Chapter 141: Wei Xun’s Revenge

**Chapter 141: Wei Xun Strikes Back**

A Yuan didn’t refuse. She was starving by now.

The kitchen had made vegetable and minced meat congee. The meat had been marinated with seasonings, making it flavorful without any off-putting smell, paired with tender greens. A Yuan licked the bowl clean.

Wei Xun dabbed her mouth with a cloth, then used another to wipe her fingers.

“Will you apply the medicine yourself, or shall I?”

The small jar—smaller than her palm—held the familiar white jade ointment. A Yuan remembered how he’d applied it before, her face flushing red as she snatched the jar from his hand.

“I’ll do it myself!”

A smirk flickered in Wei Xun’s eyes before vanishing again.

He stood up, picked up the tray, and walked away, playing dumb about her fluster.

“All right, I’ll be just outside. Call me if you need anything.”

With things still tense between them, he was already grateful she hadn’t pushed him away. He knew better than to press her.

“Mm.”

She mumbled, and Wei Xun wasted no time stepping out and closing the door behind him.

Outside, Chang Yuan and Zhang Feng were already waiting.

“Master,” Zhang Feng greeted with a grin.

“Well?” Clearly, Wei Xun was asking about the shadow guards.

Zhang Feng chuckled. “I led the team guarding the door myself. We kept them locked in for a full day and night—even the top dogs were done for.”

Recalling the grotesque scene when they finally opened the door, Zhang Feng couldn’t help but admire his master’s ruthlessness.

Those men had truly dug their own graves.

“Dump them on the Prime Minister’s doorstep. And make sure they’re breathing!”

Wei Xun ordered coldly.

Zhang Feng’s grin froze for a moment before he shot his master a thumbs-up.

“Savage!”

This wasn’t just revenge on Su Chancellor—it was a humiliation for the entire estate.

His handpicked shadow guards violated by filthy beggars, left rotting at his gates for all to see. This time, Su Chancellor’s face would be dragged through the mud.

“Go now!”

Wei Xun’s expression darkened. After what they put A Yuan through, this was just the start.

He wanted Su Quan to regret ever crossing them—to grovel for A Yuan’s mercy alongside Prince Jing’s faction!

......

Prime Minister’s Estate.

At the servant’s news, Chancellor Su bolted upright from his seat.

"What did you say?"

His eyes bulged with fury, his hands gripping the armrests so tightly his knuckles turned white. He could scarcely believe what he had just heard.

The servant's face was deathly pale, his legs shaking as he choked out the words: "Su Jia and the others... they were brutalized by beggars and... and publicly discarded at the gates of the Prime Minister’s residence."

What he dared not say aloud was that a crowd had already gathered outside the gates—the disgrace of the elite guards had spread like wildfire through the capital.

"Crash!"

A teacup shattered against the stone floor. Prime Minister Su’s expression darkened like a stormcloud. "Who did this?!"

The servant shook his head. "We don’t know."

But even without capturing the culprit, the answer was clear in their hearts.

Xie Zheng was away from the capital—only Wei Xun would dare such a thing.

"Wei Xun!"

Prime Minister Su clenched his teeth, rage burning in his chest.

"You impudent whelp! How dare you humiliate me like this? I vow by heaven and earth, I’ll see you dead!"

Their enmity had reached a point of no return—only Wei Xun’s blood could quench his wrath.

Yet this time, Prime Minister Su was fated to fall short.

"My lord, an imperial edict-bearer has arrived!"

......

Su Quan’s clandestine arms production had been uncovered, the evidence undeniable. After Su Wenxuan arrived in Lingnan, he had been secretly protected and helped to escape. For years, he had been forging weapons for Su Quan in secret.

Had Wei Xun not unearthed the proof, the Su family would have seized the throne within five years.

When the evidence was laid before him, Emperor Chengyuan raged like a storm.

Nothing enraged him more than men craving the Dragon Throne—he had banished his own heirs for scheming, let alone a mere minister.

"Slaughter Su Quan’s line!"

The wrath of the emperor meant rivers of blood.

Every Su clansman, hundreds strong, fell to sword or exile, plunging the court into turmoil.

Even the imperial harem was not spared—Noble Consort Su was paralyzed with terror.

She clutched the princess beside her, kneeling outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation for two *shi chen*, yet the great doors remained sealed shut.

"Mother, my legs ache… I cannot bear it any longer."

The spoiled princess whimpered, her endurance spent.

Noble Consort Su herself was no better off—her knees screamed in agony.

But the Prime Minister’s family had been condemned, and Prince Jing exiled to the desolate royal tombs. They were no longer the once-favored royals of the palace.

"Endure, my heart… endure just a little longer. His Majesty will show mercy soon."

Emperor Chengyuan cherished no child as dearly as her—surely, his mercy would prevail.

But she had miscalculated the emperor's heart. No matter how fond Emperor Chengyuan was of Su Jinsheng, his affection could never outweigh the importance of his throne.

The Su family had committed the grave crime of treason. That he spared the lives of Noble Consort Su and her daughter was already an act of mercy.

In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Empress Zhang stood beside Emperor Chengyuan, massaging his temples.

She was slow-witted by nature, never having been favored by Emperor Chengyuan, and her massage skills were awkward and unpracticed.

But Emperor Chengyuan was willing to indulge her—what did it matter if she couldn't give a proper massage?

Having been in the palace for decades, this was the first time Empress Zhang had been so close to Emperor Chengyuan.

Flustered by the attention, she babbled on excitedly.

"Chen’er has been at the general’s manor these days. Not only have his martial arts improved, but he’s even eating two extra bowls at meals."

Emperor Chengyuan had long known about Zhou Chen’s loss of appetite. He had even sent court physicians to examine him, but none could pinpoint the cause.

Now, after staying at the general’s manor, his condition had improved. Emperor Chengyuan raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Could the food at the general’s manor be better than what we serve in the palace?"

The Son of Heaven joking with her—Empress Zhang was flustered, her hands moving even more carefully.

"It’s not about the food. It’s all thanks to Miss Xie from the Xie household. Somehow, despite Chen’er’s stubbornness—no matter how much the Crown Prince’s consort and I urged him—he would only listen to that Miss Xie."

"The Crown Prince’s consort hoped he would eat more, so she sent him to study under the general. And just like that, his loss of appetite was cured."

"Miss Xie?" Emperor Chengyuan recalled A Man.

That girl was about the same age as Jinsheng, yet lacked Jinsheng’s spoiled arrogance. She was clever and well-behaved.

"She is indeed bright and quick-witted. Open the imperial treasury and present her with that pair of jade ruyi ornaments."

A eunuch bowed and left. As the doors of the Hall of Mental Cultivation opened, Noble Consort Su and her daughter hurriedly looked up.

"Eunuch Wang, is His Majesty going to see us?"

This time, she didn’t even use the royal 'we'—her former arrogance was gone.

Eunuch Wang stroked his horsetail whisk and gave an imperceptible scoff.

"His Majesty ordered this old servant to open the treasury to reward Miss Xie. If Your Highness is tired from kneeling, perhaps you should return first. When His Majesty wishes to see you, he will send for you."

With the fall of the Su family, Noble Consort Su’s chances of regaining favor were vanishingly small.

Meanwhile, the previously overlooked Crown Prince’s faction had now caught Emperor Chengyuan’s attention.

Great Zhou’s fortunes... were turning.

Though Eunuch Wang didn’t spell it out, Noble Consort Su was shrewd enough to grasp his meaning.

Emperor Chengyuan had no intention of meeting them. The two of them were likely to be consigned to the cold palace.

"Mother!"

Noble Consort Su collapsed to the ground, alarming the young princess, who rushed to support her.

Clutching her daughter’s arm with desperate strength, Noble Consort Su’s eyes were vacant. "Sheng’er... it’s over for us."