Chapter 5: Morning Dinner

Imperial Palace, Zhaoming Hall.

"Deqing, go check on the date... Hey, are you here?"

Xie Hui stood still in the hall and saluted the emperor, but before he could bend his waist, he was called up.

"There's no one else here, why are you being so strange?"

Xie Hui readily followed suit and called him "Uncle", and the emperor smiled with satisfaction.

"Deqing, serve the meal."

After the uncle and nephew sat down, the emperor asked, "Are you still used to being in the Dali Temple?"

Xie Hui went to the army for training at the age of eighteen. After returning to the capital, the emperor originally wanted to arrange his nephew in the guard team beside him, but Xie Hui told him that he wanted to go to the Dali Temple.

Facing the emperor's uncle's question, Xie recalled what he had heard during lunch at the Dali Temple, curled his lips and said, "The Dali Temple... is quite interesting."

This sentence aroused the emperor's interest. "Oh? How interesting is that?"

"Minister Wang's second son is a cut-sleeve man."

"Really?" The emperor's eyes widened suddenly.

Xie Hui nodded. It was estimated that the news about Minister Wang’s family would spread throughout the capital tomorrow.

"This, this, this... No wonder I felt that the way Shangshu Wang looked at me in the past was not right. Maybe it's true that like son, like father!"

Xie Hui's eyelids twitched, and for the first time he had some outrageous thoughts.

"Uncle, even if Shangshu Wang were to cut off his sleeves, he would not dare to covet you."

"That makes sense." The emperor nodded, feeling relieved. But a moment later, he said anxiously, "You're so handsome, you should be careful when you walk outside. How about I assign two more secret guards to you?"

"Uncle, I'm full. My father and mother are still waiting for me at home. I'll take my leave first." Xie Hui stood up, bowed, and walked out.

"You have a deadline, you can't do that. You are the only son of your mother, you have to carry on the family line, you have a deadline—"

After Xie Hui left the hall, his steps became faster and faster, and the eunuch following him had to jog to catch up with him.

"Why is Lord Xie so anxious? Does the Emperor have any urgent mission?" The guards at the palace gate couldn't help but murmur in their hearts as they watched Xie Hui's hurried back.

March 6th, morning court.

"Your Majesty, I have something important to report to you."

The weather has been good and the people have been living and working in peace and contentment recently. There has been no invasion at the border, so there is nothing much to discuss in the morning court. The most intense ones are that the historians accused a certain queen of allowing her family to evade taxes, and a certain lord of favoring his concubine and killing his wife.

But today was different. As soon as Minister Li stepped out, all the officials stood up straighter, and those sleepy old officials also opened their eyes.

The emperor suppressed his laughter and asked knowingly, "What's the important matter, Li Aiqing?"

"I want to sue the Wang family for concealing the truth and trying to deceive you into marriage!"

Shangshu Wang knelt down with a thump, "Your Majesty, I have no intention of cheating on you in marriage."

"You still don't admit it?! Don't you know that your son is surrounded by handsome men? And you want to trick my daughter into living a widow in your house? Wang Liang, I think you should change your name to Wuliangliang!"

Minister Li looked like a black iron tower, and his voice was as loud as a bell. Minister Wang was frightened by him and his face turned red immediately, and he was speechless.

The emperor had seen enough of the show, and finally spoke: "Minister Wang has been deducted from his salary for three months and suspended from his post for one month for not teaching his son properly."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Although Minister Li was not satisfied with the result, he knew that he had to stop while he was ahead. He wished that the entire Wang family could be exiled to Lingnan to pick lychees, but he knew that was impossible. Minister Wang was a man of real talent and learning, and the emperor would not dismiss him from his position.

Wang Liang also kowtowed to express his gratitude. He was filled with hatred in his heart. He hated Minister Li for being so unyielding and was also angry at his own disappointing son.

The emperor's punishment on him seemed painless, but it was not, because his son was fined and suspended from work for cutting off his sleeves. Within three days, the news would spread throughout Dazhao, and might even be heard by foreign nations.

After watching the excitement, the other ministers began to think in their hearts whether their sons had that beautiful servant by their side. At the same time, they thought that if the same thing happened to them, they would probably have to resign overnight and return home.

Shen Yun was a fourth-rank official. He stood in a middle position during court sessions. He kept his hands tucked into his sleeves and looked calm and composed throughout the entire morning session.

Although Xie Hui is the emperor's nephew, he is also the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple in the officialdom. Naturally, his position is the same as Shen Yun's. Xie Hui also stands there with a blank expression.

The adults who were unaware of the situation saw this and were impressed in their hearts. They thought the Dali Temple was worthy of being the Dali Temple and they were really knowledgeable!

After leaving Zhaoyou Hall after court dismissal, the Dali Temple is located outside the east gate of the imperial palace.

Shen Yun and Xie Hui were both Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, so naturally they went back together.

"Does Lord Xie have any opinion on the case presented yesterday?" Shen Yun was talking about a tragic case that occurred in the suburbs of Beijing two days ago. Because the case was extremely heinous and the murderer had not been caught, it was reported to the Dali Temple yesterday and was being tried by the Dali Temple.

"I don't have an opinion, but I think that Chen and her three children were poisoned and only Chen's husband escaped because he was out for something. This is too much of a coincidence and should be investigated further."

Shen Yun nodded in appreciation, "Thank you, sir, that's very true."

Xie Hui is a royal relative, but he is not arrogant at all when working in the Dali Temple. Instead, he is very humble. When facing a case, he can make incisive analysis. Shen Yun is very optimistic about him.

Shen Yuan's father was busy investigating a case, so she was not idle either. She couldn't accomplish anything big, but she had a lot of small things to do.

"Boss, the meat in your meat buns is from sick pigs, right?... Hey hey hey! Let's talk nicely!"

"Boss, is there something wrong with your scale?"

"Hey, don't fight, don't fight, just report to the street office!"

"Boss, your halogen is not very clean."

Bai Shao and Bai Zhi both looked nervous, and the two guards from the Shen Mansion who followed Shen Yuan out were also on high alert, fearing that their daughter would be beaten by an angry vendor if they weren't careful.

Shen Yuan walked from one end of the street to the other, checking out all the stores that sold products short of weight and did not pay attention to food hygiene.

Most of the shopkeepers knew she was from a wealthy family based on her attire and the guards following her, so they did not dare to argue. Moreover, they felt guilty, so they could only curse inwardly.

Shen Yuan didn't know that everything he did was seen by someone.

That is - the Director of the Beijing Sub-district Office, Mr. Fan Lutong!

"I am the street official, Fan Lutong. May I ask what your name is, young lady?"

"My last name is Shen." Shen Yuan looked at the man in front of him in green official uniform, not knowing what his intentions were.

"Miss Shen, can you please have a word with me?"

Bai Shao and Bai Zhi, who were brought by Shen Yuan, were both good at martial arts and had guards with them, so they were not worried about the other party's ill intentions and followed him to a quiet corner of the street.

"It may sound a bit abrupt, but are you willing to work in my Street Office?"