Chapter 18

Feng Yaoguang couldn’t be bothered to deal with this foolish noblewoman who didn’t understand the plight of the common people.

All the members of the Chu family, young and old, were brought into the spacious courtyard. The sudden confiscation of their property caught everyone off guard.

The children of the Chu family were in a panic, their cries incessant.

“Yan Donghuang, under whose orders are you acting? What evidence do you have to prove the Chu family embezzled funds?” Chu Yuanzheng was furious. “Without an imperial decree, you have no right to bring soldiers to confiscate the property of a high-ranking official. This is treason!”

“The evidence will be presented to you later,” Yan Donghuang said indifferently. “As for whose orders… that’s a good question. Let me tell you, I am the order. Not only your Chu family but even the grand imperial palace, I can confiscate if I wish.”

The Chu family members were shocked upon hearing this.

Chu Yuanzheng suddenly realized that Yan Donghuang indeed intended to rebel!

Although they didn’t understand why her rebellion came so suddenly, her intentions were clear. Today, she mobilized the Qingluan army. Whether it was mobilizing troops without permission or confiscating an official’s residence without a decree, it was all an act of rebellion.

Chu Yuanzheng was horrified. Had Yan Donghuang gone mad?

“Your Highness,” he knelt outside the hall, trying to calm himself. “My father has always been loyal to the Emperor, following his orders in everything and never embezzling military funds. If someone has slandered us before you, they must have ill intentions. Moreover, the Empress Dowager has treated you like her own daughter these past years, and we have always regarded you as our own sister—”

“Sister?” Feng Yaoguang walked up to him and slapped him hard across the face. “The Grand Princess is your sovereign, and you are her subject. How dare you shamelessly call the Grand Princess your sister? Are you courting death?”

The heavy slap was merciless, knocking the eldest son of the Chu family to the ground, his cheek quickly swelling.

“Brother!” Chu Yuanxiao cried out in shock, then angrily glared at Feng Yaoguang. “How dare you!”

Feng Yaoguang, filled with hatred, kicked him in the chest.

Madam Chu screamed, “Yuanzheng, Yuanxiao!”

Chu Yuanxiao was kicked to the ground, his internal organs feeling displaced, his face pale with cold sweat.

Feng Yaoguang’s eyes were filled with hatred as he looked at these parasites who had grown up in luxury. Old and new grudges surged in his heart, and he wished he could send them all to hell with a single stroke.

A bunch of scum.

Chu Yuanzheng, ignoring his pain, cried out, “The Empress Dowager’s love for the Grand Princess is genuine. If the Grand Princess listens to slander, it will break our hearts…”

“Do you think bringing up past affections will soften the Grand Princess’s heart?” Feng Yaoguang sneered, “That old woman treated the Grand Princess well only to help her son ascend the throne. But once he became Emperor, they began to fear the Grand Princess’s military power and wanted to discard her. But they were too impatient.”

If they had waited another year or so, the Grand Princess might have lost her power to resist.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps approached.

“Your Highness,” Mo Lin came in, dragging a man who was covered in wounds. “This man was found in Chu Yuanzheng’s room.”

Chu Yuanzheng turned to look, and his eyes widened in shock. “He is just a servant of the Chu family. He made a mistake, and I was punishing him—”

“Shut up,” Feng Yaoguang ordered impatiently. “Gag him.”

A subordinate immediately tore a piece of cloth from Chu Yuanzheng’s clothes and stuffed it into his mouth. Chu Yuanzheng struggled, but his efforts were futile against the trained soldiers, and he was quickly silenced.

Yan Donghuang ignored Chu Yuanzheng’s reaction and looked at the man. “Bring him in.”

Mo Lin helped the man up and half-dragged him into the hall, where he knelt weakly, his head bowed, revealing a slender, pale neck.

Yan Donghuang looked at the wounded man. “Raise your head.”

The man slowly lifted his head, his movements stiff and accompanied by the faint sound of chains.

Yan Donghuang noticed the golden chain on his wrist, not the heavy shackles used for punishment, but a delicate golden chain that still restricted movement.

Yan Donghuang narrowed her eyes, realizing the man was very young, no more than eighteen or nineteen. He was tall but thin, with a fragile appearance. His face was beautiful, almost too beautiful for a man. His disheveled hair, pale, sickly skin, and whip marks on his body immediately suggested a hidden, unspeakable hobby.

Yan Donghuang’s expression remained indifferent. “What is your name?”

“Mingzhu.”

“Mingzhu?” Feng Yaoguang frowned, looking him up and down. “You don’t look like a Mingzhu.”

Despite his miserable state, the young man responded woodenly, “The eldest son said I am his Mingzhu, so he named me Mingzhu.”

Feng Yaoguang frowned. “What was your original name?”

“…I forgot.”

“Your Highness! Your Highness!” A woman’s desperate cries came from outside. “He is a son of the Chu family, but he has always been treated as a servant. Please spare him. He has done nothing wrong. He has suffered all his life… Your Highness, I beg you, spare him!”

Madam Chu’s face changed dramatically. She turned and shouted, “You wretch, shut up!”

Yan Donghuang looked outside.

“Since we have time,” she said calmly, “Yaoguang, bring that woman in.”

Feng Yaoguang obeyed and soon returned with a woman.

The woman, about forty years old, dressed plainly, her beauty overshadowed by her haggard appearance, exuded a long-suffering humility and fear.

“Your Highness!” She knelt and cried, not daring to cry too loudly. “He is my son, a son of the Chu family, but he has lived a life worse than death. Please spare him. He has done nothing wrong. He doesn’t even know what the outside world looks like…”

“Don’t the Chu family’s illegitimate children need to be recorded in the family register?” Yan Donghuang asked indifferently.

The woman, not daring to look at Madam Chu, almost prostrated herself. “I dare not hope for such a thing. I only wish for him to live, just to live…”