【Oh my heavens! Second Uncle is directly swinging left and right!】

【Still vigorous despite his age! Does this mean he’s already figured out that the new consort has been cheating on him?】

【Wait a minute. I was wondering why Brother and my big nephew brought such a large group of officials here. Could it be they’re here to back up Second Uncle in catching the adulterers?!】

The officials: …

No, no, no—they’re just here to enjoy the gossip and witness the divine powers.

Even though the main event hadn’t started yet, they already felt satisfied.

The more Second Uncle thought about it, the angrier he got. He had treated the Second Prince so well, looking after him at the Imperial Clan Court. Yet, this was the result of his care?

Pointing furiously at the Second Prince, he shouted, “How dare you commit such a shameless act, throwing my household into chaos! Thirty lashes and five months in prison! Do you have anything else to say for yourself?”

System: 【I must argue a little here. It’s true he delivered the green hat, but isn’t it because of this that the Second Uncle’s household has regained some peace?】

Second Uncle, recalling his tigress of a wife, felt a wave of embarrassment. But when he heard someone in the crowd let out a quiet “pfft,” he immediately glared in that direction.

The officials quickly avoided his gaze, and even the Emperor subtly shifted his eyes away.

The Second Prince clenched his fists before suddenly kneeling and kowtowing. “I’ve wronged you, Second Granduncle. I admit my guilt, and I accept the punishment!”

Everyone: !!!

No one had expected the Second Prince to confess so quickly.

The Minister of War murmured, “Even though he falsely claimed I was dead and had my family burn incense for me, I must admit his decisiveness in admitting guilt is commendable and magnanimous.”

Yu Hongyu, the one who suffered the most, muttered discontentedly, “That’s probably because he can hear what’s being said.”

The Minister of Rites said, “Being able to hear doesn’t mean he couldn’t have made excuses or tried to cover it up. His courage to take full responsibility is something many could learn from.”

The Emperor glanced at the Crown Prince and said, “You’ll be in charge of interrogating him about the hidden silver.”

The Crown Prince nodded.

Hearing this, Yuan Ruan became excited and immediately spoke to the system:

【Yay! Once my big nephew finds out where the gold is hidden, will my national fortune mission be complete? System, check where it is!】

The Second Prince, who had just started to rise, was panicking internally. He had already confessed, so why were they still talking about this?!

Suddenly, he stumbled and shouted loudly, “Father! Your son has something important to say!”

But no one paid him any attention.

Everyone’s focus was on Yuan Ruan, and Yuan Ruan’s focus was entirely on the system.

System: 【Let me check. Where has the Second Prince hidden the wealth he’s amassed in recent years?】

“Ah! Ah!” The Second Prince suddenly swayed and collided with a nearby pillar. Blood immediately gushed from his forehead, and his exaggeratedly pitiful state shocked everyone present.

The officials rushed forward, and even the furious Second Uncle knelt to check on him.

Yuan Ruan, perched on the Emperor’s shoulder, craned her neck to look as well.

However, the system was unaffected and continued:

【Hiss! The Second Prince has been keeping a large group of gigolos.】

Everyone: ???

Gigolos?

Was the Second Prince raising a lot of oxen on his property? What was so surprising about that?

Yuan Ruan: 【Huh? Why is he raising gigolos?】

System: 【To curry favor with and manipulate the wives of Da Xia officials!】

The Emperor nearly stumbled.

The Crown Prince, who had just helped the Second Prince up, let go abruptly. With a loud “thud,” the Second Prince fell back to the ground.

The officials, who had previously been enjoying the royal family drama from the sidelines, were now dumbfounded: !!!

At first, they couldn’t believe their ears. But as the realization sank in, they were on the verge of screaming.

What the hell?!

The Second Prince actually recruited a group of men to seduce their wives?!

The Minister of agriculture couldn’t hold back any longer. He charged forward, spat furiously, and shouted, “You, you, you… Pretending to be me to marry a mistress wasn’t enough?! Now you’ve recruited a bunch of men to seduce my wife?! If not for the National Pr—uh, His Highness informing me, how far would you have gone?! Are you trying to destroy my family?!”

The Crown Prince: ?

Great, now the blame for this information was being shifted to him.

The other officials were equally indignant, their pain evident. Some looked like they were on the verge of tears.

Minister Zuo stepped forward and gently pulled Yu Hongyu aside, whispering, “Calm down, sir. He is still a prince. Don’t bring trouble upon yourself.”

The Minister of agriculture turned, his eyes reddened with frustration. “You don’t have a wife, so you wouldn’t understand. This is too much for me to bear.”

For the first time, Zuo was grateful he had spent three years in mourning for his father and hadn’t had the chance to marry.

Though it felt a bit unkind, he couldn’t deny that witnessing others’ misfortunes was immensely satisfying.

At that moment, Yuan Ruan’s inner voice rang out again:

【System, why is the Second Prince doing this?!】

System: 【The Second Prince’s ultimate goal is money. To gain detailed information about Da Xia officials, he used these gigolos to seduce their wives and concubines. Once he gathered this information, he armed his con men with it, enabling them to successfully deceive wealthy merchants’ daughters. For example, if an official wasn’t married, he’d send gigolos to charm their mothers or aunts instead.】

Everyone: !!!

If you’re gathering intelligence, just do it properly! Why resort to such despicable tactics?!

Zuo, who had just been relieved he wasn’t married: …

No, it can’t be.

Yuan Ruan: 【But something still doesn’t add up! Even though Da Xia is relatively open-minded, where men, women, and children can freely wander the streets, wouldn’t it still be suspicious if strange men frequently visited their homes?】

System: 【You’re right! But don’t forget about the opera troupes. Wealthy families in the capital often invite troupes to perform at their homes. The gigolos were hidden among them.】

The other officials were paralyzed. They began mentally calculating how many times they had invited opera troupes to their homes that year.

The Minister of War whispered joyfully, “It seems my wife has never invited an opera troupe to perform at our house!”

The Minister of Revenue, seeing his colleague’s relief, cruelly doused his joy. “Hmm. She often accompanies my wife to watch operas.”

The Minister of War’s smile froze instantly.

Zuo, feeling as though he had been struck by lightning, recalled how much his mother had enjoyed operas in the past two years. She frequently invited troupes to their home. Could it be… could she have been involved too?!

Yuan Ruan, oblivious to the murmured discussions among the officials, found the situation outrageous:

【Even novels wouldn’t dare write something like this! Whoa, why is this Zuo guy suddenly charging at the Second Prince, shouting and trying to beat him up?!】

Zuo, his face flushed, launched himself at the Second Prince. Though he was a scholar with a weak physique, the Second Prince was drunk, so the two ended up evenly matched.

Yuan Ruan: 【Hiss, none of the other officials are stepping in to stop them. In fact, I see someone secretly cheering them on!】

As she spoke, the Minister of War, who had been stealthily tripping the Second Prince, glanced over and saw the Minister of Revenue slowly withdrawing his foot.

Yuan Ruan: 【System, I get it now. Today, Brother and my big nephew didn’t just uncover a problem. Everyone isn’t here to back up Second Uncle—they’re here to catch him in the act too! How tragic. Their rivals were right under their noses, sleeping with their women, sleeping in their beds, and taking their money!】

The officials: …

You’ve hit us where it hurts!

Can you not think like that? It’s genuinely heartbreaking.

Yuan Ruan: 【System, can you figure out where he hid the money?!】

System: 【Of course.】

The Emperor and Crown Prince ignored the commotion and focused their attention on Yuan Ruan.

Upon hearing this, the Second Prince, caught off guard, took a punch from Zuo squarely in the face.

Yet, he didn’t resist. He clenched his fists tightly.

It’s over! Everything is going to be exposed!

---

The term “牛郎” has two meanings:

1. Oxherd (literal, traditional meaning).
2. Male escort (modern slang).