Joy of Life: Starting by clinging to the eldest princess's coattails!

Chapter 127 Emperor Qing: Shameless! She has utterly disgraced the royal family!

Kyoto, Imperial Palace, Imperial Study.

Emperor Qing was leaning back on a soft couch reviewing memorials, while Eunuch Hou stood respectfully to the side, ready to be summoned at any moment.

Light footsteps came from outside the door.

A young eunuch walked to the door and winked at Eunuch Hou.

Eunuch Hou frowned and tiptoed out.

After a while.

Eunuch Hou bowed as he walked in, his steps lighter than usual, his face showing undisguised shock.

He walked to the bedside and lowered his voice: "Your Majesty, news has come back from Suzhou—"

Emperor Qing didn't look up, his pen moving across the memorial: "Speak."

Eunuch Hou swallowed hard, lowering his voice even further: "Her Highness the Princess—she is pregnant."

Emperor Qing, who was reviewing memorials, seemed not to have heard these words clearly and did not react at all.

He stopped writing.

A few breaths later, he raised his head and looked at Eunuch Hou.

His gaze was calm, so calm it was almost frightening.

"What did you just say?"

Eunuch Hou lowered his head and carefully repeated, "Your Majesty, Her Highness the Eldest Princess—is pregnant. And—moreover, according to estimates from people in Suzhou, she is approximately—four months along."

The imperial study fell silent.

Emperor Qing sat on the soft couch, still holding the pen in his hand, as if frozen in place.

Li Yunrui is still unmarried.

You're saying Li Yunrui is pregnant? And four months along?

But Li Yunrui had only been away from Kyoto for a month, and there were no signs of pregnancy while she was in Kyoto.

He put down his pen and placed his hand on the low table.

"Explain yourself clearly," his voice hardened, "What exactly happened?"

Eunuch Hou bowed hastily, his voice trembling: "Three days ago, Her Highness the Princess's official ship docked at the Suzhou wharf. Everyone at the wharf saw that Her Highness the Princess—was showing signs of pregnancy."

Did everyone on the dock see it?

In other words, the eldest princess of Qing Kingdom not only became pregnant out of wedlock, but she also shamelessly told the world about it.

Emperor Qing clenched his fist tightly, then released it.

He grabbed a pen from the table and slammed it down on the low table.

"That bastard!" he roared. "She's utterly shameless! She's completely disgraced the Qing Kingdom!"

The eunuch was so frightened that he immediately knelt down, his forehead touching the ground: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"

Emperor Qing's chest heaved, and his breathing became heavy.

He stared at Eunuch Hou, his eyes blazing with anger: "Who exactly is that adulterer?!"

Eunuch Hou trembled, his voice shaking: "For now—we don't know yet. But—based on Her Highness the Princess's journey from the capital to Suzhou, this person—is very likely Wu Feng, who is by her side."

Wu Feng?!

Emperor Qing was stunned.

He looked at Eunuch Hou, his anger turning into disbelief.

"Wu Feng?" he asked again, "Isn't he a eunuch?"

"This old servant doesn't know either." Eunuch Hou remained kneeling on the ground. "But this old servant just checked the eunuch department. The eunuchs who were responsible for casting Wu Feng's body were executed by Her Highness the Princess three months ago."

The imperial study fell into a deathly silence once again.

Emperor Qing sat on the soft couch, his expression gradually freezing.

He was executed three months ago.

In other words, Li Yunrui has been covering up this matter since that time.

Wu Feng was not a eunuch at all.

She, Li Yunrui, had Wu Feng disguise himself as a eunuch and keep him by her side to serve her personally.

Then she got pregnant.

Emperor Qing's hand slowly clenched and then slowly relaxed.

He wanted to get angry, smash things, and kill people.

Just then, a sound came from outside the Imperial Study.

"Your Majesty, Dean Chen requests an audience."

The voice interrupted Emperor Qing's thoughts.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger and trying to calm himself down.

Now that Chen Pingping has arrived.

He needs to find out the truth about Li Yunrui's matter.

How exactly did Chen Pingping become the head of the Supervisory Council?

Li Yunrui set off from Kyoto, and along the way, no one from the Surveillance Bureau knew that she was pregnant.

This has now become common knowledge, causing the royal family to lose face.

"Send word to Chen Pingping." His voice was as somber as his face.

Eunuch Hou quickly got up from the ground, strode to the door of the Imperial Study, and called out, "Summon—Chen Pingping!"

A short while later.

The door to the Imperial Study was pushed open.

Chen Pingping wheeled himself into the Imperial Study.

Upon seeing this, Eunuch Hou hurried over and pushed the wheelchair to Emperor Qing's soft couch.

Chen Pingping cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects."

Emperor Qing stared at him, about to speak.

Chen Pingping spoke first: "Your Majesty, a major incident has occurred in Huaining Prefecture, Jiangbei."

As he spoke, he took out a memorial from his sleeve and presented it with both hands.

Emperor Qing was taken aback.

Jiangbei? Not Suzhou?

Eunuch Hou immediately came over, took the memorial, and respectfully handed it to Emperor Qing.

Chen Pingping kept her head down, her face revealing nothing.

He only learned about the situation in Suzhou last night.

He was just as shocked that the princess was pregnant out of wedlock.

Moreover, based on his deduction, the child the eldest princess was carrying must be Wu Feng's.

No wonder he never saw Wu Feng with a trace of eunuch about him.

That's why I rushed to the palace today, intending to use the floods in Jiangbei to divert His Majesty and the court's attention.

Let's buy some more time for Suzhou.

On the bed, Emperor Qing opened the memorial and quickly read it.

His expression changed.

He looked up at Chen Pingping: "The dikes in Huaining Prefecture have breached?!"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Chen Pingping nodded. "The rains in Jiangbei this year have been too heavy, lasting for several days in a row. The floods have directly breached the dikes of Huaining Prefecture."

Emperor Qing immediately looked at Eunuch Hou.

"Issue an imperial decree that Prime Minister Su, the Minister of Revenue, the Minister of War, and the Minister of Works come to see me immediately."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Eunuch Hou hurriedly left the Imperial Study.

After Eunuch Hou left, Emperor Qing's gaze returned to Chen Pingping.

He stared at Chen Pingping, his voice laced with anger: "Do you even know anything about Li Yunrui's matter?"

Chen Pingping's expression turned solemn, and he cupped his hands, saying, "Your Majesty, I only received the intelligence last night. Your Majesty, the most urgent task now is to deal with the floods in Jiangbei. This disaster in Jiangbei is far too severe."

Emperor Qing gazed at Chen Pingping silently for a few moments.

He was trying to confirm whether Chen Pingping was telling the truth or not.

But he couldn't see anything.

After a moment of silence, Emperor Qing said in a deep voice, "That Wu Feng—cannot live."

Chen Pingping thought for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "Yes, Your Majesty. Before entering the palace, I had already sent the people from the Sixth Bureau away."

Hearing this, Emperor Qing's mood eased somewhat.

He leaned back into the soft couch, his face full of coldness.

But then, a thought popped into my head.

Since Li Yunrui has done something as shameless and disgraceful to the royal family as getting pregnant out of wedlock,

It was no longer suitable for Li Yunrui to continue managing those three major workshops and Qingyutang.

He looked up and gazed out the window.

The lake surface shimmered, and a breeze blew in, carrying a hint of coolness.

Chen Pingping sat in her wheelchair, her eyes lowered, and remained silent.

The imperial study fell silent.

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