei Cang couldn’t take it and swung his fist, but after just two punches, the dandy was bleeding from his nose and mouth, fell to the ground, and breathed his last.

Hearing this, Wei Zong was furious and slammed the table, standing up: "You fool, what have I taught you? A gentleman uses his words, not his fists. Such a foul-mouthed dandy, was it worth risking your life over him!"

After scolding, Wei Zong was heartbroken. The laws of Daxuan were strict; even a prince would be punished the same as a commoner for murder. Wei Cang's life was likely lost.

Wei Cang clenched his fists, his chest heaving, his eyes blazing with anger, as if killing that man still didn’t satisfy his rage.

The boy, usually gentle and polite, was so enraged that the 14th Prince sensed something was wrong and patted his shoulder: "What did that bastard say?"

Wei Cang turned his head away, stubbornly refusing to say more.

Seeing this, Wei Zong was exasperated and kicked him over: "His Highness is asking you a question."

Wei Cang stubbornly got up, knelt straight, tears streaming down his face, choking on his words: "That beast insulted my concubine, calling her a whore used by thousands and abused by tens of thousands."

Hearing this, Wei Zong's face turned red with anger, his chest heaving: "Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous."

Concubine Sun, Sun Yuexiu, was once a respectable girl. After her father died and her mother passed away, she was sold to a brothel by her heartless brother and sister-in-law for money. Unable to bear the humiliation, she fought to escape the brothel and was chased and beaten by the brothel's thugs on the street. Coincidentally, Wei Zong passed by, and Concubine Sun threw herself at his feet, begging for help.

After hearing her tearful story, Wei Zong felt compassion and bought her freedom, bringing her back to the mansion and placing her under Lady Wei's care.

Sun Yuexiu was grateful for Wei Zong's life-saving grace and served diligently in the mansion.

Lady Wei found her kind-hearted, beautiful, and hardworking, and took a liking to her, assigning her to serve directly under her.

Later, when Lady Wei was pregnant, she decided to promote Sun Yuexiu to the position of concubine. At that time, Sun Yuexiu was still a virgin.

Unlike the father and son's towering rage, the 14th Prince sensed something unusual and, without comforting them, pressed on: "Do you know that scoundrel?"

Wei Cang shook his head: "No, it was the first time I saw him that night."

The 14th Prince asked again: "Since you don’t know him, how did he know about your concubine's past?"

This question stunned both Wei Zong and Wei Cang.

Wei Zong frowned.

Indeed, Sun Yuexiu had escaped the brothel on her first day, and not many knew about it. Moreover, it had been over ten years. How did that scoundrel know?

And how did he recognize Wei Cang as Sun Yuexiu's son, saying those things to his face? It seemed like he was deliberately provoking him.

Wei Cang was deeply shaken.

He thought that beast was just cursing him, spouting nonsense. Could it be that what he said was true?

Seeing the boy pale and unsteady, almost unable to kneel, the 14th Prince frowned: "You didn’t know about the past?"

Wei Cang crawled on his knees to Wei Zong, trembling hands clutching his pants leg, eyes pleading: "Father, tell me, are those words true? Did my concubine really come from a brothel?"

Only then did Wei Zong remember that his son didn’t know about this. Heartbroken for his son, he placed a hand on his shoulder and recounted the entire story, concluding: "Your concubine has suffered greatly, Wei Cang, don’t blame her."

Wei Cang was already sobbing uncontrollably, "I don't blame my aunt, I just, I just feel heartbroken for her."

He was heartbroken for the sufferings his aunt had endured.

He felt even more guilty, for the slight blame and disdain that had risen in his heart moments ago, he felt deeply guilty.

The 14th Prince quietly watched the father and son, waiting for their emotions to settle a bit before speaking, "Mr. Wei, I think this matter is not simple, we should question Cang'er further."

Wei Zong helped his son, who was weeping bitterly on his knees, to stand up, wiped his tears, and asked, "Then what happened?"

Wei Cang then continued, "That scoundrel collapsed and didn't get up, I checked his pulse, and when I saw he was dead, I was terrified..."

The dancer screamed 'murder!' and fled in terror.

Wei Cang knew he had caused a great disaster, scared, he sat down on the ground, waiting quietly.

He expected the brothel's enforcers or the yamen's officers to come, but unexpectedly, a masked stranger arrived first, had the body of the rogue dragged away, then took him to a room, offered him a cup of tea, and said he could take care of this situation, but he had a condition.

The 14th Prince and Wei Zong asked in unison, "What was the condition?"

Wei Cang: "He said his master was infatuated with my third sister and wanted me to introduce her to him."

Wei Zong frowned: "So, did you agree?"

Wei Cang: "No, it was my own fault, how could I involve my sister, I refused. The man didn't argue, just said to forget it, and let me go."

"I went home, didn't tell anyone, these days I went to school as usual, but I was on edge, each day felt like a year, afraid the truth would be discovered, and hoping the authorities would come for me soon, so I could be relieved."

"Today I came home, discovered my third sister had been imprisoned, and learned from my aunt that my third sister planned to harm my eldest sister, then I knew, those people had sought out my third sister on their own."

The 14th Prince: "So, you don't know how they located your third sister or what they discussed."

Wei Cang nodded: "Yes, before today, I didn't know, it was entirely my fault that my third sister got involved."

He then kowtowed again: "Brother-in-law, I led my third sister astray, to make a mistake in a moment of confusion, punish me, even beat or kill me; I deserve it."

The 14th Prince did not answer, looked at Wei Zong: "What about Wei Yun?"

Wei Zong sighed: "Still unconscious; she hasn't regained consciousness yet."

The 14th Prince glanced at the dark window, said, "Wei Cang, write down the names of your classmates, and who their fathers are."

Wei Cang nodded, got up, ground ink, picked up a brush, quickly wrote down a string of names, shook it, waited for the ink to dry, and handed the paper to the 14th Prince with both hands.

The 14th Prince took it, frowned, folded it, put it in his sleeve, cupped his hands in farewell: "Mr. Wei, it's late today, I'll go back first, I will investigate this matter, you should not make it public for now."

Wei Zong hurriedly thanked him, then asked, "What about Cang'er here, should I send him to the yamen?"

The 14th Prince shook his head: "Not for now, but he should not go to the Imperial College, stay at home and wait."

Wei Zong nodded: "Okay, tomorrow I will ask for leave for him, say he caught a cold and needs to rest at home."

The 14th Prince: "That's very good."

After saying that, he hurried away under the moonlight.

After he left, a person stood up on the roof of the front courtyard flower hall of the Wei residence, silently stepping on the roof ridge to follow him.

---

The next day, Shen Zhinuo woke up, the sun was already well up in the sky.

Dad, mom, brothers, and sisters were all nowhere to be seen, but there was laughter coming from outside. Shen Zhinuo immediately recognized the hearty laughter—it was the voice of Princess Lanzhen.

The little girl kicked off her small blanket, stretched out lazily, rolled over twice in bed, and then sat up. She used her tiny hands to push the hair out of her eyes, crawled to the edge of the bed, grabbed her little clothes, and struggled to put them on. She then slid down from the bed, put on her pink shoes adorned with pearls, and ran out with a patter.

Princess Lanzhen was holding a cup of tea and chatting with the Crown Princess consort when she heard the commotion. She turned her head and saw the chubby little girl with a head of messy hair like a bird's nest standing at the entrance of the inner hall, smiling at her with curved eyes.

Princess Lanzhen's heart melted instantly. She put down her teacup, opened her arms, and cooed softly, "My dear, come quickly to your auntie."

The little girl then sprang into Princess Lanzhen's arms like a little rocket, hugged her neck, and said in a sweet, childish voice, "Auntie, Nuo Er missed you."

Princess Lanzhen held the little girl tightly, showering her with affection, and refused to let go.

Suddenly, Shen Zhinuo wanted to know the fate of Princess Lanzhen, so she called out to the system, "Doggy, what happened to my auntie in the end?"

A black dog appeared out of thin air, quickly circled around Princess Lanzhen, and replied, "Not long after your entire family was exiled, Princess Lanzhen also died."

Princess Lanzhen, hearing the unexpected male voice and the horrifying statement, widened her eyes in shock. She stood up abruptly with the little girl in her arms, turning around to look for the source of the voice.