[The Duke Anguo probably never imagined, no matter what, that keeping a mistress would bring disaster down on him.]
Duke Anguo kept a mistress too?
Su Zhouyue had heard that Duke Anguo's Wife was famously unable to tolerate even a grain of sand in her eyes. If she found out, she would take a knife and chop both the mistress and Duke Anguo into pieces to feed the dogs.
Duke Anguo did not understand why everyone had fallen silent.
Tears streamed down his aged face. It was one thing for His Majesty not to pity him, but why was he looking at him like that?
"Your Majesty..." Duke Anguo said, his voice trembling.
[Calling for His Majesty won't help. His Majesty doesn't know you're keeping a mistress either. And that mistress of yours has been lured away by another man, young and strong.]
The emperor: "..."
Why did this scene seem so familiar?
[What a coincidence, though. That young, strong man happens to be the Heir of Duke Anguo's lackey. He's always at the heir's side, following his every lead. If the heir tells him to go east, he doesn't dare go west. If the heir tells him to kill someone, he'd dare do that too.]
Tong Fengye caught on. The person they wanted to kill was him, wasn't it?
[That day, the Heir of Duke Anguo went to him and told him to deal with my third brother. He agreed, then turned around and went to see the mistress. After some clouds and rain, he told the mistress about it and even showed her the powder that would drive horses mad. The mistress wanted some, so he gave her a portion... what a brainless idiot.]
[But no sooner had he left than Duke Anguo came calling. The two had another round of... afterward, the mistress gave Duke Anguo a sachet containing the powder... two birds with one stone! Only, when the duke went to test his heir on his studies, he left the sachet there. The heir carried it with him, intending to return it to the duke. Who knew...]
Tong Aning sighed inwardly. [You really can't survive the calamity you bring on yourself.]
"Your Majesty..." Seeing no response from His Majesty, Duke Anguo began putting on his act again.
The emperor said coldly, "Instead of sitting here saying 'Your Majesty' this and 'Your Majesty' that, you would do better to question that mistress of yours."
Duke Anguo's heart jolted. He hurriedly dropped to his knees. "Your Majesty, I have no mistress."
The emperor stared at him. "You really don't?"
"Absolutely not. I can swear to it."
Looking at his resolute expression, the emperor could not stop sneering inwardly. This old scoundrel-if he had not heard what that girl Tong Aning said, he really would have believed him.
"Then how about I summon that mistress and your wife, and have them confront you together?"
Cold sweat broke out over Duke Anguo. "You mustn't, Your Majesty."
"So you admit it?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, I do keep a mistress..." Duke Anguo stammered. "It's only human nature."
But he probably knew how disgraceful it was himself, for his voice grew less and less confident.
He had thought His Majesty would abandon the idea, but to his surprise, His Majesty still sent Eunuch Wang out.
Duke Anguo panicked at once. "You mustn't, Your Majesty..."
Seeing His Majesty's unyielding expression, Duke Anguo gritted his teeth. "I concede. What happened to my son was an accident."
[Wow, he's even giving up on his son to save himself.]
Just then, the Heir of Duke Anguo woke up. He looked at Duke Anguo in disbelief. "Father, this wasn't an accident!"
"I know, I know." Duke Anguo took his heir's hand and urged him quietly, "Bear with it for now."
"I can't!" Even now, the pain in his legs was unbearable. He could not possibly swallow this grievance. He looked toward Tong Fengye, his gaze venomous. "I'll make him pay!"
Tong Fengye was amused. He had not even caused it. What was he supposed to pay for?
"In that case," Tong Aobai said, "Your Majesty, please summon Duke Anguo's mistress."
The emperor glanced at Tong Aobai.
He was used to seeing Tong Aobai sweep all before him at court with an air of righteous integrity. Seeing him start laying traps for others was rather novel.
"You mustn't, Your Majesty."
"A mistress? Father, what mistress?" The Heir of Duke Anguo was utterly bewildered.
The emperor said, "Duke Anguo, weren't you demanding an explanation from me?"
Not knowing how the matter had come around to his mistress, Duke Anguo collapsed to the floor. It was over. It was all over.
Tong Aning, meanwhile, was thinking, [How did His Majesty know that mistress was the key? His Majesty truly deserves to be the supreme ruler. He's amazing.]
The praise filled the emperor with delight. He tilted up his chin like a great cat whose fur had been stroked smooth.
Tong Aobai: "..."
While they waited for the mistress to arrive, Su Zhouyue said, "Your Majesty, now that the heir is awake, why not have the imperial physician examine him again and prescribe some medicine for his injuries to ease the pain?"
The Heir of Duke Anguo said, "I don't want your false kindness."
Su Zhouyue did not take it to heart. This was no false kindness. Just because the imperial physician had failed to notice the powder on the heir amid the earlier chaos did not mean he would fail to notice it now.
The emperor pressed a hand to his forehead. What had possessed the Heir of Duke Anguo to scheme against the marquis's household?
That husband and wife were fiercely protective of their own, and now they had Tong Aning, who could see through everything.
The imperial physician soon arrived. First he took the heir's pulse, then his nostrils twitched, as though he had discovered something extraordinary.
He asked, "Are you carrying anything such as a sachet, young lord?"
The Heir of Duke Anguo nodded.
"May I have it?"
The Heir of Duke Anguo's personal servant took out the sachet and handed it to the imperial physician.
The imperial physician sniffed it carefully, then said in surprise, "Young lord, this contains a powder that drives horses mad. Why would you carry this on you?"
The heir's face went utterly white. His lips trembled as he said, "This... this belongs to my father..."
Could his father have wanted to harm him?
No, how was that possible?
Duke Anguo also froze where he stood.
When the mistress was brought in, Duke Anguo glared at her furiously. "I've treated you well! Why did you harm my son?"
The mistress said calmly, "I don't know what you're talking about, Your Grace."
Duke Anguo snatched the sachet and hurled it at her.
The mistress said, "Your Majesty, please judge this fairly. This isn't mine."
The emperor raised an eyebrow. "Duke Anguo, you really have invited me to quite a show."
"Your Majesty..."
Eunuch Wang said, "Your Majesty, the vice minister of works has arrived with his son."
[What's he doing here?]
The emperor had thought the show was about to end. He had not expected another pleasant surprise.
The emperor said, "Summon them."
The moment the vice minister of works entered, he knelt with his son. "Only after returning home today did I learn that my worthless son had committed a grave error. I've come specifically to beg forgiveness."
"Oh? What error did he commit?" the emperor asked with interest.
Exasperated by his son's failure to measure up, the vice minister of works said, "He actually concealed what he knew! He knew perfectly well that Third Young Master Tong had harmed the heir, yet said nothing."
Tong Aobai and Su Zhouyue understood. He had come to curry favor with Duke Anguo.
Unfortunately...
[He probably doesn't know it was his own son who harmed the heir, does he?]
What?
The vice minister of works shuddered.
[And that brazen man who seduced Duke Anguo's mistress is his son too.]
Not only had he plotted against the heir, he had also seduced the duke's mistress.
The vice minister of works's vision went black. He felt as though the sky had come crashing down!