Chapter 111

Chapter 111

Meanwhile, Han Zhang comforted his husband, Shen Qinglan, while secretly plotting his revenge, and at the same time began investigating the past matters concerning his fifth aunt.

Elsewhere.

With the Crown Prince stepping in, it was naturally impossible for the Zheng family to seek justice for Zheng Yufu.

At this moment, Emperor Taixuan and the Crown Prince were enjoying a close father-son relationship; neither the Favorite Consort nor the Fifth Prince could compare to the Crown Prince's standing.

As expected, Emperor Taixuan not only failed to favor the Zheng family but instead gave Zheng Guifei and her son a severe dressing-down.

The mother and son returned to their palace in disgrace.

The Fifth Prince burned with rage, smashing things around him:

"Why? Why does Father favor Eldest Brother when we're all his sons? Fine, he made him Crown Prince, but why favor him in everything? Today, he humiliated me, a prince, for the sake of some outsider—how can Father be so biased!"

Zheng Guifei was equally resentful: "Tell me about it! We're all of imperial blood—why should the Empress's children be considered nobler?"

"That Shen Qinglan is just the son of a fifth-rank minor official, and now just the husband of a scholar. Yufu, however, is my own niece, and has been granted the title of County Lady—so why is he untouchable?"

"And he even dared to fight back! Such defiance of superiors—and His Majesty doesn't punish him, but scolds me for poor discipline instead?"

Absolutely infuriating!

At that, the Fifth Prince grew even more exasperated, turning to glare at Zheng Guifei: "Mother! You still dare to defend Cousin Yufu? Wasn't today's disaster caused by her arrogance?"

"How many times have I told you to have Uncle rein Cousin in? And what good did it do?"

"She's ruined those young masters and ladies before, and I haven't even finished cleaning up the mess with the officials she offended. And now she goes and provokes Shen Geer!"

"Mother, do you know who Shen Qinglan's father is? It's Shen Houde—that ruthless beast!"

Zheng Guifei was good at currying favor but not well-versed in court politics.

She waved it off dismissively: "Ruthless beast? Isn't he just some minor fifth-rank official? I've heard His Majesty mention this Lord Shen a lot lately, but so what?"

"Is the dignity of a fifth-rank official greater than that of a noble consort who gave birth to a prince?"

Seeing how lightly his mother took it, the Fifth Prince sneered: "An ordinary fifth-rank official naturally can't compare to Mother's status. But that Shen Houde is a notoriously ruthless figure at court, known for doing what no one else dares to."

"People at court despise him and fear him, but they can't do without his sharp blade—and he's got plenty of protectors..."

"He now serves as Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Transmission. Do you know what the Office of Transmission is? All memorials from the entire empire pass through his hands. If Shen Houde were to tamper with them, Mother, how much do you think my influence would suffer?"

Then.

The Fifth Prince's eyes darkened: "And that Han Qinzhang. Though I don't know exactly how capable he is, given how Father and Eldest Brother value him, plus the rumors from the Imperial Academy, this man is definitely a major talent."

"Now that we've made an enemy of him, if he fully sides with Eldest Brother, he'll become a huge asset to the Eastern Palace."

"Then... what do we do?"

Zheng Guifei finally realized how serious this was and panicked.

No matter how much she cared for her own family or doted on her niece, nothing mattered more than her son's future.

"Let me discuss this with my advisors before we decide. Mother, send two disciplining matrons from the palace to Uncle's house to keep Cousin Yufu under tight watch. If she causes any more trouble—"

The Fifth Prince's eyes turned icy: "Then she can't blame her cousin for cutting ties with her."

The Zheng family had low standing and no capable members to support them, relying on him, their nephew, for advancement.

And now they were dragging him down instead of helping.

Being saddled with such maternal relatives was truly rotten luck.

...

While the Fifth Prince was still secretly plotting against Han Zhang, Han Zhang had already made the first move, starting his revenge.

Given his current status and position, he naturally couldn't act openly or leave any traces.

So.

Han Zhang used the "accident" trick again.

He snuck into Zheng Yufu's husband's estate, and while she was strolling in the garden, he made her trip. As she fell, he used the weeds on the ground to slash her face—

Zheng Yufu loved ruining other people's looks, didn't she?

Then let her taste what it's like to have her own beauty destroyed!

As for her life, Han Zhang saw no need to end it.

Not because he was soft-hearted, but because this woman was arrogant and stupid, making enemies left and right. Keeping her alive would leave the Zheng family and the Fifth Prince with endless trouble to clean up.

As for Miss He, she was the scheming one—she absolutely could not be left alive.

Besides, the He family was weak, and no one was paying attention to Miss He. Even if she died, no one would suspect him.

Han Zhang didn't hesitate for long. He snuck into the He residence the same way and used his Power to drain most of Miss He's vitality.

Within a month, she would surely die of depleted blood and vital energy. Even if a physician examined her, they'd only diagnose a weak constitution and find no trace of foul play.

Sure enough, when Zheng Yufu "accidentally" fell and disfigured herself, neither the Zheng family nor Zheng Guifei and her son suspected Han Zhang.

After all, with so many witnesses present, there were no grounds for blame!

Most importantly, the Fifth Prince thought this was a good thing.

"Since Cousin has injured her face, she can stay quietly at home from now on, and save herself from going out to cause trouble. As for her husband's family... with my backing, they wouldn't dare mistreat her."

Zheng Yufu's husband's family indeed wouldn't dare mistreat her—after all, with her domineering nature, she was the one doing the bullying.

But the Fifth Prince wanted this cousin to behave—yet Zheng Yufu simply couldn't stay put!

"My face... how could my face end up like this?"

Zheng Yufu was utterly devastated as she looked at her disfigured face.

Her appearance was what she valued most, having ruined the looks of several young masters and ladies who were prettier than her. Now being a monster was worse than death to her.

"Shen Qinglan... it was Shen Qinglan who harmed me! It was he who injured me, making me hurt so much that I stumbled and fell!"

"And He Lingshuang... yes, and that bitch He Lingshuang. If she hadn't been nagging in my ear that day, I wouldn't have been so impulsive as to go looking for trouble with Shen Qinglan."

Zheng Yufu recalled the words Miss He had used to provoke her that day, and suddenly a flash of insight struck her—she finally had a clever thought.

The Zheng family pressed on, asking: "What about He Lingshuang? Yufu, what happened between you and Shen Qinglan that day, and what does the He family's daughter have to do with it?"

"Yes, it was that bitch He Lingshuang. She was the one who first whispered in my ear about Shen Qinglan..."

Zheng Yufu then recounted the whole incident.

Hearing this, the Zheng family scolded angrily: "Fool! Why didn't you mention such a crucial matter earlier? That He Lingshuang was clearly using you as a pawn—she set you up!"

"I... I was so mad at the time, how could I think about all that... That bitch He Lingshuang, I'm going to settle the score with her right now!"

Zheng Yufu, both angry and aggrieved, hitched up her skirt and stormed off to the He house to blow off steam.

The Zheng family didn't try to stop her.

Since the He girl dared to scheme against their daughter, she deserved a lesson.

Yufu was just a young girl, after all—she wouldn't beat anyone to death.

And then...

The Zheng family got proven wrong.

Because Han Zhang's Power had already drained most of Miss He's vitality, she was now weak. No matter how weak Zheng Yufu was, she was still a grown adult.

In her rage, a few slaps were all it took—Miss He couldn't take it and died on the spot.

The Zheng family: ...

The Fifth Prince was left speechless: ...

When Shen Qinglan heard the news, his face went pale with shock:

"Zheng Yufu actually... actually dared to beat someone to death in broad daylight, in front of everyone?"

Qiao Dong and the others were just as scared: "It's absolutely true. They say Lady Fu was super strong—a few slaps and Miss He was dead on the spot."

"Good thing you've trained in martial arts since you were a kid, sturdy as an ox, or you might've met the same fate that day..."

Shen Qinglan flushed red: ...What do you mean, sturdy as an ox? Where am I sturdy?

He was clearly graceful and elegant, as light as a startled swan—his husband loved to get his hands on him!

Qiao Dong and the others really didn't know how to talk.

He shot an annoyed glare at the page boys who'd misspoken, then waved his hand: "Enough, this matter has nothing to do with us. No matter what, He Lingshuang was a daughter of an official family. For Zheng Yufu to so blatantly beat her to death—even if the Favorite Consort and the prince plead for her, His Majesty will never let her off lightly."

"But let's not talk about her anymore. The matter I asked you to investigate about Fifth Aunt—have you gotten any results?"

For events from over thirty years ago, under the current circumstances, relying on Han's mother to investigate slowly was way too slow.

But for those with power and influence, finding out the truth was much easier.

Especially since those involved were just ordinary folk with weak resolve—a little intimidation was enough to make them spill everything.

"Master, the investigation is complete. There are indeed hidden secrets in Fifth Aunt's matter!"

Qiao Dong and the others straightened their expressions and quickly summoned the steward who had handled the matter to report in detail.