The concubine ultimately managed to retain one shred of dignity, but her fake pregnancy belly was completely exposed.

Kneeling on the ground, the concubine begged the Assistant Minister of Revenue to forgive her for the sake of their two children.

The Assistant Minister wouldn’t even look at her.

“Your Majesty, I—this old minister—have behaved disgracefully before Your Majesty.” The Assistant Minister knelt before the emperor, crying so hard that his face was streaked with snot and tears. “I beg Your Majesty to… to consider that I was… was…”

The concubine’s gaze suddenly landed on Consort Rong. She abruptly cried out, “Husband, you have to believe me! Don’t listen to anyone else! I am just a simple woman—what use would I have for stealing gold and silver? It was all your daughter, Consort Rong, who ordered me to do it! She needed money to secure her promotion to a higher rank, so she threatened me into helping her.”

Consort Rong: !!!

She stood up sharply and said, “Your Majesty, this Consort would never dare to do such a thing! There is absolutely no truth to her claim!”

The concubine wept and insisted, “Consort Rong, please save me too. Just admit it, Your Grace!”

The Assistant Minister hesitantly looked at Consort Rong.

At this moment, the system interjected:

System: 【She’s spouting nonsense. None of the money was given to Consort Rong—it was all secretly sent to the Assistant Minister’s so-called friend from his hometown. She’s deliberately trying to drag the beautiful lady down.】

Consort Rong breathed a sigh of relief.

The Assistant Minister: !!!

What? His hometown friend was involved too? His fury only grew.

Consort Rong couldn’t help but revel in his misfortune, finding the entire situation immensely satisfying.

Yuan Ruan, however, was concerned and complained to the system:

Yuan Ruan: 【She’s smearing Consort Rong’s name like this. Even if Big Brother eventually finds out it wasn’t related to the beautiful lady, he might still hold some grudge against her. Consort Rong treats me so well—is there any way to resolve this crisis?】

Consort Rong was touched by Yuan Ruan’s concern.

System: 【Yuan Ruan, you’re just a baby. There’s not much you can do. How about playing a little trick? For example, you could start crying loudly at a key moment and only stop when you’re holding the emperor’s left hand and Consort Rong’s right hand.】

Consort Rong’s lips twitched slightly: That’s completely unnecessary.

The emperor’s temple throbbed as he thought: If you can’t come up with a good idea, system, just stay quiet!

To prevent further complications, the emperor walked over to Consort Rong and held her hand. “I trust my beloved consort and am certain she would never stoop to such despicable actions. This woman must be slandering you.”

Consort Rong, quick-witted as always, immediately expressed her gratitude. “Your Majesty is wise to clear this consort’s name of such baseless accusations.”

The concubine was dumbfounded.

She had thought implicating Consort Rong would provoke the emperor into a rage and divert his focus from investigating the stolen gold and jewelry. But to her shock, the emperor trusted Consort Rong so much?

This… this didn’t make sense!

Consort Rong had once claimed she wasn’t favored. Was that a lie? Or perhaps the emperor wasn’t as suspicious as rumored during investigations? Curse it—she had failed her mission to distract him.

Meanwhile, Yuan Ruan clapped gleefully.

Yuan Ruan: 【Wow! Big Brother judges right from wrong and instantly crushes schemes! I didn’t even need to step in. Amazing!】

The emperor felt a weight lift from his heart.

Yuan Ruan: 【Wait, System, the gold’s location has been found! Does this mean my task is complete? Is my next divine ability about to activate?!】

The Assistant Minister: ???

What divine ability?

The empress, Consort Rong, and Wu Yue all looked over with great interest.

System: 【Yuan Ruan, the task isn’t marked as complete yet. Either the location of the gold isn’t accurate enough, or we need to recover the jewelry and fully expose the mastermind’s scheme for it to count as finished.】

Yuan Ruan: 【Ah, I see a progress bar! It’s showing 30%. There’s a note beneath it that says, “The Real and the Fake.” System, could this be a hint?】

System: 【Probably, but it’s unclear for now. We’ll have to investigate further.】

The emperor was unsurprised by this conclusion. He had already decided to mobilize the empire’s intelligence network to assist Yuan Ruan in recovering the gold.

He waved a hand and commanded, “Take them away. Strip him of his rank and exile him a thousand miles away. Investigate everyone involved in the theft of the tribute, interrogate them thoroughly, and confiscate their properties. All male family members will serve three years of hard labor.”

When Yan’er heard about confiscation and forced labor, her face turned deathly pale. She cried out, “Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I’m innocent! I am willing to enter the palace and serve…”

Before she could finish, the Assistant Minister forcefully covered her mouth. “Shut up! Being allowed to keep your life is already a mercy from His Majesty. If you dare implicate me any further, I’ll strangle you right now!”

Kneeling on the ground, she begged, “Mom, mother, please save your daughter.”

The concubine trembled, but the Assistant Minister did not waver.

Slap! Slap!

Two loud slaps landed on the concubine and her daughter, Yin’er. Glaring at them furiously, the Assistant Minister bellowed, “You wretches! How dare you cry now! You both deserve to die for your despicable actions!”

After venting his anger, the Assistant Minister turned abruptly and knelt before the emperor. Tears and snot streamed down his face as he pleaded, “Your Majesty! This old servant has an eighty-year-old mother at home. I beg Your Majesty for mercy, spare her life!”

His sudden shift from rage to groveling carried an odd sense of comedic timing.

The emperor, however, had no patience for his theatrics and waved dismissively.

The chief eunuch immediately led palace guards in to drag the wailing family of three off the floor.

“Daughter! My daughter!” the Assistant Minister cried out desperately.

Consort Rong coldly turned her back to him.

“You heartless girl! I’m your father! And all because of your mother’s adultery—” The Assistant Minister abruptly stopped mid-sentence, remembering it was all a misunderstanding. Quietly, he glanced one last time at the silent and stoic Consort Rong before being forcibly removed.

And so, the farce came to an end.

Consort Rong hugged Yuan Ruan tightly. In the past, she might have harbored some ulterior motives toward Yuan Ruan, but now, she felt nothing but calm contentment holding the little one close.

Yuan Ruan clung to Consort Rong and nuzzled her.

Yuan Ruan: 【You can’t choose your father, but you sure picked the best two daughters!】

Consort Rong couldn’t help but laugh at the remark.

This little rascal.

If she still cared about her father’s unfairness, she’d have drowned in her own anger years ago.

Instead, she thought about how best to share this good news with her brother. At the very least, they needed to hold a ritual to honor their late mother’s spirit.

Seeing Consort Rong smile, Yuan Ruan grew even happier.

The trio had a simple lunch together before the chief eunuch hurriedly brought news.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, an urgent military message marked with the crown prince’s seal has arrived via red-feather express.”

The empress immediately looked at the emperor.

The emperor narrowed his eyes. “Bring it here.”

The chief eunuch carefully presented the sealed copper container to the emperor.

After opening and reading it, the emperor burst into hearty laughter. “Good! Very good!”

The empress visibly relaxed and reclined lazily on her chaise lounge, feigning disinterest.

Yuan Ruan: 【Is it news from my big nephew? Let me see!】

The emperor, noticing Yuan Ruan’s chubby little face staring up at him expectantly, pinched her cheek. “Your brother has exposed Chen Kingdom’s schemes. In seven days, he’ll return victorious. Yuan Ruan, you’ve contributed greatly—why don’t you stay with me for a few days until your brother gets back?”

Yuan Ruan: 【No, no, no! I don’t want to leave my beautiful jade bed!】

Yuan Ruan first nodded but then shook her head vigorously, babbling “yiyi, yaya” in frustration at not being able to express herself clearly.

Consort Rong quickly intervened, “Your Majesty, this humble concubine has specially prepared a bed for the little princess. She has been eagerly awaiting it. Perhaps it would be better to wait until the crown prince returns to hold a celebration, and I can bring her over then.”

The emperor glanced at Yuan Ruan’s conflicted expression but felt the upcoming grand sacrificial ceremony necessitated testing the range and conditions for hearing her inner voice.

“Then bring her over during the day,” the emperor finally said. “Also, have a new bed crafted for her. Use the best materials from the Internal Affairs Office—my little princess must not be treated poorly.”

Consort Rong quickly responded, “Your Majesty, there’s no need. This concubine already has ample materials in storage—”

Yuan Ruan: 【Don’t be so honest, beautiful lady! Take the offer! Milk the opportunity!】

Consort Rong and the empress stifled their laughter.

The emperor: …

Am I destined to be the sheep everyone shears wool from?

Seven days later, as the sun rose, plumes of dust suddenly appeared on the horizon.

A black-clad cavalry emerged from the swirling dust, galloping furiously toward the palace gates.

An hour later, in Qianqing Palace.

The emperor, holding Yuan Ruan in one arm, patted the still-armored crown prince on the shoulder with the other. “Good, good! You’ve grown up!”

The crown prince cupped his hands respectfully. “I am grateful for Father’s guidance.” His lips curved into a small smile, exuding his usual refined and gentlemanly demeanor.

He turned to Yuan Ruan and waved. “Little sister, did you miss me?”

“Yiyi, yaya!”

Yuan Ruan: 【Of course, Big Nephew! Thanks to you, I completed the Wildling Mission! Big love to you!】

Big love?

The crown prince looked puzzled but couldn’t help smiling at Yuan Ruan’s cheerful expression. Hearing her mention completing a national fortune mission reassured him it must be something good.

The emperor said, “Tell me about the situation with the Xiongnu. No—wait until we’re in the Shu Pavilion. The ministers are currently there discussing the sacrificial ceremony. Let them work together on Xiongnu issue as well.”

With that, the emperor carried Yuan Ruan out.

Yuan Ruan: 【Hooray! Big Brother is finally letting me out to stretch my legs! I’ve been cooped up in Qianqing Palace for too long.】

The crown prince: ???

Why bring the little princess to discuss the sacrificial ceremony?