Ye Yubei's face was dark as deep water, a storm raging beneath gathering clouds.
Impotent?
He was impotent?
If he wanted to, he could get every woman in the palace pregnant. But ever since thirteen years ago, he had lost all interest in such things.
Could he really have become impotent?
"Consort Li."
His icy voice carried the fury of a raging storm. Consort Li shuddered violently in fright. Though she had never been close to Ye Yubei, she knew his voice all too well.
Consort Li lowered her head and saw that terrifying, thunderous face. She screamed in fright and fell straight off the branch. Master Xue jumped down and caught her in his arms.
[Wow! Is this what they call lightness arts? He looks so cool-way cooler than my tyrant scumbag dad!!]
The anger on Ye Yubei's face deepened. This pretty boy was more handsome than him?
"Your Majesty..."
Consort Li turned deathly pale and dropped to her knees with a thud. Master Xue immediately knelt as well, trembling all over in terror.
He always came at night, and he had heard that His Majesty never set foot in the imperial harem. Why had he suddenly come here?
Ye Yubei sneered. "Good. Very good indeed, Consort Li."
"Third Son of the Xue Family, you certainly have some nerve. Do you know the punishment for having an illicit affair with an imperial consort? It is enough to land your entire family in the imperial prison."
"Your Majesty, a man must answer for his own deeds. I did this alone. My family had nothing to do with it. If Your Majesty must punish someone, punish only me. I forced Her Ladyship into this as well."
The Third Son of the Xue Family knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly. "Please spare Her Ladyship, Your Majesty. Spare the Xue Family."
"Spare you shameless adulterers? After you behaved like this right under my nose, do you think you still have a way out? Do you think the Xue Family and your Feng Family still have a way out?"
Ye Yubei's voice was like a summons to their deaths. Both turned deathly pale with fright. Their own deaths would be no great loss, but if their families were dragged into this...
[My tyrant scumbag dad is so scary when he loses his temper. Are these two going to get killed outright? That's just too tragic. The Third Son of the Xue Family is loyal and devoted, at least. He hasn't abandoned Consort Li.]
[So scary. I'd better keep Mother away from the tyrant from now on. What if she accidentally upsets him someday?]
Scary?
Ye Yubei reined in his imposing aura. He could not frighten his daughter; she was still so little. Besides, Qingqing was right there too.
"Your Majesty, please grant me death and spare Master Xue and the Xue Family. This was all my fault." Consort Li knelt and kowtowed three times, keeping her head bowed for a long time.
This truly was her fault. She had no right to ask His Majesty to forgive her, as long as... Master Xue was not dragged down with her.
[Oh, these ill-fated lovebirds are so pitiful. They were childhood sweethearts, innocent playmates, but then Consort Li's father sent her into the palace. Now my scumbag dad is going to kill her too. How tragic.]
[Scumbag dad is taking a cudgel to a pair of lovebirds. Better to tear down ten temples than destroy one marriage. No wonder he met such a miserable end. He got what he deserved.]
[Hmph.]
Ye Yubei: "..."
Was she talking about him being beheaded, his head mounted on the city wall, and his eyes pecked out by crows?
How had he forgotten that?
Ye Yubei said coldly, "Both of you, get up. Have I... met you before?"
Consort Li wiped the tears from her face and choked out, "I once met Your Majesty. You have stayed away from the imperial harem for years, so naturally, you do not recognize me."
[What a scumbag! You brought her into your harem, but you won't touch her or even meet her. Then why did you bring her into the harem in the first place?]
[Is there something wrong with this scumbag dad? If it were me, I'd spread the rain and dew equally. Hehehe.]
[I can already picture my wonderful future: 365 prince consorts, a different one every day.]
[Don't ask. If you do, I learned it from scumbag dad. It's hereditary.]
Ye Yubei lowered his head and pressed a hand to his forehead. How had he ended up with a daughter like this? Had he failed to set a good example?
Shen Qingqing was speechless. Last time, Tang Tang had clearly said thirty would be enough. Why had the number grown so much this time?
She truly was Ye Yubei's daughter.
Shen Qingqing shot Ye Yubei a glare, leaving him utterly bewildered.
When had he upset Qingqing again?
Ye Yubei gave a few quiet coughs. "Well, in that case, I shall have you beaten to death with clubs and send this Third Son of the Xue Family out of the palace."
"Your Majesty, I am willing to suffer this punishment in Consort Li's place. Please spare Consort Li. I beg you, Your Majesty!"
The Third Son of the Xue Family prostrated himself on the ground. They said men did not shed tears lightly, yet at that moment, he cried like a child as he pleaded with Ye Yubei.
"Master Xue, all that matters is that you live well. Go, hurry. Go home and forget me. Find someone you love who loves you too, marry her, and have children."
"Li Niang, I won't leave. I won't leave! If we die, we die together. I still have my eldest and second brothers at home, but you only have me."
They held each other and sobbed bitterly. Faced with life and death, each chose to let the other live.
[Waaah... This is so touching, so touching! My tyrant scumbag dad is taking a cudgel to these lovebirds.]
Ye Tangtang was so moved by the sight that she nearly cried. True love really did exist. Though rare, she had witnessed it once.
[Is my tyrant scumbag dad going to kill them both? He's so awful!! Absolutely awful. I don't like him anymore.]
She didn't like him?
Ye Yubei froze, unable to recover for a long time. His daughter did not like him...
How could his daughter not like him?
[He kills people as easily as slicing a watermelon. I don't like him anymore. Hmph.]
Listening to his daughter's thoughts, Ye Yubei felt his heart breaking. Tang Tang no longer liked him, her Emperor Father?
Perhaps she had never liked him, her Emperor Father. The little girl complained about him every day.
And... Qingqing was here too. He had to be a good husband and a good Emperor Father.
"Stop crying. You're giving me a headache. I never said I would kill you both. Consort Li, you have failed to uphold wifely virtue and are unworthy of being my woman."
"Tomorrow, I will issue an imperial decree banishing you to Bodhi Temple to offer incense and pray for the Northern Li Kingdom. As for what happens afterward, you can work that out yourselves."
Ye Yubei's brows were tightly knitted, his tone extremely impatient. He even had to handle these trifling matters himself. If not for his daughter...
If he had not been trying to avoid frightening his daughter and Qingqing, he would have executed these shameless adulterers on the spot long ago.
For a moment, neither of them could react. Thinking they had misheard, they simply stared at each other.
Ye Yubei said, "Get out already."
Consort Li and the Third Son of the Xue Family knelt and bowed. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
They had thought they would not survive. They had heard that Ye Yubei was a tyrant who slaughtered people like cutting hemp, ruthless in his methods. Yet seeing him today, he did not seem entirely like that.
Ye Tangtang nearly clapped her little hands in applause.
[Wow~ What's gotten into my Emperor Father? Why did he suddenly pardon them both? Emperor Father is amazing!]
[From now on, Emperor Father is my idol. I won't call him scumbag dad anymore.]
Ye Yubei: "!!"
Such a wonderful thing could happen? Could he finally shake off the title of scumbag dad?
Before you continue