Chapter 25

Emperor Yu Heng’s expression was very interesting when he heard this news. The corners of his mouth were about to freeze, and he looked very awkward. Wei Desheng almost wanted to pull it down for him.

This expression was too strange. Those who didn’t know would think that their emperor had suffered a stroke.

“Xiao Baoshu?”

Emperor Yu Heng accurately picked out the key person involved.

What could he say?

That day, Xiao Baoshan had just handed over his resignation letter. His words were humble and his tone was sincere. Not only was he deeply remorseful for the foolish things he had done, but he also felt that he deserved to die for causing the emperor to be deeply disturbed. In any case, all the mistakes had been because of him. He brought his conflict with his wife to the public, and because of this, he resigned with sufficient reason and sincerity—

Regardless of how good he was as an official, his penmanship was not bad. At the very least, he had managed to appease Emperor Yu Heng’s resentment over the past few days.

It was rare for Xiao Baoshan to be so tactful. Although he had resigned a little late, at least he had resigned. Every word on the memorial was dripping with blood. Emperor Yu Heng happily accepted it.

In this way, you know what’s good for you, and I know what to do. Isn’t this good for both the ruler and subordinate?

You have a good father. What are you afraid of?

It wasn’t until Xiao Baoshu’s news came that Emperor Yu Heng’s heart was about to shatter. What kind of life did his beloved general Xiao Yun have? How could he give birth to one or two sons who only created trouble for their own father?

Good bamboo growing evil bamboo. Even he felt embarrassed for Xiao Yun.

Xiao Baoshan usually only created trouble in his own backyard. He was someone that didn’t dare to provoke even his own uncle and brother, and it would be a waste of energy to beat him up. His family’s Young Master’s ability to cause trouble was even greater. He had even reached a new height and a new realm—

He single-handedly challenged a group of Jiankang aristocratic descendants!

No matter how much of a negative impact this had on Jiankang City, he had to give in to this courage!

“What’s going on?” Emperor Yu Heng’s anger rose before he could even read Xiao Baoshan’s resignation letter.

Xie Xian was on duty. He knew what had happened before he led Qu Yu and Zhang Yu in.

When he heard the Emperor’s question, he smiled casually.

“Your Majesty, I heard that it was Jiyang’s Cai Family seventh Young Master Cai Zhizhang and the Runan’s Zhou Family seventeenth Young Master Zhou Dun, who spoke rudely and publicly ridiculed Duke Xiao’s daughter for not being worthy of Yuan Chen. Young Master Xiao then cursed at them in public and angered the two Young Masters Cai and Zhou. The Yuan, Liu, Xie and Wang family, who gathered together to have a drink, then beat Young Master Xiao up.”

Xie Xian continued, “At that time, one of the Jiangxia King’s subordinates from the Central Scout Army was also drinking at that restaurant. When he saw that the young masters of the aristocratic families were rude and… insulted the commoners of the lower class, he was enraged and helped them.”

“… Imperial Uncle’s people were also involved?” Emperor Yu Heng’s tone changed, and his entire speech slowed down.

It should be known that the reason why his ascension to the throne was so smooth and unobstructed was not only because of the soldiers who killed anyone that they encountered, but also because of the Jiangxia King Song Zhan’s great support.

Song Zhan was Emperor Xian De’s half-brother. When Emperor Xian De was in power, he was placed in an important position. When the dethroned emperor killed the ruler, even though he didn’t kill Song Zhan, he had his guard up against Song Zhan. He even placed Song Zhan’s ten sons under house arrest in the palace. However, Song Zhan had always been afraid. He was worried that he would be killed one day. Finally, he found an opportunity and secretly crossed the Qinhuai River to seek refuge with Emperor Yu Heng while the dethroned emperor was defeated.

The dethroned emperor killed all ten of Song Zhan’s sons. The hatred of killing his sons was absolutely irreconcilable. Song Zhan did his best to support Emperor Yu Heng to become the emperor. With his status as a member of the imperial family, he was able to call upon hundreds of people to personally supervise the war and invade Jiankang.

Emperor Yu Heng was grateful for the Jiangxia King’s full support. After ascending to the throne, he was conferred the title of Jiangxia King Great Tutor and Grand Steward. He was also rewarded with the right of entering the court, paying respects to no one, and having his sword stored in the palace. He was promoted year after year, and given many titles. Even Xie Xian, who had a good memory, found it difficult to remember all of them in a short time.

However, the Jiangxia King was also a man of action and had always abided by his duties as a subject. If the emperor rewarded him more, he would also reject more. He would never overstep his boundaries.

Right now, he was only the Grand Chancellor, Minister of Education, and also the superintendent of the Central Scout Army. He had never interacted with the ministers of the court and knew Emperor Yu Heng’s heart very well.

As soon as Xie Xian mentioned that this matter concerned the Jiangxia King, Emperor Yu Heng had a plan.

“Yes.” Xie Xian nodded slightly. “That person’s martial arts is also skillful, but it’s hard for him to fight against four people with two fists. The servants of the Xiao family were afraid that Xiao Baoshu would be at a disadvantage, so they went home to get reinforcements. The young masters of the various families also called for guards, so they fought at one place.”

Emperor Yu Heng raised an eyebrow as he swept his gaze towards Qu Yu and Zhang Yu, who were standing beneath him like wooden stakes. They were an eyesore.

“Where are they?” He tapped the desk. He wanted to know. “How did you deal with so many people?”

Zhang Yu glanced at the unmoving Qu Yu and said, “Your Majesty, there are too many people. I can’t even close the magistrate gates. These young masters, Xiao Baoshu, and Yang Shao were all kept in the magistrate’s courtyard. As for the guards, they were imprisoned.”

It was like steaming dumplings in the prison. With hundreds of people crowding around, the smell was unbearable.

“Wang Dan’s wrist was broken and he was badly injured, so I sent him back to the Wang family for treatment. As for the eldest daughter of the Xiao family, who had harmed the others,” Zhang Yu said, wiping his sweat. “I asked my wife to watch over her.”

He could not afford to offend any of them. How could he be watching over them? He was serving them with good tea and snacks.

Those young masters from the aristocratic families, who were said to be locked up in the courtyard, had in fact emptied out all the tables, chairs, beds, and couches so that they could rest.

“The Xiao Family’s Miss again?” Emperor Yu Heng was surprised. “Why did you capture a little girl like her?”

Little girl?

The corners of Qu Yu and Zhang Yu’s mouths twitched at the same time. With that heroic bearing of valiantly saving her own brother, which one of the aristocratic young masters was she not stronger than?

In terms of fighting one on one, there were probably not many who could defeat her.

“Your Majesty, Wang Dan is the sixth son of the Wang Clan,” Xie Xian reminded, his black eyes shining brightly. “He is a warrior with a broad body and was rumoured to be heaviest among the Wang Clan’s young masters.”

“He rode on Xiao Baoshu to beat him up. When Miss Xiao saw that her younger brother was humiliated, she… kicked him away and broke his wrist.”

Pfft!

Emperor Yu Heng was so angry that his mouth was dry and he didn’t drink his tea. Otherwise, he would have spat out a whole mouthful of tea.

This Xie Xian was such a jerk. What rumors? Wasn’t it because he had seen the sixth Young Master Wang last year and was so shocked by his size that he couldn’t help but ridicule him?

Xie Xian indeed had a good memory. Now, he was acting clever.

Fortunately, he knew how to cover it up and said that it was a ‘rumor’. Otherwise, he would have lost a lot of face.

If those aristocratic families caught him talking like this, they might say that he was belittling the aristocratic families and disrespecting them.

An honest and straightforward man was indeed trustworthy.

This honest and straightforward yellow gatekeeper continued, “But it’s no wonder that Young Miss Xiao is so protective of her younger brother. With the sixth Young Master Wang’s physique, if she didn’t protect her younger brother, he might have really passed out.”