EMHTC -Chapter 83 This child is destined to be one of us Confucians!

The courtesan indeed knew all the details about the Prince of Jibei’s son.

“The Prince of Jibei really favors this son of his. Each time he entered the capital, he brought thousands of pounds of gold with him.”

【Yes, and then he used half of it to manipulate the flower rankings, helping his women dominate the list.】

【Good thing his father doesn’t know about this.】

The old emperor’s throat twitched as he fought the urge to laugh.

Hold it in! Don’t laugh!

The courtesan continued, “Some time ago, I was brought into his residence. By accident, I found the household ledger. The heir sends gifts to certain officials…”

Gold was used for such things.

【Yes, yes, and then he secretly takes a kickback—pockets a few taels of gold and uses some of the tea leaves for his personal enjoyment.】

The old emperor pinched his thigh hard.

Hold it together! Really, don’t laugh! If I laugh, I won’t be able to explain myself!

The courtesan went on, “I didn’t look closely at the time, but I remember the names recorded in the ledger—there were only two or three.”

“Among them, the most gifts were sent to the Marquis of Yingcheng…”

【Indeed! After all, he has more than a hundred concubines to support, so his expenses are quite high. He has to receive more gifts to cover it.】

【Heh, the old emperor probably doesn’t have that many concubines, right? Even if he had one every two days, could his body handle it? Watch out, the iron pestle might turn into a needle.】

【And how stingy! Many of the concubines’ rooms weren’t even that large—just ten square meters. Oh, wait—!】

Xu Yanmiao suddenly reacted with a jolt.

The old emperor felt uneasy.

From experience, he knew that the brat must have figured something out by now…

【Laughing so hard, saying ten square meters is more sustainable—only nouveau riche emperors would build such big rooms—snicker I wonder how big his rooms are… Fifty square meters! That’s five times bigger!】

The old emperor: “…”

He hadn’t really known what ten square meters meant before, but he had guessed it referred to room size, so he hadn’t paid it much mind. But when Xu Yanmiao used his room for comparison…

The old emperor: 🙂

A nouveau riche, huh?

The old emperor glanced at the courtesan. “Can you find a way to bring me that ledger?”

The ledger?

The courtesan was initially stunned, then her expression turned determined. “I can do it!”

Xu Yanmiao, providing a voiceover: 【I must get that foolish heir into the South Wind Pavilion as the lead courtesan!】

The old emperor looked at him thoughtfully, a single thought running through his mind: It seems that sometimes, before acting, I should consider what Xu Yanmiao would do—there might be unexpected gains.

—If this were before, he never would have thought of throwing someone into the South Wind Pavilion! He would have just said, “So-and-so, you are at liberty to deal with it!” or “So-and-so, be imprisoned and executed.”

Xu Yanmiao was really useful.

The old emperor affirmed this in his mind, then smiled at the courtesan. “Don’t worry, I’m not a cruel man. Your life will be protected by the Jinyiwei in secret.”

The courtesan was overjoyed. “Thank you, Your Majesty!”

The old emperor, ever so practiced, encouraged her, “Do well. What you want is not difficult.”

When the courtesan left, she was brimming with excitement and joy, even her hair seemed to carry a sense of exhilaration.

As soon as she left, the old emperor began to plot.

He cleared his throat and, with a subtle hint, said, “The ledger can prove that the Prince of Jibei is contacting officials with ulterior motives. However, it would be best if we could sever his connections.”

【Huh? Does this mean getting rid of the Prince of Jibei’s influence?】

The old emperor exhaled a barely noticeable sigh of relief.

Very good, it seems Xu Yanmiao understood my meaning this time. It was worth being so straightforward.

【It’s not that hard to get rid of him!】

The old emperor’s eyes lit up.

This was rare! Xu Yanmiao was actually taking the initiative to ease his worries!

【Looks like the old emperor is about to use the Jinyiwei!】

【Am I going to get to see the Jinyiwei in action?!】

【Rainy night! Official’s residence! Flying fish robes! Embroidered Spring Knife! Live capture—wow!】

Xu Lang’s eyes went vacant, clearly lost in thought and drifting far away.

The old emperor: “…”

Forget it, he accepted it. Let’s be even more direct: “For example, Marquis of Yingcheng. If we can find something on him, we could impeach him in court. Once we get the ledger, anyone who has had dealings with the Prince of Jibei and is implicated will be impeached, and the Prince of Jibei will surely panic and make a desperate move.”

Whether he feels the emperor is deliberately targeting him or suspects the emperor has discovered his plot to rebel, either way, the Prince of Jibei will be thrown into chaos and will have no choice but to raise an army.

【This plan is good!】

The old emperor smiled slightly.

Good, huh? Then shouldn’t you express something? Maybe offer up the Marquis of Yingcheng’s weakness voluntarily?

【Doesn’t this seem even more suited to the Jinyiwei’s involvement!】

The old emperor’s smile froze.

Huang Yong could no longer bear to listen.

Xu Lang! His Majesty wants you to take the initiative and take responsibility!

Huang Yong tried signaling him with his eyes.

Xu Lang noticed.

Xu Lang’s face lit up with sudden realization.

Huang Yong sighed in relief…

【I see, I see! Huang Langzhong is signaling to me!】

Unlike those novels where characters mistake such signals for something romantic, Xu Lang certainly wouldn’t make that mistake!

Huang Yong: “…”

Feeling the emperor’s faint glance at him, Huang Langzhong carefully lowered his head.

【But why did Huang Langzhong suddenly give me a signal? What’s going on?】

【Is it because I should lower my head like him? So I won’t meet the emperor’s gaze?】

【Or should I speak up and say something nice for him to the emperor? But that doesn’t seem likely. My words won’t carry much weight.】

【Hiss—Could it be that my clothes are inside out or my belt isn’t fastened properly?】

【Ah, I’m so dumb! He wants me to hurry up and praise him! The boss came up with a great idea, and of course, he wants people to compliment it!】

The old emperor: “…”

Seeing that Xu Yanmiao was about to start praising him with something like, “Your Majesty, this plan is truly brilliant,” the old emperor quickly interrupted.

He gave up on letting Xu Yanmiao figure it out by himself and went straight to the point—

“Xu Yanmiao, this task is entrusted to you.”

Xu Yanmiao: “…”

【Huh???】

After leaving Huang’s residence, Xu Yanmiao couldn’t understand how this task had fallen onto his lap.

He wasn’t an imperial censor who could gather intelligence for the emperor! This meant he had to act for real. But where could he gather real evidence? The gossip system provides true information but doesn’t offer proof. How could he explain where he got the information from?

He rubbed his head in frustration and hurriedly called out, “Sir—” Looking up, he saw the old emperor at someone’s street stall, carefully selecting items with great interest.

Taking a closer look, the stall was selling various trinkets—there was a bronze dove cart, which when pulled, made the dove’s tail flip up, very playful; a “Mo He Le” clay doll, with limbs that could move and even eyes that could turn; and also a Luban lock, a single-wheel Chinese top, and spinning tops…

The old emperor had a small pile of items in front of him, clearly the ones he had selected.

The old emperor asked, “How much for these?”

The peddler calculated and replied, “Twenty-five wen, but I’ll knock off a little for you, make it twenty wen.”

The old emperor picked up a top from the pile, casually tapping and flicking it, as if he were indifferent. “These items aren’t even worth twenty wen. This top’s color isn’t bright enough —eight wen! No more than eight wen!”

Xu Yanmiao couldn’t help but smile inwardly. Dragon-slaying saber!

The peddler seemed to have a question mark above his head. “Eight wen? I can’t make a deal at that price.”

Without hesitation, the old emperor put down the top. “If you can’t, then forget it.” He turned and said, “Xu Yanmiao, let’s go.”

Seeing that the old emperor was really about to leave, the peddler looked heartbroken and called out, “Eighteen wen! If it’s any less, I won’t make a profit!”

The old emperor remained calm. “Eighteen is still too much. How about lowering it a bit more? If it’s reasonable, I’ll really buy. Look at all the things I’ve picked. What would I pick if I wasn’t going to buy?”

The peddler’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down before he said, “Fifteen wen! Really can’t go lower.”

The old emperor replied, “Ten wen! I’ve got more than one grandson! I’ll come back to you next time!”

And so, an emperor squatted by the roadside, bargaining with a peddler over a few coins.

In the end, the deal was settled at “eleven wen, but the peddler also threw in a shuttlecock, a flying car, and a rattle.”

A Jinyiwei in plain clothes appeared from the side, silently picked up the pile of toys, and followed behind.

The old emperor’s smile remained on his face.

He turned and saw Xu Yanmiao’s expression filled with conflict and couldn’t help but laugh. “What’s wrong? Do you think an emperor shouldn’t haggle over such trivial matters?”

Xu Yanmiao honestly shook his head. “I believe a coin is still money. I’m just curious, Your Majesty, will you really go back to that peddler?”

With no one around, Xu Yanmiao felt free to address him as “Your Majesty.”

The old emperor puffed his chest and said with pride, “It’s all about rhetoric! You don’t understand! As long as you achieve your goal, who cares how you do it!”

Xu Yanmiao: (⊙o⊙)

This was something even university students could learn.

So, the next day during the morning court session, Xu Yanmiao stood up in the center with great momentum. “Your Majesty! I want to impeach the Marquis of Yingcheng!”

The Marquis of Yingcheng immediately felt a chill down his spine, thinking about what he might have done recently. He then thought…

It shouldn’t be anything serious…

Xu Yanmiao was cautious and would never act rashly. How could this happen today?

He thought for a moment, then relaxed. Even if he had done something, Xu Yanmiao was the type who would keep quiet if there was no evidence or if he couldn’t explain how he knew about it. Looking at it that way, Xu Yanmiao would probably only be impeaching him for things like occupying good farmland, which wouldn’t be that serious.

When the emperor scolded him a little, he could just return the land.

The Marquis of Yingcheng clasped his hands in his sleeves, eyes lowered, with an air of calm.

Then, he—and the entire court—heard Xu Yanmiao sternly declare, “I impeach the Marquis of Yingcheng for improper conduct! He is disrespectful and morally corrupt! His household has many concubines…”

“Poof—”

The Marquis of Yingcheng couldn’t help but laugh.

What was this? So young, and just because he had many concubines, they wanted to impeach him for being lecherous? And now it was being framed as moral corruption?

“The Book of Rites says: ‘If a concubine is not yet fifty, she must spend five nights with her husband.’” Xu Yanmiao said confidently. “Yet the Marquis of Yingcheng has many concubines who don’t follow this rule of five nights, and he, knowing the rule, lets it slide. This is willful disobedience—his crime is doubled!”

In the past, the Confucian ministers in the court had often used “rituals” to trap political rivals.

However, Xu Yanmiao’s perspective, this line of thinking… it’s something they hadn’t considered.

The entire court, both civil and military officials, were in awe.

The Confucian disciples’ eyes were shining.

This child is destined to be one of us Confucians!

Some curious onlookers glanced at the Marquis of Yingcheng and noticed that his smile had been frozen on his face for quite some time.

—He could argue his way out of many things, but this? How could he possibly claim that with his hundred concubines, he managed to rotate them every five days for intimate relations?

Even his liver couldn’t bear that level of fabrication!