Chapter 65: Father, Don't Go Out of Your Way to Suffer

Emperor Wu originally had a great deal of sharp and sarcastic remarks prepared to properly lecture this rebellious daughter of his.

Never had he expected that, upon the very first sentence of their meeting, he would be completely suppressed by Princess Sirou.

"Why would Your Royal Highness say such a thing?"

Chief Eunuch Li was also startled and hurriedly helped the princess to a seat.

Other princes and princesses were required to wait for the Emperor's command before they dared to sit.

Princess Sirou was entirely different. Sometimes she would even march straight up to sit on the Emperor's dragon throne, only to complain to Emperor Wu about why he hadn't placed a softer cushion on it, asking if his backside didn't hurt after sitting on it all day.

Aren't you just deliberately seeking hardship when there's none to be had?

She left Emperor Wu completely speechless with her blunt retort.

The other princes and princesses listening nearby felt their hearts tremble with fright. Some even directly covered their ears, practically begging out loud: *Please, I implore you, stop talking...*

"My husband received a secret report regarding the battle at Shanhai Pass seventeen years ago. The hereditary privileges that should have been granted to the children of the imperial guards who died in battle—allowing them to be enrolled for official service within the imperial guards—have instead been subjected to widespread and vicious identity theft and impersonation."

Princess Sirou's expression was stern, her words ringing with conviction. The powerful aura radiating from her actually startled Emperor Wu somewhat.

Out of more than a dozen princes and princesses, including the Crown Prince, not a single one resembled him as much as this blind daughter of his.

When the occasion called for seriousness, she was so serious that one would suspect the times he found her uninhibited were merely an illusion.

"Is this news reliable?"

Emperor Wu asked with utmost gravity.

Princess Sirou replied, "My husband has already set out from the Eastern Depot with a detachment of men. Would Your Majesty say that is reliable or not?"

Hearing this, Emperor Wu cast a surprised glance at Chief Eunuch Li.

Chief Eunuch Li froze in shock: "Your Majesty, this servant truly knows nothing of this!"

"I heard people say that Your Majesty had arranged for martial arts experts to protect me in secret. I wonder if my husband... also has experts secretly protecting him on this trip?"

Listening to this slightly dissatisfied tone, Emperor Wu once again furrowed his brow and looked toward Chief Eunuch Li.

Chief Eunuch Li wiped the sweat from his forehead: "This old slave..."

"Why are you just standing there? Go arrange men to follow them at once!"

Chief Eunuch Li hurriedly scurried out through the palace doors.

"As for the specific details, there are about five hundred victims in total. Their hereditary privileges have all been usurped by officials of the Ministry of War for their own nephews and relatives."

Princess Sirou sighed softly: "I heard that the battle at Shanhai Pass back then was a decisive conflict concerning the national fortunes of our Great Wu and the Jin Dynasty. The total number of casualties on both sides exceeded two hundred thousand?"

Emperor Wu's eyes darkened slightly: "In that battle, the combined forces of both sides exceeded half million. Lives were snuffed out in the blink of an eye, just like cutting down grass... I have no wish to bring up this matter again, but these scoundrels who dare to lay their venomous hands on the descendants of our meritorious generals—I will never tolerate them!"

As he spoke, Emperor Wu picked up a brush and personally penned an arrest warrant.

"Li Jinzhong!"

"This servant is here!"

Chief Eunuch Li rushed back in from outside the hall, nearly losing his shoes in his haste.

"Arrest them!"

"I care not what identities these people hold, nor what kind of backing they have!"

"As long as they dared to reach out and touch the hereditary privileges of the imperial guards' descendants, round up every single one of them!"

"Throw them all into prison! I want to use their heads as a sacrifice to the heroic spirits who perished in the battle at Shanhai Pass!"

"By your decree!"

Chief Eunuch Li strode rapidly away.

Princess Sirou could hear Emperor Wu's heartbeat accelerating at an unprecedented rate.

"Father, your heart is beating far too fast. It is not worth getting so angry and harming your health over people like this. In fact, Your Daughter believes you should feel fortunate instead."

"Fortunate?"

Emperor Wu was taken aback.

Princess Sirou nodded and said, "You should be fortunate that my husband discovered this matter."

Emperor Wu's heart relaxed somewhat. He nodded and was about to say that young Li indeed possessed some genuine capability when he heard Princess Sirou's sarcastic remark:

"Though before this, countless people must have cursed you for being a muddle-headed ruler."

Emperor Wu's mouth twitched. This time, his psychological defense completely collapsed.

"Emergency report, Your Majesty—"

Chief Eunuch Li, who had just departed, abruptly hurried back inside.

Emperor Wu instantly felt as though he had found a vent for his pent-up frustration.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Centurion Li has just—"

"What Centurion Li? Is he not the Prince Consort?" Princess Sirou rebuked with extreme impatience.

Chief Eunuch Li had no choice but to lower his head and restart his report: "Reporting to Your Majesty, Prince Consort Li has just sent back word. He states that outside the capital city, near the mining area of Xiama Slope—mines belonging to Cui Yuanhai's family—they have been beating miners and unlawfully detaining a retired platoon leader of the imperial guards!"

"Furthermore, they illegally arrested the people sent to search for the platoon leader of the imperial guards with the intent to... to subject them to sexual assault! If the Prince Consort hadn't led his men there in the nick of time, the consequences would have been simply unthinkable!"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Wu suppressed his surging fury: "Confound you, Cui Yuanhai! Damn you, Cui Yuanhai! Considering your past hard work, I allowed you to remain in the post of magistrate in the capital prefecture, thinking I was being magnanimous. Never did I imagine that you would be exploiting and bullying my subjects elsewhere!"

"This is utterly intolerable!"

"Li Jinzhong, issue the warrants and take them into custody at once! By tomorrow, I want to find out whether Cui Yuanhai's heart is still made of flesh!"

However, after saying this, Emperor Wu noticed that Chief Eunuch Li was still standing frozen in place, and couldn't help shouting angrily, "You idiot, did you not hear what I just said?"

"May Your Majesty calm your wrath. The Prince Consort's report is not yet finished..."

"Not yet finished?" Emperor Wu demanded in fury, "What else has he uncovered?"

Chief Eunuch Li wiped the sweat from his brow and continued his report: "The Prince Consort has also discovered that Cui Yuanhai is the mastermind behind the identity theft of the hereditary privileges belonging to the fallen soldiers of the imperial guards—"

The enraged Emperor Wu suddenly calmed down. "Very well! Wenxuan's handling of affairs deeply satisfies my heart! Grant him the utmost authority to investigate thoroughly. I am most curious to see just how many parasites have been bred beneath the peaceful and tranquil surface of our Great Wu Nation!"

Chief Eunuch Li's expression shifted drastically, and he bowed deeply: "This servant obeys the decree!"

Princess Sirou suddenly added, "He is merely a centurion. Just how great can this 'utmost authority' possibly be? Father is quite adept at squeezing people dry. If you want a horse to run fast, yet refuse to feed it grass, where in this world is such logic to be found?"

Emperor Wu couldn't help gritting his back teeth several times. "From this moment on, the Eastern Depot shall add another Thousand-Household official in charge of penal enforcement!"

Chief Eunuch Li was overjoyed at this!

The Eastern Depot currently had a establishment of three Thousand-Household positions; adding another would make it four!

This meant that his own power as the Superintendent had quietly grown even larger!

"This servant on behalf of..."

Just as he was about to express gratitude on behalf of Li Wenxuan, he saw Princess Sirou immediately rise from her chair and bow:

"On behalf of my husband, Your Daughter thanks Father!"

Listening to his daughter's words, the expression on Emperor Wu's furious face became indescribably tangled.

"All right, get up. His title of Prince Consort will be bestowed upon him sooner or later anyway."

"Your Daughter thinks things are quite good as they are now."

Princess Sirou was not yet ready to reveal her true identity to Li Wenxuan.

After all, not everyone could easily accept that a young woman they had been casually chatting, joking, and bantering with all this time was suddenly transformed into a princess.

"So be it..." Emperor Wu waved a hand, not wishing to force his daughter on the matter. But turning his head to see that Chief Eunuch Li was still standing in place, he instantly grew irritated: "What are you still standing there for?"

"This servant... the Prince Consort's report isn't finished yet!"

"Then why aren't you speaking quickly?!"

Chief Eunuch Li hastily cupped his hands and said, "Yes... it is like this. The Prince Consort interrogated the mine overseer under Cui Yuanhai and extracted intelligence: Cui Yuanhai was planning to gift the mining operation to... a certain Prince Consort of our imperial court in order to seek protection. However, which specific Prince Consort it is remains unclear!"

"Incredible! Excellent!" Emperor Wu could no longer remain seated. He gritted his teeth, stood up, paced back and forth behind the imperial desk a few times, and then glared at Chief Eunuch Li with eyes full of bitter hatred:

"Summon the five Princes Consorts of our..."

Abruptly sensing the "gaze" cast upon him by his daughter, Emperor Wu immediately corrected himself:

"The six Princes Consorts—summon all five of them into the palace by imperial edict tonight, excluding Prince Consort Li. I want to see for myself which one of them—"

The enraged Emperor Emperor growled in a low, rumbling voice:

"Has eaten the courage of a bear and a leopard, daring to collude with Cui Yuanhai at a time like this!"