Eavesdropping on Fu Bao's inner thoughts, emptying the stored grain and fleeing the famine

"Your Majesty, I must report that Prince Qi has failed to observe proper etiquette and has not been strict with his wife, which has damaged the reputation of the Dasheng royal family."

Yan Hui's words almost made Li Yuanqi laugh. He turned to look at Yan Hui, who was speaking righteously in the center of the hall, and saw a look of utter disdain on his face.

I thought this guy was going to put some huge label on himself, but it turned out to be just this?

Not to mention Li Yuanqi, even the old emperor sitting on it was starting to lose his composure.

"What did you say? What are you going to accuse Prince Qi of? That he's not strict with his wife?"

If it weren't for the fact that the old emperor had to constantly maintain the dignity of the Son of Heaven, he would probably be overjoyed.

“That’s right, the matter I’m impeaching is no small matter. Yesterday was the wedding of Prince Qi. The guests were just chatting for a few minutes when Prince Qi allowed his wife to beat up the wives of officials and court officials.”

Lord Sun Shu is now bedridden from the beating, and Lord Qi Wangsheng has completely disappeared. Several other young ladies who were humiliated by the Princess are now too afraid to leave their homes.

"Moreover, according to the laws of the Great Sheng Dynasty, a prince's wedding should be held in the royal palace bestowed by the emperor. However, Prince Qi insisted on holding the wedding ceremony in the general's mansion."

How is such behavior any different from marrying into the royal family? As the eldest son of the Great Sheng Emperor, it is truly unacceptable for him to disregard the face of the Great Sheng and the dignity of the royal family.

Therefore, I risk my life today to implore Your Majesty to punish Prince Qi.

As Yan Hui spoke, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily in a passionate manner.

The old emperor looked at Yan Hui speechlessly, then turned to Li Yuanqi and asked:

"Prince Qi, is what Lord Yan said true?"

Li Yuanqi, whose name was called, naturally couldn't just hide on the sidelines and watch the joke. He walked to the center of the main hall with a smile and stood tall beside Yan Hui.

The contrast between the two figures—one standing, one kneeling; one laughing, one annoyed—is undeniably striking.

"Your Majesty, everything Lord Yan said is true." Li Yuanqi readily agreed, but then he changed the subject and added:

"However, I do not accept Lord Yan's accusations."

"You're not convinced? What makes you not convinced? Tell me."

The father and son worked in unison, and anyone with eyes could see that Yan Hui would return empty-handed today. However, Yan Hui remained kneeling firmly, his body bowed, behaving like a courtier.

"Your Majesty, the first thing Lord Yan said to me was that I was not strict enough in managing my wife."

Putting aside yesterday's events, let's just talk about the matter of not strictly controlling one's wife. Does our Great Sheng have any laws that clearly stipulate that the princess must obey the prince's orders?

"Lord Yan, do you have it or not?" Li Yuanqi looked at Yan Hui provocatively.

Yan Hui slowly straightened his knees and replied with a defiant look, "Although there is no law, the principle of 'father is the head of the son, and husband is the head of the wife' is a principle left by our ancestors."

"What a fine saying, 'The father is the guide for the son.'" Li Yuanqi turned to look at Li Yuanyi and suddenly blurted out:

"If Lord Yan ever discovers any scoundrels who have murdered their fathers and brothers, he must remember the passionate outburst of today."

Yan Hui was taken aback upon hearing this, but quickly retorted, "Your Highness, please do not change the subject. Today we are talking about Your Highness's lack of strict control over your wife."

"Oh, right, right, I almost forgot." Li Yuanqi slapped his forehead and continued:

"Then let's continue with the matter of my lax control over my wife. Since Lord Yan just said that there's no law against it."

"I'm willing to pamper my queen, what's it to you!"

"Prince Qi, how dare you be so disrespectful in court!" Yan Hui was so angry that his beard trembled.

"Lord Yan is targeting my princess, and you expect me to be polite to you? Aren't you being a bit too easy on me?"

Lord Yan, when I was trapped in the Kingdom of Shang, it was the Lian family who went to Shang and brought me back.

When I was being relentlessly pursued, my queen risked her life to save me. Such a woman is worthy of my affection.

What can you do to me? Besides, which of your subordinates, Lord Sun or that bastard Qi Wangsheng, was wrongly beaten?

"Lord Sun and Lord Qi, as officials appointed by the court, have committed insubordination by humiliating the Princess during my wedding. Why hasn't Lord Yan investigated this matter?"

"No matter what, beating a government official is wrong!"

"Wrong? Wrong is wrong! Today, I'll make this clear: if anyone dares to slander the Princess again, I will beat them all!"

"Prince Qi, you, you, you!" Yan Hui was so angry that he was speechless. In the end, he could only look directly at the old emperor on the dragon throne and said with great distress:

"Your Majesty, did you see that? In the court, Prince Qi dared to threaten the ministers like that. How despicable must his behavior be behind the scenes?"

The old emperor frowned as he looked at Yan Hui, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Is it bad? When I was young, I couldn't tolerate even the slightest imperfection."

Anyone who dares to disrespect the late Empress will be punished. A man who can't even protect his own woman is utterly incompetent.

As for why Prince Qi and his wife beat Sun Shu and Qi Wangsheng, why don't you, Lord Yan, explain the whole story to me?

All the court officials were shocked by the old emperor's words, which were nothing short of blatant favoritism and indulgence towards Prince Qi.

However, on the other hand, many people in the court were present at yesterday's wedding. If everything were explained in detail, Sun Shu and Qi Wangsheng might be in even worse shape.

But when Qi Wangsheng was mentioned, many people suddenly realized that this official, who held the rank of third grade, had simply disappeared.

Could it be that Prince Qi secretly killed him? Beating up an official of the court is one thing, but indiscriminately killing an official of the court is another.

While everyone was making baseless speculations, the accused Prince Qi suddenly spoke up:

"Oh, and also, Lord Yan just said that Lord Qi has gone missing? You can't just frame me for this."

If I remember correctly, it was my second brother who took Lord Qi away yesterday.

Li Yuanqi's gaze suddenly fell on Li Yuanyi, who had long expected that this guy would drag him down as well.

Li Yuanyi's lips curled slightly, and he stepped forward, cupping his hands in a gesture of respect to the old emperor, and reported:

"Father, please forgive me. Yesterday, I did order someone to take Qi Wangsheng away from my brother's wedding, but that was only because Qi Wangsheng spoke recklessly and insulted my brother and sister-in-law."

However, after I had him escorted out of the general's residence, I let him return home on his own. As for why Lord Qi suddenly disappeared, I have no idea.

Li Yuanyi's reply was so eloquent and respectful that he both explained the situation to himself and seized the opportunity to demonstrate his brotherly affection and respect.

As for that bastard Qi Wangsheng, Li Yuanqi guessed he was probably already dead by now. Yesterday, Li Yuanyi's gaze towards Qi Wangsheng showed not a shred of pity.

Li Yuanqi always felt that his second brother seemed to want to kill Qi Wangsheng even more than he did.

This is understandable, though, since Qi Wangsheng's presence would constantly remind Li Xiu of what he had done to Rongrong.

If a person wants to repent, the first thing they need to do is kill their former self.

And isn't Qi Wangsheng just another phantom of Li Xiu?