The Cold King Demands Love and Pleasure

Women were never allowed in his study, but Xia Tongsheng was an exception!

"Let her go back!"

"Yes!" Cang Jue was about to leave.

Min Youan suddenly changed his mind, "Wait! Tell her to go to the side hall, I'll be there in a bit!"

He wanted to see if his charm was really that weak, if he really couldn't attract women.

Gu Xue was waiting in the hall, and was almost asleep when Min You'an appeared, "Your Highness!"

“Okay!” Min Yoo-an nodded.

"Your Highness has worked hard in Baiyue these past few days. This is a tonic I specially prepared for you. Please drink it while it's hot!"

Min Youan picked up the cup and looked at it. For some reason, he suddenly remembered the "spiked Pu'er tea" he had at the Xia family's house last time. He raised his hand, tilted his head back, and drank it down.

"Your Highness, there is a night-blooming cereus in my courtyard. Although it is autumn, it is still blooming. I wonder if Your Highness would be interested?"

Min Youan initially wanted to refuse, but seeing Gu Xue constantly wringing her handkerchief in anticipation, he couldn't bear it. "The ephemeral beauty of the night-blooming cereus is so rare, of course we have to go see it!"

Seeing that Min Youan had agreed, Gu Xue's tense heart relaxed slightly. She led her to the West Garden, where fine wine and snacks had already been laid out. The epiphyllum was about to bloom, which Min Youan found quite peculiar.

In high spirits, he unknowingly drank quite a bit of alcohol and eventually got drunk.

Seeing this, Gu Xue had Lü Ping help her escort Min You'an into the bedroom. His clothes were completely removed, and she stroked his chest, wanting to possess this man, but alas...

The next morning, Min Youan looked at the woman beside him, closed his eyes and began to think about what had happened the night before, but he couldn't remember the latter part of the story.

Seeing Min Youan get up and get dressed, Gu Xue also woke up.

"Your Highness, let me serve you!"

Min Youan raised his hand to refuse, "No need! Also, what's going on here?"

"Your Highness drank too much last night and stayed here with me!"

Drunk? Min Youan couldn't help but sneer. How could he be drunk? Generals who lead troops into battle have excellent control over their alcohol tolerance, so he couldn't possibly be drunk. He could only have been drugged!

"You know perfectly well that's not what I meant!" Min Youan said angrily.

"Whatever Your Highness wants is entirely up to you. How could I, a weak woman, possibly resist? Besides, I am your woman. Isn't this perfectly normal? Does Your Highness not trust Xue'er?"

“Normal!” Min Youan sneered and left!

Min Youan had no idea how Gu Xue had become like this, resorting to such despicable means.

However, he didn't have time to think about these things now, because there were some tricky matters waiting for him to deal with at the morning court session.

Before entering the palace gates, Cang Jue said with some concern, "Your Highness!"

Min Youan turned around and patted his shoulder, saying, "It's okay!"

He then entered the palace with a resolute demeanor, while Cang Jue, being a member of the martial arts world, could only wait anxiously outside the palace, muttering to himself, "Cang Yi, I'm leaving the affairs of the palace to you!"

Sure enough, the first thing that happened upon entering court was that Yang Su, the Vice Minister of War, impeached Min You'an, asking, "What is the purpose of Your Highness's trip to inspect the hundred palaces this time?"

"Disaster relief and bandit suppression!" he said decisively.

"Since you've suppressed the bandits, what about the rebellious populace? Why didn't Your Highness punish them? It's hard not to suspect that Your Highness is covering up the truth!"

Min You'an sneered, "Lord Yang, you are mistaken. My orders were to suppress bandits, but when I arrived at Baiyue, there were no bandits. These people did not injure anyone, break the law, or rob anyone! How can they be bandits? They were just a group of people seeking an explanation from the government. At most, it could be considered a gang fight. If this is considered banditry, then many people who engage in gang fights in the capital would probably be arrested as bandits!"

"But I've heard..."

Min Youan seized on his weakness and immediately retorted, "If everything can be based on hearsay, what if one day I receive a report that you, Lord Yang, are embezzling military pay? Do you really expect me to believe it?"

After saying that, Min Youan glanced at him secretly, the warning in his eyes very obvious.

Yang Su dared not speak again, because what Min You'an said was true; he had indeed embezzled military pay and made private deals!

Prime Minister Li Tianju said, "May I ask Your Highness, what is the cause of the plague in Shifang County? According to the law, any place where a plague occurs must be completely burned within three days. However, you not only did not burn it, but also sent people to treat the infected. What if the plague spreads?"

"Prime Minister, I am willing to accept punishment for this matter. I simply cannot bear to see so many innocent people die! I privately believe that my father governs the country in the name of benevolence, and the plague in Shifang County is not incurable. Therefore, I have disobeyed the law!"

The Prime Minister continued, "But I heard that Princess An is also inside. Surely Your Highness wouldn't be reluctant to burn down the plague village because of the Princess? I never expected Your Highness to be so sentimental and disregard the bigger picture!"

Xia Xiuyong was furious when he heard the Prime Minister speak of his daughter in such a way. He was about to speak up in defense of his daughter when Min Youan spoke first.

"Prime Minister, you are mistaken. The Queen Consort couldn't bear to see me suffer so much, and felt that as my queen consort, she should do her part for me. That's why she led the doctors and risked her life to venture into the plague village to solve my urgent problem. And it was because of this that I learned that the plague had already been spreading before I arrived!"

Feng Yuhan was taken aback, but quickly realized what was happening and offered a helpful tip: "Your Majesty, someone is trying to harm the Prince!"

The emperor's expression darkened upon hearing Feng Yuhan's words. It seemed that factional strife within the court had quietly begun, but he could only pretend not to know.

When the Crown Prince heard Min You'an mention the timing of the plague outbreak, fearing that he would shift the blame to him, he immediately gave the Vice Minister of Revenue a wink, signaling him to change the subject.

Qian You, the Vice Minister of Revenue, said, "Leaving aside the issues of bandit suppression and the plague, what about the silver?"

"The silver was all with the prefect and the vice-prefect. It's a pity that he died, and the silver supply stopped! I must admit that this was my fault, but it was King Taigu who killed him with his own hands, and all the people of Baiyue can testify to that."

When the name of the Ancient King was mentioned, everyone fell silent!

Even the Emperor's face darkened. "Alright, let's leave it at that. There's no need to discuss it again!"

Min Youan knew that as long as the Taigu King appeared, this matter would surely come to an end without any resolution, because the Taigu King could be considered a disgrace to the current emperor and a stain on his life.

What a lively debate among the scholars! Xia Xiuyong watched silently from the sidelines, but he had already made up his mind. This Min You'an might really be as his daughter said, a person who could accomplish great things.

After the court session, Feng Yuhan nudged Min Youan in the chest with his elbow. "Your Highness, how was it? Wasn't I generous enough?"