The Emperor could hardly maintain his composure: No, this can’t be true!

System: [The Second Prince indeed made a great sacrifice! To placate Minister Wen, he secretly sent a beautiful woman who resembled Minister Wen’s childhood sweetheart for a clandestine meeting. Sometimes, he even personally stood guard outside the door.]

Hiss…

Wait, so it wasn’t the Second Prince who was seduced, but rather, he sent a concubine to seduce someone else? Phew, thank goodness…

The crowd collectively held their breath, their pupils quaking: they had seen people being cuckolded before, but never like this. He even took the initiative to stand guard outside the door?!

At first, the Emperor let out a sigh of relief, but soon his fists clenched tightly. He wanted nothing more than to beat this disgraceful royal son to death for humiliating the royal family.

Even Minister Wen’s eyes widened in disbelief, his face filled with absurdity.

Yuan Ruan was so shocked her mouth could swallow a whole egg:

[What? He personally sent a concubine? Wait, why would he even stand guard outside the door?!]

System: [It says here that the Second Prince felt too humiliated to send anyone else over. After delivering the person, he lingered outside, lost in melancholy, encouraging himself by thinking, “Han Xin could endure the humiliation of crawling between another’s legs, and Goujian could endure hardship by sleeping on firewood and tasting gall. Therefore, if I can endure what others cannot, I will surely achieve great things.”]

The crowd: …

If not for the fear of being punished by the Emperor, some might have laughed themselves to death.

What kind of twisted logic was this?!

Did Goujian or Han Xin ever expect to be dragged into such nonsense?

The Emperor was so enraged he nearly fainted. No wonder the system had predicted that Da Xia would be plunged into chaos in the future—this Second Prince’s brain was the root cause.

The Emperor turned to the Crown Prince and asked, “Was the Second Prince’s tutor so incompetent?”

The Crown Prince, bewildered, shook his head and whispered, “They’re all esteemed scholars of virtue.”

Yuan Ruan, stunned for a moment, added:

[No wonder, ten years later, the Second Prince had Minister Wen torn apart by five horses. So, this is the reason!]

Dismembered by five horses!

The officials, who had been watching the drama unfold, suddenly felt chills down their spines. Such cruelty!

Minister Wen clenched his fists in anger. Unforgivable! He was clearly a deceived victim, so why was his fate so miserable? This Second Prince, I swear to God, I will personally destroy him in the future!

System: [Exactly.]

Yuan Ruan suddenly paused, feeling confused, and asked the system:

[Wait a second, there’s no bromance at all. Why are you talking about brotherly love and breakthroughs?]

System: [Let me give you some examples. No matter how outrageous the confiscation orders the Second Prince issued, Minister Wen always carried them out. For instance, in the first year, unable to bear being manipulated by Chancellor Li, the Second Prince had Minister Wen scheme to kill Chancellor Li and his entire family.]

Chancellor Li’s son froze, his smile stiffening: What?! My family was just sacrificed like that?!

System: [When the Second Prince ascended the throne and needed money, he hinted to Minister Wen, who immediately exploited the Witchcraft Case to extort funds in the court. The first victim was the Minister of Revenue. When the official refused to admit to the fabricated corruption charges or hand over funds, Minister Wen directly raided his home.]

The Minister of Revenue, who had been secretly relieved thinking his humble background might spare him, froze: I’ve lived my whole life cleanly, yet I still have to suffer confiscation?! Could you people at least act human?!

[System: Later, he accused the Minister of War of collusion with the enemy and confiscated his assets.]

The Minister of War, who had been mocking the Minister of Revenue moments ago, froze, his face twisting in rage.

I’ve served the country loyally, and now I’m being framed for treason?!

…

System: [Let me see. Because the Second Prince was wary of the Third Prince’s influence, Minister Wen accused the Third Prince of treason, which seems to have directly triggered the Third Prince’s rebellion. Eventually, the Third Prince successfully seized the throne.]

The crowd: !!!

Finally, some good news!

The next-next Emperor would be the Third Prince, right? Actually, forget the “next-next” part—at this rate, the Second Prince was so incompetent, wasn’t he just paving the way for the Third Prince to take over sooner? Wait, no! Now that the Emperor and Crown Prince could hear these inner thoughts, the future was bound to change.

System: [Minister Wen acted with utter arrogance in court for years. Although the Second Prince knew Minister Wen abused his power for personal vendettas, he suppressed all impeachment reports from other officials. He tolerated everything Minister Wen did. The Second Prince even sent a concubine and stood guard personally—if that’s not brotherly love, what is?]

Crowd: …

The courtiers were all roped into your brotherhood drama play?!

The officials first expressed their gratitude to Yuan Ruan: Thank you so much! Without your revelations, we’d have lost our heads by now.

Then, they all turned angry glares toward Minister Wen, rolling up their sleeves. Some even snuck in a few kicks at him.

Minister Wen was dumbstruck. Barely stepping into politics, he had already made so many enemies. He was seriously considering early retirement.

The Grand Scholar, who was on good terms with Minister Wen, stepped forward, kicked him once as well, and then suddenly bowed, saying, “Your Majesty, Minister Wen is inexperienced. He claimed the Second Prince was blinded by schemers, but in truth, he is the one blinded. Your servant humbly requests permission to present some evidence of ongoing investigations against the Second Prince to Minister Wen.”

Crowd: ???

What?! The Grand Scholar is investigating the Second Prince’s crimes?

Yuan Ruan was astonished: [No wonder the plot killed older brother first. Capable individuals bring too many variables!]

At that moment, everyone saw the Grand Scholar pretend to hand something invisible to Minister Wen.

Everyone instantly understood: This is him “creating” fake evidence.

The Emperor looked at the cold-sweating Minister Wen and said meaningfully, “You understand what to do now, don’t you?”

Minister Wen immediately knelt down. “I swear undying loyalty to Your Majesty and will devote myself to your service without hesitation.”

The officials: !!!

Your Majesty, are you still going to use him? He’s a ruthless official who has seized countless families’ assets!

The Crown Prince wasn’t surprised by the Emperor’s decision. In the future, Minister Wen would indeed seize countless households, but he hadn’t yet. More importantly, this demonstrated the man’s abilities and ensured he couldn’t defect to the Second Prince.

Sure enough, the Emperor calmly declared, “The Zhou clan relocation will be entrusted to you.”

Minister Wen was so moved he nearly wept. “This servant accepts the decree. Thank you for Your Majesty’s grace!”

Yuan Ruan sighed:
[So the Second Prince’s capable subordinate was reassigned just like that? It seems as long as my brother is here, every plotline has the potential to change.]

The system mused: [Hmm, the Second Prince and Minister Wen used to exchange letters to communicate. Now, with long-distance delays of several months, I wonder how they’ll maintain their relationship.]

Minister Wen shuddered with goosebumps: Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!

Minister Wen left with the Zhou Niang.

The Crown Prince returned with good news that relations between the Xiongnu and the Chen Kingdom had soured. The Zhou clan’s contribution of minerals eased the treasury shortage, and potatoes were acquired. He also confirmed the range within which he could hear Yuan Ruan’s thoughts.

Though clues about the national fortune mission remained elusive, the Emperor was in high spirits.

With a wave of his hand, he ordered a feast for all the courtiers at a nearby tavern.

The officials, naturally, were delighted.

The Emperor, holding Yuan Ruan, walked inside and happened to overhear her chatting casually with the system: [Culinary skills are the best aesthetic enhancement for men.]

Although the Emperor didn’t understand what “aesthetic enhancement” meant, he guessed it was a compliment.

As Crown Prince, he had once personally cooked soup for the late Emperor, earning widespread praise. Now, on a whim, he decided to express his regard for Yuan Ruan in the same way. He handed her to the Crown Prince and walked into the tavern’s kitchen.

Before long, the kitchen began serving dish after dish.

The Emperor hadn’t arrived yet, so the Crown Prince and others refrained from eating.

Not long after, the crowd stared in shock as the Emperor personally carried over a bowl of fish soup, intending to feed Yuan Ruan.

The officials were about to marvel—what a rare sight! The first time witnessing the Emperor personally feeding someone fish soup.

System: [Wow! Host, this is fish soup made by your elder brother himself!]

The officials: !!!

What?!

The ruthless Emperor not only personally fed someone but also personally cooked fish soup?!

Yuan Ruan’s eyes widened: [Ah! Then I must savor it properly. The rich, white broth already looks delicious.]

The Emperor smiled faintly and brought a spoonful to her.

System: [How is it?!]

The crowd also leaned in curiously.

Yuan Ruan paused for a moment before suddenly remarking:
[After eating this fish, hmm, it really feels like this fish died in vain.]

The Emperor: …

His hand holding the spoon trembled slightly.

The others let out a “poof” sound.

The Crown Prince tilted his head back, gazing at the ceiling to suppress his expression.

The Minister of Justice took deep breaths, pinching his skin to avoid laughing.

The Minister of Industry thought of the most tragic events in his life just to barely stifle his amusement.

The Ministers of Rites and Revenue exchanged glances—one praising the soup’s rich broth, the other its aroma, seamlessly showering compliments on the fish soup.

Yuan Ruan was dumbfounded:
[As expected of officials—they can lie through their teeth effortlessly.]