Chapter 121: Impeachment

Chapter 121 Confrontation

The woman’s eyes brimmed with disappointment, and Xie Zheng’s chest tightened as he caught her gaze.

Clearly, Lin Qingshuang had misunderstood.

He wanted to explain, but with Prince Jing and the others still present, the words stuck in his throat.

The male courtesan, overwhelmed with fear, leaned closer to him, deepening their apparent intimacy.

Lin Qingshuang’s eyes reddened, her lips curling into a bitter, mocking smile before she turned and left.

She had thought Xie Zheng might have harbored some affection for her, but now... she realized she was just a distraction to him.

......

"Won’t you speak, General?" the male courtesan pleaded, his voice trembling as Prince Jing glared at them. He tugged lightly at Xie Zheng’s sleeve.

Lin Qingshuang departed silently, and none in the crowd noticed the tension between them.

A surge of anger burned in Xie Zheng’s chest, and he wrenched his sleeve free.

"Ling Yun is a perfumer hired by the embroidery house, allowed to rest in the rear courtyard. Yet Your Highness barged in and laid hands on him—Is the law nothing to you?"

His tone was icy as he fixed Prince Jing with a cold glare.

Others dared not question the prince, but Xie Zheng had the standing.

As a hero who had stabilized the border, even Emperor Chengyuan showed him respect—let alone a mere prince.

"I... I..." Prince Jing stammered, his earlier fury now replaced by guilt.

His eyes darted nervously before he blurted, "It was he who lured me in!"

The crowd gasped.

They had known Prince Jing was shameless, but this was beyond shameless.

He had been the one to intrude upon the rear courtyard, yet now he accused the courtesan of seducing him.

Xie Zheng sneered. "If we’re taking this to the emperor, then let His Majesty decide your fate."

If this was escalating, he would ensure Prince Jing had no room to maneuver.

"Xie Zheng, you—" Prince Jing was stunned.

Did this insolent dog truly intend to defy him? Did he not know he was the emperor’s most favored prince?

Xie Zheng ignored him, turning instead to Xie Yi. "Take Ling back to Nanfeng Pavilion. Today, we failed him. Tell the madam that if any harm befalls him in the future, this house will demand justice!"

The threat was unmistakable—a safeguard against Prince Jing’s retaliation.

The male courtesan wiped his face with his sleeve, batting his lashes. "I’m in your debt, General."

Xie Zheng’s face turned thunderous, and he snapped at Xie Yi, "Get him out of here!"

"Yes."

Xie Yi had already been harassed by the male courtesan and understood his master's mood perfectly.

He grabbed the male courtesan by the collar and vanished from view in an instant.

Prince Jing didn’t stick around either. After being humiliated like this, he needed to think about what to do next.

Moreover, since Xie Zheng wasn’t about to let this go, he also had to come up with a plan.

But Prince Jing didn’t expect Xie Zheng to move so fast—or perhaps it wasn’t just Xie Zheng, but also Wei Xun.

That very night, the petitions accusing Prince Jing of debauchery, submitted by Xie Zheng and Wei Xun, were placed on Emperor Chengyuan’s desk.

In the flickering light of the palace lanterns, the emperor’s face was inscrutable.

Prince Jing knelt beside the desk, his forehead pressed tightly against the floor.

Emperor Chengyuan tapped his fingers on the desk, his tone giving nothing away.

“What do you think of this petition?”

“Your Majesty...” Prince Jing cautiously raised his head. Seeing that Emperor Chengyuan’s expression was calm and not angry, he mustered the courage to say, “Your Majesty, these are all slanders by Xie Zheng and Wei Xun against your son.”

“Slanders?” Emperor Chengyuan gave a short laugh.

Before Prince Jing could relax, the emperor’s face suddenly darkened. He picked up the petition and flung it at Prince Jing’s head.

Prince Jing dared not dodge and took the hit without flinching.

His forehead was split open, blood streaming down his scalp and dripping onto the floor.

“Fool!” Prince Jing’s pathetic appearance just made Emperor Chengyuan angrier.

“Do you think I don’t know what you’re scheming? Trying to win Xie Zheng over?”

Reclining on the imperial couch, his expression was imposing even without anger.

Prince Jing’s heart skipped a beat, and he lowered his head even further.

“I would never dare!”

“Hah! You would never dare? You even dared to harass the family members of officials in my palace—what wouldn’t you dare?”

Emperor Chengyuan was furious at his incompetence.

As power-hungry as he was, he knew he would one day pass away. Though Great Zhou under his rule might not match the prosperity of previous dynasties, it was still a prosperous and peaceful nation.

Yet neither of his two sons was fit to inherit the throne.

The crown prince was frail and might not outlive him, while Prince Jing was so disgraceful.

For a moment, Emperor Chengyuan felt helpless.

Prince Jing hadn’t expected that all his actions were being watched by Emperor Chengyuan—even what he had done to A Yuan during the palace banquet was known to him in detail.

“Your Majesty...” Prince Jing’s face turned ashen.

Emperor Chengyuan waved him off. “The imperial tombs need a guardian. Gather your belongings and leave tomorrow.”

“Your Majesty!”

Prince Jing was beyond shocked.

He’d only failed to recruit Xie Zheng—how did that land him with guarding the imperial tombs? Wasn’t this just exile by another name?

Emperor Chengyuan half-closed his eyes, hiding an icy glint.

"Disgracing a minister’s sister, forcing yourself on a male courtesan—do you think these are trivial matters? You’ve dragged the royal family’s name through the mud!"

If he stayed in the capital, the scandal would only get worse, ruining not just Prince Jing’s name but the emperor’s face too.

Especially after Noble Consort Su and the little princess had just bullied A Man, and now Prince Jing wanted to seize A Yuan—people might think the imperial family had it out for Xie Zheng.

With the recent victory at the border, he couldn’t risk breaking the soldiers’ morale.

Emperor Chengyuan’s expression darkened, and Prince Jing knew there was no room for appeal. Devastated, he walked out.

Prince Jing’s residence.

Shen Qiuyu knelt in the courtyard, the dead of winter turning her knees to ice.

Four years ago, she had punished A Yuan by making her kneel—she never thought she’d face the same punishment four years later.

But A Yuan had Wei Xun to save her. Who did she have?

Prince Jing entered with a grim face, and Shen Qiuyu crawled forward on her knees, grabbing his leg.

"My lord, please spare A Yu this once! A Yu never meant to..."

She had warned Prince Jing that the woman was a trap, but he had stubbornly ignored her advice. How could the blame now fall on her?

Shen Qiuyu burned with resentment, but she dared not voice it, only clinging to his leg in desperate plea.

Prince Jing was already seething with rage, and her begging only added fuel to the fire.

He kicked her hard, sending her flying, and barked at the servants, "Bring the whip!"

......

The crack of the whip and screams of pain echoed from the front courtyard to the rear, where the Princess Consort knelt in the small prayer room, her calm face twitching slightly.

Her father was the Grand Preceptor of the court, so Prince Jing dared not touch her—but neither did he favor her.

Since the second year of their marriage, the Princess Consort had lived like a ghost in her own home, well aware of Prince Jing’s abuses but powerless to stop them.

Shen Qiuyu had stayed by Prince Jing’s side the longest—so long that the Princess Consort had almost believed he might grant her a title.

But as the heart-wrenching cries of mercy reached her ears, the Princess Consort pressed her palms together and murmured a prayer.

Another life was about to be snuffed out in this house.