"Grant them poisoned wine and end it once and for all," Emperor Xuanzhao said mercilessly.
"The Third Princess must be eager to see you. Would you like to see her?"
The Third Princess was not in the palace at present. Once she returned and learned that Noble Consort Wei had committed adultery, and that she herself was Noble Consort Wei's illegitimate daughter by another man, she would certainly ask to see the emperor.
"Why would I see a bastard? Just to give myself more grief?"
Although Eunuch Yang thought this inappropriate, he swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue when he saw Emperor Xuanzhao's resolute attitude.
Apart from the Fourth Prince, the emperor doted on the Third Princess the most.
Who could have imagined that the Third Princess was not of imperial blood?
Noble Consort Wei truly had gall enough to blot out the heavens.
Even as Eunuch Yang sighed over it, he could not help admiring Shen Yuxi.
The matter was grave. Although the emperor believed Shen Yuxi, he had still sent men to investigate the midwife who had delivered Noble Consort Wei's child and the imperial physician who had cared for her during her pregnancy.
Sure enough, they uncovered the truth.
Noble Consort Wei had not given birth prematurely back then. Her child had been full-term.
She had colluded with the imperial physician to falsify how far along her pregnancy was, deceiving everyone.
After dealing with Noble Consort Wei and the others, Emperor Xuanzhao swept his broad sleeves and turned to leave without a shred of mercy.
He urgently needed somewhere quiet to spend some time alone and vent his anger.
Gentle Whisper Courtyard.
Shen Yuxi lay sprawled on the bed, staring fixedly at the ceiling.
[Host, hurry up and go to sleep. Otherwise, you won't be able to wake up tomorrow morning, and your dad will yank your ear again.]
[Just a reminder: by modern timekeeping, it's already one in the morning.]
[I'm not sleepy!]
The next day, before Shen Yuxi had even opened her eyes, Minister Shen hauled her up early.
"Dad, let me sleep a little longer. I'm practically dying of sleepiness."
As Shen Yuxi spoke, she covered her mouth and let out a huge yawn.
Minister Shen looked speechlessly at his youngest daughter and her pair of panda eyes. "Even if I let you sleep, will His Majesty agree to let you keep sleeping?"
"Break that bad habit of staying up late. How many times have I told you? Early to bed and early to rise keeps you healthy. You can't always go to sleep so late."
With her eyes closed, Shen Yuxi clutched Minister Shen's arm and walked forward by feel.
Still refusing to concede, she said, "I want to go to bed early too, but my body won't let me."
"How can a habit formed over more than ten years be changed overnight?"
"Practice without cease, and one becomes a gentleman; practice without wavering, and habit becomes one with the body; when habit becomes one with the body, it becomes natural."
Minister Shen continued his lecture. "Habit becomes second nature. Keep attending court, and after a while, you'll break your habit of going to bed late and getting up late."
System, my dad really loves talking like some stuffy scholar. Isn't he taking a veiled jab at my lack of education right to my face? He knows perfectly well I can't understand him.
Shen Yuxi griped to the system in her mind.
Minister Shen: "..."
[Host, your dad probably didn't consider that you wouldn't understand. After all, he's spent so long in officialdom that polished phrases naturally flow from his mouth.]
The Fourth Prince's residence.
"Your Highness, His Majesty summoned Grand Tutor Wei alone."
Mo Xuanchen toyed with the dagger in his hand. Its keen blade gleamed with a cold silver light beneath the sun, reflecting the man's icy features.
With his head lowered and his voice steady, Han Ying continued his report. "Noble Consort Wei committed adultery and muddied the imperial bloodline. His Majesty flew into a rage and granted poisoned wine to Noble Consort Wei and the Third Princess."
"How did Father find out?"
"Apparently, Third Miss Shen was eating melons with the system at court and exposed the Third Princess as the illegitimate daughter Noble Consort Wei secretly had with her head eunuch."
"His Majesty believed her, arrested the imperial physician and midwife from back then, and extracted the truth through interrogation and brutal torture."
The corners of Mo Xuanchen's mouth curled slightly, a trace of an indescribable smile in his ink-dark eyes.
"No wonder. I was wondering how Father, muddleheaded for over a decade, had thought to investigate Noble Consort Wei and her daughter. So that was it..."
Throughout the Mo Kingdom, Mo Xuanchen was the only person who dared openly call the reigning emperor muddleheaded.
Accustomed to his master's attitude toward Emperor Xuanzhao, Han Ying was not surprised.
"In consideration of Grand Tutor Wei's many years of conscientious service at court, as well as his ignorance of the affair, His Majesty did not punish him severely. He docked Grand Tutor Wei ten years' salary."
Grand Tutor Wei was a veteran official who had served two emperors and had once taught Emperor Xuanzhao himself. However furious the emperor was, he could hardly kill him.
He had imposed a small punishment as a stern warning.
Still, the emperor now harbored a thorn in his heart toward Grand Tutor Wei.
From this day forward, Grand Tutor Wei would never again be able to hold his head high before the emperor.
"However, I'm afraid Grand Tutor Wei will bear a grudge against Third Miss Shen."
At those words, Mo Xuanchen's look of enjoying the show faded slightly, and his previously relaxed jaw tightened a little.
Silence abruptly settled over them.
A moment later, the man's rather cold, low voice rang out.
"Keep a close eye on Grand Tutor Wei."
"Send men to protect her in secret."
Who "her" referred to went without saying.
A flicker of surprise crossed Han Ying's previously calm eyes.
Although he knew His Highness paid particular attention to Third Miss Shen, he had never imagined that His Highness would actually send men to protect her.
It was nothing like something His Highness would do.
"Yes."
Since His Highness had given the order, they need only obey.
No reason was necessary.
Shen Yuxi lay in the carriage catching up on sleep, sleeping until heaven and earth faded away.
Neither the jolting carriage nor the clamor of passersby disturbed her sound sleep in the slightest.
[If I hadn't bound myself to the host and didn't know she was a university graduate from a Project 985 institution, I'd suspect she'd been reincarnated from a pig in her past life, with how much she can sleep.]
The system muttered to itself.
Hearing the system's words, Minister Shen nodded in agreement.
Exactly, exactly!
But what did a university graduate from a Project 985 institution mean? From the system's tone, his youngest daughter seemed to have been quite impressive in her previous life.
Minister Shen was deeply curious about his youngest daughter's life in her previous incarnation, but the system fell silent after that single remark.
He had no way to ask, either.
"Daughter, daughter, wake up."
Once they reached the palace gates, Minister Shen patted Shen Yuxi's shoulder with practiced ease.
He called twice, but Shen Yuxi kept sleeping soundly as though she could not hear him.
Minister Shen's patience ran out. He simply picked his youngest daughter up and dragged her out of the carriage.
The people around them saw Minister Shen charging forward angrily, dragging someone along without the slightest regard for his usual refined, dignified image.
They curiously raised their eyes to look behind him.
One glance revealed that it was Junior Official Shen.
Then there was nothing to see.
"Minister Shen, what are you...?"
The minister of works approached to strike up a conversation. Seeing that even Minister Shen's official hat had gone askew, he could not help twitching the corners of his mouth.
Shen Yuxi finally stirred awake.
The moment she opened her eyes, she saw the officials waiting to attend court, her father's tall figure before her, and her own collar clutched in his hand.
Her brain crashed, leaving her unable to react for a moment.
[Host, you were sleeping too deeply. Your dad couldn't wake you, so he had no choice but to drag you to court.]
Drag me?
Shen Yuxi's eyes widened.
This is bullying! This is just too much bullying!
The sudden rise in volume startled everyone present.
Before the system could ask, Shen Yuxi roared frantically in her mind, I'm a historian personally appointed by His Majesty, for goodness' sake! My dad dragged me all the way here in full view of everyone. My colleagues will laugh me to death!
How am I supposed to show my face at court from now on?
Minister Shen: "..."
Even if I hadn't dragged you, you'd already lost every scrap of face you had.