Chapter 408 A Day Trip to the Doctor's Post

Inside Longquan Palace.

Bang.

The blue teacup, its color tinged with the light blue after the rain, crashed heavily to the ground.

The scalding hot tea splashed onto Prince Heng's face, making the muscles on his cheeks twitch, but he endured it without daring to cry out.

Luo Heng, who was kneeling beside him, wasn't much luckier either.

A shard of porcelain from the teacup hit his face, leaving a bloody mark at the corner of his eye.

The Longqing Emperor's angry rebuke came crashing down on him.

"You worthless bastards, you have completely disgraced our Great Wei! You have even brought shame upon the Southern Yue delegation."

"You guys are really something, Fourth Prince! I ask you, the Hall of Meeting is guarded by Imperial Guards, how did Chen Jiaying get in?"

Prince Heng hung his head, his back drenched in cold sweat.

"Your Majesty has already investigated. It was Chen Jiaying who bribed the guards at the back gate and sneaked in."

"Your Majesty, I have already dealt with that person. It was my negligence in supervision; I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

This was a prepared explanation, but it didn't expect Chen Jiaying's side to fail.

Prince Heng rubbed his aching wrist, cursing under his breath.

Emperor Longqing gave him a deep look, snorted coldly, and then looked coldly at Luo Heng.

"And you, having an affair with a dancer in broad daylight, have you never seen a woman before in your life?"

He even dared to take advantage of the women in front of the people of Nanyue. A dignified fifth-rank official actually forced a dancer, causing her to almost commit suicide by hitting her head against a wall.

If word gets out, the Southern Yue delegation will think that all officials of our Great Wei are vulgar people like you who don't understand etiquette and manners.

A scoundrel?

Luo Heng clenched his fists, his face turning pale instantly.

If those four words were to get out, Luo Heng's reputation would be ruined.

Luo Heng gritted his teeth, swallowed the blood in his mouth, and slammed his head heavily against the ground, making a loud thud.

"Your Majesty, that dancer is Shen Qingshuang, the daughter of the former Marquis of Changning. I have long been in love with her."

When I went to Jiangning Prefecture on official business, she was sold into prostitution by her brother. I suddenly saw her at the Huitong Hall.

Overwhelmed with grief, I was overcome with emotion and felt utterly guilty. I beg Your Majesty to punish me severely as a warning to others.

With the sound of his head being kowtowed repeatedly, Luo Heng's eyes were filled with intense hatred.

But now, all he can do is insist that he and Shen Qingshuang are in love and that they cannot control their feelings.

If the drugging incident is brought up again, His Majesty will be furious and order a thorough investigation. If he finds out that he was the one who started it, he will probably want to kill him.

His statement, which did not defend himself but only sought severe punishment, calmed the Longqing Emperor's anger to some extent.

"So you do have some sense of when to advance and retreat. Luo Heng, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, is hereby demoted to the position of Principal Clerk of the Ministry of Revenue, effective immediately."

I hope you can repent and atone for your sins. If it happens again, I will cut off your head.

With just a few words, Luo Heng was convicted and demoted back to the position of Principal Officer in the Ministry of Revenue.

This punishment felt like a lump of excrement stuck to Luo Heng's lips.

It was impossible to swallow, yet it was incredibly disgusting.

He was promoted to the position of Assistant Minister of Revenue just yesterday, but today he has been demoted back to the position of Director.

What is this? A one-day tour of a traditional Chinese medicine doctor's post?

How could he possibly maintain his position in the Ministry of Revenue or in the imperial court after this?

Pei Yuan, all of this is Pei Yuan's fault.

But he couldn't say a word about it and had to grit his teeth and pretend to be extremely grateful.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your great kindness."

Emperor Longqing snorted and then turned to Prince Heng.

"Although you made a mistake this time, fortunately, the sixth prince covered it up for you, so it didn't cause too much damage. I will not punish you for now."

You two should thank Lao Liu. If it weren't for the crucial moment when Lao Liu summoned King Jing of Nan Yue to the kitchen to watch the stewed goose in the iron pot, it would have been a great loss.

The entire South Vietnamese delegation had to rush to catch them in the act of adultery; our Great Wei's reputation was being trampled on and ridiculed.

Prince Heng and Luo Heng exchanged a glance, both remembering the little spotted dog and the big white goose that had suddenly appeared.

That's outrageous.

Pei Yuan didn't even show his face; he ruined everything they had meticulously planned with just a dog and a large white goose.

Then Pei Yuan also received praise from His Majesty.

On what grounds?

Prince Heng and Luo Heng slunk out of the palace and returned to Prince Heng's residence.

No sooner had he entered the study than Prince Heng kicked over a chair with a gloomy face.

"Damn it, didn't you say Pei Yuan went into that room? Why did he go to the kitchen instead?"

"Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on them? What kind of women are you messing around with?"

He stared at Luo Heng with a sinister look.

Having figured things out, Luo Heng now understood the whole story.

"Someone must have tipped Pei Yuan off in advance. He took precautions and used a trick to make me think he had gone into that room."

I went to the room across the street to keep an eye on Pei Yuan, but I got tricked. I smelled a strange fragrance in that room.

Luo Heng pursed his chapped lips and carefully recalled the events of the day.

He was focused on the movements across the street, and by the time he realized that the incense burning inside the room was wrong, he was already burning hot and his mind was becoming hazy.

Then they heard the door open and a woman walked in.

He looked up and saw Shen Chu's beautiful face.

The burning heat in his body made him eager to release it, and when he saw Chen Chu's face, he could no longer hold back.

He murmured Ah Chu's name and pinned the woman down beneath him.

Looking back now, he was clearly hallucinating.

"The aphrodisiac incense that should have been in Pei Yuan and Chen Jiaying's room appeared in my room. Either Chen Jiaying and Pei Yuan conspired to scheme against us."

Either someone tipped off Pei Yuan, or judging from Chen Jiaying's miserable state today, it's clearly the latter.

Prince Heng paced restlessly around the room with his hands behind his back.

"Only Li Chengxuan and Zhou Jun suddenly appeared today. Could it be the two of them?"

But how could they know our plan? Could it be you?

Prince Heng looked on with suspicion, "Aren't they all your sworn brothers?"

Luo Heng's expression changed slightly. "I can swear that I have never revealed this plan to anyone."

"Since returning to the capital, I have not seen either of them. I humbly request Your Highness's understanding."

Prince Heng was just saying it casually and didn't really suspect Luo Heng.

After all, he knew that Luo Heng's target was Shen Chu, and that the two shared the same goal in harming Pei Yuan.

"We can't wait any longer. Tomorrow is the martial arts tournament. If I'm not mistaken, the sixth prince must want to win the competition and then, while the emperor is in a good mood, ask him to pardon Shen Chu."

"Once the martial arts tournament is over tomorrow, we must immediately report to Father Emperor to definitively prove that Sixth Prince and Shen Chu have committed the crime of deceiving the Emperor."

Luo Heng's eyes flickered slightly, and he said in a low voice, "Your Highness, you promised me you would spare my life."

Prince Heng said, "Don't worry, I keep my word. Women only know who truly cares for them when they're down on their luck."

Especially since Chen Chu is so proud and arrogant, if you want her to be your pet, you have to first smash her dignity and trample her into the mud before she will depend on you.

Luo Heng's lips moved, but he ultimately said nothing.

Prince Heng waved his hand, "You may leave now. Oh, and don't forget to take Shen Qingshuang back with you."

Luo Heng left dejectedly, only to encounter Shen Qingshuang at the door.

Shen Qingshuang was dressed in plain clothes, with a white cloth wrapped around her forehead, making her look pitiful.

"Lord Luo."

Luo Heng gave her a deep look, secretly resenting her. How could he have mistaken her for A Chu?

He subconsciously raised his hand to cover Shen Qingshuang's nose and mouth, leaving only her eyebrows and eyes exposed.

Upon closer inspection, his gaze deepened slightly.