The Crazy Emperor's Pampered Cousin

Tomorrow is Li Qu's retirement banquet. Xie Yanzhao and Shen Chengbo have already set up a plan to expose the hypocrisy of this governor in public at the banquet.

As dusk settled, the candlelight flickered gently in the bedroom.

Shen Tinghe nestled against Xie Yanzhao's chest, her voice soft and sticky: "I want to go too, take me with you, please take me with you."

Xie Yanzhao held her with one arm and twirled the end of her hair with the other, his tone gentle yet uncompromising: "Tomorrow might be dangerous, Yuan Yuan, be good and stay in the manor. I'll be back soon, and then we'll spend the whole day together, okay?"

Shen Tinghe wasn't going to fall for his empty promises.

She looked up, her eyes sparkling with a bright, eager anticipation: "If you don't take me, I'll go by myself. If I encounter any danger along the way... humph, I'll scare you to death."

Xie Yanzhao raised an eyebrow slightly, a lazy yet confident smile flashing in his eyes.

He stroked her cheek, his fingertips warm: "Yuan Yuan can give it a try."

His guards were stationed all around the mansion; if she wanted to slip out, it would be harder than climbing to heaven.

His Yuan Yuan is sometimes so innocent that she is endearing.

Shen Tinghe pursed her lips, her eyes flickered, and a layer of misty moisture rose in them.

She buried her face in the crook of his neck, her voice muffled and tinged with grievance: "You've all left, leaving me alone in this mansion... I'll be scared. My husband, I don't want to be separated from you, not even for a moment. What if some bad people take the opportunity to harm me?"

Xie Yanzhao let out a low laugh, clearly seeing through her little trick, but those two "husband" and "I don't want to be apart" tickled his heart like feathers.

He pinched her earlobe, his voice lowering, "Yuan Yuan, say it again, what do you not want?"

Shen Tinghe raised her wet eyes and looked into his deep gaze, speaking sweetly and softly, "I don't want to be separated from you. Husband, take me with you. I promise I'll be good and won't cause any trouble."

Xie Yanzhao's eyes gleamed with even greater pleasure. He lowered his head and lightly pecked her lips twice, as if rewarding her: "Yuanyuan is the best at coaxing people."

"I'm just trying to coax you." Shen Tinghe smiled triumphantly, her eyes crinkling like stars.

In the end, he couldn't persuade her otherwise, and he couldn't bear to leave her alone.

The next day, on the carriage to the Li residence, Shen Tinghe looked at herself in the small bronze mirror and muttered, "So ugly..."

To avoid attracting attention, she disguised herself as Xie Yanzhao's personal maid today.

Her originally fair and jade-like face was covered with a layer of dark cream, temporarily concealing her pearly radiance, leaving only her bright eyes as lively as ever.

Xie Yanzhao pulled her close, his fingertips brushing her cheek, his gaze tender: "It's alright, Yuan Yuan looks beautiful even like this."

Governor's Mansion, Retirement Banquet

The Li residence was bustling with carriages and horses, and guests were numerous.

Li Qu served as an official for thirty years, and he was extremely good at maintaining appearances, earning him a reputation for "benevolent governance" in Lingzhou.

If it weren't for the confirmed evidence of his secret collusion and embezzlement of grain funds, just looking at this scene, who wouldn't praise him as "a man of high moral character and prestige"?

Zhao Yunxu and Wei Yanxing also came to Lingzhou to attend the banquet on behalf of their respective fathers.

Li Qu's second daughter, Li Ya, who was once a classmate of Zhao Yunxu, is currently greeting guests at the door with several of her sisters.

When the two met, they inevitably engaged in some polite, but insincere, conversation.

Zhao Yunxu glanced at the several concubine's daughters dressed in their finest attire in front of the Li residence, a hint of barely perceptible contempt flashing in her eyes.

Li Qu had more than twenty concubines who bore him more than a dozen daughters.

Most of the guests have arrived.

Inside the banquet hall, glasses clinked and laughter filled the air.

Li Qu sat in the main seat, his face flushed, and was about to raise his glass to give a speech when the old butler staggered into the hall, his voice shrill with excitement.

"Master! Master! The Crown Prince, His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"

The clamor in the hall suddenly ceased.

Li Qu's wine cup trembled suddenly, and some wine spilled out.

He hurriedly stood up, almost knocking over his chair, and the surrounding guests also left their seats, looking towards the door with surprise and uncertainty.

A tall and upright figure stepped into the hall.

Xie Yanzhao was dressed in a black robe with dark gold patterns, but his noble and dignified demeanor made all the lights in the room dim.

Shen Chengbo lagged half a step behind, his expression solemn.

Beside the crown prince was a maid with lowered eyes and a demure demeanor. Although her complexion was dark, her posture was extremely composed.

"Your Highness, we, your humble servants, pay our respects!"

With a whoosh, everyone in the hall knelt down.

Xie Yanzhao continued walking without stopping, heading straight for the main seat.

Yuan Chi had already nimbly changed his chair. He sat down calmly, his gaze sweeping over those below before he said indifferently, "Rise."

Everyone rose tremblingly and stood respectfully with their hands at their sides.

Shen Tinghe quietly raised her eyes, quickly scanned the entire room, and soon got into character, obediently picking up the wine pot and pouring a cup for Xie Yanzhao.

As he handed it over, Xie Yanzhao's fingertips seemingly casually brushed against the back of her hand, the warm touch lasting only briefly.

Zhao Yunxu stood up with the crowd and secretly glanced at the person in the main seat.

One glance was enough to strike him like lightning, and his blood nearly turned back to its own.

It was him! The handsome man she had glimpsed in Bingzhou and who had haunted her dreams was none other than the Crown Prince!

Her legs went weak and she almost couldn't stand up. She hurriedly grabbed Wei Yanxing's arm beside her.

Wei Yanxing's face was also pale, and cold sweat seeped from his forehead.

He finally understood where that heart-pounding sense of oppression came from.

Zhao Yunxu felt a chill run down his spine, and cold sweat instantly soaked through his inner shirt.

If he was the crown prince, then the woman who called him "husband" beside him at that time... was the crown princess!

That night, he actually made outrageous remarks to the Crown Princess.

She dared not think any further, feeling dizzy and disoriented, as if she could feel the chill of a blade on her neck.

Li Qu forced himself to remain calm, stepped forward and bowed deeply, his voice still trembling: "I was unaware that Your Highness the Crown Prince would be visiting Lingzhou. I have failed to greet you properly and deserve to die! Your Highness's presence truly honors my humble abode..."

Xie Yanzhao picked up the glass of wine that Shen Tinghe had poured, but did not drink it immediately. He slowly rubbed his fingertips along the rim of the glass.

He looked up at Li Qu, his lips curving slightly, but there was no smile in his eyes.

"Lord Li, there's no need for such formalities. I was just passing through Lingzhou when I heard that today is Lord Li's retirement banquet, so I came to ask for a cup of wine."

His voice was gentle, yet it made Li Qu's heart skip a beat.

"By the way, let's also see just how impressive Lord Li's achievements have been in Lingzhou over the past thirty years."

He slightly prolonged the last four words.

The hall was completely silent; you could hear a pin drop. A suffocating sense of impending doom quietly enveloped the entire banquet hall.

As soon as Xie Yanzhao finished speaking, footsteps surged in from outside the hall like a tide, the sound of armor clashing was cold and jarring.

The halberd-wielding soldiers filed in, instantly filling the banquet hall to capacity, the cold glint of their blades reflecting on the terrified faces of everyone present.

Li Qu's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his mind raced.

The Crown Prince's trip to the banquet was by no means accidental. This kind of scene... could it be that those secret matters have already been exposed?

He forced a smile, his voice strained: "Your Highness, what... what does this mean? If there's any misunderstanding..."

Shen Chengbo stepped forward steadily, took out a stack of documents from his robes, and loudly interrupted him: "Li Qu! During your tenure in Lingzhou, you embezzled 730,000 taels of tax silver, and further framed people out of personal grudges, disregarding human life. Every single one of these acts is supported by irrefutable evidence! What else do you have to say?"