Without even lifting his gaze, Wen Chu took the invitation card from Bai Rong’s hand.
Amidst Bai Rong’s triumphant and unrestrained smile, he tossed the invitation straight into a large water vat positioned within the flower bed beside them.
Seeing this, Bai Rong’s eyes instantly reddened. “Huaiqiang, is it because my status is too lowly and I am unworthy to present an invitation to Your Majesty?”
Staring intently at Wen Chu, Xie Huaiqiang demanded, “Apologize to my secondary consort.”
Wen Chu raised his eyes and looked at the two men before him. “And what if I refuse to apologize to him?!”
Hearing this, a violent expression surfaced across Xie Huaiqiang’s face. “A puppet emperor—where on earth do you get such arrogance? Today, I shall properly break this haughty backbone of yours.”
Bai Rong hurriedly intervened, “Huaiqiang, do not be angry; it is not worth it.” With that, he displayed a look of three parts aggrieved and seven parts self-deprecating: “No matter what, he is still the Emperor. I will just endure it.”
Before Xie Huaiqiang could speak, someone else beat him to it. “He is nothing more than the basest and cheapest spawn.”
Madam Wang walked over, her lips tightly pursed as she glared with bitter hatred at Wen Chu, declaring with absolute firmness, “The Great Zhou does not belong to the despicable Wen family. They are not worthy.”
Wen Chu gazed at the murderous-looking woman before him, his brows knitting tightly together. When he was young and Xie Huaiqiang first brought him here, he had felt that this woman’s gaze toward him was like icicles—cold, sharp, and laden with inexplicable emotions.
At that time, he was young and ignorant; having listened only to Xie Huaiqiang’s brief, casual explanations, he had believed every word.
“What grievance or hatred exists between your mother and son and me that fills you with such monstrous hatred toward me?”
Narrowing her eyes, Madam Wang glanced at Bai Rong beside her. Still harboring some wariness toward him, she did not answer.
Yet she had no desire to let Wen Chu off so easily. “Take him to the ancestral hall.”
The estate guards stepped forward to grab Wen Chu, but Wen Chu sidestepped their grasp. “I will walk on my own.”
When Wen Chu arrived at the ancestral hall, the memorial tablets inside were all shrouded in yellow silk brocade.
Bai Rong pressed his lips together. This was clearly still a measure of caution against him, which was understandable; once he completely became a member of the Xie family, everything would be fine.
In the future, he would enjoy endless wealth and glory that could never be exhausted. When that time came, he would track down the Miao herbalist who had treated this wretched creature in the past and have a mother-gu implanted in his own body as well. Then, he would be able to bear children to continue the Prince’s lineage and extend his incense, securing a position of power that no one could ever shake.
Wen Chu stared at the yellow silk brocade concealing the memorial tablets. In the Great Zhou, only the imperial household was permitted to use this color. In his memories, the Wen family’s uprising forces had achieved victory after victory before finally uniting the realm and ascending the throne by popular acclaim.
There had never been any suspicion or implication of usurpation.
At that moment, two footmen carried in a sharp nail board and placed it right at Wen Chu’s knees.
“Kneel, criminal,” Madam Wang shouted coldly at Wen Chu.
Bai Rong, watching the spectacle from the side, could not help feeling a jolt of surprise, though it was largely overshadowed by malicious glee. His gaze fixed on the sharp nail board gleaming with cold reflections, waiting for Wen Chu to kneel upon it, pierce his flesh, and bleed profusely.
“Mother,” Xie Huaiqiang said, “after all, he is still the Emperor, and we are within the Prince Regent’s Mansion. Forcing him to kneel on a nail board constitutes a private punishment. If word gets out, it will harm this son’s reputation.”
With that, he glanced sidelong at Wen Chu. “Once this son ascends the imperial throne and reduces him to a thoroughly discarded, deposed emperor, I will let Mother heavily punish this criminal as you please!”
Xie Huaiqiang’s words were not without reason, and Madam Wang temporarily set aside the idea. Sighing with apparent helplessness, she said, “This mother is getting older and my health is not what it used to be. You must depose him as soon as possible, ascend the imperial throne, and set this mother’s mind at ease!”
Xie Huaiqiang replied, “This son will certainly not let Mother down.”
After the footmen removed the nail board, Madam Wang glared at Wen Chu with vicious eyes, evidently unwilling to let him off so easily. “Even if he does not kneel on the nail board, he shall kneel here for the entire night.”
Wen Chu remained standing in place, refusing to submit to this trumped-up charge.
He understood his own kin; his upright and refined Imperial Father was incapable of committing any act that violated his conscience.
Seeing that Wen Chu refused to kneel, Xie Huaiqiang delivered a sweeping kick straight into the back of Wen Chu’s knee joints. With a sharp gasp of pain, Wen Chu’s knees buckled, and he dropped to the floor.
Just as he attempted to rise, Xie Huaiqiang’s chilling, threatening voice rang out: “If you want Yu’er to come to any harm, go ahead and stand up.”
Wen Chu halted his movement, biting down hard on his lips as he stayed kneeling on the ground without moving. He spat out, “Xie Huaiqiang, you truly are despicable.”
Madam Wang sneered, “All is fair in war and ambition.”
Unwilling to exchange any further words with them, Wen Chu fell silent and ceased speaking altogether.
Knowing that she could not be too harsh on Wen Chu just yet, Madam Wang allowed Bai Rong to support her as she departed.
Now, only Xie Huaiqiang and Wen Chu remained inside the room.
Wen Chu refused to spare him even a single glance, treating him entirely like air.
Xie Huaiqiang narrowed his eyes, his gaze landing upon Wen Chu’s peerlessly handsome face.
The excessively slender emperor knelt upon the hard stone floor, his knees seemingly wracked with sharp pain. His lips parted slightly as he drew a light, ragged breath, a few strands of dark hair clinging to his pale cheeks.
His jade-like hand reached out, instinctively wanting to rub his knee, when a freezing voice commanded: “Do not move rashly, and do not dare to slack off. You know the consequences.”
Wen Chu withdrew his outstretched hand. His mesmerizing, phoenix-like eyes stared straight into Xie Huaiqiang’s for a moment before dropping downward.
Taking a deep breath, Xie Huaiqiang suddenly turned around and strode out of the room.
As soon as he left the room, he headed straight for the bathhouse.
Because it was only midday, the servants had not yet heated the water in the bathhouse.
Seeing Xie Huaiqiang enter, a servant hurriedly said, “Please wait a moment, Your Highness, this slave will go and heat the water right away.” He added hastily, “It will be very fast.”
Xie Huaiqiang waved his hand expressionlessly, signaling that the water did not need to be heated.
Seeing this, the servant bowed respectfully and retreated from the room.
Once left alone, Xie Huaiqiang did not even bother to remove his outer garments before leaping straight into the pool, submerging himself entirely within the freezing water.
After a long while, he finally broke the surface.
Water droplets streamed down his sharply chiseled, handsome facial contours.
As the internal scorching heat was gradually dispelled by the chilling water, Xie Huaiqiang climbed out of the bath, changed into a dry set of clothes, left the bathhouse, and headed toward the side courtyard.
The guards stationed outside the side courtyard bowed respectfully at his approach. “Your Highness.”
Xie Huaiqiang asked, “Has the Crown Prince fallen asleep?”
Yuwen Jie was young and had the habit of taking an afternoon nap.
The guard replied, “The Crown Prince was playing a bit too enthusiastically earlier, so the wet nurse is currently feeding him a meal, which delayed his afternoon nap time.”
Yuwen Jie—[Note: referring to Yu’er] usually engaged in activities for a short while after lunch before resting. Ever since he was brought out of the imperial palace by Xie Huaiqiang, he had become somewhat playful in the new environment, disrupting his usual daily routine.
Listening to the guard’s report, Xie Huaiqiang’s gaze fell upon the toy horse that Yu’er had arranged out of wooden sticks in the courtyard, and his habitually icy expression softened involuntarily.
He walked toward Yu’er’s room.
Pushing open the door, he saw Yu’er sitting obediently in a chair, eating his meal properly.
“Uncle.” The moment Yu’er saw Xie Huaiqiang enter, his delicate and adorable little face lit up with an affectionate smile. Pushing away the spoon offered by the wet nurse, he hopped down from his chair, opened his little arms, and pattered happily toward Xie Huaiqiang.
Xie Huaiqiang crouched down, gathering Yu’er into his arms as a doting warmth filled his voice. “Did Yu’er miss Uncle?”
Wrapping his tiny arms affectionately around Xie Huaiqiang’s neck, Yu’er spoke in a soft, childish tone, “I missed you.” He added, “I missed Imperial Father even more. I can see Uncle every day, but I can’t see Imperial Father.”
With that, Yu’er’s eyes reddened.
Xie Huaiqiang raised a hand to stroke the top of Yu’er’s head. “Your Imperial Father said that if Yu’er doesn’t play too much, eats his meals on time, and takes his afternoon nap, he will come to see Yu’er later.”
Carrying Yu’er over to the table, he sat down in a chair, took the porcelain spoon from the wet nurse’s hand, and began meticulously feeding Yu’er.
Perhaps worn out from playing, halfway through his meal, Yu’er drifted off to sleep.
Carefully lifting Yu’er, Xie Huaiqiang placed him onto the bed and pulled a thin blanket over him to tuck him in securely.
He sat by the bedside keeping watch over the little fellow for a good while before finally departing.
Afterward, Xie Huaiqiang went to his study to attend to state affairs.
The cold moon hung high, and the night was deep.
Xie Huaiqiang set down his brush, stood up, and stepped out of the study.
With a soft creak, the door of the ancestral hall was pushed open by Xie Huaiqiang, and his eyes instantly caught sight of the emperor collapsed unconscious on the floor.
Frowning, Xie Huaiqiang scooped the man up into his arms. “Is he running a fever again?!”
Carrying Wen Chu out of the ancestral hall, Xie Huaiqiang returned to his own bedchamber and laid Wen Chu down upon the bed, murmuring, “How is he as light as a feather?!”
Because of the fever, Wen Chu’s pale cheeks were tinted with a faint pink hue, and the color of his lips was more vivid than usual, resembling a layer of rouge, blooming as gorgeously as the most eye-catching flower in the world.
Extending his hand, Xie Huaiqiang’s slender fingertips brushed against Wen Chu’s cheek, slowly tracing downward until they rested upon his lips.