"Yes, yes, yes!"

When one person speaks, many voices echo.

No one wanted to be whipped to death by the young master's leather whip.

They all insisted that someone must have leaked the information secretly, and that it wasn't because they were incompetent.

The hall was filled with noise, and Yelü Guzha's anger intensified, his chest heaving like a sand dune.

Someone shrieked, "Ever since Yelü Xianyong left the Marquis of Dingbei's residence, everything has gone wrong at our hostage residence. Could it be that he secretly sided with the Marquis of Dingbei?"

Yelü Xianyong was ugly and unsociable, but he was highly skilled in martial arts and quite aloof, which had already displeased many people. Moreover, someone had previously reported that when he was trapped in the Dingbei Marquis's mansion, he fraternized with the Dingbei Marquis and drank and ate meat with him every night.

Although the young master insisted that Yelü Xianyong was not that kind of person, but...

As the saying goes, public opinion can melt metal, which made Yelü Guzha increasingly suspicious of Yelü Xianyong. He couldn't stand it anymore, so he threw down the leather whip in his hand and glared at the mob with a sinister look.

"Enough, you bunch of incompetent cowards! You've lost money and you're still making a fuss. Go back and think about how to get the money back to atone for your sins. Get out of here!"

No one dared to utter another sound and quickly retreated.

Yelü Guzha slumped into a chair, put his hand to his forehead, and roared, "Bring me wine!"

The servants around him quickly brought over a wine jar and presented it to him. Yelü Guzha stretched out his arm, lifted a jar, broke the seal, and poured it into his mouth.

The strong aroma of alcohol filled the air, and the alcohol soaked his beard and then his clothes.

At this moment, Yelü Guzha was ready to ignite at any moment.

But a fearless confidant stepped forward: "Young Master, you can't blame everyone for criticizing Yelü Xianyong today. If you think about it carefully, nine times out of ten, anything he gets involved in fails. Take today at the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, for example. How could a defenseless little girl like me escape? They insisted that we ruined things, and the Prince of Jin and the Crown Prince both sent people to speak ill of us..."

Another person chimed in, "Isn't that right? How many people could possibly know about such a confidential matter? Even if the young master doesn't suspect him of being involved in the robbery because of his past merits, it's not certain when it involves the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion."

"What do you mean?" Yelü Guzha put down the wine jar.

“I heard from Shaoshan, who escaped last time, that Yelü Xianyong often talked about the Three Kingdoms’ “Heroes Discussed Over Wine” with the Marquis of Dingbei. When he got drunk, he would talk nonsense in the dungeon, saying things like “Heroes admire heroes.” They say that people speak the truth when they are drunk. He was just regretting that he didn’t join the Marquis of Dingbei. Speaking of which, the two of them are heroes. Where does that leave our young master?”

"That's right. Since they both appreciate each other, they naturally don't want the Marquis of Dingbei to be cuckolded in public. By doing this, he's showing some loyalty, but we've offended the Prince of Jin and angered the Crown Prince as well."

"What a brilliant plan it was, killing several birds with one stone! If it weren't for the young master's trust, how could he have been told this? He has truly betrayed the young master's kindness and care. If the young master hadn't taken him in back then, who knows where he would be feeding horses."

"The Crown Prince has become wary of the Prince of Jin, and also wary of us. The silver has been stolen, and we have no way to send silver to the Crown Prince and the Marquis of Chengen. It's really troublesome."

...

"Stop talking!" Yelü Guzha flung his arm, throwing the wine jar out of the hall. Shaking his already dizzy head, his scarlet eyes wide open, he said, "What hero? So what if he's a hero? Is the Gu family so great? They're nothing but dogs of the Daxing royal family."

So what if he claims to be loyal? It's a joke. Damn it, how come they're not all dead? There's still Gu Laosan left. Marquis Chengen is a complete waste, taking so much silver and doing nothing. I'll let them cherish each other, hahaha, my dog, raised by Yelü Guzha, dares to bite back! I've truly opened my eyes!

The confidants all kept quiet and exchanged knowing glances.

Good news, Yelü Xianyong, that dog, is going to be slaughtered.

...

Cining Palace.

The hall was filled with porcelain shards, and the palace maids and eunuchs stood with their heads bowed, not daring to make a sound.

The Empress Dowager went to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion in high spirits but returned disappointed. Soon after, Empress Lin, the Ninth Princess, Princess Fuyun, Prince Jin, and others came to the palace to make a scene.

If His Highness the Crown Prince hadn't been unwell, he probably would have come too.

"Go, summon the Emperor. Let him see the mess his good children have made of my home."

The Empress Dowager gave a stern order to the eunuch beside her.

The young eunuch said with a fawning smile, "This servant thought that His Majesty had seen that the Empress and you had both gone to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, so I slipped away to the brothel."

A single sentence stirred up the Empress Dowager's dissatisfaction with the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

"The You family is no longer useful."

The young eunuch then said, "This servant will send someone to fetch the Emperor back immediately?"

The Empress Dowager thought for a moment and said, "Forget it, let him come to see me when he returns. This emperor is really pathetic. He wants to relax but has to avoid the Empress. Even in the southern barbarians, there are no men so afraid of their wives. Sigh, why does he have to get entangled with prostitutes? Does it sound good if word gets out that the emperor and his subject are having fun together?"

Both Li and Zhang, the heads of the brothels, were favored by the emperor.

These two were also the money-making machines of the brothel. Countless high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants offered thousands of taels of silver just to be recognized by them, not to mention the cost of listening to their music or sharing a meal.

The Emperor was closely watched by Empress Lin, and he always had to find a way to leave the palace through the underground passage to meet with the two of them.

It was inevitable that one would encounter court officials who shared the same interests.

It just hasn't been announced yet.

The young eunuch smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you may not know this, but I only learned about it from my godfather. Your Majesty the Empress is frugal by nature. As the head of the six palaces, you have to set an example for your subordinates, so it is inevitable that you will be subject to many restrictions."

"That brothel is a notorious den of extravagance; countless men would offer silver just to catch a glimpse of it, and even then, it's impossible. They produce beauties only because their food, clothing, and daily necessities are all exquisitely luxurious. Everything we have in the palace, they have there too, and even things we don't have, they have. The Emperor has been in the palace for so long; it's no wonder he wants to enjoy some luxury too."

The Empress Dowager was stunned for a long time, then sneered, "Look at her, a mere foot-washing maid insists on acting like a noble lady, all dressed up in rags just to gain a reputation for virtue. The Emperor himself has to do such despicable things. There are no secrets that stay hidden forever. If Your Majesty continues like this, there will inevitably come a time when you encounter your ministers. How will you face them then?"

The young eunuch chuckled, "The Emperor is the supreme ruler; what can his subjects dare to say? Naturally, whatever the Emperor says goes."

The Empress Dowager spat, "What do you know? You ignorant fool. So the Empress thinks the same way? Look at all the trouble she's caused. It's really a pain in the ass."

The young eunuch dared not speak.

The Empress Dowager then asked, "How is the Crown Prince?"

The young eunuch said, "He has taken the medicine and is resting. Before going to sleep, he sent someone to scold Prince Jin, telling him not to think about things he shouldn't be thinking about."