Qi Wang made his way to Taiji Hall.
He had always been favored and frequently visited the hall. Sometimes, if he stayed too late accompanying Emperor Yongchang, the Emperor would allow him to sleep in the side hall. This was an honor not granted to just anyone. At least, the Crown Prince had never enjoyed such a privilege.
Thus, Qi Wang always moved about the hall with ease, and this time was no different—calm and confident.
Wasn’t this just about Han Yue’e’s affair?
If he dared to do it, he wouldn’t fear the consequences.
Xia Gongong, who was reprimanding his young apprentice in the corridor, greeted him with a smile, “Your Highness, please come in.”
Qi Wang casually teased the two peacocks strolling nearby, raising an eyebrow in surprise. “Huh, why are these things here today?”
Xia Gongong laughed, “They’re a tribute from Annan Wang. They can display their tails and even fly. Annan Wang just showed them to His Majesty. Soon, they’ll be sent to the Southern Garden.”
The Southern Garden housed all kinds of rare and exotic animals gathered from tributes across the realm.
Qi Wang responded with a simple “Oh” and proceeded to see his father.
Emperor Yongchang, now forty-seven, had started to gray at the temples from years of state affairs. Usually, when he saw his most beloved son, he would always smile.
But today was different. When he saw Qi Wang, the Emperor suddenly threw the memorial he was reading and glared coldly at him. “You’ve really outdone yourself this time!”
It must be about Han Yue’e. Qi Wang quickly understood and was just about to act spoiled to soften his father’s anger when he noticed someone standing silently by the Emperor’s chair—it was Xiao Yunting.
When he entered earlier, Xiao Yunting had been in the shadows, and he hadn’t seen him.
Now that his nephew was present, he couldn’t use his usual coquettish tricks. He had no choice but to kneel and plead, “Royal Father, please calm your anger. Your son truly does not know what he has done to incur your wrath…”
“You don’t know what you’ve done wrong?!” Emperor Yongchang coughed violently and pointed furiously at him. “You don’t know? Then what is this?!”
As he spoke, the Emperor hurled the memorial at Qi Wang.
Qi Wang didn’t dare to dodge. Seeing his father’s fury, his heart skipped a beat. He subtly glanced at the silent Xiao Yunting, then picked up and read the memorial.
At just a glance, his face turned ashen, his limbs went cold as if the blood in his veins had frozen.
Zhang Weixun had been caught!
Ever since he had decided to move against the Xie family ahead of schedule, he had sent Xu Tongzhou—who was originally tasked with assassinating a key witness from the Dali Temple—to Jiangxi instead.
The task had then been handed to Zhang Weixun.
His scalp tingled in pain, as if someone were yanking his hair. He immediately cried out, “Royal Father! Your son has been wronged!”
This had truly blown up now!
Usually, his arrogance, his pampered behavior, even eliminating Han Yue’e—a fiancée he disliked—were all things the Emperor would tolerate.
But involving political corruption? That was no joke.
“Yunting!” Emperor Yongchang called out, pointing angrily at Qi Wang. “You tell him—does he have grounds to claim he’s been wronged?”
Xiao Yunting! Qi Wang cursed the name in his heart, grinding his teeth in hatred.
If he had known, he should have killed this b*stard the moment he returned!
Xiao Yunting stepped forward calmly, bowing respectfully. “Third Uncle, perhaps you were unaware. Zhang Weixun bribed prison guards at the Dali Temple, disguised himself as a guard, and attempted to poison the key witness in the canal corruption case. Fortunately, our men were alert and caught him red-handed.”
Caught red-handed! Meaning this was backed by solid evidence—no framing, no setup.
Qi Wang’s heart pounded wildly. Ignoring Xiao Yunting, he crawled toward the Emperor and wept bitterly, “Royal Father! This has nothing to do with me! What does the canal corruption case have to do with your son? Why would I send someone to kill a witness?!”
He clung to the Emperor’s leg. “Royal Father, how can you prove that this man was working for me?!”
Xiao Yunting looked away, unfazed. Qi Wang always relied on acting spoiled to the Emperor, no matter the situation.
But this time, the Emperor didn’t just laugh it off like before.
Smack! The Emperor slapped Qi Wang.
The blow came so suddenly that Qi Wang didn’t react immediately.
Then the Emperor, seething, struck him again.
Two slaps in quick succession disheveled his crown.
Stunned, Qi Wang couldn’t believe what was happening. Even if Zhang Weixun had been caught, wasn’t this still manageable? Why was his father this enraged?
A corruption case wasn’t a huge matter. Even if his men were involved, at worst, he could claim poor oversight and push the blame onto his subordinates.
Why was the Emperor this furious?!
Emperor Yongchang, hair disheveled and crown askew, continued to strike him—seven or eight slaps in total.
Qi Wang, bleeding from the mouth, was completely dazed.
In his previous life, he had never suffered such humiliation, especially not in front of Xiao Yunting!
But faced with his father’s burning rage, he dared not resist—only to kneel and bang his head repeatedly on the ground. “Royal Father! Please calm your anger! Your son was wrong! Your son was wrong!”
The Emperor roared, “The canal corruption case has already cost the lives of countless officials, but the silver is still missing! Over two million taels of silver—two million! That’s equivalent to an entire year of tax revenue from Guizhou province—and it all ended up in your pocket!”
Boom— It was like fireworks exploding in his mind.
Qi Wang’s face instantly drained of color.
How could this be?!
He had hidden it so well! Even if someone had records, there was no way those would have reached Xiao Yunting!
This involved a vast network of colluding officials!
Were they insane?!
Trembling, sobbing, he insisted, “Royal Father, I swear I didn’t! Someone must be framing me!”
He couldn’t admit it—he must never admit it.
Emperor Yongchang sneered darkly, “Is that so? Then what about Baotong Bank?!”
Baotong Bank!
Qi Wang’s head shot up in disbelief, staring at Xiao Yunting.
It was him—Xiao Yunting had even uncovered this!
“The silver from the corruption was funneled into the bank, then loaned out at usurious rates…” The Emperor laughed in furious disbelief. “You really know how to make money, don’t you, my dear third son?”
Qi Wang burst into loud sobs. “Royal Father, I truly didn’t! I truly didn’t!”
As he cried, blood suddenly gushed from his nose.
The Emperor stood abruptly, his expression shifting unpredictably.
Qi Wang grew more agitated. “Royal Father, I’ve been wronged! I’ve been wronged! If you don’t believe me, I’ll die right now—die right now—”
“Enough nonsense!” the Emperor snapped.
But Qi Wang had already fainted.
Xiao Yunting sneered coldly in his heart. He had expected this.
