After the Crybaby Married the Disabled Villain - Chapter 31

“I was catching those two rabbits at the time. They were fairly docile, but then they suddenly started struggling frantically for no reason. Then, I heard the roar of a beast behind me. I turned around and saw the white tiger.”

An Yu spoke while reenacting his expression from that moment, causing everyone present to furrow their brows in concern.

“My legs turned to jelly; I definitely couldn’t run. So, I thought about whether I could soothe the tiger’s emotions. After all, our dynasty’s autumn hunts usually involve gentle wild animals with no predatory intent. I tried saying a few words to calm it down, and the white tiger actually seemed to settle even the crimson in its eyes began to fade.”

“Just as I thought I had escaped, a whistle sounded from deep in the forest. The tiger’s eyes instantly turned even redder. It lunged at me, but at the critical moment, thank goodness the Fourth Prince and Lord Shen intervened. That’s how I managed to escape.”

Emperor Hongchang let An Yu return to his seat to rest, then turned to question Lu Mufeng and Shen Heng.

“Old Fourth, Shen Heng. Did you hear a whistle?”

Lu Mufeng stepped forward: “Replying to Imperial Father, this son did hear it. The whistle was extremely eerie. Lord Shen and I only headed that way because we heard it.”

“Replying to Your Majesty, that is correct.”

“Was the sound made by a physical whistle or…?”

Shen Heng paused for a moment: “Replying to Your Majesty, that whistle is a special tool used by the Northern Abyss to tame beasts. It produces a sound a human voice cannot replicate. This official believes it was a physical whistle.”

To the side, no one noticed that Lu Youqi’s face had frozen. Only he knew that the whistle was currently hidden against his chest. In his haste to check on the tiger earlier, he hadn’t imagined someone would plant evidence in his room.

“Cough, cough Imperial Father,” Lu Shiyan spoke up. “This son believes that since it hasn’t been confirmed if Second Brother intended to harm Xiao Yu, we should check if that whistle is in Second Brother’s possession. Then the truth will be known.”

Emperor Hongchang nodded: “Very well. Search him.”

“Imperial Father! Imperial Father, I’ve been wronged!” Lu Youqi’s eyes kept darting toward the Empress, who was too frantic to know what to say.

“Emp—Emperor” The Empress was silenced by a cold glare from the Emperor.

Two or three guards began to search Lu Youqi. Forced to undergo a public search, every ounce of his royal dignity vanished. His face was ashen, and he said nothing, his eyes fixed deathly on Lu Shiyan.

Clatter!

As everyone watched the search with rapt attention, they didn’t miss the white object that fell from his person.

“This is—”

The guards stopped. As Shen Heng moved forward to pick it up, Lu Youqi suddenly lunged and stepped on it with all his might, crushing half of the white jade whistle.

“Audacious!” Emperor Hongchang roared. The surrounding guards immediately dragged Lu Youqi back.

Shen Heng calmly picked up the remaining half of the jade whistle. “Please cooperate, Your Highness,” he said tonelessly.

Controlled by the guards, Lu Youqi stared at Shen Heng like a wild beast. He let out a cold laugh: “Please, Lord Shen.”

Shen Heng inspected the whistle for a moment. Just as everyone thought it had been rendered useless, Shen Heng wiped it with his sleeve, placed it to his lips, and blew. The whistle instantly produced a mournful, winding melody like a baby’s cry, making everyone’s skin crawl.

“Imperial Father, that’s the sound!” An Yu identified it excitedly. Lu Mufeng and Shen Heng also nodded.

Emperor Hongchang stared at the pale, dejected Lu Youqi in the center of the hall, saying nothing. The Empress burst into tears instantly; if Qi’er hadn’t tried to crush the whistle just now, there might have been room to maneuver.

She knelt on the floor, her delicate hands gripping the Emperor’s dragon robes as she sobbed: “Your Majesty, Qi’er was simply deluded by those from the Northern Abyss. I beg Your Majesty to show mercy.”

Ignoring the Empress, the Emperor stared straight at Lu Youqi: “I want to hear it from you.”

This reversal of his usual affection for Lu Youqi made the ministers click their tongues in surprise. An Yu knew the Emperor wasn’t necessarily seeking justice for him; having just witnessed the Northern Abyss’s treachery, the Emperor was furious that his most favored son was colluding with them.

An Yu didn’t care much either way. Damaging Lu Youqi’s reputation was a win. He even pulled an orange from his sleeve and peeled it, enjoying the moment.

Lu Youqi, his face deathly pale, looked around and hid the resentment in his eyes. He knelt heavily: “Imperial Father, this son was wrong. I truly know I was wrong. The Northern Abyss told me the Crown Princess’s ‘visions’ were merely a mental delusion and that a fright might restore him to normal. I only feared the Crown Princess’s nonsense would interfere with Your Majesty’s governance!”

Emperor Hongchang clearly didn’t believe him: “And is the Crown Princess ‘cured’ now?”

“This son… this son does not know.”

“Absurd!” The Emperor slammed his hand on the table. “You were well-educated by sages, yet you cannot distinguish right from wrong! The Crown Princess brought omens from Heaven, protecting the people of Jiangnan from floods and saving the capital from plague! How can that be erased by a Northern Abyss thief calling it a ‘delusion’?”

His voice thundered through the hall. Because the traveling palace hall was smaller than the Imperial one, the volume was almost unbearable for the nearby ministers.

“This son was foolish! I beg Imperial Father for punishment.”

The Empress never imagined that An Yu’s status in the Emperor’s heart had already surpassed the Northern Abyss’s century of influence.

“Second Prince Lu Youqi has shown poor judgment and a failure to distinguish right from wrong. He has failed the sages and failed the Great Shang! From this day forward, he is stripped of all official duties and will go to the Imperial Tombs to repent for six months.”

“Your Majesty!” The Empress’s eyes went wide in disbelief.

Lu Youqi lowered his gaze, a single tear falling. “This son thanks Imperial Father.” He prostrated himself, his head hitting the floor with a heavy thud.

“Empress Yuwen has failed to educate the Prince. She is confined to her quarters for three months.”

Finally, looking at the Second Prince kneeling in the center of the hall, the Emperor said: “I am weary.” He departed amidst the crowd’s respectful farewell, leaving Meng Hai to handle the remaining details.

The final day of the autumn hunt proceeded as scheduled, but everyone’s hearts were no longer in it. Since the noble sons entered the grounds, the viewing area had been somber. The Empress had even claimed illness to excuse herself.

The Emperor stayed for only half an hour before declaring: “I am weary. You may enjoy yourselves as you wish.” This truly shocked the “beloved ministers.”

Once the Emperor was out of sight, the viewing platform became noisy. Gossip flowed endlessly. Since only Lu Shiyan and An Yu remained as members of the Imperial family, and Lu Shiyan was usually treated as invisible, the ministers didn’t even bother to lower their voices.

“Do you think the Fourth Prince has a chance at the throne?”

“Lord Chen, be careful with such talk. Though the Second Prince is confined and stripped of duties, he hasn’t been stripped of his title yet.”

“So what? Both are sons of the Empress. Now that the Second Prince has committed a crime and the Fourth Prince is in the spotlight… there are precedents for this.”

As they chatted, another minister interjected: “It might actually be the Crown Prince.”

“What? The Crown Prince? Lord Shen, stop joking. How could the Imperial family let a cripple inherit the throne?”

“Exactly. Lord Shen, you’d be better off praying for the Fourth Prince. Given your son’s friendship with him, the Shen family would surely soar to new heights.”

That Lord Shen snorted and turned away, refusing to talk further. An Yu heard everything. Lord Chen, is it? You’re about to get caught for corruption very soon.

Lu Shiyan smoothed An Yu’s hair. “What do you want to eat? I’ll have Mo Han make it.”

An Yu brightened instantly: “I want yesterday’s snacks and the chef’s meat buns. With beef filling.”

“Very well. I’ll have Moying bring them.”

Without the Emperor’s oppressive presence, the viewing platform became quite lively with eating and drinking. Time passed quickly, and by evening, the clouds had turned from blue to red, signaling the end of the hunt.

“The Emperor arrives!” “Welcome Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!”

A whistle blew,宣告ing the end of the hunt. Young men in martial attire emerged, their expressions ranging from triumphant to dejected. As usual, Meng Hai announced the final scores.

“Fourth Prince: one hundred and thirty-seven tokens, totaling two hundred and seventy-eight points…”

Congratulations flooded toward Lu Mufeng. Emperor Hongchang smiled slightly; despite the incident, the top prize still went to a member of the Imperial family.

“Old Fourth, well done. You have my spirit from my younger years!”

“Thank you, Imperial Father.” Taking the bow and arrows from the Emperor, Lu Mufeng was beaming. “Thank you, Imperial Father!”

The Emperor was delighted, momentarily forgetting the previous night’s events. “Excellent. All the young masters performed brilliantly. I have prepared the prizes you requested; you may retrieve them with Meng Hai later.”

That evening, looking at the packed luggage, An Yu sighed: “We’re finally going back. It’s really too cold here.”

Lu Shiyan spoke casually: “How about I take Xiao Yu to Jiangnan after we return?”

An Yu pursed his lips: “Highness, you’re joking with me again. Do you know what this behavior is called?”

“What?”

An Yu said indignantly: “It’s called drawing a big cake (making empty promises)!”

Lu Shiyan froze for two seconds before breaking into uncontrollable laughter. “Fine. Then will Xiao Yu eat this cake?”

“I certainly want to.”

The man’s laughter subsided. “Mhm. Then we shall eat it.”

Meanwhile, Lu Mufeng knocked on Shen Heng’s door with his new bow. “Shen Heng, Lord Shen, open up!”

Shen Heng opened the door: “Mufeng, what is it?”

“Let me in first.” He squeezed his way inside. Shen Heng helplessly closed the door.

“Look, isn’t it beautiful?” Lu Mufeng pushed the precious, exquisite bow across the table toward Shen Heng.

Shen Heng smiled, shaking his head at the way he was showing off like a child with a new toy. “Yes, it is beautiful. Exceedingly so.”

Lu Mufeng grinned proudly. “Of course.” He held the bow up, measuring it against his vision. “This bow suits you well. I’m giving it to you.”

Shen Heng’s hand paused as he poured tea. “Giving it to me?”

“Yes, to you.” Seeing Shen Heng’s shock, Lu Mufeng added: “If you feel bad about it, just buy me a drink.”

Shen Heng frowned: “Mufeng, that’s not the same. This was a gift from the Emperor.”

Lu Mufeng didn’t care: “You said it yourself—it was a gift to me. That means it’s mine to give.”

“But…”

“Alright, Lord Shen. Just think of it as keeping it safe for me, okay?”

Shen Heng laughed. Lu Mufeng rarely saw him laugh so openly, and his own mouth curled upward in response.

“Very well. You may come and take it back whenever you wish.”

“Good, good, good.”