What a Shame

Two days later, someone submitted an unusual complaint within the jurisdiction of Chang'an.

The Capital Prefect, Left Fengyi, and Right Fufeng oversaw judicial trials, respectively governing the three regions east of Chang'an, north of Changling, and west of Weicheng. Known collectively as the Three Adjuncts, all three had their offices in Chang'an.

When the Capital Prefect received the complaint, he was utterly dumbfounded. The plaintiff was Junior Tutor Xi Ming's second wife, and the witness was Xi Ming's eldest legitimate son.

They accused Xi Ming of raping his own son!

The Capital Prefect asked in shock, "What evidence do you have?"

The Junior Tutor's eldest legitimate son simply undid his clothes. On his naked body lay the evidence of the criminal's crimes.

The Capital Prefect's pupils contracted. In his decades as an official, he had seen many gruesome murders, yet the evidence in this case alone made his heart pound with dread. He could not bear to look directly at it.

He strode over and drew the boy's clothes closed. Unable to steady his breathing, he gritted his teeth and solemnly promised,

"I will take this case!"

The boy's gaze was calm. His stepmother looked over cautiously, but his eyes held only the icy stillness of death.

The next day, the Capital Prefect presented the complaint at court.

Xi Ming was still teaching the Eldest Prince when several guards stripped him of his official cap and robes and took him away.

A fierce debate erupted at court.

The Empress Dowager's faction argued that a son accusing his father was unfilial, and a wife accusing her husband violated the precepts for women. Moreover, Xi Ming had not killed his son, so he could not be sentenced to death. The plaintiffs should instead be beaten according to law for their unfilial conduct and disobedience.

The emperor's faction argued that Xi Ming had defied all human morality and was worse than a beast. He deserved to die!

The Qi Emperor let them debate.

He had arranged for Xi Ming's second wife and legitimate son to lodge the complaint precisely because he did not want the imperial family's reputation stained.

Were they supposed to announce that the Eldest Prince had been molested by his Junior Tutor?

Xi Ming had no powerful faction behind him, but he belonged to the prestigious literati circle and had a renowned Confucian scholar as his teacher. This was the perfect chance to let the whole world see their true faces behind closed doors.

"What do you think, Mother?"

Behind the curtain, the Empress Dowager replied, "What do you think, Emperor?"

"I think he should be executed!"

"That is not impossible, but Xi Ming's second wife and legitimate son must also be punished. After all, a son accusing his father is unfilial."

The Qi Emperor chuckled. "True. His second wife also violated the three obediences and four virtues. Mother, do you remember what those three obediences are?"

The Empress Dowager's expression instantly turned cold.

She had used filial piety to take a jab at the emperor, and he had used the three obediences to jab back at her.

Neither mother nor son would yield.

"Mother wishes to give the victims twenty strokes of the board, but Xi Ming's legitimate son likely would not survive them. Besides, Xi Ming has ruined his entire life. What sense is there in punishing him for trying to escape hell?"

The Qi Emperor ordered, "Xi Ming's second wife shall receive twenty strokes of the board for concealing his crimes!"

"Xi Ming shall be exiled to Lingnan."

The Empress Dowager snorted coldly and said no more.

The case was settled.

On the day Xi Ming was escorted out of Chang'an in a prison cart, the streets emptied as everyone came out to curse him along the way.

"Why didn't they kill that beast? He shouldn't be allowed to live!"

"Exactly! That was his own son! And he calls himself a scholar!"

"Now I know what a beast in human clothing looks like. When these scholars turn vile, they're even worse than thugs."

"I heard he taught a prince. Do you think he might have..."

The voices around them suddenly dropped.

"I heard he tried to lay his hands on the prince, and that's how he caught the emperor's attention. The emperor wanted him dead, but the Empress Dowager wouldn't allow it."

"Why wouldn't the Empress Dowager allow it?"

"His Majesty is already twenty-three or twenty-four, and she's still ruling from behind the curtain. Why do you think? She doesn't want to give up power."

"The Empress Dowager is no good either! She even let this beast off! With her pressing down on the emperor every day, he must be suffocating!"

The talk among the common people was exactly what the Qi Emperor had hoped for.

Great Qi had a rule that punishment does not extend to scholars. Essentially, scholars would reflect on their own mistakes, so others should preserve their dignity rather than subject their bodies to punishment.

The Qi Emperor did not believe in any of that. But he needed the court officials' support now and could not yet free his hands to deal with other matters.

Once again, the Qi Emperor cursed his debauched, depraved, short-lived imperial father.

Why couldn't he have died before his imperial grandfather? Then he could have gone straight from imperial grandson to emperor, without any business of the Empress Dowager ruling from behind the curtain.

Inside the Hall of Bright Virtue, the victim of the case knelt respectfully.

He was extremely thin, and gloom hung over his entire being.

"Do you have any plans for the future? I heard you used to do well in your studies."

The boy shuddered and blurted out in panic, "I won't study!"

When the Qi Emperor looked at him, he lowered his voice and repeated,

"I don't want to study..."

The Qi Emperor regarded him coldly. This boy had nothing to do with him. In fact, because of Xi Ming, the Qi Emperor still disliked him, even though he too was a victim.

He had summoned the boy only out of a little curiosity.

"Do as you wish. Decide for yourself whether to return to your mother's family or the Xi Residence. I'll have someone escort you."

He knocked his forehead against the floor with heavy thuds.

"Your Majesty! I don't want to go back!"

His mother had been dead for five years, and not one person from her family had ever visited. His stepmother had children of her own and would care even less about him.

He could not support himself yet, nor did he want to spend his whole life under other people's strange looks.

The Qi Emperor glanced at him.

"What do you want, then?"

"Please take me in, Your Majesty! As long as I can live, this servant is willing to work like an ox or a horse!"

The Qi Emperor said, "Two choices. Either become a eunuch or go kill people."

"Neither is as good as going back and continuing your life."

"I choose the second!"

An all-or-nothing resolve settled between his brows. He chose the second without a moment's thought.

The Qi Emperor studied him for a long time. "How old are you?"

"Ten."

He looked six.

Malnourished.

Xi Ming only liked young children, preferably between three and six, so the boy had been kept hungry for long stretches. At ten years old, he had the body of a six-year-old.

"Shadow One."

A shadow descended.

"Take him."

After speaking, the Qi Emperor glanced at him.

"I've prepared a gift for you. You're sure to like it. If you make it out alive, I can give you a chance-a chance to see the light of day again."

He kowtowed three times, his forehead striking the floor loudly, then left with the Shadow Guard.

On a whim, the Qi Emperor asked, "What's his name?"

Fat Eunuch was just about to answer when the Qi Emperor added, "Never mind. It doesn't matter."

"Thank heaven Zuo'er wasn't caught up in this."

"Pass down my orders. This matter must never be mentioned in front of the Crown Prince. Anyone who dares sully his ears is to be swept away."

Fat Eunuch immediately went to carry it out.

The affair had caused such an uproar that all of Chang'an had been shaken. Naturally, people in the palace were discussing it too. He had to clean things up quickly, before any of it reached the Crown Prince's ears.

For some inexplicable reason, Fat Eunuch glanced back at the empty space behind him. A name surfaced in his mind-Xi Changsong.

What a shame...

The prison cart bound for Lingnan stopped partway through its journey. Xi Ming woke from his stupor to see three people blocking the road. In the middle stood a young boy-his eldest son, Xi Changsong!

The escorting officers cupped their fists in farewell and left. Looking into those hate-filled eyes, Xi Ming felt terror rise in his heart.

The two people beside the boy patted his shoulders. "Come back when it's finished."

Xi Ming had no path to heaven and no door into the earth. All he could do was shout in vain,

"Stay away! Stay away-"

Qi Yuanzuo had already learned what was happening outside through the system.

"88, you actually have some use after all. A scanning range of only five hundred meters is pathetic, but being able to eavesdrop on anyone within those five hundred meters is fantastic!"

88 said, "Host, what if Xi Ming doesn't die? He's so vile. Exile is letting him off far too easily!"

Qi Yuanzuo remained unruffled. "Relax. Knowing Father, Xi Ming definitely won't survive. Besides, Lingnan isn't a nice place. Even officials sent there to take up their posts sometimes die on the way."

"Host, the Eldest Prince is coming this way. Bolao is still kneeling. What if that affects the Eldest Prince's impression of you?"

Qi Yuanzuo looked at Bolao kneeling outside and sneered.

"That little bastard is trying to make me look bad!"

"Two days ago, he acted on his own authority, so I told him to get out and kneel. These past two days, he's come to provoke me every single day. He's sick!"

Anyone watching would think the Crown Prince was tormenting Bolao. After all, Bolao loyally protected his master, worrying every day that he was too cold, too hot, hungry, or overfull, caring for him and looking after him at every moment.

Qi Yuanzuo was acutely sensitive to covert psychological manipulation. Bolao appeared to care for him, but in truth, he was conditioning him.

Just like the last time he had not worn socks: Bolao had come forward to warm his feet and put socks on him. He refused the first time, then the second. Even after three refusals, Bolao still would not change.

For an ordinary child, the reactions of the servants around him would influence his judgment, making him believe Bolao genuinely cared about him.

And a person's patience was limited. Once Bolao wore him down, he would tacitly accept it.

Once that door opened, he would tacitly accept a second thing, then a third.

That was conditioning through subtle, imperceptible influence.

As it happened, Qi Yuanzuo wanted to condition him too.

If he wanted to kneel, let him kneel.

If two hours weren't enough, then four. If four weren't enough, then a whole day!

88 exclaimed again, "Host, the Eldest Prince has run into Princess Baozhu!"

"She's your little aunt!"

Qi Yuanzuo pricked up his ears, his appetite for gossip instantly stirred. Was this the person the Eldest Prince committed incest with?

He stared expectantly at the doorway. Come in, come in! Let me have a looook~