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“Do you acknowledge your guilt, Su Jiu?” The emperor walked out, his face stern as he looked at Su Jiu kneeling on the ground, asking in a cold tone.
“I acknowledge my guilt, Your Majesty.”
“I was informed of the actions of Su Qin and his wife. As a Dali Temple official, being oblivious to the deeds of your own family is a grave neglect of duty. You are fined three months’ salary, and you will reflect in seclusion for two months.”
“Yes.” Su Jiu bowed his head in acknowledgment; the timing of the punishment was just right.
The emperor turned and went back to the study without even looking at Su Jiu. After everyone left, Su Jiu got up and left. From that moment on, he stayed secluded at home.
When Su Jiu’s adversaries found out about his punishment when they went to report him, they realized he had already been punished by the emperor for neglect of duty. If the emperor had already dealt with it, there was nothing more they could do. In the end, they would be the ones facing punishment.
After Su Jiu’s punishment, news of Su Qin and Yang Shanshan’s deeds spread throughout the Su family. They never expected these two to be so ruthless.
Knowing that Su Jiu had been punished by the emperor, Su Long went to find Su Yu. “You seem relaxed.”
When he found Su Yu, he was sipping tea, seemingly indifferent to everything happening outside.
“Do you know about your parents’ situation?” Su Long couldn’t help but ask his nephew.
Su Yu poured a cup of tea for Su Long, and seeing his expression, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “You don’t seem worried at all.”
“There’s nothing to worry about, and even if I were worried, it wouldn’t help. I can’t do anything about it,” Su Yu said calmly.
“I don’t think you’ve ever thought about helping,” Su Long said with a bit of annoyance, giving Su Yu a disapproving look.
“Mm.” Su Yu responded casually, his nonchalant demeanor making Su Long sigh softly. “Your brother has been restricted.”
“Good,” Su Yu said after a moment of silence.
Su Long thought he had misheard. While he wasn’t surprised about Su Qin and his wife, Su Jiu being restricted by the emperor, and Su Yu saying it’s good?
What is this kid thinking?
“Uncle, for these years, my brother has been helping the emperor. Many people have been wanting to get rid of him. By going to the imperial study, kneeling, and accepting the punishment, he has effectively silenced those people. After the punishment, anything happening at the Dali Temple won’t be connected to my brother,” Su Yu explained without needing to guess what they were thinking.
With Su Yu’s reminder, Su Long also realized the point of Su Jiu’s actions.
“You have quite a clear perspective,” Su Long said with a smile.
“As for my father’s side?” Su Yu asked.
“I’ll go see someone tomorrow.” Su Yu considered her thoughts for a moment before deciding to go see someone, realizing that this might be the last chance.
Su Long looked at Su Yu disdainfully, “Do you think the Dali Temple is a place you can just enter at will?”
“I can get in.”
“Your brother is restricted now. Tell me, how are you going to get in? Sneak in?” Was it worth it for them?
Su Yu looked at Su Long strangely, “Why would I need to sneak in when I can go in openly?”
“Why?” This guy could go into the Dali Temple openly? Was he joking?
Su Yu took out a jade pendant and handed it to Su Long, who received it with a puzzled expression. “What…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he was shocked. Su Long looked at the jade pendant in his hand with disbelief.
If he remembered correctly, the emperor also had one like this. The material and the engraved character on it were exactly the same, a character that represented royalty.
“Is this… the prince’s jade pendant?”
“Mm,” Su Yu nodded. “With this, can I go in?”
“You can, but tell me, how do you have the prince’s jade pendant?” Su Long stared at the jade pendant in his hand, still unable to understand why Su Yu had the prince’s jade pendant.
“Given by Imperial Brother. Uncle, you’re making a big deal out of nothing,” Su Yu said casually, as if he didn’t care much about this matter.
“Imperial Brother?” Since when did the emperor become Xiao Yu’s Imperial Brother?
Taking a deep breath, Su Long looked at Su Yu and asked through gritted teeth, “Is there anything else you haven’t told us?”
“Just before the New Year, the emperor said he acknowledged me as his sworn brother. The Empress Dowager also knows about it. That’s all. As for making it public, I didn’t ask the emperor to mention it. It didn’t seem necessary.” He wouldn’t come back often, so there was no need to let everyone know about this status.
Being the only prince with a different surname, if this identity became known, he would have no peace. He wouldn’t do such a foolish thing.
“What you’re doing is right. If your identity is revealed, you’ll become a hot target. It’s not just Xie Yang who will scheme against you.” Su Long strongly agreed with his nephew’s thoughts. “But if you go to the Dali Temple tomorrow, won’t your identity be exposed?”
“They wouldn’t dare to say anything,” Su Yu said confidently.
Su Long was amused by Su Yu and his confident words. This kid could really say something infuriating.
After the laughter, Su Long looked at Su Yu. “Little Yu, if you go, will they go easy on you?”
“They won’t.” He spent so much time sending these people in; he woudn’t miss the show. Go easy on him? Not in a million years.
Of course, Su Yu didn’t tell Su Long about this.
“Now that you know what you’re doing, I won’t interfere. I’ll go back first.”
“Okay.” After seeing off Su Long, Su Yu turned back to the room, standing by the window and looking at everything outside.
It was time for everything to come to an end.
The next day, Su Yu, accompanied by Yuan Bao, went to the Dali Temple. At the entrance, they were stopped. “Who are you looking for?”
“I want to see Su Qin and his wife.” Su Yu took out the jade pendant and said coldly.
The soldier guarding the gate was startled when he saw the jade pendant in Su Yu’s hand. It was exactly the same as the emperor’s, except for the character engraved on it.
“Wait here, sir. Let me find the official.” Saying this, he took the jade pendant and hurried inside. After a short while, the Chief of the Dali Temple, accompanied by guards, rushed out. “Your Highness…”
Su Yu looked at the other person with a cold gaze, and the Chief of the Dali Temple choked on his words.
“Please, Your Highness, come inside.” The Chief of the Dali Temple felt bitter in his heart. How did the second young master of the Su family become a prince?
No one knew about this news either.
“I came here today to see Su Qin and his wife. I’m only here to see them. As for how you punish them afterward, it has nothing to do with me,” Su Yu stated plainly.
The Chief of the Dali Temple sighed in relief as long as he wasn’t here to interfere with their proceedings, everything would be fine.
“Thank you, Your Highness, for your understanding.”
“Do any of you understand anything?” Su Yu looked at the people around him and ordered coldly.
“Yes.”
The Chief of the Dali Temple hurriedly personally led Su Yu to see Su Qin and his wife.
In just a couple of days, Yang Shanshan had lost her former aura. She looked quite dispirited.
As for Su Qin, he seemed to be in slightly better condition than Yang Shanshan.
When Yang Shanshan saw Su Yu coming, she was extremely excited and struggled to get up from the ground.