Chapter 416 Pei Yuan takes the blame and protects A Chu

Pei Yuan's words were like knives, slapping the faces of the assembled officials.

Everyone recalled the feeling of pride they had felt when the Confucian scholar from Nanyue praised them, and they all felt a little embarrassed.

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Li Chengxuan pulled Zhou Jun aside and whispered in his ear.

"I never knew His Highness Prince Rui could be so eloquent, even more so than a scholar. Look at these ministers, they're all so silenced by his insults that they don't dare utter a single word."

Zhou Jun also looked on with admiration.

Shen Chu silently looked at Pei Yuan, her heart burning as if it were being soaked in hot water.

What merit does she possess that Pei Yuan would defy the entire court for her sake?

Pei Yuan knelt beside her, kowtowed deeply, and earnestly pleaded with Emperor Longqing.

“Father, although A-Chu has made mistakes, I believe that her merits outweigh her flaws, and I beg you to forgive her.”

The Longqing Emperor's face was ashen; he did not want to deal with this matter in front of the Nanyue delegation.

After a moment of silence, Fang said:

"What Lao Liu said is not without reason. Shen Chu has done a good job today."

"Guards, take Chen Chu away first; we'll discuss this matter later."

Shen Chu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Since His Majesty did not punish her on the spot, there is still much room for maneuver in this matter.

She stood up, supporting herself with Pei Yuan's hand. "Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty."

Prince Heng's expression changed slightly.

He had painstakingly planned for so long, hoping to seize this opportunity to make a big fuss; how could he let the emperor let it go so easily?

He frowned and looked at Lord Yang.

Lord Yang knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, Shen Chu did indeed make some contributions as an imperial censor, which cannot be denied."

But this achievement is far from enough to cover up her serious crime of deceiving the emperor by participating in the imperial examination as a woman.

Your Majesty, if we do not severely punish Shen Chu today, it will damage the emperor's authority and make the people of the world think that they can deceive the emperor at will.

If everyone deceives His Majesty like Shen Chu, the Great Wei Dynasty will be in grave danger.

"Your Majesty, the imperial authority cannot be dishonored! I beg Your Majesty to grant Shen Chu the death penalty!"

Marquis Anding said, "Shen Chu, being a woman, was able to remain hidden in the court for nearly a year without being discovered."

If no one deliberately covered for her, how could a woman like her not be noticed?

"The thought fills me with dread. If they can deceive Your Majesty today, they could one day join forces to seize Your Highness's throne."

Emperor Longqing's expression changed slightly.

Pei Yuan sneered, "If Marquis An Ding wants to know who A Chu is allied with, just tell me my name."

Marquis An Ding pressed aggressively, "Does Your Highness dare to say that the child in Shen Chu's womb has nothing to do with you?"

If you dare say it has nothing to do with me, then consider my words as meaningless.

Pei Yuan curled his lips into a smile. "That's right, the child in A Chu's belly is mine."

An uproar erupted around them.

Marquis An Ding sneered, "If you didn't know she was a woman, how could you have made love to her and gotten her pregnant?"

Your Highness clearly knew about this matter long ago, but you have been keeping it a secret from His Majesty.

"Your Highness, I would like to ask what your intentions are?"

Emperor Longqing frowned slightly, his gaze fixed intently on Pei Yuan.

"Sixth Brother, did you really know all along that Shen Chu was a woman?"

Shen Chu shook her head, "That's not how it is, Your Majesty..."

Pei Yuan interrupted Shen Chu loudly, "Yes, Father, I did know about this a long time ago."

Shen Chu was taken aback and turned to look at Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan shook his head almost imperceptibly at her.

Shen Chu's eyes welled up with tears, and she almost shed one.

She knew that Pei Yuan would acknowledge it in order to protect her reputation and the child in her womb.

But once Pei Yuan admits to this, it becomes a conspiracy between the two of them to deceive the king.

Pei Yuan would also be charged with deceiving the emperor.

She didn't want Pei Yuan to do that.

Pei Yuan held her hand tightly, stepped forward and brushed the stray hairs from her temples behind her ears, patting her with a helpless expression.

Shen Chu trembled, her eyes filled with anxiety.

Pei Yuan silenced her by pressing her acupoint, then chuckled softly:

"Ah Chu, now that things have come to this, you should stop hiding it for me."

He turned around and knelt down, saying, "Father, it's all my fault."

When I accompanied the Empress Dowager to Jingguo Temple, I learned about Achu's true identity.

Your son is in love with her, and he even took her to secretly pledge their love for each other in front of my mother's spirit tablet, and they got married.

Achu wanted to reveal her true identity to her father several times later, but I stopped her. It was all my fault.

"Father, punish me if you will, I only beg for your forgiveness, A-Chu."

Emperor Longqing frowned deeply. "Sixth Prince, I'll ask you one more time, is that really the case?"

Or are you deliberately lying to me to protect Shen Chu?

Pei Yuan shook his head: "Your subject dares not expect anything from Father. All the mistakes are your subject's fault. I beg Father to punish your subject."

Shen Chu wanted to explain that this wasn't the case, but Pei Yuan sealed her acupoints.

She opened her mouth, but couldn't make a sound, and large tears streamed down her face in distress.

Upon hearing these words, Prince Heng smiled.

If Pei Yuan wants to protect Shen Chu and the child in her womb, he has to accept this matter.

Otherwise, Shen Chu would be branded as a shameless harlot.

He looked at Luo Heng behind him.

Luo Heng stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I can testify that His Highness Prince Rui and Shen Chu have long been in love."

When Shen Chu went to Yangzhou, the two had a secret meeting at Qiutang Lake. Later, His Highness Prince Rui even used the excuse of recuperating at home to secretly visit Shen Chu in Yangzhou.

"I personally witnessed Prince Rui and Shen Chu together in Yangzhou."

Bang.

The Longqing Emperor grabbed a paperweight from the table and threw it at him.

The paperweight flew past Pei Yuan's forehead, leaving a trail of bright red blood at his temple.

The main hall was filled with the roars of the Longqing Emperor.

"How dare you! You dare to deceive your superiors and mislead the emperor. I have been too lenient with you."

Pei Yuan lowered his eyes, "Your subject is willing to accept any punishment."

"Fine, fine!" Emperor Longqing laughed in anger. "Since that's the case, guards, drag Prince Rui away and give him fifty strokes of the cane."

This greatly worried Li Chengxuan and Zhou Jun, who immediately knelt down and begged for mercy.

"Your Majesty, Prince Rui is scheduled to have a martial arts competition with Nan Yue later. Now that he has been injured, how will he be able to continue the competition?"

"Neither Prince Rui nor Achu intended to curry favor with His Majesty; both of them have made many contributions."

"Your Majesty, please forgive them, considering their past merits."

When the topic of the upcoming contest with Nanyue came up, the Longqing Emperor hesitated.

Only Pei Yuan is confident he can defeat Shangguan Yi, the top martial arts expert of Nan Yue.

Emperor Longqing pondered whether he should punish the student with caning after the competition.

Prince Heng said, "Young Master, you are mistaken. Our Great Wei is full of talented people. Do you think only my sixth brother is a master?"

Emperor Longqing frowned, his gaze towards Prince Heng carrying a hint of coldness.

"Are you really hoping I'll punish your brother with a cane?"

Prince Heng's expression changed, and his heart sank.

Logically, after he exposed the truth about Pei Yuan and Shen Chu's conspiracy to deceive the emperor, his father should have been furious and severely punished Pei Yuan and Shen Chu.

Why did the Emperor's behavior differ from what he had imagined?

Where exactly did things go wrong?

Prince Heng knelt down and explained, "Your subject naturally feels sorry for your sixth brother and does not want him to be flogged."

The saying goes, "Even a prince is subject to the same laws as a commoner. No matter how much I care for him, I cannot disregard the law."

The Longqing Emperor snorted coldly.

King Jing, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly laughed. His laughter was cold and deep, filling the entire hall with an indescribable mockery.