Chapter 26: Get Lost! Chatting doesn’t count as cheating!

The Crown Prince walked over and patted the Minister of Justice’s shoulder: “Condolences?”

After all, he had heard that the Minister of Justice’s wife was of low status. With her strong personality, no one could bully her, and her family doted on her… The Minister of Justice could only swallow this bitter fruit.

Tsk tsk, no wonder Xu Yanmiao was so emotional; these monks really know how to pick clients.

[There’s even more! The wife not only went herself but also recommended it to her close friends, who then recommended it to their friends…]

[I… I’m going to laugh myself to death. So that’s how reputation is built!]

Those who could laugh, besides Xu Yanmiao, were really few.

Several officials thought of their own wives being close friends of the Minister of Justice’s wife, or friends of friends, or friends of friends of friends…

Xu Yanmiao continued flipping through the gossip and suddenly had a revelation: [Yulong Temple… Hahaha, I understand now, Yulong! Hahaha! So it’s Yulong Temple!]

“Pfft, cough cough—”

The old emperor choked on his water, coughing uncontrollably.

Yulong…

The old emperor’s face twisted.

No! I don’t want to understand this!

The court was in an uproar.

“This…”

“How could it be this Yulong…”

“Such an affront to decency! It’s truly disgraceful!”

“This temple must be shut down! I’ll submit a memorial to His Majesty when I return!”

Officials who were affectionate with their wives never worried about cuckoldry, but some officials who were indifferent to their wives or had poor skills were turning green with envy. They desperately searched their memories for any signs at home, revealing whether their wives were faithful or not.

— They didn’t dare to speculate wildly either, as their father-in-law, who was also an official, watched them with a cold, threatening gaze, as if to say anyone who accused his precious daughter would be met with severe consequences.

And the already confirmed Minister of Justice’s wife…

The Minister of Justice’s father and brothers surrounded him.

“Good son-in-law, don’t be afraid. No matter how she misbehaves outside, we only recognize you as our son-in-law!”

“Brother-in-law, women are all playful. As long as you keep the home well, she will settle down sooner or later.”

The Minister of Justice: You’re full of crap! Why don’t you let your wife go out and have fun?!

Familiar lines were recited one by one, every line something he or his parents had said to his wife. Seeing his father-in-law and elder brother-in-law pressing down on him with their official robes, he restrained himself and cupped his hands: “Indeed. My wife… she’s still young…”

…

“Hahaha—” A burst of laughter rang out.

The crowd instinctively thought: Xu Yanmiao laughed out loud?

The second thought was: This is bad! How do we cover this up? Can we say he ate poisonous mushrooms and is hallucinating?

Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t Xu Yanmiao; it was the Marquis of Jian.

The old emperor blurted out: “Finally, someone’s gone mad?”

The officials: “…”

No, Your Majesty, what’s with that tone of someone enjoying the spectacle?

The old emperor coughed twice: “What are you looking at?”

Watching the fun!

The Marquis of Jian laughed and pointed at the beautiful woman, his tone fierce: “You all wait! Especially you, filthy monk! Your lewd temple activities are now known to His Majesty and all the officials! Prepare for your temple to be sealed and you filthy monks to be sent to labor!”

The beautiful woman’s expression shifted subtly for a moment before she said nothing.

It was at this moment that the dashing abbot arrived.

He first bowed to the emperor.

As he moved, his undeniably superior figure came into view.

The expressions of the men were quite complex, a mix of shock and admiration, with an undercurrent of self-deprecation.

Only Xu Yanmiao, the traitor, was still enthusiastic: [Wow! That physique, no wonder he’s in this line of work! He must exercise every day, so dedicated!]

The officials were agitated: Traitor!!!

In a corner they hadn’t noticed, some noble ladies drawn by the commotion were staring at the master, unwilling to look away.

Some of the noble ladies who had never been to Yulong Temple were already angry.

Such a good place! Why wasn’t it recommended to the sisters! What, do you think I don’t have money?!

Influenced by the Hu people, the Zhou Dynasty had an open atmosphere, and the concept of female chastity was generally relaxed. The “Book of Zhou” contains several examples of empresses choosing talented and handsome male concubines due to their dissatisfaction with court loneliness.

One of the most shocking examples is Emperor Jing of Zhou, who publicly invited certain court officials into the palace for meetings and was displeased when his mother, Empress Dowager Ling, castrated handsome men and placed them in the palace. He thought his mother was causing turmoil in the palace and, in conjunction with some officials, had all her male concubines killed, which led to Empress Dowager Ling’s displeasure and resulted in Emperor Jing’s poisoning.

Such incidents are also found in historical records, where empresses, concubines, and even princesses maintained male lovers. Even during periods of widowhood, they still met with handsome men. These events have led to a societal shift from embarrassment to numbness.

This open atmosphere continued until the later period of the dynasty.

In the Daxia Dynasty, only thirty-two years since its founding, the influence of the previous dynasty was still strong. Although openly indulging was not allowed, it was not uncommon for noble ladies to privately keep male lovers.

Yulong Temple capitalized on this “business opportunity.”

The dashing abbot stood before the Marquis of Jian but, seeing the Marquis’s murderous expression and his eight sons and several male relatives nearby, he gauged the disparity between the two sides and calmly stepped back two or three steps before speaking: “This benefactor, what lewd temple? How dare you slander us!”

He subtly puffed out his chest: “Yulong Temple is not as you say! Our monks are merely impressive in appearance, knowledgeable in music, good at singing and dancing, and strong and understanding!”

Seeing the evident interest on the faces of the surrounding ladies, he satisfiedly withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the Marquis of Jian with righteous indignation: “Marquis! Though you are a high official, and we are humble people from outside the realm, we cannot allow you to slander us!”

He spoke with conviction: “We are merely compassionate and kind, seeing the ladies who come to offer incense with troubled brows and helping them with their worries!”

The clear sky and bright sunlight reflected off his clean-shaven head, nearly blinding the Marquis of Jian.

However, Xu Yanmiao could attest to this.

[What he says… isn’t entirely wrong. Many noble ladies who come to Yulong Temple are indeed looking for the ‘speaking flower’… um, the ‘speaking grass.’]

The green-faced officials: Do we look like we’re happy?

Is chatting considered cheating now?!

So who exactly is it, sob sob sob sob!

Xu Yanmiao, please, tell us, at least let us understand!

Those officials who weren’t green-faced also turned to Xu Yanmiao, eager to hear!

The Marquis of Jian didn’t want to hear!!!

The Marquis of Jian went berserk.

“Beat! Beat these adulterers to death!”

The beautiful woman’s family seemed to have few descendants, and now only had a few male relatives around. The Marquis of Jian’s side had thirteen big men, so the balance was clearly off.

— There were indeed many guards, but both sides had guards, so the strength was unclear.

However, the Marquis’s eight sons looked troubled and hesitant.

— After all, it was their biological mother!

Xu Yanmiao wondered: [What are these Eight Great Vajras doing? The Marquis of Jian isn’t their biological father.]

The Eight Great Vajras: “……”

Realization dawned!

Then, “Boom boom boom boom—” like a group of iron bulls, they ran in front of their mother, glaring at the Marquis of Jian.

[Very good.] Xu Yanmiao commented: [Different bloodlines, different attacking and defending dynamics!]

The Daxia court officials: “……”

Isn’t shouting and fighting a bit disrespectful to the officials/colleagues?

The Crown Prince pounded his thigh: “Ah! Why just talk and not act?”

The old emperor: “Cough cough!”

The Crown Prince: “Ah, they’re fighting! Hiss, really using force! But why are only the guards fighting? Where are the masters? Aren’t they going to join in, or do they hide behind the soldiers during battle too?”

The old emperor: “Cough cough cough!”

[Probably scared, after all, it’s ten against five right now.]

The old emperor: “Cough cough cough cough!”

The Crown Prince: “That guard! He’s actually using monkey steals the peach! Too excessive! The person on the other side looks young, not sure if they have children. If they get hurt, it’s a crime… Oh no! That double-finger poke to the eyes is severe! Oh no! How did it get dodged!”

The old emperor: “Cough cough cough cough cough!”

Xu Yanmiao: [Monkey steals the peach? Where? Where!]

The old emperor: “Cough cough cough cough cough cough!”

The Crown Prince: “Over there…”

The old emperor: “Cough cough cough cough cough cough cough!”

This persistent cough finally caught the attention of the onlookers, and they both turned around.

The Crown Prince hesitated for a moment and reluctantly reached into his sleeve pocket, offering a handful of melon seeds: “Want some?”

The old emperor glared.

Is that what I meant to say!

Taking the melon seeds, he cracked one. “Pfft—” The old emperor spat out the seed husk and pointed to the scene: “This fight is not as good as when I was younger. If I were in that position…”

The Marquis of Jian roared in anger: “Bastard! Wretch, do you think I’m afraid of you just because you have eight more bastards!”

The Marquis of Jian shouted: “Attack—”

Suddenly feeling something was wrong, he looked around.

Hmm???

Where is everyone? Why is it empty?

Turning back, he found that all his accompanying brothers and men had stepped back in unison, leaving a large gap around him.

The Marquis of Jian’s face instantly darkened: “What are you doing! Fight!”

The brothers and men looked at each other, silently taking a few more steps back.

What a joke, there are so many strong men on the other side!

Caught off guard, the Marquis of Jian quickly looked at his elder brother—the only one who hadn’t moved and was injured: “Brother! You’re my real elder brother!”

His elder brother: “That’s right, I’m your real brother, not a fool going to his death.”