Masquerade in Bridal Attire and Marry the Prince

216. Donation and Avarice

Translator: Bryan

“Your Majesty, my whole family have made up our minds. Besides, my daughter is now an imperial daughter. We hope our kind deed will bring her good fortune.” Having noticed that the tones of voice of the two were different, the Emperor lowered his guard somewhat.

“Your patriotism is admirable,” remarked the Emperor. Naturally, the courtiers present who had watched the emperor grow up knew that the Emperor approved of Du Shi’s action and would not try to ascertain what kind of role the Du family had played in Yuxing Tianrui’s taking command of the army.

It was common knowledge that the Du family’s wealth was equivalent to that of a small country. With such a great sum of money, the Emperor would be able to take Shenglan country’s military strength to a higher level and the exchequer would be full again, and Shenglan country wouldn’t have to worry about the threat from neighboring countries anymore, at least not in the near future.

There would also be a hidden advantage: the Crown Princess, without the help of the Du family, would be so vulnerable that the Emperor would be able to kick her out of the game whenever he wanted, and he could use the vacancy to rope in another powerful courtier. The benefits would increase exponentially.

“Well then, it seems you’ve atoned for the Crown Princess’s crime,” the Emperor said, pinning the spurious crime on Du Chuxuan. Before anybody could say anything, he continued, “However, although I can spare her life, I cannot let her get away unpunished. As the Crown Princess, she failed to perform her duty and share her husband’s burden.

“Since she’s incompetent, I hereby demote her to a concubine.” Du Shi was momentarily surprised, but eventually he said nothing. Earlier this morning, when Dongxiang came to him for help, he had come to know that this would happen. Fortunately, Du Chuxuan was still an imperial member. If Du Chuxuan had been kicked out of the imperial family, his life would be even tougher.

“Don’t be upset. I won’t forget the contribution you’ve made to the court. You may serve under the Fang family as an official in this city. Do your job well and you’ll get promoted in due course. You and the Fang family are equals now. They’ll give you a hand when you’re in need.”

Du Chuxuan had never cared about the title, but he felt that the Emperor was going too far. The Emperor had taken the Du family’s fortune and then kicked them aside so that he could get a vacancy which he could trade for greater benefits. What an amazing plan, but he forgot that Du Chuxuan might not agree.

“So you’ve made a decision, Your Majesty, but I have a question. What did I do wrong? My family donated all their wealth to the court, and yet I can’t even keep my social status?” Du Chuxuan’s face clouded over with anxiety. It was hard to tell whether it was the Du family or his identity that he cared about more.

The Emperor’s tone hardened as he said to Du Chuxuan, “I don’t know how you have the nerve to ask me about this! You and my son were the only occupants of that palace. I had Desheng personally escort you two there the other day, and yet you told me you didn’t know where my son was. If you’re not an accomplice, who is?!”

“Then what did my husband do wrong? Is his mistake really so serious that even such great sacrifice made by my family is not enough to atone for it?” Du Chuxuan did not beat around the bush. He directly asked a question that hit home.

“On my way here, I heard something about what had happened. Leaving aside whether it’s right or wrong for my husband to take over the troops without authorization, his current achievements alone is enough to make the whole country proud of him. Every one of your subjects is delighted by his victories. How can you say he did the wrong thing at this point in time?”

“How dare you?!” The Emperor grabbed a memorial and hurled it at Du Chuxuan’s head. The cover of the memorial instantly broke and Du Chuxuan’s head began to bleed. Du Shi was on pins and needles, but there was nothing he could do about it. “This country is mine! Just because I favor him does not give him the right to disobey me!

“No matter how great his achievement is, he would never have made it were it not for the efforts I made to knock him into shape! He thinks he’s grown up and is tough enough to defy me? As the Crown Princess, you’re supposed to help me discipline him, but what you did was act as his accomplice, and you had the gall to ask me what you did wrong? Ridiculous!”

Du Chuxuan pressed his lips together, wordless. He lightly lifted his hand to clutch the place that had just been hit, the corners of his mouth twitching from the pain. Then he looked at his fingers and was surprised to see that they were blood-stained. He instantly felt a pang of indignation.

“His Highness has always been a righteous man. Everything he did, he did it for Shenglan. The reason why he took over command of the army must be because he received some kind of message or found out about some conspiracy of Manlou and Turk. Your Majesty, what you should do is to ask him why he led an attack, what he needed, and whether he can take another city.

“Why are you so obsessed with him disobeying you? By the time you settle all this, your son might have run out of provisions. Do you want to wait until then to ask him if he can make it back alive?”

All the seasoned courtiers present flinched at his words. A monarch’s company is no less dangerous than a tiger’s. They felt that the former Crown Princess, who was now Concubine Du, was unduly bold. She had actually dared question the Emperor like that. Although the Du family had only just made a great donation, it was still not enough to atone for her crime.

“Good! Good! Good!” The Emperor pointed at Du Chuxuan and said that word three times in a row. He was clearly infuriated. “It surprised me you have such a glib tongue! If I let a rebellious unruly woman like you stay by my son’s side, he’ll only become more mutinous!”

With one remark, the Emperor pinned most of the blame for Yuxing Tianrui’s actions on Du Chuxuan. With that crime pinned on him, Du Chuxuan would be severely punished. Even if he survived the subsequent torture, his reputation would be ruined completely.

On hearing the Emperor’s words, Du Chuxuan thought, “Finally… Finally this moment has come.” When he lifted his head to look at the Emperor, there was no fear in his eyes, only composure.

The sight of his reaction infuriated the Emperor further. Having been a ruler for such a long time, he had gotten used to seeing people act obsequiously in front of him, but this Du Chuyue woman not only had no respect for him but also disgraced him in front of so many people. He would never forgive her.

“Guards! Drag Du Chuyue out, flog her thirty strokes and lock her up in the West Pavilion. She’s not to leave there until I say otherwise! Send someone there to discipline her and teach her courtesies. Only when she learns how to behave will she be reinstated as an imperial concubine!”

None of the courtiers dared speak. The Emperor never broke his word.