183. Intimidation
Dou Shichen suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with panic, which was quickly replaced by anger: "I won't see him! Tell him I'm sick and can't see guests!"
He had no desire to see Xie Wenling.
That person always acts superior; they must be here to teach him a lesson!
The servant looked troubled: "But Your Highness, Lord Xie said... he said you have to see him no matter what. He's already inside!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the study door was pushed open, and Xie Wenling held in his hand the letters he had just written, one of which had already been opened.
He walked in slowly, threw the letter in front of Dou Shichen, and said in a deep voice, "Young Master Dou, do you know what you are doing? If the words in this letter reach His Majesty's ears, you, your father, and your mother will all suffer. You are courting death."
When he heard the little boy talk about meeting Dou Shichen on his way home, he immediately had a plan in mind.
So he hurriedly said goodbye to the little dumpling and came to the residence of the Prince of Zhennan.
But just as he reached the door, he saw a servant running out with a letter, which he intercepted.
The servant was so frightened that he turned pale.
He realized something was wrong.
When he opened the envelope, he was almost stunned by Dou Shichen.
How could anyone be so stupid?
Dou Shichen looked at the opened letter and suddenly stood up: "You...you actually peeked at my letter!"
"Peeping?" Xie Wenling sneered. "The servant you sent to deliver the letter was stopped by me as soon as he left the manor. Dou Shichen, do you think you can vent your dissatisfaction by denouncing His Majesty and court officials in your letter? Do you know that based on the words in your letter, His Majesty could send troops to raze your fiefdom to the ground on charges of treason right now!"
Dou Shichen, however, stubbornly retorted, "That's alarmist! Do you think we're afraid of you? We're not afraid! We're not afraid of anything!"
"So the Prince of Zhennan did indeed have rebellious intentions, right?"
Upon hearing this, even the dim-witted Dou Shichen realized something was wrong and quickly changed his tune: "You're talking nonsense, we didn't!"
“You’ve already made yourself very clear,” Xie Wenling said, opening the remaining letters and sneering, “You’re really something. You’ve insulted the court officials, and now you’ve even joined in the cursing of the emperor. It’s clear that the Zhennan Prince’s family has absolutely no respect for His Majesty. If you say you don’t want to rebel, who would believe you?”
Dou Shichen's face grew paler and paler, and he dared not speak.
He didn't mean it that way, but others perceived it as such.
not to mention……
My father did want to rebel, but unfortunately, he never had the right opportunity or the strength to do so.
Xie Wenling put the letter away, looked at Dou Shichen, and said coldly, "Once these letters are delivered to His Majesty, he will immediately send troops. When the two armies clash, all those soldiers will die because of you."
Dou Shichen was indeed frightened by him, and his face turned pale.
“Oh, but you probably don’t need to worry about that,” Xie Wenling changed the subject and smiled at him. “Because before the war even starts, you will be killed as a sacrifice to the flag. Your head will be hung high on the city wall to dry in the wind, and then thrown into your father’s fiefdom by catapults.”
He went into such detail...
Dou Shichen was so frightened that tears welled up in his eyes again, but he dared not cry out loud. He simply wiped them away with his small hands and tried to explain, "I... I just missed home, I didn't think that much..."
“Didn’t think that much? If I hadn’t stopped this letter today, you would be a prisoner by now,” Xie Wenling told him the truth directly. “Do you think that just because you’ve come to the capital, you can still communicate freely with your fiefdom? Impossible. All your letters and social interactions are under His Majesty’s watchful eye.”
Dou Shichen was so frightened that his legs went weak and he almost collapsed to the ground.
Seeing his terrified expression, Xie Wenling didn't soften his tone at all: "Come with me, and I'll show you what happens when you speak recklessly and offend powerful people."
-
Xie Wenling took Dou Shichen to the residence of Wei Zhenhua, the heir apparent of the Prince of Xiang.
From the outside, the mansion still maintains its respectable appearance.
The vermilion gate was brightly painted, the courtyard wall was intact, and there were even two expressionless imperial guards standing guard at the gate. At first glance, it was no different from before.
Xie Wenling got off the carriage first, and soon after, Dou Shichen was helped off the carriage by his attendants. His eyes darted around, clearly still recovering from the panic of having his letter intercepted.
Upon seeing the plaque above his head that read "Prince Xiang's Residence," he paused for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Lord Xie, what...what are we doing here?"
After being intimidated by Xie Wenling, the arrogant young prince became much more polite in his speech.
"In order to protect their family, Wei Zhenhua's father and mother have submitted a memorial to His Majesty, requesting that he be stripped of his title as heir and that they sever all ties with him, never to care about his life or death again. His Majesty has punished him by confining him here, and without an imperial decree, he shall never leave the palace. This place is his prison, equivalent to permanent imprisonment."
Dou Shichen's eyes widened, still somewhat incredulous: "His father and mother don't want him anymore?"
"What use is he, who causes so much trouble? Protecting him will only implicate his family."
Xie Wenling led him into the mansion, and the imperial guards did not stop him when they saw it was him.
He led Dou Shichen to Wei Zhenhua's courtyard with practiced ease. The sounds of maids chatting and laughing drifted from inside, interspersed with a few clearly sarcastic remarks—
"Look at the way he combed his hair, it's all crooked and messy. How dare he come out like this? Didn't he always complain that our hair was messy? He was always trying to punish us."
"Who told him to treat us like dirt before? Now he should learn his lesson. Without status, he's not even as good as a maid!"
“He called us women inferior by nature, and said we servants were born to serve others. And now? We, who were despised by him, have made him taste the bitterness of being despised.”
Xie Wenling was all too aware of Wei Zhenhua's current predicament.
Abandoned by their families and confined by the emperor, the maids who were once looked down upon by him have now become the true masters of this mansion.
Those words, though seemingly light, struck at Wei Zhenhua's most cherished dignity, making it more unbearable than any form of torture.
With each word the maids spoke, Dou Shichen's face paled a little more.
He recalled the insults in his letter, and Xie Wenling's words that "the entire Zhennan Prince's Mansion will be executed." Looking at Wei Zhenhua's fate before him, a chill ran from his feet to the top of his head.
“He used to think he was just like you, that he was superior and could look down on others at will. Now, you can look at his fate,” Xie Wenling turned to Dou Shichen, his voice calm, his words frank but merciless, “Your fate will only be worse than his.”
Just then, Wei Zhenhua's suppressed cough came from inside the courtyard, followed by an impatient scolding from a maid: "What are you coughing for? You're making so much noise! Get back to your room right now and stop getting in the way!"
Dou Shichen trembled and subconsciously took a step back, as if the reprimand was directed at him.
Seeing his terrified expression, Xie Wenling softened his tone: "Prince Dou, you are luckier than Wei Zhenhua. Your letter hasn't been sent yet, so you still have a chance to turn back."
He paused, his gaze returning to the gate of the Prince of Xiang's residence: "From the outside, this mansion still looks grand, but only those inside know its dilapidated state. Your father, the Prince of Zhennan, is always arrogant, thinking he can rival His Majesty and change the fate of the world. And you, you are haughty and disdainful of everyone. If this continues, one day you will be even worse off than Wei Zhenhua."
Dou Shichen suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with fear and regret.
“Look,” Xie Wenling’s voice continued in my ear, “this is what happens. Wei Zhenhua used to be just like you, arrogant and disdainful of everyone because of his family’s power. And now? He’s been abandoned by his family, bullied by his servants, and he can’t cry out to heaven or earth. He’ll be trapped here for the rest of his life.”
"I...I know I was wrong, Lord Xie, please help me, I'll never dare to do it again..." Dou Shichen could no longer hold back his tears, which flowed like a burst dam. "I will never curse His Majesty again, I will never curse anyone else, and I don't want to go home anymore. I'll just stay in the capital and beg you not to report me..."
Seeing his dejected appearance, Xie Wenling didn't say anything, but simply turned and walked towards the carriage.
The carriage stopped by the roadside, and the driver, seeing him approach, quickly lifted the curtain.
Seeing this, Dou Shichen didn't even bother to wipe away his tears. He stumbled after him, afraid that if he was a step too slow, he would be left in this cold mansion and suffer the same fate as Wei Zhenhua.
Xie Wenling neither agreed nor disagreed.
The carriage was quiet, except for Dou Shichen's suppressed sobs; the atmosphere was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.
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