Two weeks later.

Having successfully completed his disaster relief mission, Wen Zizhuo finally returned to Chong'an City.

After the carriage stopped at the city gate, he took a deep breath.

I'm finally back.

The seven days he spent at Yuanhua Inn were the most unforgettable fifteen days of his long life, and even the journey to and from the inn was incredibly agonizing.

However, his misfortune was not over yet.

I just got off the carriage.

Suddenly, a group of guards stepped forward and surrounded him, wanting to take him into the palace.

Wen Zizhuo froze, scratching his head: That can't be right, he doesn't remember ever rebelling.

The Imperial Palace.

In the study.

All five princes were present, except for the eldest who was guarding the frontier.

Even the fourth and fifth princes, who usually disliked going to the palace, were unusually present, just to watch the show and get the first scoop.

Wen Chuping was playing chess with Wen Yichu at this moment, with the fourth and fifth brothers standing on either side, and Wen Zizhuo kneeling to the side, not daring to raise his head.

"Zizhuo, I am utterly disappointed in you. Take a good look at the mess you've made!"

Upon seeing the man arrive, Wen Chuping threw all the memorials submitted by the Imperial Censor, which were placed beside the chessboard, at the kneeling Wen Zizhuo. Unable to contain his anger, he pointed his finger at Wen Zizhuo's nose and angrily rebuked him:

"You imprisoned the mother of a subject and coerced him into embezzling government funds. How could I have raised a prince like you?"

Outrageous!

This is utterly ridiculous!

How could an emperor like him be short of money for his own son, and need to go to great lengths to embezzle money from his own people?

A full thousand taels of gold in a year.

Isn't that enough? They've completely disgraced the royal family.

But what is the most outrageous thing?

He placed the minister's elderly mother in his own inner courtyard!

Thinking of those offensive words, Wen Chuping slammed his fist on the table in anger.

Looking at the scattered chess pieces, Wen Chuping was just thinking of starting a new game when he saw Wen Yichu move them back. "Father, it's your turn."

Wen Chuping paused for a moment, sighed, and ultimately didn't say anything about starting over.

Wen Zizhuo, who was kneeling on the ground, quickly picked up the memorial from the ground. After reading the contents, his pupils narrowed slightly.

He picked it up in disbelief and examined it closely, reading it from beginning to end without missing a single word, a look of sudden realization appearing on his face.

No wonder he said things got exposed.

It turns out someone dug up Shen Qingzhi's mother's grave.

However, why say that he coveted Shen Qingzhi's mother's beauty?

The other party is an elderly mother who is nearly sixty years old. Do these censors think he is hungry?

“Father, I have no such intentions toward Shen Qingzhi’s mother. They are the ones who are maliciously slandering me.”

Realizing what was happening, Wen Zizhuo tossed the memorial aside and quickly began to explain:

"How could I possibly have such thoughts about an old woman?"

Just thinking about it makes him weak.

“That’s hard to say. Maybe Second Brother is used to fine food and wants to try plain porridge. Who can say for sure?” Wen Beichen, the fourth brother, was the first to stir things up.

He had disliked his second brother for a long time.

I still remember the last time, his good second brother dragged him out for drinks, and they got completely drunk, with him saying that his ambitions were hard to fulfill.

As his half-brother, he naturally had to offer some words of comfort. However, after only two words of comfort, Wen Zizhuo immediately asked him for three hundred taels of gold.

He also promised to return 450 taels to him in three months.

Wen Beichen would never miss out on a windfall, but after handing over the gold, he realized something was amiss.

When did my second brother, who has always only known how to indulge in pleasure, start a career?

It was too late for regrets.

Sure enough, the next day, he learned that the Second Prince of the Royal Family had been drinking heavily at a brothel and had spent a hundred taels of silver on the courtesan.

Wen Beichen vowed from that moment on that if he ever gave Wen Zizhuo another penny, he would be a dog.

God knows how many books he'd have to sell to earn back all that money!

Wen Zizhuo was amused and annoyed by Wen Beichen's sudden act of adding insult to injury. He looked up and said:

"Beichen, your second brother sees that you are hungry. You must eat a lot to be able to say such things. Why don't you take her to your residence after we leave the palace?"

"Don't worry, Second Brother has no interest in this plain porridge and won't fight you for it. I just wonder if Shen Qingzhi would impeach you along with the Censor if he found out that you were talking about his mother like this."

Upon hearing this, Wen Beichen was terrified of getting himself into trouble.

"Nonsense! My second brother and I are not the same. I am a scholar! How could I do such an absurd thing?"

Wen Zizhuo was not afraid, but just sneered and said, "Fourth brother, do you dare to tell us properly in front of Father and the other brothers what books you have read?"

Wen Beichen was speechless, but several pairs of eyes were now fixed on him, and seeing that he didn't speak, they sighed one after another.

Wen Beichen: This is blatant discrimination!

What's wrong with reading erotic books? You should know that these kinds of books are the best sellers, otherwise they couldn't be sold openly.

His assets are now enough to rival those of a country!

The most regrettable case is that of Wen Chuping.

A few days ago, he thought that Wen Zizhuo was finally going to make something of himself and had come to his senses, so he overruled everyone's objections and handed the job over to him, thinking that he could give him some experience.

But the result was...

"This is utterly ridiculous!"

Wen Chuping sighed, knowing the absurdity of the situation, but still said, "So you actually captured Shen Qingzhi's mother and threatened him to do things for you, right?"

Wen Zizhuo's face turned pale instantly: "..."

Oh no, we've fallen for their trap!

Now he is truly speechless and unable to defend himself.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!