Aside from receiving some rewards during festivals, Fuchang Bo’s Mansion hadn’t gotten an imperial decree in years. After all, Fuchang Bo didn’t hold any office in court, nor did he stir up any major trouble. Emperor Jiawen had pretty much forgotten that this idle nobleman even existed among the ranks of the meritorious aristocracy.

When Shen Yi’an heard the news, he was stunned for a moment. Then he immediately recalled the bizarre four-day city lockdown, and how on the first day of the lockdown, the commander of the Eastern Palace Guards had mumbled something vague about the servants of his household running around causing trouble.

…Could it be that someone in his household had gotten mixed up in some huge mess while he was completely in the dark? A chill ran down Shen Yi’an’s spine. At this point, he didn’t even have time to scold his son anymore. As he adjusted his robes, he hurriedly rushed out the door, anxious beyond measure.

Liu Yufu was briefly stunned. She hadn’t expected her whole aggressive storm-in-to-demand-answers tactic to end so quickly and messily. This was way off from what she had planned. But since the imperial edict had arrived, she couldn’t exactly block Shen Yi’an from leaving either.

Still, why did the palace decree show up just at this moment? A bad premonition crept over Liu Yufu’s heart as she quietly cast a glance at the eldest young master lying on the bed.

Today, this eldest young master seemed like a whole different person—he actually dared to talk to Boye like that… Could it be that a near-death experience really could change someone’s entire personality? That wouldn’t be a good thing for her at all.

The eldest young master still didn’t even spare her a single glance. Instead, he pointed at the maids and attendants standing nearby: “Zhan, Wan, Die,” he paused to think, “go call that… Cup over.”

Zhan Er and Xiao Wan blinked, confused: “?” Who?

Shen Qian coughed lightly. “Gongzi, are you trying to call Pan Er?”

“Ah, right, that Plate,” Li Xun’s face darkened. “Haven’t seen her these past few days. What, she’s too good to show up now? I guess my room’s not holy enough to accommodate a living Buddha like her.”

Hearing that, Liu Yufu’s heart sank when she thought of what Pan Er and Yang Mei had done. She didn’t dare linger any longer in Ganlin Courtyard and quickly chased after Shen Yi’an.

Zhan Er and Xiao Wan left to fetch her. Shen Qian stayed behind to serve Ye Gui, carefully tucking in his blanket. He couldn’t help but ask, “Gongzi, why did you suddenly bring up marriage to Boye?”

Li Xun didn’t think much of it. In his view, it was only natural for a ger of age to get married. Reaching seventeen without a match already meant Shen Yi’an was being a pretty lousy father: “What’s wrong with getting married? This whole Fuchang Bo’s Mansion is like a stinky swamp. What’s there to stick around for? That Liu Yiniang isn’t all that clever either. Raised a Shen Chun who’s a total fool. The mother and son together don’t even have half a brain. And yet Fuchang Bo eats it all up like candy. What does that tell you? That Fuchang Bo’s heart is biased.”

“There’s nothing harder in this world than fighting for fairness when people’s hearts are already tilted. If Fuchang Bo is already biased, then whatever Liu Shi does will always be right, and whatever I do will always be wrong. So why waste my time struggling in this filthy swamp? I’d rather find another place to live.”

And honestly, he wasn’t wrong. Even in the modern world—or the cultivation world for that matter—Shen Qian had come to agree. In his past missions, most of the original hosts had been trapped in small, stifling environments and tangled relationships that led to their suffering.

Truth was, once you stepped out of the sect, out of the dorm, out of school—there was a whole big wide world out there. Looking back, all those old grudges would seem so laughable and small.

But… the premise was that you could actually leave!

In this ancient world, women and gers couldn’t just walk out on a whim. For many, marriage was simply moving from one prison to another. If you got lucky and married into a good family, fine. But could you really bet everything on luck and someone else’s character?

This Ye Gui must’ve either never married in their past life, or married well and was loved by their husband. Strong-tempered and combative as they were, they were still way too optimistic when it came to marriage. Shen Qian couldn’t help but shake his head, determined to dissuade Li Xun from casually marrying off this body—at least not until he got it back!

“Even your own biological father treats you like this—how can you be so sure your future husband’s family will be better? And with Boye’s reputation in the capital right now… what kind of decent marriage could you even hope for?”

Li Xun casually replied, “Of course I’ll…” After all, he’d spent a few days being Fuchang Bo’s eldest young master. Out of respect for this strange journey, he’d find this ger a good match when he got back—maybe even take care of those little maids and attendants. Fate brought them together, after all. He’d make sure they were all settled.

But then Xiao Die’s words suddenly came back to him. With Fuchang Bo’s ridiculous character, other noble families in the capital probably wouldn’t even want to marry into him. And if he acted as matchmaker, people might go along only because it was an imperial order—resentfully.

At the end of the day, the eldest young master still had to live that life himself. Could a crown prince really meddle in his subordinates’ marriage affairs all the time?

Tch. So hard just trying to do a good deed—why was everything such a pain?

That little attendant was still staring up at him with those big round eyes. Li Xun suddenly got annoyed and waved his hand. “Forget it, forget it. We’ll talk about this later.”

He was already in a bad mood. And to make things worse, he waited almost another half hour before Zhan Er and Xiao Wan finally dragged Pan Er over.

Zhan Er panted, “That little hoof wasn’t even in the courtyard these past few days. We had to go to her parents’ place to find out she was hiding out there, being lazy. And when she heard Gongzi was calling her, she actually tried to make excuses not to come. We had to drag her back.”

Shen Qian looked over—sure enough, Pan Er’s clothes were messy, her hair half-loose, head hung low, not saying a word like she’d just been yanked out of bed.

Li Xun had only intended to clean house at Ganlin Courtyard, kick out the ones that were hard to use or clearly placed by Liu Yiniang. But when he saw Pan Er, he realized she was the one who had been on lookout that day—what a coincidence.

He immediately sneered, “Tie her up and throw her into the lake. Let her soak for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, then fish her out. No need to call a doctor. If she’s still alive after a month, send her to the manor to do hard labor.”

Pan Er’s face went white with shock. She’d been hiding at home ever since that day, knowing eldest young master had gone nuts and almost drowned third young master. She’d been praying Liu Yiniang would return soon and transfer her elsewhere.

Once she left Ganlin Courtyard, and with Liu Yiniang protecting her, she figured even eldest young master wouldn’t be able to do anything.

Even if he tattled to Boye, she had her excuses—after all, she hadn’t laid a hand on anyone, just kept watch. Eldest young master probably didn’t even see her. Who would’ve thought he wouldn’t even ask a single question and just skip straight to punishment!

Shen Qian turned to grab some rope. Zhan Er hesitated. “But… the eunuch from the palace is still in the mansion. Maybe we should…”

Pan Er looked at Zhan Er with hope—she was the softest and kindest of them all.

Zhan Er said, “Maybe we should tie her up first, and soak her after the eunuch leaves?” Boye’s scolding had been cut short by the arrival of the imperial decree—maybe there’d be more punishment afterward. If they disturbed the eunuch too, things would get even messier.

She was scared too. Pan Er could end up dead, and that was a whole human life. But thinking of what Pan Er had done—if not for Xiao Die risking her life to get medicine, Gongzi might be the one dead right now. So her heart was full of nothing but resentment.

But Li Xun wasn’t afraid of any eunuch. “Doesn’t matter. Just soak her.”

Seeing Shen Qian closing in with the rope, Pan Er finally screamed, “Gongzi, what did I do wrong—”

Li Xun: “Noisy. Gag her.”

Xiao Wan quickly stuffed a handkerchief into her mouth. The group flailed around, finally managing to tie her up tightly.

“You double-crossing traitor. You know what you did,” Li Xun sneered. “Bring everyone in Ganlin Courtyard to the lake. Let’s see if that Liu woman dares come rescue her. Let everyone see what happens to a servant who betrays their master.”

“Yang Mei, Shen Chun, Shen Song, Liu Yufu…” His Highness the Crown Prince coldly listed their names one by one. “Just wait. Not a single one of you is getting away. Every last one of you is gonna get a taste of the water I’ve soaked.”

---

Meanwhile, Liu Yufu had no time to worry about Pan Er’s life or death. She was kneeling outside the main hall, shaking like a leaf, about to collapse.

Inside the hall, the eunuch from the palace was still reciting the imperial reprimand to Fuchang Bo—had been going at it for a full half hour.

“Favoring whores,” “causing chaos in the rear court due to indulgence,” “plotting to usurp the heir’s birthright”…

Every word landed squarely on Shen Yi’an and Liu Yufu’s faces like a slap.

Shen Yi’an was drenched in sweat. He barely made it through the scolding. The eunuch then flipped the script, smiling as he helped him up. “Boye, please don’t take offense. I’m just carrying out His Majesty’s orders. Hope you’ll forgive me.”

How could Shen Yi’an dare blame him? He wiped his forehead, nervous as hell, and handed over a thick stack of silver notes. “Zhang Gonggong, you jest. Sorry you had to witness this mess. But please, could you explain—why has His Majesty suddenly… I swear, I’m being wrongly accused here!”

Zhang Taijian took one look at the notes’ thickness and face value. Satisfied, he tucked them into his sleeve with a grin. “Honestly, Boye, you are being wronged. But you know how it is—those censors and inspectors, if they can’t turn in their monthly quota of cases, they get fined. Someone must’ve been desperate and used you to fill their numbers.”

If you asked Zhang Taijian, Fuchang Bo was already pretty lucky. Most of those desperate officials prowled like vultures at month’s end, just waiting for noble families to slip up. Even something like a household servant arguing on the street could get twisted into ‘failing to manage the home’.

Fuchang Bo had lived wild for years and only now got reported? Count your blessings.

But luck always runs out. And now he’d walked right into it.

This was the first court session after the four-day lockdown. Even though all the witchcraft and witches had been dug out and executed, the Crown Prince still hadn’t woken up. Emperor Jiawen was furious.

These weren’t court matters that a marginal figure like Fuchang Bo would know. After days of backlog, Emperor Jiawen rushed back to the palace to see the Crown Prince—only to have Li Yushi stand up and accuse Fuchang Bo of not marrying a proper wife, favoring a concubine, and letting a bastard son plot against the heir and steal his mother’s dowry.

The evidence? During the lockdown, the heir’s servants had loudly cried: “You’re trying to kill the eldest young master! Stealing furen’s dowry! May you all die horrible deaths!” The city guards had all heard it.

Then Hua Xiangming stepped up and described seeing the mansion’s servants buying medicine on lockdown day, and how they’d said the eldest young master had been pushed into the lake…

Emperor Jiawen was enraged. He shouted at Fuchang Bo in court for half an hour—if Fuchang Bo had actually attended court, he’d have heard it in person. Since he didn’t, His Majesty sent a eunuch to do the job for him. The half hour of shouting from Zhang Taijian? Word for word from the emperor himself.

Honestly, it wouldn’t have been so bad any other time. But this happened right after the Crown Prince’s incident. He was the only blood left by the late Empress Yuan. The emperor loved both dearly. And now that the prince had nearly died, even though the culprits were former Regent King loyalists, Emperor Jiawen couldn’t help but suspect the other princes too.

He was already furious—and now this. Hearing about Fuchang Bo’s family drama hit a little too close to home.

“My own beloved child almost died, and you treat your heir like this? Unforgivable!”

So he didn’t just issue a decree. He also ordered every consort with a prince in the palace to send someone to lecture Liu Shi and her son—remind them of their low status.

“Starting tomorrow, a different niangniang will send someone each day,” Zhang Taijian said, watching Shen Yi’an pale even more. He pinched the silver notes in his sleeve and offered a tip: “I get it, Boye, you’ve been wronged. But His Majesty’s orders can’t be ignored. You know how much he loved Empress Yuan. Ever since she passed, he’s never named a new empress. He’s always hated ministers who favor concubines over wives. Just two years ago, he demoted a judge three ranks for bringing a concubine to a banquet instead of his zhengshi. The Crown Prince still hasn’t woken up. This is no time to upset His Majesty.”

Zhang Taijian then pulled out a memorial from his sleeve. Shen Yi’an’s face darkened. It was the one he’d submitted recently—asking to name Shen Song the heir.“A son born to a prostitute outside the mansion, who knows if the bloodline is even pure—how can he inherit? The emperor already rejected it. Boye, you’re now on His Majesty’s radar. If you want to keep your title, either adopt a son from a side branch into your main wife’s name… or marry a new proper wife. You’re only in your thirties—don’t tell me you think you can’t make a legitimate heir?”